Altair couldn't understand the silent tension in the room. Tonks and Andy arrived while he was entertaining his girlfriend and his new maid. In the end, Lavender stayed in the room with Pansy to teach her more about her duties. Later, she asked him to accompany her on a trip through the Muggle world.
"Lavender isn't coming with us?" asked his aunt. Tonks giggled.
"Oh, she's probably taking care of her own ass right now. Merlin, either she's a screamer or you're a stud, Altair," the boy pinched the bridge of his nose.
His sister stared at the floor, her ears red.
It was a somewhat surprising sight.
"I made a reservation at a Muggle restaurant, unless you want to eat in the wizarding world," he said. There were few options in that case. Not many wizards bothered with the restaurant business.
"Sounds splendid," Andromeda agreed. The other two girls nodded vaguely. It was a good idea to stay out of the spotlight of the wizarding world.
"I really wanted to meet Lavender," said the pink-haired girl.
"You'll meet her later. She's chatting with a friend," he said, getting up.
"Oh, yes. I didn't know you had a fondness for snakes," continued her cousin.
"Nymphadora!" her mother scolded her.
"Don't call me Nymphadora!" protested the young aurora.
Finally, after the two women had come and gone, they left The Leaky Cauldron. The restaurant was in central London. Altair had never been there before, but it was expensive. Andromeda and Lyra would like it. Tonks, on the other hand... would probably prefer a greasy hamburger.
They were welcomed as if they were royalty. Which wasn't far from the truth. Both physically and in their manners, they looked and acted like aristocrats. Andy even managed to get his daughter to give up her spiky pink hair and let it grow to shoulder length in a dark brown color, which Altair had to admit looked incredible on her. Although it was a little strange. 'Tonks isn't Tonks-ing.'
"I hear there are more and more members in your coven," they were now sitting at a table on a balcony. There were no people around, and with a privacy spell, no one would look at them.
"There are, Andy. It's been an experience," he didn't know how to talk about it with his aunt.
"It's rare to see a young man with such a high libido," said Andy. A waitress brought a jug of water and glasses. She left the menu on the table. "The last man I knew like that was Sirius, and even he went for his Animagus form. A hot dog, no doubt." He joked a little as he read the menu.
"Do Animagi develop a higher libido?" he asked curiously. He had never thought about becoming an Animagus, even though he considered it a useful skill.
"A little, yes. In general, wizards have a low libido. Add to that their conservative upbringing, and they can barely get an erection. Being an Animagus increases their libido, perhaps to that of an ordinary human." Andy was a mediwizard and had researched this topic before. "Muggleborns have a bit of a libido, which is why I chose Edward. Too bad his erections were also for others," she said with a heavy sigh.
"Mom!" Tonks's brow was furrowed; she didn't look angry, just sad.
'Would becoming an Animagus increase my libido even more?' thought Altair, ignoring the blow to his cousin's father. Part of him was curious about how it would turn out, another part was afraid. Fucking was a routine for him. It took up a lot of his time, and if his libido increased, he would have even less time for his research.
The subject of low libido in men was interesting, too, but not enough for him to pay attention to it. He would always have attributed it to the absurdity of the world he had been reincarnated into. The world seemed made just for him.
"Have you thought about how to make your coven legal yet?" Lyra asked, the book in her hands closed.
She seemed to have already made up her mind. Her question broke the tense silence between Tonks and her mother.
"I don't have any political influence. Not that I'm aware of, at least." His control over the Malfoy house was not common knowledge. "So I'll wait until I get stronger."
"You can apply now. If you have the support of at least three old houses, they would consider it," she said, her words betraying her true intentions.
"Considering it is not the same as accepting it. I am not well-liked by the public. If I tried that, things like 'Altair Black: in search of maidens to sacrifice' would appear in the newspapers," he said lightly. Although he was touched, the three houses would be Malfoy, Black, and Lestrange, the latter currently controlled by his sister. Although it was previously run by the Malfoys. After Lucius's downfall, Altair let his sister take the reins.
"That's only while Fudge is minister. I hear that Madam Bonesy and Sirius are looking for the job," Lyra raised an eyebrow at Tonks's intervention.
"Maybe I'll contact them," said Altair's sister, interested in forging connections. If Bones became minister, it would leave a path open for her.
"Maybe you could convince the Malfoys to help," Altair said, looking her in the eye. "It's Narcissa who runs the house now," he said, watching his aunt grind her teeth.
"As if that... selfish woman would do anything for her family," Andy said, resisting the urge to call his own sister a bitch.
"She's been nicer lately," Altair interjected. "Maybe Lyra can convince her, they're pretty close," he finished with a bit of resentment that even he didn't know was there.
"I'll try," she said, and if his sister noticed, she didn't say anything.
Altair didn't know whether to admit to his aunt and cousin that he was the one who controlled Narcissa. After all, despite being family, their bond had only recently begun to grow stronger.
Soon, the waiter arrived to take their orders. Everyone ordered a cut of meat, even Tonks. Altair asked for something light; he would have dinner later with Lavender. They spent the rest of the meal chatting and exchanging jokes. Even Lyra, who had been very inhibited at first, loosened up a bit. Altair was glad about that. He wished there had been one more chair, one for Bellatrix. But that wouldn't happen anytime soon.
Finally, around six in the evening, Tonks and Andromeda took Lyra away, assuring him that they would drop her off at the Leaky Cauldron later.
Apparently, they had found a rather interesting spell to show her. Altair wondered what those knowing looks meant. "It has nothing to do with me," he thought. He returned to Lavender and Pansy. The latter was pale, as if spending so many hours with Lavender was torture. His arrival relieved her a little. She blushed furiously when she saw him coming.
Lavender immediately took his arm and ordered Pansy to follow them. In the Muggle world, Altair spent hours following his girlfriend around clothing stores, spending money as if it grew on trees.
The Slytherin girl was a shadow at his side, forced to try on lingerie sets to the satisfaction of the couple. People looked at them strangely, as if they were an elderly couple dressing up their young lover. They ignored them all.
Pansy couldn't contain her embarrassment when they made her try on maid dresses. For that, they had to visit cosplay clothing stores. Altair hadn't felt angry that people were looking at his girlfriend in a lewd way. The magical world broke him of the habit.
There were jerks who wanted her for themselves, but it wasn't out of desire, but because they wanted an ornament. Now, looking at the otakus staring shamelessly at his girlfriend's butt, he felt a desire to follow in Grindelwald's footsteps.
Unfortunately for him, Lavender was in no hurry. Altair had to break the cell phone of a guy who was trying to take a picture of his girlfriend. He watched his girlfriend buy costumes and cosplay outfits for herself and the other girls.
"I'm done, we can go now," Lavender didn't carry any bags. It was Altair and Pansy who carried them. The latter was fulfilling her obligations while the boy was simply being chivalrous.
"Okay," Altair resisted the urge to sigh exaggeratedly as he said: Finally!
On the way to get a taxi, a couple of guys approached Lavender to ask for her number.
'They're lucky I don't kill anyone,' thought Altair, watching the two guys kissing passionately in the middle of the sidewalk.
"Aw, I love you, Alti," his girlfriend said, skipping along. Pansy resisted the urge to gag in the background.