Arcturus blinked a few times as the door opened. This was his distant cousin Narcissa; the family resemblance was obvious despite the fact that she was fair-haired. Had he arrived too early? Perhaps she'd forgotten to expect him. The skirt she was wearing was at a length that Arcturus' ten-year-old sister would have rejected as too short for a girl her age. He was used to – almost used to – seeing muggles wandering the streets in various stages of undress, but this surprised him far more.
He was, of course, far too polite to mention it, and smiled back at her, hoping that she hadn't noticed his momentary look of shock.
'Thank you for inviting me, cousin,' he said in return. Then she leant down towards him, and that startled look was back in his eyes again as he realised what she meant to do. Arcturus stepped back quickly, and offered her a little courtly bow, as if that had always been his intention. Then, for good measure, he put out his hand to shake hers. 'How do you do?' he said by way of greeting. Arcturus' family had always been extremely insistent on proper etiquette, even in private, and it would never have occurred to him to drop the habit.
'It's awfully nice to meet you properly,' he continued as he stepped inside the house. 'And I ought to say...well, I apologise for my behaviour earlier. I shouldn't have let my emotions get the better of me, especially not in public like that. I don't usually behave that way, please don't think it reflects on my family, I just…' he trailed off, glancing around the hallway. 'Everything's quite alright now. How are you?'