Bad Romance

Chapter 100

Chapter 100: Tough Love

"I can't believe someone who's actually from India wants to learn about chakras and Auras from me! That's humbling!" Lyra squealed. They'd just returned home to Raven's Nest after spending nearly two hours exploring the wares of Enchanted Odds. "I mean that sort of thing is integral to their culture, and she wants to learn from me!"

"She's third generation, so that hardly counts," Rabastan informed his niece drily.

"I guess that's true," Lyra admitted. "It's still cool, though."

"It is," Cassius agreed, giving Lyra a warm smile. He was being supportive and encouraging, Bellatrix thought darkly.

"Thank you," Lyra said, turning to Cassius with a smile. "Now I'm going to put all my new things upstairs in my room. Want to come along?"

"No, he does not," Bellatrix snapped. "He can wait for you in the library."

"Unless he's after dying today, then he can march right upstairs with you," Rodolphus counter offered with a smirk.

Lyra glared. "I am grown! And you are all psychos! This is becoming ridiculous." Her eyes narrowed. "Especially after what I learned about the two of you sleeping together when you were bloody sixteen! I can't even believe you're talking. But like I said, in-bloody-sane."

Rod's smile never wavered. "But we are also powerful and skilled, so we get to do as we like. This is our home, and I say no shagging your boy under this roof until you're married."

"For one thing, that's unreasonable," Lyra said, holding up a single finger for punctuation. "Secondly, and most importantly, we were not going upstairs to shag," she concluded, adding another finger to her mathematical demonstration. "I really was just going to put my things away," she huffed, giving her parents an affronted glare as she swung her large paper bag from Enchanted Odds. Which sported an image of an ancient tome whose pages were half open with a spiderweb peeking out.

"You are more than welcome to go upstairs and put your things away," Rodolphus stated generously. "Alone."

"Yeah, we'll be waiting with Cassius in the library," Rabastan said, and set off in that direction, gesturing for everyone else to follow.

Lyra rolled her eyes and headed upstairs. Bella, Rod, and Cassius followed Rabastan to the library.

"So," Rabastan began as he wandered over to the liquor cabinet. "What's Dumbledore's son like, and do you want a drink?" He looked over at Cassius with a quirked brow.

"He's actually a neat and fun guy," Cassius replied. "And is the drink thing a trick question? As in, is there a wrong choice, because if there is, I don't want to make it."

"It's never the wrong choice to have a drink. I'm having one, after all," Rabastan said, pouring a glass of brandy.

"Well, if you're having a drink, sure," Cassius said, sinking into an armchair near the liquor cabinet.

Bellatrix and Rodolphus moved to their usual loveseat.

"Want drinks," Rabastan asked, and Rodolphus shrugged.

"We might as well. It's the weekend."

They had to go to work tomorrow, but Bellatrix didn't want to always be a killjoy so she remained silent. Besides, with Lyra being difficult, a drink did sound like a grand idea. If Delphini attacked they could always use Winterhaven as a meat shield while they got the hell out of there.

The idea caused a smile to tug at the corners of Bellatrix's mouth, but it fell an instant later because Lestranges did not run. Never did they run from a fight, but Delphini had part of HIM in her and they'd already lost to him before. Uncle Orion had lost his life, and they'd lost their sanity, all of them. Perhaps Regulus and Kreacher weren't aware that they were in the numbers of the slightly mad, but they were...at least Regulus. The way he'd botched the entire lake situation which kept him needlessly gone for years was proof of that.