Chapter 40, Fledglings In Darkness

Severus was so caught up in his plans for how to formulate a hex that cut people much as a dagger wand would that he hardly noticed when Lucius and Narcissa took their leave. As soon as they did, though, Bellatrix leapt to her feet and stalked angrily around the table to lean over the back of Kreacher's chair. Bending she pressed the dagger to the elf's cheek. Heather let out a small gasp, but Regulus and the other two Lestrange men did not react. Even more odd, Kreacher hardly reacted, only giving Bellatrix a slight frown. "I was attempting to defend you, little prat," she told him."So stop opening your mouth about us being high. Do you know how little Malfoy respects you?"

Kreacher shrugged. "Kreacher is respectable. Kreacher is not stupid Dobby. Stupid Dobby is annoying, so perhaps, as such, he has it coming," the elf suggested, unmoved by Bellatrix's anger. "When Miss Bella, and Master Rodolphus and Master Rabastan are high, they are at times too wild and careless. They could bring trouble to the family if they are not careful. Kreacher worries. Good kind responsible Kreacher he is." Kreacher managed to turn a disapproving gaze to her without disrupting the flat of the blade that still persistently rested against his cheek.

"Lucius seems to dislike all elves, somehow believing himself better," she hissed."He is likely the reason Dobby is so bloody daft. Perhaps he kicked the little idiot's head in from childhood." Kreacher snickered, but Bellatrix's tirade continued, not allowing the elf an in to speak his opinion on the matter if he had one. "He has made snide comments about you before when you and Regi aren't paying attention, I'll have you know. We have defended you, of course, and you repay that by running your bloody mouth about things that are no concern of yours." Idly Severus found himself wondering how Kreacher was to repay the favor of being defended if he was only just now being made aware of it. Apparently being high, whatever that entailed, did not make one particularly logical.

"That isn't why you decided to terrorize Lucy with your knife, though, Bella," Rabastan said."You decided to terrorize him because he's an annoying prat."

"It was part of the reason," Bellatrix replied haughtily."Regardless, Kreacher needs to keep his mouth shut or I shall cut his ever flapping tongue out for him."

"Kreacher knows that Miss Bella never would," the elf said, clearly bored."And when she is high, she is more careless as Kreacher has said. Kreacher is merely concerned. He wishes she would remove the dagger from his face. It is cold." Reaching up, he patted her hand.

Bellatrix's dark eyes glittered dangerously as she narrowed them at Kreacher. Her knife hand dropped, but the other rose up to sharply tug at Kreacher's ear. The elf let out a squeal, and Bellatrix's lips curved into a satisfied smirk as she returned to her seat. Somehow Severus still felt that Kreacher had won that argument. He couldn't help a smile at the thought that Bellatrix did not miss. She shot him a dark scowl, but made no comment. The interaction did serve to remind Severus of something he meant to ask Regulus, though.

"Lucius did say something about Kreacher while we were getting the drinks that I did not find very nice concerning him always being around, though," he said, looking over at Regulus. Regulus glanced up with a frown from the bottle of Butterbeer in front of him. He'd been idly pulling the label off while Bellatrix and Kreacher had their little apparently playful exchange. "So what did Kreacher do to Lucius," Severus wondered. It was easy to imagine the elf doing something, he thought with another amused smile.

Regulus shook his head. "Nothing. Honestly. What an ass."

Kreacher nodded."Kreacher is no longer sorry for Lucius having to deal with the daft likes of Dobby. Kreacher now wishes lots of Dobby on Lucius forever and ever."

Bellatrix tittered. "Sounds fair."

"So your sister seems nice. What does she see in him," Heather asked, looking curiously to Bellatrix.

Bellatrix's lip curled as she shook her head. "None of us have the bloody slightest idea, but we've never been able to stand him." As she spoke, she glanced from Rodolphus at her side to Rabastan where he was seated across from them near Raislen. It was clear that 'we' meant her and the two Lestrange men. It was odd and interesting how the three moved as a constant unit, Severus thought, not for the first time. Perhaps it was somewhat akin to the way others saw him with Heather and Raislen. Considering the fact that Bellatrix and Rodolphus were married, he thought that Raislen would find the comparison a positive one. Perhaps he would even take it as some sort of magical sign that he would eventually marry Heather Toy.

"He's such a fucking killjoy," Rabastan groaned of Lucius. "I would bet my right nut that he's never been high a day in his whole life." Bellatrix snickered.

"It would be interesting to see him high, though," Rodolphus speculated. "I bet it would fracture his mind. Or perhaps make him quite unable to stand himself! Either way it would surely end him in St. Mungos!" He laughed. Severus found the Lestranges' dislike of Lucius interesting and a little surprising. Before his odd comment about Kreacher, the blond hadn't seemed that bad. Not particularly warm, mind, but there were worse. Voldemort for example. Of course Lucius followed Voldemort, but so did Regulus, and Regulus clearly wasn't a bad sort.

The Lestranges, though, he didn't truly know what to think of them. This getting to know actual Death Eaters wasn't something Severus had particularly counted on when deciding to infiltrate Voldemort's ranks. When he'd made the decision to do so, he'd assumed that anyone who would follow the monster of a man was just as bad as the man himself. Regulus had disrupted that theory, though. The Lestranges were clearly Darker than Regulus, but he cared for them and they clearly cared for him in return. There was family loyalty, but the three did seem genuinely fond of Regulus and Kreacher personally. This had to mean they had some redeeming qualities, did it not?

Their reasons for following Voldemort made a twisted sort of sense as well. Muggles in masses were dangerous and foolish. Wizards had certainly been the ones to pay for Muggle flaws over the centuries. The Lestranges and other such wizards did have valid points in resenting this situation. It still did not mean that Voldemort was the answer, however, so that was where his small amount of empathy ran out. Still with Malfoy and the Lestranges not being dreadful to him or completely evil and with him actually liking Regulus quite a lot, it did cause unwanted gray areas to form in his mind when it came to the entire Death Eater mess. Though he still intended Voldemort to die no matter what, he wasn't as sure about his wishes for all of those who chose to follow the man. It was annoying. Severus liked things to be simple, cut and dry.

"Oy, Sev!" Mulciber's voice called out, and Severus turned to see him waving from across the room. Severus had liked Mulciber well enough until he'd just called him Sev. He was not a Sev. "It's Severus," he called back.

Regulus smirked, raising his bottle of Butterbeer to Severus in a toast. "I hate when people butcher my name too. It's bloody demeaning. It isn't so difficult to simply say a person's name."

"It can indeed be difficult at times," Rabastan replied haughtily, and Regulus pointedly ignored him.

"Sorry then," Mulciber replied good naturedly as he jogged over to their table. "I was supposed to meet my brother here, but the prat is late. Can I sit with you all while I wait?" Severus shrugged. Malfoy's chair was free now, after all. He gestured to it and Mulciber took a seat. Severus found himself suddenly wondering if he should make introductions. Rarely if ever was he put into situations where he had to know the proper social ways to behave. This was, of course, because he was bloody not social! He had not asked for this social situation, yet here he was, wondering if bloody introductions were necessary. Thankfully Rabastan Lestrange, of all people, saved the situation.

"I remember you! Mulciber, right?"

Mulciber grinned and nodded. "You've got that prefect memory, don't you?"

Rabastan grinned back, nodding. "Yeah. A Prefect must remember who fuckers are. Especially when they're in his own house. I remember looking the other way for you a few times while you were stealing Gryffindor homework."Mulciber practically glowed under the clear compliment. "Hufflepuffs sometimes too," he bragged. "You really need a Ravenclaw's homework to be sure all the answers are right, but they really know how to guard their bloody stuff." He sighed regretfully. "Bloody inconvenient, that."

"If you don't do your homework, it means that those who do are smarter than you, which is dangerous," Rodolphus Lestrange rumbled. The man spoke so rarely, at least in this present company, that when he did, Severus was always mildly disturbed. One of Rodolphus Lestrange's large hands was wrapped around his glass of Firewhisky, while the other covered Bellatrix's on the table. It was when Severus studied their joined hands that he noticed the two wore matching raven skull rings. Each skull sported a rune on the forehead. It was a battle rune of protection.

If Severus recalled his Ancient Runes text properly, that rune was called the Helm of Awe. According to myth and legend, it was a helm worn by a dragon before its shape was made into a rune. The helm had even won victories for a dragon. The dragon was eventually defeated, so Severus wasn't sure what happened with the protection and why it had not protected said dragon. He wondered if the Lestranges knew, but Bellatrix looked annoyed so he didn't ask. Mulciber gave Rodolphus a surprised look, then slowly nodded. "Okay, yeah. I guess I thought I was smarter for taking their homework and not having to bother wasting my time doing it, but I guess you're right."

"Of course he is right," Bellatrix said with a pleased smirk. Once again, her comment put Severus in mind of himself, Heather and Raislen. They all thought quite highly of one another as well. It was nice to be proud to be someone's friend, or in the Lestranges case, family. Then again Heather and Raislen were more Severus's own family than Grandfather Prince would ever be, so perhaps it was the same. Mulciber sat chatting with them until his brother entered. His brother was older, a big muscular young man with a distracted smile as he waved a greeting to everyone while Mulciber hastily rose to join him. "Thanks for keeping my little brother company," he said.

"We do it with this one as a rule, so we're in practice," Bellatrix said, jabbing a slender finger at Regulus.

"I thought you just liked spending time with me," Regulus snapped. His face was flushed in sudden hurt, or was it embarrassment? Kreacher cast confused glances between Regulus and the Lestranges.

"The two concepts can mutually exist, silly," Bellatrix told Regulus. "If we don't visit you here, we only see you on the holidays and during the summer. That's only a few times a year each year, then you're all grown up and you've become a stranger to us. That's the way it would end up if we did not visit you here. So of course we like spending time with you."

"Sorry,"Regulus muttered, giving her a sheepish smile.

"Good," Bellatrix replied. Mulciber and his brother headed out, and Severus waved a brief farewell.

"The elder brother was a Ravenclaw, but I forget his name," Raislen said. "I felt like a git for forgetting so I didn't want to ask."

Rabastan grinned, nodding. "Same. If I'd had another drink in me, I'd have asked, but I'm not quite there yet."

Regulus chuckled. "Give Rabastan enough drinks, and he'd ask anyone anything."

"Not quite anyone," Rabastan muttered. Severus found himself wondering if Rabastan could be referring to Voldemort, but he wasn't quite brave enough to ask.