As Leone gestured to the girl sitting on his left, Orion rose from his seat, offered the young woman his hand, and escorted her to where his sons stood. Orion first introduced Regulus, who placed his palm across his chest, bowed his head, and declared,

'I am honoured to meet you.'

She inclined hers in return, 'The honour is all mine,' she replied smiling gently at Regulus, her eyes never leaving his face.

Sirius's palms felt damp, and despite the room's size, he felt as though the walls were too close to him. He suppressed his urge to run, as his father turned his attention to him.

'Finally allow me to introduce my eldest son, Sirius Orion Black.'

Sirius's chest gave a strange twist, as he directly looked at the girl who might become his wife. As she gazed up at him, her liquid black eyes drawing him into their depths, the twisting feeling intensified. He reached to take her gloved hand from his father, all the while hoping that neither noticed his arm trembling. And in a moment that felt like an eternity, Sirius brought the soft silk to his lips, giving the top of her fingers a single kiss.

'I am honoured to meet you.' He said with some difficulty, his throat suddenly dry.

'The honour is all mine.' She repeated, her brow slightly furrowed and her smile not quite reaching her eyes.

He quickly returned her hand to Orion, who led her back to the table. The two boys followed, with Regulus taking the vacant seat by Orion and Sirius accepting the chair by Aeliana.

'Now that we have been introduced,' Leone announced, 'I think it is time for the first course.'

Leone had barely uttered the words when several house-elves appeared carrying silver trays and bottles of wine. And as an elf served him an amuse-bouche of smoked salmon, figs and goat's cheese, Sirius's stomach gave a groan of hunger and his mouth watered in anticipation.

'Sirius, your father tells me that you are top of your class in Transfiguration, after dinner Aeliana can show you our library.' Leone said lightly, pausing to look at his sister, who nodded. 'We have a first edition of Gamp, that you are welcome to borrow. It has details of his logic that editors cut from later editions. It is a most fascinating read'.

Sirius tore himself from his food, ignoring the slight annoyance his hunger provoked, and looked at the older man.

'I would like that very much,' He acknowledged, knowing that his manners had to remain impeccable to not give his father reason to write to his mother. He glanced briefly towards the tall windows at the end of the room before continuing. 'As long as I am not causing you any inconvenience.'

'Of course not,' replied Leone, glancing at his sister, who was looking at her goblet. 'Regulus, you are also most welcome to borrow what you please. Your father tells me you enjoy history…..….'

Sirius, keen to return to his food, lost interest in the conversation. It was taking every ounce of self-control to eat the small morsels delicately but concentrating on his table manners seemed to finally stop his mind from replaying Regulus's words. He took a sip of wine to slow the pace of his eating, and the long-forgotten voice of his etiquette tutor Monsieur Robespierre floated across his thoughts.

'When first meeting a potential match, a gentleman must pay the lady a sincere compliment.'

Sirius looked at the girl beside him, her long black hair shimmering in the candlelight, her attention focused on the conversation between their brothers. His eyes hypnotised by the sapphire glinting in the hollow of her neck, which refracted shards of rainbow light across her collarbone. As she reached for her glass, Sirius noted that her light blue gloves matched her dress robes.

'You have delicate hands.' Sirius announced abruptly, as the conversation stalled, and all eyes turned to him.

Sirius felt his face heat. 'Errm,' he added gesturing to Aeliana 'They're nice and they….look good in your gloves…….matches your dress robes…' His face now fully burning.

Aeliana exchanged a look with her brother before shifting her attention to Sirius, her brow slightly furrowed

'Thank you, I am glad that my taste in accessories pleases you.' She stated, before turning and returning to her food.

Glancing up at his father and brother he noticed that Orion appeared to be suppressing a smile, whereas Regulus was looking at Aeliana with an unreadable expression on his face.

'As you were saying Orion…' Leone's voice said resuming their conversation.

Sirius face took an age to finally cool, and he once again stifled the urge to run from the room by staring at his plate, Regulus's angry words continuing to ring through his mind, no matter how much he tried to think of other things.

'You enjoy transfiguration?' The quiet sound pulled him out of his reverie. He glanced to the girl by his side and found her looking at him as though he were a specimen she was studying for a herbology project.

'I fear my father might have oversold my interest.' He answered with a slight bite in his voice, as the wine coursed through his veins.

'Well, if that is the case. I won't bore you, by making conversation about it.'

Sirius suppressed the sigh that wanted to escape him, digging through his thoughts for a way to salvage the interaction. But before he could open his mouth to speak, Aeliana had already turned her attention to the discussion taking place across the table.

'Most historians have completely ignored Grindelwald's campaign in Italy.' She was telling an interested Regulus, her voice filled with enthusiasm ' Even Waffling fails to mention how the Strega sided with Grindelwald against the Trenta, and that man is painfully comprehensive.'

As Regulus grinned at this, Sirius suppressed a snort.'Of course, these words would mean something to Reg, he must have read up on Italian politics in preparation for this trip.' He thought, internally rolling his eyes at his swotty goody-two-shoes brother.

'They would never allow it' Regulus agreed 'Because to report the atrocities the Strega committed, would destroy the carefully constructed narrative of victimhood that surrounds them.'

Aeliana nodded enthusiastically at this and had begun to reply but Leone interjected,

'Liana no talk of politics at dinner.' He stated simply while smiling indulgently at his sister. She arched her brow at her brother before nodding. 'I am sure all of you are excited about tomorrow's ball?' He added, diverting the conversation.

Both Regulus and Aeliana gave their assent and began to list names of friends and acquaintances they were hoping to see at the ball. Sirius, understanding the pointed look from Orion, drank some water to clear his head before turning to Aeliana.

'If you would do me the honour of being my dance partner?' The words rolling off his tongue like a script.

'Of course, and I will ensure that my gloves match my dress robes,' She replied, bowing her head slightly 'Since that pleases you so.' She finished, a smirk playing on her lips.

Elves, wearing every colour of toga, continued to bring out courses of food and wine. The conversation moving from the latest article in the European Journal of Charms, to Italy's Quidditch victory against Egypt, to Leone offering Regulus use of their music room and to Orion offering the same to Aeliana should she visit Grimmauld place.

As the Mignardise were cleared and the candles burnt low in their sconces, Sirius stared at the window, thinking longingly of his bed.

' 'Liana now would be an excellent time to show Sirius the library. And perhaps a tour of the house along the way' Leone's voice said pulling him back into the moment.

--

For the fourth time that day, Sirius found himself in the labyrinthine corridors of the Marcellus house, Aeliana at his side, and Gigi and Kreacher walking behind them as chaperones. The only sound were footsteps and the whisper of her silk robe across the marble. Sirius was once more entranced by her necklace. The deep blue was exactly the colour of the sky on a cloudless day and reminded Sirius of lazy days spent by the Black Lake at Hogwarts. The movement of the necklace alerted him to its wearer, who had turned her head and was now studying him with narrowed eyes while pulling up the front of her robes to cover her exposed skin. For the second time that night, his face burned.

'So, what about this tour?' He suggested, in a half-hearted attempt to diffuse the awkwardness.

She halted suddenly, spinning round to look at him, cheeks slightly flushed and a slight sneer on her lips.

'Here we have a window.' She answered coldly while pointing towards the windows. 'There's the floor,' she gestured again, 'And that concludes our tour.'

Sirius felt annoyance bubble up within him, aided by the wine and after-dinner apéritif, and before he could consider the consequences he blurted,

'I didn't mean to be snappy about the transfiguration thing, so don't act snotty.'

'I am not the one acting, snotty.' She retaliated, her eyebrow arching 'I was not the one sitting in silence for most of the evening and staring at the window as though I wanted to escape through it.'

'Oh, my sincere apologies for not acting the chivalric knight.' Sirius shot back, heat crawling across his skin as he sketched a mock bow at her. 'As recompense, Should I compose a poem about the beauty of your eyes, and how I would die for you?' He knew he should rein in his anger and was keenly aware that Kreacher would report his outburst to Orion.

'I do not care for false flattery,' She said simply, 'But I will not tolerate having my attempts at polite conversation thrown back at me. If you think that acting in such a churlish manner will inspire my desire to win your attention, you can get back in your carriage and return to England.'

Sirius's anger ebbed away. Despite the alcohol, the thought of his family's reaction to returning home after a single evening was very sobering.

'Can we start again?' He offered, 'I actually have a great interest in transfiguration.'

She sighed, gazing at the frescoed ceiling as the minutes stretched on.

'The Gamp is not the best book in our collection.' She said finally, 'We have a rare edition of De Visser.'

Despite himself, Sirus felt his interest stir and looked at Aeliana, who was still looking upwards.

'Have you read it?' Sirius asked, controlling each word to stop the slight slur the alcohol wanted to cause.

'Yes, several times.' She returned bluntly, folding her arms across her chest.

'And what did you think?' His attention now piqued.

'Although his logic becomes confused towards the end of the book, perhaps because of his reported love of Euphoria Elixir, I agree with most of his conclusions' She paused, frowning slightly, and was on the verge of speaking before Sirius cut her off;

'He left glaring holes in his working.'

'Yes, hence my previous statement about his substance problem.' She remarked, rolling her eyes. 'However, most of the logic is sound. Much like an animagus keeps their consciousness during transformation, an animal who undergoes transfiguration retains theirs. Transfiguration is not metaphysical magic; consciousness remains even when the physical body has been altered.'

'But that makes animal Transfiguration unethical.' Sirius countered excitedly, 'So as someone who buys into De Visser's theory, should you not stop performing that branch of magic?'

'I have to perform it, to pass my exams.' She stated simply, her foot tapping on the ground.

'Yes, but surely a good grade isn't worth the torture of an animal?' He countered slightly sardonically, pacing back and forth along the corridor, 'Surely, ethics must come before an Exceeds Expectations?'

'In an ideal world perhaps, but one cannot master transfiguration without transfiguring animals.' Her voice remained mild as she suppressed a yawn and looked down from the ceiling towards him.

'I will send my elf to fetch the book for you,' she declared, turning back towards the elves who were both standing by the windows watching the teenagers, 'I have grown tired and would like to retire.'

'Won't your brother be angry with you, for not showing me the library?' Sirius asked while turning in the same direction. Kreacher's eyes glittering at him from across the corridor.

'He will understand that it has been a long day for both of us.' She shrugged. 'I will call an elf to show you back to your quarters.'

She spoke Italian to Gigi, and another toga-clad elf appeared by Sirius's side.

'I wish you a good night's sleep.' She said taking Gigi by the hand, instead of offering it to Sirius to kiss as dictated by tradition.

'You too.' He replied, unsure of the abruptness of her departure. She nodded, turning her back on him, before suddenly turning back around and looking him in the eye.

'Can I ask a favour for the ball tomorrow?' She murmured, biting her lower lip as her dark eyes sparkled. Sirius felt an odd tingle as he nodded.

'Would you mind wearing less cologne? I could hardly taste my wine this evening.' She turned and swept off, hand in hand with Gigi, leaving Sirius to watch her retreating back.