Betelgeuse looked at herself in the vanity mirror, satisfied with her appearance. The pearly eyeshadow on her lids, the discreet lipstick on her lips, and the plain white dress, fitted to the waist and then flaring into a full skirt.
At that moment, Marguerith was fastening the white lace veil, which reached the middle of Betelgeuse's back, to the older sister's high bun. Although Betelgeuse's expression was restrained and gentle, Marge could tell by the sparkle in her sister's blue eyes that Bete was genuinely happy. After all, this was going to be one of the most important days of her life: her wedding to Stephanio Ivory.
As soon as the younger sister finished adjusting the veil, Betelgeuse turned on the small bench in front of the vanity, silently asking Marguerith to sit in the chair across from her. The younger sister nodded and felt the older one take her hand in hers.
"Today, my life is going to change, that's a fact. But I've realized that yours will change too. I don't remember in these seventeen years of life a single day when we were apart…"
"Bete…" Marge murmured, feeling slightly emotional.
Though they were two distinct people, at times, she felt as if they were halves of the same soul.
"I know I'm not the most expressive person when it comes to showing what I feel," the older sister continued, "but don't forget that I love you, and neither marriage nor distance will change that."
"I know… I love you too," Marge replied.
To her surprise, Betelgeuse pulled her into a long and warm embrace. Marge allowed herself to immerse in that feeling of affection for as long as possible.
Amid the crowd of guests at Betelgeuse and Stephanio Ivory's wedding, the old Sirius Black let his blue eyes linger for a few minutes on Pericles Thorne. It wasn't exactly the red-haired man who caught the patriarch's attention, but the fact that he had been conversing with the younger of the twins for much of the celebration.
"What do you think of Pericles, Hesper?" he asked, noticing his wife's arrival beside him.
"He's a kind and well-mannered man, from a good family. I believe he has a promising future ahead of him," the violet-eyed woman replied, observing her husband's expression out of the corner of her eye. Noticing a slight smile forming at the corner of Sirius's lips, she questioned, "What's your interest in him?"
Black turned his attention to his wife.
"As you pointed out so well, he's well-positioned, from a traditional family, and I believe that with time he'll only progress further. He would be an interesting business partner to have, don't you think?"
Hesper narrowed her eyes. Knowing Sirius as she did, she suspected he had already devised a plan to approach Thorne. And seeing who accompanied the man, she easily deduced her husband's idea.
"You're not thinking of encouraging a relationship between him and our niece, are you?" Hesper asked, not hiding a tone of severe disapproval.
Sirius turned, a shrewd gleam passing through his sapphire eyes.
"He seems quite interested in Marguerith. There's no obstacle to this union being realized in the near future. Our niece is single, and as far as I know, there's no suitor in sight. Not anymore."
Hesper observed her husband in silence for a few moments, as if pondering what she had just heard.
"Marge should have her chance to love again, Sirius. Why do you want to deny that to your own niece?" she retorted, shifting her gaze to the couple who were the object of their attention.
"We're not going to repeat Lycoris's story again," Sirius replied in a cold and incisive tone. "Love is overrated. Our marriage is proof of that. I'm doing our niece a favor by planning this match. Bete got a good arrangement. I won't live forever, and I don't want to leave without seeing Marge well settled too."
"I promised Rosette that I would take care of the twins as if they were my own daughters. If I see that it's not what Marge wants, I'll advise her against it."
Sirius pretended to ignore his wife's last words and, turning his gaze back to his niece, he stated, "Very soon, Pericles Thorne will receive an invitation for tea at our house."
Marge sighed as she read the letter that had arrived from Hong Kong that afternoon. Betelgeuse had met their cousin during her honeymoon with Stephanio, reporting that Alphard had changed little. The letter contained a story about one of the young man's misadventures in a local casino.
"A bohemian," was how Bete had described him the night Marge confided in her sister about her love for Alphard. Unfortunately, the younger twin was beginning to accept that the elder was right in her conjectures. Every piece of news she heard about him from different people confirmed that fact.
She still loved him, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain that feeling, knowing it would never be reciprocated, knowing that to him, she was just an adventure. That the promise of building a future together was a lie. Perhaps it was time to let him go.
Light knocks sounded on the door, drawing Marge's attention. She assumed it was one of the house elves bringing her meal. Her aunt Hesper had gone to dine at her granddaughter Lucretia's house. Thus, with her aunt absent, Marguerith deduced that her uncle Sirius would spend the night in his office, working. However, the young woman couldn't have been more mistaken in her assumptions.
"Miss Marge," the voice echoed from the doorway, belonging to a younger house-elf than the other servants of the house, who presented herself after the young woman's permission to enter. "Master Sirius requests that the young lady join him for dinner."
The young woman narrowed her eyes, surprised by her uncle's request. The patriarch had always been inclined toward solitude when they were the only ones at home. He had never had the same affinity with her that he had with Betelgeuse, with whom he often played chess. Bete had always been her uncle's favorite, a fact he never hid from anyone.
"I'm on my way, Hippy."
Marguerith took only a few minutes to reach the dining room, where Sirius was already waiting for her, seated at the head of the table, eating.
"Good evening, Uncle," Marge greeted, receiving a nod from Sirius in response.
With small steps, she sat close to the man, who remained silent.
Marguerith began serving herself.
As they dined in complete silence, the young woman couldn't help but notice that Sirius kept casting an evaluative glance her way. When he seemed completely satisfied, almost at the end of the meal, the blue-eyed man turned to his niece.
"I called you to join me for dinner because we have a serious matter to discuss, Marge," Sirius said, his tone grave and incisive.
The young woman merely nodded, lowering her gaze and awaiting her uncle's words with apprehension. It was likely something Sirius believed should be discussed only between the two of them, something complicated that might bring conflict with her aunt, as the couple occasionally disagreed in their views.
"You've been out of Hogwarts for some time, Marge. I think it's time we seriously discuss your future," Sirius continued, noticing that his niece had raised her face and was looking at him with apprehensive eyes, though such a reaction would not deter the patriarch from his plans. "I noticed that Pericles Thorne spent much of the party with you. What's your impression of him?"
"He's pleasant company, Uncle," Marge replied, still not understanding where Sirius was going with this.
"Pleasant enough to establish a stable relationship? What I mean, Marge, is whether you'd be willing to marry Thorne?" Black allowed a slight smile to form on his lips. "I'm not forcing you into an arranged marriage, but if you were to become the wife of a well-positioned family member, we would all have much to gain. They're not the Ivorys, of course. Not everyone can catch a big fish like your sister, but he would still make an excellent husband for you."
"I... I…" the younger one stammered, shocked by her uncle's proposal.
It was true that Marguerith had once dreamed of falling in love and marrying someone of her choosing. However, the only person to whom she had given her heart had rejected the gift. And, in Sirius's eyes, she would always be a shadow of Betelgeuse. It wouldn't cost her much to at least give this proposal a chance.
"Alright, Uncle. Not the marriage, yet. But I wouldn't mind being courted by Thorne and getting to know him a little better," Marge finally replied.
"Excellent," the man said, satisfied. "I've invited Pericles for tea here tomorrow afternoon, and I want you to join us. I'll find a way to convey our intentions to him."
That sitting room, with a grand piano, a small bar, and some books, along with green velvet armchairs and a small coffee table, was familiar to Pericles Thorne. He had been to Grimmauld Place a few times before in the company of his parents.
However, until the wedding of Betelgeuse and Stephanio, at which he represented his family, it had been many years since he attended any event or even made a courtesy visit to the Blacks.
After graduating from Hogwarts, the redhead spent several years between England, France, and Italy, living the adventures and pleasures that youth allowed him, as well as enjoying the hospitality of Thorne relatives scattered across the continent.
However, age began to weigh on him. He was no longer young, and now, at thirty-four years old, he thought it was time to return home, settle down, and put down roots.
When he attended the wedding, he was immensely surprised to discover that the beautiful and elegant young woman who was watching him with an enigmatic expression at that moment was the same little girl he had met almost ten years earlier in that very same house.
Pericles turned his gaze from the young woman to the gray-haired man who was watching him with a visible smile of satisfaction.
"So," Sirius continued from where he had left off upon noticing that the redhead had returned his attention to him, "I believe it would be good for you both to get to know each other a little better."
Thorne nodded. He would be lying if he denied that Marguerith Black had truly impressed him during the hours they spent together during the celebration. However, he was curious if the feeling was mutual.
"Do you agree with this, Miss Black?" Pericles turned to the young woman with a smile.
Marge couldn't deny that she felt flattered to realize that her opinion seemed to matter to the man.
"Certainly, Mr. Thorne." She smiled back.
"Excellent!" Sirius exclaimed, rubbing his hands in satisfaction as he stood up from the armchair. "I'll leave the two of you alone so you can talk."
As the Black patriarch left, a silence settled between the two until Marguerith began to prepare tea for them both.
"Is there a particular flavor you prefer, Mr. Thorne?" she asked, picking up the teapot filled with hot water.
"Cinnamon, please. And if we're going to get to know each other better, we should probably start addressing each other by our first names. What do you think, Marguerith?"
"Certainly, Pericles." The young woman allowed a slight smile to play on her lips as she handed him the cup with the delicious steaming liquid.
They began talking about trivial matters, as expected. To Marguerith's surprise, Pericles proved to be even more pleasant than he had been on the day of her sister's wedding. It wouldn't hurt to take that first step to try and heal her wounded heart.