Black Fortunes

Chapter 8

January 1976

To say that Harrigan had been blindsided by his Yule gift from Orion Black was a severe understatement. He had received a rather lovely and warm white winter cloak with black fur trim from Abraxas Malfoy, merely running his hands over the thick, soft material made him appreciative of the gift in such a bitterly cold winter. From Lucien Lestrange he had an intriguing and complex book on Dark Arts and spell creation, he was almost halfway through it and sometimes he wondered if it carried a compulsion charm, as he seemed unable to put it down for at least 2 hours after beginning to read.

From Lord Orion Arcturus Black, however, he had received not one but three items. The first was a bouquet of three flowers, a white rose, a red one, and a shockingly beautiful and pale clear one that turned out on close inspection to be made of pure crystal. It was exquisitely detailed and obviously crafted by someone of great skill in both Transfiguration and conjuring. The spell signature on it was Orion's own.

The second was rather plain next to the flowers, comprised of a simple letter written on gold parchment, closed with the Black family crest, imprinted in black on white wax. A closer study revealed the parchment to be woven of pure gold threads, however, which undoubtedly made the parchment very expensive.

The last had been a slim bracelet made of platinum with clear crystal-embossed runes etched all the way around the surface.

On their own each of these spectacular objects could be an elegant gift, all together however they represented something of utmost respect and dedication: a Courting Request. After reading the well-written and sincere letter which outlined Orion's intentions and reasons for the amazing request Harrigan had not hesitated to place the bracelet on his left wrist. The metal had heated up for a moment before the clear runes had turned golden, indicating an honest and pure request. Should either individual break the Courting with such a thing as infidelity the runes would turn black on the perpetrator's bracelet, a most shameful thing. Especially since the bracelet couldn't be removed for at least another five days.

Now Harrigan was dressing carefully in an elegant set of bronze and black dress robes with three-quarter sleeves that exposed the bracelet. Swiftly retrieving his lovely cloak from beside the door he walked outside and apparated to the Leaky Cauldron, where he was meeting Orion. The pair were going to dinner at the Golden Spark but they had agreed to meet at the beginning of the Alley so they could enjoy a stroll through the Wizarding market together.

When he arrived in the pub he noted many glances thrown his way, though he ignored all but one. The appreciative gaze and warm, sensual smile that the current Lord Black pointed his way made a slight flush crawl across his cheeks and he took the opportunity of removing his matching fur-lined gloves to look down, though a slight chuckle gave evidence to the fact that his tactic hadn't gone unnoticed.

Still, he had composed himself enough to remain unembarrassed as he raised his head, turned a wry smile in Orion's direction, and said, "What you do to my composure, hmm?"

Orion merely smiled and extended his right arm, which Harrigan looped his left arm through, thus elegantly exposing the pair of matching Courting bracelets. The sudden whispers that sprang through the pub sounded nothing more than a very tetchy fire hissing at them, or a temperamental serpent. They exited the pub through the back door, Orion reaching out to tap the correct bricks before re-sheathing his wand.

Turning to Orion he asked, "Did you enjoy your time with your youngest, Regulus?"

"I did," Orion agreed in his rich baritone. "He told me he wishes to become a spell creator or archivist/researcher at the Ministry. Either one would suit him well, he's very clever and finds both history and spell creation fascinating. Luckily both Spell-Crafting and Research have many of the same pre-requisites, he chose his other classes to suit either one."