Prospects and Brothers (Christopher)

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Serafina held back a smirk at the laugh. No, she was no muggle or half-blood, and it was foolish to think as much. Had anyone else said it, would have resulted in Serafina's utmost rage; but she was at home, with family, and she had no qualms joking about it with Chris. His reaction showed that he understood, too, and she was not offended. There was no way he would have believed her words to be true, nor would he have taken them seriously.

His statement made her laugh, genuinely and entirely, and she shook her head in amusement. "A woman such as myself would take that as a compliment," she said, shooting him a grin. "Honestly, Chris, I would hold the door open for you and show her out myself." To make friends, of course, she added mentally, but not out loud. It was dangerous to admit those sort of things to people, even if they were fifteen and your younger brother. Chris was, after all, the heir, and Serafina was no fool - she would have to be very careful what information she allowed him to know about her, and what she spoke of in front of him.

At the same time, he was her brother, and she felt somewhat safe sharing certain things with him. He would listen, and he would comment, but in the end of the day if he thought she was going to be a black sheep or bring shame to the family, once he was in power, he could very easily strip her of her last name. She had already made the necessary bargains with her father to keep her position safe as long as he was still in charge, but with Chris... Well, despite being family, there was a lot she didn't know about her brother.

And, as anyone knew, knowledge equalled power.

Still, Serafina was working him, slowly, testing him at times and gently pushing him in certain directions at others. In all honestly, if he married someone who shared her point of views, she would be satisfied, but slightly worried at the same time; she knew was she was capable of, and as much as she wanted the Richardson family to be slightly less conventional in the aspect of their future female Pureblood views, she did care for her brother. And to think that he could be married to someone like her? Well, that thought was slightly unnerving, not that she would ever admit it.

"Yes, Chris, let her talk," she answered. "That doesn't mean you have to listen. The art of nodding and making the right noises at the right times is something I would have thought you picked up by now, what with Verena and Stephanie both in school with you." The last statement was said in slight jest, her tone amused. Of her three siblings, she liked them all for different reasons, with none truly being a favourite. But Chris... Well, he was always the one she could count on for proper discussions of things beyond the surface level.

That didn't mean she didn't know how to talk clothes and men and all the things she was expected to know, of course, and if the look on Chris' face was anything to go by, she was certain it was all her sisters knew to speak of, although she couldn't be a hundred percent sure.

"So direct the subjects," she said, simply. "That is, after all, what we are trained to do." The 'we' she had used, though, was directed more towards females than Purebloods in general, and her tone indicated as such. "Play them on a ground they thought they knew and you'll win, simply because they're not expecting it."

At his comment, she laughed again. "For all you know, that's a possibility," she said, just a hint of dryness in her tone. She nodded at his mention of the library. "If you're sure. But know you are welcome, anytime, should your hidey hole prove to be ineffective against things that slither their way into tight spaces," she said, outright making a reference to Verena without actually speaking her name.

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Chris simply responded to his sister's words with a smile. They could jest about such things, but if he were to be faced with a woman such as his sister? Christopher wouldn't really know what to do with himself. Though, he knew when the meeting finally finished, he would at least get to tell his parents no - a luxury his siblings did not have.

Serafina's answer to him letting the girls talk wasn't one Christopher liked though, and he let out a soft sigh. "I don't want to do that with my wife, Sera. If they can't... amuse me enough for me to take interest in their conversation, what use are they going to be to me?" He prompted, verging on controversial in his opinion in that moment, but not totally - he was still focused on himself as any other Pureblood male would be.

"And if I must guide every conversation, then the woman in question wouldn't make a good wife." He finished, his tone showing he would not move from that opinion. Whilst he didn't want a wife that would talk the back legs off of a donkey, or a woman too clever for her own good, he did want someone who could relate, add to a conversation and understand him enough to be happy.

The insistence that he was welcome made Christopher nod. "I'll come across if it gets too much, but I was going to speak to father to see if we could leave once more in a few days. I don't wish to be stuck here longer than necessary, I have a lot to do at school." Christopher explained, though he kept what he had to do a secret because his sister did not need to know what he got up to at school.

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At his statement about being amused, Serafina hid a smile. “None,” she replied, seriously. It was true to an extent; if Chris did not think a wife was useful if they didn’t amuse him, then no matter how useful they may actually be, he would never realise it. After all, what one perceived was far more important than the truth, because that could always be hidden.

If people believed you were genuinely kind-hearted and your intentions reflected this, you could get away with things others deemed as ‘mean’ could not. Perception of a person was always the thing that made the world turn, and it was the only thing that really mattered. It was what made her do what she did, in any case, and that was one of the ways she knew her brother and her were similar, and what she worked on.

After all, if she could convince him that what he needed – what was useful to him – was changing the norms of the female Pureblood in their family (namely, that they be given similar choosing rights), then her entire purpose would be fulfilled. It was just a matter of how to convince Chris this was what he needed. Whether or not it was true was insignificant.

At the very least, he had shown some of his cards, and Serafina liked what she was seeing thus far. Her brother seemed to want someone who could, at the very least, hold her own in a conversation, which wasn’t necessarily conventional, and this proved to be a good thing in her eyes. Her brother wasn’t as old fashioned as some of the other males, which meant all the work she had put into her siblings had not been for nothing.

Of course, she said nothing to indicate she had been playing and shaping Chris from the time she was old enough to know where she stood in her opinions. No, Serafina kept her cards close to her chest as any good player would do, and knew that bragging and showing off would only cost her.

”I don't wish to be stuck here longer than necessary, I have a lot to do at school."

“I’m sure your sisters would appreciate that,” she said, tone verging on dry sarcasm, but with maids and servants passing by them, she did not dare lest word got back to her mother about it. While her father she could easily sidestep, it was the condescending glances of the witch that made toe the line with caution. No, Isabelle had her own form of power, and Serafina had nothing (yet) to go against it.

She paused for a moment, and turned to give him a look of semi-curiosity. “Can you not do homework or studies here?” she inquired, suspecting in that moment Chris’ ‘a lot’ did not actually include these things. Of course, she wasn’t going to outright confront him; if he didn’t want to share, that was fine with her, but she would give him an opportunity or two to do so, should he decide he wanted to.

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Christopher couldn't help but frown when his sister admitted there would be no use in a woman who couldn't amuse him. So what did she want him to learn from that? Sometimes he wondered if any of Serafina's ideologies made any sense. But, to avoid a headache and/or a lecture on something she would insist he should have none, Christopher let it slide because he truly wasn't interested enough to worry right now.

He had plenty of time - he would keep telling himself.

"I don't care what they do or do not appreciate. They only care about what suits them, anyway." He muttered in response, loud enough only for Sera to hear as some members of their staff moved past. It was true of Verena at least, Stephanie... well, that was neither here nor there at the moment. But with time... who knew what kind of monster that girl would become.

The comment of homework made Chris smile in response. A knowing smile because he knew what his sister was trying to do. Worm her way in to what he may or may not be doing at the school, probably in an attempt to hold some kind of power over him that he wasn't going to give up freely. "My dear sister, if you think that is all I have waiting for me back at the school, you're more naive than I could have imagined." Christopher responded softly. "Verena isn't the only one who has useful contacts at the school. Relationships to build. Amongst other things."

And that was all Christopher was going to say on the matter. They had reached the staircase, and Christopher moved on to the first step. "You'll excuse me, I have Jeffries draw me a bath when I came in. As much as I'd love to spend the day discussing politics and books, I have more pushing matters to attend to." With that, he gave his sister a small nod of his head in respect and moved off up the stairs to do exactly what he'd said he would be doing.

» Useful Prospects (Lisabeth & Joshua)
» First Impressions Are(n't) Everything [Christopher]
» Christopher Richardson
» The Follow Up (Christopher & Stephen)
» You Can Stop Staring, You Know? (Stephen & Christopher)