Black Night
Part Four
Rated R
Narcissa/Rabastan, Narcissa/Lucius, Bellatrix/Severus
"When I said we had to find Andry, I didn't mean you got to bring a circus."
"Remus is not a circus. Ignore her, Remus."
"Come now, if you get to bring your boyfriend, so do I."
"Go on then, go find Davey Gudgeon, I'll be glad to see him again."
"Ouch. Cut to the bone."
"Do you two always argue like a married couple?"
"We're cousins, Lupin."
"No use, Bella, he knows all about the Blacks' ridiculous interbreeding habits."
"I wasn't joking. I get to bring someone too."
"The more the merrier. Fine."
A silvery laugh from Bellatrix. "I think you know him, too."
"Oh, no, Sirius, what have you done? Is it Lockhart, Bellatrix?"
"Not anymore."
"Fabulous. It Iisn'tI Gudgeon, is it?"
"No."
"Avery?"
"Too old."
"Never stopped you. Wilkes?"
"Closer, but still not there."
"Rosier? You're not dating Rosier, are you?"
"Of course not."
"Who?"
"Severus Snape."
A choking noise from Sirius. Small words started to issue from his mouth, "Isn't - no - slimy - can't - IfuckI -"
"You're joking. Please tell me you're joking."
"Sorry, Lupin. Nope."
"What is it with your cousins and Death Eaters, Sirius?"
"IFuckI. . ."
"Don't be pathetic, I'll make him behave."
Remus made a small noise like Sirius had. "Behave? There won't be any - don't, please -"
"In front of you?" Bellatrix laughed. "I'm not one for an audience."
"How far away is it?" Remus asked, in a strangled sort of voice. Sirius was actually shaking, although it was possible he was putting on theatrics Remus didn't think it was likely.
"He lives on Heston and Birch Streets. Do you know the area?"
Sirius shook his head slowly, but Remus cast his eyes up towards the starry sky - focusing, Sirius noticed, on the moon - and nodded silently.
"Shit," Bella said. "Lupin and I could try to Apperate you there -"
Sirius shook his head, back and forth, very rapidly. "I am not going to sick up in front of Snivellus Snape," he said hoarsely. Just bring him to Andry's apartment, will you? I've got to talk to Ted again, tell him to make sure to keep Nymphadora with him at all times. If the two of them are also targets -"
Bella had gone paper-white. "You don't think it's the Dark Lord?" she whispered.
Sirius looked at her. "Voldemort?" he said quietly. "It's possible, I suppose."
"Surely not," Bella said, shaking her head back and forth. She looked as if she were about to say something more, to explain why it couldn't be, but no - she closed her mouth, shaking her head still in denial.
"Come on, Bellatrix. Let's go get your boyfriend, then," Remus said, clearly slightly unnerved and very worried. He shot Sirius a fleeting look before vanishing right behind Bellatrix. Sirius stood where he had for a moment, and then he too vanished.
It was a clear night, and the moon was nearly full, but it seemed that the light cast on the corner house of Heston and Birch Streets was dimmer, as if something was veilling it. Perhaps it was just that the stone was a darker material, and that the windows were grimy. It might also have been because it was smaller, and the other buildings on the block were by no means small. But whatever it was, Remus felt a stir in his heart. Bella had Apperated directly onto the steps - she must have been here often enough - but the place Remus could remember was from the middle of the street, so the door opened before he could get within Snape's view. He settled for the shadows, close enough to hear what they were saying.
"Bella? What are you doing here?"
"It's not exactly business, Severus, but it's not casual either." There was something about the way she said IbusinessI that Remus didn't like. He felt his heart lurch and his stomach twist - could this mean -
"Would you like to make it casual?"
Remus almost started. There was something in Snape's voice he had never heard before there, something - gentle, kindly, unmalicious.
"Not with an audience, Severus. I promised him I'd get to the point, anyway - please, he isn't going to bit you, Lupin -"
The absurdity of this statement caught Remus off guard, and he had to clap a hand to his mouth to stop from guffawing stupidly. Snape's expression was horror mingled with confusion and anger. "Why the unholy IfuckI did you bring IhimI here?" he hissed at Bella. "You know what he is -"
"And does she, Severus? I thought you swore to Dumbledore you would tell no one." Remus, however, was smiling - Bellatrix had not reacted to his being a werewolf outwardly, although he supposed now that the circus comment might make slightly more sense.
Both of them ignoring this, Bella put a hand on Severus' shoulder. "How are you doing?"
"I'll be ready in time, if that's what you mean, I'm not going to break a promise to IhimI. I'm fairly good. I can walk properly, I suppose. So why IareI you here, in the company of one of the Fabulous Gryffindor Four of all people?"
"Just be lucky Sirius didn't want to bring James along - well, technically, he did, but James was busy."
Snape's eyes had widened in horror. "Sirius? You mean Black?"
"I'm a Black, too, you know."
"Dear fuck, Bellatrix, if you're trying to work out my worst nightmare you're hitting fairly near the target. I'm not fucking going to have anything to do with those -" The words that emitted from his mouth after that point caused Remus' eyebrows to shoot up - he didn't know several of them, and he spent time every day with Sirius.
"Listen, Snape, if you'd rather I went and got Rodolphus for the job -" Remus' eyebrows went up farther - the Lestranges were another family widely known as Death Eaters and it seemed that perhaps Bella had reason to know whether or not Andry's disappearance had anything to do with 'the Dark Lord'.
Snape's eyes widened in fury. "Bitch," he muttered, but it wasn't as cold- bloodedly furious as the rest of the words. "What are you making me fucking do now?"
"My sister's vanished. I want to know if you know anything, and I want you to come along on the mission. Narcissa's run off with Lucius Malfoy -" Bella's voice hardened and Snape's eyebrows vanished into his greasy hair, "and I couldn't go gallavanting across the countryside with two Gryffindors, I needed help."
"You want me to come with you," Snape said in a flat voice. He glared at Remus. "Is the pet werewolf safe for this mission?"
"For five more days or so," Remus said casually, his eyes flickering up to the moon again.
"Fine," Snape snapped. "I'm in. But you're going to pay for this, Bella." It was, to Remus' disgust, in a playful sort of way that he delivered the last sentence, and Bellatrix, after heaving a sigh of relief, wrapped her arms around Severus' neck and kissed him hard.
"Thank you," she whispered. "When we find Andry, I'm going to be interested in what kind of payment you'll be wanting. . ."
"You can be creative," Snape said, smiling at her fondly. If Remus had been Sirius, he would have at this point been making retching noises. As it was, he did feel slightly sick - how could she stand all that grease? - but he merely cleared his throat politely.
"Do you know where Andry Tonks lives?" he asked Snape.
"We could Floo there," the man suggested, glaring at Remus. "I may be better, but I don't want to waste strength on Apparition."
Under normal circumstances, Remus would have been extremely curious to see what Severus Snape had in his house. Aside from the furniture - which was indeed black leather, James owed him a Sickle, he had bet in sixth year that Snape had a couch made of human skin and had simply been convinced that none of them would ever find out - everything seemed very normal, perhaps too much so. The lights were on very brightly, and Snape moved into the kitchen first, muttering something about having been cooking eggs when they arrived. A few minutes later, the three of them were standing in front of a handsome fireplace and Snape was holding out a ceramic jar of Floo Powder.
"What's the - er - name of the place?" Snape asked, and it took Remus a moment to realize that Bellatrix did not know.
"It's Tonks' Tenement," he put in, and Snape nodded, looking satisfied. Bellatrix went first, and then Snape, and in a whirl of green flames Remus followed.
"When I said we had to find Andry, I didn't mean you got to bring a circus."
"Remus is not a circus. Ignore her, Remus."
"Come now, if you get to bring your boyfriend, so do I."
"Go on then, go find Davey Gudgeon, I'll be glad to see him again."
"Ouch. Cut to the bone."
"Do you two always argue like a married couple?"
"We're cousins, Lupin."
"No use, Bella, he knows all about the Blacks' ridiculous interbreeding habits."
"I wasn't joking. I get to bring someone too."
"The more the merrier. Fine."
A silvery laugh from Bellatrix. "I think you know him, too."
"Oh, no, Sirius, what have you done? Is it Lockhart, Bellatrix?"
"Not anymore."
"Fabulous. It Iisn'tI Gudgeon, is it?"
"No."
"Avery?"
"Too old."
"Never stopped you. Wilkes?"
"Closer, but still not there."
"Rosier? You're not dating Rosier, are you?"
"Of course not."
"Who?"
"Severus Snape."
A choking noise from Sirius. Small words started to issue from his mouth, "Isn't - no - slimy - can't - IfuckI -"
"You're joking. Please tell me you're joking."
"Sorry, Lupin. Nope."
"What is it with your cousins and Death Eaters, Sirius?"
"IFuckI. . ."
"Don't be pathetic, I'll make him behave."
Remus made a small noise like Sirius had. "Behave? There won't be any - don't, please -"
"In front of you?" Bellatrix laughed. "I'm not one for an audience."
"How far away is it?" Remus asked, in a strangled sort of voice. Sirius was actually shaking, although it was possible he was putting on theatrics Remus didn't think it was likely.
"He lives on Heston and Birch Streets. Do you know the area?"
Sirius shook his head slowly, but Remus cast his eyes up towards the starry sky - focusing, Sirius noticed, on the moon - and nodded silently.
"Shit," Bella said. "Lupin and I could try to Apperate you there -"
Sirius shook his head, back and forth, very rapidly. "I am not going to sick up in front of Snivellus Snape," he said hoarsely. Just bring him to Andry's apartment, will you? I've got to talk to Ted again, tell him to make sure to keep Nymphadora with him at all times. If the two of them are also targets -"
Bella had gone paper-white. "You don't think it's the Dark Lord?" she whispered.
Sirius looked at her. "Voldemort?" he said quietly. "It's possible, I suppose."
"Surely not," Bella said, shaking her head back and forth. She looked as if she were about to say something more, to explain why it couldn't be, but no - she closed her mouth, shaking her head still in denial.
"Come on, Bellatrix. Let's go get your boyfriend, then," Remus said, clearly slightly unnerved and very worried. He shot Sirius a fleeting look before vanishing right behind Bellatrix. Sirius stood where he had for a moment, and then he too vanished.
It was a clear night, and the moon was nearly full, but it seemed that the light cast on the corner house of Heston and Birch Streets was dimmer, as if something was veilling it. Perhaps it was just that the stone was a darker material, and that the windows were grimy. It might also have been because it was smaller, and the other buildings on the block were by no means small. But whatever it was, Remus felt a stir in his heart. Bella had Apperated directly onto the steps - she must have been here often enough - but the place Remus could remember was from the middle of the street, so the door opened before he could get within Snape's view. He settled for the shadows, close enough to hear what they were saying.
"Bella? What are you doing here?"
"It's not exactly business, Severus, but it's not casual either." There was something about the way she said IbusinessI that Remus didn't like. He felt his heart lurch and his stomach twist - could this mean -
"Would you like to make it casual?"
Remus almost started. There was something in Snape's voice he had never heard before there, something - gentle, kindly, unmalicious.
"Not with an audience, Severus. I promised him I'd get to the point, anyway - please, he isn't going to bit you, Lupin -"
The absurdity of this statement caught Remus off guard, and he had to clap a hand to his mouth to stop from guffawing stupidly. Snape's expression was horror mingled with confusion and anger. "Why the unholy IfuckI did you bring IhimI here?" he hissed at Bella. "You know what he is -"
"And does she, Severus? I thought you swore to Dumbledore you would tell no one." Remus, however, was smiling - Bellatrix had not reacted to his being a werewolf outwardly, although he supposed now that the circus comment might make slightly more sense.
Both of them ignoring this, Bella put a hand on Severus' shoulder. "How are you doing?"
"I'll be ready in time, if that's what you mean, I'm not going to break a promise to IhimI. I'm fairly good. I can walk properly, I suppose. So why IareI you here, in the company of one of the Fabulous Gryffindor Four of all people?"
"Just be lucky Sirius didn't want to bring James along - well, technically, he did, but James was busy."
Snape's eyes had widened in horror. "Sirius? You mean Black?"
"I'm a Black, too, you know."
"Dear fuck, Bellatrix, if you're trying to work out my worst nightmare you're hitting fairly near the target. I'm not fucking going to have anything to do with those -" The words that emitted from his mouth after that point caused Remus' eyebrows to shoot up - he didn't know several of them, and he spent time every day with Sirius.
"Listen, Snape, if you'd rather I went and got Rodolphus for the job -" Remus' eyebrows went up farther - the Lestranges were another family widely known as Death Eaters and it seemed that perhaps Bella had reason to know whether or not Andry's disappearance had anything to do with 'the Dark Lord'.
Snape's eyes widened in fury. "Bitch," he muttered, but it wasn't as cold- bloodedly furious as the rest of the words. "What are you making me fucking do now?"
"My sister's vanished. I want to know if you know anything, and I want you to come along on the mission. Narcissa's run off with Lucius Malfoy -" Bella's voice hardened and Snape's eyebrows vanished into his greasy hair, "and I couldn't go gallavanting across the countryside with two Gryffindors, I needed help."
"You want me to come with you," Snape said in a flat voice. He glared at Remus. "Is the pet werewolf safe for this mission?"
"For five more days or so," Remus said casually, his eyes flickering up to the moon again.
"Fine," Snape snapped. "I'm in. But you're going to pay for this, Bella." It was, to Remus' disgust, in a playful sort of way that he delivered the last sentence, and Bellatrix, after heaving a sigh of relief, wrapped her arms around Severus' neck and kissed him hard.
"Thank you," she whispered. "When we find Andry, I'm going to be interested in what kind of payment you'll be wanting. . ."
"You can be creative," Snape said, smiling at her fondly. If Remus had been Sirius, he would have at this point been making retching noises. As it was, he did feel slightly sick - how could she stand all that grease? - but he merely cleared his throat politely.
"Do you know where Andry Tonks lives?" he asked Snape.
"We could Floo there," the man suggested, glaring at Remus. "I may be better, but I don't want to waste strength on Apparition."
Under normal circumstances, Remus would have been extremely curious to see what Severus Snape had in his house. Aside from the furniture - which was indeed black leather, James owed him a Sickle, he had bet in sixth year that Snape had a couch made of human skin and had simply been convinced that none of them would ever find out - everything seemed very normal, perhaps too much so. The lights were on very brightly, and Snape moved into the kitchen first, muttering something about having been cooking eggs when they arrived. A few minutes later, the three of them were standing in front of a handsome fireplace and Snape was holding out a ceramic jar of Floo Powder.
"What's the - er - name of the place?" Snape asked, and it took Remus a moment to realize that Bellatrix did not know.
"It's Tonks' Tenement," he put in, and Snape nodded, looking satisfied. Bellatrix went first, and then Snape, and in a whirl of green flames Remus followed.
