|
||||||||
|
||||||||
Author: Mullvaney Story: No Devil or Redeemer Rating: Everyone Setting: Pre-OotP Status: WIP Warning: none Reviews: 7 Words: 20,150
Merlin's Way was a wide, paved avenue bordered by the homes of well-to-do wizarding families. Down the center was a broad, park-like band of grass and trees, with benches, fountains and flowerbeds scattered about in it. This early in the year, the fountains were not playing, but the flower beds were filled with Crocuses and Snowdrops, creating a haze of purple, gold and white over the sere grass. It was a particularly fine day, some fortnight after Idola Black's grand musical evening. Lucrezia was supposed to be tutoring Edwilda in music; instead she was gazing out the window, watching the house-elves prune the rose bushes. She sighed heavily, wishing that she were out walking. She winced as Edwilda's voice faltered alarmingly. "Edwilda, darling, that's enough for today; I think your voice is getting tired." Lucrezia stroked her sister's curls. "If you want, and mother says you may go, I will walk down to the Potter's with you." "Ooooo, mother, please?" Edwilda asked prettily, dimpling for good measure. "Certainly child, you needn't beg. Be sure to wear a shawl, and a hat. Both of you." She smiled fondly at them, "Now come give me a kiss, and please come home before lunch." Both girls ran to kiss their mother, one on either cheek, and, in a flurry of shawls and pink bonnet-ribbons, they flew out of the house. Once they were in the street, Edwilda took Lucrezia's hand and skipped along, forcing Lucrezia to walk very quickly, kicking her skirts and laughing. The sun shone brightly, warming their faces, and the earth in the gardens, so that the air was heavy with the scent of it. The trees were beginning to show a pink haze at the tips of their branches, and the sparrows had returned to flit and twitter in the trees. Lucrezia closed her eyes and tipped her face up to the sun, filling her lungs with the warm, moist air. "Miss Gaunt? Miss Gaunt! Good morning to you!" Lucrezia stopped, forcing Edwilda to skip around her in a small arc. There, hovering over the avenue on a majestic flying carpet, were Idola and Romanus Black. "Stop, Edwilda!" she muttered, "look who's here." Edwilda looked, blanched, and dropped a deep curtsy. Lucrezia likewise curtseyed, adding, "Good morning, Mrs. Black, Mr. Black." "I trust that you and the younger Miss Gaunt are enjoying the fine weather?" Idola Black asked politely, a twinkle in her eye. "Yes, Mrs. Black, spring is such a lovely season." Lucrezia's dignified tone was a bit spoiled by her being slightly out of breath. "Indeed it is. And you, child?" she addressed Edwilda, who stared back at her owlishly. "Oh, yes, Ma'am, it's the finest day there has been for such a long time!" and she curtseyed again. "I completely agree, child!" she laughed merrily, then addressed Lucrezia. "Miss Gaunt, would you come for lunch today? It has been a little while since I had a visit from you." "Of course. It has been a while since we visited." Lucrezia had gone to see Mrs. Black a few times since the musical soiree. The elderly lady had been kind, quick witted, and a joy to talk with, but she had shown no signs of the gimlet she had been that night. "Very well! I shall expect you at two o'clock." She turned to Romanus. "Romanus, darling, why don't you accompany the misses Gaunt on their walk? I'm sure they would enjoy your company." Romanus obediently bid his mother good-bye, and descended from the carpet. He offered Edwilda his arm with a crinkle-eyed smile; she dimpled and took it with a curtsey. They walked the rest of the way to the Potter's house, engaged in a competition to see who could spot the most varieties of birds. Edwilda won handily, and they left her with Delilah Potter, smug in the knowledge that she had bested two adults. "Not many children have such vast knowledge of any subject, let alone Ornithology." Romanus remarked dryly, offering her his arm. "It must be a trait of your family to acquire large amounts of knowledge. Don't you worry that your head will fill to bursting?" "No," Lucrezia replied airily, taking his arm as they walked, "I know of no Gaunt whose head has burst from knowledge. Edwilda has been studying birds since last summer. She had been raising fairies on the garden, until there were hordes of them. It got so we couldn't sleep at night because of all their little lights flitting around. Mother Vanished them, and Edwilda has studied birds ever since. She doesn't devote half the effort she spends on birds to her other studies." Romanus laughed, "I remember, when I was a child, I was convinced that I could turn mud into pudding, if I just found the right Transfiguration spell. I would create mud by the bucketful, and try various spells I found. My brother was very helpful; he and my cousins were always 'finding' spells for me to try. None of them ever worked of course, I suspect they were making them up. I filled up rolls and rolls of parchment with my notes before my mother forced me to stop; she said that if there was a way to turn mud into pudding, someone would have discovered it years ago, and it was time for me to stop ruining my clothes." "Always the Theorist!" Lucrezia laughed, "Speaking of experiments, how is your current work going? Your mother told me, at her party, that you are a student of Thaumaturgy. Why haven't you told me about this interest of yours?" She held her breath, hoping she hadn't angered him. She had patiently waited for the right moment to ask him: now, they were completely alone, with no chance of being overheard. "Mother--" He chuckled then, and she resumed breathing, knowing he wasn't angry. He was silent for a long moment before he answered her. "I do study Thaumaturgy. You are familiar with what it is?" She nodded. "I knew you would be. I haven't told you before for many reasons. It is not really accepted, in scholarly circles, as worthy of study. You have such a formidable mind, I was afraid at first you would scoff at me. Once I realized you wouldn't, there never seemed to be a good moment when we could talk privately. We've always been together in a crowd, and if someone–indiscreet--heard me describing my experiments, it might become disadvantageous to my business dealings. Not to mention compromising the reputation of my family. Surely you can understand the attitude certain people would have towards such . . . ill-regarded practices." He looked at her pleadingly, and she wondered if he thought she was angry with him. "Of course, " she waved a hand in a dismissive gesture, "That is why I waited until now to ask you. Imagine what would happen if Aurore Long- oh Weasely, now, overheard us . . ." Lucrezia shuddered. "Is there a particular spell you are working on right now? Or an Experiment, or process?" "I'm working on a spell right now that combines a potion, a Transfiguration, and Divination with the principles of Newton; it turns coal into diamonds," he paused to grin at her, lowering his voice before he continued. "If I succeed, we can tell everyone; they'll be tripping over one another to gain our favor." "Wouldn't that be tedious!" Lucrezia wrinkled her nose, and then hurriedly smoothed her face. "Oh, my. Look who it is." She could see, coming around the corner, William and Aurore Weasley, and Morganna Goyle. Artemisa was with them, looking unhappy. When she caught sight of Lucrezia ad Romanus, she hurried ahead, clasping Lucrezia's hands and kissing her cheek. "I'm so glad to see you! They caught me coming out the door, and insisted I go with them. I've been walking with them for half an hour! May I say, marriage has not improved Aurore's conversation. " She turned to Romanus, as the rest of the group caught up with her "Hello, Mr. Black, I trust you are well this fine day?" "Yes, good morning, Mr. Black, how are you?" Morganna simpered. Lucrezia wished she would stop making up to Romanus; it was obvious he had no interest in her. "I am very well, thank you Miss Malfoy, Miss Goyle. Congratulations to you, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley!" The next few minutes were spent congratulating the Weaselys on their recent marriage. When they resumed walking, Morganna managed to get Romanus's arm, sighing and fluttering all the while. Aurore looked back and smirked at Lucrezia, as if she had arranged the whole thing. Lucrezia and Artemisa had no choice but to hurry along in their wake; the Weasleys set a brisk pace. Romanus looked miserable; he glanced back at Lucrezia with an apologetic look while Morganna nattered away at him like a Magpie. William and Aurore were conversing quietly; Aurore would smirk at them occasionally. "Aurore seems to think she's outmaneuvered you," whispered Artemisa, "What do you think?" "I could just leave things as they are; Romanus is thoroughly bored with Morganna already. The more she simpers and sighs at him, the more disgusted he will become." Lucrezia frowned, "However, Aurore and Morganna think they've executed a coup. I can't bear to let them think they've bested me!" "Aurore is leaving for the country in a week; Morganna is too stupid to be bothered with. When you are married to Romanus Black, all their scheming will be for this," Artemisa snapped her fingers, "and then you can be smug. Why waste the effort?" "Because I have the superior intellect," Lucrezia whispered fiercely, "and I will not let them think they are smarter than I; not even for a minute! Now," she raised her voice, so that all could hear, "did you read the article in the paper this morning, about the syndicate that is backing the effort to bring large flying carpets to the colonies?" "Yes," Artemisa replied, "I did. What of it?" She looked at Lucrezia quizzically. "Do you think their scheme will work?" Lucrezia gave Artemisa a significant look, then glanced quickly at Romanus Black. Artemisa looked, too; he seemed to be trying to listen to them, while still appearing to pay attention to Morganna. "I suppose it will work; it's a very simple plan, and much less dangerous than transporting goods in ships. Yes, I'm sure of it, the scheme is genius." Artemisa nodded, then winked at Lucrezia. Romanus had ceased to even pretend to listen to Morganna; now William Weasley was interested, as well. "Are you talking about the scheme to move goods from India across the American continent on large flying carpets?" "Yes," Lucrezia replied, "do you think it will work?" "As Miss Malfoy said; the scheme is genius. Because America is so sparsely populated, there are no Muggles about to see; the goods could be flown across country in broad daylight, and high enough to be out of danger from threats on the ground. I myself would like to get involved in it." William seemed relieved that the conversation had turned from gossip to commerce. "Forgive me for disagreeing," Romanus interjected, "but the native peoples of America have their own, ancient magical traditions, and I can't imagine them allowing great loads of foreign goods to fly over their heads . . ." The rest of the walk was spent in lively debate about the rights of the natives of the Americas to deny the transportation of goods across the continent. Aurore and Morganna, not having read the papers, remained silent; Morganna pouting and kicking her skirts, Aurore shooting murderous looks at Lucrezia, who merely smiled smugly. ~*~ Lucrezia dressed carefully for her luncheon with Idola Black, in cream silk robes with tiny vines, roses and snakes embroidered all over them. She pinned the high neck of the robes shut with a large Ivory cameo depicting the Furies persecution of Orestes. It was a beautiful piece, framed in gold set with emeralds. It had belonged to her grandmother Peverell, and it looked particularly well with her robes. Mignonette dressed her hair into a loose Chignon, and she was done. She looked in the mirror and sighed. She looked nice, pretty, even, but she was beginning to dislike getting dressed up and going out. She had been to countless balls and dinners and outings, wasted months that could have been better spent studying, and she was still not even engaged. More disturbing even was the fact that there was no one she wished to marry, save Romanus Black. She couldn't remember when Romanus had become her only choice; perhaps it had been when he had not flinched upon hearing of her studies, or when he had played his Lute so beautifully, or later, when he had kissed her . . . She could feel herself blushing, and pushed that memory out of her head. Anyhow, the kiss now seemed to mean nothing, as Romanus had treated her as if she were his favorite cousin ever since. Perhaps she could convince his mother to apply some pressure . . . she would have to be careful; Mrs. Black should think it was her own idea, she would be very angry if she realized Lucrezia was trying to manipulate her. ~*~ The Morning Room at 12 Grimmauld place was a warm, lovely place. The walls were dove-grey, with elaborate white crown and foot molding, which was repeated around the doors and windows. At one end of the room, large glass doors let onto a loggia, which in turn let onto a rose garden, just starting to turn pink. At the other end was a huge fireplace of white marble, with a settee and chairs of gilded wood with pink velvet cushions gathered around it. The room also contained an enormous secretary painted with huge roses; sleepy, painted bees bumped around them, creating a faint buzz that could be heard during lulls in the conversation. Idola Black and Lucrezia sat at a small, round table, set near the doors to take advantage of the view of the gardens. A house-elf cleared the remains of their lunch; another replaced it with tea and cakes, as Mrs. Black told Lucrezia about Romanus's childhood antics. " Romanus's cousin had given him a spell she had made up, and convinced him that it was certain to turn mud into pudding. I found him in the garden, with the washtub filled to the brim with mud, and him covered in it crown to heel. He was dressed in his best robes and my best hat, chanting nonsense words and just about to throw a five-stone cone of sugar into the tub. This, when I was expecting a group of notable ladies, including the wife of the head of the Wizengamot, for lunch!" she stopped for effect, her vague eyes dancing. "Oh, my," Lucrezia laughed, "this is much more interesting than the story he told me. What did you do?" "Oh, I vanished the mud, and told him that if it were possible to turn mud into pudding, someone would have done it a long time ago. I sent him for a bath, and told him he could go to the kitchen and learn how to make real pudding from the kitchen elves. After he scraped the ruined parts off the cone of sugar. He can still make an excellent pudding, when he wishes." Idola laughed, then sighed, "Ah, he was such a curious child, always inventing and experimenting." "It would seem he still is-" "He still is what?" Romanus interrupted from the doorway. "Romanus!" his mother cried delightedly, "I was just telling Miss Gaunt the story of your trials of mud and pudding." "Indeed, Mr. Black, you did not tell me you learned to make real pudding in the bargain," Lucrezia teased. "Yes, I make a lovely pudding; I will make one, next time you come to lunch." He smiled his crinkle-eyed smile at her. Laughing, Lucrezia turned to Mrs. Black "You must have me again soon, then, Mrs. Black, else Mr. Black will forget his promise. I would try his magnificent pudding." "Indeed, I shall," Mrs. Black replied. Lucrezia noticed that the vague, merry look had let her face. In its place was the measuring, knowing look she had worn when they had first met. "I will leave you two ladies to your stories, then. Good day to you both." Romanus leaned over and kissed his mother's cheek, then smiled and bowed to Lucrezia and left the room. Mrs. Black busied herself with teapot for several minutes. Lucrezia was beginning to think that she had imagined the change in her, when she spoke. "You are in love with my son, Miss Gaunt." She said, pouring tea into Lucrezia's cup. Her voice was quiet and steady: not accusatory, but also lacking the laughter it had held earlier. Lucrezia bent to add sugar to her tea. It was not a question, but she would have to answer anyway; she would not be able to deflect Idola Black with a witty remark. There was nothing for it but to brazen it out. She took a sip of tea to steady her nerves. "Yes, Mrs. Black; I am. Forgive me, but I had assumed you knew." She took another sip of tea; her eyes never leaving Idola's, though it took every bit of strength she could muster. Finally, the old woman looked out into the garden. "I suppose I did. You would not be the first young woman to fall in love with him." Her eyes returned to Lucrezia's, "Romanus is charming, and handsome, even so most eventually find his intensity distasteful, even frightening." "I am not afraid of Romanus's intensity. It distinguishes him from other men." She met Mrs. Black's gaze again. In for a Knut . . . "Truly, child? You are such a young woman to be so determined; and Romanus is closer in age to your father than he is to you." She studied Lucrezia for a long, long moment. "He admires that determination, your strength, and your mind." "I admire the same qualities in him." Lucrezia was finding this conversation difficult to endure; she did not trust this aspect of Mrs. Black's personality at all. "As you said, many women have fallen in love with Mr. Black. I've seen them flock around him, all aflutter. He does not return their attentions, and they lose interest. Yet he seeks out my company." "And if he continues to treat you as if you were merely friends? How long are you willing to wait?" Idola looked at her shrewdly, "How long can you afford to wait, child? Rumor has it that the income left to you by your grandparents is gone if you do not marry." Lucrezia had all she could do to answer coolly, "If I should lose my legacy, then it will go to my sister;" She took a sip of tea, and got a mouthful of dregs. She had no choice but to swallow them. "I will remain in my parents' house until I marry, whenever that may be. I would rather wait than accept a bad situation." She gave Mrs. Black her own shrewd look, "Romanus is the only Black family heir; he needs to marry, and produce one, or your family will not continue." Idola looked at her sharply, as if she had not really seen her before. The silence stretched for several long minutes, each woman studying the other, neither willing to look away. Then, Mrs. Black's face softened a bit. She set her teacup down, an old, faded woman again. "Wait, then, it is your choice. But do not expect my assistance." She sighed and leaned back in her chair. "I cannot force him to marry you or anyone else. I tried to, years ago, and he fled to the colonies. I could not affect his decision then, and I cannot now, either. Eventually, he may realize that he is lonely, and that he needs you. If you can wait until then." "I do not expect you to help me; Romanus should reach the decision by himself. I will wait as long as I must." She rose, and gathered her shawl. "A solitary life doesn't seem very bad, compared to an unhappy marriage. Good day, Mrs. Black. I truly enjoyed our afternoon together," she half-lied. "As did I, child. We are not so different, you and I, nor do we have dissimilar goals. You must come to lunch again soon; Romanus did promise you a pudding." She smiled wanly. "Coquette will show you to the Apparition chamber." She took a tiny bell out of her pocket and rang it. A house elf appeared next to her with a soft pop. "Good day, Miss Gaunt. Please remember what I've said." "I will," Lucrezia said gravely, as she followed the elf out of the room.
|