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Orion looked over the piles of Black family treasure that rested in the Gringotts vault. He had only seen the extent of his family’s wealth a handful of times, and it hadn’t ceased in stunning him. He’d grown up knowing his family was wealthy, of course, but it was different to see those riches in front of him in the form of coins and jewels. It felt like an Elysian mirage not meant for the real world.The coins weren’t the reason he’d been sent to the vault though. There was one jewel and one jewel only that he was after. He found the bracelet easily, right on the shelf where his father had assured him it was. It sat amongst the other most precious jewels the family owned, at least the ones not currently being worn. Laying against black velvet, the sparkling blue of the sapphire in the bracelet shone brilliantly. The cool silver the stones were nestled in would fit beautifully against Anna’s skin. Orion could picture it easily in his mind’s eye.He lifted the bracelet from its perch, his heart already racing in anticipation, and admired the way the light reflected off it as it moved. Only the best of jewelry could be allowed to grace Anna’s features. She deserved more than the Black family fortune—or any worldly wealth—could provide her with. She deserved everything.Stowing the bracelet in the charmed pouch he’d within his robes, Orion turned his back on the rest of the vault’s contents with some reluctance. He ignored the goblin who stepped up behind him and closed the vault, though he paused long enough to hear the lock click into place.In the cart that had brought them deep into the bowels of Gringotts sat his cousin Cygnus, who had insisted on coming along in a failed attempt at seeing the family vault for himself. His eyes were intent on Orion as he searched for the bracelet that had already been hidden away.“Did you get it?” he asked, voice laced with the accusation that Orion may have somehow failed at such a simple task.“Yes,” Orion said, patting the bulge that his billowing robes managed to hide. “It was right where Father said it would be, of course.”Cygnus nodded, turning his head away as if he held no further curiosity about the charmed jewelry that had been passed through their family over centuries. Orion knew the disinterest was a lie, part of Cygnus’ continued attempts to pretend he wasn’t jealous to have been born into a side branch of their noble family.“Bet you can’t wait to get that thing on Anna’s wrist, can you?” Cygnus said with a laugh, nudging Orion’s arm as the goblin retook his seat and began directing their cart back to the surface. “No man will dare look her way once you’ve properly claimed her.”“It’s not about claiming her,” Orion shot back, his eyes narrowing. “The bracelet will provide—”“Good luck to her for as long as she wears it. No harm will come to her,” Cygnus finished with a roll of his eyes. “I know all about the bracelet’s properties. You haven’t shut up about the charms on the thing. I don’t know why a bracelet like that has been stored away in the vault for us to give to a woman who hasn’t joined the family yet. Shouldn’t your mother be wearing it? Or your sister?”Orion shrugged.“Father said it’s always been a betrothal gift. Mother did wear it before her wedding. It shows our commitment to protecting what is ours—or will be ours, as the case may be. Once the marriage bond is complete and Anna is a Black, she won’t need the luck of the bracelet any longer. She’ll formally have the full protection of the Blacks behind her.”Cygnus nodded with an air of disinterest, leaving Orion to his own daydreams of gifting the bracelet to Anna.A house elf.Bile burned Orion’s throat. The Malfoys wanted him to believe that a house elf was powerful enough to kill his Anna, that a house elf had possessed the will to do such a thing to its mistress. It made no sense. No matter who had done it, Anna being dead would have been unthinkable, but Orion knew who the real culprit was. And it wasn’t a house elf.His ears rang as he looked at Walburga across the room. She stood next to her father against the wall, reacting to the news of her best friend in the exact way she was expected to, with soft cries escaping her lips before she covered them with her hand. Orion had known her his whole life, and he knew what she looked like when she was acting. He’d only seen the real Walburga when she had been with him and Anna, no one else. It had been clear as day that she hadn’t accepted the love between him and Anna. He’d expected her bitterness and perhaps some plan of revenge; he hadn’t expected murder. But there was no one else he would suspect.Orion was only half aware of what was being said between his father Arcturus, Pollux, and Septimus Malfoy. His ears perked up when Anna was mentioned or his own name, but it was taking all of the energy he possessed not to strangle Anna in front of a Malfoy. He couldn’t bear to listen to Malfoy’s reassurances to his family as they broke their promise of marriage.His and Walburga’s names managed to catch his attention just long enough for him to realize that they wanted him to marry Walburga. Vomit worked its way up his throat as he imagined that future, the future that he knew was destined to come no matter how much he protested. He knew speaking against it was useless, but that didn’t stop, “No,” from escaping his lips.His father’s nails dug into his shoulders, reminding him of his place. He sat silently, letting Arcturus and Pollux navigate the situation with Malfoy. Only once Septimus had left did Arcturus look at his son. There was no sympathy in his eyes, only detached annoyance with his prior actions. Orion couldn’t handle being scolded, especially not in front of Walburga. Not after what had happened.“I just want to world to stop turning,” he choked out, the words not as loud as intended. No one spoke in response. “Just for a minute. I just need a minute.”He fled the room, not caring if he’d increased his father’s wrath.Orion sawed at his steak. The house elves always overcooked beef under Walburga’s direction, but after several failed attempts to intervene with the house elves themselves, he’d come to accept that it would be a regular part of his diet.He chewed his meat, giving his jaw a workout, and tried not to feel nauseous as he swallowed. Across from him, Walburga’s fork and knife clanked against the ceramic of her plate, the only noise in the otherwise silent kitchen. Eating had become torturous, even when the elves fixed his favourite meal, due to a murderer sitting across from him.He risked a glance at Walburga, his eyes automatically falling on her bulging stomach. She’d been ecstatic to learn she was pregnant. Orion, meanwhile, had fought down vomit when he’d been told. Ice ran through his veins as he considered what the child would be like. He hadn’t wanted it, but there had been little choice in the matter.Nothing in his life was as he had wanted it, but there was no changing what it had become. Anna was gone forever. There was no bringing her back.So, Orion chewed his steak in silence just as expected.