Regulus did not have long to wait, for though he was early the master of the house was ready for him; a servant - who, despite her status, seemed to have an haughty aura etched into her - led him down ornately decorated hallways and beneath gold and rouge arches. Paintings of a myriad ancestors smiled down upon the Black heir as he passed, some even waving, recognizing the nobility of bone structure and gait.
In the study, a Rodolphus shaped blob lurked near an open window, and behind the billowing curtains came dark tendrils of smoke. "You're early." But Rodolphus gave a rare sort of smile that softened his propensity for stating the obvious. "How have you been keeping, young Regulus?"