InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Queer as Tweak!!!"

Last night could have gone better. It also could have gone worse. Rodolphus supposed it wasn’t an entire wash, but there was far too much work ahead. The one constant reassurance throughout the night was the steady beat of the small tattoo on his wrist. It was far easier to focus on that and not the one further up which seemed a bit faded. He had seen mother off to Paris. And once sure that Rabastan wouldn’t do anything immediately stupid, and found out Bellatrix would be safe at Malfoy Manor, Rodolphus granted himself the luxury of a few hours of sleep.

Feeling a touch more human, but no less still restless, he arrived to Wiltshire that next morning. Rodolphus wasted little time in making his way to Bellatrix’s side. Hearing about her state was one thing, seeing was another. He also needed to weigh whether or not he would need to reach to Mulciber. He didn’t care to feel even a little bit indebted to the man. Lucius and Narcissa were family, those debts were far easier to navigate.

The quiet realization that surprised him was his relief that she wasn’t yet awake. For as quickly as the world had changed in the past 24 hours, he was grateful to have a few more moments now to try to anticipate what came next.

Narcissa had Dobby bring Rodolphus up to a solar in the family wing of Malfoy Manor, and that no other guests were to be allowed without explicit instructions (in advance) from herself or Lucius. And as Lucius was still abed, she was confident that he would not. Breakfast was waiting when Rodolphus arrived: a full English, with all the extras and Rodolphus' favourites.

When he arrived, she was still in her dressing gown, though not the bloodstained one she'd thrown on last night when Lucius had arrived with Bellatrix. The house elves were cleaning it as best they could. She rose from her chair and greeted Rodolphus with a sororal embrace. "Bellatrix is in a healing trance. And so is Lucius, so he will be ready when the Aurors arrive for questioning. How are you? Do you need potions, or to rest here, where it's safe?"

Rodolphus greeted her in kind, ever so slightly favoring his right side. “I dare say we have all been better. Mother helped last night. I daresay that her salve works just as well as it claims.” He didn’t dare allow himself the thought of what would happen if he hadn’t made it out as he did. Especially as he would still have to make it into this office this afternoon.

“How much do you know?” He considered other questions, pleasantries even, but this seemed more pertinent. They needed to figure out what came next.

"Bellatrix was hardly sensible so I didn't listen much to what she was saying before we put her in the trance. Lucius said--" Narcissa paused, rethought his grandiose pronouncement on arrival, and rearranged it into "--he said the Dark Lord has perished, and that a number of your comrades have fallen or been taken." From the way she said it, it wasn't clear which Narcissa thought would be worse. "How is Rabastan? And--" she remembered to ask, properly, "your father, of course?"

Rodolphus shook his head. He was still sorting through the pieces of what happened last night. “Albus Dumbledore is dead as well.” As if that small piece of information was any consolation. “Rabastan is fine. As for father…” He paused, swallowing as he weighed his words. “Another casualty of the chaos.”

Narcissa's demeanour flickered through several changes at the news: a sneer at the mention of Dumbledore's name curling into a quiet smile at the news of his demise; a slight relaxation of her shoulders and exhale at the news of Rabastan, and the slightest downturn at the corners of her mouth at the news about their father. "Then you are left with all the duties, and the responsibility to make the best of it." She reached for his hand. "I'm sorry for your loss. How can I help you deal with this situation? Do we blame his murder on out-of-control vigilantes, or--something else?"

He took a breath in and his posture changed, bolstered and a little more casual than before, his tone along with it. “Didn’t you hear? My parents took a last minute weekend getaway to Paris yesterday morning.” It wasn’t unheard of and far too easy to orchestrate. “Hopefully this news won’t sour their holiday.” This was not a new game, but a very rather familiar dance. If Rodolphus had his way his father would publicly die on his way back from Paris. And he did so often get what he wanted.

Narcissa nodded at the reframing of the story, seeing how matters would spin out, and the corners of her mouth curled in approval. "If your mother is unable to go forward with planning the necessary events next week--I know Bella will be distracted as well and I'll help as needed to ensure your father has a proper send-off, given the timing of events.

"Bella will be fine. Physically," Narcissa added. The effect of the news--not so much her father-in-law, but the rest of it--was still to be seen.

Rodolphus nodded. The body was easy part. There was a plethora of potions and salves to stitch and mend skin and bones. “How long do you think she’ll be out?”

"Until late afternoon. She'll come to before sunset. When will you be released from your duties at the Ministry?" That Bellatrix would be anxious for him, both his person and the guidance he'd provide, was a given. If Rodolphus couldn't return early enough Narcissa would just have to give her a round of potions to keep her sleeping until he arrived.

He had a call with the Italian delegation at 1pm, but really didn’t anticipate things to linger. However, it was hard to anticipate the reaction of the Ministry and their foreign allies. “I can find a way to make it home for supper, although I imagine I’ll have to work much of this weekend.” It was easier to focus on the practical side for the moment.

“I don’t imagine she is going to take the news well.” Bellatrix was a razor. She needed the focus and direction. Rodolphus feared what she would become without such a clarity of purpose. He could run through a dozen of different options, or he could defer to someone who knew her just as well, if not better. “Do you have any suggestions?”

Narcissa met Rodolphus' gaze with her own, unafraid. "I think that depends on our long-term goals. If the Dark Lord is truly gone. Bellatrix relied deeply on him to advance the cause."

There were times for showmanship, but when the the topic was Bellatrix? He was not going to deal in anything other than simple truths. “It might be too soon to speak of long term goals just now.” Not all of the pieces had fallen yet. “I think it would be fair to work under the assumption that the Dark Lord is dead, but his vision will continue.”

"My first goal is to protect our families from the fallout of last night's work. This may require--" Narcissa chose her words delicately "--public stances which we might not believe entirely in private. Moreso than usual. It's always possible that the Dark Lord is not dead, but merely hidden while he recovers his strength. In which case Bellatrix might, once she recovers her strength, consider seeking him out in those secret places reserved for his closest followers--now that there is one less of them to assist in the search."

Now. That was an interesting possibility. Rodolphus was also quite sure that fell into the category of long term goals. The immediate - protecting the families - was far more critical in the hours and days to follow. “I think we first navigate the urgent obstacle, and mitigate risk regarding involvement in what unfolded over the past twenty-four hours.” Even as he said it, he knew that might involve not telling Bellatrix the whole truth. Not yet. “Which for better or worse does include how we manage my wife and your sister.”

Narcissa nodded. "We keep her isolated for the next few days, if we can. And we put about--" she touched a delicate finger to her cheek "--we put about that she has miscarried of a pregnancy this weekend. Early on, so no one was told, but it will give everyone the proper sense that she's grieving and to leave her be. And once we ease her into the idea that the Dark Lord is gone, we seed the prospect of hunting for him."

For a man who liked to think himself unfazed by most things, that thought - the lie really - gave him pause. He was glad mother was away. But now was not the time for sentimentality and as excuses went it provided a good deal of cover. “Heartbreaking considering our poor luck thus far.” And with just enough truth and earnestness to land. “Yes, that, or we ensure she has a new visionary to get behind.”

"We're buying time to build that vision, dear brother." And Narcissa smiled.