NOTE ON AGES: I thought that Cygnus and Orion were supposed to be the same age, but going by their canonical birth years, Cygnus is 5 years younger than Orion. Of course, going by their canon birth years, Bellatrix was born when Cygnus was 13 years old, so... For the purposes of this story, I'm going to go with the assumption that the "3" in Cygnus's supposed birth year was a typo which should have been a "2"... which would make him one year older than Orion. (And would also make him actually an adult when his first child is born.) The Black Family Tree drawn by JKR and the one shown in the OOTP movie have two different years for Lucretia's birth year... so she is either the same age as Walburga, or 10 years older than her - for simplicity's sake, I'm going to say they're the same age.

~ Black Sick Spider ~

- Chapter 5: Dusty Cushions -

Lucretia Black (for it is still Black, although soon to be Prewett) paces impatiently as she waits, her jeweled heels clicking sharply against the hardwood floor.

"Orion knew I was coming over today. A good host should be prepared to greet visitors personally, and not leave them waiting! Honestly, I thought he'd been taught better manners than that... One should never be forced to interact with another household's elves, really, how unseemly indeed," she mutters under her breath, punctuating her tirade with a petulant stomp of her foot. She immediately regrets this action, as she discovers that it has created a very obvious scratch in the wood.

Lucretia jumps guiltily as the house elf pops into the room. She quickly readjusts her posture and facial expression so that she is holding herself with the dignity and grace befitting a pureblood witch - not that the creature is actually looking at her as it bows and scrapes before her. Either way, she figures she had better get used to playing the respectable lady in private as well as in public, because her wedding is fast approaching, and if there is one thing she has learned about her near-future husband, it is that he prides himself on being a proper gentleman in all aspects of his life. In this, she envies her brother. Being cousins, and childhood playmates besides, Orion and Walburga have known each other nearly their entire lives, and can be themselves around each other in the privacy of their own home - free of all the awkwardness and the societal pressure to keep behaving properly that come as consequences of an arranged marriage.

"Where is my brother, elf?" she demands, prodding the sniveling creature with the toe of one gem-encrusted boot.

"Master told Kreacher to tell Miss Lucretia to wait in the parlor while Master and Mistress make themselves presentable! Kreacher is also told to fetch refreshments for Miss Lucretia if there is anything she wants!"

Unable to suppress a scowl at the elf's terrible grammar, Lucretia waves the overly-excitable creature away.

"No, I am in need of nothing. You are dismissed to continue your other duties."

Once the creature has scurried off to some other part of the house, Lucretia hastens to repair the damaged floorboard with a spell - which, thankfully, takes nothing more complicated than a quick reparo. She then sighs and flops down onto the couch in a most inelegant manner. Knowing full well that her actions are rude, childish, and utterly unsuitable for a lady of good breeding to enact while she is a guest in someone else's home (even though her host is not present), she can't quite bring herself to care - at least, not enough to stop her from sulking, anyway.

And she had so been looking forward to this visit! She is the first in the family to be invited over to the house since Orion and Walburga moved into it; the couple have been avoiding all social calls - family and otherwise - since the day they were married.

The house doesn't look too bad, she supposes. For not having been aired out in a few centuries, it doesn't smell too awfully musty. After their rather hasty marriage, Orion and Walburga were granted one of the Black family's lesser-used properties. Lucretia doesn't know where she will end up living after she gets married. She isn't sure where all the Prewett family has property - they are not anywhere near as wealthy as the Black family, but (thank Merlin) they are not nearly as poor as the Carrows or Weasleys, either.

Lucretia wishes she did not have to leave her family, that she did not have to marry at all. She does not want to become a Prewett, which will lower her social station considerably, and - although she knows this is completely vain - she also does not like how the name sounds when spoken, or the way it looks when written.

If only there were some way to get out of it... Lucretia thinks to herself as she curls further into the dusty cushions of the ancient couch.

But there isn't. Of course there isn't. She wishes there were some way to duck out of her marriage arrangement without bringing disgrace to her family's name, and she finds herself thinking enviously of Orion and Walburga again. There was a convenient loophole. Would Lucretia consider marrying a cousin (even one so repulsive as Cygnus) if it meant she could remain a Black forevermore? She would, in a heartbeat. But it's too late for her. Her match is already set. Her arranged fiance insisted on a long engagement, but her time as a Black has almost come to its end...

Lucretia is so lost in her reminiscence that she does not hear the footsteps coming toward her.

~to be continued~