Bellatrix turned her new raven wand around in her hand as the limousine pulled away from the wand factory. She and Rod had examined a few then each found one that they connected with. The energy and feel of these wands were different, more sentient. Considering all the animal heads on the wands in the shop had turned to watch them even when they passed by under the cloak of invisibility, this wasn't surprising. Though some of the raven wands were entirely brown or black, she and Rod had both chosen redwood wands with a fire blackened raven head as the tip.
The raven head was carved of the same piece of redwood with glittering, black jet stones for eyes, great for physical protection. Of course, this made it a perfect dueling wand. The bird's beak was slightly open as if in mid-caw, and it tapered to a delightfully sharp point. Idly, Bellatrix ran a forefinger over the carved feather detailing on the back of the raven's head. The wood warmed in her hands, and she could almost feel the bird's head arching in pleasure under her touch. Like any pet, it enjoyed attention.
"Ah, the two of you are matching," Ali Bulstrode observed cheerfully as she glanced from the wand Bellatrix held to the one in Rodolphus's hands.
He nodded in acknowledgment with a satisfied smile. "Red and black are our colors, and the raven is our Lestrange family symbol so they're bloody perfect."
They all sat on the long bench-like limousine seat together. It was a bit of a tight fit, but as the stupid car was quite large it managed to work. They were driving to a coffee shop, and Bellatrix was far too excited by the prospect. She supposed the time difference and all the magic she'd used to stun fifty people, then kill twenty-five might be catching up with her just a little.
The limo pulled up at a coffee shop, where a sign above the door proclaimed it the Coffee Bean. Bellatrix's eyes widened in horror. There were so very many Muggle transportation vehicles in front of the place!
"Is...this a Muggle coffee shop?" she managed to choke out.
"Afraid so," Bulstrode drawled. "They have good sandwiches, and I'm starved. Look on the bright side, though. The buggers should be useful… Just think of them as non-magical house elves or something," he grunted, popping open his door and sliding out.
Frozen with shock and disgust, Bellatrix's mouth opened and closed wordlessly in silent rage.
"In our line of work, one must be a bit accustomed to and familiar with Muggles and their culture," Ali Bulstrode said, patting Bellatrix's arm sympathetically, before sliding out of the limo after her husband.
"Just wait here," Rodolphus said, and thrusting his new raven wand up a sleeve, he exited the limo.
Bellatrix leaned out the door of the limo to watch as he hurried after the Bulstrodes. Moving in front of them, gesturing sharply, Rod cut them off before they could go inside the coffee shop.
Rodolphus's expression was calm as he spoke to the Bulstrodes. Roger scowled in open exasperation as he gestured angrily. Rodolphus spoke again, remaining calm and implacable. Finally Roger shrugged and flung his hands into the air before heading angrily into the coffee shop, his wife trailing behind. With a smirk of open triumph, Rodolphus raised a hand to Bellatrix in a victory salute as he returned to the limo.
Bellatrix slid across the seat to allow Rodolphus back into the car. "What happened," she asked.
"I simply told him we aren't soiling our palates with Muggle swill," he replied. "I told him if he feels the need to do so himself, he may get it to go so we can go somewhere civilized for our caffeine fix."
Bellatrix hugged him. "Thank you. Riding in this rubbish heap is dreadful enough. Ingesting disgusting Muggle coffee and food would simply be too degrading."
Rodolphus grinned, obviously pleased by the praise. "Exactly. Not to mention it would tear up our stomachs...probably for weeks!"
While they waited for the Bulstrodes to return, they chatted about their new wands and speculated what the American Ministry would be like. When Roger and Ali returned five minutes later, Roger was still scowling. For her part, Ali looked mildly amused. Both carried paper cups of steaming coffee covered in odd lids.
"That looks disgusting," Bellatrix complained, lip curling as the two slid into the back seat with her and Rod.
"It's called a to-go cup," Roger snarled, drawing a paper packet from his pocket that gave off a surprisingly fragrant smell, causing Bellatrix's stomach to rumble.
Ali tapped on the glass and spoke to the bald wizard driving the limo. He nodded, and the car began to move. Roger opened the packet, extracting something that vaguely resembled a muffin. Biting into it he made a sound of pleasure.
"Smells like egg," Rodolphus said. "What is it then?"
"It's a breakfast sandwich with egg, cheese, and American bacon, which is rather different from the stuff we have," Roger replied, not bothering to do so without a full mouth.
"It's still covered in Muggle filth and germs," Rodolphus stated flatly. "We shall get something to eat at the wizarding coffee shop."
Roger laughed, still with a full mouth. "Good luck with that. The wizarding coffee shop doesn't carry food."
"Well, that's alright," Rodolphus said after a moment of hesitation. "We'll just get a quick cup of coffee, then grab something to eat elsewhere."
"Afraid not," Roger said a bit too cheerfully. "We shan't have time to get both before our appointment at the Ministry. So I am assuming you still prefer coffee?"
Bellatrix glared, nodding tightly.
"Are we sure," Rod asked, a slightly frantic look in his eyes. "I'm pretty hungry!"
"Yes, but coffee suppresses one's appetite," Bellatrix said. "We need energy more than food right now."
Rodolphus sighed. "I suppose."
The Magic Bean had very good coffee and indeed no food at all. Being civilized, they did not have to-go cups so Bella and Rod had to drink their coffee there. This time Roger and Ali waited in the limo, drinking their Muggle coffee while having their delicious smelling Muggle breakfast that, as Rod said, would surely have them shitting water for weeks. This comforting thought made it easier for Bellatrix and Rodolphus to go hungry. Their coffee was delicious, and was laced with an energy charm that made them bright eyed and bushy tailed when they rejoined the Bulstrodes in the limo.
They were off to the American Ministry, or MACUSA as they called it, which sounded unsurprisingly stupid. It turned out that MACUSA, like everything else in the country, was large and otherwise unremarkable save for lots of eagle statues everywhere. The Minister, or rather President, saw them at once, which was gratifying. He was a short squat man with a bulbous nose.
"I know who you are," he said, peering around said nose at Bellatrix and Rodolphus as they slid into guard mode, flanking the door as Ali and Roger sat across from the Minister at his desk. His tone was rather gleeful and Bellatrix frowned suspiciously. He chuckled. "I never thought to have the bloody Lestranges in my office!"
"We're clean today," Rodolphus drawled, managing to keep a straight face. "Not a single speck of blood to be found."
"I read that article… The one where you said Voldemort twisted the three of you to completely obsess over him," the Minister continued to Bellatrix. "Now that I have you right here in front of me I've gotta ask..."
"For our autographs?" Bellatrix wondered, arching one dark brow in open amusement.
He chuckled, giving his head a slight shake. "I gotta ask what the worst part of all that was."
Bellatrix exchanged a look with Rodolphus as she considered. He shrugged, indicating that he didn't care enough to answer the question.
"I think it was looking back on everything later and gaining a new understanding of certain things," Bellatrix said slowly, uncertain why she'd chosen to answer.
The man had a ghoulish curiosity, so she knew she would've been well within her rights to decline to go into it. "Like what," he asked, eyes glittering with an avid hunger to know more.
Bellatrix frowned. "We aren't being paid for a book deal, to my knowledge. If I answer, will you promise to accommodate our request to the best of your ability?" She gave him the hard cunning smile of a proud Slytherin.
She was pleased when Roger Bulstrode gave her an eager, if wolfish, smile and slight nod. It was obvious that she dangled a bait before the American President that he couldn't resist.
"What the hell! Sure. I'll do what I can for you. But first...back to my question."
Bellatrix nodded. "Very well." She paused to consider the question. May as well give the bloody President his money's worth, after all. "I think perhaps it was the fact that we looked for him so hard after he supposedly died that first time, back in nineteen eighty or so." Bellatrix hugged herself as a form of self soothing as she spoke. No matter how many times she considered that time and their feelings around The Dark Lord, the horror always opened up like a darkly blooming flower inside her chest.
"Now I know why we were so bloody certain that he wasn't dead." She shuddered. "We tried to kill him, so we should know! There were six of us! Six death curses were flung at him and he not only managed to bloody survive them, but somehow turned them on my Uncle Orion instead! So no, I suppose we didn't believe that the stupid Potters or anyone else could kill him."
She shuddered. "At the time we didn't know why, but we knew...deep down, we knew. Recalling that feeling of driven certainty now coupled with the knowledge we have regained is..."
"Unpleasant," the President supplied, almost sympathetically, and she nodded. "Thank you, Mrs. Lestrange," he said, giving her a respectful nod. "That is all very interesting indeed!"
"Good," Roger Bulstrode said, tone brisk and business-like. "Well then, President Quahog. You won't mind keeping your word and helping us out, I presume. All we need is for you to halt any trade in Murtlaps and Fire Crabs and to keep any that you have in the country under lock and key."
Bellatrix smiled cheerfully. "Or give them all to us to look after."
President Quahog's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "But why?"
"Mr. Grindelwald believes that Delphini plans to use them to make herself immune to magic somehow," Bulstrode said.
Quahog sighed. "Well, that isn't very American of her," he complained. "Then again, she isn't American." Tipping his chair back, he peered thoughtfully at the ceiling. "It looks to be a bothersome kettle of fish either way we boil it, I think." He sighed again and dropped his gaze to the desk in front of him when no answers appeared on the ceiling.
"We can help if we can keep the Murtlaps and Fire Crabs until this is all over," Bellatrix said and the President nodded.
"That could work. Of course, if Grindelwald JR. discovers a way to become immune to magic, we want in!"
"But of course," Bellatrix drawled.
Of course, if Grindelwald discovered such a thing, she was quite certain that most people, including everyone in America, would not be made aware.