#int. bellatrix lestrange

[tdtnks]

private starter for @bvllatrix​

People liked to say it was a small world when they ran into people they didn’t expect. But, considering how small and insular the magical community could be, it was surprising how little contact he had with his wife’s old acquaintances. Maybe if he worked at the Ministry, there’d be more overlap. Maybe the purebloods just didn’t appreciate the dramatic arts. (He could hear Andy’s voice in his head, telling him they were a bunch of overdramatic prats.) Regardless, it didn’t prepare him to find himself face to face with Bellatrix in Flourish and Blotts.

He knew he was staring at her like a deer in the headlights. He knew Dora was right beside him, wondering what was going on. He shook himself of the adrenaline that had rooted himself to the spot and turned to his child. “Why don’t you go to the kid’s section?” he said. “You can pick our three books, okay? Make ‘em count.”

When Dora had chirped that she would, running off in that direction of the bookstore, he turned back to his estranged sister-in-law. “Bellatrix.” He nodded sharply at her.

[arabellafiqq]

private starter for @bvllatrix​

The display table in Flourish and Blotts was full of new titles -- most of them magical although a few covers seemed more muggle. Arabella didn’t come here for muggle titles but she understood why the bookstore would stock them; she was comfortable navigating muggle spaces but half-bloods and muggleborns who’ve been immersed in the magical world for years might not be. She doesn’t pick any of them up though; if she sees them again in a bookstore near her new home, maybe she will.

Leaning over the table, she lightly touches one that claims to be the memoir of one of Celestina Warbeck’s back-up singing banshees. She picks it up, barely lifting the cover to make sure it’s not charmed to sing, then opening it to the front flap so she can get a good read of the synopsis. Her eyes dart across the words, blind to the world around her. She jumps when someone clears their throat next to her.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she says, eyes darting up to meet the witch’s. The face is one she’s seen in the papers. Bellatrix Lestrange. She doesn’t let the nerves from that realization show on her face. “Am I in your way?”

[rodolphos]

Location: by the lagoon Who: @mcssmisery​

The enthusiasm that surrounded Rodolphus was not a feeling he shared -- and he doubted he was alone in that, although maybe for different reasons. He felt no need to look over his shoulder or shrink in on himself when someone reached for their wand. His lack of enthusiasm wasn’t due to anxiety; it stemmed from being completely and utterly out of place. Well, completely and utterly may have been an exaggeration, but not by much. What worth was he going to find in a festival booth? A bonfire? Or the child-oriented creature shows he could overhear from his spot by the lagoon? The one spot he’d found that held even a modicum of peace. Leaving early was not yet an option, not least of all because he suspected the witch -- his wife -- coming towards him might mock him for being a spoil sport.

Rodolphus nodded at Bellatrix when she got close enough. “Did you find anyone or anything of interest?”

[rodolphos]

closed starter for @adbellatrixs​​

“Your suggestion was still my favorite,” Rodolphus said, leaning against the railing that stood between him and the glass with a crystal tumbler held in his hand. The amber liquid inside was dangerously low. “Storming the Minister’s box -- would’ve been quite the show.” He lifted his glass to his lips, swallowing the last of it as blue eyes tracked the players zooming across the pitch. He could see a quaffle held under the arm of one of Bats’ players. The bludger was a blur, faster than any of the players. The snitch was as lost to him as the seeker. And the fact he could name of all that a few drinks in was nothing short of a miracle. He glanced back as his empty glass and pushed away from the railing, turning to face his wife. Estranged wasn’t the right word for them but far from ideal.

“He has other plans, though,” he continued, lifting the glass. “Any time now, I imagine.”