D'Eath London Home

This wasn’t the type of family breakfast Alistair had wanted but he knew better than to not expect something of this ilk. His father, though a kind man when it suited, didn’t do anything unless there was a guarantee that his actions would further his self. In this case, he wished for a business agreement, one that Alistair knew had been coming for weeks, even months, now. He had his fingers in a few of his father’s pies but Lorcan’s bake house was certainly far larger than first thought - and it was about to get even bigger. Alistair had his own agenda in this. Zada wanted control, it was written all over her face. Lorcan wanted money - that was a given. Alistair knew what he wanted but he wasn’t so sure that desire, burning though it was, could be met with this business venture. Unlikely, he figured.

Licking his lips involuntarily, Alistair reached for the strawberry jam as his father began to speak. He listened but busied himself with breakfast, reaching forward to pull pieces of toast from the rack, tossing one to Damien and keeping two for himself. Alistair didn’t dare make a scene, though it was tempting. Instead, he reached for a jug of what looked like lychee juice and poured himself some into the glass by his right. He then motioned to Damien’s glass and lifted the jug slightly higher, reaffirming his grip as he inquired silently as to whether the boy wanted some. A quick glance of the young Slytherin gave Alistair the impression that despite his stringiness, he’d be able to lift the jug. So, before it became too much of a strain on his wrist, Alistair put the jug down on the table and motioned for Damien to help himself.

Lorcan’s proposal was greeted with universal silence, seemingly. Alistair lifted his head, a slice of strawberry jam coated toast still in his hand, and took in the expressions of his siblings, all of them seemingly discontent with the arrival of Zada Forbes. They needed to understand that it wasn’t just about the sex, though that was certainly part of it. Taking a bite of the toast, Alistair took another look, waiting for someone to move their lips and form words that would fill the dead silence that hung in the air. Finally, a voice resounded around the room but it wasn’t one that Alistair wanted to hear. Zada was on the offensive, clearly. She wanted reactions out of them. Lorcan wanted agreement of some kind. Alistair just wanted them to say something. He felt, at this moment, as if he’d been reduced to nothing, almost. It caused him momentary discomfort before Zada brought his mind back to the task at hand.

“Dent’s been gone for months,” Alistair replied easily, studying his toast as if it were some sort of relic of the Gods. “They’re pliable, easy women that need to know they’re place.” Alistair bit his tongue for a moment as he considered the strawberry jam but continued on unabashed. “I don’t quite know how Dent handled them but they will have a firmer hand. The first agreements have already been made. Further disputes and, well, they know what their...punishment is.” Alistair tapped the toast with his little finger and ‘hmmmed’ thoughtfully for a moment before looking down the table at Zada. “Dent has a sister, doesn’t he? What’s to become of her in that case? She’s a talented witch. It would be tragic if her usefulness was to expire.”

Then suddenly, a thought struck Alistair as he stared at his female siblings. He stared through them, granted, his mind away with the Dementors (so to speak) but once they came back into focus and their discomfort became evident, a much better alternative appealed to him. Alistair rose to his feet, abandoning the toast momentarily. He wiped his hand on a napkin and placed it back down on the table before walking in an arc around to where the girls were sat. He placed his hands comfortably on Alexis’ shoulders and turned his gaze to his father.

“New money,” He spoke carefully, his voice clear, strong and his words articulated perfectly. “Or rather, being new money...it’s a problem, is it not? We’re not taken seriously in the certain social circles we’re expected to mingle with. The Malfoys, for example. That was a failure, to be sure. However, spring always brings new chances, does it not? Purebloods bask in the opportunity to once again wear robes that aren’t trimmed with some sort of animal or weighted with extra layers to keep out winters chill. Now, of course perhaps you four are a little bit on the young side to understand what happens but I remember, as, I am sure, Zada and our esteemed father do. Spring is a time when the Pureblood families put their girls into ‘society’. A horrible word considering really they’re trading sheep like cattle. They’re old enough now, surely. They’re too faint hearted for our kind of business ventures. I propose,”

Alistair moved from behind the girls to the head of the table, the end opposite to his father. He leaned over, placing his hands on the back of the empty chair.

“That we place the girls into the upcoming...soirée, of sorts. The first, if I remember correctly, will be taking place in everyone’s favourite Bulgarian cesspit of hedonism.” Alistair smirked widely before reshuffling his facial features and bringing his hand to his temple. He tossed it away, his eyes widening mockingly. “Oh, how stupid of me. I meant the Krum household.” Alistair laughed, the sound false and chilling, before returning to the point at hand. “I will be their chaperone. I suggest Damien attends too, and we will see what arms can be twisted. After all, why rise as a house if we cannot charm those that will fall into line? Now, I am not suggesting we marry them off - useful though it would be - but just having them there. Having them be charming and beautiful and sweet. The greatest asset to a Pureblood head of house is his daughters, whether or not we agree with that, it’s true. The boys continue the blood line but the girls are the insurance. So while Zada and I are running around putting things into place, I suggest we, as a family, act the part.”

Lorcan smiled, intrigued. He liked the way Alistair thought. A proper Slytherin mindset.

"You are correct. The problem does revolve around us being seen as new money. And that disqualifies us in many ways from being accepted in many of the proper social circles. I have been thinking of Dent since we bought the potions works. She is useful. She has a divided heart. Part of her is willing to go with the money, I think. But the larger part of her loves her work as a fighter. And, she shifts loyalties like most women change their shoes. She could be useful. She still has the inside track directly to Robert Lupin, and any track straight to the Minister can be useful if well used. I do not want to dispose of her quite yet. But if she proves to be difficult, then kill her. It is fairly simple.

"The Krums. Now there is an interesting proposal. I had almost forgotten Viktor still lives. And the Krums have a certain 'passion' for life," he smiled. "Weedling our way into their social circle would do much. And yes, we do have enough beautiful faces around this table to make the Krums take interest in us. I am not suggesting we through our women at them, but we certainly should chaparone them to be certain that they are comfortable with the people they're with.

"You all know how to dress very well when it comes to a formal occasion. And I would presume that if Viktor throws his usual Spring dinner party, I would trust that perhaps you can arrange for us to be on the guest list, Alistair. I do think we should go. All of us." He made sure to make eye contact with each of his children. This was not an optional activity. They were expected to dress in their fashionable best, and to present themselves as worthy to be in the presence of old money and to be appropriately warm and charming. And he knew his children knew well how to do that.

"Zada, my sweet," he said. "You do realize you might need to sit this evening out. Your reputation does preceed you in the Krum circles. Alistair and I would look less...toxic? I am afraid you might frighten them."

"Shall I find you an appropriate consort for the night, then?" was her reply to him.

"No thank you," he laughed. "I have never had a problem in finding my own, as my children can attest. Besides, I know you have work to do."

As much as Damien hated finding himself in most social situations - he could do without the small talk and the pretentious attempts to socialise and mask one's malicious intentions - the new development that Lorcan introduced rather held his interest. His interest was, however, temporarily distracted when Alistair made an appearance. Immediately, Damien perked up a little. The sight of Alistair certainly rectified his mood ever so slightly. He could not, however, mask his reaction to the unexpected physical affections that the older D'Eath boy was showering his siblings with. By the time Damien had his raised eyebrows lowered, the toast that he was enjoying had found its way to his brother's mouth. He scowled at Alistair, before actually grinning at the look he saw on his brother's face. Of course, Damien was an extremely biased individual. He could forgive the deed, at least for now.

Amused at the choice of conversation that the older boy picked, Damien smirked as he waited for responses too, especially eyeing Damitrius for it. Quickly enough, though, the attention was stolen by Lorcan. Damien couldn't decide if he liked the latest development as delineated by his father. This family business was going to be partially managed by someone who didn’t belong to the family, and who certainly didn’t look interested in the family too. That is, aside from Lorcan. Damien eyed Zada curiously. When she addressed Alistair, however, he couldn’t decide where to direct his questioning look to. Still, he didn’t ask. Damien caught a flying toast directed at him, in time, before he eyed his brother and smirked, more because he actually caught it rather than anything else. He reached for the jug that Alistair had earlier offered, filled his glass, and took a gulp of the juice, before making a face at it. The taste was strange, and Damien decided that he would rather return to his tea. The juice was really not his cup of tea. Damien reached for the butter for his toast, oddly comforted by the safety of his spread choice.

After Alistair was done with his proposal, Damien stared at him admiringly. Sure, the plan required further socialising, but this was fine - the boy was unabashedly being selective. But this was really what he wanted, after all – anything to find himself in the company of other more established families, and hopefully see his edging closer to the rest of them. His was an eager expression when Lorcan found his face, obviously keen on the idea and willing to display his approval.

"Of course, marrying off one of us wouldn't hurt." Damien stole a glance at Damitrius. "That'd help set the family up at a better place than we're at now. We need it." He took a sip of his tea, licked his lips, and continued. "After all, father, it'll make room for one more of us. And that we surely need, don't we?" Damien smirked. Especially with the insane number of children popping out from nowhere thanks to your habits.

It had never been like Alexis or Damitrius to speak much at the table unless, of course, they were fighting with each other over the same exact thing everyday. Their quarreling had subsided for the time-being, only because of the presence of Alistair. Damitrius' mood had seemed to improve a bit with his appearance and Alexis really just didn't feel like fighting with her anymore during the remainder of the day. Damitrius seemed to just be ignoring Alexis, thinking it was the best thing to do for now, just so she didn't cause anymore discomfort for the two of them, and Lilian since she would obviously protect Alexis from any of her comments.

After Alistair's proposal, Damitrius stared at him for a moment, blinking once of twice, before she glanced at both her sisters. Alexis looked down at her for a second before their attention was placed back toward Alistair. It was a pretty good proposal, no doubt about that, but that meant socializing with many people. Something that Damitrius could do, but she wasn't so comfortable with. The girl just wasn't one to socialize freely with others. Alexis had always been the one that was able to interact with others normally. She knew how to act around others, especially with the types of families that were being mentioned. She stole a quick glance at her older sister before her attention was distracted by Damien's words.

"It doesn't seem like a bad idea to you because you aren't the one that would be married off." she said somewhat coldly to her brother. She really didn't feel like starting a fight with him, just like she hasn't wanted to continue fighting with Alexis, but he was just asking for it. Damitrius figured his comments were mostly directed at her, probably not in a helpful way toward the family, but just because he disliked her. "Damitrius, stop it. Damien is only trying to be helpful." Alexis said in a softly voice, looking at Damien for a moment. "Whatever." was Damitrius' response to her sister.

"We could always use another nursery in the house," Lorcan mused. If one of his children was going to bait him, he wasn't going to pass it by. "Don't you think, Sweetheart?" he cast a look at Zada. She looked up from her tea at him, flatfaced. Lorcan laughed out loud. Zada Forbes would slit her own throat before she found herself in a delivery room--ever.

"Help yourself, my love,' she said, smiling, full of saccharin.

"I shall," he said, leaning casually on the table. "Oh, I shall." He looked at the children. "One of you will present yourself as being desireable either to one of the Krum kids. The boy shags anything that moves. And, probably, some things that don't. Do not deny him if he asks. Ingratiate yourself. Oh, and the girl. She appears to me to be a bit naieve. One of you surely has enough charisma to charm her, do you not?" Then a new thought struck him. He looked at Zada and smiled with a bit of a self satisfied smirk.

"What?" she narrowed his eyes at him.

"Polyjuice a muggle, will you? I have decided I would like you to go. If my children fail me, I trust that you shall not."

Zada smiled and nodded, satisfied. "I can do that. I am not certain how experienced some of your young ones might be at this, and we do need success." Lorcan had heard clearly her rather cold remarks in reference to his children, but this was business. He wasn't so concerned about their experience. Innocence was sometimes a useful tool. He was more concerned about their willingness. If they resisted such 'concessions', then he had no doubt that Alistair, Zada and himself could surely succeed.

"Actually I have a few muggle hairs already," she mused smoothly, "but she is a much better fit for Alistair. Perhaps he would consider escorting me that night?" she looked pointedly at him