Re: In Hogsmeade...
'He suggested I was to be his poster boy in that little matter. Not that it is going to be any chore.' Rodolphus coughed slightly. 'Azkaban, and all that. Wife running off with stronger wizard. No. No chore at all. Apart from the fact that there cannot be any decent Pure-blood. That is a shame, of course, although...'
Rodolphus silenced himself. It was clear he had missed company, and Lucius and Narcissa's visit had been brief and neutral. Lucius was still careful what he did and said. None of them seemed to have grieved much over Bella's death. Rodolphus hadn't either. Those days were over where he missed and wanted his beautiful wife when she was longing for another man. 'As it is,' he said, and cut a small piece of a cucumber sandwich, 'the Minister knows what he is talking about. If it is true, if Muggle genetics can be trusted, we might need to do this. We don't have to like it, but it must be done.'
Rodolphus hadn't thought about any sexual relations for years, but the new possibilities made the thoughts pop op on a regular basis. He was free, he was to marry, he could take a lover - do whatever he wanted. He was still young. 'No, Pucey, it is not entirely disastrous. We have married for blood and alliance for centuries, now we are to marry for survival.'