It was difficult returning to Azkaban. Bellatrix thought it may be better now, returning as those in charge, but it was not. Even with the Dementors gone, despair seemed to cling to the place as if it had its own energy. That or her memories of the misery they had felt while incarcerated there permeated her mind at the mere sight of the place.
Knowing what she did now, the long incarceration chafed at Bellatrix's mind even more because, in truth, they hadn't deserved it. As soon as they arrived, Rodolphus took charge, setting defensive wards in place that they'd learned from Uncle Orion. Defenses had been his specialty, and Grimmauld Place was always very well guarded. As Rodolphus layered the wards, he instructed the human and new goblin Aurors on how to cast them.
As the Acromantulas didn't have the sort of magic that would allow them to cast wards, Rodolphus asked them to weave webs around the perimeter of the prison walls. He incorporated the webs into the defenses by weaving wards through them. This kept intruders out as well as serving to catch and hold any prisoners attempting to escape. They would hang there like spider food until someone recaptured them.
Rabastan worked with the Aurors, taking orders from Rod as though he were one of them, while Bellatrix stood to the side, watching. She would've helped if Rod asked her to, but he did not, and she was dealing with her own inner struggles while admiring her husband's sharp skills. His strong personality as well as his free spirit and intricate skill with Dark Arts were all things that made her love and admire him. She was damned proud to have him as her husband and even though she was upset, she could still appreciate the efficient deadly skill with which he armed Azkaban's new defenses.
Stepping up to his side, she idly ran a hand up and down the muscles of his upper arm. Turning from asking a goblin about what defensive wards they used on Gringotts, Rod gave her a warm smile. He placed a hand over hers as he returned to his conversation with the goblin. "So you can place alarm wards like those at Gringotts over those we have just set into place?"
"Yes," the goblin replied with a nod.
Rod smiled. "Good. You and your friend go and do that then, while I see what wards I think would work best on all the individual prison cells."
Bellatrix liked the respectful way the goblins, humans, and even spiders were listening to Rod. It was hot. "I'll come with you," she told Rod. "Perhaps torturing some prisoners will make me feel better. I'm sure there are a few in there on whom we have personal grudges."
Rodolphus grinned. "Good. I'm glad to see you feeling better."
"I could've helped, you know," she said, but her voice lacked conviction.
Rodolphus shrugged. "I just didn't think you were interested, and we had it covered. It's alright."
She shrugged. He knew her well. She hadn't been able to muster up the interest, and she just couldn't care at the moment.
As it turned out, a bit of torture made her feel much better! It was fun to practice different techniques on each prisoner and served to sharpen her skills. She was even inspired to come up with a new ward that would've definitely made Uncle Orion proud. It involved layering the Cruciatus Curse with a general locking ward so that anyone trying to break in or out of a cell would suffer excruciating pain. The longer a person tampered with the ward, the more the pain would increase.
"That is brilliant," Rod said admiringly when she placed it on the door of a prison cell and made the prisoner inside scream with agony when forcing him to attempt to open it.
"Even if he goes all Sirius and turns into an animal, it'll get him from under the door as well," she said happily.
"Do you think he can turn into anything," Rod asked and she shook her head.
"No. I was just saying that as an example... Just if anyone can, and attempts that method, it won't work."
He nodded. "Like I said... Brilliant!"
Drawing her close, his mouth met hers in a passionate kiss. "I was so proud when the Dark Lord chose to give you personal training. You were always the brightest star, Bellatrix Lestrange."
"So are you," she said, running her hands up his chest. "That's why we're the perfect match, leagues above the others."
"I made sure he never thought I was too good, though. I didn't think he'd like another male being anywhere close to his league. A woman he could forgive, so I never minded when you showed off, though had Rabastan or I done so I did not feel it would've been safe."
"Even when we were completely loyal...before the...thing," she asked, surprise distracting her from her lust.
Rodolphus nodded. "Yes. Always."
"But didn't you trust him then?"
He nodded. "Of course. It's just polite to allow the alpha, as it were, to always be the best in everything."
"Hmm." Bellatrix had never thought of it that way. She hadn't understood why Rod wasn't given personal lessons with her, but now it made sense. She had shown Rod everything she'd learned later, because the Dark Lord hadn't said not to, and she'd assumed he'd want Rod to always be at his best.
"Do you think the Minister wants us to come here every bloody day until the girl shows up?" Bellatrix wondered.
"Probably," Rod replied. "Or until it becomes apparent that she isn't going to."
"I don't think I can pretend to be her mother... I just don't think that I am good at pretending," Bellatrix said with a shudder. "Especially if it involves any sort of scenario where I shag him, which is usually how one makes a baby!" True though it was, it made her feel selfish nonetheless. They needed to get rid of her for the safety of their own family even if they didn't give a damn about the wizarding world, which they did not. "If you think my doing so would make it easier to lull then kill her, though, I will try."
Rodolphus shrugged wide shoulders. "I honestly don't believe it's necessary. They didn't tell us to pretend anything, and if the girl is as good as word has it, she would see the lie. He could always see when people were lying to him."
"If she's even his," Bellatrix said with a baffled shake of her head. "That's still quite difficult to believe."
Rodolphus nodded. "True."
"So if I don't have to pretend, how are we going to handle her if she shows," Bellatrix asked. "We should form some sort of plan."
Rod shrugged. "I figure we'll have to play it by ear to some degree, because, when it comes down to it, we know nothing about her or what she really wants with us. I plan to be polite and friendly without seeming too eager for her demise."
Bellatrix nodded with a faint smile. "You're in charge of that, and I will follow your lead," she said gratefully. She knew her instincts may not be the best on the matter, considering.
An elf in Ministry robes brought them lunch, and considering the Acromantulas were also eating, there was a ton of food. There was also a letter from Romeo asking that they report their progress to the elf before he departed. Valdez also requested that the Acromantulas remain as prison guards overnight and gave everyone else permission to leave daily at six and return to work in the morning at nine.
Everyone gathered together to eat sandwiches and swig down bottles of pumpkin juice. Rod stood beside one of the Acromantulas, watching him tossing sandwich after sandwich into his mouth, each only serving as a bite. Watching the spider eat was fascinating, and he didn't bother not to stare.
"You know, I was going to ask the Head Auror if we could eat anyone who ended up in the webs we set up, but I'm really liking these sandwiches instead," the spider rasped.
Rod chuckled. "They are rather good. Fat with lots of meat, vegetables, and cheese."
"Cheese," the spider echoed. "Is that what it's called? It's sharp and creamy and tastes far better than blood."
"Just wait until you try it all warm and melted over mushroom pasta," Rodolphus told him. "Our elf makes an excellent cream cheese mushroom pasta. Perhaps you could come to dinner some time. I would like to see how your webs can work with defensive attacks in direct combat, and we could practice."
All eight of the spider's eyes glittered with interest. "That sounds very promising. I accept."
"Rhdar," the other spider rasped, coming over and poking Rodolphus's new friend in the side with a leg. "Leave some of those cakes for me."
"They aren't cakes. They're sandwiches."
The other spider blinked at least most of his eyes. "Indeed? How is that? They don't look at all like witches. They look like cakes!"
"Well, the elf called them sandwiches, and they aren't cakes because they have meat and vegetables and cheese in them," Rhdar said peevishly.
"Also they don't look like witches because the sandwich word lacks the T," Rodolphus explained.
"Ahh," both spiders said in unison.
After lunch, Rodolphus gave the elf a brief progress report on the wards they'd laid and the methods he was using. The elf took notes and then gathered up all the now empty lunch baskets and climbed back into the boat he'd used to reach the island. Once the boat sailed past the wards, elf and boat vanished in a crack of Apparition.
"I wonder if the boat will reappear right in the middle of Auror headquarters?" one of the spiders wondered with a snicker. It was the one whose name Rod did not yet know, he decided, hoping he could tell them apart.
"There's probably a parking garage somewhere for such transport, so likely not, though the idea is amusing," one of the goblins replied with a grin. They all got back to work then and the day actually passed quickly.
When they took breaks from layering the wards, Rodolphus worked with the wizard and goblin Aurors on methods of dueling to kill. He enjoyed sharing his own knowledge as well as seeing what methods they used. The goblins had some rather impressive ways of killing, some of which involved swallowing a person with earth. One of the goblins offered to demonstrate on Rabastan, saying he'd probably be fine, but the youngest Lestrange strongly declined.
Rodolphus noticed that the wands the goblins used looked to be made of stone rather than wood. They were even multi-faceted like a crystal and had silver bands around them bonding one stone to another. One of the goblins had a red and clear wand while the other's was clear green and black. "I suppose with this new Ministry, goblins are now allowed wands," he asked and they nodded. "I've never seen wands like those you have. Did you craft them yourselves?"
Both shook their heads. "These came from Enchanted Odds, that shop Zabini and Grindelwald run... or rather ran, before they started working for the Ministry. They probably pay someone else to run it now," one of the goblins offered. "A woman named Snape makes the wands, though. She'll even custom them for you if you fill out a form. We did that, but there are some in the shop that you can just buy as is."
Rodolphus nodded. "Why stone rather than wood, though?"
"Because the crystal amplifies magic and it's twice the strength of a wooden wand," the goblin replied, eyes sparkling with a greed for more power behind his spells that Rod could well understand.
"Thanks. I'll have to check them out." He glanced over at Bellatrix who was busy teaching one of the human Aurors just how little he truly knew of deadly dueling practices. The man's face was showing open strain, and his eyes were a little wild with fear.
Bellatrix was smiling gleefully, though, and Rodolphus was relieved to see her in better spirits. An upset or disconcerted Bellatrix was just too much for him, and he didn't like it one bit. Even worse, it made him feel insecure and uncertain within himself. As if he didn't know what would happen in the next moment, or what he should do about it, and that was the absolute worst because he hated feeling uncertain.
Before they went home for the night, the three Lestranges made a final round of the grounds together. All the wards turned out beautifully. The spiders had spent all day weaving huge webs that covered the entire outer edge of the island, and the wards were layered into them so well that they weren't even visible. Of course one could not defend against that which they could not detect.