Practical(le)Strangers

[Lucius Lestrange]

• "If I am overly rigid, dear sister, I assure you that it is only to counterbalance your own fluidityùno doubt you will be hard pressed to find anyone to debate such a necessity," Lucius pointed out lazily before taking a bite from his meal. Though he did enjoy how unnerved Mariana made his wifeùanyone, reallyùhe quickly began to realize that causing Alexandria such distress came at a rather antagonistic price, and the wizard made a mental note not to repeat such a blunder in future without Olivia present to moderate his youngest sister; for some baffling reason he could not comprehend, the two were surprisingly close in spite of their drastic differences.
  
  Without further discussion and oblivious to any conversations at the table in which he was not deliberately involved, Lucius rose from his seat, goblet of wine in hand though it did not yet leave its place on the stainless table cloth. Where many would have cleared their throat to demand attention, his mere presence as the head of the family commanded such a response in and of itself, and so he allowed only the briefest of moments to follow before he spoke. "It is, as you all know, a rarity to have our family so gathered, particularly during the academic yearùwhile I do regret that some of our other relatives were unable to attend," Olivia in particular, "it...pleases me that some of our extended family has been able to make an appearance as well." He paused, for effect.
  
  "Ours is an old family, a respected family, and the responsibilities that accompany that have never been unknown to any of you. Cornelia and Seneca have had their matches made for years, but that much was simply within the familyùI announce to you today that Claudius has been betrothed to a Miss Gemma Dearborn, whose mother is a friend to Mrs. Lestrange. The announcement shall follow in the paper, in a few days' time."

  

[Claudius Lestrange]

Oh how he hated when his father used his full name. Claude could feel everybody's eyes on him and he wasn't sure how to react. He knew the announcement had been coming, he had been told first thankfully otherwise his outraged shock would have been written as clearly on his face as it had been when his mother had told him about the engagement. Now, he remained impassive, neither smiling nor grimacing, though he would sincerely like to do the latter.

Listening as his father gave his speech, it took quite a hefty amount of will power not to roll his eyes. Lucius was far too used to and good at giving speeches, using drama to add to the flair. It was not a skill Claude had inherited from his father and that was okay by him. He had no reason to be exactly like his father. Even though he'd found a job in the ministry, Claude had chosen something very different from his father in regards to work and that was a wonderful thing. The Lestrange name was enough in some respects, but for Claude he just wanted to feel like he'd done something worthwhile with his life.

He wasn't sure if he'd been fearing this family announcement or the official announcement in the paper more, but here he was feeling rather awkward just sitting there. Claude had never really liked being the center of attention, preferring to leave that to his sisters. Forcing a small smile, he raised his glass in toast. He couldn't come up with anything to say and he dreaded the small talk that would no doubt erupt in less than a minute's time.

  

[Seneca Lestrange]

Oh, how much she loathed her abilities when they went out of control! Seneca closed her eyes and tried to make her hair brunette again, but it seemed that it refused to become any darker. It had a lovely colour, similar to her mother's, but Seneca did not like being the freak of the family. When Cornelia called her strange, Seneca blushed sligthly and turned her eyes to her plate.

Only when her father spoke she dared to remove her eyes from her meal. She blushed once more when he mentioned her and Cornelia's names and then turned her eyes to Claude when their father announced that he was betrothed to some Miss Dearbon. Seneca examined her brother for a while, unsure if she had to be happy or excited about that fact. Claude certainly did not seem extremly merry, so Seneca decided to not show too much enthusiasm.

tag: family. outfit: this. notes: .

  

[Tiberius Lestrange]

Tiberius barely slowed his eating for Lucius' announcement, just enough to be polite and non-distracting, since the rest of the family was looking up at Lucius expectantly. Claudius had stopped eating, and looked a bit uncomfortable; and when Tiberius heard the contents of his father-figure's announcement, it was easy to see why.

"Congratulations, Claude," he said when the father had finished his speech. The news made Tiberius a tad uncomfortable, honestly, though he could not say why. The girls, as stated, had been betrothed for ages. Perhaps Tiberius hadn't realized that the males of the family might also be subjected to arranged marraiges, but then, what did he care? Having something arranged would be much easier than persuing someone himself, and doubtless Lucius was much wiser than he was in these respects. If Lucius was arranging matches, the likelihood that Tib would end up with a woman like the Mouse was high, and that was exactly what he wanted. Some pretty, fertile pureblood woman without much capacity for thought or dissention.