✧TWO BIRDS, ONE STONE✧

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Rabastan Lestrange had been a mess of self-pity until Christmas, especially when he learned that his mum managed to null the contract. There was no reason for him to get married straight out of Hogwarts, though it did make his father question what the hell happened, especially when he made it seem as though he moved heaven and earth to secure that marriage contract.

But Clarissa stepped in, saying that she rather have a muggle be her daughter in law than that whiny French girl, and thus...Rabastan's Christmas had made him feel utterly better.

In addition to that, he managed to swipe a picture from a Hufflepuff who was known for taking pictures for the entire population of Hogwarts.

He swiped one of Aria singing and gods he couldn't get enough of it, know exactly the verse she sung in the timeframe of each photo.

Course he heard a few songs she would mumble, or that star rhyme she had sung. But during the yule ball...? That was magnificent, he hadn't known she could project her voice so fluently like that.

Not to mention how beautiful she looked—But now in the passing months, he's only spoken to her a handful of times. And all of them ended in a bitter remark.

His grades were slipping and his mother was getting on his arse that he needed to do better. The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint his mum, another important woman in his life. But what concerned him the most was Aria checking his wrist.

Course he had met the Dark Lord, but the criteria of being a Hogwarts graduate was still needed. Rabastan didn't realize how damn scared he was in Aria finding out about it.

He knew she wasn't one for violence, but he thought that he could eventually change her point of view—Yet all it did was change his.

He spent time with his sister this summer, something he was so excited to tell her about.
But he cheated on her.

He thought of her the entire time in France, thought of countless things that she would love to have. But he cheated on her.

Meaning she didn't want anything to do with him.

She was truly the most forgiving person on the planet for giving him the time of day once in a while. If she had cheated on him then he would've blown up Proctor to bits.

Currently, he was just making his way from the grand hall to the library, his plan was to spend the entire time in the library this weekend. However he caught Aria hurrying passed his crying and he suddenly was caught in a sense of protection as he spun her around to face her properly.

"Aria...? What's wrong?" Her sobs were rough, and he worried that she was going to have a panic attack if she worked herself up any further.

"I—He—He—" She was holding up a parcel but her words couldn't manage as she continued in the attempt of getting her breathing under control.

"Why don't we go to your classroom hun?" She didn't have the energy to disagree, leaving Rabastan to escort her to the classroom and settle her on the couch. He did have to maneuver to find where she kept her things now, but managed well enough to make her a cup of tea.

But she grimaced as she hadn't a stomach for anything, so she took a polite sip and placed it to the counter before them both.

"D-do you want to tell me what happened?" He said, in fear that pushing the boundaries any further would make her run. This was the first time she's talked to him since she came in hungover that one more.

Rabastan could see her hand twitching consistently as she tried to sort her thoughts. His hand untangled hers from a fist before he squeezed it, giving her an encouraging smile as the silent tears continued to fall.

"It's Aidan..." She whispered, and his brows rose in complete shock. What could've happened that he— "He—he fucked that Bitch he dated last year, c-course he said he was piss drunk but I...I can't." Rabastan could feel her pain rising and so he moved closer to her, only for her to flinch.

"Love I'm sorry this has happened to you—"

"Twice. It's happened twice. You and now him." She hadn't dared to look at him now, instead focused her attention to the hot tea.

"I have no excuse for my actions Ari, but he was drunk....Surely that's better? His one to my—"

"Dozens? You're right, but I hate him. He knows exactly what I went through this summer and now I'm—" She began to lose her sense of calmness, but this meant that Rabastan's off of holding her was accepted.

And it felt so damn good to hold her again, he shushed her to calm her down. Coaxing her to finish her tea before asking if she wanted to stay the night in the classroom.

"Could...Could I possibly stay with you? T-tonight?" Rabastan had stilled at the question, the witch before him looked so lost and confused that he nodded.

Thankful that he had the chance and found her when he did.

"Of course...I meant what I said Ari, that you could ask me anything and I'd do it." She nodded, wiping her still damp eyes as she collected her robe before following after Rabastan.

Hand in hand.

They hurried up to his room and it felt like such a rejoice to their last year relationship that Rabastan was nervous. More than nervous but he had forgotten what it was like to have her sleepover.

The room was luckily empty as Rabastan left dinner pretty early, but Aria still felt rather out of place and stood awkwardly in the center of the room.

"Do you still have the same bed?" She whispered and he nodded, gathering up both a jumper and pair of sweats that he knew she always favored.

And while she was about to change she realized that perhaps it wasn't a good idea to change in front of him, and he offered a smile before his eyes silently offered the bathroom.

"Rather not let Avery or McNair getting a view of your arse."

"You love my arse." His laughter filled the room, and Aria hadn't wasted much time in getting dressed, settling for an early night.

And Rabastan was eager to do the same.

He allowed her to settle in first, all before joining her and wrapping his arms around her.

"Why did you do it...?" She whispered, and Rabastan sighed.

He had waited so long to tell her, and he finally could.

"I was a dumbarse Ari, it was wrong and I have no excuse. Claudette was a constant, she wasn't like Barns...My parents wanted me to humor and entertain her. We were suppose to get married, have children, and die together—And maybe a part of me hated her. Because she wasn't you. She had the blood but she wasn't you." Aria rose just a bit as she looked into his eyes, and he allowed her to read his mind—Opening himself to her.

But Aria didn't detect a thing, her mind was silent. And before long she leaned forward and brushed her lips against his.

And who was he to deny her?

Their bodies moved fluently and the Rabastan couldn't remember the last time he had to hold himself back from finishing so early.

She surely learned a lot from that Proctor fellow as she was animalistic in jumping him so quickly. He felt himself fall in utter bliss.

So much so that he hadn't realized that his roommates had come in, to which he quickly closed the curtains and masked his bed from noise.

Either McNair and Avery were thankful that their mate was finally moving on, but little did they know that it was Aria.

By the time morning came, she'd convinced him to stay the majority in bed—Talking and shagging.

And while Rabastan knew that she was getting back at her American lad.

However when she did finally leave, she left with a kiss and a hint at promising to do this again.

And again they did—Though Aria nor Rabastan had caught the sound of a camera clicking.

*

Aria had a long weekend, filled with stress and an attempt to get through the long list of suitable internships that she wanted alongside the one with Darethmont and the classes she planned to take.

She wasn't going to miss the commuting, but she was going to miss the familiar halls of Hogwarts though. Most importantly her friends—her brothers especially.

It was grand to be able to sit beside Sirius once in awhile, it made them feel connected. And some of the time wrote to either Orion and Alfred.

Tonight she was going to have a migraine responding to all these letters. Her owl looked mighty mad that she compensated Onyx with a good portion of treats as she continued off towards the grand hall for dinner.

Only to be lead down a hallway and into an empty classroom. Perhaps she was exhausted or completely fuzzy in terms of registering what had happened.

But when she started to phase what happened together to feel lips against hers and that someone between her parted legs.

Finally regaining her wits she pushed the fellow away and gave him a good kick just above the groin as she hadn't realized who it was.

"Lestrange?! What the bloody hell are you up to?!" She screamed, wiping her lips as she just participated in a snogging session, her heart was beating sporadically and her soul was beaming at the prospect of her other half.

"Well I was planning on making this a surprise, bit rough darling."
"A surprise? I hate surprises." She said crossing her arms and better yet, crossing her leg over one another.

"This one I would've thought you—"
"Rabastan, I thought we were at a good place in being sort of friends?" The bloke stood and looked at her in awe, had this weekend not meant anything to her?

She said she'd want to continue this little friends with benefits, and she hadn't a problem the last time he'd done this.

"Sort of friends?" He questioned and she slowly nodded, feeling wildly uncomfortable as she'd have to tell Aidan about this and her mind felt already scattered enough.

"What gave you the idea that I would've liked this?"
"What you said Friday—And Saturday...Did that mean nothing to you? Were you just...You used me?" Aria had undone her arms and looked at him in pure confusion.

"Rabastan, I wasn't here all weekend. I left Thursday after Transfiguration. What are you talking about?"
"No, you were crying in the hallway on Friday and said that Proctor ch—cheated on you. And we went back to my dorm after going to your classroom and we..." Aria O'Hera Crawford looked at him with parted lips as she shook her head.

"Rabastan...I promise you on my Sanctuary that I wasn't here. Are you sure it was me?"
"Yes! Tattoos and all! And we talked, and we enjoyed it. And you forgave me after I told you about this summer."

Rabastan started to feel his eyes betray him, he had been so happy for the past few days. But now it was all crashing down, especially when Aria looked so lost and confused.

And so angry.

"Alright...What else happened?"
"We made love a few times, Friday and Saturday..." Turning towards her bag she showed up the bundle of papers and pointed to the date of a signature.

It was Saturday, and Rabastan knew that that Aria was with him.

"Did her hair change?"
"N-no...You said you got a better handle on it." She shook her head.

"I didn't, not when—You get what I mean..." A stressful hand went to soothe her forehead as she bit her lip.

"But it was you..."
"No Rabastan, it must've been a spell—A curse. You imagining someone to be me...Or polyjuice." Aria started to pace, biting her thumb until she caught a sticker on one of the parcel's from the bundle.

"You were crying that Aidan was drunk and fucked that gal he dated last year after a quidditch game." Aria turned to him and she shook her head.

"Aidan broke his arm, he's riding bench for another week." The pieces were coming together before she ripped open the letter from Aidan.

Especially when she say the 'Emergency sticker' beside the stamp.

Ripping open the thick envelope, unfolding the parchment only for a bundle of pictures to fall to the ground. "FUCK!" She screamed, falling down to pick up the dozens of photos and placing them onto the table and analyzing them.

They were of him and her.

In his room.

In her classroom.

A broom closet.

An empty classroom.

Aria's hair flared into an awful shade of grey, as she stared at the pictures that laid down before them both.

"Rabastan, they sent these to Aidan—He didn't cheat on me, they impersonated me to get to you." Rabastan took hold of one that he knew was from the first night, he had made sure that the Gryffindors weren't hot on their trail.

But these pictures were indeed planned, at various times and in the same broom-closet too?!

"Who'd do this?"

"Who hates me and would love nothing more to get into your bed?" She responded with, but she soon found herself sitting down on the ground. Holding one of the pictures made her stomach churn, but she was glad that Aidan demanded an answer.

He knew she had an important interview and contract with Otto, and whoever it was sent the parcel quickly—Paying the extra coin to get it to him faster.

Which was why Aidan was suspicious, as well as it not being Aria's handwriting.

"Rabastan this is basically pornography...Somebody has these pictures." She said, staring at the movement of either her body and his—But it wasn't her.

Even though it looked like her.

"Harper and Lowe...They're dead, I promise you Ari—"
"No, we need to be careful. My career is on the line, if these pictures get out I'm ruined." A stressful breath escaped him, and a sob escaped her as she read through Aidan's letter.

Course he sounded angry, he was sent pictures. But Aidan was practical, he knew that she hated Rabastan. Yet this wasn't how Aria operated, so he asked for an explanation. Though it was clear he had been crying as well.

"What do we do?"
"You can wait for her to act again or—"
"Act again? And then what, let her have her way with me. Merlin Ari!"
"Rabastan she must have more pictures, there's no telling what she did with my face!" No matter how stressed he felt, he realized that it was a complete and utter mess for Aira herself.

But the rage in her eyes started to grow.

"If she wants my face...Two can play it that way." She said, her fists curling before Rabastan watched in awe as her face morphed into that of Amelia Harper.

A completely identical copy.

"I can get the pictures back...Izzy will just hand them to me." Rabastan shivered, 'Aria' even sounded like the other Ravenclaw.

"This is very Slytherin of you love..."
"I mean you could put this in her tea, it'd reverse the effects of the polyjuice potion. Sure it's what she used, least amount of work." Rabastan was angry, beyond angry—He was enraged.

In the time he thought was reconnecting with Aria had been with Harper, he felt defiled, used.

"And Proctor?"
"He's confused, I'll need to write him. Gods what the hell were they even thinking?!"
"Ruin us love, I never accepted any of Harper's previous advances from any of the years in Hogwarts and she—"
"Hates me to the corner pits of hell. Great...I'm going to tell Professor McGonagall before shite really hits the fan." He nodded his head in agreement, but she slipped a small vial into his hand.

"It'll reverse the effects of the potion...We should have a code word or something so you'll know it's me." Rabastan huffed, still feeling completely ill at the idea of all of this, but agreed.

"Suppose you could just change to grey hair whenever you see me, or just the tips that you like." She grinned, it was perfect because Harper wouldn't be able to copy that.

Not that raw ability.

"I need to tell my roommates."
"I'll tell Clem then, she might just storm into their room and take them by tonight." The two separated soon after, and Aria was slaving over a note after having told McGonagal all that happened.

She didn't want to involve the Gryffindors, but she found herself telling Sirius. And by telling him left the marauders open to know as well.

Don't worry Ari, she doesn't know what that she's messing with a Black. -Sirius

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Date Posted: 08-17-2020

Time: 10:40

Words: 2881

On a scale of 1-10, how much do you hate Harper?