☆stardust in her veins☆

“Just for you to focus.” Narcissa quipped a little with a teasing grin. Looking back to the swatches surrounding her, she paused. “If I’m going to transform my office, I want it to look completely new. Like I’ve never stepped into it before.” 

Normally she would be all about decorating but everything about this office made Bellatrix want to burn the place to the ground. But the smiling blonde in front of her meant that she didn’t get to have that opinion right now. “What colors are your favorites? Once we have a base it’ll be a lot easier to pick some accents and then furniture.” 

“I’m probably never going to use it, so what’s the point of keeping it?” he asked, being straight to the point. He wasn’t seeking any sympathy, that much was evident in his tone; Regulus just knew that he probably wouldn’t be alive much longer. Better to give it to someone who could make use of it; better to distribute the family heirlooms now to people he actually wanted them to go to.

“Look, you don’t have to keep it” he continued, “Maybe ‘Cissy would want it. I don’t know. I just have no use for it; I just don’t want it to sit on a shelf and gather dust”.

Hearing his words her lips pursed and nose scrunched as she looked over at him for a moment and nodded, “I will take this and put it into the vault at Gringotts so that we both know it’s safe. But if something changes in the future then you know that you are welcome to go and get it out.” Bellatrix spoke the words despite being sure that he was aware of all of the above.

“What’s brought about this sudden need to clean home? Are you looking at moving or just needed to get rid of a few things?” She questioned, in need of idle chat to move the conversation away from the one before. 

“Hmm” he mused, as though agreeing with Bella, “must be the full moon”.

“Nothing is wrong? Well, you should let your face know that too, then” he said, in reference to the fact that she didn’t look particularly happy.

“Affected by the full moon, if I didn’t know any better I’d have to excuse you of being cousins with Greyback.” Her head shaking as she knew that the words were mostly a joke. “You’ve only been here seconds and you’ve already insulted my face. If I wasn’t as confident as I was I would be positively insulted.” Her smirk only growing as the words continued. “But in all seriousness, I suppose, it’s nice to see you.”

“I’ve been clearing out Grimmauld Place” he began, still scoffing slightly at Bella’s initial reaction. He pulled a small package from his pocket; crudely wrapped in a brown paper with a string tied around it.

“Here” he said, handing her over the package, “It’s Walburga’s engagement ring, I thought you should have it”.

At the package being produced and the news of what was in it, Bellatrix hesitated, looking at her cousin and then back at the package before her eyes were back on him. “I know that your mother wasn’t the best.” The understatement of the century was being spoken but she kept the small smile on her face if not only for appearances. “But this has been in the family for a while. Wouldn’t you want to keep it? Maybe even put it to use one day? There’s no pressure obviously, but I just mean that you never know what’s going to happen.”

“You have a tongue that could clip hedges, Bella” he said, with a slight chuckle. “What’s wrong with you now?”

“And you seem extra sensitive today. Are you really going to let a couple biting words affect you?” A wave of her hand at the question as if to brush it off. “Not a thing is wrong I’ll have you know.”

“Merlin, that’s the last time I drop by unannounced” he retorted, looking a little huffy. “I brought you a gift actually, but now you’re not getting it”.

"Oh now, baby cousin.” Her words were semi-sweet despite the fact that she could already feel her mood-elevating just from Regulus’ arriving. “We both know that your presence is enough of a present for me.” But that didn’t stop Bellatrix from rising from her seat with a nod of her head. “Now, what did you bring me?”

Electing to sit in Hogs Head where it was easy to wait for Severus to meet her without fighting a crowd, there was also the least likelihood of running into someone they knew in the next to an empty pub. Hearing the bell ring above the door she moved to glance electing to nod her head for him to come all the way in. “Do you need anything or need to handle anything before we go?” She questioned not for caring but instead to ensure that both of their focus was on the task at hand.

@bxttlescarred

She didn’t often have the chance to just sit and watch the world go by these days. During events and social situations crowds could be overwhelming but sometimes she enjoyed the swarm of other peoples’ energies and thoughts bubbling over around her. It was where she found herself this afternoon, having sought out the busiest cafe to sit in a while, hoping the busy throng would help calm her mind some.

She didn’t spot Bella, but she wasn’t trying too. She was sat alone, clutching at a hot mug of tea and soaking in the small moment of meditative peace she’d managed to find. The voice startled her a little, and Sybill blinked herself out of her stupor to smile up at the woman, “oh, give me a table and a cup of tea and I’ll make the world my office.” She quipped, looking around to note how busy the cafe had gotten, “you can sit with me, if you’d like.”

At the offer of sitting Bellatrix was clearly torn between continuing on her way and taking the opportunity to pick the brain of the woman across from her. “Oh, I don’t know. I’d hate to be a bother.” She spoke before looking around the cafe as though she was trying to spot another place to sit before eyes were back on Sybill with a nod of her head. “I’ll join you just for a moment and if I get to be too much of a hassle please just send me on my way.” 

Pulling her chair out and making herself comfortable Bellatrix studied the face in front of her, “How are things on your side of the desk? As busy as ever I’d guess.” Her smile still resting on her face as she leaned back into the chair. “I was just reading an article the other day of the security the Ministry is increasing around Hogsmede and other major locations. I’m sure the Aurors are just loving that.”

With her coffee in hand, there was slow movements, eyes trained on something other than Sybill before with her walking motions her head turned to spot the woman at the table. The look of surprise on her face was for effect as if she hadn’t spotted her the moment she’d walked in. “Well, it’s nice to know that you’re not only trapped behind a desk but also behind cafe tables.”

@sybilltrxl

Amycus rarely ever involved himself in the affairs of others- but the betrayal to the Black Family at the hands of the Andromeda had rocked the pureblood world to its very core. And he could recall when he was sat beside his sister and lectured about the importance of blood purity and what that meant to this society. How they’d been threatened by the head of house; and how their mother had never looked quite so distraught- and their father had never looked quite so angry. It was rare for either of them show an ounce of emotion; rarer still for them to reveal it so in front of the soldiers they’d bred. How shocked he’d been that they would even dare speak her name aloud after what had happened. 

It seemed he had no choice but to interested now. As Bella stood beside him, the smell of cinnamon on her breath permeating the air along with the calla lillies lain out on the centerpieces. He suddenly felt a bit sick. But he would not dare step closer to that room, unless of course- no. He had to save face here. “Mmm. If she’s involved it must be her-” he couldn’t mask the disgust, “vermin.” That was possibly the kindnest thing he could have said about her, the partner, or the offspring they shared. 

“Shall we go out to the terrace?”

Another woman would have been entranced by the fact that there was a niece out there that she didn’t know. That was the furthest from the case when it came to Bellatrix’s thoughts. That child and its father were the most wretched thing to walk the planet, as for its mother she could rot for all it mattered. The betrayal and embarrassment that had been brought to the Black family was something Narcissa was carefully putting back together with her willingness to go along with this marriage. While there would be no more joy than to set fire to the hall across the way, there was a time and a place for such thoughts and now wasn’t it. A strict code of conduct was to be upheld right now, this her head nodding at the question of getting out of the sight of the ghastly party across from them.

For a moment eyes glanced back into the room where Narcissa was, careful to ensure that she wouldn’t be noticed slipping out for the smallest bit of air before moving toward the doors that led to the terrace. The warm summer air was nothing compared to the suffocating air littering the room she’d just peeked in.

“How long is long enough before people can leave?” Bellatrix questioned knowing full well there was no chance she’d leave if her sister was in the room. But it would be nice to envision being able to do so. “I didn’t see Alecto, was she smart enough to avoid this mess?”

Ted had been running late after a meeting, knowing that he had a couple things to finish up on before he left to go pick Nymphadora up from daycare. Andromeda was working late tonight, so he and his daughter were gonna cook some dinner and watch some movies before bedtime. He wouldn’t have dreamed of keeping her up too late, knowing that they had worked hard to make sure their daughter stayed on a good sleep schedule. 

As he was making his way through the halls of his department, he hadn’t been paying much attention as he collided with some who was rounding the same corner as he, just in the other direction. Papers went flying around him, but it was the woman standing in front of him that made him freeze for a moment. Bellatrix was probably one of the worst people for him to run into, but as she started to help him gather his paper work, he moved to make the process quicker. Maybe he could make it out of this conversation without anything bad happening, knowing it would be the last thing his wife would need tonight. “Sorry ‘bout that.” He offered, at least wanting to be polite and apologize for running into her, since it was never his real intention. 

His words elected nothing more than a nod from the brunette, far too behind to be caught up in a trivial conversation at this point in time. Moving to grab another sheet of paper from the floor it was the name at the top of it that caused her brow to furrow and eyes to move to the man in front of her with an unmistakable look of disdain. It was a name she’d come to loathe and Bellatrix hadn’t even spoken a word to the man, she’d never seen him up close and personal and she’d never dreamed of actually doing either of the two. As she stood taller there was a quick hesitation to hand the papers over, clearly debating scattering them across the floor and leaving him to his own. But there were far too many people in and out of the corridor for that to be an option, instead, she held them out as far from her person as possible.

With a tightly clenched jaw, it was clear that she wasn’t pleased with the man in front of her, if looks could have killed then he wouldn’t be standing as he was now. “And which part is it that you’re sorry for?” Bellatrix spoke, unable to bite her tongue, words coming out as sweet as honey despite the fact that she was sure he would see past the facade.

Talking to Bella about this was a risk he would have to take. The idea of involving any of the other death eater’s was a sordid affair. They’d likely ask too many questions, and he very well couldn’t have that. As she thought it over, he looked for any potential ear hustlers near by but was bliss to find that everyone else had gone. He hoped. There were some were very good at concealing themselves. He nipped at his lower lip with his teeth, an chasm of stress shooting up his spine the longer it took for her to decide. 

Sev almost breathed a sigh of relief when she agreed but held it back. “I don’t, no. But I will come to call when I know more.” Of course, it was an exchange. Had to be, because they weren’t friends, and they certainly didn’t do favors for one another. After a moment, he nodded, taking a deep breath and allowing his shoulders to ease from their tension. 

“And you know to call me when you want the favor returned.”

Her head nodded as he spoke, knowing full well that he would make an appropriate decision on when to handle this adventure. They weren’t friends by any means but there was a certain amount of trust in Severus given the amount that the Dark Lord trusted him. A fact that made it all the easier for her to nod her head in agreement as he spoke. “Very well, you’ll know where to find me. As soon as you know I’ll come to your aid.” Bellatrix assured as she would drop whatever was necessary to be there. 

“Ah, well I’ll keep that in mind should I ever need a potion.” Her tone agreeing with his sentiment given that off the top of her head there was nothing she could think of. Her head-turning to look at him with narrowed brows, “Was that all then, or was there more?”