Vivicendium ➝ Sirius Black/OC

Satis verborum

Chapter Forty Seven | Satis verborum

[Enough of words]

Over the next day, Vivian's avoidance of Mulciber and his friends is quite successful. She arrives in class early and is in her seat before he steps into the room. She leaves as soon as the bell rings, ducking back into the hallway before he can stop her. She heads to lunch when she knows that he isn't around, and goes to great lengths to either avoid the common room altogether or to wrangle one of her friends into checking for his presence before she enters or exits it.

"I get that you don't like him, but shouldn't you at least make an effort to get to know him properly? You are marrying him after graduation, aren't you?" Narcissa complains that afternoon after she had been the target of said espionage.

Vivian scowls at her. "We're technically betrothed, I guess," she grudgingly admits. "But there's no way I'm marrying him."

Narcissa is understandably confused by this. To be fair, Vivian isn't the most forthcoming person, and she keeps private matters to herself whenever possible. She doesn't typically talk after personal matters to any of her Slytherin friends, either. The reason for this is, in part, because she isn't generally an open person, and also because she doesn't want any of her opinions to reach the ears of her parents.

"I don't understand," Narcissa says as she follows Vivian out of the dormitories. This time of day, it's relatively quiet. Classes ended a few hours ago and it's nearing dinner time. Most of the students are hanging out in other areas of the castle or are already in the Great Hall, with the exception of a few who have set up to tackle homework assignments. With the heavy NEWT workload on her shoulders, Vivian should probably be one of them, but to be honest, she isn't all that concerned with her marks at this point – much to Gavin's disapproval.

Vivian snorts and makes her way through the common room. The winter sun has already set, and the windows that look out into the Black Lake are dark and fathomless. She takes a quick glance around the room to ensure that Narcissa hadn't lied to her about Mulciber's lack of presence, and, satisfied, ducks out of the common room with her friend on her heels.

"He's foul and I want nothing to do with him. How is that hard to understand?" Vivian questions. She heads down the dungeon corridor, intent on going to dinner. Since it's early still, she doubts that any of the people she's avoiding will be there yet.

Narcissa sighs, falling into step beside her. "Well I suppose he isn't the best candidate, but it's not like you actually have a choice, Vivian. I'm sure your parents are already making plans. And anyway, it's not as if this is sudden or anything. Marriage has always been in the cards for us."

Vivian would like to point out that, while this is true, it's such an archaic tradition and she doesn't appreciate being bartered and sold to the highest bidder. She'd like to say that Narcissa wouldn't understand anyway, because she's always wanted to marry Lucius (despite recent revelations regarding his hair), and that she's never had a problem with the idea of getting married so young. But she doesn't point any of that out, because when the pair of them turn the corner, she finds that she doesn't have a chance to.

Adrian is standing in the middle of the corridor in front of them, his back turned towards Vivian. As usual, he's with his usual group of friends. Rosier is hanging back a bit with Severus and Regulus, while Avery and Lucius seem to be seconds away from procuring their wands. The hallway is tense, and the reason for the seemingly imminent dispute is because of one red-head who is facing them down with a stormy expression blazing over her face.

Lily Evans looks about ready to throttle them. Her face is nearly as red as her hair, no doubt due to something that Adrian or one of his groupies had said. Since attaining Head Girl status, she isn't an easy target because of the power she wields, but over the course of the year, the Slytherins have gradually become more callous where it concerns the rules of Hogwarts. Whatever flimsy shard of respect or recognition they had possessed before has steadily vanished as the end of the school year grows nearer.