Know Thyself

"Have you heard anything from Gellert today," Bellatrix asked Parvati. She was curious what they'd found in the cave.

Parvati shook her head.

She'd just write him when they got home, Bellatrix decided. "Let's get your spider and head home," she told Rodolphus, who nodded.

"What day is good for you," Rabastan asked Parvati.

It was then that Bellatrix recalled that Parvati had said yes to his offer of a date. She couldn't keep her brows from climbing. Being around Rabastan while he asked a girl out was...weird. He usually "hit it and quit it" as he so classily tended to put it, so this more civilized act from him was just…weird.

Parvati shrugged. "Any day is fine except for Sundays. I have dinner with my family on Sundays."

"Yeah, Sunday I don't fuck with going out because no reason to go to work Monday all hung over. Takes the fun edge off torturing the prisoners," Rabastan explained.

Parvati's brows lifted. "You really get into that for fun?"

"Sure we do," Rabastan said. "Besides, it's not like they don't deserve it. How's this Friday?"

Parvati pretended to think, then flashed a grin. "I'm free and down for whatever." Her smile widened, turning into a laugh. "I'm sure you'll traumatize me somehow. I mean I'm technically asking for it, going out with a Lestrange."

"Can we go now," Bellatrix asked.

"How is eight Friday night," Rabastan asked, ignoring Bellatrix save for an annoyed frown before returning to Parvati.

"That's fine. We can meet here and go from there."

Rabastan nodded. "Sounds great. See you then." He turned to Bellatrix with a roll of his eyes. "Now we can go."

Parvati bit back a grin as Bellatrix wordlessly turned toward the door. Rodolphus stepped up hastily to open it for her and they exited with Rabastan trailing. No one spoke as they walked around to the back of the shop to meet Rhadamanthus.

Rodolphus placed his hand on the spider's back and they vanished with a crack. Bellatrix and Rabastan followed, joining him at the front door of Raven's Nest. It was good to be home, and back in her element again, Bellatrix thought as Rodolphus flicked his wand at the hex locks on the front door. As it swung open, she breezed past him and headed for the library to write Gellert.

Her letter was brief, consisting of only one line.

Did you discover anything in the cave?

Bellatrix

Surprisingly the reply came before Harold served dinner, less than an hour later.

We did. As it happens, the cave was that of Merlin and Nimue, and Merlin told me where his stash of personal items was located under the cave, hidden deep in the earth. While it is unfortunate that their cave, and Vivian's lake, were defiled so grievously, we now have some very powerful items to work with. Granted we're still working out how to use some of them, but still. Hopefully we'll have more information to share when we meet Wednesday.

After reading, Bellatrix silently passed the note to Rodolphus. They sat in the library sipping pre-dinner wine as Rabastan told Lyra of their day.

"So, as it happens I do not look old," he concluded with a satisfied smirk. "Parvati is at least as young as the witch who rejected me and called me bloody old. I should've hexed her," he lamented and Bellatrix laughed as Lyra's eyes widened.

"Every time I think perhaps I was wrong about just how psycho you three are, one of you will come out with some shit like that," Lyra complained. "My day was interesting, thanks for asking," she added drily.

"No need to ask, we knew you'd tell us," Rodolphus said with a grin.

"Parvati showed me a few other layers to reading Auras, like a personality intent," Lyra said. "It's interesting. It's probably how she knows you three are relatively safe, at least for family and friends."

At that, it was Bellatrix's turn to grin. "I'm glad you only consider us to be relatively safe. We do have a reputation to uphold."

"Oh gods, sure," Lyra laughed, then grew more serious as she regarded the three of them. "But now that everyone knows Voldemort head fucked the three of you, don't you want people to think better of your intentions? Perhaps you could have a new start in the eyes of general wizarding society. You don't have to be the loathed and feared baddest of the bad."

"Why not," Rabastan asked with a grin. "It's fun."

Bella and Rod nodded as one. "And people don't muck about with us when they understand clearly that they will never come out on the winning end," Bellatrix said.

"Never," Rodolphus agreed.

"Most people aren't ever going to approve of us. Even before serving Voldemort we were always different," Bellatrix said. "We never fit in with most people, and didn't care to. Usually people don't like or trust those who don't fit in any more than we like or trust them."

"In other words, they aren't worthy of our time and we know it," Rodolphus grinned.

Lyra tossed her hands into the air with a bemused smile. "Have it your way. You always do."

Rod's grin widened as he gave her a pleased nod. "Damn right. And so can you. You're a..."

Lyra's smile widened as she spoke over her father. "Goddamn Lestrange!"

Rod nodded with pride as he reached to give her a quick embrace. To Bellatrix's surprise, Lyra returned it, clinging for a moment, smile still in place. For a moment, they looked like a normal family. Bellatrix shuddered at the though, but smiled a little as well.

The next several days dragged by. They were all eager to know what sorts of things Grindelwald and Zabini had found in Merlin and Nimue's cave. When Bellatrix tried to ask Nimue, the druidess was unhelpful because she did not remember.

"It must suck to be someone that powerful and remember so little of it," Lyra commented sympathetically Tuesday night over dinner.

Bellatrix nodded in agreement.

"Who knows, we could've been someone great in a past life and forgotten it too," Rabastan said.

"I think we're pretty great now," Rodolphus said with a grin.

"Too right we are! We're goddamn Lestranges," Lyra said, smiling at her father.

"You know that means you'll have to remain unmarried," Rodolphus told her thoughtfully. "Lyra Winterhaven won't have near the same clout as Lyra Lestrange."

Lyra shrugged. "I'm not worried about it. Once a Lestrange, always a Lestrange...unless you're kicked off the family tree, of course. But you'd not do that to me."

"At least Winterhaven isn't a Muggle. I'll give him that," Bellatrix said.

"Is that all that does it," Lyra asked. "I mean, doesn't anyone ever do something not involving Muggles to get themselves kicked off family trees? Drowning babies or something?"

"Muggle babies," Rodolphus asked. "Because we'd not care about that."

Lyra sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm sure some psycho wizard other than Voldemort has drowned wizarding babies."

"Wait, he did that," Rabastan asked, and Lyra rolled her eyes.

"Not that I know of. It was just a figure of speech, but probably. He's done everything else, so I'd not at all be surprised if Voldemort drowned a ton of babies, wizard and Muggle alike."

"People are kicked off family trees for doing things that shame the family, so yes, extreme crimes in poor taste such as drowning wizarding babies would be cause," Rodolphus said.

Lyra thought for a second while they ate in silence. "So what is an extreme crime that isn't in poor taste?"

"You know, like the sort of thing we got locked up for," Rabastan said with a grin. "No one valid cares about what is done to wizarding trash, especially for what seemed, at the time, like a good cause."

Lyra's brows shot up. "Can't say I follow the logic, but if I plan to do something extreme, I'll run it by everyone to make sure it's kosher," she said, trying not to smile.

"Sounds good," Rabastan said cheerfully.