"The more you relax, the easier this shall be," Lyra told Bellatrix as she redirected her focus to her once more.
"What if it's hard? What does that mean," Rabastan asked and Lyra sighed.
"No," Bellatrix told her daughter firmly.
Lyra arched a brow. "No what?"
"No, he cannot shut the fuck up," Bellatrix clarified, lips twitching in amusement.
"Nope, probably not," Rabastan agreed. "It's all those years I was serving the Dark Lord and feeling unable to ask questions or to speak my mind." He attempted a soulful expression which caused both Bellatrix and Rodolphus to roll their eyes in mutual disbelief.
"Rubbish," Rodolphus said. "You'd be like that regardless."
"Perhaps," Rabastan conceded. "Now back to my question," he told Lyra who sighed again in resignation.
"If it is difficult it simply means that I have to exert more effort and strain myself. It could also take longer." When Rabastan appeared to have no more questions, the intent, focused expression returned to Lyra's face. As no magic could openly be seen, this was their only indication that she was…cleansing Bellatrix's Aura.
Several seconds passed in silence, and when Lyra spoke her tone was quiet and nearly soothing. "Take slow, deep breaths," she instructed Bellatrix.
Bellatrix did so.
"Now imagine your body relaxing bit by bit," Lyra continued. "Start at your head, then slowly work your way down, imagining each set of muscles letting go and sinking back into your chair as you go entirely limp. Let each breath be a signal for a muscle group to let go."
Bellatrix directed her mind to each part of her body, imagining her muscles relaxing with every exhalation.
"Very good," Lyra said. Several more seconds passed in silence. Bellatrix felt pleasantly relaxed, her mind focused on her breathing.
"Your first and second chakra actually look surprisingly good, but the third one is very clogged," Lyra observed. "That one is located near your belly button, and it is connected to letting go. I think you need to try harder to let go of the damage Voldemort inflicted, because if you don't, it will make current circumstances harder to cope with."
Bellatrix's eyes were closed, but she could practically feel the satisfaction coming off Rodolphus in waves at that, as it echoed what he'd told her a few nights ago in their bedchamber.
"Smart girl," he said, proving her right.
"I did," Bellatrix snapped, turning her head to glare at him.
"You may have, but the energy imprints can last until they are cleansed, and your energy may need to know that it's safe to let the pain go. I am telling it now that it is safe," Lyra said.
"So what the fuck is a chakra?" Rabastan wondered.
"It is an energy wheel in the Aura that connects to various parts of the body, and each is linked to an emotion or function," Lyra replied. "Each has its own color. The first one is the lowest, and it is red. It symbolizes the survival instinct. The second is orange and is connected to sexuality and creativity."
Bellatrix smirked. No wonder those two looked great.
"The third, the one I'm cleansing now is yellow and as I said, connects to letting go. The fourth is green and connects to the heart. The fifth is blue and connects to the throat. The sixth is purple and connects to the third eye, located on the brow. And finally the seventh is on the crown of the head and is white. It connects to one's higher self or higher intentions."
"Damn, I'd like very much to be high right now... I miss getting high," Rabastan lamented.
Lyra snickered, rolling her eyes. "Damn, Uncle! You really live on another planet sometimes, don't you? I don't mean getting high, though I don't particularly object. I mean higher self as in the truest, pure, wise you that has lived many times and recalls your greater goals and intentions and is unhindered by your baser needs."
"Oh...that's boring," Rabastan proclaimed.
"I am so sorry that you are bored," Lyra said drily.
"Thanks for that," Rabastan acknowledged, ignoring her tone.
Silence prevailed for several minutes before Lyra heaved a sigh. "Good! Your third chakra finally looks clean. I think it's ready to let go now!"
Bellatrix didn't really feel different but made no comment. Unlike Rabastan, she found it unnecessary to do so.
"The heart is a bit clogged, but not as badly as the third chakra," Lyra observed. "I think the family love and unity that you three obviously always had shows a lot and kept you stable."
Bellatrix smiled, unable not to feel a bit of warmth in her heart at that, because it felt very true. The Lestrange Three had always been a united family, solidly kicking ass as one for as long as she could recall.
After several more minutes Lyra spoke again. "Now we move onto the throat. It is clogged, but, in this case, it's under the surface. That means that the current you has been able to speak her mind, but the past you, not so much. I am sending healing energy to that part along with assurances that it is safe and free to speak now, and that it is heard. I'm sure this is a build up from Voldemort's mistreatment."
Bellatrix gave a nod of understanding. That made sense.
"Now we move on to the third eye. Wow, it's really closed! I don't think you listen to your intuition nearly enough! I'm going to cleanse it and coax it open, but really start trying to think of how you feel about things...as in your gut feelings and listen to them."
Bellatrix shrugged, not knowing what to say to that. She'd never gotten high marks in divination.
Reading her expression, Lyra said, "Everyone is a little psychic, and most can develop it even more at least for practical daily guidance. Your Divination professor was rubbish if you didn't learn that."
"Well, she was rubbish," Bellatrix said, not surprised. "We only learned bloody stupid tea leaves and crystal gazing."
Lyra tsked. "No. There are many other ways to develop one's intuition."
Several minutes went by before Lyra spoke again. "I am cleansing your crown chakra now, and it is blocked, as could be expected. You have been focused on your lower needs, and this has removed you from your more evolved self. This means that your inner guidance system can be compromised just as if your third eye is not open."
"So, like, if her third eye and higher self chakra thingies were more open, she may have thought following the Dark Lord was a bad idea," Rabastan asked and Lyra nodded.
"Exactly. You're getting it, Uncle!"
Before long she stood back from Bellatrix with a sigh. "You're all finished. Your Aura is looking far better."
"Thank you," Bellatrix said. "I do feel...oddly lighter."
Lyra smiled. "Good. That's how you're supposed to feel. And you're welcome. I'm going to get a drink of water, then I'll clean yours," she told Rodolphus.
"Sure," he said, nodding. Lyra left the library and returned with a large glass of water that she placed on a nearby bookshelf.
"To keep me fortified," she said, then moved to stand in front of her father. Her face took on the same look of concentration that it had worn when she stood before Bellatrix. When she spoke, it was with a mild look of surprise.
"Like Mum's, your first chakra looked decent and required minimal cleaning, but the second one is really blocked. It's the one that links to creativity and sexuality," she reminded. "The orange one... It links to your inner fire."
Rodolphus squirmed on the sofa, expression uncomfortable.
"You look as if you might shit," Rabastan snickered and Rodolphus shot him a glare.
"At times, when the Aura is being cleansed, feelings could come up," Lyra said. "It is perfectly normal."
"Well, I don't like it," Rodolphus growled.
"It's alright," Lyra soothed. "As we're on your second chakra, there could be issues around sexuality or creativity. I want you to know that you are in a safe space where you are loved, and it is perfectly natural to feel whatever is coming up and to talk about it if you like."
She shot a glare at Rabastan. "And I firmly request that there be no bloody comments from the peanut gallery."
Rodolphus scowled. "There is nothing to talk about."
"Your second chakra begs to differ," Lyra said and he sighed.
"I guess I may have felt a bit dull in the later years of the Dark Lord's service," he admitted. "As if I weren't the brightest. I didn't mind, truly. I was comfortable in my role as the steady rock, and I didn't need to flash or shine. I didn't need to be a diamond in the crown."
"But you always were!" Bellatrix objected. "I would never settle for a mediocre wizard to spend my bloody life with, and you know that!"
Rodolphus shrugged. "I do know that... Or I did. I just stopped thinking about it like that. I suppose I thought you liked me for other things… My body and my winning personality." He grinned and Bellatrix smiled back.
"While all that is true, I also always greatly admired your skills with a wand."
"I can't believe I forgot how good I am," Rodolphus marveled with a shake of his head. "I know that it's because the Dark Lord made me forget all that, but still."
Lyra arched a brow, and Bellatrix quickly filled her in on their theory that the Dark Lord had quelled Rodolphus's drive due to not wanting male competition. "I believe he saw your father as the next big Alpha threat after killing Uncle Orion," she said and Lyra nodded.
"That sounds right. Now your second chakra looks a lot better," Lyra told Rodolphus with a pleased smile. "Speaking about it helped you to release...combined with my excellent cleansing skills, of course."
The state of the rest of Rodolphus's chakras were similar to Bellatrix's, according to Lyra. When she was finished with him, she drained half of the water in the large glass then began on Rabastan's. "Wow, your third eye looks good," Lyra said in surprise after working silently for some time. "Your time in Voldemort's service didn't seem to damage you as much."
"I spent a lot of time as a raven in Azkaban, and before that, things were mostly good," Rabastan said with a shrug.
Lyra shuddered. "Oh yeah... I somehow forgot about the Azkaban years, probably intentionally… That's got to be at least half of the reason my parents' Auras were so clogged. I bet Dementors had awful energy!"
"Do they even have energy," Rabastan asked and Lyra shuddered.
"They have to. Everything does, and I can only guess that theirs was beyond foul. Your crown chakra is very disconnected, so in that one particular area, your Aura isn't any better than Mum's or Dad's, sad to say," she said, then worked for several more silent minutes before stepping back and turning toward Harold.
"Alright, let's get you cleaned up," she told him, and the elf nodded with a bemused expression. As Lyra studied Harold, her expression became one of open fascination. "Your Aura looks so different. Your chakra wheels are smaller looking, but that's probably because you're smaller. The interesting thing about them is they don't really spin like those of humans do. They're more still, or...no that isn't right, just really slow moving," she corrected herself. "That isn't a bad thing, it makes them easier to work with," she added quickly, responding to the look of concern on the elf's face.
"Your Aura itself is yellow, which indicates concentration and attention," she continued. "Does that sound accurate for your personality? I don't know you so..."
Harold shrugged, and nodded. "Harold tries to pay close attention to things."
"So the Aura has colors too," Rabastan asked, and Lyra nodded.
"We'll get into that in the upcoming lesson. I only mentioned it because Auric yellow is more of a golden yellow, but his Aura is more of a middle shade, a topaz sort of yellow. It's denser, and...just different. It has a lot of magic in it, and I am impressed by that." Lyra did not speak again as she cleansed Harold's Aura. When she was finished she sighed, rubbing at her eyes. Then she reached for the glass of water and drained it before sinking down into a chair.
"How did his chakras look," Rabastan asked curiously.
"All seven needed a bit of cleaning, but they were all open and active. He is not blocked in any particular area, though his higher self needed the most work." She sighed. "None of you Brits are spiritual enough."
Rodolphus grinned, slipping an arm around Bellatrix. "Oh, we're plenty spiritual. Why, just last night..."
Lyra gave a mock scream and covered her face. "Stop or you'll totally infect all of my chakras in one fell swoop!"