darkness below

Alecto nodded, taking the drink in her hand. “Alecto. Just Alecto is fine, Avery.” Miss Carrow made her feel uncomfortable, like a layer of disgust that coated her everytime she was reminded of her family name. Chuckling at the mention of the friend, she looked at the man beside her. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so I’d like to take your advice as assurance.” She took a sip of her drink, eyebrows raised as it travelled down. “You never get used to that burn, do you?” 

“The training is hard to break, as you probably well know,” he chuckled, the common etiquette the were forced to learn as children was a common thread between all of the children of the Sacred 28. A mutual scar they all had to bear. “Ain’t that the bloody truth,” he agreed, watching her as she sipped the whiskey. “When you do get used to the burn, that’s when you know you need to change your drink up. Can’t let yourself get used to one particular thing.”

Mulciber tilted his head, then smirked at the statement as he made his way to their table, the smell of Butterbeer wafting towards him. They’d get to the stronger stuff later; there was a glass of FireWhiskey in their cards tonight and he would make sure of that. “What can I say? Marriage is a taxing affair, and not one for the faint of heart.” At the mention of Marlene, the now seated Mulciber rolled his eyes in disdain. “We’re here to drink in silence and talk about other people, not my problems.” He looked at his glass, his appetite for a good drink now diminished. “But you’re right, it has been a while since I’ve seen a friendly face. How have you been, Avery?”

“Then I guess I should be well sorted for it then, yeah? If you can manage to still be alive this far in, I’m gonna be just fine. Hopefully whoever the unlucky witch is, they can't be nearly as bad as your lot,” he joked, having nothing really against his spouse, in fact he found them to be rather entertaining. His favorite game, however, was to push his friend’s buttons as far as he could. Lifting his glass towards the other man, he nodded in agreement. “I think that can be arranged, mate. Night gets old real fast if you get too pissy.” Downing the shot in his hand before gesturing for another, he shrugged casually. “Been alright. Keepin’ busy and all. You?”

Dinner parties were never Avery’s favorite, but he saw it as part of his duty as the one to carry on the Avery name and legacy. Suffering through hours of boring work talk or the occasionally rant of a mudblood or to, the only redeeming quality about them was the food, and if he was lucky, at least one person would not be in attendance that would be more engaging than talking to a brick wall. And walking into the parlour, a drink in hand, he realized that night he was in luck. Recognizing the woman standing in front of him, his signature grin made its way onto his face. Finally, someone he could actually enjoy a conversation with. “Narcissa, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes! It’s been far too long, love. Where have you been hiding yourself?”

Knockturn Alley was more of a necessity in Avery’s life rather than somewhere he would willingly spend his time. Normally, he would have sent his house elf, but the item he was carrying had more than monetary value, leaving him to have to carry out the task himself. Exiting the shop, he dodged his way back into the street, making his way back up to Diagon Alley, where the rest of his errands would be taken care of. Hearing his name called behind him, his head swivelled to find the source. As his eyes landed on the figure in question, a smirk slid across his lips. “The ever-so dashing Rodolphus Lestrange! To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Lestrange!” he called after the familiar figure as they passed him entering the pub, glad to see someone he could actually stand talking to for more than a second. Making his way over to the man, he put on his signature grin. The one that could mask just about any emotion he could need to conceal. A skill he had perfected while being sorted into a house with people he did not deem worthy of much of his time and energy.

Clapping the man on the back in greeting, he let out a low chuckle. “Fancy seeing you here. What’re you drinking? First’s on me.”

“Glad you could find the time for your oldest friend,” Avery said as a greeting as the familiar figure appeared in front of him, two pints already resting on the table. “Or am I merely an excuse to avoid your lovely spouse? I have to say, you’re only adding to the list of reasons why I haven’t made a large effort in finding a wife,” he drawled, his smirk prominent as he pushed a beer to the man before leaning back in his seat, looking over his friend as he slipped into the seat across from him.

@lucas-avery

AFTER HAVING nursed a rather large glass of elderflower wine or two, accompanied with the leftover rum from the shelf, Marlene threw themselves onto the large sofa just beside Lucas with a relatively amused smirk. “ Have I ever told you just how HANDSOME you look in that shade of black, it really brings out the blue in your eyes.” They slurred their words together, confidently reaching out to push the hair or rather LACK OF hair out of their eyes as their flirtatious side continued to shine. 

“You know what else I think would bring out those beautiful blues?” Letting their hand linger for just a moment longer before having it drop down to his shirt, the brunette tugged playfully at the material, teeth grazing their bottom lip.  

Lucas Avery was not a man that one found easy to amuse. However, Marlene McKinnon had somehow found their way into doing just that. Knowing full well that they were now married to the one person he cared to call a friend, the mix of alcohol and their presence allowed him to let his guard down, perhaps have a little fun. “I can’t say I haven’t, but you have to know that it means the world to me coming from you, love,” he replied, keeping his tone slightly bored as he looked at them.

An eyebrow arched ever so slightly as his eyes followed to where their hand had landed, before lifting to meet theirs. “Now, now, McKinnon. Are we going to have to slow you down?” he teased, gesturing to the drink in their hand with his own, before winking and downing the rest of his.

Only son of the Avery’s

Takes his role of heir seriously, as his parents have always instilled in him the importance of family and the family name

Has not made much effort in finding a spouse, despite knowing he needs to carry on the family

Is actually smart but pretends otherwise in order to seem “cool” to the people he surrounds himself with

Calculating af

Only really considers Lucas Mulciber a friend, can’t really be bothered liking anyone else enough

Despite knowing he has to marry a woman, he has no limits on his sexuality.

Speaking of marriage, he calls his future wedding day “doomsday” and he is not looking forward to it, thank you very much

Will probably hex you just for fun