Eenie Meanie Minie Mo! (Christopher, Roman & Verena)

Dinner with the Murrays. That was the plan for today, and Verena Richardson did not want to go. That Murray boy, despite the fact that he was a true asshole, with no actual charm, didn't also stand a chance against his cousin, Roman. Verena's heart already belonged to someone else, and she found it impossible to just pretend for her family's sake. But she had to, else things were going to go down a very dangerous path.

But how could she fulfill her family's wishes as well as her own? The only way to make them happy was to get that Murray man interested in her. Draw his attention, have him want her. But if she did, if she got that Murray interested in her, she could be married off to him in an instant. And Verena could not accept this. No. There was no possible way she would allow Christopher to marry her off to that asshole.

Joshua Murray was known to be cold and heartless. He could never, ever love her. All he cared about was money, and since they had plenty, she would be a perfect match. But that was it. His wife would mean nothing more than sex and children and Verena was not going to give him that satisfaction. She would play the good girl if that was what it took for her family to stay out of trouble, but she would not ever give him the chance to marry her.

Her attire for the evening was much more sophisticated than the usual dresses Verena usually wore. Christopher had made sure to inform her that Joshua Murray preferred the sophisticated type of women, over the whores, as he called them. The glare he had received made him shut up, but he still put a lot of emphasis to that. She just couldn't mess this up for him.

The Floo was the way they would reach their destination today, and Verena waited patiently for the rest of the family to go, before her father came by her side, and they were too, soon, apparated to the Murray Manor.
They were immediately met with the staff of the house, who urged them to follow them to the Dining Room, where the family was waiting for them.
Verena turned to cast one last look at Christopher, her own way of promising she wouldn't mess up today. But the moment they entered the Dining Room, Verena almost stopped in her tracks.

Her father went on, greeting Joshua and his mother, but Verena was frozen in place, staring at the man that just shouldn't be here.
Roman Hughes was standing next to Joshua, and Verena felt like she wanted to run away, as fast as she could. Away from all of them and the terrible situation she had put herself into.
But before she even had the chance to do any of that, she was lead to her seat, which happened to be on her father's left, as usual, and opposite of Roman.

Joshua did not waste any time, as he immediately asked questions about her family, mostly business, so Verena turned away from them, ready to speak up, but to her surprise, Christopher had gotten to her before she had the chance.

"So, Roman, Mr Hughes, I heard you had something of a tremendous win last weekend? What was the score? I was busy with a Potions essay and forgot to put the radio on. I normally listen to all of the games, but... well, school's more important!"

Verena turned to look at Christopher intensely. A look that spoke 'what are you doing' all on its own. She knew that he was doing this on purpose, thinking he could protect her. But all he was achieving was getting her mad, and Verena was not going to put up with that. A smile touched her features, and then she turned back to Roman. If Christopher wanted to play, they were going to play.
"Oh yes, Mister Hughes! Please, do share the details of that night. I am sure that win was rather... satisfying."

Taking ahold of her glass, already filled with pure red wine, Verena took a sip, her eyes never leaving Roman's. Christopher would be fuming, sooner or later, but she couldn't care less. The only one that mattered was Roman.

How could Roman be so careless? He knew that he would be coming here for sure, and he didn't even bother mentioning this to her? She should have been prepared, come up with a plan, do something to avoid this. But now it was done, and the Richardson princess made a note to punish Roman for this behavior. Being in the same room with Chris, Roman and Joshua though, made things extremely difficult for her.

Her movements had to be very, very careful. Christopher had his eyes on her, trying to push her as far away from Roman as possible, Joshua paid no mind to her thus far, and she truly wished it would stay that way, even though she knew damn well it was not going to happen. And Roman was taking small glances at her every now and then, when he made sure no one was looking. He was being cute, and oh how she wished she could reach over there and capture his lips. Fill his body brush against hers once more, his tongue travelling down her body and..

"Well, we played the Harpies last weekend. And, well, somehow we managed to beat them - they've been on top form, I'm sure you're quite aware of that much. It was a good game, there were no close shaves with the Bludger, which is always a bonus. Though, if you ever have the fortune of playing with Joshua, you'll understand why I came to be quite good at dodging those pesky balls!"

Roman's voice broke her trace of thought, bringing her right back to reality, and to this terrible dinner. She didn't want to be here, and she certainly didn't want to be in a conversation with Roman and Christopher about Quidditch. If it wasn't about her marriage to Roman, she didn't care. And this certainly was not a conversation about marriage. Well, not the right marriage.
And that was why Roman's next words went completely unnoticed, until Christopher spoke up. Oh that devil was obviously trying to kill her...

"What about the Harpies? Isn't there that really beautiful girl on their team... what was her name..?"

Verena's eyes shot immediately to Roman, staring at him intensely. Who was that girl and what was he doing with her? But Roman already knew what her reaction would be, so as he chuckled and then looked at her, Verena calmed down just a bit.

"I'm not sure who you're talking about, Christopher..."

He wasn't lying. Verena was staring at him, trying to catch his eye, and he certainly was not lying. Or well, even if he knew the girl, he was not interested enough. If at all. A small smile touched her lips and her whole body relaxed back to her chair. Taking her glass in her hand, she hid the triumphant smirk behind her class, as she sipped some of her wine.

The conversation went on though, with Roman trying to play cool- and failing miserably-, and Christopher trying to light a fire between the two.
But Roman was clever, he had played his card, offering Christopher a chance to watch a game, accompanied by one of his sisters of course. Verena knew that Chris could not say no to that. He loved bloody Quidditch.

"No, it's okay, Mr Hughes. I don't support Puddlemere."

Verena almost choked on her drink. What an actual jerk. Even if he didn't support that damn team, he would go nonetheless, cause it was Quidditch and he loved it. But no, he had to say something like this in order to stop this conversation before the witch had a chance to jump in.
She was angry, and there were quite a few things she would have said to Christopher, if only the starter hadn't come to the table.

Her attention was immediately turned to her plate, trying to calm herself down. She wanted Roman. Now. Turning to Joshua, Verena put on her charming smile and spoke up.
"Mister Murray, I am so sorry to interrupt your conversation with my father, but would you be kind enough to show me around? Or at least have someone show me? I actually really liked your Gardens, would like to see them from up close."
Her eyes never turned to Roman, but Merlin she hoped he had caught up to her signal.

When Verena had turned towards Joshua Murray, she was not sure she was doing the smart thing here, but the words were out of her mouth faster than she had thought. And then hell got loose. Everyone at the table stopped to look at her, her mother looking at her disapprovingly, even Serafina. She didn't even have to look at Christopher to know that what she had done was the worst possible thing she could do at that point, but her father had already made a move to stop her. Stop her before things got way worse.


"If the lady would like to see the gardens, then, by all means, let her go."

What?, the voice inside her head said, but Verena managed to hide her surprise before it was too late. For some reason Joshua Murray had not just forgiven her impetuosity, but he had also allowed her to visit his gardens freely. She was free of this pathetic dinner and her family who were so badly trying to marry her to that creature who didn't even want to pay attention to her. How did they expect her to marry someone that couldn't clearly care less about her?

"You'll forgive me, I have much more to discuss with your father. Roman. Take Verena."

But she could not hide her surprise at that. Joshua Murray had not only allowed her to leave the table, but he had also assigned Roman to be her shadow and sow her around. The Gardens, and who knows what else.
Her heart was beating fast but she managed to keep a straight face as Christopher tried to stop this, but their father didn't have nay of it. For the first time in a while, Verena felt really bad about her brother, as she turned to cast one last glance at him, the apology already written all over her face, before she got up and took Roman's hand.

"It saddens me that you can not accompany me, Mister Murray. I hope you will be able to, later. But thank you."

And that was all it took. Verena was gone in an instant, dragging Roman away as fast as she could without drawing too much attention to them. They had time. At least they had time to speak.

Once they were out to the Gardens, Verena released his hand and immediately pulled him into a passionate kiss. Reckless? Not even close! This was a lot more than reckless. But Verena was head over heels for him, and she was not going to sit back any longer, and watch him go on as if nothing had happened.

"Why didn't you tell me? Are you crazy? Damn it, Roman! You're driving me crazy.."

The way Roman pulled her closer as Verena crushed her lips to his, made the Richardson princess happier than ever. They were risking everything just by being here alone, and they made it worse by making out when anyone could see them. And it would be the end of both of them. Verena would be disowned and her reputation would be destroyed. She would be nothing in a matter of seconds, and she would drag her family down with her. But now, she could not do this. She wouldn't.

"I didn't have time. Last ditch idea. You don't have a phone, do you? It's fine, I'll get you one."

"Phone?"
Verena had to look at him weirdly and blink at least twice. Every other day, Roman surprised her with something. His avant-garde ways were something Verena was trying to catch up on, but there were so many things she had never seen or heard before. It made things extremely difficult to understand, even more to explain it to her parents. She had to find a way to persuade them that Roman was the man for her, but she still had no idea what to do about that.

"Me, crazy? You just left dinner with the best marriage offer you're likely ever going to be given - you just disrespected your whole family and you dare call me crazy? What are you trying to do, Verena, honestly?"


Verena instantly felt terrible. She was a selfish woman, wasn't she? Dreaming too big and hoping for something that could possibly never happen. She was risking everything, the most important opportunity for marriage she had even been given, and all that for Roman. Joshua Murray would provide even more stability for her family. Money, business, everything her father and Christopher wanted. Everything a family like hers needed. But how could she give him up? How could she watch her life go by, married to a man who would never love her?


She couldn't. And she wouldn't.

"I don't want you to marry him, Princess..."

Her eyes instantly looked up to stare into his. A soft sigh left her lips as his fingers brushed against them, and Verena was once again ready to melt. How could he possibly do this to her? She was falling- no, she had already fallen for him. Hard. And now she just couldn't take this all back. She wanted him to touch her the way he had touched her not too long ago. And even more. She wanted to be his wife.

"I don't want to marry him either... He will never love me, he will never care. I am just a trophy. Something he can fuck and have children with. Nothing more. He will want me to give him an heir, or more. And that's it. I'm useless. But I wouldn't be that to you, would I?"

Verena could never believe that Roman would act the way his cousin did. It just proved how different people from the same world could be. Joshua Murray, a heartless, traditional Pureblood man, who only cared about money and nothing more. Business was above everything else. No. He was above everything and everyone else. Verena too, used to be like that. She still was a bit like that. But Roman was showing her a different way, a better way. And the more she fell for him, the happier she was becoming. It was unfair that she could not share this happiness with the rest of the world.

But then his lips were on hers once again and all her thoughts vanished in an instant. Lust took over her, and the closer Roman pulled her, the more Verena moaned into his mouth, her body moving against his in ways she didn't know it could. She was melting inside his arms, trying to feel as much of him as possible. It was crazy.

"Tell me you don't want this..."

Truthfully, she had no idea what he meant. Could he mean this marriage to Joshua Murray? No, she certainly didn't want this. She also didn't want to be scared to tell her parents that she was in love with Roman Hughes. There were many things Verena didn't want, but Roman was not one of them. On the contrary, Roman was the only thing she wanted at that moment. Him, on her bed, naked, making love to her. Making her his.

"I don't want him, Roman.. I want you. Now!"

"You would never be treated like that by me."

A smile was the first reaction Roman received at those words. Verena knew well enough that Roman was far from similar to his cousin or to most Pureblood men. Just the way he was looking at her proved that Roman would never see her as a trophy. She would never be just his wife. Just a woman that he could fuck every night for his pleasure and force her to give him an heir. She would be so much more to him.. more than she had ever been thus far.

"A wife is not a trophy. A wife is the woman you love most in the world."

Oh how she wanted him. He made her happy just by talking to her. The way his eyes raked her form, undressing her and seeing right through her. Into her soul. And the way his lips touched hers, making her moan and shiver with need. He was the only man who had that effect on her. And how could anyone expect her to give him up? Give up the only man that could make her do things she shouldn't be doing?

The comment about having a daughter though, made Verena blush and look away slightly. Children was a sensitive subject, and she was not sure she was ready to discuss that. Yes, she would want to have children with Roman, but not now. Maybe in the future, but it was to early to speak of such things.

But then they were back to kissing, tasting each other as their tongues fought endlessly for dominance. Moans were being stifled by his mouth on hers -thankfully- and Verena was trying to fight her feelings with logic. She couldn't get carried away, not here, not now. But the more passionate the kisses got, the less she could control herself.

"You know that we can't."

She did, but how could she say no to him? Especially when his hands pulled her closer, one going immediately to her ass and giving it a firm squeeze, earning a small giggle from the woman. But his hands did not stop there. Instead, they slowly slid down her thighs, pushing her skirt up ever so slowly, ready to-

"You know, both of you are going about losing yourselves way too hard. Doesn't family mean anything to either of you?"

Verena jumped away from Roman immediately, her heart beating fast as her hands went immediately to her skirt, pulling it down. She felt bad. She really did feel bad. The words Christopher had spoken were true, even though they both knew family meant a lot to her. But how could you stop loving someone? Stop wanting him? Especially when you knew you could not have them?

"You're lucky it's me who came, sister. Serafina almost offered her services, after mother pointed out leaving a boy and a girl alone was quite improper. Even though Mr Hughes is supposed to be on his cousin's side."

Verena wanted to cry. Her heart would not calm down, but she just couldn't allow Christopher to lash Roman with his vicious words. Yes, they had pushed the limits a little too far, but they were in love, and people do crazy things when they are in love. Christopher couldn't possibly know, but Verena just knew he would be in her place sooner than he expected. But he would have the privilege of choosing his wife.


"Come, Verena. I think Mr Hughes has shown you quite enough of the gardens."

The witch knew that the only way of saving both Roman's and her ass was to go with Christopher, and that was what she did. But not before she made some arrangements. Taking Roman's hand in hers, Verena gave it a small squeeze, a way of apology to him, but a promise as well. She was not going to let go. Not when she wanted him so badly.

She then released him and immediately moved to Christopher's side. She was doing the right thing, for now. And that was to stay away from Roman. And pretend she was madly in love with Joshua Murray, even if it pained her to do so. She just had to make her family proud, and herself sad.

"I'll come, but do not ever speak to Roman like that. You will understand me one day, Chris. Mark my words."
Casting one last glance at Roman, Verena sighed and started making her way back, before Christopher could see the tears that were threatening to fall.
Wiping them away, Verena kept her head high, her fake smile in place, as she approached the Manor once again.

Because she was Verena Richardson. And pretending was what she did best.