Ava quickly placed the box with her new dress robes under her arm and walked out of Madam Malkin's. She struggled with all the boxes and bags in her hands and tried to keep them steady so she could apparate without leaving anything behind. She cursed under her breath as the box under her arm started to slip, but just as she was about stable enough to apparate she heard someone say;
"Excuse me." She turned around and the box containing her new hat fell down onto the cobblestone street.
"Shit!" she exclaimed, stomping her foot. She leaned over to pick it up. As she looked up angrily, her fist balled ready to cause a commotion like she was at the pub, she saw Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy standing before her with her husband nowhere in sight. She covered her mouth and smiled politely. Mrs. Malfoy on the other hand didn't exchange the same polite sensibility. Instead she stared down at her with her nose upturned and her hands placed on her expecting stomach.
Ava cleared her throat. "I'm okay, just in case you were wondering." She chuckled lightly, but Narcissa didn't laugh or say anything. Ava sat the boxes and bags on a nearby table and wiped her brow. "I was grabbing a few things, doing some last minute shopping. Of course you know how that is. Everything has been so hectic and busy that you're running around like a headless chicken trying to get some stuff done and then something comes up-"
"That's all very well, but I have an important question I need to ask you."
Ava frowned and nodded. "Sure, but can we make this quick? I have to do a rain dance by six."
"Very well then. Are you erm," Narcissa hesitated and spoke a quiet voice. "Are you having relations with my sister's husband?"
"Excuse me, have I what?"
"Have you-" Narcissa stopped herself and continued. "Have you been you know-"
"Boinking Rodolphus Lestrange?" she asked with a nod.
"Uhm-"
"Shagging? Screwing? Doing the laundry? Poking? Fornicating? Humping? Smashing? Laying? Doing the nasty? Fucking? Jumping bones-"
"Good lord, yes already." Narcissa said, flashing her a look of disgust. Ava smirked and shrugged.
"I don't think I feel necessarily comfortable telling you my personal information."
"That's a shame." Narcissa said with an eyebrow raised. "Because I don't care what you feel comfortable with. I want answers."
"There's a lot to their marriage that you don't know about. There's a lot that even I don't know about. Sometimes Roddy won't tell me certain things."
"So you have been with him."
"Well he's a friend, a very close friend."
"So instead of what a friend would do as to help them, your solution is to break them up even further?" Narcissa asked, her red lips forming into a grimace.
Ava let out a scoff, reached into her robes and placed her cigarette in her mouth, lit it with the tip of her wand and exhaled smoke in the opposite direction. "Listen sweetheart," she said. "I doubt that I would tear Rodolphus away from his precious little wife even further than he already is."
"Oh really?"
"Yes." Ava said taking another drag and letting the smoke escape from her nose. "You don't know the Death Eater system, but I've been in their world for a much longer time than you have and I can tell you nothing I'm doing is forcing Rodolphus away from your sister. In fact I would say your sister is the cause of the problem-"
"How dare you-"
"-Let's analyze facts." Ava said exhaling more smoke. "I'm not here to try and be the "other woman"." Her fingers curled to do the quotations mark. "You can debate with me all you want, but you're only playing devil's advocate. I'm not looking into him fathering my child so I can have a hefty sun from the Lestrange fortune, I don't plan on being Mrs. Lestrange, in fact he's not even the only one. I can tell you that there's a lot of men in You-Know-Who's army. About a decent portion of them are married and about forty percent still write me and look forward to visiting me. I get paid for a lot of it and some I must admit is for fun. How do you think I can afford cigarettes directly from Paris? One You-Know-Who's men still writes me love letters and sends me flowers every Valentines Fay and on his birthday. I can name each one of their fetishes and desires. I won't name names, but one of your husband's cohorts likes me wearing red heels while I spank him with a paddle and call him a bad little boy-"
"Merlin's beard! How crude are you?"
Ava laughed. "Oh Mrs. Malfoy we're two women, we can have a bit of girl talk. I do care about Rodolphus. He's a dear friend of mine, but if you think I'm trying to destroy the pathetic little union you call a marriage then you're sorely mistaken."
"Then I suggest you call off."
Ava snickered and took another drag from her cigarette. "I'm afraid I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Darling," she said through a laugh. "If I broke this up that means less money in my pocket and a very unsatisfied Rodolphus. I know you're a smart woman Mrs. Malfoy, let's not play thick." She paused to another take a drag. "If he truly loves his wife, he will get back with her. They'll go to their manor, have two point five kids, get a dog and live happily ever after in their cozy little home and I'll be last week's news, but until he's ready I will not push him."
"If Bellatrix finds out she won't be too happy. You haven't seen her angry."
"If all the wives of the men I was with came after me I'd be in a world of trouble."
"You don't understand, you haven't seen Bellatrix mad. Whatever is done in secret and the privacy of your own chambers, but to be so open-"
"Open? What are you talking about?" She squinted and used her cigarette to point at her. "Oh yes now I remember." She chuckled. "When I went to the Lestrange Manor to help him, right? Well his little wife wasn't much help, am I right?"
"You didn't need to become involved. That wasn't your place"
"I simply gave him his pain medication, a few books to read and a back massage. The poor dear was hurt during a fight, he needed someone to care for him. A good wife would wait on him hand and foot till he was well. You caught me at the wrong time."
"Yes, being invited in by Rabastan and getting a sight of Rodolphus zipping himself up was indeed the wrong time. You're correct."
Ava grinned. "I doubt the little missus wouldcare. She has her own buddy."
"Who?"
"Oh that's strictly confidential, but I'm sure she'd love to tell you Mrs. Malfoy. I appreciate your love for your sister and I would do the same for my kin, but I must kindly ask you to mind your own business." She looked down at Narcissa protruding belly and smiled fondly. "Congratulations on the baby." She said with a sincere smile on her face. "I remember mine. He was a precious thing and you don't worry about your husband looking at me any sort of way. He doesn't even give me a second glance. I think he hates me." Ava smiled and took off her hat. Her dark hair fell in front of her face as she bowed. "Goodbye Mrs. Malfoy. It's time for the anal rain dance." She said, placing the hat back on her head.
"An anal rain dance?" Narcissa asked, with a frown on her face. "What's an anal rain dance?"
Ava smirked, flicked her cigarette into the gutter and disapparated.
"Your sister-in-law visited me." she said, placing her hands on each side of the davenport in her dimly lit room. Rodolphus unbuckled his pants and opened a firewhiskey bottle. He took a swig from it and grinned at her.
"Oh really?" he said, placing the bottle to his lips again.
"Yep."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing." she grinned. He drank from the bottle and offered her some. She grinned and shook her head.
"Hurry up and finish that." she snickered. "It can't be full you know?"