The duo of Amelia and Antonio appeared with a twist of space in the middle of a street. The street was almost empty, with only a few passersby crossing. The surrounding and the atmosphere around them induced a vibe of poshness and richness. They were in one of the elite localities in Wizarding Britain.
Standing directly in front of them was a luxurious manor made of grey stone. A large garden stretched out before it. Although the manor was not as large or grand as the Bones manor, it had a unique charm of its own. And it was certainly far better than the Olario home. This was the Marius manor or rather, what used to be the Marius manor. Henceforth, it would be the Olario manor.
Antonio stepped forward toward the house, and just as he reached the boundary, there was a ripple in the air as the wards came alive, obstructing his path. Antonio pulled out the keystone he had received from the Ministry and pressed it against the wards.
Nothing seemed to happen at first, but then the air rippled again, and the keystone vanished as if absorbed into the wards. In that same instant, Antonio felt the control of the wards shift to him, and the connection was established. He was now the complete owner of the newly named Olario manor.
"Miss Bones," Antonio called. "Please."
Amelia nodded and followed Antonio into the manor complex. With him in being in the control of the wards, he granted the permission to enter the manor complex.
They continued forward and entered the stone built interior. The duo inspected the house for around half an hour, and Antonio was thoroughly satisfied.
"You have got yourself a good house, Lord Olario," Amelia commented as soon as they stepped outside again. "You will need to make a few changes to suit your needs, but it will be ready to use in no time."
"Yes," Antonio nodded. "The house is well maintained."
"I would suggest that you should call experts and get your wards strengthened. The wards, as they are, are quite weak," she said. "They may have worked for the Marius family but you have far more enemies than them and you are at far more risk than they were."
"I was thinking the same," Antonio agreed. What he did not say was that he did not need to find an expert. He himself was an expert and would be strengthening the wards himself.
"When will you be shifting in here?" she asked.
"In a day or two," Antonio replied.
"Great," she beamed. "And now, may I have the treat you promised?"
"Sure," he said as they continued walking forward. "I will treat you now only."
"Miss Bones," Antonio began, "I wonder if Lord Bones is free to meet me today in the evening?"
"Yes, why not?" Amelia replied. "In fact, he will be glad to meet you. He was very eager to express his gratitude for saving our lives."
"Is there something the matter?" she asked further, realizing Antonio's tone had turned slightly serious.
"Yes," Antonio replied. "There is something I want to discuss with him."
Understanding that he did not wish to disclose much at the moment, Amelia did not press the issue, and the duo continued their walk in search of a place for their little celebration.
.
.
.
While Antonio was busy celebrating with Amelia, a small gathering was taking place in the backyard of the Lestrange manor. But it was not a gathering for any celebration but for mourning. It was the cremation ceremony of Reinhart Lestrange.
In any other circumstance of death, the cremation would have been a grand event, with a large crowd lining up to pay their respects to the outgoing Lord of the Lestrange family. But given what had transpired in the last two days, and the manner in which Reinhart Lestrange had died, the ceremony was kept extremely private. The Lestrange family had thus kept everything private and even if they had tried to keep it open, the people who would have been willing to attend the ceremony would have surely been very scarce.
And thus, only three people stood before the newly constructed tomb of Reinhart Lestrange.
Rodolphus Lestrange, the eldest son of Reinhart and now the new Lord of the Lestrange family. Rabastan Lestrange, the younger son of Reinhart. And Penalia Lestrange, the widow of Reinhart Lestrange.
Both sons of the Lestrange family had their hands clenched in sheer anger and frustration. The image of their father's corpse with its severed head was still fresh in their minds.
"Rodolphus, Rabastan," the calm voice of Penalia snapped their attention to their mother. "Calm your anger. It is not the time to act on impulse and impatience."
"But mother…" Rodolphus began.
"Rodolphus," Penalia cut him off, "I said you must remain calm. Every step we take must be deliberate and planned in detail."
"Yes, Mother," he agreed.
"I know what you two are feeling right now," she continued. "And I appreciate that you loved and respected your father, and that you are willing to do everything in your power to take revenge for him. But acting mindlessly will only get you both killed. Impulse is not an option."
"Mother," Rabastan interjected. "Would not the Dark Lord take revenge for Father? He died fulfilling a cause given by him."
"The Dark Lord will not do anything," she said, her voice firm. "Whatever must be done must be done by us."
"But mother," Rodolphus tried to argue.
Penalia raised her palms, stopping Rodolphus from saying anything further. This was not a debate she was willing to have. And Rodolphus knew that his mother was correct. But he was finding it hard to accept that the dark lord had almost abandoned them. Even if he took action, it would only be for his own benefit.
She turned back to Rabastan. "Who is the lady whose complaint got you suspended from Hogwarts?"
"Lily Evans," he replied. "But why are you asking this? This issue is not important right now."
"This is important," she said, shaking her head. "Whatever has happened in the past few days has completely ruined the reputation of the Lestrange family."
And your suspension from Hogwarts is only rubbing the salt on our wounds," she continued.
"First, we need to regain our reputation. And that lady will be our first step."
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