Bellatrix

Bellatrix glared at the paper in her hands. She hated wasting money on news in this fashion, but it wasn’t like Rodolphus was bringing her any nowadays. At least she had taken the time to move about 50 yards away from the news stand before reading it this time, though. The last time she hadn’t, she’d been receiving rude, snobbish looks. Bella was fine with dishing those kinds of looks out, but taking them? No.

“Bloody idiots,” she muttered under her breath at the paper, scowling at the moving pictures on the front. It was obvious the Ministry was confused as to what the hell the Death Eaters were up to. Of course, that was for the best. She still had the right to find it annoying, though. It was all the more reason to believe they needed a new system, a new leader.

Goodness... You couldn’t be more wrong~

Rodolphus doesn’t deserve death, nor does Zahi. A stern talking to, perhaps. Moments to put them in their place. Death though? No, dear. No.

Walden look at the little kitten sitting near Bellatrix and raised an eyebrow. Looked like Zahi had forgotten a cat. Bellatrix didn’t seem to mind much which he couldn’t quite fathom. She’d tolerated Rodolphus’s little pack because Bas had gifted them. 

He blinked exactly once and then shrugged. How Bellatrix dealt with the fact Rodolphus had gotten locked up was up to her. His job was to make sure she stayed out of that hideous place as well. Enough of his friends were rotting away to make him sit up and pay attention.

“Loose ends, huh?” He cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders. Mo needed walking and he had a meeting with some contractors in three hours. Which meant he had two and a half hours to spend cleaning up loose ends with Bella. “You’ve got my attention. We’re on a time limit, though.”

Bella noted the look at the kitten, and she had it in her to smirk. “Rodolphus left a gift for me before he left,” she explained with an airy voice. “This is Pumpkin. I got him on Halloween. He’s quite fond of me.” With that, she plucked the kitten from her lap and placed it on her shoulder, where it dug its claws in so that it wouldn’t fall. She hardly seemed to notice, even as she stood.

Malcolm knew the Lestrange manor well, having been over a few times for Rodolphus and never for Bellatrix. There was nothing but confusion at the news, not knowing about an affair or the arrangement they had made against the Prewett auror. Malcolm was not upset about that, but only disappointed he wasn’t included. After what he had included Rodolphus in on it seemed counterproductive in their friendship. He had decided not to attend the trial, not finding it interesting anyway. 

He was rounding a corner where he figured Bellatrix would be when he heard the sound of glass breaking that made the pulse in his throat quicken. What on earth could that be? Malcolm found his answer when he saw the glass on the ground and Bellatrix. 

It was not in his interest to correct Bellatrix, knowing fully well that it wasn’t possible for a cat to do such a thing. They had the agility but not the force. “Right. Silly thing. Should be more careful with those beasts then.” It wasn’t Rodolphus’ pet and he didn’t know what would come of it. 

“You knew about them?” Malcolm asked, slightly interrupting her. If it had been commitment issues then this would be different but Bellatrix barely seemed phased at the news. Malcolm would never do something deliberately to hurt Diana and never thought of other women since they started seeing each other again. He knew she had tendencies to get jealous about Andromeda and Nina, going to lengths to express those feelings, but Malcolm wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. “I don’t know who turned them in…do you? You do, don’t you? Should I be asking if they are locked up in the dungeons?”

“It’s not as though I’ve much experience with cats,” Bellatrix admitted softly. Despite all the time that she spent with her husband, and all the time he’d had the creatures, she had never really taken part in their care. She might pet one occasionally, if they let her. Usually they avoided her at all costs.

“Of course I knew about them, Malcolm. You think I wouldn’t know about something so dangerous to our reputation? He knew it, too. That if they were to be caught, the family would be left in ruin. But to be caught in such a way! My husband is now locked up, respect is a distant memory at this point,” she growled. She sounded torn between tearing Rodolphus apart and being angry at at the world - or at least the person who turned him in. “It’s not as though my husband and I married for love, after all. Although I do love him, in my own way. I doubt most people would call it love.”

Malcolm hadn’t heard the news from the papers first, but he was frustrated at how they were slighting his friend. The whole arrangement seemed to be embarrassing enough that Malcolm didn’t want to near the word acquaintance with Rodolphus at the moment. He was to be trialed and Malcolm wasn’t sure if he would attend. Another person that was unwilling to see him was her wife, Bellatrix and Malcolm was in full agreement with her. Malcolm hadn’t known about the Zahi arrangement nor the snitch who ratted Rodolphus out. What Malcolm did know is that he was going to be civil and a gentleman in this matter, especially if he was looking at the Daily Prophet for more reasons than to continue his sponsorship for advertisements. 

The manor was familiar to him and he entered the vaste room with expectations to find Bellatrix. They had known each other through the years, known each other before Rodolphus. It had been years as well since Malcolm had been alone with her and had an actual conversation without them full of insults to each other. Malcolm found Bellatrix and took his measured steps and kept a relative distance between them. “Bella,” Malcolm addressed promptly with a quick smile. “I came to see how you are…coping. It is not every day you lose a husband and your respect in one day.”

@bellxtrixls​

When he entered the mansion, there was the sound of glass shattering in another room. It was an explosion of noise, like whatever had broken met a brutal end, likely against a wall or ceiling. The shards were still coming to rest on the floor when Malcolm had found her in the next room.

Bellatrix played proper very well. Despite the fact that glass lay over much of the room, she stood there straight-faced like nothing unusual had happened. When she noticed just who it was, she smirked softly and tilted her head.

Pumpkin, the tiny orange kitten, peeked into the room like he was wondering if it was safe to return, eyes wide with obvious alarm. “Silly thing knocked over my vase...” she mumbled, and with a wave of her wand it repaired itself, and floated over to a display stand. Never mind that some of the shards came out of the wall and off part of the chandelier.

The prospect of Bellatrix without Rodolphus made him a little nervous. Not because his friend needed a man to keep her grounded, or because he particularly liked them as a couple, but because he’d seen her and the look in her eyes had scared him. Walden didn’t consider himself someone who scared easily.

At least he had an added excuse to stop by more. After all now that both Lestrange boys were locked up in Azkaban (and his mind skidded far far away from the thoughts of Baz in one of those horrid cells) someone had to look after the Wampus cats. Bellatrix had enough on her plate without them. He had just finished up feeding them when he stopped over at the Manor House proper. It was such a grim looking thing. They really out to spruce it up.

“Hell’s Bells!” He called as he pushed open the door. “Bella, I’m here!”

@bellxtrixls

Bellatrix gently traced her finger over Pumpkin’s small head, who sat in her lap purring. They were a surprising pair, in reality. Most animals knew when there was something...wrong with a person. When they were evil, corrupted, whatever it may be. It was surprising that any animal could really come to love Bellatrix. Then again, maybe this one didn’t want to see what the alternative might be like... Maybe Pumpkin had deemed it an accomplishment, getting someone as twisted as Bella to love him, and craved the affection she refused to give any other creature.

Bella didn’t have time to give this any thought. There were far more important things going on right now, and that was why she simply accepted the animal’s love without any further question. Even if it was small, puny, easy to kill. Fragile.

She refused to see a parallel there. What she lacked in size she more than made up for in other ways. Attitude. Magic. Harsh words and roughness. Even her husband had trouble reigning her in... or, at least before...