✧FREELY MOVING ACROSS THE BOARD✧

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Aria had difficulty keeping up with her father's pace as he stormed the Lestrange manor with a fury like no other.
Perhaps she should've kept quiet.

"Father, wait!" She shouted, her tears already electing that their previous conversation that morning had been the final straw. Though it did alert those inhabits—And what luck it had been to see both Radolphous and his eldest in his office, course they weren't prepared for Aria's arrival, and thus Senior Lestrange had risen to wave away the produced smoke their cigars had produced over the last hour or so.

"Orion, Aria...A rather impromptu visit for—"
"Get your son. Now." Seeing Ms.Crawford attempt to get her wrist out of her father's grasp had instantly leveled the stakes, and Radolphous had nodded off to walk out of the room and fetch him.

Wherever he might be.

"Aria, are you alright?" She didn't dare look at the wizard asking, only responding with a sniffle as she continued to look at her father's shoes in an attempt to remain calm.
"Stop your crying." That surely caused Rodolphous' fist to curl.

"There's no need to speak to her like that. Whatever the issue is—"
"Quiet." The way he had been speaking through his teeth only tormented Aria further, she's heard stories from Sirius on how angry either he or Walburga could get.

And she had front row seats right at this very moment.

Orion scanned the room and dragged his daughter off towards the sitting area and more or less thrown her to the couch—Leaving her gasping as she tried to settle herself.
"That's enough, Orion. I don't condone the violence of witches in this house." While he had been the first target, the entrance of his main mission had entered.

"You." Rodolphous had the better of the two senses and walked from the angry Black's direct line of fire, and Rabastan could only gulp.
"You no good bloody cheat, you did this to her!" There was no need for magic, Orion had enough strength to grip the lad's collar and push him up against the door.

Aria's gasp had been blocked by her hand as she twisted around on the couch—One look towards her had inflicted a rage in Rabastan that he didn't hesitate to push away his girlfriend's father.

"Cheat...? I didn't cheat! I wouldn't—"
"Not literally you insufferable twat, you thought you could speed up her decision!"
"What the bloody hell are you going on about?!... Aria—"
"You aren't allowed to speak to her!" Rabastan had instantly zipped his lips and looked off to his father.

"That's enough, you've come here with a purpose. And you've certainly done a disservice to your daughter by stressing her—"

"You have a daughter now, Radolphous. Tell me, what would you do if a wizard defiled her?" Orion questioned, and it earned him a scoff.

"My son hasn't—"
"Left her pregnant then, what would you do?" The truth was out in the open now, and Rabastan's mouth parted as he looked off towards Aria. She too had snuck a peek to him, but instantly shyed her gaze away in fear of her father throwing another set of unfriendly words her way.

"I'd want what's best for my daughter..."
"Then we have an understanding." The two fathers had held their gaze and thus, Radolphous had nodded. Waving his wand up and settling up the proper documents, leaving Aria to turn away further.

While Rabastan wasn't allowed to go over and consult her, that didn't mean Rodolphous couldn't. The married man had taken to sitting with her on the couch, even if she had scooted to the far end near the edge to get away from him.

It was the softest he had ever turned, but something had snapped in the Lestrange men to see Orion's switch suddenly snap—Especially to his beloved daughter.

"I have half the mind just locking her in her manor for the rest of her life." He dwelled, and that earned him an inaudible beg, or one that Rolf could at least. He shushed her as kindly as could, though that hardly had the same effect as he wished it to be.

"That won't be necessary, the option of marriage is still on the table."
"That'd be grand, considering you allowed this type of behavior—Granted, I had a lot more trust in my daughter than this to happen."

"Papa Ich hatte gesagt, es tut mir leid!" [Papa I said I was sorry!]

That had certainly been the wrong attempt on Aria's behalf, as the German had bounced back and forth in the most heinous of anything. Aria having going so far as standing up from her seat to level with her father—Who stormed over at the sight of a new issue.

However what he had said next had resonated with her too deeply, that she had been a mistake, that she should've never come back from the dead.

Almost having tripped over her clumsy feet, Rodolphous had caught her and settled her down back onto the couch gently. Whatever had been said had shocked her into submission, leaving her lips parted and her face turning a sickly white.

Her soon-to-be brother had summoned one of his father's glasses and conjured it filled with water, urging her to drink it and settle.

"I don't know a lick of German, but I'd say any pregnant witch shouldn't be manhandled like that!" Rodolphous said, being the guard between Orion and Aria.
"Careful, boy. I still have half the mind to lock her away—"

"No. I'll be marrying her so there's no need for that, it's my fault and I...I need to do this." Rabastan pipped up, having still been sampled for knowing the truth now. But the announcement had been music to Aria's ears.

That he wasn't angry with her, not that there wasn't enough on her plate with her father's words still plaguing her mind.

"Are you sure, son?"
"It's what I've wanted for awhile, it's not fair for Ari to raise a child by herself. Not when they're mine." Orion had laughed.

"Isn't that grand, taking such a heap of responsibility that could have been avoided. I pray you get a daughter."
"And I pray that they won't, otherwise the clause is still in effect. Isn't it Orion?" It was strange to see how Slytherin's operated against one another, almost resembling wolves circling one another before a proper attack.

"That was nulled long ago."
"Course, but since it's being instated...Why make it difficult? If the child is a son, all is well. But if the child is a daughter well...We'll get there when we get there." He claimed, but Radolphous had sent a subtle wink to his son while Orion had looked off towards Aria in a moment of defeat.

"Perhaps one day you'll understand, Aria, that this isn't a life to move freely around the board." He deemed, and whatever his response had been, had been left up for the rest to interpret—As Aria had yet to switch back from her German tongue.

Orion had read over the agreement, the betrothal, carefully. He recalled that there was nothing wrong with the previous one, but he wasn't going to leave that up for chance. No, Aria's vault was not mentioned and thus, would remain as hers. Same with her career, as this was an outdated piece of parchment.

"Don't worry about your career Aria, it will still be there after the babe is born," Radolphous confirmed, leaving Orion to grumble further as he finished off his scan.

The quill had felt cold in his hands, but he still managed to produce a near-perfect script on the damned thing. It was soon turned around for the other father to sign, and all that was left with Aria's.

Rabastan had come over as well to sign it before taking the large parchment and laying it down onto the coffee table before his almost fiancee.

"There's no need to worry, not about a damn thing. Alright? We'll figure it all out in just a bit." To see her eyes so torn and broken, he unraveled her fists—Kissing her palm to see that her nails had dug too far deep and punctured the skin.

A tic he too had when his father was on a rampage.

With the faint remembrance of his lips to her skin, he replaced it with the said quill. Motioning off towards the paper that she hesitated and looked at.

"...What name?" She croaked, and that certainly begged the question if anything. "Aria O'Hera Crawford Black," Radolphous replied, though her attention hadn't been on her father-in-law, no, it was on the parchment as her eyes scanned it in fear.

But those damn fools didn't change a thing!

The only question was what would happen if the child is a witch instead of a wizard? There was nothing except an open-ended, though her words from last night rang further.

That she trusted Orion Black, and she needed to do so at this moment as well.

She signed her name slowly, making sure it was legible—since she hardly had much practice signing Black, however, it looked as though she's been using it all her life.

And once she had done just that, Rabastan had kissed her temple and returned the slip back to their fathers. But even with this agreement, it didn't cast Orion to smile at all.

"What in gods green earth is going on up here, I could hear all the ruckus from my drawing-room!" Clarissa had shouted, though when she had looked at the grim and conflicted faces among the rest—Her eyes had locked onto Aria.

"Dear, what's the matter? What have these men to make you—"
"Stay away from me!" She shouted, her voice hoarse as she rose up from the couch that Clarissa had stepped forward towards.

The perfect level of guilt had trickled onto Mrs. Lestrange's expression, but that wasn't enough for Aria to feel any better. Not when her warning hadn't been taken seriously and thus, it happened.

While her spurts of magic hadn't been all that grand before this very day, but with the aggression and torment—Paired with her shaking hands, the books that lingered on the tall shelves behind had started to shoot out.

The uncontrollable magic had left her weak, falling to the tile below, and yet—None of the books had hit her. Not when the brothers had ripped out their wands quick enough to create a shield to protect her.

"I-I'm s-sorry...I'll c-clean it up." She stuttered, reaching forward for the first book only to be stopped by her fiancee.

Her fiancé.

She blinked up to look at him which could've been the first time that very day, and she truly saw the panic that drew in the last five minutes.

"The elves will do it in seconds, don't think about it." His voice had been catering to her sheer trauma and she found herself nodding.

"Considering that she is a future Lestrange, I believe we should celebrate. Aria, would you like to stay here for tonight?" She instantly nodded to her the master of the manor, though her eyes flickered instinctually towards her own father.

"Considering she cannot get into much more of a predicament, we'll talk about this all together in days coming. Tomorrow perhaps?... It seems you'll be getting the wedding you wanted since the beginning of time, Clarissa. Hopefully, you can plan it by the end of the month or so." Usually a guest would tilt their head at the end of a get-together, but Orion Black was of a higher status than Radolphous—so it was essentally out of respect, but the bloke had turned to the door.

"Aria, a word." It felt as though she had been a pet reacting to the call of their name and she followed in pursuit of her father, even if Rabastan had attempted to stop her—Thinking that it could be dismissible, but marriage wasn't solid until they stood at the altar and said their vows.

Orion could still cancel the entire agreement at the expense of his daughter's honor.

Even with the study's door just a cracked open, the two Black's had caught the chaos of the rest of the Lestranges and they smiled at one another. "Excellent work, my light, are you alright?"

"Course. Though you're quite frightening...What happens if the child is a witch?"
"Nothing of interest. Believe they get a piece of property that I don't own anymore, it's Alphard's. That or it's additional funds...Again, it's nothing of personal interest or difficulty. Are you alright to stay here for the night?" Aria agreed and said she'd visit him later, though it earned her another kiss.

"As I said, nothing to stress about." She grinned, which looked heavily different as the puffiness of her cheeks and eyes spoke of how committed and damned she felt throughout this entire debacle.

She had waited a moment to let her father walk down the hall, yet when she slipped back into the room—Rabastan hadn't wasted another moment to rush to her side. Pulling her in straight for a comforting hug that she cried straight to his shoulder for. "I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about, not one bit. It's my fault, I can't remember the last time I had to use that spell. Careless of me." She tried to disagree but their brother had laughed.

"What's the plan in Ms.Crawford turning into Ms.Black?"
"That will need a debut ball!" Clarissa cheered, though Aria could not nor would she smile. "I think all that planning could wait until later, Rose—Set up Clarissa's bath for Aria." That sounded perfect right now, yet the hot water hadn't done anything to calm her nausea or nerves.

Nor did she have an appetite at the dinner table of her soon-to-be family.

However the last straw was when the room had begun spinning. "I...I think I need to lie down." Their desert had ended early, even Aria was attempting to be polite. She couldn't hold her head up much longer and thus, followed after Rabastan.

"I'm sorry Rabastan but—"
"I said there isn't a reason to apologize. Alright? You heard my mother and father, they'll take care of everything, you just focus on this little...Babe." He said with a slight pause in his voice. Clearly, it hadn't struck him as the high of the marriage was, so she wouldn't push it right now.

"No...I meant sleeping in the same room." He looked both confused and offended all in one failed swoop, but it was clear that she needed a moment or two by herself. Not to mention that she had most likely gotten pregnant in this very room.

"No worries, there's a guest room right next to mine." He didn't choose the one that Claudette had stayed in, this one was much more luxurious—Having been his brother's when he had still lived here.

Aria smiled as she looked around the room. "Do you need anything?... You hardly had anything to eat."
"The healer said that it's normal to have a bit of nausea in the beginning, it's worse in the morning. I guess I worked myself up to have it all day." The mention of the healer reminded him of the baby, so while she had taken the seat down onto the bed, he kneed down before her.

"When did you find out?"
"When I went to Germany to my healers..."
"Oh goddess—Ari, why didn't you tell me then?" She remained silent as she had just grown days more tired than the last minute. "Nevermind, we can talk about it tomorrow. Let me get you something to change into, yeah. This can't be comfortable." With that, he ordered an elf to start up the fire, as well as starting a few of the candles throughout the room. Leaving it to smell wonderful.

When he'd return, she hadn't moved that far—Only towards the window and enjoying a bit of fresh air that she cracked the window open. Though closed it when he returned.

"I didn't know what you'd want to wear, I just grab a bit of each." She would've given him a smile if her body wasn't minutes from falling asleep upright. And thus she took a pair of his trousers and his quidditch jumper, thanking him before heading towards the bathroom.

That struck him further, that Aria didn't want to even change in front of him. "I promise I'm not angry, love. Surprised, yes. Unprepared, yes. But that doesn't mean we won't get past this." He called out, taking a step closer only for her to emerge from the bathroom.

"...Don't think you know what having a child really means Raba."
"Course I do, we'll be parents. We'll be—"
"I didn't plan to be a parent at nineteen." It was clear that the reality hasn't set in yet, and she couldn't blame him.

Not when he wasn't the one carrying the child. But he did his best to cater to the fact that she didn't want to be touched right now. "I know, but it's what's going to happen. And in a few years from now, we'll look back and see how foolish we were. I'll be in the room right next door if you need me. And call the elves too, they love helping pregnant witches." She knew that as well, her own were fiercely different as to what they are now.

"Knowing my luck, they're probably a Ravenclaw. Don't you think?" It shocked her outright, she hadn't thought of that far into the future with this child, no, she hardly thought passed the birth if she was being honest.

So she sniffled and shook her head. "I think you mean your luck is having a daughter. Considering you were a manwhore in Hogwarts." She said with a small laugh while his eyes bulged, not because of her decided nickname rising up from the grave. But because he realized what horrors lied with having a daughter to watch over and protect, leaving Orion's outburst nothing short of an understanding.

"Do you need anything else...?" She shook her head and looked off towards the bed, course the bloke helped her along in. Even going so far as to order some socks from an elf, even if she claimed she didn't want them.

After a quick tuck in and Rabastan sitting off the side, Aria had fallen asleep outright. Something that hardly ever happens in his presence. Usually, it took much more of an attempt but here she seemed all too eager to escape the nightmare that was their reality.

He hadn't thought that this would be their first night as being engaged to be married, leaving his shoulders to fall that she wanted nothing to with him even more than when they were simply dating.

But that couldn't be further than the truth.

What he could do, in the meantime, is preparing his engagement speech—Knowing full well that he couldn't present the ring without some sort of grand gesture. No, he needed to cheer her up and get rid of this depressing stance. He knew she would be happy in the coming days about the child—Their child.

They were going to have a child.

He felt insanely guilty that he was happy, but now with the opportunity, Rabastan had no time to waste. With a final kiss Aria's cheek, he made his way to his room to dig for his first drafted proposal and scrape it.

Not all of it, but he needed to restart. He needed to make sure that his promise did not just involve her now, that their little babe was going to be the focal point of his attention.

That he would protect them with all that he had.

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Date Posted: 07-18-2021

Time: 12:02 AM

Words: 3342

Black family always manages to have the upper hand✨