Bad Romance

Chapter 126

"Good going, brat," Rodolphus told Loughness. "I know your parents are going to be quite proud of you." His tone was gruff, as he usually left it to Regulus and Kreacher to praise their own kids. Only they weren't here at present, so it was nice of Rod to do the honors, Bellatrix thought.

"Thanks," Loughness said, giving Rod a slightly surprised smile.

He didn't look as if he'd helped to rid the world of an extreme evil, Bellatrix noted, wondering in some dry amusement how she herself looked. Loughness's shoulder length black hair was smooth and organized without a strand out of place. His green robes weren't in the slightest rumpled, and though it was nearing midnight, he didn't even look tired. Ah, the joys of youth.

"We should get a message to Regulus and Kreacher that we're here," Gellert said. "They'll want to see that you're alright for sure, Loughness."

"If you don't need anything else from me right now, I'll go home and tell them personally," Loughness said. "I want to be here when Kereston returns in case she needs help, but I can just bring them back with me. I'm sure they'd like to help as well. And they'll want to meet Arthur for sure."

He grinned at Arthur. "My dad's middle name means guardian of the bear, and you're the bear, so maybe he'll be protecting you too."

"Well, that sounds nice," Arthur said. "Especially if he's protecting me from magic, considering I have none. His middle name is Arcturus, then?"

Loughness gave Arthur a surprised look, then nodded enthusiastically. "That's right! How'd you know that?"

Arthur chuckled. "I studied astrology in college. Muggles, isn't that the word, get an education too."

"I suppose," Loughness said with a vague shrug.

Bellatrix understood the sentiment. Considering all the stupid things Muggles did daily, it was difficult to imagine most of them being properly educated.

"I'll be back shortly," Loughness said, then Apparated away.

Arthur blinked at the spot where he'd stood, then slowly shook his head. "Even though I sort of knew that was coming, it still completely screws with my concept of reality! I think that's going to take a lot longer to get used to than I'd expected. I mean, you think once a person knows that magic is real, and actually travels from the United States to wherever the hell we are in like three seconds, not much would phase them, but I am rather still phased."

"London," Bellatrix said helpfully. "We're in London."

"Thank you," Arthur said. "I'll be sticking to you all like glue, because I have no passport. I don't want to deal with legal trouble."

"A what," Bellatrix asked.

"Probably a stupid useless Muggle thing," Rabastan clarified.

"You don't use passports," Arthur asked, obviously surprised by this, considering the perplexed look on his face.

"Obviously not," Rabastan said.

"As you'll soon see, our worlds are quite different even though we technically share the same one," Rod explained. "When it comes to general daily existence, the way Muggles go about most things is just useless to us, or impractical, or inefficient, or just downright bloody confusing."

Arthur nodded. "I can imagine it would be if one could use magic instead. Take travel for example. Do you know what a bitch it is to use airports these days? And the airplanes are no better! Meanwhile you wizards can just get anywhere in a few seconds. That's got any of our modes of travel beat hands down!"

"We don't know about airports or whatever, but we are, of course, well aware of how backward Muggle life is," Rabastan said. "Those airplanes you use to get around, for example, are so slow and loud. Not to mention dangerous when they bloody crash!"

Arthur blinked. "But how can you people not know about airports or passports or whatever else you don't know about? How can you share the world with us and be aware of so little? I'd think with magic affording you so much power, you'd know far more than we do."

"Oh, we do know far more than you do," Bellatrix assured. "We simply don't care about Muggle things, so we never bother learning about the latest useless Muggle invention."

"Muggles have tried to kill us enough in the past, so although we do share the same planet, we have basically had to separate our worlds so much that it hardly matters," Rabastan added. "We will give you the big history lesson about all the Muggle wizarding wars throughout the years when we get to our place."

"You mean like Salem," Arthur asked. "I thought none of the people killed there were actually witches. Is that even true?"

"Yes, that is. Salem was just an example of Muggles turning on one another through their usual fear and stupidity," Bellatrix said.

"But still, knowing so little about Muggles just seems, I don't know, dangerous," Arthur said. "Because we do share the same planet, it just seems... Unsafe, at least, potentially."

Gellert's eyes narrowed in thought. "I've been told that more than once by our Minister," he said drily. "I admit my disinterest in Muggle affairs cost me a giant victory once. The Lestranges can fill you in on that later as well. As it stands, I have come to believe that perhaps losing was a good thing for me. In losing then I have gained more now. That doesn't mean that you do not have a point. Perhaps you can give us a proper education on all things Muggle which you feel important to know." Smiling, he glanced from Blaise to the Lestranges, amusement in his blue eyes. "For the greater good."

"I can certainly try," Arthur said. "I have no idea what would be important for you to know, though."

"Perhaps after the Lestranges have shared the most relevant points of our society, you will have a better idea," Gellert suggested. "I recall you have a business back in America, but perhaps you and Rodolphus can work out a time for you to return here in order to gain a proper understanding of how things are with us."

Arthur nodded, eyes full of interest. "Sure! I'd love to do that. I can close my studio for as long as is necessary to stay here and learn whatever it is that you're willing to share."

"Perhaps after a few weeks," Gellert said. "I would like to have you in Washington, D.C., with an ear to the ground on the current situation just to make sure the dust remains settled after what happened today. If not, we will need to take action, and in that we could use your help."

"Would I be looking for news like in the papers and on TV," Arthur asked. "Because if it's more top secret than that, I wouldn't be privy to it. I don't work for the government or anything."

Gellert nodded. "Yes, the news, or any posts on those strange online forum things...twittergram and instabird, or whatever Millicent calls them."

"Millicent is our tech witch, and the one in our circle who is most in the know about all things Muggle," Blaise explained. "She still wouldn't know nearly as much as you, though."

"I think I understand," Arthur said, trying not to smile. "And just in case it matters, it's twitter and instagram. I have neither, but I can look into it if it would truly help you all out. Know that it's where most of the idiots go to flaunt their lack of good sense, though, so I am making a true sacrifice."