Chapter Six: Dinner for the Nutters.
"Well that was a lovely day!" Exclaimed Lucius as he pressed the elevator button ten times in succession, liking the dinging noise that occurred each time; his eyes were a bit on the bloodshot side, and he looked as though he had just run a marathon. Narcissa's arm was looped through his, but she looked rather embarrassed to be seen with him right now. Bellatrix was very glad that her own husband had had enough sense to sleep the afternoon away, because no matter how large a man he was, he truly couldn't hold his liquor. Severus didn't look too happy, has he had the biggest, most painful headache he supposed had ever happened in history. No matter how hard he had tried, he couldn't get out of dinner with the entire 'family'.
"I got sun burnt." Sighed Peter, idly tapping his silver fingers against the elevator walls as the machine started to move them down to the lobby and the restaurant floor.
Each of them other than Voldemort looked at Wormtail to see his sunburn, but they couldn't find a trace.
"On my bum…" He explained with a nod, eliciting quite a few disgusted faces as each of them went back to not looking at Pettigrew. "I forgot to put the sunscreen on." He pouted, and the Dark Lord began to whistle innocently, knowing in his own conniving mind that he had conveniently 'forgotten' to remind Peter about that just for the sake of being evil; that and the fact that seeing the evil animagus' backside was enough to make anyone lose their lunch, and any such thoughts about saving said rear end. Because of this, dear Peter had brought along an ice pack, 'to sit on' he had told them pointedly when he first exited the room with it; many a strange look had been given him as he walked with it firmly pressed against his bum.
Severus looked around purposefully; if he could find anywhere else to go, he would. This group was quite possibly the bearer of more embarrassment than anything else the world had dealt him. He frowned as he glanced at a happy family toddling past.
"Don't look so glum, chum!" Fenrir grinned as he playfully punched Snape in the arm.
"If you weren't a gigantic, lumbering, cruel werewolf I would not be letting you get away with that." Growled the beak-nosed man as he sunk his neck further into his shoulders, trying to hide from the fate that had been given him as one of the 'Nutters'.
"Well! What does everyone feel like?" Cissa asked as she gracefully pulled her sister into the middle of the lobby, glancing at the restaurant map, peering at the categories of food. Each person had a different opinion, but Draco began to pout, complaining that he hadn't gotten to play 'Dance Dance Revolution!', so he ought to be able to choose.
Even Voldemort couldn't argue with that, and so off they went for Mexican.
They did however, begin to question their choice as the big, glowing, neon sign of "El Retardando's" stared down at them from its blinking perch high atop the adobe outside. Yet it smelled very good from what was wafting out towards them, so they went in anyway.
It was very crowded inside, which was taken as a good sign, and thus they sat down, pulling chairs out, setting napkins in laps, and sipping at waters that the waiter 'Ricardo' had set down almost immediately once they had stepped in.
Ordering was even easy, and the food was there in nearly a blink of an eye. This astounded Lucius, and he complained that now he had no reason to hex anyone. This was met by a sharp kick to the shin by his wife, and he immediately began shoveling enchilada into his mouth.
"Well!" Exclaimed Voldemort as he clapped his hands together happily, "You'll never at all guess what Peter and I saw today down at the pool today!"
No one even attempted, as the last time they attempted, the answer had been Amycus and Alecto streaking across the quidditch pitch. Something that had been burned into each one's memory at just the mere, disgusting thought of it.
"I saw someone who looked exactly like Sirius Black!"
Bellatrix sneered and shook her head, "Impossible, I killed him nearly two years ago now." She countered, twirling cheese on her fork and stabbing mercilessly at her salad.
"Well of course you did silly, but I saw what he'd look like now. As in ghosty." Voldemort grinned and chewed thoughtfully on a piece of asparagus. "Come to think about it…isn't it a little odd that I would see someone who looks quite like Sirius Black's ghost…in muggle California?"
They all stopped eating at exactly the same moment, eyes glued to Voldemort, veins throbbing with anger at the very thought.
"Nahh." They spoke in unison,
"Would be utterly impossible. Don't know what I was thinking!" The Dark Lord shook his head and wagged his hand, "So…tell me about your day."
And they did, forgetting absolutely everything that had been said about Sirius Black, and the thoughts that would lead from his name.
"Well I had a good time today." Lucius grinned as he spoke, not hesitating one second in ordering a martini. He gulped that right down and wasted no time at all in ordering a second, and then a third. Narcissa was watching with raised eyebrows, and was suddenly glad she was sharing a room with her sister and not her husband. A little bird told her he was going to be making many a trip to the loo that evening.
"Anyway, as I was saying. Sev and I went and found this lovely little lounge, where they serve the most wonderful drinks! They're called….bugs…no, bees? That's not it…Beet-"
"Scorpions you imbecile." Snape interrupted quickly, rubbing his temples as he stared at his food, no longer was it the two enchiladas he had ordered had turned into six, and his headache had increased tenfold. Drumming his long fingers against the plastic coated table, he let loose a long sigh. With that, Bellatrix looked up and placed her napkin on the tabletop.
"Well, tomorrow is the day we go to this Disneyland, so we'd better rest up no?" Coming from the LeStrange woman, everyone knew that this was not a suggestion, but a demand. The others nodded resignedly, and in turn placed their napkins and other things on the table, standing up with creaking chairs as they piled into the elevator and went back to their respective rooms (after, of course, Voldemort left a very stingy tip).
"Goodnight my dear." Narcissa stated, pressing a peck to Lucius' nose. "Sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs, or Rodolphus bite!" She giggled, watching as Lucius' face broke out in horror.
"Does he?" her husband asked with concern, obviously not getting the joke.
"Of course not!" Cissa sighed, wondering what happened to the incredibly bright man she had married when she was younger. Oh well, at least he was still dreadfully good looking; and that thought made her smile quite brightly.
Rodolphus merely rolled his eyes at the thought that he would be biting Lucius. Ick! I mean, who knows where that man had been!
"Goodnight Bella dear." He told his wife, giving her a tight hug, "Don't stay up too late." He had seen the manicure kits on the sisters' beds, and all of the 80's movies they had rented from the video store downstairs, including Boyfriend School. He didn't quite know what that was all about, but hoped that it wasn't too bad….But how bad could muggle films get?
"Goodnight Roddy, make sure that Lucius doesn't fall off the bed, or wet the bed for that matter."
(At this, her husband made a disgusted face; he knew that the Malfoy man's maturity level had regressed during the stint in Azkaban, but for Merlin's sake! He was forty five!).
The four of them went into their rooms, as did Draco, Severus, Rabastan, Fenrir, Peter and The Dark Lord, the latter had already changed into his firemen pajamas, and was ordering warm milk and nachos from room service. Apparently Peter had found the dirty movies, but Voldemort pouted, and changed it to cartoons. Something called 'Johnny Bravo'. This, funnily enough, was what Voldemort had always wanted to look like! Too bad his nose was gone, and the fact that he would never ever tan. Poor Voldie!