6. Her kind?

Stepping out of the fireplace, Rabastan remained a moment in the hall, thinking about what Lucius had said. Would he even care if her 'kind' was less than desirable? He considered everything he had learnt about her: her beauty, her passion, her intelligence and knowledge. He thought about the way she had accepted everything about him, even his cruel, well, at times downright evil side, he thought with a grin. He then thought about her leaving him, and he felt it clutch at his heart in a very unfamiliar way. Realizing that he would want her no matter what her 'kind' was, he went to search for her.

He found her in the drawing room. She was standing in front of one of the windows overlooking the garden. The warm afternoon sunlight illuminated her features, and again he was mesmerized by her beauty.

"What kept you?" she looked at him with a questioning look.

"Lucius had some concerns regarding our engagement," he said and took her in his arms. "He also said that if anyone was able to handle 'your kind', as he put it, it would be me or Rodolphus." He looked into her eyes with a curious expression. "So please enlighten me. What exactly is 'your kind'?"

Angelina went silent. She watched him while contemplating how to begin. His reaction to what she had to tell him would be crucial. She was not pleased that Lucius had taken it upon himself to reveal the fact that there was something she ought to have told Rabastan, making it look like she was keeping secrets from him.

"First of all I want to make it clear that it was not my intention to keep this from you. I was planning to tell you everything tonight at dinner." Her expression was sincere as she met his eyes. What she found there made her relax a little. "I didn't expect our relationship to progress this fast, you took me a little by surprise today," she smiled.

"My kind, as Lucius put it, is mainly Wizarding heritage. My father comes from a long line of Pureblood Dark Wizards, so does my mother, but my great grandmother on my mothers' side was something else entirely."

She went over to the couch and sat down; Rabastan followed her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Go on."

She took a deep breath.

"My given name is Aintithenniel Lynch. Aintithenniel means little angel in Elvish," she smirked and cocked an eyebrow at him as she said this.

He barked out a laugh, "Angel? But why do you call yourself Angelina?"

"Angelina is the English version of my name, which I prefer to use given my profession. It's easier to pronounce and it doesn't raise questions, as Aintithenniel unfortunately does..."

She smiled at him before she continued.

"It's quite a romantic story, really. My great grandmother's name was Maethoriel. Her name means Warrior, and that's what she was. She was one of the last Dark Elves in this world. Aidan McLeod, my great grandfather, found her after she had been viciously brutalized by two enemy soldiers. One of the men had sustained some injuries fighting her, and Aidan killed them both to stop them from killing what he believed to be the most beautiful witch he had ever seen. He took her back to his home where he nursed her back to health. During her recovery, they fell in love with each other and decided to elope. Neither of their families would have accepted the marriage. They stayed away for almost two years, not returning until their son Brendan was born. When they returned, she was pregnant with my grandmother, Beriadhwen. Their families had no choice but to accept their marriage, and welcomed them back. The Dark Elves were already close to extinction, and understood that they had no choice but to let their young ones mate with humans. And the rest is history."

Rabastans eyebrows were disappearing into his hairline. He was completely at loss.

"Dark Elves?"

"Yes. Haven't you heard of them?"

He had, of course, read the fairytales about the Dark Elves. As a boy, he had been fascinated with the tale of immense Dark Magic, as Malekith, the first king of the Dark Elves, had been a formidable sorcerer as well as a skillful general and warrior.

"I have, but I thought it was all fairytales."

She smiled. "Most people do. And like most fairytales, the stories have some truth to them. So is the case with the stories about the Dark Elves. We prefer to let everyone think it's just fiction."

"Why?"

"The powers and traits we have inherited from the Dark Elves are not commonly accepted in the Wizarding World. There are very few of us left, since the last pure Dark Elves died out and their legacy intertwined with the Wizarding world. Your Dark Lord found us, though, and tried to get us to join him. That's how Lucius Malfoy found me."

"So, indirectly, I have the Dark Lord to thank for finding you then?" he cupped her cheek, tracing her cheekbone with his thumb.

"We can both thank him." She smirked. "Even though he was not too pleased when my father turned him down."

"You say 'the power and traits', what are they?"

"The magic we possess is a merger between the dark, ancient magic of the Dark Elves and… what shall I say… 'regular' magic. This again makes us very powerful. The reason our magic is not accepted is not only is it Dark in nature, but the Wizarding authorities are not able to trace it." She looked at him. "The traits are very similar to the traits I find in you and your brother. We are extremely protective and loyal to family and those closest to us. And to those who threaten us or betray us, we show no mercy. 'A Eruchîn, ú-dano i faelas a hyn, an uben tanatha le faelas'."

"What does that mean?" The words she had spoken were so soft and beautiful, but he saw the solemn look in her eyes.

"It is the aphorism of the Dark Elves. It translates to 'Show them no mercy, for you shall receive none'."

She leaned in and placed a sweet kiss on his lips. She could see he was utterly fascinated by her story, and this pleased her.

"When I met you in Azkaban, I quickly recognized you as my soul mate. Needless to say, those witnesses who would not comply when I approached them, and instead threatened you and your brother, will never again be found."

"You killed them?"

"It's more like I made them disintegrate." She smirked with an evil glint in her eyes. "Poof!"

"How?"

"It's an ancient wandless piece of magic I learned from my grandmother. She was a very Dark Witch. My older sister Bellethiel takes after her a lot, actually."

"Have you got more sisters?"

"No, but I have got an older brother, Donovan. He's a lot like my father, and doesn't show very much of his darker side. It's there, though, and when he's provoked, he's even more dangerous then Bellethiel."

She went silent, and her eyes sparkled with mischief.

"I wonder…"

Rabastan just waited for her to continue.

"I should invite Bellethiel to come over here. I believe she would be an asset to the alliance, and would definitely tip the power scale in our favor. She is very powerful, much more than me, I'm afraid."

Then she started laughing as an idea formed in her head.

"I believe she would take a liking to your brother, and as I have found my match in you…"

"You're planning on playing matchmaker for your sister and my brother?" He laughed. "Just don't let Rodolphus find out. He'll be furious!"

"I won't. And it was just a thought. She tends to scare the shite out of all the men she meets. And if I'm not mistaken, your brother scares the hell out of most women. I say that's a match made in heaven, don't you?"

He laughed. "In hell, is more likely. I like your idea, though."

"Speaking of your brother, do you know where he is? We should tell him of the meeting with Lucius tomorrow."

Rabastan snapped his fingers, and Gabby appeared.

"Yes, Master?"

"Is my brother at home?"

"Yes, Master. Master Rodolphus is in library."

"Good! Let's go find him."

They found Rodolphus behind a large desk in the library. The desk was filled with leather bound tomes and stacks of parchment. He looked frustrated and threw the quill down on the desk as they walked in.

"Problems, brother?"

"Only numbers that don't add up, and a caretaker that has been neglecting his duties. He obviously didn't think we would get out of Azkaban any time soon."

He stood up and walked around the desk. He took Angelina completely by surprise as he pulled her into his arms. She had not expected him to be the hugging type.

"There are more pleasurable matters at hand, so to speak," he grinned. "I'm very pleased to welcome you to the family, Angelina. It's about time someone got my little brother to settle down."

He punched Rabastan in the arm as he let her go.

"Little brother? For heavens sake, Rodolphus, I'm 48 years old!" he shook his head and chuckled.

"Exactly! As I said; about time!"

Two leather armchairs were placed facing the desk. Rabastan motioned for Angelina to take a seat, and sat down in the other one.

Soon they had filled Rodolphus in on everything that had been discussed while they were at Malfoy Manor. He was as shocked as Rabastan had been about the identity of his long lost niece.

"Hermione Granger is your daughter!" He shoved his hand through his hair. "That's incredible news. I mean - well, I don't really know what I mean."

"I know," Rabastan agreed. "I was absolutely gobsmacked when I heard."

"Well, at least we know now why she is so brilliant and where she got that temper from." Rodolphus grinned. "I have to say I'm pleased to find out that a witch that strong is of our blood. I have always thought that no Mudblood can have that much power. This proves me right."

Angelina cringed at the casual use of such a crude word. Even though she agreed in some of the beliefs of the Purebloods of Britain, she found the use of such terms to be uncouth. She knew she had to be a bit diplomatic as she broached the subject.

"You should probably not use that word around her," Angelina pointed out. "She has, after all, lived her whole life thinking she was Muggle-born. It's bound to stir up some bad feelings if you use that word. In fact, you should both start planning how to treat her, once you have claimed her, Rabastan. She is most likely going to be devastated. You two represent everything she has been fighting against."

"She has been fighting me. I fought against her and her friends at the Ministry some years back." Rabastan pointed out. "The powers she displayed at the age of fifteen were incredible. She knew curses and magic she could not have learned at Hogwarts. Some of the curses she used were dark magic. That's one of the things that took us all by surprise; young students throwing hexes they had no business knowing. And their protective skills were really advanced."

He fell quiet, lost in his own thoughts.

"So, can we count on you for the meeting tomorrow?" Angelina asked Rodolphus.

He nodded. He was, after all, the head of the Lestrange family, and if they were to form an alliance, it could not come to pass without him present. He thought about the alliance, and wondered if they had considered how it would be received by the rest of the Wizarding World.

"Have you discussed with Lucius how the rest of the Wizarding community will react to this alliance?"

"That is one of the problems we have to cover tomorrow. I expect there will be protests, but if we do this the right way they won't have any legal grounds for protest." Angelina turned to Rabastan, "The fact that the betrothal was instigated so long ago is very fortunate."

The next morning Lucius Malfoy was having breakfast when a large, brown owl arrived, carrying an invite to Lestrange Court for lunch.

As he arrived, he proceeded straight to the library, as it was where Rodolphus normally held his meetings. As he was about to knock on the door, Angelina called him into the dining room. The brothers were already sitting at the table, which was set for lunch. He was surprised by the way she already filled the role as Lady of the house.

"I really must thank you, Lucius." Rodolphus stood up and shook his hand. "Not only did you provide the means for us to get out of Azkaban, but you gave us the opportunity to strengthen our family in a way I had never thought possible."

"My pleasure, Rodolphus, you were my brother-in-law, after all." He looked smug as he took a seat at the table.

"Yes, too bad it took you almost one year to remember that."

Rodolphus watched the smugness disappear from Lucius face. What Lucius forgot, and so many before him failed to take notice of, was the fact that Rodolphus Lestrange was highly intelligent. His looks and behavior made most people write him off as simply a thug. The fact that Voldemort had made him one of his most trusted Death Eaters should have been an indicator that maybe there was more to him than what met the eye.

Lucius had made this mistake once before, and paled at the memory of Rodolphus rage. This time Rodolphus remained calm, though. He recognized the importance of the suggested union. Lucius' reaction pleased him, and he narrowed his eyes while he fixed his gaze on the uncomfortable wizard. He knew Lucius well, and understood how important it was to remind him of just who he was dealing with.

"I am sorry it took so long, Rodolphus. I had to rebuild my standings, and secure my position before I could get you out. If I had tried this earlier, all might have been lost."

"I'm sure the death threats were a good motivator?"

Angelina listened to the exchange, grinning on the inside. She knew very well, that with the arrival of her sister, the balance of power in the new alliance would forever tip in the Lestranges' favor. She also knew this would irk Lucius to no end, and decided that would be a suitable payback for him going behind her back. Besides, the most important thing right now was Hermione Granger.

The two former Death Eaters stared at each other in silence. Rabastan looked amused as he eyed Angelina. She nodded her head, and started.

"Maybe you should continue this particular discussion later? I believe we have some other matters we need to discuss?"

Rodolphus eyed her, frowning at the interruption. She cocked an eyebrow at him, returning his stare without being the least bit intimidated.

"First of all, there are the death threats. Maybe we should cover them first? And as I have been dealing with these kinds of threats on several occasions during my career, not only giving them…" she smirked at the three men around the table. "I might have some suggestions, if you are interested?"

Rodolphus gave her a short nod, and she could swear she saw a glimpse of a smile in his eyes.

Lucius started telling her of the letters he had received, and pulled out a small stack of parchment. After sorting the letters, it was clear that some of the letters came from the same source, but the rest looked to have been written by different persons. There were more than twenty letters, and as she read through them, she could easily tell that some of them should be taken seriously.

"These are the letters I think we should concentrate on," she said, handing some of the letters back to Lucius. "Especially these, as they come from the same source, they also indicate that the writer has extensive knowledge of your daily routines."

Lucius looked at the letters she had returned.

"Have you reported this to the Aurors?" she asked him.

"No, I don't see the point. Most of them would be happy to see my family dead, anyway."

"Good! Then we are free to deal with the matter as we see fit."

The tone of her voice made all the men look at her questioningly. She calmly returned their stares.

Lucius saw the twinkle in Rabastan and Rodolphus' eyes. He had not seen that look since they received their missions from the Dark Lord, and it gave him a chill, at the same time it made him feel safe. He knew their alliance would be a force to be reckoned with in the Wizarding World, and a real danger to their adversaries.

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the original characters from the books, they all belong to J. K. Rowling.

I don't own the Elvish either. It belongs to J. R. R. Tolkien