Change in Traditions

Naomi had relaxed since she had been scolded, deciding to settle. She wiped the any traces of a pout or bitterness from her face, and settled with a blank expression of cold lifelessness, watching everything by flitting her grey, wolflike eyes from person to person, willing to behave.

She was paired up with the vocal newcomer, and the woman set out to mock Naomi. Naomi slowly rose from her chair, ablaze. "Daughter of Fenrir Greyback, wife to Felix Barker, and you find me one to be trifled with?" She bristled but turned to Aaron. "I seek to obey, my lord. I can do it alone, but I am as worthy a member as anyone else." This last sentence she directed at this Beatrice woman.

Beatrice let the collar dangle from her fingertips, its silver clasp jangling softly against the tension between them.

"Thus I ask our master whether he would like the honour," she replied softly. "Do you know how many people would beg to wear this, girl?"

Swiftly, Beatrice flicked her wrist and, serpent-like, the length of dark leather contorted itself to buckle up hard against her own slim throat.

Ne'Os walked up the path to Malfoy Manor. He looked much worse than he had since his last visit. His entire body was green and he had ran out of potions from the ministry. It was by his willpower he was still alive. He was not sure how long he had been gone, but he knew some things would have changed.

He had some magic left. And found he could turn invisible at will still. Because of this he had stepped into Malfoy Manor unseen. He wasn't sure if had been detected or not but he was sure anyone looking at the place where he was wouldn't see him. Hearing the normal bickering of the death eaters he followed it to the room it was emanating from. He slipped in and sat down and listened for a bit. It appeared that Aaron was giving the orders now. No doubt he took over during Ne'Os's absence.

He released the magic that kept him invisible and felt goosebumps as it faded. He had drawn his wand. He knew if he needed he could get off a spell or two. "Forgive me for interrupting but last I checked I was the one that would be addressed as my lord." He said in as threatening of a voice as possible hoping the surprise of his appearance would knock Aaron off guard. He managed to hold his gaze on Aaron for a few seconds before he erupted into a coughing fit that lasted a full minute before he could regain composure. He would need to find a cure of some sort soon he didn't know how much longer he could live with this flu.

Malfoy Manor had become a somewhat interesting place to hold residence. Though Alistair spent much of his time in the flat above the shop, on occasion he’d return to Malfoy Manor where he’d linger for a few nights in the warmth it provided and the softness of the sheets that Lorcan draped over his beds. It was one of those nights, the nights when he couldn’t stand to remain in the shop and instead left his swarthy teenage brother in charge and trust him not to dip from the till or get mugged when it came to prices of their stock. Whatever it was, Alistair had a feeling he’d regret leaving the lad there when he opened the shop up in the morning. He’d forgiven him already though, and was looking forward to hearing tales of what happened over the course of it. Alistair was definitely hoping to prolong the time before he had to return to the shop, though, and so found himself in the kitchen of the manor, only to be told that the Death Eaters were in the dining room.

Alistair opened the door to the dining room and balked a little, pausing at the threshold. His lip curled at the sight of all of them and he announced in a sarcastic fashion that was classic to his very nature, “You’re making the house look cluttered. What in Merlin’s name are you all doing here?” Alistair’s eyebrows rose a little at the sight of the Greyback girl and he chuckled callously, leaving his space in the doorway, striding towards the table with an air of almost arrogance about him. “Fenrir Greyback is a dog,” Alistair stated simply. “It is not a birth you should be proud of. As for Mr. Barker...well, he’s just a child, one that makes his keep by torturing children. You would do well to remember your place, werewolf. The Ministry are looking for you, my dear. Wouldn’t it be a shame if they would happen to find out exactly where you are? I’ve got a nice chain. Perhaps you’d be better off outside? Sit down and do be quiet. You’ll wake up the bats.”

Lorcan heard Alistair's characteristic cutting remarks. Sometimes words were a better weapon than any sword. Lorcan had merely smiled slightly with amusement, while Zada had not reacted at all. She was unmoved. If one thing was traditional with the Death Eaters' meetings was they they had to get through always a bit of brawling in the moshpit of egos before they accomplished anything. Some things hadn't changed.

He didn't expect the little monster girl to take it well, but, personally, he didn't care if she were the daughter of Merlin. What made her acceptable or not was her own actions and behaviors. Not her provenance. Provenance only mattered, truly, with antiques. Provenance misused was merely arrogance. Fenrir Greyback's legacy was that of an animal, and underground dark arts circles said Fenrir Greyback was little more than a cannibal. Not a legacy for the girl to be proud of, even in dark circles. Felix Barker's reputation was one of a lunatic, still nothing to brag about. The little blonde, although aggressive and eager to gain some footing in the pack, had not impressed him, even though he had remained silent. He hadn't given up on her potential, but reciting her family tree wasn't going to do it for him. Lorcan was impressed when one earned their place. Not when they merely claimed it without due merit. Still, he saw no point in baiting her either. When Alistair had reached Zada at the table, Lorcan saw that she laid her hand on Alistair's.

"Do sit down, my dear. Shall I summon you a vodka?" she asked quietly to him.

Then Lorcan spoke. "That does bring me to my one item of business. My apologies, Aaron, for interrupting you. I will only be one moment. But there is one other very signifcant change here. Zada and I have purchased Malfoy Manor. We are the new family in the manor house, and as such, we are the new financial backers of the Death Eaters. This is our home now, and we are your hosts. I would hope that you would understand that we will no longer be using the manor as a flophouse like Lucius and Narcissa permitted. If you need, for some reason, a room for a night, we might well be able to accommodate you. But no one but my family will be living here on a permanent basis unless we give permission. And if anyone decides to have a brawl in here, we will evict you outside. Malfoy family protection charms have been removed and my family's have been put in place. No one enters without either our permission as a guest, or Aaron's permission to enter the Death Eaters faction. As of tonight, Malfoy Manor exists no more. Welcome to Death Manor."

Aaron had to suppress a laugh when the woman pulled out a leash. It would not have been very sinister of him to chuckle at something like that, but he had to admit, it was quite funny. He watched as the scene unfolded and his eyes flickered to the corner when a familiar face appeared out of nowhere. A sly grin spread across his face when he spotted Ne'Os. He had been wondering when he was going to show up. He was the former leader of this little group, and he had done a fine job of running it into the ground. Much time was spent flexing his muscles and trying to seem like the hottest thing the wizarding world had seen since Voldemort and little was spent on actually doing anything of importance.

Alistair made his appearance and popped off his usual drawl before Aaron could speak again. When Lorcan interjected, he waved his hand to signal that he did not care for him to speak, and he kept his eyes locked on Ne'Os. When Lorcan was done, Aaron chimed in. "Silence, all of you, it makes me sick listening to you all go back and forth." He finally took his eyes off of Ne'Os and he turned his gaze to Beatrice. "I am not one to tell you how to do your business, but I will say this, a knife in the back is quite uncomfortable. If you pester someone long enough eventually they will not care what happens to you, and since you are going to be working together on quite a dangerous task, I would recommend you play nice with the only person who will be accompanying you."

His gaze turned to Naomi. "Understand something Naomi... I know that there is potential somewhere in that misguided mind of yours. The thing is, you have not shown it to anyone yet and until that time comes your father and your husband mean absolutely nothing to me. Where is Fenrir or Felix? Do you really think that I care about someone who is not in this room right now? Let this be a lesson to all of you. What you have done in the past, who you know, and what power you think you have.... forget it. I cannot be bought because I have money. I can not be threatened because I fear nothing. I cannot be seduced because I have control over myself. The only way any of you will ever gain my respect is by proving your worth to me. So, if your quickest way to power is via trickery, save your games because they will not work."

He turned to Ne'Os and the smile returned to his face. He placed his hands together and he sat them on the table and he made direct eye contact with Ne'Os. "As for you Ne'Os.... you are not a lord anymore. The same thing goes for you as everyone else in this room. In fact, you will be accompanying Alistair on your own little task. Muggles are feeling a little to safe these days if you ask me. Alistair and you will find some muggles and kill them in a way that could not be explained by muggle investigators. The Ministry will be forced to cover it up in some way and it will waste valuable time and resources that the Ministry does not have. Do not raise the dark mark when you kill them, I want it to seem like a rogue dark wizard has lost his mind and is killing random muggles. With the death of the aurors they will be convinced we are going after the Ministry itself and they will be on the trail of not only us but this mysterious rogue wizard. Oh and Alistair, see to it that he calls you my lord because you will be in charge."

Aaron stood up and he looked around the room one more time. "That should be all. Go, you all have work to do, report back to me as soon as it is completed. We will rise again I promise each and every one of you. I dare ask, are there any questions?"