Aurelia's Story

“Angel, I carry you across the sea,
I don't even mind if we both went underneath,
Nobody knows, nobody sees, just me, my baby.

But the cost is not enough for the time spent with killing
You can get a job to appreciate the killing
And why not decide to speed on into fire
A little bit of heaven and a mass of genocide
If what you see and what you feel don't tend to be the same ideal
Just stop and find and hope to share a little piece of heaven out there.”
Abhoria, The Wildhearts

Aurelia trembled in Lucius’ arms. “My Lord,” she addressed him. “What has happened?”

Lucius’ pupils were dilated with excitement. “Our Master arranged for the removal of Narcissa this morning. She was attacked as she and Draco returned from their foreign visit. Most unfortunately, the Aurors were too late to save her. I played the part of the grieving husband most brilliantly, I must say.” Lucius smirked, and Aurelia pulled back from him, revulsion in her eyes. Despite the fact that she was glad that she and Lucius could be together now, she did not delight in Narcissa’s death the way Lucius seemed to.

Voldemort had been watching their exchange with an amused smile upon his face. Now, he moved towards Aurelia and rolled back the sleeve of her robe. “I say this for the final time… It is time for you to fulfil your side of the deal, Lady Pendragon.”

Aurelia finally realised the darkness of the world into which she had inescapably fallen. This was somewhere where people delighted in death, and caused others pain for the sake of causing pain. This, however, was a realisation that came too late. There was no way of escaping this situation – she either took the Dark Mark now, or died. At least this way, she would be with the man she loved, even if that was someone whom she now knew to be inherently evil. Aurelia raised her head, and presented her forearm to the Dark Lord.

Voldemort nodded, and withdrew his wand from his robes. He pressed the tip of it to her arm, and said “Morsmordre Adstringo.” He hissed with pleasure as she flinched with pain, and held the wand there until the mark burned black upon her skin. Voldemort moved his wand along the length of his arm, and then muttered a spell she did not hear. Finally, he tapped her arm again, and the mark faded from sight. “It will only appear when I call you, Aurelia. I shall leave you to Lucius’ tender ministrations for tonight; I imagine you will both want to celebrate. Enjoy your reward, Lucius, and Aurelia, I look forward to seeing you soon.” With that faintly veiled threat, he Disapparated.

Lucius strode back over to her, and began running his hands over his body. He kissed her hard, and pushed her back into the wall. Aurelia struggled free. “Reward, Lucius?” she questioned him desperately.

He nodded, trying to catch his breath, clearly aroused. “Didn’t I always promise you that you’d be mine? The Dark Lord bound you to me when he created the mark. You are mine, and mine alone. You will die if you marry anyone else.” He smirked. “Isn’t the ancient magic of the purebloods wonderful? When we marry, it will only be to tie up the legalities. In all other senses, you’re mine already.” He lunged at her again, and pinned her arms against the wall.

Aurelia felt as if her heart had stopped beating. She gasped for breath. “But… I thought you loved me? Now you act as if I’m merely a possession, a plaything.”

Lucius shook his head impatiently. “Of course I love you, my darling. I simply did not trust you, being so close to that old fool. This way, I ensured that he could not separate us.” Lucius leered at her, and pulled off his clothing. He threw her to the floor, and began ripping at her robes. “You will not deny me, my Lady. Our Master has given you to me, and I know that you love me. Why should we not celebrate that as he says?”

Despite the pain she was in from being thrown to the floor so violently, Aurelia found to her horror that she needed Lucius as desperately as she ever did. She began to respond, and wrapped her legs around his waist. Lucius groaned, and tore off the rest of her clothing, throwing it behind them. “I knew you would understand, darling.”

She shook her head. “Don’t think this is over, Lucius. I want you, and I love you, but you’re a complete bastard. You terrify me, and I terrify myself with how much I need you.”

He smiled, and drove himself into her, hurting her with the intensity. “You’re mine now, Aurelia, no matter what.”

They moved seamlessly as one, bucking and writhing until finally they were exhausted. Lucius held her tightly, refusing to let go. Aurelia closed her eyes, and just for a few moments enjoyed being in his arms, pretending the world wasn’t going on around them. “You realise that I can’t stay here yet, don’t you Lucius?” she said eventually.

He frowned. “Why not? You’re mine, and I want you with me.”

“Darling, your wife was killed this morning. Would it now seem perhaps a little strange for me to move in so soon?”

“Oh, that,” Lucius replied disinterestedly. “I suppose we should wait for a while…a couple of weeks should do it.”

Aurelia shook her head in disbelief. “And I still have a role to fulfil for our Master. If I am to be an effective spy for him, I cannot stay holed up here at your beck and call all day and night, enjoyable as that would be.” She rose, and went to leave. Lucius stood, and held her tightly to him.

“You had better not be gone for long, Aurelia. It seems that I cannot live without you.”

Aurelia nodded, repaired her clothing with a flick of a wand, redressed and left before she could change her mind.

Thirty seconds later and she was stumbling up to 12 Grimmauld Place, the tears falling from her eyes fast. Aurelia knocked on the door, and was grateful that Sirius was the one who opened it. His eyes widened, and he pulled her through the doorway without any questions, and hurried her upstairs before anyone else could see her.

When they reached one of the back bedrooms, he locked the door and placed a silencing charm on the door before he spoke. Sirius looked at her, and she could see the pain in his eyes. Aurelia realised for the first time that she was covered in marks and bruises.

“What the hell happened?” he asked in a hushed voice.

Aurelia closed her eyes, and lay back on the bed. Sirius sat down beside her, and held her hand. “Voldemort called me to him at Malfoy Manor. He had…had...” she heaved a dry sob, “he had arranged for Narcissa Malfoy to be killed this morning.”

Sirius bit his lip. “She was my cousin.”

Aurelia felt terrible. “Oh, Sirius, I didn’t realise. I’m so sorry –“

Sirius waved his hand. “Don’t worry, Aurelia, it’s not like we were close at all. I’m more concerned about what you’ve just been through.” He stroked her arm, and Aurelia flinched. Realisation dawned on his face, and he swore. “It’s done, then?”

Aurelia nodded. “It was either accept the mark, or be killed on the spot. But that’s not all, Sirius. Voldemort bound me to Lucius as well, fulfilling the first part of the prophecy.”

Sirius sighed. “What binding charm did he use?”

Aurelia shook her head. “I’m not sure. He didn’t say it out loud, but Lucius said it was ancient pureblood magic that would cause my death if I married anyone else.”

Sirius’ eyes widened. “No…not Diligo Vinculum? That hasn’t been used for centuries, but it’s the only one I know of that would fit.”

“What exactly does it entail?” Aurelia asked grimly.

“It was a charm used by pureblood families to bind together two people who were promised to each other by their families, to prevent them from marrying anyone else. It was created by the pureblood fanatics so that they could ensure that their children did not marry anyone they considered unsuitable. Malfoy is right, you will die if you marry anyone else.” Sirius narrowed his eyes again. “That doesn’t explain how you ended up in this state though, Aurelia.”

She looked away from him. “When I found out what had been done without my consent, I was a little unhappy. Lucius was angry, and, well, one thing led to another…”

Sirius filled in the gap, and reddened angrily. With a clear effort, he stayed calm, and said, “Get some sleep tonight, sweetheart. You’re going to need it.” Aurelia nodded, and Sirius stayed until she drifted off to sleep. He then quietly exited the room, and went downstairs to Floo Albus Dumbledore.

“Yes, Sirius?” said Albus tiredly.

“Two words, Albus. Diligo Vinculum,” Sirius snapped before withdrawing his head from the fire. Sure enough, Albus was knocking on the front door less than two minutes later. Sirius opened the door, and Albus rushed through.

“Where is she, Sirius?” he demanded.

Sirius glared at him. “Aurelia’s just fallen asleep, and you will not wake her tonight. She’s worked herself up into a terrible state, quite understandably considering the ordeal she’s just been through.”

Albus sunk into the nearest chair. “I know I let her down, Sirius, but every time I saw her I thought of what she had to do, and I just couldn’t bear it.”

“How do you think she managed then?” Sirius angrily replied. “Aurelia’s just received the Dark Mark, and ended up bound to and assaulted by a man who is arguably as evil as Voldemort himself. You must be proud that she came to a man she’s known for five days for comfort rather than you, her great uncle.”

Albus shook with emotion, then wordlessly went up to Aurelia’s room and sat on a chair by her window until she awoke.

Aurelia did not stir until after midday. When she woke, she saw Albus sat by her window, fast asleep but with his wand still out. She smiled faintly, and he woke up. “Aurelia, I think I have a little explaining to do, haven’t I?” said Albus sadly.

She sat up and nodded slightly. Her body was still stiff after yesterday, and it ached to move too much. Albus took that in, and his face dropped.

“Firstly, I must apologise for not being here for you this past week. I have no excuse, other than the pain it put me in knowing what you had to do.”

“It’s alright.”

“No, it’s not,” Albus insisted. “I should have been here helping to prepare you for what you had to do, instead of pretending it wasn’t happening.” He looked at her seriously for a few moments, and sighed. “How are you, Aurelia?”

She grimaced. “I’ve felt better, Uncle. Yesterday was quite taxing. However, I told Lucius to leave me alone for a couple of weeks – after all, he is supposed to be the grieving widower for a little longer yet. I do not know how long it will be before Voldemort expects to see me again though.”

“I expect him to lie low for a little longer yet. The rebirth would have been quite difficult for him, and he will prefer to build up his strength before renewing his campaign.” Albus looked away from her. “I owe you another explanation yet, Aurelia, about my actions when you were a child. There is little I can say, because I do not want to apologise. I recognise that I deprived you of the chance to know the rest of your family, but do you really believe that you would still be alive if you were with James and Lily instead of your grandfather? Frankly, I was astonished that Voldemort had spared you once, and I was simply not willing to risk you again.”

Aurelia nodded. “Yes, I can see that. Still, it does not stop me, and perhaps Sirius and Remus as well, from dwelling on what was lost. Sirius in particular seems determined to make up for not being there, even though none of it was his fault.”

“I’m glad you understand why I did what I did, Aurelia.”

“It does not mean that I have entirely forgiven you, Uncle. Whilst I am staying here with Sirius, I shall think about everything you’ve said, and everything that’s happened to me. I have a lot to process.” That said, she walked out of the room.

Aurelia barely left her room after that for the next five weeks. It was mid-August before she felt inclined to talk to anyone other than Sirius. When she emerged, the Order were discussing who should accompany Harry Potter to his hearing at the Ministry in two days time. “Arthur Weasley is accompanying him, but we need someone else to go in undercover, just to keep an eye out without Harry realising,” said Remus, smiling slightly when he saw her.

“Why don’t you go, Aurelia?” suggested Sirius. “It would do you good to get out and about again, and get some fresh air.”

None of the Order raised any argument to that, and Aurelia saw no point in not going, so she agreed.

It turned out to be a lovely day, and Aurelia was enjoying being out in the fresh air. Arthur Weasley was amusing her greatly with his attempts to master Muggle transport, and it felt good to be able to keep an eye on Harry. Once they were inside the Ministry building, Aurelia decided to explore the Atrium whilst waiting for them to emerge.

Suddenly, she felt a familiar tingling on the back of her neck, and an irresistible pull towards the other side of the room. Aurelia turned around, and saw Lucius standing there staring at her, his chest heaving with suppressed emotion. Against her better judgement, she flew into his arms and kissed him tenderly on the lips.

Lucius placed one hand on her buttocks and pulled her close to his body, wrapping his other arm around her waist. He kissed her neck, and she melted into his touch.

A delicate cough interrupted them, and Aurelia spun around to see Minister Fudge stood there staring at them.