December 12th, 1890 — Malfoy Residence, Wellingtonshire

"What do you make of it?" Aldous asked of his sister before she could reasonably be expected to have finished looking over the letter, charmed so that November might understand the Latin—not a language expected of even accomplished ladies.

The letter had, understandably, come as something of a surprise on multiple fronts. Firstly, Aldous Crouch had never been in the business of receiving overtures of admiration, and had quite imagined to continue on in such a fashion for much of his life. Secondly, of course, the words themselves and the language in which they had been delivered; the Latin had a poetry to it, at least on parchment. And thirdly, the anonymity of it. Given his incredibly limited understanding of the opposite sex, it had been his dear sister's advice he sought out, for Malfoy would tell him to pay it no heed, Reuben would laugh, and Roman was likely to have little more insight than Aldous himself.

November, though, was a wildcard—her opinion on the matter would be trustworthy and was not to be predicted.

— November Malfoy/Ursula Black —

  

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —

When Aldous had produced the letter and handed it to her, Nova had expected almost anything but this. Not that her brother didn't deserve feminine admiration or possess inadequate qualities to inspire it, on the contrary she thought her brother exceedingly accomplished and with much to recommend him! It was simply that she'd never known him to be involved with a woman, not even in a one-sided sort of way. It was quite wonderful that he was finally getting the recognition he deserved as a very eligible gentleman, but she couldn't help but be surprised by the suddenness of it all.

Then she found herself surprised by the forwardness of the letter. Never in her wildest dreams would she have sent such a letter to Gaius before they were engaged, she wasn't entirely sure she'd send such a letter now. Not that it was obscene, it was just very... daring. Nova would never be so frank unless she was certain it would be received well and only after the other party had introduced it.

After almost a minute of silence after her brother's words, Nova finally gave him a response. "It is... Do you have an idea of whom might have sent it?" Surely this lady held an acquaintance with her brother and enough so to know that her letter wouldn't be considered strange and potentially vulgar? If she was a complete stranger then she would have no option but to fervently hope that her brother burned the thing and never became entangled with the author.

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   Aldous Crouch

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Of course he had tried to puzzle out the sender, but Aldous' investigative efforts were rather thwarted by how flabbergasted he was to have received such a note. True, he had not exactly had a long time to mull over it, but still—when he tried, the wizard was invariably distracted by confusion and amazement.

"If I could think of any such lady, my dear," he answered, "I assure you that I might have mentioned her to you before now."

— November Malfoy/Ursula Black —

  

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —

Of course he didn't know, if he knew who was sending him such letters he would know whether he wanted to encourage this lady or not. If he didn't care for the advances he probably wouldn't want to share it and would sooner ignore it or let the lady down. If he did have a fancy for the lady he probably wouldn't want to be sharing private love letters.

"Well she must know you..." That was stating the obvious but maybe this woman was only vaguely acquainted with him, one didn't need to know someone properly to deeply admire them. "I would imagine she works at the Ministry, brother. It must be a bold lady who would send you this and ladies who work amongst so many gentlemen must be bold."

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"That seems a practical conclusion," he mused—especially given the proportion of women in his acquaintance employed by the Ministry of Magic—"though I think you would find yourself surprised at how long a list of suspects that would leave us with."

He sighed, bemusedly.

— November Malfoy/Ursula Black —

  

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —

"Really?" How many women could possibly be employed by the Ministry? It couldn't be that many, surely? "Are there a great many in your department? How did you come to receive the letter?"

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"The letter arrived by owl, or at least that was what my secretary led me to understand—you must remember, Sister," Aldous pointed out kindly, "that there are a great many jobs a the Ministry of Magic that simply would not be appropriate for a man...although, that doesn't stop witches from being hired in those that would, either."

— November Malfoy/Ursula Black —

  

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —

Nova could think of secretaries but were there really more than a handful of those? Oh there were welcome witches too she supposed, and then the odd woman in a non-female specific occupation. Still, she didn't think there could be all that many but if her brother said otherwise then there must be. "If you could find out what sort of owl dropped it off..." Unless it was a very distinct owl and it belonged to the lady and wasn't borrowed then it wouldn't really help much. "You might be best writing back, that is if you really wish to know."

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   Angelica Selwyn

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"Surely I cannot write to a strange woman!" Aldous exclaimed in...not horror, but decidedly not glee, either. Fleetingly, he wondered if November would have written back to a strange man if in his own shoes, but quickly dismissed that as foolishness, even were she not happily married.

— November Malfoy/Ursula Black —

  

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —

Nova flushed slightly at her brother's agitated response. She hadn't meant to suggest anything improper! She knew it was rather unseemly to write back but she could think of no other way of deducing the author without risking mistake and putting too much effort and time into something that was very possibly a hoax or else not worth pursuing. "No, no, it is not ideal at all." After a beat she continued, "I think you should put it away and think no more of it, brother. Knowing who wrote it can only satisfy your curiosity, otherwise this lady lacks decorum and no good can come from her acquaintance." It troubled the romantic part of her but she wouldn't have her brother think she would encourage him into an acquaintance with a morally questionable woman.

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But his curiosity so yearned to be satisfied! Nonetheless, Aldous knew his sister was right, and hadn't he come to November for advice in the first place?

"You must keep it," he directed, nodding to the letter. "I do not wish for it to remind me of its mysterious origins."

— November Malfoy/Ursula Black —

  

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —

"Oh." Nova glanced towards the letter as though it were suddenly a cursed object. "Of course, I shall take it for safekeeping if that's what you'd like?" If he wanted it out of temptations way then he could burn it, instead he would entrust it to her? Did that mean he wanted her to find out who the author was?

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Aldous hesitated for one last moment before nodding again. This would, the wizard concluded, absolutely for the best.

"Now," he said brightly, an abrupt change in conversation, "how are my dear nephews?"

  

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —