32 The Ball (I)

After waiting for nearly half an hour, Marcus Rosier finally came out of the pub, looking kind of drunk. This made their task a lot easier… Marcus Rosier started to make his toward the Apparition point while swaying from side to side, but before the poor drunk could reach the Apparition point, a red jet of light came from nowhere and slammed on Marcus' back, knocking him out. Moments later, with a swish of clothes, the body of Marcus also disappeared into thin air.

The Wizard and the Witch finally took off their Invisibility cloaks after reaching inside one of the empty alleys. The Witch leaned down and grabbed Marcus' hair. With a jab of her Wand, she removed a small tuft of hair from his head. Then she handed over the tuft of hair to her partner. The Wizard shoved the tuft of hair inside one of his pockets, leaving only a single strand of hair between his fingers.

After that, he pulled out an alcohol hip flask from another one of his pockets, and then he put the strand of hair inside the flask. The man grimaced as he took a sniff from the flask… Meanwhile, the Witch was already busy stripping the heir of the House of Rosier.

"Wait! Why are you stripping him?" The Wizard questioned in a bewildered tone.

The Witch looked up and gave the Wizard an incredulous look. "For one thing, your robes aren't fit for attending a Ball" The Witch pointed out with a huff, the Wizard looked down at his robes and he had to agree that she was right. "Secondly, there is a chance that his father might have seen his robes, so we can't take that risk" The Witch pointed out in a condescending tone, and once again, the Wizard couldn't help but agree with the Witch.

"Just for the record, I am not doing this for personal pleasure!!" The Witch griped with an annoyed look on her face. After that, she decided to resume what she had been doing… The Wizard decided to keep his mouth shut, not wanting to irate the girl more than she already was…

After a minute, the Witch was finally done. So, the Wizard quickly took on his robes and started to put on the robes of Marcus Rosier, but he didn't forget the use the cleaning charms. He simply refused to put them on before using them. "I am done! By the way, how do I look?" The Wizard questioned the Witch, who scrutinized her eyes so that she could correctly inspect the Wizard.

"I am not going to lie, you look really good in those robes" The Witch answered as a smile formed on her face. The Wizard nodded his head in satisfaction.

"That's good…" The Wizard grinned and the Witch couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Now that you are ready, take his blood and heir ring" The Witch added hurriedly. The Witch leaned down beside Marcus Rosier, and then he made a small cut on his finger. The Wizard pulled out a small talisman from his own robes, which were neatly folded on the ground. The Wizard smeared the blood over the talisman and moments later, the talisman flashed brightly. The talisman had a string attached to it so the Wizard put it around his neck. Without wasting any more time, the Wizard took off Marcus' heir ring and put it on his own finger.

The talisman was something the ingenious and brilliant minds in their group had created with the intention of infiltration missions. The talisman allowed them to fool the Charms placed on an Heir ring for nearly 7 hours. The safe bet was 6 hours, but you could use it for 7 hours if push came to shove. The talisman needed the blood of the original owner of the Heir ring to work and it was only a one-time use artefact. The talisman would break after it reached its time limit and if someone was still wearing the Heir ring when that happened, then the results weren't going to be anything pleasant.

Thankfully, the Ball wasn't going to be 7 hours long. So he would be able to get out of the Black Tower before something like the talisman reaches its time limit. To make the talisman, quite a few rare ingredients were needed, not only that, the process was extremely difficult and time-consuming too. "Good! Remember the time limit, I don't want you anywhere near that ring when the talisman finally breaks" The Witch reminded with a serious look on her face, but she was unable to hide the concern in her voice.

"Don't worry, I will be fine" The Wizard said with a soft smile on his face. The Witch simply gave him a nod while her eyes were filled with worry and concern. Then she finally glanced toward the body of Marcus Rosier.

"Let's go back to the base, for now, there is still more than an hour left before the Ball starts. When are you going to leave?" The Witch questioned the Wizard.

The Wizard thought for a bit. "…I think I will leave after half an hour" The Wizard answered while scratching his chin.

"Hmm… Then let's go now" The Witch said to the Wizard and he simply gave her an understanding nod. The Witch pulled out a stone from one of her pockets and after taping it with her Wand, she dropped it on Marcus' body. Moments later, Marcus' body disappeared as the Portkey activated. Moments later, both the Wizard and the Witch disappeared with a loud crack…

They had to take away Marcus because they couldn't have anyone stumble upon it. Additionally, they also needed to modify his memories after the Wizard returned from the Ball. After all, they could not leave any loose ends. It was going to be a long and tedious task, so they needed quite a lot of time. There was no way that they could have done that inside a dark alley. That is also why they had to take the Heir of the House of Rosier to their base…

<Line Break>

Destiny walked out of the Floo of the Black Tower accompanied by Cassiopeia and Ambika. Destiny expected that she would be turning a lot of heads with her looks and dressing choice and she wasn't disappointed. As soon as the flames disappeared, Destiny found almost everyone present at the Ball staring at her. There was still nearly an hour left before the actual Ball was supposed to start, but the guests have already started to arrive as was expected of them. All of them were gathered in smaller groups as it was the best way to spend your time and while mingling with the others…

Murmurs broke out as soon as Destiny came into everyone's view. Most of the voices were condescending, mocking, or insulting and only a minor part of those voices were laced with outright disgust and the rest were laced with uneasiness. Destiny didn't care much about any of that… She was already expecting a reaction like this and from what she knew about the Purebloods, they tended to forget the shortcomings of a person if that person was strong. Destiny knew that she was strong and was going to prove that at the end of the Ball.

Sirius also noticed the arrival of Destiny, he was also slightly taken aback by her dressing choice, but he was able to quickly gather his bearings. Now that he thought about it, Destiny was never going to wear a dress. He didn't know her well like his niece, but he still knew Destiny quite well. So he should have expected her to wear a suit instead of a dress. Sirius internally shrugged as he put a smile on his face and made his way toward Destiny. He could easily hear the murmurs and he would have grimaced in other cases, but for this case, he decided to ignore their mindless ramblings.

He knew the society of the Purebloods worked, as soon as they realized how strong Destiny was, they were going to try to get into her good graces, completely forgetting about their previous transgressions. Sirius finally arrived in front of Destiny and respectfully bowed his head, shocking everyone present, except for Destiny and Ambika. Even Cassiopeia was taken aback by Sirius' action… By his action, Sirius was telling everyone that Destiny was one of the most honoured guests.

Once again, murmurs broke out, but this time, almost all the voices were laced with curiosity, and worry and the rest of the voices were laced with a hint of fear. Sirius has declared Destiny as one of the honoured guests by his actions so obviously, everyone was worried that they might have insulted the wrong person. Lord Black, who was one of the most powerful men on the face of Magical Britain was paying respect to the crimson-haired woman, which means that the woman must be someone very important.

While a lot of Lords and young Heirs were trying to think how to get into Destiny's good graces, Sirius extended one of his hands toward Destiny while he still had his head respectfully lowered. Destiny extended her hand with a soft smile on her face. Sirius accepted the offered limb and brushed his lips over Destiny's knuckles. Sirius finally let go of her hand and raised his head. "Greetings, milady. Let me show you around" Sirius offered Destiny with a smile and Destiny accepted the offer with a polite smile on her face.

After that, Sirius started to lead Destiny toward the staircase while Ambika and Cassiopeia were trailing behind. Sirius led Destiny, Ambika, and Cassiopeia to the first floor. There was a large balcony on the first floor from where you could easily keep an eye on everyone on the ground floor and that is where the most important guests were going to mingle. Sirius stopped as he slowly turned toward Cassiopeia. "Cassiopeia, why don't you go and check how the preparations are going?" Sirius suggested Cassiopeia while giving her a meaningful look.

Cassiopeia wasn't dumb, she understood what Lord Black was trying to tell her. Destiny also understood what Sirius wanted, so she turned toward Ambika. "Ambika, why don't you accompany Cassi, she will show you around?" Destiny suggested and Ambika would have rolled her eyes at the roundabout approach, but she wasn't alone with Destiny. So, Ambika gave her an understanding nod before she excused herself along with Cassiopeia…

"You wanted to talk?" Destiny questioned Sirius, and the man simply gave her a nod of his head. Without wasting any more time, he led her toward the railings so that he could freely talk with her while keeping an eye on the ground floor. 

"That was a nice touch, I honestly didn't expect you to greet me like that" Destiny pointed out as she arrived in front of the railings with Sirius.

"I thought that it would be appropriate" Sirius said with a nod of his head. "Milady, would you like some wine?" Sirius offered and Destiny simply gave him a nod as she accepted his offer. Sirius snapped his fingers and a house-elf appeared beside them with a soft pop. The house-elf was already carrying a silver with two glasses of wine on top of it. Destiny grabbed one of the glasses while Sirius grabbed the other one. As soon as they were done, the house-elf disappeared with a pop after respectfully bowing his head.

"Did you hire additional house-elves just for the Ball?" Destiny questioned Sirius and the man simply smirked. She had been quite frequent to the Black Tower and this was the first time she saw this particular house-elf.

"Yes" Sirius admitted with a nod of his head as he took a small sip from his glass. 

Destiny nodded her head in understanding. Sirius had invited a lot of guests and managing all of them would have been impossible for just three elves. "Are you sure that they won't be snooping anywhere they shouldn't be?" Destiny asked as she raised one of her delicate brows.

Sirius immediately shook his head in denial. "I have already taken care of that, milady" Sirius revealed and when he noticed the askance look on Destiny's face, he decided to explain. "Milady, even though they are working here, neither they are bonded to me, nor they are keyed to the Wards. I have only lowered the Wards in a few specific rooms, like this Ballroom, the kitchen, the toilets, and the halls. They can move around all these rooms freely, but if any of them tries to enter where the Wards aren't lowered, then they are in for a nasty surprise" Sirius grinned viciously and Destiny hummed in understanding.

"Only, the house-elves bonded to me could cross the Wards without getting harmed, but I will be still alerted by the Wards if they aren't keyed to them" Sirius added and Destiny nodded her head in understanding. Destiny knew that there were a lot of Wards that could stop a house-elf popping, but all of them were quite nasty. 

"That is good… By the way, aren't you worried that you ruined your image by paying me respect in front of everyone?" Destiny questioned as she stared toward the ground floor, a lot of Wizards and Witches were staring at her. Destiny took another sip from her glass as she glanced toward Sirius from the corner of her eyes. 

Sirius nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, that would have been a problem, but you already know that most of them would be bowing their head in front of you by the end of the night" Sirius scoffed with a grin, and Destiny simply inclined her head in agreement. 

"That's true. Hmm… we kind of got distracted. So, what did you want to talk about?" Destiny questioned curiously, she didn't forget that Sirius wanted to talk with him privately…

"Ah… yes. There are a few of my friends I pitched in the idea of our cause and they are ready to listen and they also seemed to be quite eager to join" Sirius said and Destiny cocked her head sideways in interest. Due to the Magical Contract, Destiny was sure that Sirius wasn't able to explain everything in detail, but she was still impressed with Sirius. Destiny knew that she was hampering her recruitment by adding all of these Secrecy Oaths and Contracts, but she knew that those were quite necessary. Her secrecy was more important than increasing their numbers. 

"That's good… Why don't you introduce me to them?" Destiny asked as she looked around the ground floor and that is when a certain someone caught her eyes, but Destiny didn't show any reaction outwardly. After that, she slowly and casually turned around to look at Sirius. 

Before Sirius could say anything, Destiny decided to speak again. "Just around the left side of the bar, there is a group of 7. Don't stare in that direction, and don't make it obvious. There is a boy in a black tuxedo with a blue velvety undershirt. Who is he?" Destiny questioned with a smile on her face, but Sirius couldn't help but notice the clipped tone. 

Sirius would have frowned if Destiny hadn't warned him… Sirius glanced in the direction pointed by Destiny and he immediately realized who she was asking about and Sirius couldn't help but release a sigh… "That is Marcus Rosier, what did he do?" Sirius asked in a tired tone. He was quite familiar with the boy's reputation, the boy was a lustful beast. He would have compared the boy with his brother Phineas, but the boy was way worse than his brother. At least his brother was a womanizer and Marcus Rosier was a lustful beast. There was a huge difference between the two. If his brother was like Marcus, then Sirius would have killed him with his own hands. 

"Ah… Cassiopeia told me that he is a rich spoiled brat" Destiny pointed out with a grin as she turned back toward the railing. 

"Indeed…" Sirius sighed. "I would have preferred if he wasn't here, but the House of Rosier is not only a part of the Dark Faction, they are also a part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. There was no way I could have skipped their Family" Sirius shook his head with a disappointed look on his face. 

"Hmm…" Destiny hummed as she twirled the wine glass in her hands. After a few moments, she gulped the rest of the contents of her glass. 

"Milady, what is the problem if you don't mind me asking… Is there something he did?" Sirius asked with a hint of worry in his voice. 

"Yes, there is a problem, but I want to remain calm, don't do anything, keep acting like nothing has happened" Destiny said in a serious tone, but she didn't lose her smile. There were a lot of people who were still staring at her, she didn't want to give them the impression that she was talking about something important. She wanted to keep everyone thinking that she was talking about something casual. Though Sirius couldn't help but wonder what Destiny wanted to say. He was surprised by the sudden change in her tone, but he was quite good at Occlumency so the expressions on his face didn't change. 

"That boy is not Marcus Rosier, he is an imposter" Destiny revealed with a smile on her face and Sirius had to use all of his willpower to stop himself from looking surprised and shocked. He wanted to glance toward the boy, but Destiny's previous order stopped him. Neither of them said anything for a couple of minutes. Sirius finally gathered his bearings… 

"Milady, I don't mean any disrespect, but how did you discover that he is an imposter?" Sirius questioned carefully, trying not to sound disrespectful and Destiny couldn't help but chuckle softly after she heard Sirius' question. 

"Don't worry, Sirius. I am not going to punish you or anything for being curious and I can certainly understand how you are feeling… An imposter decided to enter your Ancestral home without getting noticed… Not only that, the imposter is parading as the Heir of one of the most prominent Pureblood Families…" Destiny trailed off with a smile. "Whoever he is, he has certainly insulted you, and you are unhappy over the fact that it was me who discovered him, instead of you. As the Lord of the House, the security should have been your responsibility, but a rat has slipped through and you feel like you have been slapped… Did I miss anything?" Destiny questioned with a smirk on her face. 

Sirius clenched his fists tightly and that was the only outward reaction he showed. He didn't know if Destiny was mocking him or what, but he was in no position to refute. After all, Destiny was right about all the facts. So, after a few seconds of palpable silence, he reluctantly nodded his head. 

Destiny's expressions softened and she snapped her fingers and a house-elf appeared with a silver tray with two wine glasses on top of it. Destiny returned her empty glass to the tray. "Elf, bring us some firewhiskey" Destiny said and Sirius simply gave her a grateful look as he placed his own empty glass on the tray. He agreed with Destiny, he needed something hard. 

The elf respectfully bowed its head and popped away. Moments later, the elf returned with the same tray, but this time he had two firewhiskey glasses placed over the tray. They grabbed the glasses and the elf popped away after respectfully bowing his head. 

Destiny took a small sip from her glass. "Don't get me wrong, Sirius. I was not making fun of you… It was an honest mistake. You could have tightened the security, that way, you could have probably stopped the imposter from entering, but we can't say anything for sure… But if you have done that, the other Lords would have thought that you are weak, and someone might have felt insulted too… Nobody could say for sure" Destiny shrugged her shoulders with a longing smile on her face and Sirius paid rapt attention to everything she said. 

"Now, you asked me how I discovered that he is an imposter. To be honest, I didn't know until I heard his name from you… At first, I found his gaze kind of weird… After you greeted me, a lot of young Heirs were staring at me. There is one thing common in all of their gazes, lust, but he was the only one who wasn't staring at me with lust in his eyes. He did try to imitate it, but he simply couldn't imitate it. If he was disgusted then it would have been understandable, but he was staring at me with concern and worry. It was like he was trying to follow all of my actions… He looked like he recognized me like he already knew me, but that should have been impossible since this is the first time I am meeting Marcus Rosier" Destiny explained as she turned around to look at Sirius. 

"I see…" Sirius muttered with a hint of awe in his voice. He couldn't believe that Destiny deduced so much just by looking at the boy for once, but he didn't doubt Destiny. "Milady, what do you want me to do about him?" Sirius asked as he took a sip from his own glass.

Destiny released an amused snort… "For now, nothing. I don't know who it is, but I am sure that he would do anything to escape if he finds out that we are on to him. He might attack someone, or there is a chance that he might take someone as a hostage in desperation and there is always the chance that someone might get injured as he is trying to run away" Destiny pointed out, and even though Sirius wasn't happy with it, he had to agree with Destiny.

"For now, call your bonded house-elves and tell them to keep an eye on him without getting noticed… Hmm, we could use the house-elves to capture him, but once again we don't know if he has any trump cards for such a case" Destiny shook her head in disappointment. Destiny was barely holding herself back from attacking the boy, Destiny had been extremely careful about her secrecy, but whoever this person was, he or she clearly knew her. Destiny was quite displeased with this development… She wanted to rummage through the man's mind, she desperately wanted to find out how he knew about her, but right now, her hands were tied…

If she did try to capture him right now, then, first of all, Destiny would have to ask Sirius to raise the Anti-Apparition and Anti-Portkey Wards as she could not have him running away. She also needed to ask Sirius to lock the Floo, just in case, and as soon as Sirius would have raised the Wards, everyone present would have been alerted. That would have been bad for Sirius' image, not only that, the imposter would have been alerted too. Whoever the imposter was, he would immediately know that his gig was up and that is when he would become the most dangerous. Even if Destiny successfully captured the imposter, then it would be a huge slap on Sirius' face.

As Destiny mentioned, Sirius is the one who is hosting the Ball, he is the Lord of the house and Sirius allowed an imposter to enter his Ancestral home without getting caught… Sirius would become a laughing stock. He would lose all of his credibility as Lord Black… If Sirius could allow an imposter to trespass into his Ancestral home, especially during a special occasion like a Ball, then how could he manage such a huge and respectable Family? Even though Sirius would not lose his position as Lord Black, he would lose his reputation and reputation is everything in Pureblood society. If Sirius lost his reputation, then by extension, the House of Black and all of its members would also lose their reputation. 

After that, it was highly unlikely that Sirius would ever be able to regain the reputation and credibility he lost. Since the Black Family was quite big, Destiny was sure that they would be able to regain their credibility and reputation, but they would have to work up from the bottom… That was going to be quite hectic. Additionally, if Sirius lost his reputation and credibility, then by extension, Destiny would be also losing her credibility, which would hinder her cause and objective. She was using the House of Black, to recruit the Pureblood Families for her cause, so if Sirius lost his reputation and credibility, then who was going to trust her?

Additionally, if she did capture the imposter completely disregarding the House of Black, then she would be losing one of her biggest supporters. Sirius was the one who was paying for the raw materials needed for her castle and Cassiopeia is the one who bought her the land. If she lost their support then she would lose her financial backer and the House of Black is one of the Richest Families in the Magical world. Destiny has also invested quite a lot in their family, she had cast the Fidelius over Cassiopeia's house, and then she had also given the gift of Parseltongue to Cassiopeia. The House of Black was not only her financial backer, they also had one of the biggest libraries. Destiny would never forgive herself for losing that…

Yes, Sirius had signed a Magical Contract, but the Contract did not contain any Loyalty or Fidelity Oaths, in fact, it was just for Destiny's secrecy… So, the House of Black could easily leave her service, and forcing them would be a bad idea… She couldn't control them with just power, she also needed charisma to make sure that they followed her loyally. If she forced them to follow her by Power, then she would be oppressing them and oppression leads to discontent and discontent leads to betrayal. That is how the world worked… Destiny knew that she was strong, but even she wasn't delusional enough to think that she couldn't be harmed or killed. Just a lucky shot and she would be killed…

That is how fickle a human body was… 

Sirius decided to follow Destiny's suggestion and he called one of his bonded house-elves. After casting a Silencing Charm around him, he told the house-elf what to do. Meanwhile, Destiny was also keeping an eye on the boy, discreetly and that is when Destiny noticed the Heir ring on the boy's finger. Destiny internally gaped, how was something like that even possible?? For a moment, Destiny started to wonder if she had been wrong about the whole imposter thing, but one look at the boy's eyes told her that she was right, but how did they do it? How were they able to wear the Heir ring, it should have been impossible!! Even though Destiny was still having doubts in her mind, she decided to keep an eye on the boy.

Since Destiny wasn't planning to attack him, even if Destiny was wrong nobody was going to be harmed if she kept an eye on him and Sirius had also told the house-elves to simply keep an eye on him, nobody was going to get hurt by that even if Destiny turned out to be wrong. "Ah… Sirius, it seems that the stars of the night finally arrived" Destiny grinned as she pointed toward the Floo. Sirius also turned toward the Floo only to find that the members of the newly established Bone Family has finally arrived along with his friend Claiborne and his wife, Dorothy. 

"Ah… excuse me, Milady. I need to go there and greet them. After all, they are the guest of honours" Sirius smiled as he summoned one house-elf to return his unfinished drink. 

"Yes, sure. Don't stop on my account" Destiny said with a smirk and after giving Destiny a nod of his head, he walked away, making his way toward the stairs.

When Sirius finally left, Destiny noticed Cassiopeia and Ambika approaching her from the other side of the balcony. Destiny wanted Sirius to introduce her to the friends he was talking about before they were sidetracked by Marcus Rosier. Even though Destiny wasn't happy with this development, there was not much she could do to change the past… After all, she didn't carry the Time Turner in her person. 

"Ah… the guests of honours are finally here" Cassiopeia said with a click as finally arrived beside Destiny. Then she glanced toward the glass in Destiny's hands. "You know, wine is better for occasions like this" Cassiopeia commented dryly and Destiny simply smirked and then she gulped down the rest of her drink in one go. 

"I like strong things" Destiny grinned as she summoned a house-elf to return the glass. 

"I kind of feel out of the place…" Ambika muttered as she looked around the ballroom. She was holding a glass of champagne in her hands. 

"Me too, my dear. Me too…" Destiny muttered her agreement. This was the first time she was attending a Ball and it didn't take her much time to realize that attending Balls wasn't her thing. Though there was not much she could do even if she didn't like Balls, she knew that she wanted to walk down the path she had been walking, and then she needed to get used to these kinds of things. 

"Come on, Destiny, it is not that bad" Cassiopeia argued back and Destiny practically rolled her eyes. Even though Ambika was the one who started the topic, she decided to ignore the stewing argument. Thankfully, both Cassiopeia and Destiny decided to drop the matter. "Destiny, do yo…" Cassiopeia began to say something, but she was cut off by Arcturus III's arrival.

"Good evening, milady" Arcturus greeted Destiny with a smile on his face. After arriving in front of Destiny, he slowly lowered his head and then he extended his hand toward Destiny, just like Sirius had done. Destiny smiled as she extended her own hand. Arcturus accepted the offered limb and then he brushed his lips against Destiny's knuckles. When he was finally done, he released her hand. After that, Arcturus quickly straightened up as he slowly raised his head. After that, he greeted both Cassiopeia and Ambika.

"Milady, if I am not wrong, then this is your first Ball, right?" Arcturus asked in a respectful tone and after getting a nod from Destiny, he decided to ask what he wanted to ask in the first place. "So, what do you think about the Ball?" Arcturus questioned with a smile and Destiny simply released a tired sigh…

"I realized that this is not my thing if I am being honest…" Destiny trailed off and Arcturus nodded his head in understanding. Even though he had been attending Balls since he was a child, sometimes he found them quite bothersome. On more than a few occasions, Sirius had to mingle with people he didn't like with a smile on his face. 

"I see… Well, what can you do? Balls are a part of Pureblood society…" Arcturus shrugged with a 'What can you do?' look on his face. Destiny couldn't help but chuckle at his words.

"Cousin Arcturus, it seems the Macmillans have finally arrived" Cassiopeia said in an amused tone and Arcturus immediately perked up as soon as Cassiopeia's words registered in his mind.

"Indeed…" Arcturus muttered as he glanced toward the Floo and Cassiopeia wasn't making fun of him. The Macmillans were really here and Melania was also there along with the rest of her Family. Destiny noticed the look in Arcturus' eyes and she couldn't help but grin. 

"If you want, I can ask Sirius to draw a betrothal contract for you. I think he would agree with your choice" Destiny said and Arcturus started to sputter incoherently. This is the first time Arcturus was acting like this and Destiny, Cassiopeia, and Ambika were pretty amused by it. After a few seconds, Arcturus was finally able to regain his bearings. 

"Betrothal? With whom?" Arcturus questioned, looking slightly nervous. He was trying to hide it, but he was clearly nervous. Additionally, he also glanced toward Melania who was also stealing glances of Arcturus from time to time. 

"With Melania, of course. It is clear that the two of you like her, but you might come to regret it if you wait for too long" Destiny pointed out and Arcturus didn't know what to say, so he simply glanced toward Melania and after a few moments, he turned back to look at Destiny. 

"I don't know if she likes me" Arcturus said, looking kind of downcast and as soon as the words left his mouth, Destiny, Cassiopeia, and Ambika released a snort. 

"You are fucking stupid. This is the first time I am seeing her and I already know that she likes you. The way she looks at you is a clear indication" Destiny pointed out and Arcturus looked back at Melania and he found her staring at him. 

"Yes, cousin. If you think that she doesn't love you, then you are clearly stupid" Cassiopeia said with a snort and Ambika simply nodded her head in agreement. She didn't know Arcturus that well, so she refrained from making any comments. 

"I guess…" Arcturus muttered with an unsure look on his face. Destiny realized that Sirius might have trained Arcturus in politics, but he forgot to teach him how to court a woman or how to understand their signals. "Though I don't know if Father would agree with it or not…" Arcturus shook his head. 

"Let me deal with that… Why don't you introduce me to her?" Destiny suggested when she noticed that Melania was already coming upstairs. Arcturus smiled when Destiny told him that she would talk with his Father. Arcturus was sure that his Father would happily accept Melania as his daughter-in-law if Destiny asked him to. 

"Sure… Let me get her" Arcturus said with a nod of his head and then he left to get Melania. 

"This is the first time I saw him like this" Cassiopeia muttered in an amused tone. 

"Yeah, he is completely smitten with her. I never thought that I would see him losing his composure" Destiny added with a grin. 

"Looks like someone else is also smitten with someone" Ambika commented dryly and both Destiny and Cassiopeia turned toward her with confused looks on their faces. Looking at the confused looks of Destiny and Cassiopeia, Ambika decided to elaborate. "Destiny, that boy has been staring at you for quite some time, I wonder how he is going to feel when he finds out that you play for the other team" Ambika said with an amused glint in her eyes. 

Destiny groaned in annoyance when she finally realized who Ambika was talking about. Whoever was posing as Marcus Rosier was a complete amateur. He was continuously staring at her and he wasn't even trying to be discreet or anything. "That is Marcus Rosier, he is a degenerate pervert" Cassiopeia spat out in disgust, she looked like she had stepped over something extremely filthy. 

Destiny was about to tell them why Marcus was watching her, but she saw Arcturus approaching them with Melania in his tow, so she decided to explain later…

<Line Break>

Marcus Rosier, or whoever was posing as Marcus Rosier was reaching his limit. He had decided to infiltrate the Ball so that he could spy on Destiny Grindelwald, but it was becoming kind of difficult for him with each passing second. The Wizard who was posing at Marcus Rosier was cursing his unlucky stars, why the hell did they have to select a spoiled brat like Marcus Rosier?? He felt that it was the biggest mistake of his life… 

"My baby, do you like that girl? I will ask Lord Black to get her for you" A pudgy woman cooed lovingly and the Wizard cringed at the woman's words. 'There will be no Rosier Family to see tomorrow' s sun if you really do that' the Wizard grimaced internally. He was sure that Destiny would kill all the Rosiers if the woman beside him dared to say those words in front of Destiny. The pudgy woman was his mom, technically, she was the real Marcus Rosier's mom. 

"Yes, son. I am Lord Rosier, and if I can't even get a woman for my son, then I am not worthy of my title. She should feel lucky that she has caught the attention of my son" Lord Rosier declared proudly. 'No wonder your son is a spoiled brat, people like them should rot in prison for bad parenting' The Wizard shook his head and decided to take a break. 

"Father, I think I need to visit the washroom" The Wizard said and after getting a curt nod from the man, Marcus Rosier aka the imposter started to make his way toward the bathroom. The Wizard discreetly pulled out his Wand and with a flick of his Wand, he erected a couple of Alert Wards on the door. After entering the bathroom, he quickly made his way toward one of the stalls, and once again, he flicked his Wand, but this time, he erected a couple of Privacy Wards. 

He entered the stall and after putting down the lid of the toilet he sat down. He released a tired sigh and pulled out a hip flask from his robes. After taking a few sips from the flask with a disgusted look on his face, he shoved the flask back inside his robes. He released another sigh and pulled out a mirror from his pocket. Without wasting any more time, he tapped the mirror with his Wand after only a few seconds, a bespectacled Wizard appeared on the other side of the mirror. 

"So, did you find anything?" The bespectacled Wizard on the other side of the mirror asked. 

"Yes, she seems to be quite close to Ambika Rajat and Cassiopeia Black, and as we expected she is quite tight with all the Blacks" The Wizard posing as Marcus Rosier answered. 

"Her closeness to Ambika Rajat and Cassiopeia Black isn't surprising, we already know that she plays for the other team" The Wizard on the other side of the mirror commented dryly. "Find out everything you can about the Blacks, it is going to be very important for us in the future" The bespectacled Wizard added and the imposter could help but groan. 

"Only if our resident Black wasn't so useless!!" The imposter shook his head. 

"Hey! Don't blame him…  He had a hard time getting along with his Family because of his blood-purist and unhinged mother. If he stayed there then he would have lost his mind" The bespectacled Wizard defended their resident Balck, whoever it was. 

"I am not blaming him! I was simply pointing it out" The imposter corrected himself and the bespectacled Wizard simply inclined his head in understanding. 

"Listen, mate, whatever you do, just don't get caught. If you get caught then everything will be over. She will find out about us… Our backgrounds aren't the main problem, the problem is related to our supporters. If she finds out about them, then she will start looking for them and we already know that there are many who would happily support her" The bespectacled Wizard reminded the imposter and the imposter frantically nodded his head in agreement. 

"Yes, yes… I know that. Don't take me for a fool" The imposter retorted and the bespectacled Wizard frowned in disapproval. 

"I am not insulting you, I am just trying to remind you of the risks…" The bespectacled Wizard released a tired sigh. "Perhaps, I went overboard and I am sorry for that. I simply care about you even without all the secrets" The bespectacled man said in a caring tone and the imposter looked slightly guilty after hearing the man's words.

"Okay, do you think I should attend the meeting?" The imposter asked and bespectacled Wizard didn't answer immediately, he frowned, and after thinking for a bit he reluctantly nodded his head, but he didn't look happy.

"You have the Portkey, right?" The bespectacled Wizard asked and after getting a nod from the imposter, he decided to continue. "Good… Don't hesitate to use it at the first sign of anything amiss, after all, with her there, you won't be getting a second chance" The bespectacled Wizard reminded the imposter and the imposter could only nod his head in agreement.

"Remember, don't underestimate her. There is already a chance that she has already discovered you and she might set a trap to capture you. Don't forget. Constant Vigilance!!" The bespectacled man barked loudly and the imposter's eyes twitched in irritation.

"Yeah… yeah… I know" The imposter sighed, but he still nodded his head in understanding. "Listen, I gotta go or the parents of my bodysuit might become worried…" The imposter said and after getting a nod from the bespectacled Wizard on the other side of the mirror, the imposter disconnected the call and then he put back the mirror inside one of the pockets of his robes. After pressing the flush, the imposter walked out of the stall and after washing his hands, he started to walk towards the door, planning to leave the washroom. With a flick of his Wand he dried his hands, with another flick of his Wand, he pushed the door open.

"Fucking finally! I thought you fell asleep inside, and I started to wonder if I have to break into men's loo to capture you or not" The imposter paled in horror when he found Destiny Grindelwald leaning on the wall of the other side. He paled even more, which was supposed to be impossible since he was already white as a sheet when he felt the Anti-Apparition and Anti-Portkey Wards go up. "You should have stayed with your mummy and daddy, imposter!!" Destiny said in an amused tone as she pushed herself off the wall.

The imposter knew that he was fucked… There was no way that he could act his way out of here. Destiny already knew that he was an imposter. "Fuck!!" The imposter gasped in horror and the smile on Destiny's face widened as it slowly turned into a feral grin.

"Fuck, indeed…" Destiny added as she pulled out her Wand…

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