[Fic:] Chapter 13 Family History Lesson Part 1
Title: Chapter 13 Family History Lesson Part 1
Author :
smirkingcat
Rating: PG-13
Word Count : 1.215
Notes:find part one @lj, @dw
many thanks and gratitude to
themightyflynn all the beta!
sorry for the long delay and silence - i battled rl, health issues and immense demands on my person at the same time, but i will catch up, eventually! i have plans! and i wont be discouraged!
used for
hp_bunintheoven October prompt 2: nervous
Summary: Getting the first part of the family story, never knowing how much of those inevitable are to follow.
Warnings: fluff, mpreg, D/s- subtext, OOC | for this chapter and for certain the next change of pov
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Severus noticed that, up close to the mansion he could finally make out the different styles and materials. The portico was made of white marble and was rather interesting to look at. However, the grandeur of the image it presented was a bit ruined by the small towers which were built out of wood and rose out of the main tower.
Architecture was never Severus’ strong point, but it was easy to see that these were a later addition. He also could not deny that it made him wonder the reason for their construction and what they housed that did not fit anywhere else in the large mansion.
After they passed two rows of expensive columns in what even he could identify as Ionic style, they made it to the front door. For a moment, Severus was not sure if his eyes weren’t deceiving him. The large doorway, which was three quarters of the height of the columns was twin French door with what he presumed was metal formed in an ornamental design built out of many thin poles.
It was so unlike the British wizarding way, where the old families all had heavy wooden doors, which could only be opened by magic. The only similarity was the carving with the welded metal, but even that was a difference, as in the wooden doors it was an inlaid design, but here it was a design outside of the glass. And what he saw through the door had the potential to be as intimidating as Malfoy Manor. The Zabinis certainly had style, even if it was their own unique one.
What astonished him the most, however, was that the doors opened of their own violation the closer he stepped. It took him a moment to realise that when Blaise said he had added him to the wards, it also meant he was granted access not only to the property but also to the house. It made sense, certainly, since they were planning to live here. It did however not change the peculiarity of the situation.
The entry hall was spacious and rather elegant. With a polished white marble floor and white walls, the room got a lot of light. Colourful orchids found in elegant pots on the floor in front of the floor to-ceiling reaching windows and on the lone table in the middle of the room were not only perfectly situated, but also made the whole room appear a lot friendlier. Never to mention that their fragrance was appealing to Severus, and that he could envision himself taking up that one comfortable wingback chair and read his Potions Quarterly. The observation surprised him, given the nature of the room. Who would make the entry hall this comfortable?
”This room is one of the oldest in the house, but the function had changed. It was the favourite room of Liberius Zabini, the grandfather of Aloysius Zabini. He was the first Zabini to settle on the island with his wife Electra. According to family legend, Zabinis supposedly get the lips and eyes from her good genes. However we have always been good looking. And this is not an exaggeration, there are too many statues all over Italy, Greece and Spain speaking about the beauty of my family.“
Blaise shrugged his shoulders, as if it was utterly ordinary to come from a family who, for centuries, has been admired for their beauty. Then again, Severus ventured, to him, it was.
”This is the part that had survived al the fires, explosions, accidents and remodelling by later generations, most likely due to Aloysius magic. It was him and Wulfric Dryden figuring out the links between wand movements, intentions and spellwork. According to family gossip, Wulfric had lost more than just his heart,“ Blaise said and moved forward.
Severus could not even fathom knowing so much about his own family, or what it must feel like to be surrounded by so much history. Suddenly, he remembered a six year old Draco struggling to remember the Malfoy family line back to their ancient times. He remembered how the little fists had thudded against his chest, when he had picked up the small boy who had a temper tantrum due to high expectations.
But, at the same time, he remembered Blaise casually lounging in the Slytherin common room, being completely at ease and revelling in the easy life his family enabled him to have. Pure-blood society had many different facets and shades, even in the same circles.
Severus followed Blaise through the doorway which, once more, was framed with two marble pillars. They entered, what Severus thought at first was another great hall, only that it was not.
The room opened up to reveal the most ludicrously lavish staircase Severus had ever seen. Twisting and turning, it led up to the five different floors. A red carpet led from three different sides to the first staircase, trimmed in gold edging. After five steps, the staircase split, heading off to both the right and left. Severus, following Blaise, placed a hand on the banister, noticing that the balusters were made of pure, turned crystal. He turned left, following the gold-trimmed carpet.
”This is a rather unexpected change of style. I am not sure if I should be impressed, or appalled,“ Severus said, because something had to be said.
”I will have you know that crystal balusters were en vogue back in the late seventeen-eighties. And, as usual for a Zabini-Matriarch my great-great- great- grandmother Eliza Zabini got her wish of having the most impressive staircase of her time.
“Interestingly, this particular staircase was paid for in total by the Crouch family, which is also one of the reasons they had to step down from their lavish lifestyle. The descendants of Eliza, myself included, count ourselves fortunate that Eliza knew better than to propagate with a Crouch, though. I think my mother would be appalled if she had to call Barty Crouch a family member, no matter how distant.“
”Something about the way of the Zabinis does sound rather frightening,“ Severus said, and took a closer look at the crystals. ”Is it my imagination, or is your family actually using these crystals as a focal point for your wards?“ he asked, rather intrigued by the idea.
”Not so much as a focal point as an additional anchor point. Though, to be honest, I myself have no clue where the true focal point is. That was my grandfather’s doing though, because he refused to share that knowledge with my mother, for reasons I shall explain another time, but with the result that I do not know the focal points to the wards of my own home.“
Suddenly, what had been said about resetting the wards and changing things about the house made much more sense. It would be suicidal to change something when one was unable to locate the focal point of the wards, especially wards as old as these. However, it did not fully explain why Blaise had all tensed up, with his fingers fidgeting with the seams of his sleeves.
”Why don’t we shorten the grand tour for the moment and you show me your rooms next?“ Severus asked, pitching his voice lower, so that Blaise understood that this was not a suggestion.
Chapter 14: @lj | @dw
This entry was originally posted at https://smirkingcat.dreamwidth.org/110500.html.
Author :
smirkingcat
Rating: PG-13
Word Count : 1.215
Notes:find part one @lj, @dw
many thanks and gratitude to
themightyflynn all the beta!
sorry for the long delay and silence - i battled rl, health issues and immense demands on my person at the same time, but i will catch up, eventually! i have plans! and i wont be discouraged!
used for
hp_bunintheoven October prompt 2: nervous
Summary: Getting the first part of the family story, never knowing how much of those inevitable are to follow.
Warnings: fluff, mpreg, D/s- subtext, OOC | for this chapter and for certain the next change of pov
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Severus noticed that, up close to the mansion he could finally make out the different styles and materials. The portico was made of white marble and was rather interesting to look at. However, the grandeur of the image it presented was a bit ruined by the small towers which were built out of wood and rose out of the main tower.
Architecture was never Severus’ strong point, but it was easy to see that these were a later addition. He also could not deny that it made him wonder the reason for their construction and what they housed that did not fit anywhere else in the large mansion.
After they passed two rows of expensive columns in what even he could identify as Ionic style, they made it to the front door. For a moment, Severus was not sure if his eyes weren’t deceiving him. The large doorway, which was three quarters of the height of the columns was twin French door with what he presumed was metal formed in an ornamental design built out of many thin poles.
It was so unlike the British wizarding way, where the old families all had heavy wooden doors, which could only be opened by magic. The only similarity was the carving with the welded metal, but even that was a difference, as in the wooden doors it was an inlaid design, but here it was a design outside of the glass. And what he saw through the door had the potential to be as intimidating as Malfoy Manor. The Zabinis certainly had style, even if it was their own unique one.
What astonished him the most, however, was that the doors opened of their own violation the closer he stepped. It took him a moment to realise that when Blaise said he had added him to the wards, it also meant he was granted access not only to the property but also to the house. It made sense, certainly, since they were planning to live here. It did however not change the peculiarity of the situation.
The entry hall was spacious and rather elegant. With a polished white marble floor and white walls, the room got a lot of light. Colourful orchids found in elegant pots on the floor in front of the floor to-ceiling reaching windows and on the lone table in the middle of the room were not only perfectly situated, but also made the whole room appear a lot friendlier. Never to mention that their fragrance was appealing to Severus, and that he could envision himself taking up that one comfortable wingback chair and read his Potions Quarterly. The observation surprised him, given the nature of the room. Who would make the entry hall this comfortable?
”This room is one of the oldest in the house, but the function had changed. It was the favourite room of Liberius Zabini, the grandfather of Aloysius Zabini. He was the first Zabini to settle on the island with his wife Electra. According to family legend, Zabinis supposedly get the lips and eyes from her good genes. However we have always been good looking. And this is not an exaggeration, there are too many statues all over Italy, Greece and Spain speaking about the beauty of my family.“
Blaise shrugged his shoulders, as if it was utterly ordinary to come from a family who, for centuries, has been admired for their beauty. Then again, Severus ventured, to him, it was.
”This is the part that had survived al the fires, explosions, accidents and remodelling by later generations, most likely due to Aloysius magic. It was him and Wulfric Dryden figuring out the links between wand movements, intentions and spellwork. According to family gossip, Wulfric had lost more than just his heart,“ Blaise said and moved forward.
Severus could not even fathom knowing so much about his own family, or what it must feel like to be surrounded by so much history. Suddenly, he remembered a six year old Draco struggling to remember the Malfoy family line back to their ancient times. He remembered how the little fists had thudded against his chest, when he had picked up the small boy who had a temper tantrum due to high expectations.
But, at the same time, he remembered Blaise casually lounging in the Slytherin common room, being completely at ease and revelling in the easy life his family enabled him to have. Pure-blood society had many different facets and shades, even in the same circles.
Severus followed Blaise through the doorway which, once more, was framed with two marble pillars. They entered, what Severus thought at first was another great hall, only that it was not.
The room opened up to reveal the most ludicrously lavish staircase Severus had ever seen. Twisting and turning, it led up to the five different floors. A red carpet led from three different sides to the first staircase, trimmed in gold edging. After five steps, the staircase split, heading off to both the right and left. Severus, following Blaise, placed a hand on the banister, noticing that the balusters were made of pure, turned crystal. He turned left, following the gold-trimmed carpet.
”This is a rather unexpected change of style. I am not sure if I should be impressed, or appalled,“ Severus said, because something had to be said.
”I will have you know that crystal balusters were en vogue back in the late seventeen-eighties. And, as usual for a Zabini-Matriarch my great-great- great- grandmother Eliza Zabini got her wish of having the most impressive staircase of her time.
“Interestingly, this particular staircase was paid for in total by the Crouch family, which is also one of the reasons they had to step down from their lavish lifestyle. The descendants of Eliza, myself included, count ourselves fortunate that Eliza knew better than to propagate with a Crouch, though. I think my mother would be appalled if she had to call Barty Crouch a family member, no matter how distant.“
”Something about the way of the Zabinis does sound rather frightening,“ Severus said, and took a closer look at the crystals. ”Is it my imagination, or is your family actually using these crystals as a focal point for your wards?“ he asked, rather intrigued by the idea.
”Not so much as a focal point as an additional anchor point. Though, to be honest, I myself have no clue where the true focal point is. That was my grandfather’s doing though, because he refused to share that knowledge with my mother, for reasons I shall explain another time, but with the result that I do not know the focal points to the wards of my own home.“
Suddenly, what had been said about resetting the wards and changing things about the house made much more sense. It would be suicidal to change something when one was unable to locate the focal point of the wards, especially wards as old as these. However, it did not fully explain why Blaise had all tensed up, with his fingers fidgeting with the seams of his sleeves.
”Why don’t we shorten the grand tour for the moment and you show me your rooms next?“ Severus asked, pitching his voice lower, so that Blaise understood that this was not a suggestion.
Chapter 14: @lj | @dw
This entry was originally posted at https://smirkingcat.dreamwidth.org/110500.html.