Formal Request

Upon returning to Prince Manor, Reginald, and Georgine had been greeted by the Prince family house elves: Dawn, Tadbey, and their child, Laldey. After being greeted, Georgine went to rest in her chambers, while Reginald returned to his study to read and reply to various correspondence that had arrived at Prince Manor, whilst he was away. He first replied to the most urgent missives of business, including one from Malfoy, before retiring for the day.

The following morning, Reginald had started off his day by tossing more than a few of the remaining letters into the flames of the fireplace. He had absolutely no intentions of ever replying to such ill-advised invitations. There were some things that he simply had no desire to participate in. Especially, when such foul, perverse suggestions were made by the host in a terrible, pitiful effort to gain his favor.

With a frown, Reginald comes to the last wax-sealed envelope on his desk that shows the encrusted seal of the Avery family. Narrowing his eyes, a bit at the letter, he furrows his brows a bit in perplexation. The present, Head of the Avery family is much younger than himself. And despite being part of the same pureblood circle, they had never truly interacted with each other beyond necessities.

Pensive, Reginald grabs his silver letter open and slices neatly through the wax to read the letter found inside. With a soft crinkle, the letter is unfolded, and he begins to read.

"To Sir Reginald Prince,

Allow me to formally introduce myself, my name is Evan Avery, and I am the son of, Evan Avery Sr. I am a recent widower as my wife, Madeline, has recently passed away after the birth of my newborn son, Barnabas Avery. There is no need for further condolences as I am grateful for the gifts given upon the birth of my son, and the wreath of flowers that were sent for the funeral of my belated wife by the Prince Household.

That being the case, I am well aware that we are strangers, however, I attended Hogwarts with your two grandchildren, Rowan and Severus Prince. We were all in the same year together. If I may, I wish to request that you permit a private meeting over tea with Rowan, your granddaughter.

I swear on my honor as an Avery that I do not mean her any harm nor am I seeking to inquire for her hand in marriage or to arrange a future betrothal between our two houses. I merely wish to speak to her regarding a private matter. I understand that you are a busy man, and as such, I beseech you to reply at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,

Evan Avery."

Furrowing his brow, Reginald pensively sets the letter down and says, "Dawn, come hither."

Mere seconds later the Prince family house elf appears in the master's study. "Yes, Master? Master called Dawn?" She asked as her large droopy ears eagerly flicked in the air.

"Bring my sister to me, Dawn," Reginald calmly ordered. "And if she is asleep, wake her and ensure that she arrives in a timely manner. If she refuses to comply, you have my permission to give my strict orders to Tadbey, he'll see to it that my sister makes her way in a timely fashion as requested."

"Yes, Master!" Dawn squeaked, before vanishing away to Miss Georgine's boudoir.

The boudoir of Miss Georgine is as elegant and lavish as ever as Georgine still in her bathrobe rests on her bed and is sprawled on her side reading a drama. Without even glancing up from her novel, Georgine in a resigned fashion says, "What does my brother want now, Dawn?"

"Master has requested that Miss Georgine come down to see him in the study," Dawn solemnly said as she shook her head in emphasis, while her hands apprehensively clutched her white apron. It wasn't that Miss Georgine was a terrible master, but Miss Georgine was rather fickle at times. And Dawn did not want to become between the Master and Miss Georgine.

"And what if I refuse?" Georgine threatened without glancing up.

"Dawn has been authorized to recount master's orders to hubby, and hubby will ensure that master's orders are obeyed," Dawn replied with reservation in her tone of voice.

Georgine clicks her tongue in annoyance, before snapping her book shut rather loudly. It was better that she goes to see her brother on her own reconnaissance or else that blasted house elf would come after her. And Tadbey always relished an opportunity to rile her up.

Sniffing, Georgine slips out of bed and slides her feet into silk slippers. Tying her silk bedrobe shut, she says, "Let my brother know that I am coming," before closing the door loudly behind her with a thunk.

Tromping down the stairs, Georgine stomps over to her brother's study and slams the door open without even knocking. "Well?" She impatiently huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I am waiting," and tapped her silk-soled foot against the carpeted floor.

"Manners, Georgine. And close the door behind you," Reginald chided his younger sister, who let out a loud huff, before slamming the door shut and taking a seat across from him.

"Really, Georgine," Reginald further nagged at her. "One would think that you were raised in the wild and not by a governess at all."

Georgine rolls her eyes and says, "Enough chitter-chatter, brother. Let us get down to business, I have a very busy day planned ahead if you must truly know."

Reginald snorts and deadpanned, "Lounging in bed is not an activity, Georgine."

"Says, you," Georgine loftily said.

Refraining from rolling his eyes, Reginald tosses the Avery letter over to his sister. "Read it," Reginald said as he leaned back against his chair. "And tell me, what you think."

Georgine grabs hold of the letter and begins to read. After a moment, she lifts her eyes away from the letter and says, "What of it, brother? It is a simple, private meeting, and the Avery youth has vouched for his purpose."

"That is not what concerns me," Reginald muttered. "But rather just what Avery wishes to speak to her about. Rowan and Severus are not friends with the boy, and in fact, were quite hostile to a certain extent if we recall the incident in their first year at Hogwarts."

There is a pensive stretch of silence afterward.