"While I was at Millicent's, Grindelwald wrote and said that you three can take me to get my car today," Arthur told the Lestranges excitedly. "He said to send him a howler when we're ready, and an elf Auror will come here to take us."
Bellatrix nodded, exchanging a look with Rod. "Would you rather after dinner, as we've the time difference anyway?"
"YES," Rod said. "I simply must eat first."
Arthur chuckled. "Good. As eager as I am to have a car again, I was hoping for more of Harold's cooking first."
Soon they were seated around the table eating Harold's thick lamb stew with an equally thick slice of bread on the side stuffed with seeds and nuts.
"I feel like I'm at a freaking renaissance fair, and it's awesome," Arthur said.
"A what," Lyra asked, and he spent the next ten minutes explaining to them that Muggles dress up and pretend to be Muggles who lived centuries in the past.
"It seems you lot go for living in the past all the time instead of just when a festival is on," he concluded with a chuckle. "Your food is sure better though."
"We do not live in the past," Bellatrix huffed. "We simply see no reason to change with Muggle times that do not affect us."
"Okay," Arthur replied dubiously.
"How was your time with Millicent," Rabastan asked. "We've only met her a few times, but Rod and Bella worked with her parents before since they do international shit."
"It was fine," Arthur said. "We exchanged emails, and I got online on her computer to send myself her email and address. We did a news search, but nothing unexpected on the Muggle end and the earthquake went well, meaning no one is raising questions."
Rabastan cackled. "The earthquake went well...words spoken only in this house! I bloody love it!"
After dinner, Bella sent the howler to Gellert saying they were ready for the elf who knew how to get to Washington, D.C. She was glad he'd offered them a faster way than dodging about through the Floo network. Could Muggles even use the Floo network? Well it didn't matter, and Grindelwald probably didn't know either. Arthur went upstairs to the guest room in which he'd spent the night to collect his things, including the bag of gold bars that he still had to deposit into his bank account. The doorbell rang just as he rejoined them in the parlor, and Harold ushered in an elf Auror. The metallic name tag on his robe read Juda.
"Thanks for helping to take me home," Arthur told him, giving a slight bow. His expression was mildly uncomfortable, as if he didn't know how he should be addressing the elf, yet he still felt as though he should say something.
Bellatrix exchanged a look with Rodolphus, and Rodolphus gave a knowing smirk. Bella knew they were thinking the same, as was often the case. Arthur was behaving like the gallant king even when so far out of his depth. It was reassuring… Especially if things went south and the magicless wizards used the Muggles. There was now a worthy Muggle on their side that they could count on.
The elf bowed stiffly back, and smiled. "It is Juda's pleasure to assist, sir." He drew three filmy invisibility cloaks from a black bag slung across his shoulder. "As we may be Apparating near to where there is Muggle activity, the Minister sent these and said to return them tomorrow."
Rod nodded.
"Are you coming, Rabastan," Bellatrix asked, and Rabastan shrugged.
"Yeah, I guess."
"You and Arthur under one cloak, me and Bella under the other, leaving the third to Juda," Rodolphus said. "In case he needs to leave and return for any reason while we're getting Arthur settled, he can do so easily. Not to mention, of course, we can't have an elf walking about Muggle Washington, D.C. in plain sight."
Rabastan nodded and everyone vanished as they draped themselves in their cloaks.
"So no one can see us?" Arthur whispered.
"No," Bellatrix said, voice shaking with restrained laughter.
"Sorry, I probably sound dumb whispering. People can't see, but they can obviously hear, so I guess I'm just practicing trying to be quiet in case we happen to appear around people," Arthur explained sheepishly.
"That's smart," Rod praised.
"And we're off," Juda said.
"Bye!" Lyra called.
A few seconds later and Bellatrix felt Muggle style gravel under her shoes. They stood for several seconds in silence, taking stock. Juda had Apparated them in back of the rubble that was so recently the White House.
"Do we...uhm, uncloak now?" Arthur whispered.
"Everyone but Juda, as he hasn't yet practiced illusions to appear human," the elf whispered.
"Grab my hand so we can keep track of you then," Bellatrix told Juda as she and Rod shrugged out of the cloak. Rod draped it over one arm as Bellatrix felt Juda's small, long fingered hand closing around hers.
Arthur led the way from the rubble with Rabastan at his side. Bella noticed that the White House wasn't the only toppled building. Much of the block was a mess. Had Morgana done that or had the Ministries cleared out the buildings when they'd arranged the earthquake?
She didn't remember the entire block being in shambles. She hadn't looked around that much at the time, though. Not to mention there had been far more people in the way, and a lot of general chaos.
As they moved closer to the street, she noticed herself looking around rapidly, eyes darting in all directions. She felt exposed and unsafe in this Muggle territory, perhaps because things were still so unsettled. Sometimes being too aware of what was boiling behind the scenes wasn't pleasant. In that, power could be unpleasant, but she and Rod would still always want it so she should stop mentally bitching, she told herself peevishly. Anxiety be damned, because it was stupid, pointless, and in her bloody way.
"I'm going to call a cab," Arthur said, drawing a flat rectangle from his pocket. Bellatrix recalled Rabastan mentioning seeing such things when spying on the Muggles.
"I had a chance to charge it at Millicent's," Arthur continued, adding an explanation that didn't help in the least. Bellatrix didn't care enough to ask, though, not seeing how it would ever matter to her. Rod and Rabastan obviously concurred, as neither spoke either.
"The Porsche dealership is in Arlington, the next town over, it's only about a twenty minute ride," he explained. "And, of course, I need to stop at the bank first."
"Sure, sure," Rod said, waving a hand in a negligent gesture. "Whatever you need. No hurry, we've got the time and nowhere else to be at present."
Arthur gave Rod an appreciative grin. "Thanks." He then began touching the flat thing in his hand, causing colors and letters to shift on its glassy surface.
"That is calling a cab," Bellatrix asked.
"Well, it's actually texting one. That's what we do these days, writing instead of calling," Arthur said. "I just still say call, because as a kid and teenager, even as a young adult, that's what one did." He chuckled. "Technology changes so fast and when it does, it changes our entire way of life...how we think and speak. It's fascinating, really."
Bella exchanged a glance with Rod and Rabastan. They weren't particularly fascinated with Muggle ways as they'd never served them once and had inconvenienced them more times than they could count.
"The cab will be here in approximately two minutes," Arthur said happily. "That's certainly gotten faster over the years! I used to have to wait nearly twenty minutes for a cab."
"How old are you," Rabastan asked. "Wizards live far longer than Muggles, so with you lot unless you are very young or very old, it is difficult to tell."
"I'm thirty-eight," Arthur replied. He frowned, looking from one Lestrange to the other. "I thought Merlin and Nimue were a bit older than Arthur, but you all look close enough to my age. Of course, we're not the real Merlin, Nimue, and Arthur, but still."
A large yellow car drew up in front of them and Arthur waved at it. "Good! It's here," he said unnecessarily, ushering the Lestranges to follow him. "I'll sit up front if that's okay so I can more easily direct the driver where to go."
"Of course," Rod said. "And we're still around twenty years older than you, though you are quite correct in that we do not look it."
"Well, I'd be impressed except you just said you all live longer, so I will just be envious instead," Arthur said with a grin as he opened the doors of the cab on the passenger side, the back door for the Lestranges, then the front for himself.
After everyone was settled inside, with the still invisible Juda wedged onto the floor at Bella's feet, Arthur spoke to the driver, and the car began to move. Bella bit back a sigh, but she couldn't keep herself from making a face of distaste.
She'd somehow forgotten quite how horrid these car things were. The ride was loud, bumpy, and unpleasant not to mention quite primitive. It also felt painfully slow, considering how fast she'd driven Arthur's over all those Muggles. When they reached the bank, which looked nothing like Gringotts, Arthur turned to the Lestranges.
"Would you all like to wait here in the car or go into the bank with me?"
"We'll wait here," Rod decided. "Unless you need us in there for any reason?"
"No. It may just take a bit is all."
Rod shrugged. "That's alright."
Arthur nodded and exited the car.
"You folks going to some magic party or is it one of those fantasy cons," the driver asked, turning in his seat to peer curiously at them. He was a young, beefy man with thick brown hair that fell across his forehead and thick bushy brows.
"Both," Rabastan said with a cheerful grin, though they had no true idea what in the hell he was talking about.
Either their answer satisfied or confused him, because he stared for another second, then gave a slight nod and turned to face front again. They waited, then waited, and at last they waited some more. Bellatrix was nearly ready to scream when Arthur finally emerged. He was empty handed.
"Where's your money, Bro," Rabastan leaned up to ask as soon as Arthur was back in the car.
"In the bank," Arthur replied.
"But how are you going to buy the car," Rabastan asked. He was confused, and he wasn't alone because Bella and Rod were right there with him.
"With my debit card," Arthur said, turning to frown at them.
It appeared that Rabastan had said something wrong, but as they had no idea what, none of the Lestranges spoke. Arthur turned back to face the driver, giving him quiet instructions. The car began to move, so Bellatrix assumed they were off to buy the car now.
After another ten minutes of riding, the driver stopped at a place with a lit sign reading Arlington Porsche. Bellatrix thought the lights in the Muggle signs that were up everywhere about everything looked magical, though, of course, they weren't. The fact they were emulating magic for whatever reason annoyed her vigorously, though.
Arthur withdrew a flat rectangle from his pocket that looked like paper only thicker and shinier. He passed it to the driver. The driver ran it across his rectangular screen, much like the one Arthur had used to call...no, text the cab in the first place. He smiled, thanking Arthur as he passed the small rectangle that looked shinier than paper, back.
Arthur nodded politely, and wished the driver a nice day as he got out of the car and opened the back door for the Lestranges. As soon as everyone was out, Juda clinging to Bellatrix's hand again so she'd know where he was, Arthur's face lit up.
"I'm so excited! I was going to try getting a car like my baby that Bella...used, but maybe I'll see what else they have in stock just for the hell of it. Just about every Porsche is awesome, after all. I think I'll even test drive a few unless I fall hard for something right away."
As he spoke, a tall slightly graying Muggle in a dark suit approached.
"How may I help you fine folk today," he asked cheerfully.
"I want to buy a car," Arthur said happily. "Only I haven't quite decided on which model yet."
Bellatrix wondered if he would also ask if they were headed to a con or whatever the driver had asked about earlier. Fortunately, though, he seemed far more interested in selling Arthur a car than worrying about what they were wearing or where they were going.
"New or used," he asked.
"New, of course," Arthur said, tone incredulous.
"I understand," the suited Muggle said.
"We did get in a sweet ride from the forties just last week that you may at least like to check out. Porsches in the forties were some of the most beautiful cars ever made!"
Arthur was interested at once. "Oh, yes, I'd love to look!"
He gestured eagerly for the Lestranges to follow where the suited Muggle led, and they did. The cars were sold outside, so they had to walk around a large lot to look at every car on display. They saw the Porsche from the forties, and to them it just looked like a car, though they were not rude enough to state this obvious fact considering Arthur was so impressed and in awe over the thing.
He was allowed to test drive it, and the Muggle rode with him. He shot the Lestranges an apologetic look, but Rod shrugged, waving to indicate that it didn't matter, which it didn't. They certainly had no desire to ride along. After Arthur drove the nineteen-forties car around the lot a few times, he returned to the Lestranges with a thoughtful look on his face.
"I love it, but it won't be as fast as a new one. Still it's so beautiful, and it's history, and it is a smooth ride! Every Porsche is a smooth ride, but this is a very rare car. Granted it's priced far higher than a new one, so I would have to make payments, but it'd be worth it! Sorry I'm babbling. I'm going to look around at the rest of the cars while I think."
Rod nodded and the suited Muggle continued to show Arthur cars while they trailed along.
Eventually, after much agonizing and test driving of many, many Porsches, Arthur settled on a shiny new model he called a 911. He went on about why it was the best, but none of the Lestranges understood most of the words he used. The words they did understand, such as two cylinders, hardly seemed to apply.
Once Arthur had decided upon his 911, he had to pay and fill out many forms for some reason. During the payment process, Bellatrix realized that the small shinier than paper rectangle was the debit card with which Arthur paid. She made a mental note to ask him how this worked instead of money, when anyone who took it in payment simply returned it again, seemingly unchanged. She'd ask later, that was, if she still cared later.
"Now you get to experience the sweet ride of power that is a Porsche," Arthur told Rabastan and Rod eagerly. "Bella already knows, after all."
"Oh, indeed Bella knows," she cackled, fondly recalling the thump, thump, thump, of Muggle bodies under the wheels.
Arthur happily waved a strange looking key as they approached his new Porsche. "My key, my baby, it's all mine, and it is so beautiful!" he said gleefully.
"You wanna shag it or something," Rabastan asked, lips twitching.
"Maybe," Arthur drawled as he opened the driver's door, then reached across to open the passenger side. "Come on, Merlin, ride shotgun with me," he told Rod with a grin.
"What?" Rod blinked.
"That is shotgun, aka the second best spot in the car," Arthur pointed at the seat beside his. "Bella, Rabastan, and little guy Juda can get into the back."
"Maybe Bella and Juda can," Rabastan said doubtfully. He peered from the tiny back seat to his own long legs.
"Oh, just scrunch up. You'll be fine," Arthur said encouragingly.
Rabastan made grumbling sounds under his breath as he wedged himself into the back seat. Bellatrix wedged herself in beside him, her knees nearly ending up at her chin. She wasn't as tall as Rabastan, but she wasn't short and this damned back seat was tiny!
"Juda, you'll have to sit up front with Rod. There is more room on the floor there," she said.
"Yes," Juda agreed and released her hand.
"This is going to rule," Arthur said, voice thrumming with excitement.
Once everyone was in, he started the car and just sat there. "Isn't that a smooth engine," he asked.
"We don't know," Rabastan groaned. "Where are we going anyway? My legs are about to fall off soon due to lack of circulation."
"I thought we'd go to my house. It'll provide a safe spot for you guys to...what's it called Apparate back home, and you'll get the chance to check out my sweet, sweet love ride."
Juda tittered.
"Sounds like a plan," Rod agreed.
"Good. Sit back and enjoy the ride of your lives," Arthur said.
"Oh wait...seat belts, please, because I'm gonna be going fast."
"What? I can't even move back here, and I don't know how to do that shit," Rabastan groaned.
"Fine, fuck it," Arthur said, and spun out of the car lot or whatever it was called. For Bella, the spinning departure was the best part of the ride.
"Isn't it smooth," Arthur asked, after navigating traffic for three or so silent minutes.
"Can you make it spin again," Bellatrix asked. "That was fun."
"It was," Rod agreed.
"It was okay," Rabastan said.
"No," Arthur laughed. "Not in traffic! I'd hit someone or they'd hit me, and we'd be right back where we started. I will not put my lady of glorious wheels in danger."
Rabastan snickered. "He is definitely in love with the car!"
"Damned right he is," Arthur agreed fervently.