More than one deadly sin

—“So I’m your huntress and thief?” —His hands slid down to cup the backs of my knees as he said with a roguish grin, “You are my salvation, Feyre.”

MBTI AESTHETIC: INTJ (6/16)

Just a kiss and you make me forget All the bad, the battles we lost, the bodies we hid You don’t know, just how far I’d be willing to go You put the cracks into my moral code So you can count on me to always be there You gonna make me a believer Even if that shit ain’t true You gonna make me commit murder Baby, I’d kill for you

His tone made her put her quill down and stare at him with a smile on her beautiful face. “What do you really want, Rodolphus? I know for a fact that you’re not here because you’re the loving husband concerned about his wife”. He could not deceive her for she was a master manipulator herself. “I know there’s something on your mind so you must as well spill it before I use my wand to reveal those secrets locked inside your mind.”

She was not afraid to use her wand against him, even knowing that he probably had made a powerful wand already to try and beat her. He was so interested in wand lore that he would skip breakfast, lunch and dinner if that mean to finally come out with a good combination of elements.

“More news about your brother?” Rabastan was away, Merlin knows where. He was a free spirit and was not meant to be locked inside the mansion. She was surprised that he was still single for there were many eligible heiresses waiting for him to fall into their charms and try to be part of the Lestrange Family.

“Maybe you bring me news about Polaris?” Her daughter was a Slytherin and of course she had her mother’s temper. Her father’s eyes were there but she was all Bella and she was making sure her friends back at school knew about it. Everyone was afraid of Bellatrix Lestrange, more than Rodolphus. If someone dared to touch Polaris, they would face their wrath, even when she was more of a daddy’s girl.

“Delightful?” Bella rolled her eyes at him and laughed. “A bright spot in my day? I don’t think so, my darling.” She put her arms on the desk and stared at him. “Well, speak! What is it that you want?”

The wizard was met with spewed venom and sharp cutting eyes: an all-too-familiar experience when dealing with his wife. She had none of the softness of his lovers, nor any of their affection for him. He wondered for not the first time if it had been a mistake to marry such a powerhouse. He had wanted a bold wife, more than just a flower to decorate his side, but perhaps Bellatrix had been a step too far. Surely there was some balance to be found.

His head shook, denying her questions about Rabastan and Polaris. He was not here to speak to about either of those Lestranges. His intention was to broach the topic of the Lestranges that did not yet have names, who had not yet drawn their first breathes. 

Bronwen’s eyes glazed over the person in front of her. A small crease forming between her brow, she leaned forward in her seat at the next statement. Her hand curling around the glass in front of her. Their comment piqued her interest, making a mental note to remember that fact for later. “Surely, you can’t be serious?” She scoffed, her tone surprised.  

The tone his companion delivered matched his own disbelief at the state of things with his wife. His expression and the heaviness in his deep bass conveyed the inner turmoil he was battling.  "I wish so much that I wasn't. I thought she would mature past this childish notion that she did not wish to have children. Surely, she understood what it was to marry me. I have a duty to the family--and we all have duties to the bloodlines. What is the point of pushing for any change or reformation if we have no future generations to pass the world onto?"

Slytherin House + Worst Traits 

         The sound of someone apparating in the manner never got any more reassuring for the blonde, no matter how much she reminded herself that he was gone and the war was over ( over for who ? Not for her, not when she still had to fight for her family’s freedom ). Hands pulled her son ( babbling, refusing to listen to the storybook she had picked out for him ) tighter towards her, a far too common gesture. The fact the presence was Rodolphus, someone she knew well, did not make her loosen her grip on Draco.

        « Just a minute, then, » she conceded, more because she felt she owed this to her brother-in-law than anything else. « You shouldn’t be here. » Lucius and Rodolphus were friends, it was true, and him and Narcissa were family by marriage, but despite the great respect the blonde might have had for him, she also knew the presence of a criminal awaiting for an Azkaban sentence in her own home would only lessen Lucius’ chances at walking out of all of this freely, if people knew. And Lucius not getting out of it all unscathed and free was not an option Narcissa was willing to accept ( not with a one year old and a family that did not have the chance to grow, not when she needed Lucius here so much ).

        She had known when Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan had first got taken in that she would not be able to save all of them ( not unless they saved themselves, no matter how much she wanted to ). She would save Lucius ( lie for Lucius ). This required ensuring her words had credibility, that she was not seen associating with the wrong people. As much as she was at peace with this choice, it did not make it any easier to talk to Rodolphus knowing she did not try to spare either him or her sister their current fate. « I’m surprised they are allowing you to apparate, given the circumstances. » Her tone was as conversational as possible, as if this might present the conversation from going into directions the blonde feared it would. A pause, a moment of hesitation. « Is there a reason for your visit ? I don’t suppose you might have decided on a defense to appeal your sentence ? »

There was something hinted at the edges of his smile--unnamed, this elusive emotion dancing recklessly between melancholy and righteousness. For he was a beacon of justice and nobility. Even as this Ministry meant to throw him into prison, Rodolphus knew himself. He knew the darkness and the light within; he felt the power. His life was one to be sacrificed in perpetuity to their most noble purist cause. 

« I know. »  The slightest of nods acknowledged Narcissa’s assertion. She was not wrong. To come here had the potential to complicate matters. But he had come with a purpose. The man meant to tell his almost sister his intention for the trial. He would step before the blade and be the shield this family needed. Bellatrix had failed to be any sort of wife to him. He had no son to carry on the Lestrange line, but Narcissa was the better wife--the better woman. Envy twisted in the darkest recesses of his heart. 

There was nothing to be gained from this coveting. Perhaps Bella would be sentenced to the kiss and someday he could take a better wife. This that he meant to do would be karma in his favor. Perhaps the Fates would notice and smile upon him. 

Rodolphus found comfort in the fact that even now Narcissa kept with polite conversation, minding manners and decorum. « There are limitations to where I may go. »  The Lestrange was confined to the United Kingdom and he had only a dozen hours of freedom left now. He did not expound upon the charm that had been cast over him. While the magic was not unbreakable, it was complex, too much so to be undone in the time he had before he was due before the Wizengamot. Not that he had any intention of attempting escape... Rodolphus would go before the court and he would acknowledge the acts they proclaimed as crimes. There was more that he would take on, as well--and it was on Narcissa to corroborate details of his story. 

Again the man nodded, this time the action served as a response to the Lady Malfoy’s question rather than an assertion.  « There is. » That complicate half smile turned up the corner of his lips again, contradicting the disconsolate shadows in his azure eyes.   « I will not make a defense. I will acknowledge willful and deliberate participation in that which I am accused of. Further, I mean to include your husband’s name on the list of those I held under the influence of the Imperius. I shall claim my wife’s relation to you gave me access to him with the regularity that was necessary to maintain the curse. » Rodolphus spoke these words softly, laying them out as a gift to the woman. Would she see them as such? Could she understand why he would choose to do such a thing? Did she perceive the hope he placed in her family--in her son? 

Bellatrix always knew in her heart that they would win the war and the muggles would be crushed. The Potter Boy did not last a second against the Dark Lord and everyone rejoiced when he showed them his dead body as proof. All her efforts had been rewarded and now she could sleep at peace, knowing that her work was done. The Dark Lord was proud of them, the only family that had been willing to look for him after the First war, never giving up on him and even going to prison for trusting in his beliefs. People lost their lives, good people, decent people with pureblood that was spilled for the grater good and she would sacrifice herself if that mean keeping their peace.

Maybe it was in those trouble that she thought about someone to bring her comfort, but she never thought it would come in the form of a daughter. Many times she told Narcissa and her own mother that she was not maternal and a child was the last thing she wanted but when she found out she was carrying an heir to the Lestrange name, she felt proud and with one less problem. Rodolphus was in need of an heir and she gave it to him gladly, but the problem was that the baby was not a boy.

Polaris was a girl, an heiress like her mother and Bella was proud of it. Why was so wrong to have a woman in power, ruling, one step closer to heaven than a man? She would never understand that, but she fulfilled her mission and that was the end of it. If Rodolphus wanted to have another child and a boy this time, he could wait until she died and marry again if he so pleased.

But Bella was not going to have someone else take Polaris’ rightful place in the family and all that would belong to her once she died. Perhaps Rodolphus would despice her for being a girl but on her mother’s side, she was always a Black and Polaris would have the support of the family no matter what. Little did he know that their little girl was cunning like her mother and had her father wrapped around her little finger. Her husband would do anything for her as long as he could see her smile.

As a duelist, she was in charge of training the children and make sure that they learned what was needed. Bella was a ruthless teacher, not giving second chances and expecting the best of the best nothing more. Polaris was learning fast thanks to her mother and sometimes they used Rodolphus as a test subject.

She was working on some lists when she heard the door open and saw her husband walk inside her office. “Can’t you see I’m working, Rodolphus?” Bella said without looking up from the papers. “I’ll take a break when I want to, not before.” She smirked. “Did you bring wine to get me drunk? Do you need it so your wife can fall easily to your charms?”

There were issues with his marriage that Rodolphus had mostly comes to terms with over the years. The fact his wife did not fancy him as strongly as many women seemed to was an annoyance, but he could fill his bed easily enough. A man would address his needs elsewhere if a wife was prone to neglect.

Still, it would have perhaps been nice to have more than just varying degrees of amicability with a spouse. Rodolphus wondered on occasion if he wouldn't have been better off with another wife, more willing to do her duties, more understanding of their important.

A roll of his eyes was given at her dismissive response. Always so argumentative and difficult, the woman so easily brought out the worst in him. “Oh, I noticed. I simply don't care, Bellatrix,” Rodolphus drawled as he wandlessly siphoned wine from the decanter into one of the glasses.

Instead of just leaving, he settled himself on the most comfortable sofa available and took a sip from his glass. It was complex and interesting on the tongue, but he wondered if something stronger might have been a better choice. Bellatrix was always a bit more like whiskey than wine. Still, it was only mid-afternoon, a touch early in the day for hard liquor.

"Perhaps I brought the wine to make your lack of charm more palatable," he countered, matching her smirk with one of his own. Mirth sparkled in his eyes. "As we both know I'm utterly delightful and my presence is a bright spot in your day."

Lestrange Family Portrait