Abraxas was spitting. Two years of negotiations lost because Cygnus couldn't control his daughters. Andromeda Black was to be the perfect match for his son, a glorious union of two of the oldest families in existence. And she'd thrown it all away for a mudblood.

"We can offer you Narcissa." Cygnus was pleading. "Andromeda has been disowned, she will not be linked to our family."

"She will always be linked to your family." Abraxas hissed, "She lives does she not? She broke a contract, a contract she was aware of! It shows weakness, Cygnus! Weakness and disregard and dishonesty! She was given a choice, as well you know! She agreed! No. I will not take the chance that your younger daughter has learned from her sister. We will seek a union elsewhere."

Cygnus had paled, "My niece." he blurted finally.

Abraxas paused, looking at him consideringly. The union between their Houses truly was to everyone's benefit, but, beyond her obvious pedigree, he knew nothing about the girl. "I will discuss it with Orion," he replied finally, dismissing the wizard and summoning his son.

"You wished to see me, Father?" Lucius's mask was on but Abraxas could tell he was wary.

"Sit." Abraxas commanded, "Cygnus Black offered Narcissa." his eyes scanned his son's face for a reaction.

"She is very beautiful," Lucius replied cautiously.

"But?"

There were several seconds of silence, "I understand she resembles her eldest sister most closely in personality."

"Ruthless and vicious, then?" Abraxas smirked, Bellatrix was, after all, known not only for her skill but also her power. She would have been an exemplary match for his son. It gave him pause as he wondered if he should consider her sister. Eyeing his son he watched as Lucius inclined his head, remaining silent. He had the training, he bowed to the expectations, and he was, to all outward appearances, the perfect son and heir. But Abraxas knew he hid his soft underbelly well. He needed a witch who would dote slightly, who would steer him. Love him, ultimately, despite that not being expected in their circles. It made him feel better for his next words. "I turned him down."

Surprise broke through Lucius' mask. "You did?"

"Yes. She is tainted by Andromeda. Cygnus offered his niece as an alternative, despite it not being his place to do so."

"His niece," Lucius murmured consideringly.

"You know the girl?" Abraxas asked, not entirely sure what to make of the look on his son's face.

"Not well," he allowed, "She was, is, a Ravenclaw, but Regulus spoke highly of her, and whenever I had cause to be in her company, she was polite. Intelligent." Abraxas hummed, turning that over inside his head. "I gather she is the reason Sirius remained with the family."

Abraxas paused, staring at his son with some shock. "Pardon?"

"I gather, from Regulus, that when it seemed as if Sirius Black was pulling away from his family, that his sister convinced him to remain. I do not entirely understand what transpired, only that Regulus credits her entirely. It is painfully obvious that both of her brothers adore her. I gather the feeling is mutual. The only time I have ever seen her behave with less decorum than expected was when Mulciber targeted her twin. He was in the infirmary for a month."

"I see." Abraxas mused, suddenly intrigued by the witch. "Then I shall request a meeting. Are you aware of the witch being betrothed?"

"No," Lucius replied slowly, "Rabastan was being considered, I believe. Corban Yaxley too if the rumours are true."

"Well then, let us prevent that."

Two days later, the Malfoys descended on Black House, a tiny, bouncing elf greeting them, leading them into a well-appointed sitting room.

"Abraxas, Giselle," Orion stood, offering them a short bow. "Lucius."

"Mr Black," Lucius inclined his head.

"Please sit. Walburga and Hermione were unfortunately detained. Bella was in need of a woman's council."

"I had heard she'd had a trying time," Giselle murmured.

"Yes, quite. Andromeda's departure did not help. They were…worried."

"Poor dear, I shall call on Druella this week. I imagine it's a trying time for you all."

Orion hummed, not entirely comfortable discussing women's business. The babe was fine, that was all he needed to know. His eyes lifted to the door when it opened with no small amount of relief, his sons walking through it, clearly dressed for battle, much to his amusement, their finest robes pristine and their masks in place. "Sirius, Regulus."

"Father," they returned, "Mr and Mrs Malfoy. Lucius."

They sat stiffly as their greetings were returned. "Hermione will be down momentarily," Regulus attempted a smile that was more of a baring of teeth. "She arrived by floo seconds before we came down."

"Is your cousin well?" Giselle inquired politely, hiding a smirk at their blatant disapproval.

"Well enough." Regulus offered. "I imagine it'll take some time to get over the betrayal."

"Indeed," Abraxas dismissed him, missing his fleeting glare, "I heard you were considering a contract for your Heir, Orion."

Orion nodded, looking at Abraxas speculatively. "Miriam Shafiq and Julia Selwyn are being discussed. Sirius has expressed a preference for Miss Shafiq."

"A good match," Abraxas murmured. "And your daughter?"

Orion smirked, "As I'm sure you know, Rabastan has expressed an interest. As has the young Yaxley boy."

"And her preference?"

"She has not expressed one," he admitted slowly, his face softening at the sight of his daughter walking through the door.

"Father," she murmured, kissing his cheek. "Mr and Madam Malfoy."

"Miss Black," Abraxas smirked, "You remember my son."

She gave a fleeting smile, inclining her head, "Master Malfoy."

"Miss Black," Lucius murmured, his eyes running over her. She was a tiny thing, far shorter than her cousins. The wild, trademark Black curls framed her face, whisky coloured eyes deviating from the Black's normal grey, something she had inherited from her paternal grandmother. She was utterly captivating, despite the expected pureblood mask, those eyes were expressive as she blatantly considered him. And despite not quite understanding how, he could almost feel the strength of her magic from across the room.

He watched with surprise as she sat between her brothers, both of them sitting suddenly straighter, eyeing him with blatant mistrust.

They passed the next hour with banal chitchat, each of the players evaluating the others. Eventually, Walburga smiled, a slightly calculating look in her eyes, "Hermione, why don't you and your brothers take Lucius to see the library?"

Hermione stilled for a second before nodding, "Of course, Mother. If Master Malfoy wishes, I'd be delighted to show him the Library."

"It would be my pleasure, Miss Black," he smiled, noting the fleeting but deadly scowls on her brother's faces as he rose, taking her arm.

"Your sons seem…distrustful," Abraxas observed.

Orion snorted, "They are simply overprotective. I have no idea why, my daughter is far more vicious than they are."

"She is?"

"For the people she loves, absolutely."

"You've trained her?" Giselle asked in surprise.

Walburga looked smug, "Hermione is a powerful witch. We did not believe in limiting her opportunities. Should she need to, she can take care of herself. After all, no mother worth her wand would want to leave her children unprotected, I simply ensured that mine are capable, so that when the time comes, they can protect theirs."

Abraxas nodded his approval. "Very wise. So shall we get down to business? We both know an alliance between our houses would be formidable. Our grandchildren would be powerful beyond measure."

Orion hummed, "Yes, but you had your sights set on Andromeda."

"She was the logical choice." Abraxas agreed. "She was powerful in her own right for all she's now squandered it on a mudblood she could have made respectable by being honest and encouraging him to adapt. After Bellatrix, we had no reason to assume she wasn't as well raised as any other girl of good breeding. Her defection surprised me, especially as we both know the match she wanted would have been approved had she only asked. I understand the young Tonks boy is powerful, despite his disdain for our traditions, Cygnus would have been a fool to refuse if they had been willing to conform."

"I find myself conflicted, "Orion confessed, surprising him. "You are correct, an alliance between our Houses would indeed be formidable, and our grandchildren beyond powerful. On parchment, Lucius is the most sound choice."

"But?"

"I want my daughter to be happy," Orion replied bluntly. "It is…sentimental and perhaps foolish but there is something different about a daughter when compared to a son."

Despite Abraxas' confusion, Giselle was smiling, "Of course there is," she agreed, "Father used to say the same."

Abraxas blinked at his wife in surprise. "He did?"

"Of course. Sons…especially the Heir must do their duty. And, of course, a daughter must also, but he used to say it was different, that the negotiations for me were a far different beast to Gaius'. We were never blessed with a daughter so I imagine it will be difficult for you to understand, but he used to say that daughters were to be cherished, to be given to a husband only once sure that they were worthy, whereas a son had to prove their worthiness."

"I…see," he murmured faintly. "A notion Cygnus does not subscribe to given how quickly he suggested Narcissa."

"No," Walburga replied dryly, "My brother unfortunately does not do well under pressure."

"Do you agree with your husband, madam?"

Walbrga paused before speaking, "To an extent" she allowed, "I would like to see my daughter settled, taken care of and with someone who will not be intimidated by her power. I believe that powerful witches should be nurtured, not subjugated, after all, a powerful witch bears powerful children. I am not as…idealistic as my husband. And I believe my daughter shares my practicality in most ways."

"Not all ways, Madam?" Abraxas asked, intrigued in spite of himself.

"She is…perhaps softer than I am. I confess it took me a long time not to view it as a weakness."

"What changed your mind?"

"I assume you know what transpired after Sirius sorting?" At his nod, she continued, "I was prepared to discipline him for his choices. Hermione persuaded me otherwise. And…I see now she was correct. Make no mistake, my sons are protective, but so is Hermione. She will no more stand back and let someone hurt them than they would allow someone to hurt her. She saw Sirius' differences as strengths when I did not. And she bridged the gap between us. When he was fighting against what he saw as our chains, she convinced him to find some common ground. I once thought we would have to disown our Heir, that he would deliberately eschew our traditions just so he was marked as different from us. Thanks to Hermione, we did not. Her softer side is not a weakness, it is undoubtedly a strength."

"I see," Abraxas murmured, turning that over inside his head as he tried to build up a picture of the witch. " And your thoughts on Lucius?"

"I think that it would be an advantageous match. My daughter would be well situated and cared for."

"So what must we do to convince your husband?" Giselle smiled conspiratorially.

Walburga laughed, "Nothing. Lucius will need to convince Hermione. Orion will never say no if he is who she wants."

Abraxas hummed all of a sudden looking amused. "I find myself suddenly disappointed and relieved in equal measure that we never had a daughter. I do not believe I would have coped."

He wasn't sure whether he should be offended by the look on his wife's face as she silently indicated that she agreed.

"Your library is intriguing Miss Black," Lucis murmured, all too aware of her two guards waiting for an excuse to hex him.

"It's my favourite room in the house," she admitted, a look of such relaxed joy on her face it almost took his breath away.

"Do feel free to let her go any time now, Malfoy," Sirius interjected, drawing his attention away from his sister.

Lucius' eyebrows rose, "Now why would I do that?"

"Because she's not one of those simpering girls who will flutter her eyelashes at you and inflate your ego."

"Siri," Hermione warned softly.

He scowled, "I don't like it."

"I know," she agreed, with some amusement.

"How do you feel about this?" Regulus asked suddenly, gesturing at Lucius. "We all know our parents are currently discussing your marriage. And given that up until last week you believed you'd be marrying Andromeda, surely you cannot be content with this?"

"I find myself intrigued," Lucis admitted. "I do not know how your matches are arranged, but I have never expected any say in mine. I knew Andromeda of course, and I assumed we'd be…content. Eventually."

There was a look of genuine amusement on all of the Black sibling's faces. "Content," Sirius muttered. "Not a word I associate with Andy." he smirked suddenly, "Or my twin."

"Yes, well. I gather you are a very different witch Miss Black." Lucius replied turning back to the witch who had yet to let go of his arm.

"Which is perhaps what concerns me." She admitted softly.

"Oh?"

"I am…"

"Stubborn? Opinionated?" Regulus grinned.

"A bleeding heart? Vicious?" Sirius chimed in.

"Yes alright," she scowled before her face cleared. "I will not be content in a marriage where I am not allowed an opinion," she stated bluntly.

Lucius nodded slowly, "I see. Anything else?"

"I am not a china doll. I do not need to be encased in a bubble charm or told I shouldn't worry my pretty little head about matters not directly related to children and the home. I want…." she paused with a sigh, "I want a partnership, to be considered an equal in my marriage."

He hummed, nodding, trying to tamp down his excitement. He had never felt this with Andromeda. He wondered if it was the open honesty in her answers; after two years of meetings, he'd never seen behind Adromeda's mask. "And if I confess that I am…not opposed to the idea?" he asked softly, trying to pretend her brothers were not listening avidly.

"Aren't you?" she asked with a hint of amusement.

"I find myself not," he admitted.

"Pretty words," Sirius interjected. "But how are we to know you mean them?"

Lucius hummed, "Truthfully, you do not. Unless I request its inclusion in our contract."

Hermione stilled, as even Sirius looked astonished. "Would you?"

"Yes." he replied bluntly, his eyes scanning her face, the heady feeling of her magic tickling his arm where her fingertips rested against it."

"Why?" Regulus demanded. "Why would you?"

He tore his focus away from her to look at the youngest Black, "I…I do not want an empty marriage." he admitted finally. "We live a rather long time and we both know that for us, marriage is permanent. I was facing a lifetime with a witch where my best hope was tolerance. Andromeda made no secret of her dislike for me."

Regulus hummed, "How do you know Hermione doesn't just have better manners?"

"Perhaps." he allowed, "But I think that, like me, she is aware of the permanence of a marriage and she would not shy away from voicing her opinion. I believe, perhaps wrongly, that your father would honour her wishes."

Regulus nodded, "More than likely, which leaves us in an interesting position." Lucius quirked an eyebrow. "They are discussing your marriage, but Father will not agree."

"Oh?"

"If Father was willing to tie Hermione into an advantageous marriage, he'd have the contract with Rabastan already written. It is not us, nor is it him that will have the final say Malfoy," Sirius smirked.

Understanding dawned on Lucius' face as he finally realised what they weren't saying. He wasn't sure if he was terrified or elated, she would agree or disagree based solely on her feelings towards him. Turning he glanced down at the witch who had yet to let go of his arm, "Well then Miss Black, perhaps you'll permit me to call on you while you are home this summer, so you might make an informed decision."

Her smile was genuine but her eyes were calculating, "Very well Master Malfoy." she agreed. "I look forward to your visits."