RODOLPHUS

Andie hadn’t been staring, precisely, but she supposed it looked that way. She was beyond ready to go back to the common room or anywhere that wasn’t full of students, but she couldn’t leave just yet. It was too early in the evening still, and she hadn’t yet seen Bella. When Rod spoke, her lips quirked into a little smile and she closed the distance between them, leaning against him for a moment. “Can you take away headaches? I’ve had one all day.”

As Rodolphus truly realised who had been watching him, a small fond smile appeared upon his features as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders as he ruffled her hair in a friendly way. He considered her as one of his younger sisters, having practically grown up with the Black family; especially his dear betrothed Bella. “That’s rather unfortunate love. Perhaps this drink will remedy your headache?” He replied with a quirk of a smile as he offered the flask towards Andromeda.

Already clutching a handful of roses from various younger years who seemed to be bold enough to present him with one, Rodolphus placed them upon the table he was situated nearby as he picked up a glass of his own private alcohol stash. Rather unfortunate that he had to play the charismatic gentleman and accept them; halfbloods and the filth alike. However as he was about to vanish his hidden flask he raised an eyebrow at the person who seemed to have been watching his very actions as he replied, “Is there something I can help you with love?” 

Her hands took hold of the bottle, lifting it to her lips. Alcohol burned down her throat. It seemed everyone was picking their coping methods… and a blanket of firewhiskey did provide some sort of warmth. The wheels had been turning in her mind the moment she’d caught sight of white cloaks. She’d managed to eliminate as many as she could, setting fire to a building in her anger when they gave her no answers. Bella thought her rage had hit a peak during the battle, but it only swelled when the news of her mother and aunt’s death hit her. Bellatrix Black would have her revenge and it would cascade onto Grindelwald’s Army like the apocalypse. Blood would pay for blood, and fire for fire. When she was through with them, there would be nothing left but ash. “I promise, they’ll all die screaming.” 

How was she? Bellatrix hadn’t taken the time to asses her own damage. More often than not, she ignored her feelings in order to focus on her sisters. Their needs became hers. She’d been pulled from place to place to check in on family. Her conversation with Regulus, her father, taking care of Cissa and Andie. The family was shaken and she was the rock that would steady them. As responsibilities piled up on her shoulders, she resembled Atlas carrying the weight of the world. Bellatrix hadn’t once broken due to the pressure, always doing what was expected of her. Maybe that exhaustion was starting to show, especially now with her lack of venom aimed at Rodolphus. Bella let out a breath, situating herself beside him. A gap remained between the two. “Cissa, Regulus and Andie are taking it all hard, but time heals all wounds. Or so I’ve been told.” An expected answer, from the family heir who cared more for the Blacks than she did herself. 

Rodolphus gazed at his betrothed, as they both simmered in their anger, firewhiskey bottles grasped within their fingers as they sat there contemplating over their revenge. He would never overcome his rage that had happened when he saw his cousin Diedrick strung up by his innards, such disrespect for a prominent figure from their family, a pureblood family. He would seek his revenge for the events that had occurred — making sure to make Grindelwald feel that very same pain that he had felt for the same actions. “ That would be too comfortable. They’ll wish that they can die when I’m through.” He replied as he finally finished his bottle, moving his hand to open the next bottle before taking a long sip from it. The slight warmth that emitted into his body from the alcohol, wishing that it could take more of a hold over his inhibitions, even though he knew that it wouldn’t.

He tilted his head to the side to look directly into Bellatrix’s gaze as they both had taken on upon the responsibilities expected as the heir. He had supported his brother, as he had broken down in his arms; murmuring promises of revenge that he would seek, especially on behalf of all of the families that had been attacked. “I’m sure that they are. But I was asking about you love.” He replied calmly, his usual charismatic charm lacking within his words although his demeanour was ever calm. He knew that despite the burdens that they all held, one could not bear it all on their lonesome, no matter what.

Because she was one of the few who came out of the attack rather unscathed, Emmeline had found herself sitting in empty classrooms – replaying the events over the last few days in her head, wondering if she made the right decision in each case. She easily could have let Thomas Avery die, wandless no less, and she could have chosen to hide instead of take out a good number of Grindelwald supporters with Gideon Prewett. Then there was the pregnancy potion, oh Merlin, had she vomited after taking it – would it have been easier to just go through with having the baby? Nonsense, Emmeline thought, that was utter bullshit – her thoughts were interrupted as he realized the room was occupied. 

How interesting, Rodolphus Lestrange was sitting all alone and drinking. Emmeline slid into a seat across from him, quickly realizing that she could (finally) drink alcohol again. Her only means of getting substances that intoxicated her were through Ludo and Lorcan, neither of whom she wanted to approach – though she did have to make sure Lorcan was suitable for Amelia. She lowered her gaze and focused on the bottle, pointing at it. “Care to share?”

Rodolphus took another long drink from his bottle as he pushed it back and forth between his fingers, clenching them slightly as his thoughts reeled over the events of the battle leading to his discoveries. The war had been a cause that he believed in, and one that he would fight within. But these last few days had made it much more personal. He would fight tooth and nail, awaiting for his chance for his revenge. Not just for his cousin. But for all of their families. The death of the matriarch’s, the important figures — they had been people that Rod had known dearly, and any of their deaths would have warranted this.

But for it to have been family. And one of his closest companions sparked a desire for Grindelwald to feel exactly what it was like to have something so close to your heart ripped away. However as his thoughts were disrupted by Emmeline of all individuals interrupt and focus upon the bottle between his hands he raised an eyebrow as he replied dryly, “And why exactly can you not find your own?”

Lucinda had known that one day the war was going to force her to choose a side. She had joined Grindlewald’s Army because they were who her belief aligned with the most. She did not see a place for herself in the Death Eaters; her halfblood status meant she would always been seen as less than by people she considered her friends and Lucinda did not see herself as less than. She was just as dangerous- as powerful -as her classmates but she did not relish in fighting and dominating others for fun. All Lucinda wanted to do was play Qudditch and live the rest of her life in peace.

That was not something she could ever have if her housemates- her friends -ever knew which side she was on. They would never forgive her for following a man who killed their mothers, their cousins- their families. If she intended to survive this war she would have to make sure the people she’d come to care about never knew where her loyalties lay. Everything would have to be about damage control now. She needed her friends to continue to see her as such- their friend. Her friends were hurting and she needed answers as much as they did.

“Why love is that any way to treat a dear old friend?” Lucinda asked a small smile on her face as she stopped a few feet away from him. Her words mimicked his from their conversation pre-Hogsmeade and she hoped it would be enough to get her friend to lower his guard enough to let her stay.

As Rodolphus finally looked up to see who had approached the classroom, he raised an eyebrow as he heard his familiar words echoed from a fellow classmate. Tilting his head to observe the fellow snake, he looked at his half empty bottle as he offered it towards Lucinda before shifting to relax in his seat. He didn’t truly mind her company, although he did wish that it could have been someone else, like Rab. He had seen the images of his cousin strung up, the many figures that had been attacked and left for dead; their depictions featured all through the magazine articles over the Daily Prophet.

“Take a seat if you wish.” He replied simply, his features continuing to remain rather unchanged even with her presence. He was angered at the attack, and he would not rest until Grindelwald paid, and he would not stop; no matter who was in the way. He knew that Grindelwald had supporters in Hogwarts and he would find them. What they had known, what they would do. And Grindelwald would hurt the same way that their side had suffered. 

The more time passed, more news started to surface. The Prophet had described the horrific deaths or her mother an aunt. Readied with pictures of the slayings, prying into Black Manor and 12 Grimmauld place to get them. Tragedy always sold newspaper copies, didn’t they? She’d seen the images, the blood… her mother’s body. It was all forever stained in her memory. How dare someone publish them and how dare Grindelwald attack her family. Joining the Death Eaters had always been a very personal thing for Bellatrix. She’d sacrificed her own well being for that of her family, going on dangerous missions to ensure that the people that could hurt them, wouldn’t. She taken up the mark to prove herself, an able bodied pureblood woman could shine at the top without a man. The engagement had been another motivator, with the announcement happening so long ago. Bellatrix was like stone, she would weather another storm, standing tall at the end of it… but god, was it tiring. She’d been stretching herself extremely thin, presiding over her sisters, dealing with her duties, serving punishments for mistakes. 

As the exhaustion started wearing on her body, she ignored it. She’d sleep when she was dead. Better yet, she’d sleep when her enemies were dead. Bella had been meaning to find Lucius, another victim of the attack, but instead came across Rodolphus. He too had lost a cousin… family always meant the world to Bellatrix, and grief and guilt sunk her heart away from its usual ice. She looked at the face of one of her oldest friends, leaning up against the door frame. Maybe she felt a tinge of concern, but she would never say so. “So you say…” Bella replied, lifting an eyebrow as she looked at the firewhiskey. Rodolphus’s usually charm was nowhere in sight… he must’ve been taking the situation hard. Then again, everyone had their coping mechanisms. Hers would be a swift revenge. “How are you holding up?” For the first time in months, bridging on a solid year, there wasn’t any venom in her voice. This was bigger than engagements now, this was war.  

A bottle clutched between his hands, Rodolphus’s features were stoic as he thought about how he would seek revenge. Not just for his dead cousin, but for Grindelwald’s sheer audactiy for daring to attack his Lord’s side; and for what he had orchestrated. The world would burn before Grindelwald would learn just exactly how he would pay for what he had done. Thus he begun to drink from his half empty bottle before looking up to see who exactly had begun to approach him. Hearing the dulcet and familiar tones of his betrothed he raised an eyebrow as he leaned back against his couch to shift over to allow Bellatrix to take a seat. It seemed that this attack had sobered the pair, with none of them dancing around one another with their usual engagement of sparring with words.

“I will be better when we seek our revenge.” He replied simply as he offered an unopened bottle to Bellatrix as he tilted his head to fully observe his betrothed. “And you?” He asked, omitting his usual ‘love’ that would have been used at the end of the sentence. This was personal to the pair of them, and he knew that this would be time that they would illustrate just how deadly a duo they could be. They had done it time and time again, before the engagement and also after. But he knew that this would be the one that illustrated just how devastatingly disastrous in the battlefield they could be; if they so chose.

Diedrick Lestrange had been found strung up by his innards in one of the alleyways of Hogsmeade, his blood running deep into the cracks of the pavement as it depicted a clear picture of what Grindelwald had set out to do. And all Rodolphus felt was immediate anger. He felt rage for the amount of deaths that had occurred in one fell swoop, and it seemed that there could only be more as the list continued. A bottle of Firewhiskey was held tightly between his clenched fist as he thought about all his close friends and how they must have suffered to hear of this news, especially with so many prominent figureheads for his Lord’s side having been so brutally murdered. This rage that Rodolphus so fiercely felt had only begun to grow as he thought about how their side had not known anything at all about the impending attack. Not even Antonin and Irina. And that had been to their avail. Never would this happen again. But first. Rodolphus needed answers. And he wanted his revenge.

As he heard the door begin to creak open, he tilted his head to the side as he glanced at the figure that began to walk in. “This room’s occupied.” He stated quite curtly, none of his usual charm within his words as he began to drink from the bottle in front of him before placing it on the table. 

They hadn’t met, but Gabrielle recognized the name. She knew enough to know that their views were on opposite ends of the spectrum, and that he associated himself with the likes of Mulciber and Amycus. What he was doing in the corridor was beyond her, but she felt comfortable enough in assuming that it wasn’t particulary good. Holding Leon a bit closer to her chest, Gabrielle raised a brow. 

“Gabrielle Bellamy. We are both in dueling club.”

Rodolphus had immediately known who Gabrielle Bellamy was the moment she had stepped into the castle, having done his research for his Lord about any potential candidates for recruitment. Unfortunately although she came from a potentially very useful background as a follower, the company she had flocked about made her unsuitable for the cause, but it wouldn’t help to curry the favour. He watched and observed her apprehension and the way she seemed to be wary of him, the little Raven must have heard of his reputation before, how intriguing. 

“Pleasure to meet you Gabrielle. You are French are you not? My family’s lineage comes from France.” He replied smoothly as he stepped towards her.

The book Bellatrix had chosen alluded to something the Dark Lord briefly mentioned: horcruxes. It’d been a brief slip of the tongue, but it didn’t evade her one bit. Hogwarts paled when it came to studies of ancient magic- such as blood magic, or dark artifacts. The aztecs that she’d read about would sacrifice others in order to bring forth a grand rite, although many details were missing when professors covered such a ‘gruesome’ topic. That type of deadly magic ripped at a soul, but perhaps there was a way to conserve that severed piece? She was adamant about learning more about restricted material as such.

“I seldom am.” She replied smoothly, noticing Rod’s intrigue regarding her reading. If she’d been a sentimental person, a small wave of nostalgia would hit her. The smell of old textbooks wafting through the air;  light pouring into Black Manor… Rod, Bella and Lucius all pouring over the stories, trying to outdo each other. The boys were usually one short step behind her, something she naturally would rub into their faces. Alas, that wasn’t the case- Bellatrix heart towards Rodolphus was as cold as ever, refusing to warm up over childhood memories. His prying eyes furrowed her brow in annoyance. “It’s Ancient Magic,” Bella said, her fingers gently flipping the page. “Slavic, pagan, mesoamerican.” Hopefully that would quench his curiosity.

Rodolphus knew that Bellatrix had an insatiable quench for knowledge, and as he briefly gazed at her book he knew that there must have been something she found out for her to come to a place like this to further her research. After all, Hogwarts was rather limited when it came to the type of magic that people like him thrived in using. He had always been fascinated with the use of darker magic and the type of properties it contained - being able to call such dark beings forth with just a drop of blood, and a ritual. He knew that Bellatrix would try to evade his interest in what she was looking at, but he refused to let her research such topics on her lonesome. After all, they as a pair were in the inner most circle for their Lord; with Bella featuring as his Lieutenant whilst himself had been gifted the position of being the silent shadow that was unexpected to those around.

Whilst Rodolphus craved power, he had never desired for a higher position. He found it much easier to be able to uncover more secrets and to be able to keep track of those within the Dark Lord’s Army when they did not expect much of the Lestrange heir. They thought of him to be spoiled and petty, undeserving of his place in his Lord’s inner circle, but he truthfully found that thought to be amusing. He had proven himself to his Lord time and time again, and the concerns of those beneath him meant nothing to a man of his station. But at the mention of ancient magic, he begun to raise an eyebrow as he thought upon what Bella could exactly be insinuating. He knew she was dropping words to sate his interest, but he would not be so easily thrown off the trail.

“It won’t be so easy to throw me off the trail love. What exactly are you researching?” He asked, choosing to go for the blunt approach rather than the dancing around that was usually involved with the pair.

Cassandra was ready to throw a hex of her own, but stopped as she saw the man back up, apparently having already been hit by something. Her defender soon made himself known, though, and Cass offered a small smile of recognition, watching a the other boy walked away, tail between his legs. Turning towards Rodolphus, she smiled, tilting her head to the side. “Is knight in shining armor a role you typically play?”

Rodolphus’s smirk began to morph more into a charming smile as he offered it towards Cassandra as the fifth year began to walk away, frightened by the possibilities of what he could do to the younger boy. He picked up a drink, handing it towards Cassandra as he laughed at her question before replying, “Not often no. But I’m more than happy to take on the role for lovely women like yourself love.”

Who: Lucinda Talkalot & anyone When: January 4th Where: Three Broomsticks

If there was one thing Lucinda could not stand it was the cold. Her parents had made their home on the warm coastline of Wales and that was where Lucinda thrived. She was as bundled up as a person could be without looking completely insane. As soon as her boots hit the snow, Lucinda made a beeline for the Three Broomsticks. If she couldn’t be warm by the fire in the Slytherin Common Room, then she was going to be warm inside the Three Broomsticks.

She was enjoying the relative quiet of sitting by herself, undisturbed until she glanced over the Prophet that had been left on her table and noticed someone staring at her. “If you take a picture it’ll last longer.” She deadpanned before putting the Prophet down completely. “Either take a seat or leave.”

Rodolphus had been rather irritated by the snowing weather although he could barely feel the cold due to the heating charm he had placed upon his clothes. However as it continued to pelt down, he began to move towards the nearest shop - that being the Three Broomsticks. He easily made his way inside the shop, his eyes flickering upon the menu before noticing a rather familiar housemate. As he began to make his way towards Lucinda, a small smirk began to appear upon his lips at her words as he raised an eyebrow asking, “Why love is that any way to treat a dear old friend?”