InsaneJournal

Who: Lucius & Narcissa, NPC Rodolphus
What: Narcissa's birthday present
Where: Malfoy & Lestrange Manors, respectively
When: Sunday evening
Rating: R for Romance...wait I mean R for violence, death, and house-elf abuse.
Status: Completed


Narcissa’s birthday fell on a Sunday this year, which was not precisely ideal, but Lucius supposed it was better than a weekday. He’d been hinting all weekend at some grand surprise he had planned, and he most certainly did have a plan. It might not be a traditional romantic gift, but he did have the beginnings of an idea for an outing they both might enjoy. They had not yet discussed Fletcher’s journal, but once she heard about it she would no doubt want to take action.

He gave her no hint of where they were going, only a dress code--evening attire, naturally. If you were going to do a thing, you might as well do it with class.

Narcissa walked in to their bedroom just as Lucius was putting the final touches on his outfit. He looked absolutely stunning, and she took a moment to appreciate the view. “Do I get to know where we’re headed tonight yet? Or will it be a surprise until we get there?”

Lucius kissed her in greeting. “Well, I do like to surprise you, but this will require just a little foreknowledge...so I suppose I’ll have to tell. First, though...” He picked up his journal from the dresser-top, opening it and paging through the recent writings to Rowle’s entry. “You remember Fletcher Rowle?” It seemed a bit of a non-sequitur, but it was relevant, or it would be anyway.

“Of course.” Narcissa leaned over, one hand on Lucius’s arm, and glanced down at the open page, wondering why Fletcher Rowle was relevant to their plans for the evening. Her curiosity was swiftly replaced by annoyance--how dare Fletcher leave her off the ward?--and her fingers clenched tightly as she read. Barty Crouch was sweet with his concerns about the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, but the rest of what she’d read only served to infuriate her further. “How in Merlin’s name is this part of my birthday present? I want to kill someone now.”

He smiled at her, unperturbed. “Precisely. There seems to be a fair amount happening with the old guard just about now, but none of it has--so far--involved us. Fletcher didn’t even think to include you in his wards. Don’t you think it’s time we started a little mischief of our own?” He put the journal aside. “A little more tastefully than some of our compatriots, of course. And there are so many eyes on us lately--I was thinking of a little something that could direct their gazes to the opposing side.”

“Oh?” Narcissa slid up to Lucius and wrapped herself around him. He always did know exactly what to say to intrigue her. They had other plans in place--that was what had sent her to Hogsmeade--but the idea of doing something now was appealing. “Do tell.”

Lucius kissed her and grinned. “Especially with the reappearance of that dreadful mudblood-loving publication, it seems like it would be a good time to lose one of our own. Someone disposable of course. Now, tell me...have you forgiven your brother-in-law yet over the matter of undeservedly claimed heirlooms?”

Narcissa laughed with delight and kissed Lucius deeply. Oh she did love him. “Of course not, darling. The cretin has neither turned over the heirlooms nor begged my forgiveness.” There was a slight chance that if he’d done both promptly she would have granted forgiveness--he was family of a sort, after all--but it was far too late for either now. “Shall we pay him a visit? It has been a while since we’ve gotten together.”

“I thought you might feel that way. We really ought to have a…talk with him about it. Perhaps reclaim whatever it is, assuming we can get it out of him before you...lose your temper. I have some ideas about how to arrange the scene afterwards, but I figured it might be more fun to be flexible about the visit itself. See how things progress.” He moved back to the dresser, bringing out a pair of gloves and tucking them in his breast pocket. “Why don’t you get dressed? If we don’t take too long at it, we can go to supper afterwards.”

“Well, now I’m torn. Take our time and make Rodolphus suffer or be efficient and have a lovely meal after? We will have to be flexible.” Narcissa slipped out of her pencil skirt and blouse and pulled a formal tea-length dress from the wardrobe. As she presented her back to Lucius so he could help with the zipper, she waved her wand and took care of the clothes lying on the floor. “We should bring wine with us to Roddy’s. It’s only polite. The 1981 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape, perhaps?”

He zipped her into the dress, pressing a kiss to the nape of her neck before drawing her hair back over her shoulders. “I think that’s an excellent choice. Very appropriate for the evening.” He settled her cloak over her shoulders before donning his own. “Well, what do you think? Are we ready?”

“I believe we are.” She slid long gloves up to her elbows and took the bottle of wine Dobby held up to her, glancing briefly at the label to confirm the house elf had brought the right one. “Start making room in the vaults. I suspect over the next few weeks we’ll be adding several Black family heirlooms.” Smiling at the thought of reclaiming everything that had gone to Bellatrix, Narcissa took Lucius’s arm. “Shall we?”

In a matter of moments, they were standing before the Lestrange home, striding up the walk. Lucius lifted the knocker, winking at his wife as he brought it down in three sharp raps. Rodolphus didn’t know it yet, but it was a very ominous knock.

The house elf opened the door and let them in--thankfully, Rodolphus was at home, though of course he was not expecting them.They were shown into the parlor, their cloaks taken, and then the house elf made himself scarce while Rodolphus stood to greet them. “Lucius, Narcissa. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Roddy!” Narcissa kissed the air on either side of his cheeks without touching him. “It’s been far too long. We were heading out for the evening when you came up in conversation and, well, we simply had to stop by.” She didn’t mean a word of it and Rodolphus knew it, but it was important to keep up appearances despite their plans for the evening. “Would you like a drink? We brought wine.”

As she waited for the house elf to fetch goblets, Narcissa took a seat. “How have you been? I heard a rumor you’ve been reclaiming old family heirlooms. Is it true?” She kept her tone mildly curious, though she desperately wanted to know if he’d acquired anything else that was rightfully hers before she killed him.

Rodolphus knew her well enough, at least, to guess how she felt about the rumour. “You’ve been talking to Antonin, I assume. Something of Bella’s made it into the wrong hands. We reclaimed it.”

Lucius took a seat beside his wife, his bland smile hiding his anticipation.

At least Rodolphus hadn’t completely lost his edge. This wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining if he had and Lucius had promised a good time. “Antonin had mentioned something, yes,” Narcissa said, her smile turning slightly evil. “He did not say what you’d retrieved, though, and I was curious. There were several things Bella received as the eldest that I should like to have.”

She snatched the wine from the house elf when he picked it up. “I’ll pour.” She wasn’t about to trust the proper treatment of this wine to a house elf. It was far too valuable. When she’d poured a little bit into each goblet, she passed them to Rodolphus and Lucius and held hers up. “Shall we toast?”

Lucius lifted his glass cheerfully; Rodolphus did so with less enthusiasm, looking decidedly nonplussed at her assertion. “Bellatrix’s belongings rightfully passed to me, Narcissa. If there is something specific you would like to have, we can discuss it.”

Narcissa’s fingers tightened around her glass as she took a sip. As expected, the wine was excellent, though it would have tasted better properly decanted. “Bellatrix’s belongings, yes. I’m speaking of heirlooms of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, things that have been in the family for centuries and should stay that way.” She waved her wand over her goblet, releasing a stream of bubbles into the wine, and took another sip when they’d all popped. Much better. Aerating it really brought the fruit flavors to the forefront and, as expected, put her in just the right mood.

She took another sip before leaning forward and placing a hand on Rodolphus’s knee. “I know you have some pieces that rightfully belong to the Black family. I want them.” She squeezed tightly, digging long, perfectly manicured nails into his flesh. It would only hurt a little compared to what she had in mind for later, but even inflicting this small amount of pain felt good.

Lucius leaned in as well; Rodolphus, sitting across from them, was now bracketed by two maliciously grinning inlaws and quite a lot of aggressive body language. Lucius had not put his cane aside when they sat; he rubbed his thumb idly over the smooth top of the snake’s head in the same way that someone might stroke a fingertip along the blade of a knife they were planning to use, testing its sharpness.

Rodolphus’s eyes narrowed. He leaned forward instead of back, not being the sort to take intimidation lightly. “What is it exactly that you believe I have, Cissy?” He glanced down at her hand where the fingernails were cutting half-moons into his knee through the cloth, then back up at her, challenging. “What is it you seem to think I stole out from under you?”

Narcissa's fingers tightened at the nickname. Only a select group of people were allowed to use it and Rodolphus Lesteange was not on that short list. "You do not get to call me that, Rodolphus." she said, sounding almost sweet as she met his gaze evenly.

There were so many things she could have said--so many things she should have said--to his question, but the beauty of tonight was that she didn't have to maintain appearances while they were here. So she didn't. With careful precision, she pulled her hand back, gathered up the thin veneer of civility she'd this far maintained, and deliberately cast it aside. Her eyes gleaming, Narcissa drew her wand and stood. "You know what you have," she said, all trace of sweetness gone from her voice. She took a step forward, crowding into Rodolphus's space, and relished the feeling of power it gave her. Oh, she'd missed this. "Give it to me."

Lucius rose almost in sync with her, enjoying the expression of surprise on Rodolphus’s face. He didn’t think his brother-in-law had realized until just this moment how very serious Narcissa was. “Do make it easy for all of us, Rodolphus. She takes family very seriously, you know.”

Even now, Rodolphus obviously didn’t realize the full extent of her anger, since his wand wasn’t out. He stood too and made a placating gesture, scowling. “It’s only a chest, Narcissa. It’s hardly anything to draw wands over.”

“Sectumsempra!” Narcissa slashed her wand across Rodolphus’s dominant hand. Blood immediately welled up from the cut, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy her. “It isn’t only anything. It is an heirloom of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Give it the respect it deserves.” She cast the curse again, this time slashing her wand over Rodolphus’s other hand. With the tendons in both hands severed, he would not be drawing his wand tonight.

Rodolphus swore, his eyes wild with shock. “Are you mad?” Of course Bella probably had been, a bit, but it had never been turned on him--and besides, he’d never seen any hint of it in Narcissa before. To be honest, he’d previously thought her the most stable of the Black sisters. “Merlin. If it’s that important to you, take it. It’s in the study.”

The house elf chose that moment to peek in, possibly drawn by the raised voices. Lucius hit it with a locomotor mortis, then seized the creature by the scruff of its pillowcase tunic and dragged it into the room as it squeaked in protest. “Shall I fetch the chest, darling?”

Narcissa watched with pleasure as Lucius tormented the house elf. The creature would have to die, but they could have fun with it first. “I wouldn’t want you to miss out on anything. We’ll get it when we leave. First, we need to finish with him.”

She sipped her wine as she circled Rodolphus, debating what to use on him next. It wouldn’t do to leave too many marks on his body if they were going to frame the muggle-lovers, but a few could be passed off as the results of battle or those cretins trying to get more information out of Rodolphus. “What do you think we should do next, dear? I know this evening was a present, but I shouldn’t get to have all the fun.”

“Well, my dear, it may be unoriginal, but sometimes the classics are classics for a reason.” Lucius turned his attention to Rodolphus again, just as the man started to dive at Narcissa. “Crucio!” He sneered as Rodolphus dropped to the ground, writhing in pain. “If you hoped to escape the situation, I’m afraid that wasn’t at all the way to go about it. You’re surprised, of course, and desperate--I understand. If you had been in your right mind, you would never have imagined you could harm Narcissa with me in the room."

"I think you might be giving him too much credit, darling. He did think he could keep a Black family heirloom from me." She pushed Rodolphus onto his back with her foot and planted the sharp heel of her shoe against his throat as Lucius let up on the curse. "Have you been keeping anything else from me, brother dear?"

He made a choked sound, but his eyes were full of loathing. Rodolphus might not have been the cleverest, but neither was he a coward; now that it was clear diplomacy wouldn’t end the confrontation, he wasn’t about to grovel. He would have liked to spit on her shoe, but with the heel at his throat it was quite impossible.

“I can’t hear you, Roddy.” Narcissa pressed her heel down a little. “You’d better hurry. It’s tedious standing on one leg, and I’d hate to see what this shoe would do to you if I lost my balance.” Rodolphus’s defiant stare didn’t change; Narcissa admired that. She would rather kill someone defiant to the end than someone sniveling and begging for his life. It was so much more fun. Defiance required more of a response. “Crucio!”

Rodolphus wheezed, gritting his teeth against the pain, but he could not entirely keep quiet. His frame twitched in agony, a groan escaping as he writhed. The house-elf was babbling something now about bringing all of Mrs. Bella’s effects if only they would stop hurting the master--Lucius silenced it, though he filed the knowledge away. They could get the location of many things out of the creature before they put it out of its misery, though of course they couldn’t take any of it with them tonight.

“Do we have to ask the house elf? I’m sure it will tell us if you won’t.” Narcissa released the curse so Rodolphus could answer, not that she wanted him to. It was much more entertaining to torment him. “How long this lasts is entirely up to you. I will find out what else you have, Rodolphus.”

“Nothing,” he hissed, though it took him a long moment to form the word. “You’ll get nothing...from...me.”

“Very well. We’ll get what we want from the house elf.” She stepped back and waved her wand toward Rodolphus. “Avada Kedavra!”

When the blinding green light died, Narcissa picked up her goblet and stepped over her brother-in-law’s corpse to stand at Lucius’s side. “That was delightful, darling. You give the best presents.”

He slipped an arm around her waist, kissing her temple. “I did think you’d enjoy it. Now then...let me rearrange a few things, then we can deal with the elf and go to supper.” First, the wine: it must look like they had finished their visit. He drained his glass, then sent the empties floating onto a tray on the side table with a flick of his wand, as if ready to be cleared away.

Next, Rodolphus’ journal. He was pleasantly surprised to find it sitting in plain sight on the end table, as if Rodolphus had been looking through it when they arrived. Lucius took out the cotton gloves he had tucked into a jacket pocket--it did not do to leave traces of oneself where magic could pick them up again--and flipped to the page that showed the first issue of the Advocate with its list. He drew out a bookmark that had been carefully wrapped in a handerchief, on which was written--in print that was not his own-- “YOU FORGOT RODOLPHUS LESTRANGE.”

He used it to mark the page, then put the book down beside Rodolphus’ body. At last he took off the gloves and put them away again; smiling, he turned to Narcissa, gesturing to the house-elf who was now convulsing with fear. “Shall we, then?”