Chapter 100: Tough Love
"I can't believe someone who's actually from India wants to learn about chakras and Auras from me! That's humbling!" Lyra squealed. They'd just returned home to Raven's Nest after spending nearly two hours exploring the wares of Enchanted Odds. "I mean that sort of thing is integral to their culture, and she wants to learn from me!"
"She's third generation, so that hardly counts," Rabastan informed his niece drily.
"I guess that's true," Lyra admitted. "It's still cool, though."
"It is," Cassius agreed, giving Lyra a warm smile. He was being supportive and encouraging, Bellatrix thought darkly.
"Thank you," Lyra said, turning to Cassius with a smile. "Now I'm going to put all my new things upstairs in my room. Want to come along?"
"No, he does not," Bellatrix snapped. "He can wait for you in the library."
"Unless he's after dying today, then he can march right upstairs with you," Rodolphus counter offered with a smirk.
Lyra glared. "I am grown! And you are all psychos! This is becoming ridiculous." Her eyes narrowed. "Especially after what I learned about the two of you sleeping together when you were bloody sixteen! I can't even believe you're talking. But like I said, in-bloody-sane."
Rod's smile never wavered. "But we are also powerful and skilled, so we get to do as we like. This is our home, and I say no shagging your boy under this roof until you're married."
"For one thing, that's unreasonable," Lyra said, holding up a single finger for punctuation. "Secondly, and most importantly, we were not going upstairs to shag," she concluded, adding another finger to her mathematical demonstration. "I really was just going to put my things away," she huffed, giving her parents an affronted glare as she swung her large paper bag from Enchanted Odds. Which sported an image of an ancient tome whose pages were half open with a spiderweb peeking out.
"You are more than welcome to go upstairs and put your things away," Rodolphus stated generously. "Alone."
"Yeah, we'll be waiting with Cassius in the library," Rabastan said, and set off in that direction, gesturing for everyone else to follow.
Lyra rolled her eyes and headed upstairs. Bella, Rod, and Cassius followed Rabastan to the library.
"So," Rabastan began as he wandered over to the liquor cabinet. "What's Dumbledore's son like, and do you want a drink?" He looked over at Cassius with a quirked brow.
"He's actually a neat and fun guy," Cassius replied. "And is the drink thing a trick question? As in, is there a wrong choice, because if there is, I don't want to make it."
"It's never the wrong choice to have a drink. I'm having one, after all," Rabastan said, pouring a glass of brandy.
"Well, if you're having a drink, sure," Cassius said, sinking into an armchair near the liquor cabinet.
Bellatrix and Rodolphus moved to their usual loveseat.
"Want drinks," Rabastan asked, and Rodolphus shrugged.
"We might as well. It's the weekend."
They had to go to work tomorrow, but Bellatrix didn't want to always be a killjoy so she remained silent. Besides, with Lyra being difficult, a drink did sound like a grand idea. If Delphini attacked they could always use Winterhaven as a meat shield while they got the hell out of there.
The idea caused a smile to tug at the corners of Bellatrix's mouth, but it fell an instant later because Lestranges did not run. Never did they run from a fight, but Delphini had part of HIM in her and they'd already lost to him before. Uncle Orion had lost his life, and they'd lost their sanity, all of them. Perhaps Regulus and Kreacher weren't aware that they were in the numbers of the slightly mad, but they were...at least Regulus. The way he'd botched the entire lake situation which kept him needlessly gone for years was proof of that.
Rabastan passed her a drink, pulling her from her dark thoughts. "Thanks."
She downed half of it in two swallows, then leaned back into the soothingly blood red cushions of the loveseat. She gave a sigh as her body relaxed and worrisome thoughts faded.
"That was a brilliant shop," Cassius enthused. "Of course, I would expect no less from Grindelwald. The fact he's actually set up shop, creating things for us to actually own is amazing. I never thought I'd own anything made by the one and only fucking Grindelwald!"
Rodolphus's brow quirked. "I'm hurt. Your flattery of us was heartwarming, but if you're going to suck up to Grindelwald too, I am no longer as moved."
Cassius laughed, shaking his short dark curls. "Why? Because I put you lot in the category with Grindelwald, one of the greatest wizards ever? I always mean my compliments. I try to be decent and polite, but a dishonest suckup I will never be. If I say something, I mean it... Unless I have to be polite to Delphini in order to distract her or something, then I don't mean it," he assured hastily and Bellatrix found a smile tugging at her mouth in spite of herself.
"Well, as you've just put us into the category of Grindelwald, I guess that's alright," Rabastan said.
Cassius gave a dry smile. "Thanks."
"Any time," Rabastan assured cheerfully as he flopped into his favorite chair near the fire, drink in hand.
"Those anti-wand theft charms Gellert and his man made are my current favorite item in the entire shop," Cassius said and Bellatrix nodded in agreement.
The charm prevented anyone else from Accio'ing your wand or applying Expelliarmus to you either so it was impossible to be magically disarmed. The charm itself was sold as a one use only miniature scroll. To activate it you wrapped it around your wand and spoke your name. This let the charm know that any spell performed on the wand from a distance was only to work if cast by the person who'd spoken the charm. As she and Rod had three wands each now, they'd had to buy six of the charms. With Rabastan, Lyra, and Cassius each buying one for their new wands from Mag, the group had made a bit of a dent in Blaise and Gellert's anti-wand theft charm stash.
Lyra had also gotten herself, on their coin, a self-playing dulcimer that she claimed was soothing, an anti-spill goblet for when she became drunk and careless, and a scrying mirror. The shop was full of fascinating items, but many of them were more along the lines of points of interest rather than something Bellatrix needed to own. She'd have gotten a set of the anti-spill goblets, but there was only one and Lyra had grabbed it up first.
"How often do they get new items in the shop, do you know," Cassius asked.
"Well, as they make the majority themselves, and right now they're busy trying to kill Delphini and her followers, production has slowed," Rabastan said. "They do pick up some things on their travels from my understanding, but again Delphini, so they won't be flitting around the globe any time soon vacationing and hunting for cool shit to sell us."
"They also consign a few things from various suitably skilled wizards, so that may be the main source of new items," Bellatrix said.
"Like Mag's wands and gemstone jewelry and her husband's potions," Lyra said as she entered the room. "I wanted one of Mag's pendants, but I couldn't decide which so I thought I'd mull it over for a few days then go back." She settled herself into the armchair closest to Cassius's. "I hope it's alright to sit beside him," she shot at Bella and Rod.
"For now it is," Rodolphus said, a clear warning in his tone that Lyra completely missed.
"I left my home and everything I knew, and you don't seem to get or appreciate that! I tried to understand you and what you went through with Voldemort and even for me, and I set my resentment aside. I stayed with you even though you were rather bullying about it because I knew you cared, and I just didn't know how to show it considering you never got to have a daughter until now. Also you're psycho, so I figured you'd come to Australia and get me if I left," she added. "But I did stay and the least you can do is let me have an adult life! I am a person, not just your child. It is not your right to take away all of my bloody choices!"
Rather than wisely quitting while she was ahead, Lyra angrily continued. "And Delphini is hard to kill. I get that,
but she's just one person, and I doubt that many people are crazy enough to follow her considering... So you not wanting me out with my friends because of some danger, when she likely doesn't know who I am can stop any time, and I'd be grateful."
Rodolphus drained the rest of the brandy in his glass before speaking. "You...might be surprised. Although I am too young and handsome to be considered wise, having a thrilling life does teach one a few things from time to time.
If there is one thing I learned, it is that for every ridiculous opinion, there is a group of people who believe it. Like people believing that Muggles... Muggles of all things, have equal rights too, considering how obviously inferior they are, and all they've done to us over the centuries! Sometimes it doesn't even matter how strongly one believes in it.
If whoever raises an issue has some power, that could be enough for some to consider it beneficial to agree. In this case, we're speaking of Delphini and those who follow her. The fact that such preposterous ideas as hers could be raised and not outright rejected tells me not everybody would openly call it crazy anymore," Rodolphus said thoughtfully.
He shrugged. "Booze puts me into a philosophical mindset, so I'll bite. Choices. Do we choose to be born or die? Do we choose to be born into a particular family? Does everybody who is rotten, poor, or stupid choose before they are born to be intentionally poor or thicker than a horny giant?"
Rabastan tittered and Cassius glanced away hastily to hide a smile. Rodolphus grinned, extending his glass to Rabastan for a refill. Not to be outdone, Bellatrix downed the rest of hers and passed it over as well. Rod was being so hot right now, she was of a mind to drag him upstairs when the conversation was over. When he talked like this, she remembered that she hadn't just married him for his looks and because they had fun together and he was one of the few people she didn't strongly dislike. Rodolphus was a brilliant man, and the way his mind worked was sexy.
"Can one choose to be the most brilliant wizard of their generation?" he continued to Lyra. "If they can, it is somewhat strange that people don't make better choices before they are born, or after for that matter, if it is all about who chose what."
Bellatrix found herself struggling not to cringe as she wondered if Rodolphus was thinking of their own choices or only those of their enemies and other worthless wizards. When Rabastan returned her now full glass, she gave him a grateful nod of thanks before downing half of it. When Rod took his, he paused to take a drink before continuing.
"Choices are usually overrated. Besides, you didn't discover that you were some lowly Bottom, get it, like Longbottom, but...nevermind, tough crowd. You found out you are a goddamn Lestrange, of the direct and purest bloodline. And a Black too. You inherited great ability, and when not bratty, an extremely talented mind. And you got riches.
You can have the best education if you wish to continue that, and anything else you want. Being disrupted by something, in this case coming here, is one thing. Being thrust into greatness and being the object of envy by your peers is a different matter. The surprise is not that unpleasant. Most people go about their lives, and nobody outside of their small social circle knows their names. Your name will be known, and you are welcome," Rod smirked, raising his glass in a cheer.
"And nobody ever says, I shouldn't be moping, I am having a good stroke of luck, and I shouldn't be such a brat. Oh no, it is always I have this reason or that reason. That is why it is still moping," he said, and held up a firm hand as Lyra at last opened her mouth to object.
"And no, your reasons don't matter too much. I mean, if your heart was broken, if you were imprisoned, or messed up badly, or had your magic taken, or had to talk to Muggles... Give me something horrible I can work with here that has actually happened to you," Rodolphus asked.
"The worst thing that can, but did not happen, is if you underestimate the danger to yourself or to our relatives that you can bring onto them by going out and behaving irresponsibly, which could draw her attention like it or not. Not only do you have family here, but you have family in Australia, and if you returned and she noticed, that could be quite messy for them, literally. That is a burden I can sympathize with, nobody wants family getting hurt. But hey, as you are not going back to Australia, this is not going to happen either, so once again, you are welcome, another problem solved, another moping session averted," Rodolphus concluded.
Lyra opened and closed her mouth like a fish several times, glaring at her father.
"That was wisdom right there," Cassius said and Lyra turned her glare on him.
"Just whose side are you on?" she demanded.
"Yours, of course," he said. "Your father is on your side as well."
Rodolphus chuckled. "Wise boy. He understands."
"Indeed," Bellatrix agreed, then finished off her glass before turning to Rod. "Drink the rest of that," she commanded.
He complied and she took his glass, placing it on the small table beside the loveseat. Standing, she grasped his arm and tugged him to his feet.
"We'll be upstairs," she said and dragged him from the room.
Grinning, he went along with no protest. In fact he didn't say a word at all. When the bedroom door was closed behind them, Bellatrix dragged him onto the bed, falling backward onto it and pulling him down on top of her.
"That was wise talk," she complimented before kissing him breathless. "Now get our clothes off... At once!"
Fabric tore and buttons flew as Rodolphus obliged. Soon he was driving hard into her as her teeth caught deliciously at his lower lip. They'd been so busy of late that there wasn't nearly enough time for this.