Febuary 28th 1995 - Adrastus Mulciber

[Asmona Swanton]

”He then greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly. Departing this life as equals.” With that Melanie shut the dusty old book, setting it aside and stroking her daughter’s hair gently. ”That’s all for now Kara.” She said softly patting the small girls shoulder. ”But mommy! I want more!” She said loudly, sticking her perfect pink lips out in an adorable pout. ”Hush now Kara, you’ll wake the baby.” She lifted Kara off her lap effortlessly, setting the small child down on the couch beside her where she then flopped down on the couch and began to squirm around, making animal noises.

Melanie leaned forward, pulling the small white bassinet towards herself so she could peer inside, being careful not to wheel it into the small coffee table that sat between the two couches. She looked inside, smiling at the sleeping infant inside. ”Hello Bianca.” She said softly, placing her hand on the tiny child’s stomach just to feel like delicate rise and fall of her breathing. ”Sleep my little darling, sl-“ Kara cut her off with another loud outburst.

”It doesn’t know what you say!” She said loudly, her feet up in the air pedaling some unseen bicycle. Melanie turned to the raven-haired child and held her finger over her lips. ”Hush now, and your sister’s not an it she’s a she.” She scowled playfully at Kara, who returned the gesture by sticking her tongue out and spitting loudly, large bubble of saliva dripping down her cheeks and into her hair. Melanie scrunched up her nose in distaste and slight disgust, deciding it was better not to say anything.

Her husband entered the room, carrying a tray holding a small teapot, two teacups, and various other things such as honey and a small assortment of teacakes. ”Would either of you lovely ladies fancy a cup of tea?” He asked, setting the tray down on the coffee table and bending down to kiss Melanie on the cheek. She smiled placing her hand on his shoulder and squeezing it softly. "A hot cup of tea would be most welcome, thank you." Kara didn't say anything, she just sat up quickly, reached out and grabbed on of the cookies, shoving it in her mouth before either of her parents could protest.

Daniel and Melanie shared a quick look of slight amusement, before Daniel shuffled around the bassinet and sat across from her on the other couch. He reached across the table to pour his wife a cup of tea, drizzling a small amount of honey into it before picking it up and offering it to her. She took it and smiled graciously, leaning back against the couch and sipping her tea delicately. Kara, flopped down into her mother's lap and rolling onto her back, staring up and the woman while she drank.

Melanie didn't look down, she just closed her eyes and smiled. This was her reward, though she loved her life and what she did it was moments like this she treasured, and the fact that there were so few of them made it all the better. Even though she loved it, every minute of it, there was a part of her that was itching to get out of her little white house. A part of her that was dying for something to happen, just so she could get out of this...place. She did her best to ignore it, but she knew she couldn't stay much longer.

---

The House
The Room
Tha Bassinet
The Outfits
Daniel & Melanie
Kara (Mona)
Bianca

[Adrastus Mulciber]

Mulciber had never been what someone would call an optimistic person. And the situation was hardly a good one. He had actually lost track of how long he had been in prison, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to know. When he had gotten the chance to see what he looked like, it was something that took his breath away. He hadn't changed that much, aside from the lines in his face and the bags under his eyes from the lack of sleep and exposure to the dementors. But time had certainly left an impression, and he wasn't the same person that he had been prior to his capture. The worst part of it, the part that he didn't see or acknowledge, was the change in his eyes. The darkness that lurked, replacing the last traces of humanity that the life of a Death Eater hadn't claimed.

Still, now that he was out and about, Mulciber couldn't help but feel pleased regardless. He was able to move freely again (as long as he was hiding in plain sight), and see the way that the world had changed. For some reason he could not bring himself to look at newspapers that he found in the street, whether muggle or wizard. The amount of time that passed didn't matter, really, though it couldn't have been much longer than a year since the Dark Lord had risen. Those imprisoned in Azkaban were able to grasp at little things like that, though some were apparently worried that it would cause uprisings within the prison.

He didn't trust going home because he had the feeling that by now, their break out would have been announced within the newspapers. And if not, those whose job it was to apprehend them would most certainly have been informed. Whether they were watching the home of his deceased father or not was something that he couldn't ascertain without putting himself in danger, and it was too early to put himself at risk of getting captured again. His favored leather attire would have to wait. He had gone ahead and killed a man who had been in his way and taken his clothing for the time-being. Maybe that was for the best...

It was a somewhat cloudy day, but his normal choice of clothing would have been like setting a black cat in a white room. His eyes, his hair, his clothes, everything drew attention to him. Which he had always liked... Back when his face wasn't so well known.

However, there were things worth putting yourself at risk for. In this case, Adrastus had been wondering what had become of those that had evaded capture. In some ways, he was envious of them. But at the same time, what would he have done with his life if he had kept it? He couldn't see himself settling down, or finding a permanent job without the excitement of his nights he had spent under the command of the Dark Lord. He would, it felt, have been lost to the drudgery of a normal life.

The first person that he thought to visit was Melanie Swanton. She was what he thought a Death Eater should be – she did everything, and more, that she needed to, and she didn't go out of her way to have attention and praise from the Dark Lord like those such as Bellatrix did. Honestly, he didn't think he could deal with more people trying to clamor for his attention, seeing as most of the Death Eaters that were imprisoned and even more that had gone on with their lives (through the lie of imperius, of course) had been doing just that. Even if Adrastus had wanted to pretend that he had been under the curse, no one would have believed him. He was such a master at the art that he would have been able to fight the curses of most. But, his mind was wandering.

He ended up on her doorstep and scowled a bit. If she was looking to disguise her true nature, she had done a good job of it. The house was sickeningly ordinary. He glanced around to see if there were any ears at the ready, then leaned forward a bit to ring the doorbell. He would have preferred floo powder, but he decided that someone as intelligent as Melanie probably had ways around that. He was inexplicably nervous to see how much her life had changed since he knew her last.

[Asmona Swanton]

The doorbell chirped loudly, the shrill noise resounding throughout the peaceful home. Melanie’s eyes snapped open, long lashes fluttering and pupils dilating. Moving Kara from her lap she began to stand, reaching for her wand instinctively. Daniel was already on his feet, shaking his head at her and gingerly inching his way around the bassinet. Melanie looked down at Bianca, the infant who had been sleeping peacefully just moments before was now restless. The sound of the doorbell had disturbed her slumber, and she was quick to show her discontent. She clenched and unclenched her tiny fists, scrunching up her face and baring her gums angrily.

As Daniel exited the room to answer the door Bianca started to cry. It was that horrible infants cry that mothers hated, yet loved so much. Melanie scooped up the wailing child, making sure to support the newborn’s neck as she rested Bianca against her chest. She patted Bianca’s back softly, swaying slowly back and forth in attempt to sooth her daughter. Kara, who up until that point had been quite busy playing with her toes, looked up at her mother, cocking her head to the side like a puppy would, her dark curls falling into her face. “Why do you do that mama?” she asked, her voice soft and innocent. Melanie sighed, smiling down at the older girl “It makes her happy.”

She tried not to think about who could be at the door; there were so many dreadful possibilities. She was always so careful when it came to her family, few of her fellow Death Eaters knew her by name, and those who did weren’t stupid enough to remember it for long. Even so, there was always a part of her that feared exposure. It was only a matter of time, this she knew. Everything was eventual, and with recent return of the Dark Lord it would only be a matter of time before everyone had their masks off. Melanie chewed the inside of her cheek nervously as she waited for her husband’s return, continuing to rhythmically pat her daughter’s back.

----

He heard Bianca begin to screech as he exited the room. Daniel had never been able to understand how his wife could handle that horrible noise when it had him all but bashing his head against the wall. Daniel knew better than to complain, he knew what his wife could do, and it wasn’t pretty. She had harnessed the abilities to both bringing life into the world and ending it, in all truth she terrified him though it did not make him love her any less. His love for her and fear of her was why he allowed her to live like she did. It was not easy, but he knew changing her would be much harder.

Reaching the door Daniel looked through the peephole, expecting to see one of their neighbors with some horrid casserole in hand as an offering to the new baby. They lived in a mostly wizarding community with the exception of a few muggle families who were completely oblivious to the magical abilities their neighbors possessed. During Melanie’s long absences Daniel had created some community ties, first with the Billson’s who’s youngest daughter was around Kara’s age. Play-dates were the only reason he was still alive. From there it grew, it wasn’t something he was exactly proud of, but life alone with a toddler got lonely and after too long any adult interaction was like heaven.

When he saw who was standing on his porch he froze, stepping away from the door as if doing so would make the unwanted visitor go away. It wouldn’t, and not opening the door was more than likely to make things far worse for his family. He reached out and wrapped his fingers around the cool metal of the doorknob; turning it quickly and throwing the door open to stare Adrastus Mulcibur straight in the eye. “You.” Daniel stated simply, attempting to keep all emotion from his face as he stared at the other man. Without giving Mulcibur a chance respond he continued. “You’re here to see Melanie.” Again stating what should have been a question. “Follow me.” He said, turning and beginning to make his way back towards the room where he had left his wife. He stopped, looking back over his shoulder at the Death Eater “Don’t forget to shut the door.” He said coolly, turning back and heading back down the hallway to lead a ruthless killer to his family.

Daniel was not being stupid, he knew Adrastus, and he knew that if the man really meant them any harm they’d be dead by now. He did not like Mulcibur, or the fact that he was in his house and so near his children, but he knew it was foolish to start a fight when there was none. Last he had heard of Mulcibur, he was locked away in Azkaban. What he was doing out Daniel did not know or care to find out. This was Melanie’s business, not his. He’d finished with that life when Kara was born, and he didn’t care to go back to it.

Bianca was still crying when he reentered the room, but now it did not seem quite as loud. Though judging by the way Kara was covering her ears it may have been louder. Melanie turned to face him, smiling with was seemed like relief. “You have a visitor.” He said, stepping aside so the other man could enter the room.

[Adrastus Mulciber]

Two things instantly told Mulciber the sort of life that Melanie now led. The man that answered the door, and the sound of a wailing baby coming from behind him. He just smirked when Daniel recognized him. Adrastus really had nothing against the man, but he thought that he was unworthy of the woman that he had. Melanie was a force to be reckoned with, the sort of person that would stand just as strong alone as with a thousand men to command. Her quiet power was just the way that he remembered her. He only hoped that she hadn't changed too much because of the comfortable family life. Still Adrastus reasoned (as well as he could reason) that if Melanie loved the weakling before him, then there was probably more to him that Adrastus would never care to uncover.

He opened his mouth to assure Daniel that he wasn't here strictly on Death Eater business, but the man just turned and started walking. Mulciber wondered what must be going through the man's head at that moment. He may have been giving him too much credit but Adrastus was sure that Daniel knew that the Dark Lord had returned and his followers were slowly returning. Melanie, the ever loyal follower who had not asked for recognition in the past, must have gone to him. In Mulciber's mind, Melanie was the same as she had been before he went to prison. He hoped that she hadn't claimed that she was under the Imperius curse, and instead had just gone under the radar. That would be Melanie's good fortune, and wisdom, at work were it so.

Either way, anything that Daniel was suspecting was no longer Mulciber's problem. He could have let him speak instead of directing him straight to his wife. Adrastus smirked to himself. Let the man fear the reason that he was there. All in all it was somewhat foolish to let him come inside without talking to him, making sure that it was not someone using polyjuice potion to get information out of the family. Sure he was meant to be in Azkaban, but it was much easier to take the potion and pretend that you were an escaped convict than go through the trouble of becoming one. At least when the prison in question was Azkaban.

He took in the sights of their home without fully turning his head back and forth, just keeping himself aware enough of the surroundings to prevent the unlikely scenario of a sneak attack. As they got closer to the room with the baby, his smirk began to clear. The sounds of domestic living and young life made him feel almost sick to his stomach. It was more than the fear of leading a life such as that himself. Children made him uncomfortable anyway. Hell, even when he was an older student, he hated having to deal with first and second years. Thankfully his magic had been warning enough for them to leave him alone back then.

But then Daniel had stopped, and was speaking to someone. To her. Mulciber moved forward and his eyes went instantly to his old partner-in-crime. It was almost surreal to see her after so long. There were the differences that only time could bring, but she had aged well.

The fact that she in fact had two children instead of one hit him next. He glanced at the baby in her arms to the little girl on the floor. His head seemed to be swimming. “Melanie. I came to see if you were alright. Looks like you have become quite the home maker.” There was no real mockery in his voice, but there was a sarcastic questioning tone to it. As if he was asking her if she was the same woman that he had known before. Ignoring the way that it might irritate her husband and quite prepared to pull back a stump if Melanie was in a foul mood, he reached his hand out to her just shy of grazing her face. “But I trust that you have been keeping yourself... in shape... regardless.”