Alecto

“I’ll start by destroying everything that’s left of my father,” their voice came out low and growl-y under their breath for the tension in their jaw, the gritting of their teeth. It was what he wanted most in the world at that moment, second only to Cassius. The sight of their own reflection through the scarred wood only made the aching worse for the way their perfect face reminded them of their brother’s. He didn’t want Alecto to see him like this, but he made no move to turn away when he heard the sound of her heels softly clicking with her steps. They couldn’t see her but they could imagine her graceful gait as she made her way around the desk to stand in front of them. Her fingers traced along the edge of it in his periphery when she came into sight. “Don’t,” the word came out in a deep breath and they shook their head, lifting their eyes to meet hers, “don’t apologize. Don’t treat me like i’m wounded.” He was tired of everyone’s apologies, he didn’t want anyone’s pity but he especially didn’t want Alecto’s, the thought of her seeing him any differently settled heavily in his middle. They pulled their hands back to their sides, letting them drag across the desk with the movement, correcting their posture so they were no longer leaning over it as before. “Of course he would find a way to ruin it for me. He deserved worse than what he got.” Thinking back to that night, he growled again under his breath, pausing for only a moment to decide if he wanted to take this secret with him to the grave instead. But Alecto wouldn’t betray them for this, and they wanted her to understand everything. “I killed him.”

---

“You better let me join in.” Because she would happily join him in that. Alecto loved a little chaos, and she would not mind joining Tav in destroying anything relating to his father. She knew, thanks to their previous conversations, about the issues relating to their father, and she would happily support them in ridding the world of it. And if it made Tav feel better, then she would approve. She just wanted to see her friend happy, but she had a feeling that would not be happening for a while. She could understand though, she’d feel the same if she lost Amycus.

“i know you’re not wounded....” But it didn’t mean she didn’t want to worry about his loss. She was keenly aware of just how close Tav and Cass had been, and she understood. Her twin was the most important thing in her life, and she couldn’t imagine how she would feel if he was no longer here. Part of Alecto wanted to reach out, to comfort Tav. But she resisted the temptation. She knew that they would not like it, and so, she kept some sort of distance. If he wanted physical comfort, she was sure that they would seek it out. 

Alecto bit her lip, just watching him. She was usually not this speechless, but she didn’t want to make any of this situation any worse than it already was. It was a horrendous situation, one she had not expected to happen. And so, Alecto would just go by what Tav was doing. She honestly was not surprised to hear his secret. But she didn’t judge him. She would never judge him.

Where: Outside the Quidditch Venue When: Midway Through the Match Who: Ivy & @ofalectox​

Midway through the match, Ivy had a sudden craving for something salty. She elbowed her way through the crowd until she was outside of the stadium. There were vendors all over the place, and she was having a difficult time deciding which one to go to. Some lines were longer than others, not that it was really an issue considering she was planning on cutting the lines, but a head of fiery red hair caught her attention, and Ivy set off in her direction. Luckily, she was almost at the front of the line, meaning she wouldn’t have to wait long to be served.

“Hello my love.” Ivy said, her arm moving to wrap around Alecto’s waist. Despite the fact that she and Severus were technically on at the moment, Ivy did love Alecto, and the two of them had always been rather affectionate with each other, so the likeliness of her getting in trouble was slim. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

---

Quidditch matches were really not her thing. They had never been her thing. Even back in Hogwarts she hadn’t liked it. But Amycus had wanted to come to the charity match, and she’d decided to indulge her twin for once. And she supposed it was not a bad thing for them to be seen doing some charity things. So that was how she had ended up at the quidditch match. It was still not her thing, and so midway she’d gone to find herself a snack. That seemed more interesting than the actual came. 

She’d been standing in the queue for some random snack, when she heard a familiar voice. “Cutting the line? Naughty Naughty.” She murmured, shaking her head as she grinned at her friend. “I’m regretting being here” She sighed, rolling her eyes. “But Amycus was rather insistent.”

“I wouldn’t want to scar your pretty face,” he answered almost reflexively, though there was something lacking in his tone. It would be easy to fall into casual banter with Alecto, but she didn’t seem to know what to say any more than Tav did. They wanted to grab something heavy and smash the shelves still left on the walls, only waiting to be replaced. Instead he let out a heavy breath and responded with a tense, “hey.” Their eyes met hers for only a moment before they turned away, managing to speak in a tone that made them sound almost happy as they announced the least important thing that had happened, “I finally did it. Didn’t I always tell you I would?” As if it were at all the same thing to suddenly be the only one left to take over the title. His hands met the top of the desk, his palms pressing flat against it as he leaned over and met his own reflection between the lines he’d scarred into it. “Now I can do whatever I like, I can have anything that I want. Everything that I want.” But their fingers curled at the end of their sentence, their teeth gritting hard against the fury and misery welling up inside of them. It was impossible for him to ever have everything he wanted, now. Cassius was meant to be there to see it, his brother was meant to be apart of it and to reap all of the same rewards. They didn’t want Alecto to see them like this, but she was there and she would understand what was wrong. She knew all that he’d had planned, and all that he cared about.

---

“Of course not.” Alecto murmured, a little smile on her lips. Of course, she didn’t miss the fact that the comment was lacking something she’d usually associate with Tav. The pair of them usually had a sense of banter, but that was distinctly lacking today. There was an obvious reason, but Alecto really did not like it. Things were never supposed to go this way, and now Alecto didn’t know what to say, or how to make it better.

“Everything you’ve ever wanted....” And yet it wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. Cass was supposed to be alongside Tav. Alecto had known what his plans had been, and so she knew it wasn’t this. Despite everything, despite him now having everything he wanted. It wasn’t how it was meant to be, and so even Alecto could figure out that it was never going to feel like it should have. There was always going to something, someone missing. And that would be hard. 

The red head walked forward, until she was stood on the other side of the desk, delicate fingers running alongside it. It felt weird to think of her friend as an heir. Their positions had changed so much. Alecto never wanted to be the heir, and was glad that rested on Amycus’ head. 

Pain || Alecto

Octavius sat at his father’s old desk, in his father’s old chair, carving crude lines into the otherwise perfectly polished dark wood and finding much less satisfaction in it than he should have. For years they’d imagined this day, they’d planned to keep their father’s old desk only for as long as it would take for them to ruin it, and then set it on fire to finally do away with the last of his influence. But now he only wanted to be rid of it. As soon as their new furniture arrived they would toss it out like the trash that it was. The chair was uncomfortable too, for something made with only the finest materials, as if he could feel the man’s imprint still sunk into the back and seat. With a heavy sigh, they pushed theirself away from the desk and all but threw theirself back out of it to pace the room instead, their footsteps heavy and angry. It had been days since it had happened, days since it had been reported on in the paper. At first Tav had done what he’d had to, allowed himself to be seen in public with his head high, eliminating any suspicion that he might have been wounded in some way by everything. Now with the renovations and the business of shifting all family matters into his hands he had an excuse to hole himself up in the manor, though this came with its downsides as well. The house had always been much bigger than their family needed, but it had never felt so empty as it did now. Even when Cassius had moved out in favor of having his own apartment, it hadn’t felt so empty. The occasional sounds of their mother’s drunken crying echoing through the halls only further grated on their mind. Tav hadn’t been expecting anyone, but he could hear footsteps approaching the door and a moment later when it opened he didn’t hesitate to whip the knife in his hand towards it, letting it fly just as it came open. The blade sunk into the surface of the door not inches away from where Alecto now stood, and they went still. He regarded her with a tension in his entire body, his breaths coming heavier than they should have been, unsurprised that she had shown up but unsure if he wanted to be seen the way he was. As if there were any secrets between them by that point. “Alecto,” he managed after a moment, a smirk tugging at one side of his mouth, but he glanced away from her as he said it, not meeting her eyes. As if it were somehow possible to hide their pain from her that way.

---

Alecto had toyed for a few days now about just showing up at Mulciber Manor. It wouldn’t be anything that she hadn’t done before. She had a habit of just showing up there. She felt as home there as she did in her own apartment, and she actually felt more at home there than she did in Carrow Manor. But it was different this time. And she hadn’t wanted to intrude. Not that she had a feeling much actual talking was going on there. She knew enough about Tav’s relationship with their mother to assume that. But it had still taken her a few days to pluck up the courage to find her way there.

It wasn’t surprising to find them in what used to be their father’s office. She supposed it was Tav’s office now, and it made sense that they’d want to be making it their own. But, it was still strange to see them there. She had known it would happen one day. Tav would be the heir to the Mulciber family. It wasn’t something Alecto wanted for herself. She was glad that Amycus was the heir. It just made things so much simpler. Of course that didn’t stop her from being fully supportive of Tav. Which was the exact reason she had been there.

She barely flinched at the knife. She knew that it would have hit her if they’d truly intended on hurting whomever had been behind the door. “Close enough...” She mused, a delicate hand pulling the knife out of the wall, and twisting it around her fingers. She didn’t really know what else to say. What was to say? 

He fought not to roll his eyes at the comment. Not very hard, granted, and he lost the battle and indeed rolled his eyes with a bit of attitude - but he tried for a split second to be more polite, at least. “I thought friends didn’t lie to each other.” He mused darkly. Truth be told, in the circles they ran in, friends likely lied to each other fairly regularly. He knew he certainly did, anyway. And while Alecto certainly could be annoying in her own way, he never seemed to really mind her company. Not that he was about to tell her that, however.

“Alright, so what did bring you out here, then?” He asked, not letting her think for a second that she had fooled him. He knew it hadn’t been him and his measly little booth just as well as she did. “I wouldn’t have expected to see you turn up at such a boring even such as this. Hell, I wouldn’t be caught dead here if I wasn’t basically ordered to.” His lip curled, not trying to hide his distaste at the current situation. 

---

If it had been anyone else, Alecto really wouldn’t have liked them. He was her rival after all. The other man in the picture when it came to Severus. But, somehow they were friends. Of course, she was a little frustrated at times, but she found other ways to enjoy herself when Ivy was with Severus. So it didn’t matter too much. “You must not have a lot of friends then.” She mused with a laugh. She and Ivy were best friends, and she was pretty sure that they lied to each other all the time. And so, she didn’t really think that he was thinking was true. And she certainly also lied to Severus too. She lied to everyone, but she had a feeling that everyone knew that.

“Yeah.... this thing is shit.” She mused with a laugh. And she hadn’t really been coming to see him either. He was really not on the top of her list right now. Although he was better company than most of the others that were around here. Alecto couldn’t stand most people. “You poor thing. One day you’ll be the boss.” She teased with a little grin. “But if you must know. I’m here to see Ivy.”

who: ivy & @ofalectox​ when: nearing 1:00am where: delirium

She was running late. She was supposed to be at Delirium at half past midnight, but it was now pushing one in the morning and Ivy wasn’t sure if she would make it in time. Running down Knockturn Alley at almost full speed, she stopped at the doors to the bar and pushed them open. It was completely empty, chairs up on the tables while a broom lazily pushed itself across the floor. “Shit.” She mumbled under her breath, moving quickly through the bar and behind the counter. Ivy pushed open the back door into the office, and let out a sigh of relief, seeing Alecto finishing up her paperwork for the evening. “I thought I missed you, sorry I’m late. I fell asleep and slept through my alarm.” She lied, having been with Severus only a few minutes before arriving here, but Alecto surely didn’t need to know that.

---

Ivy was late. Again. But if she was at all honest, Alecto was used to it. She was used to Ivy being late. And, she was just stupid, because again and again she would just wait for her. Of course, the red head would technically say she was just finishing up the for the night. But even she knew that she could finish some things off tomorrow. Instead, she was doing it now on purpose, so that she could wait just a little longer to see if her friend was here. Hearing a nice behind her, she looked up, and rolled her eyes. Ivy was her best friend, and she should believe her. But everyone lied. “Sure.....” She mused, a little smirk on her face. “Sure you weren’t with someone else instead?” Alecto knew about her friends rocky relationship with Severus, and she would not have been surprised if that was where she’d been just now. “You’re lucky. I nearly went home.”

“Why do you bother, Ale?” There was something fond to Bellatrix’s sharp smile as she settled in the seat across from the younger woman. “You must have the whole menu memorized, despite only ever getting a single thing.” IT was a usual, favored haunt, after all, with not many other places being suitable for a proper coze between people of a certain standard.

“Or are you behaving rather than finding some way to keep yourself occupied and unbored.” Setting tableclothes on fire would probably be an equally engaging solution, but would put a rather short time on their bruch.

----

“Maybe I want something different this time....” Alecto mused, a little smirk on her lips as she continued to look at the menu. Of course she had no intentions of getting anything different, and she knew that Bellatrix knew that. But she didn’t care too much. At least looking at the menu was keeping her out of trouble until the older woman arrived. It would have been rather terrible if Alecto had gotten herself banned from the  establishment. 

“… Father’s mess,” Tav corrected, suspecting she was referring to Cass from the tone in her voice, his smirk hardening a bit for it. Others might expect him to blame his brother for the whole situation, but despite everything he never had. They knew too much about what went on behind the curtain to put any of the blame on his twin. His eyes slipped down into his firewhiskey as he spoke. “Don’t blame Cassius. He wouldn’t have asked for expectations he could never live up to. Father’s the one who insisted on keeping him in the spotlight, at the mercy of everyone’s judgement.” Tav knew better than to begrudge Cassius failing to do something he was unequipped for. His talents lay in other places and that was simply the way it was, fighting against his nature would only be a waste of energy. And Cassius was the only person in the world Tav loved as much as theirself. At her next question, he took another swig of his drink, half emptying his glass already. His free hand wiped at the corner of his mouth when he pulled it away. “I plan to drink you out of pub and property,” they claimed with a snicker, leaning in only long enough to bring his face closer to hers, meet her teasing with full confidence as he always had, “why wouldn’t I want the uninterrupted company of a friend? Your customers don’t give me near enough attention as i’d like. I’d kill any one of them to play games with you.” A gloved hand reached forward and brushed at a strand of Alecto’s hair, winding it almost absently around his fingers before pulling it away again. She was gorgeous of course, like many of Octavius’s friends. They weren’t above calling attention to her when they pleased.

--

“Right right...” Alecto murmured with a nod. She wouldn’t pretend to know all of the ins and outs of the mess. But Alecto did indeed understand what it was like to want to protect a twin. There was only herself in this world that she loved more than Amycus. And she would do just about anything to protect him. She had a feeling that Tav felt just the same about his twin. “Why are our dads such twats.” The red head murmured with a frown on her face. “Not that mine even knows I actually exist. Which maybe isn’t such a bad thing.” Since she could basically go and do whatever she liked.

“Good thing we have a stock delivery tomorrow or I might not be able to open.” She teased with a smirk. She usually would not give so much alcohol to her customers. But Tav was special, and generally she gave him whatever he wanted. She smirked as he leant towards her, her confidence not dipping. One could easily be intimidated by Tav, but she had long got used to him. She could handle him perfectly well. “Depends what kind of games you want to play darling. Remember, I always want to win.” Which made the games quite interesting to be honest. 

She smirked once more, before pulling away completely. She did actually walk away, but only far enough so that she could walk around to the other side of the bar, so that she was on the same side that Tav was on. As she walked she motioned to one of her bar staff to start closing up the place. “Much better.” She mused once she was stood beside Tav once more. “But how about we take this to my office? Much comfier in there.” 

“Never,” they replied, “and don’t I know this well. I showed up, didn’t I?” He was teasing of course, the suggestion that he could have doubted her was laughable. Of course Alecto would be up for the celebration. And they had come close to close so she could truly join him in some rowdier fun, just as soon as the Delirium’s doors were locked up for the night. Her comment made him snicker, though he knew she believed it for herself. She was one of the few people who had always believed in him. Their father, however… “He wants to get the spotlight off of Cassius as quickly as possible, so I can start cleaning up the mess he made for me, insisting on keeping them there so long,” he corrected with a little nod. “Probably. But you could be right. Maybe in his old age he’s finally getting wise.” Firewhiskey was much better than champagne, in Tav’s opinion. Taking their new glass from Alecto, they took a deep swig and let the burning feeling of the whiskey creep down their throat and across their skin. He let out a heavy breath on the exhale. “You would have to give me much more for that to be a problem. If I see any others i’ll be sure to throw them out.” That would truly be an exciting start to the evening. But glancing around, there weren’t many left inside so close to closing, and those who were left didn’t seem to be drunk in any disruptive way. “And when should I?” Their eyes turned back to Alecto, a smirk playing at his lips, and he wiggled his fingertips towards the door in a way that made the ‘Open’ sign tap the glass, as if trying to turn itself around to ‘Close’.

---

“You did indeed.” Alecto mused with a little smirk. He seemed to show up a lot. Not that she was complaining. Alecto didn’t mind seeing his pretty face all the time. It certainly made up for all the other dicks that she had to put up in the bar. They certainly brought in the money, but it didn’t mean that she liked their company too much. So, she always quite liked when he came around. It made her nights much more enjoyable. Or well the nights when Ivy didn’t turn up anyway.

“Like you haven’t been cleaning up his mess anyway.” Alecto adored both of the twins, but there was no denying that Tav was her favourite. But, she had been privy to the hard work he’d been doing, so maybe there was that. And well, she would always prefer someone that had been through something like she had. She and Tav had a lot of things in common. There was no denying that they had been fated to be good friends. 

“Aren’t you planning on having more?” She teased a little smirk on her face. She knew that he could handle his alcohol, and she was just teasing him. She smiled at his next words though. “Aww. My hero.” Although they both knew she could handle any drunks that came into her bar. She hadn’t got her fearsome reputation by letting anyone do the her dirty work for her. At least in relation to her bar anyway.

She smirked at his next words, leaning over the bar a little, so she was closer to him. “Anyone would think you wanted me all to yourself Tav.”

“Of course it is,” Tav agreed immediately, but reached out to tap their gloved fingertips once against the headline, “but not today.” Today at least the front page was glorious. His body craned across the bartop towards her in his enthusiasm, pulled by his shoulders. She was quick on the uptake and he flashed another wide, toothy grin, satisfied with her reaction. “It is!” They let out a cackle, head thrown back and loud as they always were, dropping their coat onto the bar stool next to them. “I knew you’d be up to it,” Alecto and Cassius were at the top of his list for those he’d need to take time to celebrate this milestone with. And he’d already been drinking and smashing things with Cass. They usually stuck to vodka or wine but didn’t turn down the offer of champagne, after all it was a special occasion. He watched her crack the bottle and immediately took the fizzing flute of amber liquid, champagne may not have been his usual but he couldn’t deny it was pretty. They sipped it with a smirk. “I believe it, and thank you.” Alecto was one of the few people who understood just how long he had been building himself towards this, similar as their situations were growing up, she was a close confidant. They had each taken their own approach to freedom, and they supported each other in their endeavors. “I was told just last night, the old man didn’t waste any time making it public.” They downed the rest of their champagne in one quick mouthful and slid the empty glass back across to Alecto. “Something stronger, please.”

@ofalectox​

---

“Someone is optimistic that I’ll enjoy todays news.” Alecto teased, a little smirk on her face. She knew exactly why he was happy with todays headlines, and she did not blame him. She would be exactly the same if their roles were reversed. Of course she had actually made no moves to be made heir herself, but she really did not want that. Alecto had made a name for herself away from the Carrow name, and she had no intentions of letting her father claim any of it. But she was genuinely happy for Tav.

“When have i ever not been up for a celebration.” The red head murmured with a little smile as she took a sip of the champagne. She technically shouldn’t drink on the job. But she was the boss and she could do whatever she wanted. “I’m always up for celebrating, especially one of my best friends.” And Tav really was one of them. There were very few people that fell into category, but Tav had been in it for a long time.

“Your father wants to celebrate you too. As he rightfully should. You’re an asset.” And it frustrated her that more people did not see it that way. But now that he was the heir she was sure they would. And maybe they’d see Tav like she did. But she had always seen it. Curse of the second born had allowed them to bond, and she would always fight his corner.

“Remember. I don’t like drunks in my bar” Alecto teased, before summoning a bottle of firewhiskey and pouring him a glass.

Tav slipped his way into the Delirium minutes to close, indeed not unlike some stray who’d gotten too comfortable in the space, but Tav was only too comfortable anywhere he was. They were half-surprised when Alecto greeted them with no more enthusiasm than usual, she’d known of their plans for some time, but of course not everyone was an avid reader of the paper. Tav theirself only glanced it over on the occasion they knew they’d been mentioned. “Is that all? I don’t suppose you would know, avid readers as we are.” He spoke with light sarcasm as he approached the bar, pulling out a stool and perching himself immediately on it, posture perfect but no less relaxed. He pulled a copy of the Daily Prophet from inside his coat as he slipped it off, sliding it across for her to see before returning her greeting with a smirk, “an excellent evening, dearest.” Octavius Mulciber Named New Heir: Read the headline. He had been working for years to earn the title, and now with his success they really had something to celebrate. Alecto would understand the importance of it perhaps more than anyone else.

---

There were very few people that Alecto would have been okay walking into her bar a few minutes before the bar shut. Luckily for them Tav was one of those people. She really would not have minded if he rocked up after closing time. There were very few people that Alecto truly cared about, and so she liked to look out for them. Tav fell into that category, and there really was not a lot that she wouldn’t do for them. Of course, some of it was to protect and keep herself on top, but she didn’t that was a bad thing.

“Daily prophet is a load of shit.” The red head murmured, shaking her head. She really did think it was. And she didn’t think it took all that much to write things. But she actually had a bit of an idea of what Tav was on about. Alecto might not care about being heir, or all that crap, but it didn’t mean she didn’t want to support her friend in wanting it. 

“Octavius Mulciber named new heir....” Alecto read out loud, a big smile on her face a she looked up from the headline. “This is so exciting!” She murmured. “It calls for a celebration.” She murmured, before spinning around a grabbing a bottle of champagne. “Only the finest bubbles from France will do.” She murmured, cracking the bottle open before pouring them both a glass.

“I’m so happy for you Tav.”

Who: Alecto and Tav (  @tavmulciber​ )

Alecto enjoyed working in the bar until close. Of course it often involved a late night. But it meant that it was not overly busy, and she preferred it that way. Drunk people tended to annoy her. Of course she could have avoided that altogether by not running a bar. But she did love her job, just not all the annoying drunk people. They didn’t always spend a ton of money, so she tried to push them out the door when she could. 

There was a little smirk on her lips as she noticed who had walked into the bar. This wasn’t a surprise. She often saw Tav at her bar. She supposed it was because she was in the habit of giving him free drinks. “Look who the cat dragged in.” She teased as she motioned for one of the workers to get a drink for him. “Evening darling.”