The Luckiest Man on Earth

The Luckiest Man on Earth 34



DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended



Chapter 34: A Plot Wrapped in a Package



Flint Manor:



“My lady,” said Floris, the house elf, rather timidly. He eyed the master and mistress. They were draped together on the bed in a tangle of naked limbs. The mistress would be the one to wake up. She was always kind. The master could be curt if woken up too early. He was like that even as a boy.



“Floris,” said Natalya sleepily. “What is it?”



“There be a person downstairs,” said Floris. “The person is wanting to speaks to the master. The person says it be important and I was to wake master or else be given….clothes.”



“Oh Floris,” said Natalya gently. “There will be no clothes given out, don’t you worry.” She looked the house elf shrewdly. Floris called the intruder, a ‘person’ not a wizard. And only a wizard would be capable of even making it to the front door. Floris used the word ‘person’ with a slight note of hauteur. Natalya wondered who it was. She shook her husband awake.



“Aurelius,” said Natalya when her husband opened his eyes. “Floris says that there is a ‘person’ to see you immediately.”



Aurelius’s eyes snapped open and he sat up and fixed the house elf with a stern glare.



“Floris,” asked Aurelius intently. “Is it the same person that was here a month ago in my study?”



“Yes, my lord,” said Floris.



Aurelius got out of bed and made for his dressing room. Natalya followed.



“What is it?” asked Natalya curiously. “It is barely five in the morning.”



“It’s important,” said Aurelius. He gave Natalya a hesitant look then said, “It’s my man at the Daily Prophet. He has information.”



Natalya looked at him in surprise then turned to get dressed.



“You don’t have to come,” said Aurelius apologetically, “if it makes you uncomfortable, my love.”



“I always wondered who was buying up all that stock,” said Natalya, her voice muffled by her robes.



“I didn’t buy enough to have a majority share,” said Aurelius ruefully, “but I did buy enough to get allies on the board and in the newspaper office.”



“I’m ready,” said Natalya. She turned to the hovering house elf and instructed him to bring the person into the morning room and provide coffee as soon as possible.



Ten minutes later, Natalya was reading the headlines on the advance copy of the paper that Aurelius’s man had provided with a feeling of shock.



Aurelius shuttered his eyes as he read the article again. He shivered and looked into his wife’s eyes with a sense of trepidation.



“What utter nonsense!” said Natalya as she looked into her husband’s wary eyes with a smile. Aurelius gave her a grin of relief. “That girl was my son’s girlfriend. She’s not even in Britain. It’s such an utter lie.”



Aurelius looked down at the picture on the front page of Saturday’s Daily Prophet with surprise. The picture was one of Persephone Stebbins, alright. But her allegations of a sordid affair with him, her boyfriend’s father, were quite the shock. And the poses of the pictures struck him as all wrong, from what he knew of the girl. She was a rather prim girl but he had caught her coming down the stairs with Marcus at dawn that one time. But still, she wasn’t one of those glamour girls. That type of girl was simply not to his son’s tastes.



“I find the overall tone of the article to be disturbing,” said Aurelius as he eyed the Prophet reporter, Nigel Norman, with a measured look.



“As did I,” said the reporter gruffly. “This story was kept under wraps. A close friend of mine on the editorial team finally told me about it early this morning. For some reason, we had to get it into today’s edition. But cooler heads prevailed and they opted to put it into Saturday’s weekend edition. My friend warned them that making you, a major stockholder, angry was foolish in the extreme. But Rita swore up and down that she had collaboration from someone inside the Merlin Club. And they had an interview done at Hogsmeade with the girl.”



“But Persephone no longer attends Hogwarts,” protested Natalya.



“That fact was pointed out to Rita,” said Nigel. “And the fact that the girl has not been reachable since the interview, but Rita said to go ahead.”



“Those things she says about Marcus are not true, “said Natalya as she chewed her lip. “Marcus did not pledge himself to her. He is not foresworn. He is engaged to Katie Bell in the old tradition. He could not have done that successfully if he had been engaged to anyone else. It is the nature of the spell.”



“The old way?” asked Nigel, a touch grimly. “Well, that takes care of that allegation.”



“This interview was done with something else in mind,” said Aurelius as he tried to clear his mind. He was currently trying not to look as guilty as he felt.



This Yule, Aurelius had definitely run into Persephone Stebbins in Diagon Alley. And later that afternoon, he had taken her to bed where they had a mutually satisfying time. But truly, he did not want to have to admit to his wife that he had indeed fucked his son’s ex-girlfriend at the Merlin Club, where he needed to have a word with the club’s majordomo. Discretion was the Club’s hallmark.



Nigel Jones left a few moments later with the understanding that he would floo with news if there was any. Aurelius was thinking hard. He knew that he would have to go to Hogwarts and warn Marcus of the coming storm but he also needed to go to London and perhaps scare the paper into not printing the article. He should also get a hold of Persephone. He sighed and looked at his wife. She was silently sipping her coffee and looking at her husband with a glint in her eyes. She was sitting next to him at the table. Aurelius jumped when he felt her hand on his thigh.



“So,” said Natalya as she leaned closer to her husband. She had put her coffee down. “How many times did you fuck her, Aurelius?”



“I…don’t,” stuttered Aurelius as his high cheekbones flared with color, exactly like his son.



“I’m just asking,” purred Natalya as she stroked his tense thigh. “I saw the way she looked at you this summer. She watched you like you were a particularly forbidden treat. Was she delicious?”



“I am very sorry, Natalya,” said Aurelius intensely. He decided to throw himself on her mercy. He had no more lies to offer her.



“I know,” said Natalya. “So did you?”



“What?” asked Aurelius weakly. She was caressing his awakening erection.



“Fuck her at the Merlin Club?”

“Yes,” said Aurelius. “But I can’t believe she would sell her story like that. She isn’t the avaricious type.”



“I know,” said Natalya. Her fingers continued to pet at him through his robes. “This is a plot to inflict damage and I think that Katie is the target. This entire scenario smacks of a woman and a scorned woman at that.”



“The Bletchley girl,” said Aurelius grimly. “I wonder how she found out about my….ummm…..tryst with Persephone.”



“Darling,” said Natalya with a chuckle, “even Marcus noticed that Persephone had a crush on you. It was so obvious. Maybe Miss Bletchley just made a lucky guess.”



“I am still very sorry,” said Aurelius contritely.



“I know,” said Natalya with a grin. “Why don’t you go scare the papers and I will go to Hogwarts. I sense that we haven’t heard the last of Miss Bletchley. Besides, the Prophet always sends an advance copy to the objects of the coming scandal. I don’t want anything upsetting Katie so close to the wedding.”



“No,” said Aurelius as he bit his lip. He caressed his wife’s face gently. “You know that I love you terribly, don’t you?” Aurelius’s face flushed with color as he had a vivid flashback of Persephone on her knees in front of him.



“You are the only woman who sets me on fire,” said Aurelius gruffly. He tried not to think of the Stebbins girl. He was unsuccessful. He remembered telling Persephone as she was sucking his cock how good she was at it. She had lifted her mouth and gave him a very wicked smile as she told him that Marcus had taught her everything she knew. Rather than deter him, he had been very hot to have her. He pulled her up and was inside her a scant second later.



Aurelius looked at his wife thoughtfully. She had forgiven him, yet again, even when she was confronted with rather damning proof of his infidelities. He pulled her up and onto the table. Natalya shrieked them giggled as Aurelius threw the china off the side of the table and gave her a lascivious grin.



Natalya kissed his throat as she threw her arms around his neck. She had forgiven Aurelius rather easily because she had decided to put the past behind them. She knew that occasionally she was going to discover a lover or two she hadn’t known about in her husband’s past. She hoped her forgiveness would cut her some leeway if, Merlin forbid, Aurelius ever found out about Katie’s brother, Rhys.



As the dawn broke over the eastern horizon, Natalya and Aurelius made love over the breakfast dishes. Natalya hazily thought as pleasure shot through her body that they didn’t have a conventionally perfect marriage but who really did?



The Daily Prophet: Diagon Alley:



“Mr. Flint,” said the surprised voice of the morning editor of the Daily Prophet.



“Mr. Michaels,” drawled Aurelius as he gave the surprised man a cool smile from the open doorway. He ran a gloved finger down the edge of the dusty door frame and then wiped off his fingers fastidiously. The editor flushed with embarrassment and rushed to offer Aurelius some tea and a chair. Aurelius declined the tea with an imperiously arched eyebrow and sat down with an amused air.



“Can I help you, sir?” asked the disturbed editor. He eyed the coolly elegant man sitting in front of him. Inwardly he quailed. He wondered if Aurelius Flint had gotten word of the upcoming issue. Merlin, he hoped not. But why else would a man like Flint be here at seven in the morning? He looked out into the office. He noticed with a sinking sense of horror that all work had come to a grinding halt. Every eye in the office was focused on Aurelius Flint and the slight sense of menace he conveyed in his very traditional and extremely expensive and well-cut robe. He looked every inch the wealthy, aristocratic wizard this morning.



“I wonder if I can help you?” said Aurelius smoothly. “I will shortly be meeting with four of the largest stockholders in this paper. We have a breakfast engagement at the Merlin Club. I understand that this paper will be running an article that will not show my family in the best light.”



“Now see here Flint,” said the editor as he tried to bluster his way out of this mess. He had told Rita that the article would be a grave mistake. “We are journalists here. We have our integrity to uphold and even though you are a shareholder in this paper, we cannot be seen to play favorites.”



“My good man,” mocked Aurelius. “I am not here to make threats. I am here however to inform anyone at this paper who may care, one way or another, that at my breakfast meeting, I intend to buy controlling interest in this paper. When I do, I will be making changes. If I do not manage to obtain control, I will be dumping a massive amount of my shares in a very short period of time. In that case, I am sure you know that doing so, will devastate the paper’s bottom line, perhaps even prompt bankruptcy. Am I perhaps making myself clear?”



“Crystal clear,” said the editor hoarsely.



“Good,” said Aurelius as he got to his feet. He adjusted his gloves and gave the man a cool nod as he left.



After Aurelius Flint left, the editor ran for the floo as the office erupted in noise. Everyone had heard what Flint had said. Just as Aurelius had planned, he left the Daily Prophet’s office in an absolute uproar.



Gryffindor Tower:



“Katie, love,” said Angelina impatiently. “It’s nearly eight. Wake up!”



“I can’t” moaned Katie as she stretched. She was warm and comfortable.



“You will miss your birthday breakfast,” teased Angelina.



“Maybe Flint will give you another ‘birthday gift’,” said Ally with a slight smile. She was still a bit pale.



“I’ve already got my gift from him,” said Katie as she yawned and turned around to snuggle back into the covers. She was still quite tired.



“Come on,” you lazy git,” said Angelina as she tore the sheets off of her mate. “We’ll save you a spot at the table. Now, go take a shower.”



“Okay,” grumbled Katie as she shook out her hair and crawled out of her bed. When she came back from her shower, she found a note on her bed along with a package. The room was empty. The note was from Angie reminding her to hurry. Katie grinned as she wondered if her mates had a special breakfast planned for her. They knew that she would be spending tonight with Marcus.



Katie poured ass oss of orange juice that she had on her bedside table. She wasn’t kidding when she told Marcus about her deep craving for the drink. She had persuaded a house elf to bring her a pitcher of the juice every evening. She sipped at the drink thoughtfully then opened the package. Owls generally delivered mail in the Great Hall. She wondered how the package got there. There was a copy of a newspaper inside the package.



Katie froze when she read the note attached to the paper. Ild hld her that the article would be coming out that day in the Daily Prophet. Katie sat down on her bed. Her knees were suddenly shaking. She opened the paper with clumsy fingers. Katie read the article quickly then it dropped from her shaking fingers. A sharp tearing pain stabbed through her abdomen then another and another. Katie opened her mouth to scream and then doubled up in agony. She slumped down on her bed as the darkness closed over her and sharp clawing pains ripped through her body.



The Gryffindor Common Room:



“Minerva,” said Severus Snape a touch testily. “What is taking the girl so long up there?”



“Now, Severus,” said Natalya Flint easily as she laid a manicured delicate hand on his sleeve “You do know that…circumstances make Katie a trifle tired nowadays.”



“Ah,” said Severus with a lifted brow. “Indeed.”



“Miss Bell is usually not so late,” said Minerva with a frown. She raised her wand and disabled the alarm on the stairwell.



“I’ll wait here,” said Severus with a slight curl of his lip.



“I cannot leave you here, Severus,” said Minerva quietly. “You’ll put a scare into my first years. They’ll think that you are the new head of Gryffindor.”



“Merlin forbid,” said Severus with a look of disgust. He followed Minerva and Natalya up the stairs.



When Minerva could not get an answer at the door, she walked in and gave a gasp of horror. Natalya and Severus quickly followed her in the door.



“Oh no,” said Natalya as she clutched her throat and then rushed to Katie’s bedside. She picked up the discarded paper and moaned with frustration.



Severus leaned over an unconscious Katie and felt her pulse. His nose twitched as he leaned in towards her face. A particular look stole over his taciturn features as Minerva levitated Katie into the air and started to move her down the stairs. Severus turned in a circle as he sniffed the air around the bed. He moved to the pitcher of orange juice and took a whiff.



“Severus,” said Minerva briskly. “I am taking her to the infirmary by the emergency floo in the common room.”



“Oh Katie,” breathed Natalya. She paled as she saw the slow blossom of crimson blood across Katie’s robe. The blood was coming from in between Katie’s legs.



“We have to move quickly,” said Severus seriously. “I fear that Miss Bell is having a miscarriage. There was distilled diseased rye in the orange juice Miss Bell drank.”



“A poison?” gasped Natalya as she helped Katie through the door gently but swiftly.



“No,” said Severus grimly. “Someone deliberately gave her an ancient abortion potion. It hasn’t been used since Roman times mainly because it is too powerful. Administered late in a pregnancy, it can cause death. I hope to Merlin she did not ingest more than a mouthful.” Severus stopped then quickly grabbed the pitcher. “I will be in my lab. I will come to infirmary when I know more. Tell Poppy what I told you about the diseased rye.”



Natalya nodded as her throat closed and they rushed Katie to the floo. Her eyes filled with tears as she thought about Katie and her unborn grandchild. She bit her lip as she wondered what she was going to tell Marcus. He was waiting in the Great Hall for them.