First Impressions

Summary: A re-telling of "Pride and Prejudice" with a twist. With no daughter for an heir, Gentle-lady Mrs Lupin and her husband have their share of troubles. Will the arrival of the wealthy Mr Draco Malfoy and his friend Mr Snape help or hinder Mr Lupin's goal to find acceptable marriages for his 5 sons? (Warning - many canons will NOT be their typical pairings/ages in order to accommodate for the changes I've made to the story!) Pairings: SS/RL, HP/DM, RW/HG, other Canons - OCMs - OCFs

A/N: Having been ill recently has given me more downtime then usual, though luckily that's prime time for me to come up with way too many plot-bunnies. I know I still have Endgame and A New Life out there, but right now my inspirations aren't calling me towards them, and if it's one thing I've learnt over the years, when the mood strikes elsewhere – jump on it. Anyway, after much debate over which idea to run with this is what I settled on …

This is a twist on the tale of "Pride and Prejudice" in which males, unless they are born wealthy and/or privileged, are of little consequence. In turn females are the ones of importance in nearly everything. Marriage between two males or two females is considered acceptable, with children born to them via surrogates of proper birth. Therefore many of the roles in the book are reversed, and some names are changed to accommodate both the P&P and HP worlds.

At any rate, to suit my writing whims I am taking what I feel are the best bits from the book, as well as the various film/telly adapations and re-writing them as I see fit (which of the 3 versions I have seen the 2005 film remains my favourite, with my 2nd being the Mini-Series with Colin Firth). I adore reading and writing "period pieces" and I hope you'll also enjoy Jane Austen's classic epic from an entirely different perspective. Happy reading!

Chapter One: In Want Of A Good Match

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman or man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a good husband or wife.

Mr Lyall Howell had been fortunate enough to marry well, and it did not bother him in the fact that almost all the things he would come into possession of upon his marriage to the Gentle-lady Hope Lupin would become entailed to their future heir. But despite this, Ms Lupin had been generous and kind in their courtship; and since their wedded vows when Mr Howell took her name upon his own she had treated him well, and was attentive and loving as any wife could be.

There would be only one small concession to their wedded bliss – as Mrs Lupin's mother and her mother before her, etc. had done for many hundreds of years, the couple required a daughter (or indeed several should it be favourable) to pass on Mrs Lupin's estate and fortunes. A daughter and heir would insure that he and his wife would have their future, and indeed all of their offspring's futures, well in hand.

Within the span of their three and twenty years of marriage, however, fortune did not smile upon them. Lady Fortune's haughty displeasure towards the Lupins, for whatever reasons the two could never understand fully, provided the couple with only sons. Five sons in point of fact. Harry was the first to arrive, follow soon by Remus, Peter, Sirius, and finally, James.

As the boys grew older, though they were brought up as the sons of a proper Gentle-lady, it was made perfectly clear that their futures were not to be well off. Therefore not a day went by that the nature of Mr Lupin was frought with worry and stress, until the poor man's nerves after twenty years was as delicate as a rosebud in the days before blooming. Today, however, was to be a good day, for news of the most important kind had reached his ears. As soon as the servants had cleared breakfast from the table, and the children occupied elsewhere, he immediately set upon his wife to deliver his news.

'My dear Mrs Lupin,' Mr Lupin began as he turned in earnest to his wife, 'have you heard that Netherfield Park has been let at last?'

Now Mrs Lupin cared for her sons greatly, even if at times she felt some of them a bit silly and contrite in their behaviours. Of all five of her children she cared most for her eldest sons, and did in fact hope to make them good marriages, but not if it would inconvenience her too much. She knew that having no direct heir meant that any dowry would be meagre, although her husband had much grander designs for them despite this lack of fortune. The tone in her husband's voice now she knew well enough; however, she resigned herself not to reply to his query quite yet which, as she expected, did not do well for him.

'But it has!' Mr Lupin insisted, his voice growing a bit louder. 'I heard the particulars from Mrs Long as she passed the house earlier. Do you not wish to know who has taken it?'

'You wish to tell me, therefore I have no objections to hearing it,' she replied.

'Well then, Mrs Long says that a young man from the North of England, who holds a large fortune I might add, came down this Monday in a chaise and four. He was so delighted with the place he immediately agreed to let it, and it is said he will arrive before Michaelmas. I hear that some of his servants are even to arrive by the end of next week!'

'What is this young man's name?' she asked curiously.

'Malfoy. Draco Malfoy I believe,' he replied.

'Is he married or single?'

'Oh! He is single to be sure! Four or five thousand a year I am told. What a fine thing for our boys!'

'And how, pray tell, would this affect our boys?'

'My dear Mrs Lupin,' he replied in reproach, 'how can you be so tiresome? Of course this affects them; you must know I am thinking that he must marry one of them.'

'So that is his design in settling here then, to marry one of our sons?' she asked in some amusement.

'Design! How do you talk of such nonsense? But it could be likely that he may fall in love with one of them, which is why you must visit him as soon as he arrives.'

'I do not see why I must go. You and the boys may go, or you may go yourself, for you are as handsome as any of them to be sure. You may yet find that Malfoy prefers your company over your sons.'

'Ah, you flatter me, and though certainly I was handsome enough in my youth, I do not pretend to be extraordinary now. When a man has five grown-up sons he ought to give over thinking on his own beauty any longer. I shall leave that to your faire sex to hold beauty when we men are long past it, which is exactly why it ought to be you to visit Mr Malfoy upon his arrival, my dear. For if you do not go, then it would be impossible for us to call upon him, as you well know.'

'You are being nonsensical, my dear man. I am quite sure that Mr Malfoy will be well pleased to see you; I will even send a few words by you to assure him of my hearty consent to marry whichever of the boys he so chooses. Though I dare say I would throw in a good word for my dear Remus before any of the others,' she said decisively. She was indeed the most fond of her second eldest child, and never passed up an opportunity to say as such.

'I would beg you to do no such thing,' Mr Lupin replied in earnest. 'He is not a whit better than his brothers; he is not half as handsome as Harry, nor as good-humoured as James. Yet you are always giving him your preference.'

'The others have not much to recommend them, for they are all silly and ignorant like most other boys. Remus I find to have a more pleasing manner, he has more quickness then his brothers.'

'Mrs Lupin, how can you abuse your children is such a way? You always do take delight in vexing me; you have no compassion for my poor nerves!' Mr Lupin attested.

'You mistake me, my dear, for I have high regard for your nerves. They have been my constant companions these past twenty years; we are old friends indeed.'

'Ah, but you do not know how I suffer!'

'And you will get over it, as you always do. I have no doubt you will live to see many young men of four thousand a year come into our neighbourhood.'

'It is of no use to us! Twenty should come and it matters not, as you will not visit them.'

'And when there are twenty I assure you I shall visit them all.'

With saying that she said naught else and rising from her chair, swept from the room to her private study where she could find solitude. She would think no further upon her husband's outcries lest she would feel regret that she had teased her husband in such a way. But she knew that, despite his delicate nerves, he was a kind man and would always forgive her for such teasing. So it was with no regret upon Mrs Lupin that the day came when, after observing her second son employed at trimming a lovely sash of red and gold she remarked:

'I hope Mr Malfoy shall like that, Remy.'

At hearing his wife's comment Mr Lupin said in a most unrestrained tone, 'We are not to know what Mr Malfoy likes, as we are not permitted to visit.'

'We may not, but do not forget, Papa, that we shall meet him at the assemblies. Mrs Long has promised to make our introductions,' Remus replied cautiously.

'I do not believe Mrs Long shall do anything of the sort, not with two nieces of her own to present. She is a selfish, hypocritical woman, and I have no opinion of her,' Mr Lupin replied.

'Nor have I,' Mrs Lupin agreed, 'and I am quite glad to find that you do not depend on her serving you on matters such as this.'

Mr Lupin chose not to reply to such words, instead he turned his attentions to his fourth son who was suddenly in warrant of a scolding. 'Stop coughing so, Sirius, for Heaven's sake! Have some compassion for my nerves, you tear them to pieces!'

'Sirius has no discretion in his coughs,' Mrs Lupin replied, eyeing her son critically. 'He times them ill.'

'I do not cough for my own amusement, Mama,' Sirius replied fretfully. 'When is your next ball to be, Remy?'

'A fortnight from tomorrow,' Remus replied.

'Aye, so it is!' Mr Lupin cried out in distress, 'and Mrs Long does not return till the day before, which means it will be quite impossible for her to introduce us as she will hardly know him herself.'

'Then, my dear, you have the advantage of your friend, and may introduce Mr Malfoy to her.'

'Impossible when I am not acquainted with him myself; how can you be so teasing?' he cried.

'On the contrary, I honour your circumspection, but if we do not venture towards the introductions surely somebody else will. Mrs Long and her nieces must stand their chance; therefore if you decline the introduction then I suppose I shall have to take it upon myself to do them for you.'

The boys could only stare at their mother, though their father was not so inclined and cried out, 'Nonsense, nonsense!' for he could not believe what he was hearing.

'Now what is the meaning of this most emphatic exclamation?' Mrs Lupin replied, her expression bemused. 'Do you consider the forms of introduction, and the stress laid upon them, as nonsense? I cannot quite agree with you there. What say you on this, Peter? You are a young man of deep reflection, I know. You read great books and make extracts, so what say you about this matter?'

Peter thought on saying something sensible, but he could not seem to find adequate words.

'Whilst Peter is adjusting his ideas, let us return to Mr Malfoy,' Mrs Lupin replied.

'I am sick of Mr Malfoy!' cried her husband.

'Well I am sorry to hear that; why did you not tell me this before? If I had but known of your sentiments this morning I certainly would not have called on him. I suppose it is very unlucky, but as I have actually paid the visit, we cannot escape the introduction now.'

The astonishment of the boys was what she had wished, though Mr Lupin's surpassed the rest. When the first tumult of joy had passed, he began to declare that was what he had been expecting all the while.

'How good of you, my dear. I knew I should persuade you at last! I was sure you loved your boys too well to ignore such an acquaintance. How pleased I am! And it was such a good joke that you had gone this morning and said nothing of it until just now.'

'Now then, Sirius, you may cough as much as you choose, for I shall take leave,' Mrs Lupin replied, and as she spoke she quickly left the room, fatigued by the raptures of her husband.

'Oh, what an excellent mother you have boys!' Mr Lupin exclaimed when the door was shut. 'I do not know how you will ever make amends for her kindness, or me either for that matter. At our time of life it is certainly not unpleasant to be making new acquaintances every day. But James, my dear son, though you are the youngest, I dare say Mr Malfoy may dance with you at the next ball, for you may be yet too young for his liking.'

'Oh!' James said, undaunted by this fact, 'though I am the youngest, I am the tallest, so it is good and well with me.'

The rest of the evening passed quickly for the Lupin sons and their father, and was spent, for the most part, in conjecture on how soon Mr Malfoy might return Mrs Lupin's visit. And when he would, then it was said how soon they would ask him to dine at Longbourn, and of course as to what meals would be served, which they all agreed would not do to be less than at least three courses.

Over the the following days, with much assistance from the boys, Mr Lupin attempted to draw from his wife a satisfactory description of the mysterious Mr Malfoy. They attacked her in various ways — with barefaced questions, ingenious suppositions, and distant surmises, though she managed to elude the skill of them all. At last they had to settle for second-hand intelligence from their neighbour, Sir William Lucas.

Sir William's own good wife, Lady Lucas, had as well called upon Mr Malfoy at his arrival, though Mr Lupin was by no means threatened by her visit to Netherfield, for he knew that his sons were far better in manner and appearance then Lady Lucas's children. But over all Mr Lupin usually enjoyed the company of Sir William, just as Sir William did of Mr Lupin, so when he gave his account of Mr Malfoy, it was indeed a highly favourable one.

From the report of Mr Malfoy he was quite young, wonderfully handsome, extremely agreeable, and to crown the whole, he was to attend the next assembly to be held in the village. Nothing could be more delightful! Mr Lupin fully believed that to be fond of dancing was a good step towards falling in love. Naturally should Mr Malfoy be fond of dancing as was hoped, then it stood to reason that he may fall in love, and with one of the Lupin sons, so Mr Lupin was in fine spirits. So much so that he could not help to remark one afternoon, in the presence of his wife:

'If I could but see one of my sons happily settled at Netherfield, and all the others equally well married, I shall have nothing left to wish for.'

Though Mrs Lupin knew that her husband's words were not wholly true, she did not begrudge him, for she herself wished all would end up for the best. Even if it was not for her dear Remy, at least one of her sons would say he would be content, and naturally he would take care of his brothers and their dear father when she would depart from the world. Which as she was often reminded, could be far sooner then later, though for now she had all reason to stay of good health and see where things led.