Chapter 1 - Warring White Pinks on Creeping Cereus

As this is a Regency story, there is bound to be some AU-ness and OOC-ness. Please bear with me. Emphases are in italics and titles of books &ca are underlined. This story places great stress on the significance and meanings of flowers.

For the lovely Miss Keladry Lupin

Language of Flowers

Chapter 1 – Warring White Pinks on Creeping Cereus

Ten years ago, the Honourable Miss Granger had the good fortune to be admitted into Garswoth, a select seminary that housed and educated young ladies of the highest rank, and was inculcated thereby with what most of fashionable Society considered a large quantity of useless knowledge. Though most of the other young ladies' parents marvelled at Miss Granger' turn for books, they allowed her to possess a certain elegance of deportment, second only to their daughters' charms – naturally. Her noble parents, Lord and Lady Orthod, however, did not share this view. Their daughter's achievements, they felt, would only serve to elevate her status in society. Instead of following fashionable Society's lead in condemning Miss Granger's parents as eccentrics, Garswoth regarded Lord Orthod as one of its warmest patrons in revising the curricula for female education. Indeed, Garswoth's Headmistress and head of the seminary's board of directors, Lady Minerva McGonagall, daughter of the fifth Earl of Transfig, was extremely proud to have at last produced a student who was adept in skills that did not serve to highlight feminine delicacy. A spinster by choice for over seventy winters, Lady Minerva was extremely pleased to learn that Miss Granger had wanted to stay a further three years with the school to assist in the younger ladies' education.

Fate and her half-sister, Politics, however, decided otherwise, and after the first year of Miss Granger's position as Alchemy Mistress, civil war erupted in the country between the descendents of the twentieth Dunseof king.

The Dunseofs had ruled wizarding England since 1254 and until 1660 the succession had generally passed fairly peacefully from father to son. But Salazar IV, who died in 1650, had several sons and one daughter, whom he endowed with dukedoms, thus calling into being a race of magnates or aristocrats related by blood to the King, some of whom ultimately became intent on claiming the throne. The first was Richard of Ravenclaw, son of Princess Rowena, the Duchess of Ravenclaw in her own right, eldest child of Salazar IV. In 1660, Ravenclaw deposed his childless uncle Codric II and usurped the throne himself as Richard III, thus founding the royal House of Ravenclaw and overlooking the claim of Codric II's designated heir, his second cousin Edmund Riddle, then a child of eleven, who was descended from Henry, Duke of Hufflepuff, eldest surviving son of Salazar IV. Richard III's title to the throne was therefore dubious, but what he had taken he held on to, and the reputation of his successor, Richard IV, seemed to ensure that the House of Ravenclaw would continue to reign gloriously after his death. But Richard IV died young unexpectedly in 1725, leaving as his heir, a baby, Richard V. Richard V survived his minority, but he was a very ignorant and almost simple man, which cared little for the riches and show of this world. His reputation was saintly rather than regal, and as a ruler he was weak, possibly even mentally defective, being easily manipulated by his strong-minded Queen, Eleanor de Beauxbaton (from the Royal Wizarding family of France), and his factious magnates. Prominent among these magnates were the Evans, dukes of Gryffindor (later dubbed the House of Gryffindor), descended from Salazar III's by his fourth wife, Rose Evans, but born before their marriage. Richard III had in 1689 confirmed Codric II's Act of Parliament legitimising the Evans, but had issued a royal patent barring them from the succession. By Richard III's death in 1700, it would be argued that Letters Patent could not prevail against an Act of Parliament, and that the Evans did indeed have the right the British Wizarding Crown. Then there was Thomas Riddle, Earl of Voldemort whose mother, the Duchess of Slytherin in her own right (granddaughter of Salazar IV through his third son, Ambrose Salazar, Duke of Slytherin) had been executed by Richard IV in 1717 for plotting to seize the throne on behalf of Edmund Riddle, whose younger brother Marvolo, Earl of Voldemort, had been the late Duchess of Slytherin's husband. This son, Thomas Riddle, was heir to the Hufflepuff-Slytherin claim on the throne, since Edmund died childless in 1770. That claim was based doubly on descent through a woman from the Slytherin side of the royal House and a man through the Hufflepuff side. As the Salic Law barring women from succeeding or transmitting a claim to the throne did not exist in Wizarding Britain, Thomas Riddle, Lord Voldemort's, was indeed a superior claim to the throne to that of Ravenclaw. His lordship certainly shared this view and began styling himself heir to the House of Slytherin (thereby completely sublimating the Hufflepuff claim) and the rightful heir to the throne.

Richard V's ineptitude in government meant that by 1789 men were beginning to question the title of the House of Ravenclaw to the crown. There were those who held that Voldemort and his House of Slytherin had the better claim. The problem was that there was no written law appertaining to the succession. Later events would show that the dubious title did not matter if the monarch was strong and able to hold on to the throne. Thus might could and did triumph over right, that is, until stopped by a claim that had both might and right on its side. In 1800, Richard V suffered from what can be best diagnosed as an attack of catatonic schizophrenia – total mental withdrawal. This lasted eighteen months, during which Voldemort acted as Protector of Wizarding Britain and the Queen bore a son, Richard of Ravenclaw, whom the King acknowledged as his heir when he recovered. York's supporters, known collectively as the Death Eaters, however, did all they could to cast doubts ob the child's paternity. After his illness, Richard V's health remained feeble, which gave rise to more jostling for power between the court factions – on the one hand the Queen and the Evans, and on the other Voldemort, the powerful Lestrange, Nott, Goyle, MacNair, Crabbe and Malfoy families and his Death Eaters. Ousted from power as Lord Protector, Voldemort took the field and was victorious at the Battle of Moray in 1803, after which there was a precarious peace for four years. But by 1808, the Queen, according to the Death Eater Chronicle, was "ruling realm as she liked", promoting enemies to the House of Slytherin, welcoming squibs and enlightened muggles to the government and plotting to crush her rival, Voldemort, by force. Civil war broke out again and in July 1810, after several indecisive battles, Voldemort marched on London, and in a move popular with both sides, claimed the crown for himself, basing his claim on the right of the heir-general over the heir-male. While intimated into passing an Act of Accord to disinherit Prince Richard in September, Parliament would not agree to recognise Voldemort's demand to execute the young Prince or recognise his own superior claim to the throne. This provoked an incensed Voldemort to murder Prince Richard and mobilise his Death Eater corps to launch another war against Queen Eleanor and the House of Gryffindor. This sixth civil war in January 1811 marked Lady Orthod's death and Miss Granger's departure from Garswoth when she was recalled home to the country after a year as Alchemy Mistress. Safely ensconced at Richmond, she remained secluded in mourning for her mother and safe from the ravages of war at the Anglo-Scottish border.

Three years after the sixth civil war in May 1814, the House of Gryffindor and its Order of the Phoenix (founded by an obscure scion of a descendent of the fifteenth Dunseof king's illegitimate son) scored another victory in the Scottish wizarding county of Moray, and had annihilated Voldemort's Death Eater corps at the bloody and decisive Battle of Kilwinning on 29th December 1814 where Richard V was accidentally slain by a stray hex. Voldemort remained a fugitive until captured, imprisoned and executed in April 1815. His demise heralded the ascension of the last blood claimant to the Dunseof line to the throne. Thus on 30th April, Charles Henry Evans, the aged, war-fatigued and half-demented Duke of Gryffindor came to the throne as Henry VI and ended the War of the Cousins. Due to his indifferent physical and mental health, he was soon committed to the north-northwest wing of the Winter Palace. Citing the King's present incapacity to rule, Parliament passed an Act and declared his son, Henry, the Prince Regent, thus heralding a new age in wizarding history where trade and the arts flourished. Since the conflict had touched the lives of the aristocratic participants only, the country was by and large barely affected. Indeed, in Miss Granger's erudite study of the Wars of the Cousins (written under the nom de plume Hiero Gravitas), she wryly noted that there was no mass annihilation of the nobility as often claimed by sociological scholars for only five of the great aristocratic families became extinct as a result of the wars.

As the veil of peace fell across the land, the shroud of unhappiness engulfed the Orthod household when the Baron was struck by ill-health. However, his coughs did not deter him from securing his daughter's belated coming out. The society that had been so quick to forget Miss Granger at the outbreak of the sixth civil war soon was abuzz with gossip about the reclusive and pedantic Granger family. While her father's contributions to the tactical war effort were acknowledged, it was widely rumoured that Miss Granger had planned the Gryffindor attacks from the comfort of the Orthod estate at Richmond. Furthermore, most of society doubted openly as to her accomplishments, for unlike many of her contemporaries, Miss Granger and her father decided against circulating the extent of her actual inheritance. This oversight did not detract her merits from the eyes of her friends and former teachers; and despite three offers of marriage from the youngest son of the impecunious ducal family of Offaly, Lord Ronald Weasley, she vows she will have nought to do with marriage.

Miss Granger had other plans for herself, and considering the fact that she was regularly contributing articles to Ars Chemica under her nom de plume Hiero Gravitas, she earnestly believed that she had a future in writing or at least, teaching. She had spoken to Lady Minerva on this matter, as she had intended to seek a position at either Garswoth or Hogwarts School for Young Men to acquaint herself with the manner in which a school ought to be administered. As sole heiress to her father's fortune and all, she decided that she would use her inheritance to establish a school for young women where they would be taught to be useful rather than ornamental. Lady Minerva, who had done almost the exact same thing some forty years earlier, applauded the idea, secretly wishing she could override the decisions of all the other school directors and abolishing the basic feminine arts for a more rigorous education. Unable to meet most of Miss Granger's queries, she showed her former student's letter to her old friend, Albus Dumbledore, the Duke of Sanguine, and Headmaster of Hogwarts.

"It is all very well if she is truly set on this course," said the Duke, who kept his blue eyes affixed on the letter. "Yet, I cannot help but voice my reservations. She is young. Furthermore, she will encounter difficulties in the management of her plans when she inherits the Barony. There will be much talk when it becomes known that the Lady Orthod in her own right is administering and teaching in her own school."

Lady Minerva looked sternly at her friend, pursed her thin lips together and sought to keep her mild annoyance in check. "She will not be known as Lady Orthod when she teaches, Sanguine. By Nimue, you do not use your title in your administrative duties either. Your teaching staff are just as discrete as to their birth. Lord Lupin is still known simply as Mr in the confines of Hogwarts. And Filius too – he teaches in both our schools! You do not give Miss Granger credit for her powers of observation. Surely, she knows of their birth and situations in life; yet, they remain silent on it. She will exercise the same silence on her own position."

"Minerva, my sweet," chuckled her companion as he popped a lemon drop into his mouth. "Teaching without one's title is one matter, being Headmistress with one is another. People in our position who are a part of the ton yet apart from it vex society. It may not care much or Filius because he is a younger son of an Earl or Remus because he has come into money, but I know the difficulties too well. There isn't a day where I am constantly reminded of my Dukedom or my Order of the Phoenix. I may insist strongly that I am to be known quite plainly as Professor Dumbledore in the confines of Hogwarts, but my 'interests' in politics render that piece of land in Sanguine useful. Miss Granger would have to find a place between the Baroness and the common lady if she wants to succeed." He stroked his snowy long beard for a moment in thought and continued, "It will undoubtedly be too much for her, given her youth and inexperience with politics and society."

"Do you think so little of my students, Sanguine" asked Lady Minerva indignantly as she set down her teacup.

Sanguine's eyes twinkled slightly. "I've been inviting you to address me by my given name for the past fifty years, my dear. But to answer your question – no, I do not doubt Miss Granger's earnest ability or modest intellect. I fear she may have chosen this path out of pique or disappointment." He placed his hand on Lady Minerva's gently. "I've seen it happen before."

Lady Minerva quickly withdrew her hand and thought that her friend looked momentarily disappointed. As he sighed, she carefully stated her opinion. "There is no private disappointment as far as I can see."

"Are we speaking of her disappointment or yours?" enquired Sanguine who hovered his hand over Lady Minerva's before he decided to place it on his teacup. Pushing his half-moon spectacles up his nose bridge, he looked meaningfully at his old friend, who glared a warning at him.

"She is not like your godson!"

"He is yours too! You were with me at the altar when he was christened. It was the only time I could coax you near any altar, come to think on it."

The lady smiled quietly in spite of herself. "Not quite, I accompanied you to Gretna Green once..."

"To purchase kid gloves for my brother's wedding," he interposed with a laugh. "Still," he continued, hoping that his companion's mood had lightened somewhat. "Miss Granger seems to have a great deal of parallels with our godson."

"Nonsense! For one, she lacks his private disappointment."

"It is unusual for a lady her age to be so set on this course; there has to be a deeper explanation than a strong desire to teach and be useful," he reasoned. "Severus was the same when he came to us..."

"Sir James and Lady Potter are dead, Sanguine," she reminded him in a warning tone. "We do not speak ill of the departed, whether in the context of Severus's twenty odd year disappointment or no."

"Ah, but we must speak on the Potters, my dear, they were the indirect reasons for Severus's disappointment."

"And it provided him with a reason to adhere to this noble cause of education. It has made him stronger and he has since moved on from that incident."

"You may think so," murmured the Duke of Sanguine, folding his long gingers into a steeple, "if it gives you comfort." He smiled wryly at his friend as she poured herself another cup of tea. "You know, my sweet Minerva, we men," he paused as he caught her lower her eyes and purse her lips into a tight amused little smile at his phrase. "We men," he repeated with something resembling a wistful sigh, "are rather poor creatures. If the lady of our affections chuses another, we can do nothing. Left powerless, what can we do? We watch and try to be happy for her choice; then seek to be constant to her image in our hearts and minds."

"You assume all the members of your sex are gentlemen. The rakes and rattles would beg to differ. Moreover, Sanguine, you neglected to consider the feminine perspective. If there is no real declaration, we remain ignorant and cannot react accordingly," she said in a slow and deliberate manner, attempting to outstare his searching blue gaze.

"Declaring himself, you say," muttered the Duke in apparent absent-mindedness. "I think I may have hit on something for your Miss Granger when she comes to town next week."

"I do not like that smile in your eyes, my lord Duke! This is not one of your meddling schemes I hope?"

"Do you think so poorly on me?" he chuckled. "I will be nothing more than the bird with the suggestion; whether he takes up the proffered hint is entirely his business."

"Really?" questioned Lady Minerva flatly, clearly unimpressed with her friend's notion.

"Yes, really," he answered and brought her hand to his lips. "Thank you for tea, my dear, but I must be off. I have to catch Severus before he's incommunicado for the day. Do you think I'm presentable enough to step out onto the streets?"

Lady Minerva smiled slightly and adjusted his hat, beard and cravat before deciding that he was indeed presentable. As the Duke of Sanguine bounded down her steps into the streets, she knew it was futile to hope to hope that his new scheme would be abandoned.

Footnotes:

Readers, you will notice that the title of the chapter contains the name of flowers/plants. This is significant to understanding the plot. While some of you may be familiar with the language of flowers, I beg you to allow for differences in interpretation. Some flowers/plants have one meaning during the time of the Regency and another during the Victorian era. My guess is that those of you familiar with this language are acquainted with the Victorian interpretation rather than the Regency one.

Naturally, there is also a deeper meaning beyond that of the flowers. What it is – I leave it to you to uncover.

(1) A pink is a type of flower. A white pink is rare and stands for "talent and ingeniousness".

The term "pink" was invented in the 17th century to describe the light red (yes, pale red) flowers of flowering plants in the genus Dianthus. They were named thus because these flowers had "pinked" edges on their petals which looked as though they had been cut with pinking shears. The pinks (flowers) that we know today are come under the species Dianthus plumarius. There is a school of thought however that says the word "pink" is a derivation of the Dutch word "pinck". From my limited knowledge of Dutch, I know that "pinck" has two very different meanings. It can be small as in "pinck oogen", which means small eyes. The other meaning is "hole". In those days, they had all kinds of gardening scissors; some of these had fanciful designs and when used to cut flowers, created exotic lace-like effects on flower petals. Lest you think that the flowers are called pinks because of their colour, I must disabuse you – the Dianthus plumaris are not mostly pink, they come in many other colours as well.

See them here http://shiraz.me.uk/site/flowers/D/dianthus/plumarius_sonata.jpg and http://www.laden.dk/Billeder/d/dianthus%20plumarius%20diamant%20D21.jpg.

(2) The creeping cereus represents modest genius.

This is what it looks like http://www.antiquemapsandprints.com/p-8813.jpg

(3) Readers who can identify the derivation of Garswoth will be given 5 points.

Readers who can identify the derivation of Dunseof will be given 5 points.

(4) In those days, if you were of the ton, you sent your children (of both sexes) to school when they were 9 or 10. If the family has a governess to teach the girls then they will not be sent to school. Girls are only "out" when they are about 16 or 18, sometimes a little later.

(5) The civil war mentioned above is taken from my understanding of the Wars of the Roses.

(6) Ton, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the Regency/Empire period means fashionable Society, or the fashion. It originates from the French bon ton, meaning good form, i.e. good manners, good breeding, etc. A person could be a member of the ton, attend ton events, or be said to have good ton (or bad ton). Ton can be interchangeably used with beau monde. In this story, when I spell society with a capital S (i.e. Society), I am referring to the ton.

(7) Minerva mentions "rakes" and "rattles".

A rake is a somewhat subjective term often used in historical romances to describe the hero. Webster defines a rake as "a dissolute person; a libertine" -- in other words, not a very nice character. In romance novels, however, a rake seldom exhibits behaviour that puts him beyond the pale. The term "rake" is most often used in the same way as "playboy" or "womaniser" but without the other implications of drinking, debauchery, and general lechery which inform the literal definition. A typical rakish hero will often have a number of women in his past, but the love of one special woman will cause him to give up the field forever. My understanding of "rake" is a cad or blackguard who threatens a young lady's reputation for propriety and chastity. These men are usually characterized by high spirits and carelessness for the consequences of their actions.

(8) The rattle, a considerably lesser threat than the rake, is unlikely to have designs on a lady's chastity, but he may compromise her reputation by involving her in his jokes or his general vulgarity of manner. Best represented by John Thorpe in Northanger Abbey, the rattle is likely to be an aspiring rake, a lout who represents himself as moving in a "fast set" in fashionable society. He is too obviously a fool to succeed in seducing any woman of sense, but his foolish prattle may compromise a woman's reputation, and his show of intimacy with any sensible woman inevitably makes her appear less judicious to others; just to be seen with a rattle shows lack of taste and judgement. Thorpe's teasing, presumptuousness and loose tongue are typical of the rattle and are more the marks of a fool than a knave, but he still manages to ape the part of the more sinister villains of the Gothic novel. The rattle, a comically diminished type of Gothic villain (for more information on Gothic villains, email me), is nevertheless a realistic social threat in 18th-19th century England, where young ladies are judged by the company the keep.

(9) Those of you who skipped my introduction and preface will undoubtedly be furious with me for calling Albus Dumbledore "Sanguine" and Severus Snape "Sterne" in this story. Permit me to inform you that I am only following the etiquette of address among peers and the gentry in this story.

If you are still confused, I will give you a very brief primer here. If you want more information, kindly refer to the introduction/preface. I am not inclined to explain it in all my chapters repeatedly because it is very tiring.

I anticipate that some of you make take issue with my spelling of the rank "Marquis/Marquess". Strictly speaking, if a title is spelt "Marquis" then it is either Scottish or French. "Marquess" is the spelling for the rank in Ireland, Wales and England.

A duke or duchess is addressed as "Your Grace" by social inferiors, and as "Duke" or "Duchess" by social equals. Social equals who address Dukes and Duchess simply as "Duke" or "Duchess" are people who do not know the ducal family very well and are within the peerage. Social equal are people ranked from Duke to Baron. Baronets, Knights, commoners, their wives and children would call Dukes and Duchesses "Your Grace".

A Baronet is NOT the same as a Baron. A Baronet is also NOT the same as a Knight. While a knight is also a "Sir", the baronetcy can be passed down to his sons (and only sons), a knighthood cannot. A Baronet will be referred to thus in Burke's: Sir William Percy, Bart. Think of the baronetcy as a hereditary knighthood. The baronetcy is a useful way of rewarding persons who deserved recognition but should not be cluttering up the House of Lords; in the Georgian era, Irish peerages were most often granted to Englishmen with no connection to Ireland, for much the same reason. But in this story, the Duke of Offaly is an Irish Peer from a very long line with links to the House of Lords. That's why he has a seat there.

First names were almost never used in speech, except in extremely limited circumstances, before this century. Its use of first names was restricted almost exclusively to children growing up together, or in some cases boys at school together. They would continue to use their childhood forms of address throughout their lives. Parents might also ignore titles when addressing their children, but very often if there was a title available, say an eldest son's courtesy title, even a mother would use it, albeit alone, e.g., the Duchess of Offaly would call her eldest son, Dragonlaire, not Charles and not Lord Dragonlaire.

Among men, rather than first names, the tendency is to use the title alone, e.g., Sterne, Sanguine, or the last name alone, e.g., Weasley. Occasionally first names were used among very close friends who, as mentioned above, attended boarding school together from a young age, especially if the boy didn't have the peerage while he was in school, but inherited it later (which is why Lord Sterne's friends and godparents call him "Severus," while they call Arthur Weasley, who is the Duke of Offaly in this story, "Offaly". What does mean? Offaly had already inherited his peerage when he met them, while Severus inherited his after he had left school.

Following this rule then, Lucius Malfoy is known as Mallefille because he is the Duke of Mallefille. He is known by Mallefille to all except Severus, who knew him before he inherited the dukedom. However, this does not mean that Severus addresses Lucius by the title he knew him as before he inherited the Dukedom. Why? Because Draco now has that courtesy title, which is the Marquessate of Villiers. Thus, Severus addresses Lucius by his first name or if they are in company, by his ducal title. This also interestingly hints at something else. If Sterne called Lucius throughout their childhood, it means that when they were children, Lucius was plain Lord Lucius Malfoy, which means that he had an elder brother. When this elder brother died, Lucius stepped into the Marquessate, but to Severus, he will always be Lucius.

Even spouses often maintained more formal modes of address than Christian names, even in private. Most often a lady would call her husband by his title alone, as his intimate friends or his family would, e.g., Chatham. Obviously it would depend upon the couple, and many factors might contribute, such as age disparity or actual intimacy, but a wife would almost always refer to her husband this way, even to her closest friends and relations, and in company they would call each other "my lord" and "my lady," or perhaps some diminutive like "my dear" or "my love."

"The" is a designation only used for peers and their families. It is not used, for example, by baronets, knights, or commoners (except when referring to the widow of a baronet). The wife of a baronet or knight would be Lady Burke, and never The Lady Burke, while the wife of a peer would be The Lady Melgum, and a peer's daughter who is entitled to use the "Lady" designation would be The Lady Serena Carlow. However, when the usage is not formal, "The" may be dropped.

When "Miss" is used alone with a surname, it refers to the eldest unmarried daughter. Other daughters must be distinguished by using their Christian names. For example, Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, Miss Mary Bennet, Miss Catherine Bennet, Miss Lydia Bennet. Or, collectively, the Misses Bennet. In conversation, where none of her sisters are present, a younger sister may be addressed as Miss Bennet. If Jane and Lizzie are standing together, however, they are addressed as Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth.

When "Mr" is used alone with a surname, it refers to the eldest son (of a Viscount, baron, baronet, knight, or commoner). His younger brothers are distinguished from him in speech by using their Christian names, similarly to the use of "Miss." Their wives adopt precisely the same usage, only with "Mrs" instead of "Mr" Mr Plowden is the eldest son, and Mrs Plowden is his wife; Mr Thomas Plowden is a younger son, and Mrs Thomas Plowden is his wife.

*Note – In British English, there is no full stop (I think Americans call it the 'period') after the Mr and Mrs.

If you are curious as to why Draco has a title when Lucius isn't dead. Let me explain brief. Eldest sons (heirs) of earls, marquesses, and dukes are allowed to adopt their father's next-highest title as a courtesy, which they use in every way as if it were a "real" peerage (when it isn't). It was a 17th century custom to throw in a number of new lesser titles to "fill in" when creating a new higher title, so the older a dukedom or an earldom, the more likely the second title is to be a much lower one, skipping steps, if you will: the eldest sons of the Dukes of Norfolk, Grafton, St. Albans, Richmond, Buccleuch, Newcastle, and Northumberland are earls, the Dukes of Dorset's and Manchester's are viscounts, and the Duke of Somerset's only a Lord. But since Dorset's and Manchester's eldest sons are viscounts, their eldest sons cannot take a barony as a courtesy title. If there is no courtesy title available, the eldest son of a duke, marquess, or earl takes the family name as a courtesy title. So, in this story, the Duke of Mallefille's next highest title is the Marquess of Villiers and the Duke of Offaly' next highest title is the Earl of Dragonlaire.

It is important to note, however, that an heir of a peer who is not a direct descendant of that peer (i.e., his eldest son or his eldest son's eldest son) does not take any secondary title as a courtesy title. He remains known by whatever title (if any) he derived from his own father until he accedes to the peerage. That's why Albus Dumbledore's brother, does not hold his next highest title – he is just plain Lord Aberforth Dumbledore.

All Children of barons and viscounts and younger sons of earls are known by their First and family Surname (not their father's title), prefixed by "The Honourable," for example, The Honourable Miss Granger. Sometimes, Honourable is abbreviated as "Honble" or "Hon." It is correct to call such children members of the Father's Title's Household Family or Surname family. E.g. The Weasley children in this story can be said to be of the Weasley Family or the Offaly Family.

Younger Sons of dukes and marquesses prefix "Lord" to their First and family Surname (not their father's title), for example, Lord Ronald Weasley.

Younger Sons of earls, however, only get to be called "The Honourable," not "Lord," for example, The Honourable Sir Francis Longbottom.

All Daughters of earls, marquesses, and dukes similarly are known as "Lady First name Surname," for example, Lady Ginevra Weasley.