Bad Romance

Chapter 130

Chapter 130: Hard Day's Night

"You all look like rubbish warmed over," Blaise Zabini complained, gazing across the table at the three Lestranges and Arthur who sat in a row, slumped over their cups of coffee.

"Perhaps that's because we only got around four hours of sleep last night," Bellatrix suggested.

"Three," Rabastan corrected around a yawn. "I think it was three."

"Well, in that case, it was two, considering we took one to shag," Rod told Bella with a grin.

In spite of the headache beginning behind her eyes, Bellatrix couldn't help but smile back at the memory of Rod's delicious body against hers in bed...apparently three hours ago. It had been more than necessary to feel him driving hard inside her after the day they'd had... and all the killing. Killing and shagging always went together for them, after all. That and the death of Delphini had to be celebrated.

"Around here, we call that T.M.I.," Gellert drawled and Rodolphus choked.

"No. After having to hear about your dicks when you were at our place a few weeks ago, we don't care," he said, glaring icily from Grindelwald to an implacable Zabini.

"That was at your home, though, and not at work. This is an upstanding place of business, I'll have you know," Gellert said, and from across the room, Romeo Valdez snickered.

"Sure it is," he muttered under his breath, causing several other Aurors to chuckle quietly. "I had to put wards on the bathrooms so those two wouldn't shag on break," Romeo said, pointing toward Blaise and Gellert.

"Am I awake right now," Arthur wondered.

"Unfortunately you are," Goriandor said, coming to take a seat on Bella's other side. The goblin reached for the pot of coffee in the middle of the table and poured a cup.

"Did you get more than two hours of sleep," Bellatrix asked him brightly.

Gori frowned, taking a moment to count on his fingers. "Yes."

Bellatrix chuckled. "Well, that makes one of us."

"It was practically four, unless you count my sister coming in, and waking me up to demand what happened in Washington."

"You live with your sister," she asked, surprised.

Gori shook his head. "No. She just breaks into my home to ask stupid questions whenever I'm sleeping if I don't update her frequently enough."

Was he joking or being sarcastic? With goblins it was sometimes hard to tell. Bellatrix frowned as she tried to decide, and Gori arched his brows at her skeptical look.

"What? I'm serious! My sister is annoying as hell."

Bellatrix laughed. "Fortunately for her, mine knows better." She couldn't imagine Cissy breaking into Raven's Nest to demand a news update while they were sleeping.

"Lucky you," Gori said sincerely.

"Well, now that everyone seems to be here, we can get down to business," Kereston said.

The little Minister sat beside Gellert, huge dark circles under her eyes. When this much was going on, no one who had any part in it was getting sleep, it seemed.

"The earthquake angle appears to have worked well," Kereston began, smiling appreciatively at Arthur. "I've given the Muggle Minister as well as the Muggle US President your name so they can contact you if they need to get information to us on the Muggle front, in case any of hers are still around seeking to cause trouble."