Unlikely Allies,

Chapter 27

Marlene gave her stunned school mates a little wave as she turned away and hurried back to Bellatrix. The woman must have seen some sort of strain on Marlene's face, for she grasped her by the sleeve and hurried them out. Rod and Rabbit were waiting just outside. They both gave Marlene startled looks which made her scowl. Did they expect her to just brush them off after they had plans simply because she'd been with her school friends? That would've made her a prat, and she was no prat. "I think we should just go to Knockturn and spend the evening there," Bellatrix said. "There are too many little prats taking up space in the Hog's Head."

Rodolphus nodded and Rabastan grinned at Marlene. "I bet you've never even been inside the Dusty Broom, have you?" She blinked in confusion and gave her head a slight shake. "It's a bar... On the dark side," he elaborated in an overly dramatic tone.

"Not truly dusty, though," Rodolphus said with a chuckle. Flinging an arm around Bellatrix, he sauntered away, leaving Rabbit and Marlene to follow. Marlene's feelings were all a jumble at present, probably because so much had happened so fast that she had not had time to truly think about any of it. A bar sounded great to her, though. As they took the short walk to The Dusty Broom, she couldn't stop her mind from picturing how her friends and classmates were probably talking about her now that she was gone.

They were either stupidly worried or they thought less of her for openly hanging with the Lestranges. To be fair, she couldn't blame them considering what was known of the Lestranges. Being Voldemort's favorites, they tended to terrify those who weren't planning on supporting the man when they grew up as it were. Not to mention there was the hard line dividing Half-blood wizards and Mud-bloods from those like the Lestranges who despised them. Being a Pure-blood herself, Marlene was always able to keep out of all that for the most part. She did hear enough from those of her relatives, aunts and uncles, who while not supporting Voldemort, weren't what you could call Muggle-friendly either.

They felt Mud-bloods and Half-bloods served to thin the magical bloodlines, thus eventually putting wizard kind in danger of extinction. Worse they also sympathized too much with the Muggles that had threatened magic for centuries. While Marlene couldn't see taking this out on any Muggle-born or Half-blood she met, she was reasonable enough to admit both sides had their points. If both sides could work together somehow... The act of arriving at The Dusty Broom ended her nonproductive unrealistic thoughts which was, in its way a relief. She was very ready for a drink.

"I am very ready for a drink," she said enthusiastically as they entered. Glancing around, she took in the bar with open interest. In honor of its name, the place sported 4 towering brooms, one in each corner, serving as foundation posts for the building, or so it seemed. They were carved of black wood, save for the bristles which were brown. The furniture was constructed of tree trunks, rustic yet pleasing. The chairs were made up of several baby logs and the tables were cut from giant tree stumps. The bar itself was made of black crystal. "Table or bar," Marlene asked. She was more than eager to get settled with a good stiff drink or three. She was still sorting out everything that had just happened, or rather the implications of it all, and she hoped drinks would help.

"Tables are more private," Bellatrix observed, heading up to the bar. "We'll order our drinks, then snag that table in the far corner there." The bar tender was a sour faced middle aged witch wrapped from head to toe in a gray shroud. "Interesting fashion choice," Marlene told her with a friendly smile. "It suits the feel of the place somehow."

The woman's face broke into a pleased smile. "Good. That's exactly what I was aiming for. Plus I'm dead inside and I like my look to say as much."

Marlene snickered and the woman chuckled. It somehow made Marlene feel good that she'd gotten a pleasant exchange out of the woman. From the frown lines around her mouth, it didn't appear she had pleasant exchanges with most of the bar's patrons. Bella and Rod ordered their drinks, and Marlene realized that she had no idea what the place had. She could just order something standard, Butterbeer with a splash of Fire-Whisky or something, but that felt too bland. Also it was a cop out due to the fact she had no idea what to order. Rabastan threw a careless arm around her shoulder. "What shall it be, Lovely?" Ah he was buying her drink. How sweet!

"Whatever you're having."

He nodded, turning to the shrouded lady behind the bar, who Marlene noticed hadn't smiled for him, or Bella and Rod. "Two Dragon-Balls, please." She nodded and turned briskly to the rack of bottles behind her. Snatching down two goblets that looked to be made of iron, she poured from three different bottles to fill them. When she slid the glasses across the bar toward Marlene and Rabastan, they were literally smoking. "Obviously you wait for the smoke to clear before drinking," Rabastan explained.

"Obviously," Marlene agreed, nodding. "Cause doing otherwise may set your insides on fire, right?"

Rabastan nodded. "Yep.""

The bartender barked a laugh. "You'd not believe how many dumb Mugglefuckers actually set their innards on fire and burn their mouths with these drinks. Literal scars because they were too impatient to wait!"

Rabastan chuckled as he slid coins across the bar to pay for their drinks. When the barkeep made to give him his change, he shook his head. "Nah, I'm good." Scooping up his glass, he slipped his arm around Marlene and headed over to the table where Bella and Rod were already sitting. Marlene's drink had stopped smoking so she took a careful sip. It tasted strongly of sweet cinnamon and bubbled on her tongue. "Interesting... And very good," she decided.

"Also strong as hell," Rabastan warned with a laugh. "The fact it goes so easily down makes it very easy to get knocked off your rocker. A few glasses of this and you're in another realm!"

"Good. I can't wait," Marlene laughed, before taking another drink. "What did you two get," she asked, turning to Bella and Rod.

"Just Butterbeer," Rodolphus said innocently.

"No way," Marlene said, shaking her head. "Why? There are so many things you can drink."

"Butterbeer laced with Merlin's Cap Mushrooms," Bellatrix elaborated.

Marlene nodded. "Okay that makes more sense. I've never done those. What's it like?"

"Mentally expansive," Rodolphus decided after a moment."A trip," Bellatrix said with a giggle. "Your mind literally goes somewhere. Often we gain a deeper understanding of certain spells or aspects of magic as well, which is rather the point, or at least part of it."

Marlene wasn't sure if she'd enjoy such an experience or not. It did seem intriguing, but combined with her own seer ability, would it be too much? Or worse unpleasant? Yep she'd just stick with the drink she had. It was wild and crazy enough to suit. On that thought, she took another deep drink from the iron goblet in her hand and felt her troubles sliding away. It no longer mattered what her school friends thought of the weekend company she kept. There were so many bigger problems in the world right now like Voldemort and Voldemort and oh yes, Voldemort! Slamming her drink down on the bar, she turned to regard Rabastan. "I do need to know, though. Why did you act like that earlier, just getting up to leave without speaking to me." She had a guess, but required clarification.

He shrugged. "I didn't know what you wanted. We'd never talked about it, and I didn't want to cause you trouble. I mean our worlds don't exactly match, do they?""

She lifted her glass for another drink, then shrugged as things began to look even better emotionally. Nothing really worried her too much, perhaps including Voldemort. They'd all be alright... Probably. "I don't know. My dad seemed to get along with Regulus's just great, and I don't know how different we are when it all comes down to it. We're all pure-Bloods, after all," she said.

"I'll drink to that," Bellatrix said cheerfully."

"Do you enjoy Merlin's Cap Mushrooms," Marlene asked Rabastan who nodded. "Yeah, but I don't really think about shagging when I trip, and I have plans to shag tonight." He snaked an arm around her waist and drew her close. She felt herself shiver in anticipation.

"I didn't really want to deal with their shit right now, but I don't want you to think I'm the sort to be embarrassed of you, because I'm not," Marlene said, feeling the need to get that out for some reason. "You're cool."

Rabastan gave a pleased grin, then nodded. "Yep I am. So are you," he added after a moment and she laughed. The drinks kept flowing as the four chatted about random topics from books to laws. Though the vibe was different from that which she shared with her school friends, it was just as easy and comfortable. Eventually Bella and Rod switched to drinking Dragon-Balls too. "I'm in the mood to Drunken Duel when we get home," Rodolphus said suddenly. "About two more drinks and I'll be good to go. We can have more drinks at home if we want," he added to Marlene as an afterthought. "Got to keep the buzz going for Drunken Dueling, after all."

"What is Drunken Dueling," she asked carefully. It sounded dangerously intriguing, which meant she may or may not be interested.

Rod arched his brows at her in a way that managed to convey that he wondered if she'd perhaps lost her mind. "It's just what it sounds like, of course. You get drunk and duel. It can get pretty rough so we have a goodly stock of healing potion."

"Usually we don't need it, as we've learned to be careful," Bellatrix said. "Anything goes other than death or severing limbs, which is where the thrills come in. Being drunk yet having to look out for anything aside from death and losing a limb can be rather challenging."

"It means we're always ready for anything, though, and if we can fight drunk, we'll never be caught off guard, which is the point," Rabastan concluded.

"So you want my help to even the number," Marlene asked.

Rabastan shook his head. "No. We're just inviting you to join in the fun, but we often fight two to one, because it makes things more interesting."

"So for example if you're fighting Rabastan, Rod or I will likely attack you as well," Bellatrix clarified. "If I pitch in and duel you, Rod could attack Rabastan, and Rabastan could attack me while also fending you off. We can't make it too easy, else what's the point."

"Yeah, and the drunker the better," Rabastan said enthusiastically. Well at least there was no killing allowed, Marlene thought. Likely not much damage was done.

"Good," she said, giving a ready smile. "I'm in!"