Muffled voices seeped out underneath the dark wooden door. A young boy of seven slowly pressed his ear to the cold floor, no longer able to hold back his curiosity. Twenty minutes was much too long to wait and besides, he was fast enough to escape if suddenly the meeting ended. The boy supposed his body had something to do with that.
He was small for his age and thin; long curly black hair flopped in front of his sharp-angled face and hid his intelligent blue eyes. He was fast and his magic was strong- though not as strong as his big brother, Rodolphus, a fourth year at Hogwarts.
"-lphus is nearly old enough, sir." a gruff voice said- the boy's father. "He has agreed to join Bellatrix and Lucius on the next raid."
The boy's eyes narrowed. He had heard that word many times throughout his short life, and he knew that his father nearly always came back drunk and in high spirits.
Sometimes, though, he came back bloody and shaken. He was always angry then, and the boy had to run or pay the consequences.
Would Rodolphus be the same?
The boy shivered at the thought. Despite Rodolphus being much older then him, his brother was fun and cared about him. He seemed to understand about Father and comforted the child when he was scared.
"How is Rabastan? Is he showing any sign of following his brother?" asked another man.
The boy startled at his name.
His father snorted. "The child is soft. I fear he will be a Hufflepuff, or worse yet, a Gryffindor."
Rabastan flinched, biting his lip. He fingered the small wand his brother had bought him during the Christmas Hols, and remembered the spells his brother had taught him.
"Like this, Bas." said Rodolphus, spinning his wand in a complicated manner. "Expelliarmus!"
Rabastan's wand went flying through the air. Rodolphus summoned it and tossed it back to the child. "Now you try."
The small six year old raised his wand and tried to copy the movement. "Expell-y-amus!"
Nothing happened.
Rabastan's face fell but Rodolphus only chuckled. "It's Ex-pell-ee-ah-r-mus. Say it with me."
"Expelliarmus." the brothers said together.
"You have the wand movement good," said the elder brother. "If you say the spell right and concentrate on the action, it should work. Try again."
"Expelliarmus!" the child cried. The wand jumped, and Rabastan's face brightened slightly.
"Very good!" cheered Rodolphus. "Very good indeed, Bas."
"But it didn't fly away." Rabastan said disappointedly. "Your's flew away, 'phus."
Rodolphus strode across the room and ruffled his brother's hair fondly. "You are little, kiddo. If it did work completely, I would think you to be the next Dark Lord." he chuckled. "First years have problems with that spell. You did better then many of them."
Rabastan's face split into a huge smile. "Really?"
"Really."
Rabastan shook his head and paid attention to the meeting.
"Well...he is powerful." his father amended. "There is that. But I fear that with Rodolphus coddling the boy, he will not have the will to use it."
"Rodolphus coddles him?" another, this time feminine voice said.
His father sighed. "Unfortunately. Though I have trained the boy to be every bit a Death Eater and soldier for our Lord, he has a pitifully large soft spot for Rabastan."
At this, Rabastan stood. He wouldn't listen to his father scorn his brother! He could handle being insulted- he was used to it- but not his brother.
For a moment, the child stood in front of the door, his large eyes holding too much trepidation and intelligence for his age. Finally, as if the action pained him, he turned his back on the door and walked stiffly away.
He would always remember this as the first moment he failed to protect his brother.
-TEN YEARS LATER-
5 October, 1981
"Run, Bas!"
Rabastan cried out as the jets of light flew above his head. He felt the heat of a red-colored spell burn past his cheek.
"What-the-hell?" exclaimed Johann, Rabastan's best friend. His voice was slightly muffled by the mask the pair wore.
"It's a trap?" Rabastan wondered aloud, ducking as a sickly orange burst came shooting towards him.
"Bas! Go!" snapped Rodolphus from in front of him, the 24 year old rapidly sending out curses. "Go home!"
"But brother-" exclaimed Rabastan, weaving through the curses the way Rodolphus had taught him.
"GO!" bellowed Rodolphus, sending a large beamed- Cruciatus towards the Order members. "Now! That's an order!"
Rabastan swallowed hard, struggling to hold back tears. "Come on, Johann."
With a spin of his heel, he was gone.
Rabastan landed on his knees in the empty hallway. He stared at the plush plum carpeting, half in shock.
"Rabastan?" a tentative voice said. "Are you alright?"
Rabastan pushed himself up with shaking arms and nodded sharply. He wiped the sweat and blood from his forehead and leaned against the cool painted walls.
"Rodolphus will be alright," said Johann cautiously, hiding his pity from his friend.
Rabastan spun on his friend, a feral snarl beneath his masked face. "How do you know?! Why shouldn't I blame you? You told us to go there!"
Johann took a step back, slipping off his white death eater mask. "H-hey! That's what our Lord relayed to me!"
Rabastan pulled his wand, his heart beating rapidly with irrationality and panic. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't curse you!"
"I have several." said Johann coldly. "One: I'm your friend...or so I thought. Two: We're partners. The Dark Lord doesn't allow us to kill each other without an order, much less or partners. Three: I've done nothing wrong!"
Rabastan let out a strange, choked sound. "He's my brother."
"I know." said Johann, carefully making his way to the distraught seventeen year old. "But Rodolphus has been doing this for years. He's talented. He's strong."
A heavy hand fell on Rabastan's shoulder and he looked up to see Johann's calm brown eyes staring back at him. "Rodolphus will be fine."
Rabastan took a shuddering breath and tightened his jaw. "Thank you." He began to exit, heading towards the kitchen. "And...Johann?"
Johann raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry."
Rabastan held the cup of steaming tea in his hands, Death Eater robes long banished. Johann was quietly tampering with the teapot, scowling at the cowering house-elf. The sound of ticking clocks grounded Rabastan as he stared into the scented fumes twirling up from his cup.
"D'you think your father is going to let you return to Hogwarts?" asked Johann suddenly.
Rabastan raised his lined eyes. "I believe so. I might as well finish up my seventh year. It is only early October after all. My mother would have wanted me to continue my education."
Johann winced at the reminder of Rabastan's mother's death. A year ahead of the younger boy, he had been on the raid that had taken Rabastan's mother, Elva, when the distraught mother had attempted to protect her husband in an attack gone wrong.
Rabastan's hands shook very slightly. "I will not lose another family member to the raids." he murmured aloud.
Johann glanced at Rabastan sadly.
The clock chimed eleven; Rabastan's heart sunk. Yet another hour gone, with no sign of his brother.
"I'm sure he's-" started Johann, before suddenly there was a loud pop.
Rodolphus stood in the kitchen, his eyes unfocused and robes covered in blood.
"Rodolphus!" exclaimed Rabastan, leaping from his chair. His heart was beating rapidly and he felt as if he was going to be sick.
Rodolphus was swaying and began to crumple to the ground when Rabastan steadied him.
"Bas..." he slurred, blood trickling from his mouth. "Bas..."
"It's okay," whispered Rabastan, staring wildly into the eyes of his brother. "You're gonna be okay."
"D-dumbledore. Dumbledore came," said Rodolphus, his eyes fluttering. "Whole-whole Order, practically."
"Shh..." said Rabastan, lowering his brother to floor. He unsheathed his wand and began to cast a diagnoses spell. "Don't speak. Save your strength. You must stay awake, okay?"
"Mmm."
"Call my father." said Rabastan, throwing a glance over his shoulder. "And Snape. Snape can heal him. And his wife. Fetch Bellatrix as well."
"Severus?" whispered Rodolphus.
The diagnoses spell finished and Rabastan quickly read through the report hanging in midair.
His stomach sunk. Several broken ribs, blood loss, ruptured spleen, concussion, broken femur... "What did you do to yourself, 'phus?"
"M'okay."
Rabastan bit his lip. "I shouldn't have left you."
Rodolphus rolled his eyes weakly. "You...too young. See me? You'd be dead."
Rabastan recoiled slightly, hurt striking him. "'phus..."
"You're strong," said Rodolphus weakly. "but young. Wait. Don't...don't take on...too much."
Rodolphus' eyes began to shut and Rabastan panicked. "No! Don't go to sleep, 'phus, don't you dare close your eyes!"
He was helpless as his brother slipped into unconsciousness.
He had failed Rodolphus once again.
1 November, 1981
Rabastan was in shock.
His eyes scanned the manilla-colored newspaper, unable to believe was he was reading.
YOU-KNOW-WHO DEAD!
Harry Potter defeats You-Know-Who in Godric's Hallow
Rabastan went on to read the article, slowly realizing why his Mark had burned so violently the night before.
Beside him, his friend Devin, also a Death Eater, was deathly pale. "Is it true?" the boy whispered to Rabastan.
Rabastan swallowed, with some difficulty. "I assume so."
Devin shivered. "What now?"
Rabastan shook his head. "I don't know."
"Mr. Lestrange. Mr. Lestrange!"
Rabastan startled, eyes flying open. Around him, other students began to giggle. "Yes, professor?"
Professor McGonagall gave a stern, disdainful look. "Your brother is here."
Rabastan's heart skipped a beat and he spun around to look at the now-open doorway.
Sure enough, his brother was standing there, immaculately dressed. He was holding a piece of paper, which he crossed the room to hand to the professor.
Professor McGonagall scanned the paper with suspicious eyes, then looked up, with something akin to pity. "You may go, Mister Lestrange."
Rabastan hurried gracefully to his feet, scooping down to fetch his bag. He quickly stowed his wand in it's holster and placed his notes and ink in his bag. Quickly following his brother out of the classroom, Rabastan didn't miss the look on McGonagall's face.
He could almost hear her thinking 'Death Eater.'
Rodolphus walked quickly with long steps. Not for the first time, Rabastan cursed his brother's height as he struggled to keep up.
"Rodolphus, what is the issue?" he asked, hands slicking down the sides of his robes.
"Something happened to father." was Rodolphus's reply.
Rabastan's steps faltered for a moment, but then he regained himself.
"What?"
"Not here."
Rabastan nodded and the pair made short work of getting off Hogwarts' grounds. His feet, despite the good quality of his dragon-hide boots, slid around and squelched in the mid-fall mud. The air was cold, and few leaves remained to be seen. He shivered as a cold November wind blew through his school robes. Thankful when they reached the edge of Hogwart's wards, he glanced at his brother.
Once Rodolphus had given him a nod, he spun on his heel and headed home.
23 November, 1981
It had been nearly a month since Rodolphus had fetched Rabastan from Hogwarts only to reveal that their father had been captured and rapidly 'trialed' as a Death Eater. Found guilty, along with many other seized suspected Death Eaters, Rodolphus had immediately pulled Rabastan out of school, frightened that the young adult would be arrested as well.
When Rabastan had learned all this, he had been frightened, but confused as well.
"But there's no evidence!"
At this, Rodolphus had given a bitter snort. "They don't need evidence. They arrested Sirius Black as a Death Eater and murderer; Peter Pettigrew was the true culprit."
"But-"
"Listen to me, Rabastan. This is how the world works. If you are caught, it doesn't matter if you are innocent or guilty- not right now."
"I am guilty."
"I know you are. But do you want to be sent to Azkaban?"
Rabastan paled. Neither brother did well around Dementors. "No."
"Then you stay here. No one but you, me, Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Johann can get in without one of us giving the say-so. I won't risk losing you."
Rabastan had then swallowed and nodded. "I don't miss Father."
Rodolphus gave a little, sad smile. "I didn't think you would."
After that, Rodolphus had brought his wife Bellatrix to Lestrange manor and they often plotted revenge on the wizarding world and the aurors that had brought in Lestrange and Black seniors- for Bellatrix's father had been arrested as well. Rabastan had at first been barred from these meetings, but after two weeks of begging, bringing up the fact that Barty Junior was going, and an astonishing act of accidental magic in which Rodolphus had very nearly lost his hair, the elder had caved.
When they took their revenge on Aurors Frank and Alice and found the information they were looking for- for neither Bellatrix nor Rodolphus believed that the Dark Lord was dead- seventeen year old Rabastan would be joining the trio.
The four were currently seated around the dining room table, quietly eating their food. There was a nervous air about, and Rabastan felt slightly ill...and very excited.
Tonight was the night. They were going to act.
"CRUCIO!" shouted Rabastan, his face twisted in a snarl. The man beneath him screamed, twisting and contorting under the eleventh application of the spell- the second of which had been Rabastan.
"Where-is-the-Dark-Lord?" growled Rodolphus, striking the shaking Alice Longbottom. Four Death Eater masks laid discarded next to the woman.
"I don't know!" the woman wailed. "He's dead! He's dead! He's dead!"
"CRUCIO!" screamed Barty, his eyes wild with blood-lust and anger.
Alice screamed, her voice mingling with her husband. Rabastan grinned at the sound, his blood singing. He had missed this, this power he had over people, the kind of power he had never had as a child.
He increased the power of the Cruciatus.
"Rabastan, wait. Any more and they'll break. We need them for questioning." said Rodolphus reluctantly, spitting on the body of the convulsing man. Rabastan reluctantly lifted the spell, but kicked the man as consolation.
Bellatrix laughed loudly, cold and slightly mad. A shiver ran down Rabastan's spine at the sound of his sister-in-law, but joined in with it.
"How pathetic!" Bellatrix crowed, poking the broken man with her boot. The man violently flinched.
"Please...please..." croaked Alice Longbottom, finally released from the spell. "Please..."
"'Please?'' questioned Rodolphus, smirking down on the woman. "What are you asking for, wench?"
"Stop..." moaned the woman. "Please...leave my husband alone."
Each of the Death Eaters, unmasked began to circle around the woman, ignoring the broken man behind them.
"Leave Mister Longbottom alone?" questioned Bellatrix in a high, childish voice. "Mister dear, little Longbottom?"
The once prideful Alice nodded rapidly, desperate to save her husband from a few minutes of torture. "Please..."
"So, who should we torture then?" asked Bellatrix. "How about...?"
"Me." muttered Alice, even as tears leaked from her eyes. "Or just leave- leave us alone."
"Alone?" barked Bellatrix, her dark-lidded eyes flying open in mock shock. "Now, dear Alice, what would be the point of that?"
Bellatrix crouched down and jabbed the wand into the tortured woman's side.
"Please..." begged Alice.
Bellatrix stood and shrugged. "If you say so." A disbelieving, yet hopeful light crept into Alice's pained eyes.
"Crucio!" Bellatrix crowed and a woman's screams filled the air.
"So, Longbottom." grunted Bellatrix, breaking the curse. Alice gasped for breath, tremors shuddering up and down her bound body. "Mercy?"
Rabastan raised his wand on the sobbing body of her husband, a sadistic grin on his face. With a mutual nod at Barty Crouch, he raised his wand and two young voices shouted gleefully,
"CRUCIO!"
15 December, 1981
A shudder ran through Rabastan's spine as he was prodded through the hallways. Iron shackles bound his thin wrists, the once pale skin reddening and chaffing. He was frozen and he struggled to hold back shivers.
"It'll be okay, Rabastan." whispered Rodolphus quietly from beside him. His eyes were dull from the overexposure to Dementors during their prison stay.
Rabastan nodded, more to assure his brother than anything.
From beside them, Bellatrix laughed.
"You think things are going to be okay?" she cackled incredulously. "We are going to Azkaban! Our Lord will return and he will save us, but we will not escape unscathed!" She turned on the shaking Barty and gave a terrifying grin. "In fact, I doubt all of us will survive!"
Barty whimpered and turned paler, his skin now milky white.
"Bellatrix." said Rabastan, sending a glare at his brother's wife.
Bellatrix sent him a disdainful look, though it was tempered with respect, respect he had gained over the years since his first raid and the respect he had earned at the torture of the Longbottoms. Rabastan smirked, but it soon melted off his face as the influence of the Dementors surrounding them increased.
Rabastan's thin shoulder brushed against the large frame of his brother, and he leaned into it, struggling to hold back his own fear and nerves, the way Barty was failing to do.
They finally reached the courtroom doors; Rabastan could hear murmurs coming from within. There they waited, for what seemed like too long, the faint sounds of their worst memories- in Rabastan's case, the time his father had tortured his himself and for once, his brother- playing in their ears.
Then, the doors creaked open, the four of them were marched into the hateful glares of hundreds of witches and wizards.
Rabastan glared back as he was pushed forward but his eyes still flitted around nervously. His throat was tight despite his defiance, and as he was shoved down in a chair by the Dementors- he didn't think he'd ever forget that feeling- he pushed back the tears that had begun to form in his eyes.
The sound of a woman whimpering caught Rabastan's notice, and he followed his brother's blank gaze up to where Crouch, Barty's father, was steadfastly ignoring his whimpering wife. Rabastan watched in curiosity as the man stood, his face tightening in hatred at the sight of his cowering son.
"You have been brought here before the Council of Magical Law," said Barty's father, his hate nearly palatable as he stared imperiously down at them, "so that we may pass judgment on you, for a crime so heinous-"
"Father," said Barty desperately. "Father...please..."
Rabastan shot a gaze at his friend; what was he trying to do?
"-that we have rarely heard the like of it within this court," said Crouch, his voice growing louder, as if he was trying to drown out his son. "We have heard the evidence against you. The four of you stand accused of capturing an Auror- Frank Longbotttom- and subjecting him to the Cruciatus Curse, believing him to have knowledge of the present whereabouts of your exiled master, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-"
"Father, I didn't!" shrieked Barty, and Rabastan's eyes narrowed in anger. "I didn't, I swear it, Father, don't send me back to the dementors-"
"You are further accused," bellowed Mr. Crouch, "of using the Cruciatus Curse on Frank Longbottom's wife, when he would not give you information. You planned to restore He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to power, and to resume the lives of violence you presumably led while he was strong. I now ask the jury-"
"Mother!" screamed Barty, and Rabastan was torn between fury and admiration for the boy's both cowardly and clever attempts of escaping punishment. "Mother, stop him, Mother, I didn't do it, it wasn't me!"
The woman next to Crouch began to sob.
"I now ask the jury," exclaimed Crouch Sr. loudly, "to raise their hands if they believe, as I do, that these crimes deserve a life sentence in Azkaban!"
Rabastan's breath caught in his throat as the hands began to raise, and then clap savagely. He blinked, feeling the numbness seeping into him at the knowledge that this was it.
Barty began to scream. "No! Mother, no! I didn't do it, I didn't do it, I didn't know! Don't send me there, don't let him!"
Rabastan shook slightly as he saw the dementors gliding back into the room, but still stood obediently. Bellatrix did something not altogether unexpected, though he had expected her to speak up earlier.
"The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! Throw us into Azkaban; we will wait! He will rise again and will come for us, he will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We alone were faithful! We alone tried to find him!"
Pride and comfort began to rise in Rabastan's chest and he held his head high, eyes glinting in determination. He sent a grateful look towards the haughty woman, who was still glaring at the crowd with insane loyalty.
Rabastan glanced back as he heard Barty struggle.
"I'm your son!" he screamed to his father. "I'm your son!"
"You are no son of mine!" bellowed Crouch Sr. as Bellatrix was swept out of the courtroom. "I have no son!"
The woman beside him fainted and Barty's face somehow turned whiter.
"Take them away!" Crouch roared at the dementors. "Take them away, and may they rot there!"
"Father! Father, I wasn't involved! No! No! Father, please!"
Rabastan snarled at the boy quietly. "Silence, Barty. Your father is not going to help you."
Barty crumpled to the floor.
Rodolphus suddenly gripped Rabastan's shoulder as they were steered out of the room to the cheers and jeers of the stomping crowd behind him. As they were pushed into the hallway, Rodolphus leaned down in front of his younger brother's face.
His dull eyes had brightened slightly and there was a promise in them.
"We'll make it out alive." Rodolphus promised, giving one last squeeze to his brother's shoulder as they were torn apart.
"I promise."
Even many years later, Rabastan would remember this as his ultimate failure- his inability to comfort his brother as they were taken into a world of their worst memories. When they finally reunited, he would always be haunted by the emptiness that filled his once-bright blue eyes.
So as Rabastan leaned over his brother's dead body amongst flashes of spells during the Battle of Hogwarts, he whispered one thing before using a certain green curse on himself.
"I love you, brother."
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