So when you're living without being touched
There's no surprise
That there will be deviation

September 28th, 1888 — A Country Estate, Britain

Mr. and Mrs. Pureblood were holding a party at their country estate that weekend and it had been preoccupying Ursula's mind for the better part of the week. What should she wear? Would Thom be there? Who had she or had she not told of Sirius' accomplishment of getting onto the Slytherin quidditch team? Should she stay the night or return home? These thoughts no longer bothered her and hadn't since earlier in the day when she had received an unexpected piece of correspondence. Well, it was less of a correspondence and more of a poetic declaration, or so it felt to her. Aldous Crouch was a respectable man from a respectable family, he was lame which was unfortunate for he had astonishing cheekbones, and they had gotten on in the few instances they had properly conversed but she wouldn't have been likely to consider him as a contender for her affections. Yet all it seemed to have taken was a mere love poem to make her realize just how perfect a match they were. Now her only questions were would Aldous Crouch be in attendance and if he wasn't then how could she find her way into his company? She could write but letters wouldn't fully satisfy her, she needed to see him in person.

Once at the party and dressed, Ursula couldn't help but to keep a sharp eye out for Mr. Crouch. She thought she might have spotted Thom once but hadn't thought any more of it. Finally, she saw him. He was even more handsome than she had remembered. Now all she had to do was draw his attention and lock eyes from across the room. She didn't know what she intended next but just that much contact would be enough to make her happy, for a moment anyway.
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He shouldn’t be here.

That thought ran on repeat in his head as Aldous entered the house, as he thanked the hostess for her kind invitation, as he stood lamely at the edge of everything, still uncertain as to his motives.

The wizard had not intended to come, hence his staying off-site rather than in the house, as invited. It had only been a peculiar love poem on pink parchment that had changed his mind, for Aldous had known almost instinctively that she would be here. He doubted he would have the nerve to speak to her, for she was a married woman and that way disaster almost certainly lay, but he had to know: did Ursula Black truly love him as the poem had revealed?

Did she love him with the intensity that he inexplicably loved her?

She entered the room and it was as though all the breath left him at once. His eyes fixated upon her, for all he knew it was ungentlemanly, and he did his best to avert them, to go about his evening.

The next time he dared to look upon her, she was looking upon him.

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

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His gaze met hers and she had to suppress a shudder of delight. Would he seek her out now? It seemed she wasn't willing to wait and find out; her feet had already started carrying her across the room towards him, weaving deftly around the human obstacles.

It wasn't until she was a few feet away from him that her senses seemed to catch up a little and she slowed her pace. The urgency might have left her gait but she felt it tugging at her all the same. Her staring was probably becoming unseemly - not to mention the hasty approach - but she couldn't help herself. She couldn't be expected to wait for him to limp her way; love might be blind but it wouldn't take away his infirmity. It did surprise her how little it seemed to matter to her though. Now that she was within easy reach of him, she hung back in hope of watching him hobble swagger over to her as she was imagining him doing.
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   Aldous Crouch

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Merlin help him, she was moving towards him.

Did Ursula Black, he wondered, know what a sensuous creature she was? Surely her foolish husband did not, for if he did, he would never leave her unattended. Thus, Aldous was forced to think that her magnetism was for his benefit and his alone—soulmates. A ridiculous notion when applied to anyone else, but as he looked longingly at the object of his affection, seemed perfectly natural.

She stopped. So close, just out of reach, her eyes looking at him expectantly. What did they see as they surveyed his body, the wizard wondered?

A hero or a broken thing?

Love or pity?

Or worse—disgust?

As much as he did not want to know, Aldous felt as though he must, as though by not solving the mystery of Mrs. Black, he would simply cease to live. Tentatively, and rather awkwardly, the wizard took the few scant steps to close the distance between them.

"Good evening, Mrs. Black," he greeted politely.

  

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

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It wasn't exactly a swagger but she didn't really care that it wasn't. What did it matter how even his stride was? The state of his gait was of little consequence to her, what really mattered was how he felt about her and how handsome his face was. Was he aware of how distinguished he looked with his angular cheekbones? Few men could boast of such cheekbones, indeed few women could either. She was vaguely aware that she had once thought him vaguely attractive and now thought her past self a blind idiot. How could she not have recognized true beauty when it looked right at her?

"Good evening, Mr. Crouch." The greeting continued in her mind in a direction altogether unsuitable for the time, place, and company. She said no more but gazed at him with a knowing intensity. She dared him to compliment her, to say something to affirm her belief that he felt the same way.

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Aldous must have heard his name thousands, if not millions, of times before, and yet when voiced in Mrs. Black’s sultry alto it sounded altogether brand new—and somehow exciting. An invitation.

“Mrs. Black,” the wizard mustered in return. Even when he had been whole, flirtation had often eluded him. Oh, he could schmooze all day, but when matters of the heart became involved, Aldous felt like something of a simpleton.

“I confess, I was rather torn as to whether I should attend this evening, but in meeting you here I see now that I did make the fashionable choice.”

The best choice.

  

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —

Something stirred in her at the sound of her name on his tongue. How had she never noticed his allure before? "I'm glad of it." There was a noticeable pause before she decided to add, "One doesn't get anywhere in society by avoiding it, after all."

Ursula was struggling to keep her mind on holding a conversation, her baser urges had her mind wandering at every opportunity. "Are you staying for both days, Mr. Crouch?" In other words, would he be spending the night? Even with Thom she had rarely had such tunnel vision that she neglected to consider the logistics or consequences of her desires.

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“I-I am,” he answered. It seemed rather a peculiar question—what if she was asking because she did not wish him to? She was, after all, a woman of a higher social standing than he; did his presence cause Mrs. Black offence? If so, Aldous decided, he would hurl his body out the window rather than allow his transgression to continue!

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   Ophelia Devine, Ursula Black

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

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"How marvelous." Color spread to her face and her heart started hammering violently in her chest as she heard his response. He'd be staying the night. He was going to be in the same building all weekend. She didn't think she could bear it if he didn't make some sort of overture. He had never struck her as a particularly passionate or debonair gentleman but she (presently) believed he was likely to be so in private. "I hope to see more of you this weekend then." And by more of him she meant...

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   Aldous Crouch, Ophelia Devine

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She was pleased. Aldous felt a flutter in his chest, though not the same flutter that had been garnered by praise from professors in his youth. No, this was something more primal, something he absolutely wanted to continue.

I hope to see more of you.

Merlin help him, was she excusing herself? How could he please her if she wasn't there?!

"A turn?" he asked hastily, flushing as he clarified—more slowly this time—"About the room, that is. I am not the most nimble companion, but I assure you I am good company."

Frankly, Aldous wasn't convinced of that fact, but was determined to prove it to Mrs. Black nonetheless.

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

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Had he not said something she would have had a hell of time trying to walk away and very possibly failed. Thankfully he saved her the trouble and for that she seemed to admire him all the more.

Ursula wasn't unaware of the color rising in his face and it made her all the more aware of the heat in her own cheeks. "Yes, although perhaps... we might go outside?" She proffered her arm and felt her blush deepen, not just at the thought of him taking her arm in his but there would probably be a degree more privacy outside if he indulged her.

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Outside, the wizard thought, would be good, for he was feeling altogether flushed and could see the colour rising in her own cheeks. It was also not lost on Aldous that outside brought with it a great deal more privacy than inside, though the golden shackle on her ring finger told him she would never take advantage of it. That was, the wizard thought, for the best—an upstanding woman such as Ursula Black should never have her dignity, her propriety, taken into question!

He had never loved his arm so much as he did in the instant it connected him to her. The pair made their way outside, though Aldous grimaced as his limp made the journey ungraceful. Finally, when the sounds of joviality became distant, he felt the urge to apologize for this failing.

"It is," he offered shyly, "not so bad as it looks, but still nuisance enough."

  

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —

Thank Merlin he accepted her invitation! The very thought of him rejecting her hadn't occurred to her until his arm found her own but now that it did, it horrified her. How could she had continued on if he had? The contact, now established, was making it nigh on impossible for her to think of anything else but their proximity and how distant they still were from one another.

"I think you bear it remarkably well, Mr. Crouch, you are all the more distinguished for it." Being outside seemed to have an emboldening effect on her. Contrary to her usual judgmental self, Ursula could only regard Mr. Crouch's limp as a reminder of the man's bravery and valiance, and so her flattery was for the time being quite genuine. Admittedly she couldn't quite remember the intricate details she'd heard of the incident that had given him his faulty leg but she knew it had had something to do with the fire that had ravaged Hogsmeade a few years ago. Obviously he must've sustained it fighting his way out of a perilous onslaught of flames or rescuing someone from a collapsing building.

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Though the wizard had never felt particularly distinguished, her words caused an unexpected swell of pride within him. That Ursula Black could see past his crippling to the man he yearned to be underneath... Aldous had never dreamed that any woman might genuinely be able to do so, let alone the divine creature that had deigned to grace his worthless arm.

He should, the wizard knew, say something in response, but for all he could woo foreign businessmen with the promise of low taxes and easy trade, wooing a lady was a skill that had evaded him even before his injury.

"It is easy to seem distinguished," he offered shyly, "when in the presence of such undiluted elegance."

As the words left him, Aldous could not quite muster the courage to meet her glorious grey eyes, instead settling for her pale, supple throat. He cleared his own uncomfortably, shifting his gaze instead to the waning moon. Diana would envy the beauty beside me, the thought came to Aldous, the most natural in the world to occur.

  

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —

Never had two words filled her with such ardor - or so she believed in that moment. It was probably a good thing he wasn't looking her directly or she might have been unable to stop herself from kissing him and as much as she wanted to, it would be incredibly risky. Furthermore, what if he thought less of her for being a married woman and making such brazen overtures? To lose his good opinion would be too much to bear. If she could only make him kiss her without him realizing she was pushing him to it.

"You pay me a great compliment, one I'm not sure I deserve." She didn't believe that but she wanted him to try and convince her otherwise and hopefully end his persuasion with his lips upon hers. Perhaps if she simply stared at him until he met her eyes and thought the words 'kiss me' over and over in her mind he'd catch on and make a move.

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"Don't be foolish," he chastised gently, surprise in his tone and in the eyes that found hers again at last. With only a moment of awkwardness, he rearranged himself so that he stood before her now, each of his hands clasping one of her own and his cane fallen to the ground, for she was all he needed.

"I would know that the fates had conspired to give me a great deal more than I deserve," he insisted earnestly, "if I could find a bride with half your poise, half your beauty, half your intellect, and half your passion. You are a creature that inspires envy in the moon, in the sun, and scarcely can I believe that you would even glance upon the likes of me!"

How errant could her husband, her friends, be, if she needed Aldous to sing her praises?! He would, the wizard decided, challenge each of them in turn to a duel, to teach them the error of their ways.

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   Ursula Black

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —