*Walden drops the Portkey and before the empty beer bottle even shatters on the smooth tiled floor he's moving, briskly and efficiently, through the swinging door and into the coma ward, third floor.
As he expected there are no Healers and only one nurse, a stout and florid-faced man in his fifties bent over one of the patients, fluffing a pillow beneath the woman's head. Avada Kedavra hits him squarely in the back of the neck and he goes down silently. Next, Walden takes a moment to collect himself, to glance around the ward, before he begins. There are no Healers in this room, he remembers, because the little vegetables need maintenance, not treatment. They won't have taken potions, so he's been sent here to clear the ward the old-fashioned way. He's no stranger to this kind of work but it gives him far more pleasure now, in his mask and robes, disposing of vermin of the human sort. Or nearly-human
( ... )
*Well, it could be worse. He puts his arm around her and practically carries her out of the room, shutting the door behind them and locking it. If the blood traitor gets any ideas, well, he won't give her a line of sight to aim a curse--and this way, Bella can't see her, either.*
. . . It's all right, love, we're all right. Do you want to go home?
*Lucius dislikes Bellatrix. That's no secret, neither among the Death Eaters nor among society nor among their family. His sister-in-law is a loose cannon, a mad child with explosives and a deviant joy in watching things go boom. He doesn't trust her with Draco, and the only reason he doesn't fuss more about her visiting the manor is for Narcissa's sake. He is many terrible things, but he's nothing if not a good husband.
That's why, with Inferi loose and the Order swarming on them and Regulus fucking up the wards left and right, Lucius is (against all better judgment) trying to find Bellatrix. He personally wouldn't care a whit if she did get pulled apart by Inferi and blasted to bits by the Order, but Narcissa would be upset, he he spends a great portion of his energy seeing to it that she's happy
( ... )
*Roddy puts a finger to his lips, and jerks his head to the door, mouthing the name over Bella's shoulder and giving his head a little shake. She's not quite ready to Apparate yet, and he can tell.*
No--no--we've a mission, we have a duty, I'm not slinking home with my tail between my legs--
*She's been muttering this more into the front of Roddy's robes than anywhere else, but then Lucius has arrived, very possibly the last person she wants to see at this particular moment. Even though she's masked and robed, her sudden child's fury is clear in every line of her body as she surges toward him, straining against her husband's arms.*
*He hisses the order, looking around though there's no one there to hear his name. Stepping back reflexively, he levels his wand at her to keep her at bay. He glances to the side and into the little window in the door: as indicated, there is Andromeda, crumpled against the wall. She's clearly alive but injured, curled in on herself awkwardly, and Bella's rage makes perfect sense now.
This, thinks Lucius wearily, is precisely why he's always by far thought Narcissa the better of the two - when she doesn't like something, she simply disregards it. She doesn't go into an uncontrollably violent snit and start shouting names and making a mess of things.*
Did you not hear what I said? The Order is here, now, and there are Inferi downstairs. Unless you'd like to spend the evening dead or in Azkaban, shut up and go.
*She's still muttering swearwords under her breath, and she jerks away from Rodolphus just long enough to Disapparate without a word to either of them--the sound echoing in the hallway like the crack of a whip.*
*Lucius rolls his eyes, profoundly grateful - for the millionth time since their courtship - that he was with Narcissa and not Bellatrix. Let her be Rodolphus's problem.*
Cygnus should be the one dealing with all this.
*He's on good terms with their father-in-law, but if they'd done a better job of raising Andromeda in the first place, none of this mess would be an issue now.*
As he expected there are no Healers and only one nurse, a stout and florid-faced man in his fifties bent over one of the patients, fluffing a pillow beneath the woman's head. Avada Kedavra hits him squarely in the back of the neck and he goes down silently. Next, Walden takes a moment to collect himself, to glance around the ward, before he begins. There are no Healers in this room, he remembers, because the little vegetables need maintenance, not treatment. They won't have taken potions, so he's been sent here to clear the ward the old-fashioned way. He's no stranger to this kind of work but it gives him far more pleasure now, in his mask and robes, disposing of vermin of the human sort. Or nearly-human ( ... )
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. . . It's all right, love, we're all right. Do you want to go home?
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That's why, with Inferi loose and the Order swarming on them and Regulus fucking up the wards left and right, Lucius is (against all better judgment) trying to find Bellatrix. He personally wouldn't care a whit if she did get pulled apart by Inferi and blasted to bits by the Order, but Narcissa would be upset, he he spends a great portion of his energy seeing to it that she's happy ( ... )
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*She's been muttering this more into the front of Roddy's robes than anywhere else, but then Lucius has arrived, very possibly the last person she wants to see at this particular moment. Even though she's masked and robed, her sudden child's fury is clear in every line of her body as she surges toward him, straining against her husband's arms.*
Coddling? Coddled, am I? Fuck you, Lucius--
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*He hisses the order, looking around though there's no one there to hear his name. Stepping back reflexively, he levels his wand at her to keep her at bay. He glances to the side and into the little window in the door: as indicated, there is Andromeda, crumpled against the wall. She's clearly alive but injured, curled in on herself awkwardly, and Bella's rage makes perfect sense now.
This, thinks Lucius wearily, is precisely why he's always by far thought Narcissa the better of the two - when she doesn't like something, she simply disregards it. She doesn't go into an uncontrollably violent snit and start shouting names and making a mess of things.*
Did you not hear what I said? The Order is here, now, and there are Inferi downstairs. Unless you'd like to spend the evening dead or in Azkaban, shut up and go.
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*Roddy's voice is diplomatic, even as he keeps Bella firmly in his grasp so she can't attack her brother-in-law.*
Go if you like, though. Unless you plan to--
*Behind Bella's back, again, he jerks his head toward the room where Andromeda is slumped and flicks his wand across his throat.*
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Run along home, now, run run run, wouldn't want to keep anyone waiting--
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*His sniping is no more voluntary than hers, his own drawl heavy with sarcasm.*
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*It's said to Lucius primarily, but he looks down at Bella too.*
He does have a point, dearest, we should make ourselves scarce.
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Cygnus should be the one dealing with all this.
*He's on good terms with their father-in-law, but if they'd done a better job of raising Andromeda in the first place, none of this mess would be an issue now.*
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I always thought it was more Druella's doing.
Are you going to go in there and finish things before we leave? I can't do it, Bella would slit my throat.
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Narcissa would never forgive me.
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*He can't quite come up with a word for it, so he trails off and then lifts his wand, readying himself to Disapparate.*
But, as I'm sure you know, anything to keep the peace. Stay safe.
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