It's Better If You Do

Bellamy stared off at the shop, her heart thudding hard in her chest from the rush of anger at the man, whom she had never seen , and the words that had been exchanged. Clearly, Rose knew him and his character or else she would not have flown into such a rage. Emotions swirled through her faster than she could imagine, but settled somewhere between furious and scared. She was vaguely made aware that she was walking forward, Fred and George on either side of her, sending cautious glances to where Lucius Malfoy walked off.

“Who was that man?” Bellamy asked breathlessly, shaking her head a bit.

“Lucius Malfoy,” Fred replied, a dark venom dripping in his tone of voice. Bellamy looked up at him, seeming a bit surprised at such negative emotions coming from him. She shook her head slowly. “What was said?”

“She knew him,” she said numbly as she kept her eyes on Rose as the colorful building stood out in the distance, “she knew him and he said something about a…a mistake, her mistake...or our's. I'm not sure…and our parents. He spoke of our parents.” Taking in a deep breath of air and placing a hand on her chest, she willed away the panic attack she felt rising within her. “I-I have no idea what’s going on.” She looked visibly shaken, all the color drained from her face and her eyes were twinkling on the brink of tears.

“C’mon then, let’s just go inside and we’ll tell you everything we know, then see if Rose will say anything,” George said gently. Bellamy watched as the Rose barreled into the store before glancing over to George and give him a short nod. He stopped, pulling open the door to the shop and allowing Bellamy and Fred to enter before filing in after them. They heard Rose in the back room and Bellamy, with amazing speed for someone in four-inch heels, ran toward it, leaving the twins to quickly walk to catch up with her.

“Rose?” Bellamy asked softly as she entered the room, seeing her sister sitting on the stairs leading to the flat with her head in her hands. “Êtes-vous bien*?” She walked over to her and sat down beside her, watching her closely as she placed a hand on her back. Rose was still for a moment as the twins walked into the room, before she wordlessly shook her head without looking up. “Avez-vous besoin bandages pour les mains**?” Rose finally looked over to Bellamy and shook her head again. Bellamy stared at her for a moment, gnawing on the inside of her cheek nervously. “What just happened?” She asked, no pleaded, for Rose to tell her. Rose quickly looked away from Bellamy to the twins.

“He mentioned you two,” she said, completely ignoring Bellamy’s question, much to the brunette’s dismay, “how do you know him?” Fred and George exchanged a look before looking to the siblings that sat on the stairs.

“We’ve known him for a while, seeing as though he works at the Ministry with our father,” George started, glancing between Rose and Bellamy with the most serious expression they had seen from him. “I don’t know how much blood purity is important in France, but…to some in England…it’s extremely important.”

“We’re purebloods, but we don’t judge others who aren’t. Thus, to those whom blood purity means everything, we’re blood traitors,” Fred continued and both the girls nodded in understanding. “The fact alone that we associate with muggleborns makes us as low as them in their eyes.” There was a long silence in the room that was rife with questioning, tension, and anxiety. “Lucius Malfoy is one of those who believe we’re scum just as the muggleborns.”

“If you’re pureblood, which I’m assuming you are if you’ve had the privilege of knowing Lucius Malfoy,” both the girls nodded once more, as George spoke, “associating with us ‘blood traitors’ makes you one.” Bellamy stared up at the two of them for a moment before turning to Rose, who had returned to holding her head in her hands and staring at the floor.

“Well…before now…I was under the impression that our family didn’t care if you were a pureblood or a muggleborn,” Bellamy spoke in a soft voice, but paused for a long time, staring up at Fred and George before looking to Rose, “but now I’m not so sure.” She stared at Rose for a little while longer, knowing the twins deserved answers as well. “What was the mistake he was talking about, Rose? And what does it matter to our parents?” She asked in a frantic whisper.