The Betrothal Negotiation
Regulus was confused.
His parents always talked about how purebloods were better.
They were better at magic than the mudbloods.
They were smarter than mudbloods.
They were more sophisticated than the mudbloods.
They were more talented than the mudbloods.
They were just better.
That’s what his parents said anyway.
Well, more his mother said, and his father nodded along.
That didn’t change the fact that they both agreed that mudbloods were indeed inferior to purebloods.
It also wasn’t just mudbloods apparently.
Half-bloods were also seen as inferior. They had “muddied their bloodline” as his mother had put it. That meant that they were inferior and must give their superior’s their due respect. Half-bloods weren’t as bad as mudbloods, but it wasn’t a large gap.
His father had taken him aside after the fact and told him that some half-bloods were worth interacting with. Several famous wizards were half-bloods after all.
His mother however pushed on with her lecturing.
Everyone who wasn’t British was somehow inferior.
That was where Regulus had stopped understanding the lecture. His mother went on and on about how the British wizards were stronger and smarter than the rest. How Hogwarts was the best school in the world and that anyone who didn’t go there was immediately subpar in terms of their education and intellect.
From what he understood of that lecture, he was to avoid anyone who wasn’t British and had attended Hogwarts.
Which was why he was so confused as he sat down for lunch with his parents.
Overlooking the fact that his parents were having lunch together. But more so on who they were having lunch with.
They were having lunch with cousin Corvus’ mother.
His French mother.
Lady Aliénor Isabella Augusta Black, not Aunty Issy, he had learned from that mistake very quickly, was an imposing woman.
She was only half a head shorter than Uncle Alphard, and his uncle was a tall man. She had very nice shoulder length blonde hair and eyes that were light brown. She had what some of the portraits around 12 Grimmauld Place called a “regal face”, and Regulus noted that they said it reluctantly.
She was also smart too. Regulus had seen some of the research she was doing, and it very quickly became something way above his knowledge. Even Corvus had been confused at his mother’s research. Which meant that she was smart, and that contradicted what Regulus’ mother said about only Hogwarts producing smart wizards and witches.
Regulus was also smart enough to realize but not verbally point out the hypocrisy in his parents’ statements.
For all that his parents talked about the British purebloods being the best wizards, he couldn’t help but notice that without his and Sirius’ birth, the family would have been eventually led by cousin Corvus.
Cousin Corvus, who was half French.
In fact, Regulus knew with an unfailing certainty that this was the only reason why Corvus was even in Britain and going to Hogwarts!
Most of his family overlooked Regulus because he was the second son. He was the spare to the heir. All the focus was on his brother Sirius, who hated the attention and responsibility of being the heir, and that left Regulus to fade into the background. It also meant that he happened to overhear several conversations that he shouldn’t have.
Regulus knew that his parents didn’t have a loving relationship. In fact, he was certain that they loathed each other. He also knew that his father was going to be the next Lord Black after Grandfather Arcturus died.
It didn’t take a genius to know that his parents needed an heir of their own to continue the family line. But from what he had overheard from various family members as well as the portraits from both the Black Manor and 12 Grimmauld Place, there was doubt that his parents could even have children.
Obviously in the end it turned out that they could, he and Sirius were living proof. But to hear Portrait Phineas Nigellus put it, there was a real concern at the time. So much so that Grandfather Arcturus had not so kindly asked that Uncle Alphard bring his family, but most importantly his son, to Britain just in case.
Portrait Phineas Nigellus went on to tell Regulus about how mad his mother had been at that.
“She was screaming and raging at Arcturus! HA! I have to say, she used some very creative words to describe your grandfather.”
It was safe to say that there were mixed reactions at cousin Corvus being the new heir. Portrait Phineas Nigellus as well as several other Portrait Lord Blacks were in support of Corvus. Others were vehemently against him being the future Lord Black.
It was a “shitshow” as Corvus put it.
But it all came to an end with Sirius’ birth.
His brother was now a direct line descendant of Grandfather Arcturus and thus he was the new Heir Black.
It was clear that the portraits were divided on their support for Sirius. That divide only widened as the years went by and Sirius became more and more “Gryffindorish” as Portrait Phineas Nigellus had nearly spat out.
Regulus also knew from listening to the portraits that Corvus’ mother had been rather upset at Corvus losing the heirship. It was never openly stated, but the portraits were terrible gossips, and the consensus was that Corvus would have been the better choice.
Regulus chose not to share that bit of information with his mother, for obvious reasons. He didn’t want to incite anymore animosity between his mother and Lady Isabella.
They already basically hated each other.
So, he was confused as to why they were having lunch with Lady Isabella.
Regulus frowned at the fact that no one was talking.
The first course had already been served and was sitting in front of them, but no one had made a move to actually eat. He looked towards his parents to figure out what was going on and had to suppress a sigh as he got his answer.
His mother was in what could only be called a staring contest with Lady Isabella. He was surprised that neither of them had insulted the other yet. Memories of the Yule Holiday Incident were still fresh in his mind.
His father was doing his best to inspect the cutlery. Regulus spared a glance at the forks and spoons and while they were interesting, they weren’t that interesting.
He also noted that there were two empty seats at the dining table.
There was some trivial battle of who was going to break first going on between the women and Regulus couldn’t care less about it. Hopefully Hogwarts was better than this.
He decided to break the silence and grabbed his soup spoon and dug in. Both women didn’t seem to even notice while his father coughed into his hand before also starting to drink the soup.
It was actually pretty good, and Regulus decided that whatever squabble his mother and Lady Isabella were embroiled in didn’t have to ruin lunch.
Corvus said that he personally harbored no ill feelings towards Regulus and Sirius. He also sighed at the fact that his mother was still hung up on the fact that he wasn’t the heir anymore, even though it had been a years old issue by that point. Regulus had been surprised to learn that Corvus didn’t want it anyway, and to hear the stories about the heirship, Regulus didn’t envy his brother in the slightest.
Regulus considered Corvus a friend, and he knew that the feeling was mutual. His cousin was the smartest person he knew and one of if not the most magically powerful. The rest of his cousins liked Corvus, and Regulus didn’t want to be left out.
The only person who didn’t was Sirius.
Regulus had mixed feelings about his brother. Even more so when the news came that he had been sorted into Gryffindor. That had come as a shock and caused so much drama that Grandfather Arcturus had called a family meeting.
He was invited to the meeting of course but decided to listen only. They had received letters from each of the Blacks at Hogwarts.
Andromeda’s letter had put it in the nicest terms. The obvious shock of the student population wasn’t unexpected. The fact that Sirius was already making friends with the kids from the light side families was, however. Particularly the Potter heir.
Narcissa’s letter had been less than pleasant about the whole thing. Slytherin House had seen it as a betrayal, plain and simple. Sirius was the Heir Black, and every Black heir went to Slytherin. Narcissa also alluded to the fact that some of Corvus’ plans for Slytherin House being ruined. She also wrote about how Sirius was already causing trouble. It didn’t paint Sirius in a good light.
It had also sparked some talks of disownment amongst the portraits who were present at the meeting. It was also one of the few times that the portraits weren’t outright ignored. There had never been a Gryffindor Lord Black.
Before they got completely off track, Uncle Alphard asked about what Corvus’ letter said.
It turned out that Corvus hadn’t written a letter. He had instead added a postscript on Narcissa’s. To add to that, he had only written two words.
“Damn timeline.”
That had gotten the desired reaction. Everyone knew about Corvus and the timeline. Most chalked it up to the black madness, just one of Corvus’ eccentricities. Regulus himself wasn’t totally convinced, but he kept that thought to himself as the rest of the family squabbled. The topic of Corvus’ madness came of rather often, once every few months, but it usually resulted in nothing.
In the end, it was decided that there would have to be an intervention during the next holiday.
Regulus had expected nothing to come out of it and was surprised when he was proved slightly wrong. Sirius wasn’t disowned and was actually saved from it by Corvus. Though their cousin also chastised Sirius for joining the lions as well as going against the family.
That holiday hadn’t been a great one.
The soup dish was finished, though his mother and Lady Isabella hadn’t even touched theirs, and they moved onto a light salad.
His father had given up caring about what the women did at this point as well and the two of them focused on their salad.
They were thankfully interrupted by the late comers to this lunch.
“Pardon the tardiness folks. We got held up by some French officials and would you two quit that.”
Regulus turned to see Uncle Alphard as well as another witch walk into the dining room. He didn’t know who the other witch was, but she did look slightly familiar. If he had to guess, she was around his age, though why she was here was still a mystery.
His mother and Uncle Alphard’s wife both sneered at each other before breaking off the battle of wills that they were holding. Regulus watched as his mother put on the act of the pureblood witch. Acting as if she was better than everyone else here. He also saw Uncle Alphard give Lady Isabella a smile and a kiss on the cheek, which was returned in kind.
That was something that a not so small part of Regulus envied. Parents who didn’t loath each other.
It was clear that Corvus’ parents at least liked one another. From what he knew, they didn’t constantly argue. Nor did they sleep in separate rooms. They smiled at one another, and it wasn’t uncommon for them to greet each other with a kiss on the cheek. They were nice to each other.
“Everyone, this is Angelica, our niece. She’ll be visiting for a couple days.”
Regulus looked towards the girl and could immediately see the similarities between Angelica and Lady Isabella. The hair, eyes, and face were nearly identical. She basically looked like a miniature of Corvus’ mother.
He watched as aunt and niece greeted each other with a hug and a peck on the cheek before Angelica turned towards the rest of them.
“Hello everyone.”
She had a French accent as well. She said her introduction with smile and either didn’t notice or didn’t care about the tension in the room.
For that, Regulus already liked her.
“Hello, I’m Regulus.” He said in French as she took the seat next to him.
Angelica smiled at him, and he tuned out the rest of the room. It didn’t matter what his parents or Uncle Alphard and Aunt Isabella were saying. He was just met by the most beautiful smile he had even seen, and he was fairly sure his face was flushed red.
“You speak French? I think we’re going to be the very best of friends.”
Okay, now he was positive he was flushed red.
It was as if the rest of the room didn’t matter.
Who cared about the not-so-subtle argument that the adults were having. Regulus had just met his best friend.
She liked to read like he did.
She liked to experiment with magic like he did.
She wasn’t obsessed with quidditch like everyone else seemed to be.
She wasn’t as self-centered as the other pureblood witches he’d met.
She was open minded and kind.
Regulus didn’t notice the way that Lady Isabella was smiling at the two of them, or how his mother was scowling in turn.
He didn’t notice any of it and he was pretty sure that Angelica didn’t either.
Alphard had to hide his smile behind his cup of tea, and he was pretty sure he was failing at it.
He also saw Orion trying and failing to do the same thing.
It had been a while since he had seen Orion truly smile. His cousin needed an escape from his wife and Walburga needed to get that stick out of her arse.
Alas, that was for another day. Today was for the two lovebirds.
Alphard cast a quick glance towards the kids and indeed, they were completely enraptured by each other. Lovebirds if he ever saw a pair, stuck in their own little world. It made what they were doing here all the more important.
He also realized that he owed his son one hundred galleons. That fact only made him smile more.
“You wily bastard.” Alphard muttered to himself.
He had initially been uncertain about plan to get the two kids together. At first all he saw was the many differences that they had. The different home lives, educations, and cultural backgrounds.
Corvus, and may Merlin bless his son, had argued otherwise. Angelica was different compared to the rest of the Dugommier daughters. She was more reserved while the others were outgoing. He had used those muggle terms, “introvert and extrovert”, and claimed that pairing her with Regulus would be perfect.
Alphard doubted that claim, but his son had managed to get his mother onboard with the plan and at that point, resistance was futile.
Corvus had been so confident that he had bet- er… speculatively invested on the pairing to work out.
The evidence that he was right sat directly to Alphard’s left.
Wily bastard indeed.
“How can you not see that the two of them would be perfect for each other?” Isabella said and Alphard refocused his attention on the conversation.
“You cannot possibly think that I would agree to a betrothal. It is too early for Regulus. And how are they perfect for each other? They’ve only just met, and things could change.” Walburga said in that same voice she’d use to show that she thought she was right.
“Well, I have never seen a more well-suited pair.”
“Also, dear sister, Regulus isn’t that young for a betrothal. Our dear brother had one since he was eight.” Alphard said.
Bringing up Cygnus was a wild card. Their brother was… uninhibited with his life. Becoming a father at thirteen certainly didn’t change that fact. Nor did only having daughters.
“That was a different time, and our father needed to secure those alliances.” That was a weak defense if Alphard ever heard one.
“What better way to secure an alliance than to strengthen our own with the Dugommier family. They are one of the most powerful in France.”
“Walburga, they do have a point.” Orion said and shifted in his seat.
“We don’t need the French Orion. It’s better off that he marries British.”
Alphard moved to defend his wife, but she beat him to it.
“I suppose that is all he can hope for. You are ready to just throw him to the lions.”
Damn, he should write that down.
“How dare you insinuate such lies. Regulus will be a Slytherin.” Walburga’s pureblood mask was slipping a little.
“I’ve told no lie. I just repeat the facts that I’m given. So far, your parenting has already produced one Gryffindor. Who’s to say you won’t go two for two?”
The sound of a chair scrapping against the marble floor filled the room.
“Walburga. Walburga! Sit down, we are at lunch! Now, let us all be civil and continue with the betrothal negotiations.” Orion had to physically restrain Walburga from rising from her seat.
Isabella by contrast hadn’t so much as moved to stand. She also had a smirk on her lips. It was in these moments that Alphard wondered if his son got the madness from him or his mother. Playing with fire and all.
“I will not negotiate anything with this frog eater.”
“And I will not entertain the British hag.”
“It matters not what you think Walburga, this is but a courtesy after all.” Alphard said with a sigh.
“What are you talking about?”
“Lord Black has the final say in all betrothals for any member of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. We must all abide by his decision.”
“Arcturus would never agree.”
“Oh? You are so certain?” Isabella said.
“Why wouldn’t he agree Walburga. Regulus isn’t even the heir. What does it matter who he marries, so long as she’s a pureblood?” Orion said. The words calmed Walburga slightly.
“If it doesn’t matter who he marries, then he can marry a fine British pureblood.”
“You would subject your own son to a loveless marriage? Walburga, we both know that most betrothals are mere contract agreements, not actual marriages. Regulus is obviously smitten with Angelica. Just look.” Alphard said and the four of them turned to look at the two kids.
The two kids were indeed smitten, there was no denying it. They were in an intense conversation about transfiguration and the limits of the magic. The food was completely forgotten to them, and it was as if the rest of the room didn’t exist.
“We’ll bring it to Arcturus, and he can be the final decision, as Lord Black.” Orion said and stuck his hand out.
“Agreed, he has the final decision, as Lord Black.” Alphard said and clasped his hand with Orion.
Hopefully Arcturus would make the right decision.
For Regulus’ sake if nothing else.