The Big Dipper

Charlie Weasley

Ursula and Hadrian began to follow the terms of their arrangement the very next day. It was like an elaborate dance as, over the next few weeks, Ursula and Hadrian exchanged shy glances and witty remarks, punctuated by Ursula looking demurely away, tucking a curl behind her ear, or Hadrian looking at her when he laughed, as a sign that he was sharing the moment.

Ursula explained everything to Lilian, and later to Adrian and a surprised Cassius. But she still hadn't worked up the nerve to tell Gemma and Vanessa. The latter in particular had no idea Ursula's courtship was a sham.

True enough, Ursula had been right when she said rumors would do most of the work for them. One peck on the cheek at breakfast, and Ursula and Hadrian were the most talked about couple at Hogwarts. One whisper into the other's ear and they were in love, perfect for each other, two unattainable yet devastatingly attractive people who only had eyes for each other.

Generally, their so-called secrets that appeared to be whispered to one another, with a laugh or gentle giggle as a reaction, weren't so much confessions of love but a bit more mundane.

For instance, at dinner one night Ursula smiled, fluttered her eyelashes, leaned over so she was practically speaking into Hadrian's shoulder, and said, "I have so much goddamn Ancient Runes homework it's unbelievable."

Another time, Hadrian leaned over so that he was inches away from Ursula's ear, glanced around like he was sharing a secret, and whispered, "Karkaroff snores louder than you'd believe."

It became easier, with time, to act attracted to one another. They had always been friends, so they already had an easy relationship with one another, but now they had to learn how to act romantic. Eventually, they settled into the rhythm of it, and were less and less worried about others finding out, even as the stakes threatened to go higher.

For Ursula, that meant remembering etiquette lessons from years past, from her governess and her aunt and her grandmother. Acting in love, or something close to it, meant ducking her head and smiling, looking up at Hadrian through her eyelashes whenever he passed her in the hallway. It meant sitting just close enough that their shoulders brushed against each other, close enough to be more than friends but not so close it was improper. It meant forcing a blush to rise to her cheeks when he was mentioned, to indicate her shy affection.

All she had to do was look pretty, say nothing, and marry well. Ursula could do that. She started with the first one: look pretty. That should be easy. She started paying special attention to how her hair looked each morning, more attention than she usually paid. She kept wrinkles out of her clothes and wore just the right amount of makeup. She arranged her hair to frame her face and bring out her grey eyes.

Say nothing was harder. It was harder to pretend there was nothing afoot when she received letters from home, when she could read between the lines of Lucius's letters or when Narcissa mentioned in passing that some old friends had come to visit. It was much harder not to question things, not to speak up even though something felt out of place, but Ursula tried.

As for marry well... that fell under Rule #2 of Pure Commité. Ursula would cross — or, if she needed to, burn — that bridge when she came to it.

In public, Ursula and Hadrian were the picture of a proper courtship. They knew just what to say, how to act, and how to appear to others. But when they were alone, they sat apart and studied quietly, like friends and nothing more. Because despite all of the pressure to be together, that was all they would ever be. Friends, and nothing more.

Meanwhile, no one had figured out how Harry Potter had managed to enter the Triwizard Tournament. Ursula supported Cedric as the Hogwarts champion, but she could also smell a rat, and was all the more suspicious when Harry kept claiming he hadn't entered himself.