astronomy • marlene mckinnon

fifty seven

The grand dining room of the Rosier Manor glowed in the warm light cast by the glistening chandeliers and the candles all around. Cutlery clacking was drowned out by the occasional laughter from some tables while women in gorgeous gowns floated across the dance floor, being led by men in perfectly tailored suits.

The event was grand, as was heard from many, and as it should be for Evan Rosier and his wife's marriage was marking a year in a week, and the occasion deserved an extravagant celebration. The gracious hosts, the elder Mr. and Mrs. Rosier, welcomed their guests with a smile and then pointed toward the seemingly happy couple.

"They make such a charming couple," Celeste Lestrange commented from across the room with a hand on her heart while conversing with Walburga Black. The woman nodded with a smile plastered on her face, eyes moving back to her daughter standing next to her husband, laughing with each other.

The blond adjusted the collars of his black coat before he picked up two glasses of champagne and handed one to his wife, who accepted it with a gracious smile, one hand going up to her hair, fingers running around the silver jewels which held her hair together in an elegant knot, making sure that it was still in one place.

A disappointed sigh emerged from the other side of the room as Maria Selwyn shook her head and looked at her friends, "She's still not with child; it's been a year!"

While the group of women seemed disappointed, Rabastan Lestrange, who overheard the conversation, seemed delighted with the news. He picked up a treacle tart, eyes moving back to the couple, specifically to the young woman adorning in an emerald green dress made of layers of silk, the skirt of the same reaching the floor, covering whatever shoes she was wearing. The bodice had a Queen Anne neckline, going as down to her cleavage to be deemed as respectful but also show off her curves.

Silver decorated the bottom of the dress, as well as the borders of the neckline, her face glowing like that of a bride herself, with makeup done to perfection. She wasn't wearing any gloves, charm bracelets adorned her wrists, and the only ring she had on was the one on her left hand's ring finger. The dark mark was hidden by a concealment charm, he assumed, for he could not see it on her arm. She looked beautiful, she always did.

His eyes were fixated on her as Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange approached the couple, wishing them congratulations. He was looking at her lips as she was engaged in conversation with her cousin when he felt a slight hit on his back.

He looked around, quite annoyed, and Alexander Thorn looked back with an exasperated expression, "Get over yourself; she's married now."

The evening passed as it always did, and families found themselves sitting on tables as the dance floor emptied as dinner time approached. Astraea Black-Rosier sat down in between her mother and husband as their families took their seats. She looked around, her heart feeling like it would jump out of her body and splatter across the floor right in the middle of the table. That would make a lovely decoration.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes as her father-in-law asked her father another question about the ministry just for the sake of maintaining a conversation when both of them were clearly disinterested. There were a million reasons why she could list this evening as the worst evening ever, starting with how her mother-in-law's taste in music was absolutely bland, her dress was scratchy, the pasta was tasteless, and how she was sitting on a large table with her entire (extended) family except her brother who was at school, for dinner at a gala organized to celebrate a year of the only Rosier heir's marriage.

The raven-haired girl zoned out of the conversation, stabbing her food with her fork, only regaining focus when Valerie Rosier took her name.

"Ah yes, I remember when Evan used to come home and talk about Astraea all the time," The woman smiled, and Astraea turned to her husband, holding in a laugh when she saw him mirror her confused expression for only a moment before he smiled, also going back to stabbing his food with his fork as his mother continued talking.