Exchanging Information
"You don't have to wait for me tonight," Bellatrix announced when every member of the Lestrange family had finished breakfast. "I might be away till next morning."
"Alright. We won't wait for you with dinner," Rodolphus said matter-of-factly.
He didn't bother wondering what might happen between his wife and the Dark Lord tonight. It would be futile. She didn't elaborate in front of the children which was all he could ask of her in terms of consideration. There was nothing he could do if something went on between them. Even if he could persuade Bellatrix to stay faithful to him, unlikely as it was, the Dark Lord would never take "no" for an answer. Better she did it willingly.
"Well, I won't be there anyway," Roderic said happily.
Rodolphus had the fleeting suspicion that he knew the situation would be rather tense this evening.
"Dad, you will look after my plants when I'm at the Longbottoms' won't you?"
"Yes, of course, Roderic," Rodolphus said for what he felt was the tenth time at least. The boy cared about his plants very much, especially about Neville's Mimbulus Mimbletonia. He had to have inherited this from him; the Blacks had never been very interested in plants. Rodolphus would never admit it to the children, but he had used Paternity Charms on both before acknowledging them as Lestranges. It had probably been unnecessary, Rodolphus doubted that the Dark Lord's fertility had survived the amount of dark magic he had subjected himself to but he had wanted to be sure. There still were rumours though, especially about Roderic.
Bellatrix at least loved her children which had been a pleasant surprise for Rodolphus. He had half-assumed that he'd be caring for them alone with the help of Narcissa and the House Elves.
"Well, I hope you'll have a good time. Behave yourself and don't ask any inappropriate questions," Bellatrix told Rodolphus. "And don't comment on people's looks."
Roderic rolled his eyes. "Yes, Mum."
Rodolphus wasn't sure if Roderic even knew the meaning of the word "inappropriate." There was a conversation that had to happen between him and his son before he left. Roderic could be extremely stubborn if he wanted to know something and Rodolphus wasn't sure that the Longbottoms would keep the truth from him in this case. Maybe he'd even be able to guess it if they did. As much as Rodolphus disliked the idea of being forced to tell him, it was better if he learned it from him and not from the Longbottoms or by accident.
"It's time to get ready for your lessons now," Bellatrix told the children. "The Portkey is ready in a few minutes."
Roderic sighed. "Do I have to go to Aunt Narcissa's lessons? I have to pack."
"You'll have enough time in the afternoon," Bellatrix told him.
Roderic rolled his eyes and left the table with his sister. Rodolphus knew that Roderic's aversion towards Narcissa didn't only have to do with the things she was teaching them. His accidental use of pain-causing magic made Narcissa very uncomfortable and she had said unpleasant things to him quite a few times.
Rodolphus wasn't happy about the arrangement but Bellatrix thought it was good if they saw their cousins and she and Rodolphus couldn't teach them everything themselves because they had to work. He hoped that the Longbottom weekend would go well for Roderic and not harm his self-confidence even more.
For the course of the next days, Rodolphus would have to look after Neville's daughter. Bellatrix didn't know that Deborah hadn't shown any magic yet and Rodolphus wanted this to remain that way. She probably wouldn't approve of her daughter playing with a potential Squib. Rodolphus was relatively sure that Deborah wasn't really a Squib though and even if she was, this problem wasn't contagious.
Rodolphus' morning was spent at the Ministry. Rodolphus had to look through the annual Saint Mungo's evaluation. The results weren't different from the years before. Some of the Healers and other staff members had handed in suggestions for improvement while critical remarks were almost completely absent from the questioned patients and their relatives.
It wasn't hard to explain this result. The employees knew that constructive criticism was appreciated while the externals still feared that criticising anything would threaten the person who had made a mistake with the Cruciatus curse or death. Rodolphus hoped that people's trust would grow eventually but so far, nothing had changed on this front.
Still, there were some things that could be improved even though Rodolphus would be forced to tell the Creature Induced Injuries-Department once again that the Ministry couldn't fund the long list of explorative excursions they wanted to undertake. There wasn't much he could do about the constant lack of Healers either. Only few people achieved the necessary qualifications and even fewer wanted to become Healers and were actually suitable for the job. If the Dark Lord was serious about his war plans, there would probably be no way past searching for suitable people at Hogwarts once again and help them fill the gaps in their school knowledge if necessary. So far, Rodolphus had not requested doing this however.
Before his lunch break, he was asked to meet the Head of Department, Medea Selwyn. The widowed woman usually took up every opportunity to chat but not this time. She swiftly informed Rodolphus that the Security Department considered a ward for people injured by gaseous poisons necessary for the future. Her voice was rather cool and he got the distinct impression that she tried her best to keep the time spentwith him to a minimum. She handed him the memo from the Security Department and already excused herself before Rodolphus had a chance to ask what the matter was. He was slightly taken aback. This wasn't like Medea Selwyn at all.
During lunch break, he still pondered what might have caused this. He hadn't fallen into disgrace with the Dark Lord without noticing had he? Well, the Dark Lord would surely inform him during their meeting after lunch if this was the case.
Back during his years as a Death Eater in the First War, Rodolphus had admired the Dark Lord almost as much as Bellatrix did. He hadn't done so before but as soon as he actually met him, the man's aura of power and knowledge swept him off his feet. He had been proud to be considered worthy of joining his inner circle and had been hanging on every word he uttered and eagerly sought to prove his worth to him.
A part of him had secretly envied the Aurors for the challenges they were facing when trying to solve crimes and for the interesting results they could gain on their quest for information about suspicious happenings. He had wished for a chance to show courage and strength and endurance too and most of all, for comradeship. Contrary to their oath, most Healers saw each other as competition rather than "brothers and sisters."
His work as a Healer had always been more important to him; he had never doubted that this was where his real talents lay. When he had lost this job though, the Dark Lord had provided him with the fulfilment of those other dreams.
"United under the Dark Mark", he had believed it. They had not felt hurt inside when the Dark Lord used the Cruciatus curse on them; it had been a welcome test of courage. Who endured longest without screaming? Who got up more quickly again? Who regained the proper use of his magical powers first? They had done what was forbidden, committed crimes to put it more bluntly but it had never felt wrong.
Back then, Rodolphus would have been happy about the knowledge that the Dark Lord spared some of his precious time just for him.
Now he was only expecting bothersome restrictions and hoped for the meeting to be over quickly so he'd arrive for his appointment at Saint Mungo's in time.
For a moment, he wished it would be like that again. He had been as careless as he had never been before in his life, simply ignored both the risks and the morals. Azkaban had robbed him of this. The Dark Lord's behaviour wasn't justified and a test of courage, it was demeaning. The comradeship didn't exist; the Death Eaters were actually far more competitive than the Healers had ever been. There, you might lose your job to intrigue if things went really badly, among the Death Eaters, you could lose your life in such a case.
Rodolphus returned to his office where the Dark Lord would meet him ten minutes later. He carefully applied Occlumency and thought back longingly to the times when he had not been forced to hide his true thoughts and feelings all the time. He no longer had any confidants. His life had become defined by covers made of half-truths and sometimes outright lies for everyone he interacted with and now Alice had to be added to this list as well. Rodolphus wasn't sure how many more he could do this with before he lost track and messed everything up. A mask for each one he had to deal with and one for himself.
The Dark Lord entered the office without knocking. Rodolphus wasn't surprised. He slipped into his Dark Lord-persona easily.
"Good afternoon, my Lord. It is an honour to have you here."
"Good afternoon Rodolphus. You may sit down."
Rodolphus obeyed and the Dark Lord took a seat himself. The gesture almost surprised Rodolphus because he usually tended to stand so he could look down on the person he was talking to.
"I won't have too much time, I'm afraid," the Dark Lord said. "We're faced with trouble far beyond anything a single witch could cause."
"I'm sorry to hear this," Rodolphus said. "May I ask what's happened?"
"You may. Dolohov has been captured and Mulciber is dead."
Rodolphus was startled and worried. He had always liked and respected Antonin Dolohov. The Russian wizarding prison somewhere in Siberia was known to be even worse than Azkaban because it wasn't only guarded by Dementors but also horribly cold. Few people left this place alive and even fewer without permanent damage to their sanity. Unlike his son Dylan, he had never liked Ian Mulciber much but he still regretted his death. He had been one of the most skilled members of the old inner circle. Including Macnair who had been captured in Albania they had lost three of them in the last two month.
"I'm sorry to hear this," Rodolphus said and he meant it.
"It's unnecessary I'm sure to tell you that both Galina Achatowa and Anthony Goldstein are alive and unharmed," the Dark Lord said. "A third of our people in Germany got captured or killed. The Aurors apprehended Vincent Crabbe alive. My decision to only give him simple instructions has proven adequate once more. This way he won't be able to betray anything of importance."
Rodolphus took a deep breath. This was bad news indeed.
"Only a single Death Eater escaped from the battle in Heidelberg," the Dark Lord continued. "He's informed me about the defeat."
Rodolphus didn't envy the man. He might have wished to have been captured by the Germans as well. Nowadays, they were known for rather lenient treatment of their prisoners.
"Do you know who's killed Mulciber, my Lord?"
"A woman from a group of German dark sorcerers who seem to still follow Gellert Grindelwald. They want to avenge him it seems and they have taken my Death Eaters completely by surprise. They didn't expect opponents so eager to kill. It won't happen again but the damage is done. I do not understand this. Grindelwald was a weak old man who had started believing in Dumbledore's nonsense before I killed him. He would probably have been shocked if he knew what these people do in his name." He laughed.
Rodolphus didn't consider the situation funny. He had seen what the Grindelwald supporters had done to Mia Kramer, the seven-year-old daughter of a pair of Aurors who had campaigned for more strict persecution of this group. The Home Shield was an important addition indeed if they wanted to take the fight to the British Isles. Maybe this was the reason for the sudden demand of a ward for poison gas victims as well. Grindelwald had used this kind of weapon back in his time; Rodolphus had read about it in one of the German Dark Arts books his late uncle Rollo had brought home from the war. Looking through these once more might prove useful now.
"I shall discuss the situation in depth with Bella tonight," the Dark Lord said. "She can inform you about further details. Now let us give Alice Longbottom the attention she deserves."
"Yes, Master." Maybe the long meeting between Bellatrix and the Dark Lord was really being held to discuss the political situation and not for the reasons Rodolphus had suspected this morning.
"I have to confess that she has left me slightly puzzled," the Dark Lord said. "I'm not sure what to make of some of the things I saw on that evening. She willingly allowed me to use Legilimency and I noticed something, I'm sure you did as well. There's an undercurrent of utter despair and sadness behind every memory."
Rodolphus was surprised that the Dark Lord had noticed this. He probably should give him more credit for this kind of thing than he had done recently. A reason to be even more careful than he already was.
"Despite of that, she never once cried or begged or tried to keep me away from her memories like so many others did."
Rodolphus remembered the other pleas for clemency he had witnessed. Most applicants had panicked when the Dark Lord began to read their mind and tried to keep him from seeing their private thoughts and memories.
"Well, she has learned that crying and begging is futile," Rodolphus said.
The Dark Lord gave him a slight smile. "So you think that's why? It could be a matter of pride and the wish to display courage as well of course."
"I haven't really met her since she's left the hospital," Rodolphus said truthfully. "She barely ever leaves the house. Therefore I can't tell for sure why she's acting the way she does."
Why was he supposed to know this anyway?
"I see. This is going to change now of course. I want you to watch her closely. At the moment, I don't think she's a real threat in any way but we cannot tolerate disobedience. There's no need to be overly harsh but I expect you to use the influence you have over her if necessary. She's so scared of you, it's utterly fascinating. Especially if I imagine her disrespectful behaviour in the past."
"Yes, Master. I'm going to do my best."
"Certainly. Always true to your family motto," the Dark Lord said. "I don't think there's any need for me to see her again when the year is over. I'm leaving this to you. If you think she's done her part, I believe you and if you think she doesn'T I'm sure you will take the necessary steps. I think I can trust you there."
"Of course you can, Master."
This was good news indeed. He would be free to do things the way he thought was best without much interference from the Dark Lord who had more important matters to attend to.
"Good. There's another request I'd like to make," the Dark Lord said.
Rodolphus waited and wondered what else he could want. He had grown to distrust the Dark Lord and expect the worst.
"If we catch one or more of those Grindelwald supporters again, I want you to be the one who interrogates them."
"If that's what you wish, Master."
This kind of task belonged to Bellatrix and the other employees of her department. Rodolphus didn't really understand why the Dark Lord wanted to hand it over to him. It wasn't his place to question him though. The Dark Lord knew who was responsible for such tasks and if he wanted it done differently, he probably had his reasons.
"It is. You're speaking the same language."
Of course, Rodolphus thought. He had almost forgotten the simply practical consideration that he could speak German rather well. During his childhood, most stand of the art Dark Arts books had been in this language and he had been interested in his late uncle's sojourn with Grindelwald as well.
"I'll inform you when it's time. Hopefully soon," the Dark Lord said. "That's all. You have to excuse me."
As soon as the Dark Lord had gone, Rodolphus left for Saint Mungo's. He needed to do one of the examinations for the new law. A young man was suffering from a debilitating curse and his sister wanted to be his guardian rather than have him forced to apply for citizenship.
Rodolphus noticed the Phoenix feather badge on the young woman's robes right away. Obviously a former enemy still on probation herself. Both siblings were terrified of Rodolphus which didn't make examining the young man any easier.
There was good news for the patient though. The curse that had been placed on him was reversible with extensive remedial charms and potions. The two of them had refused to seek help so far because they didn't trust the Death Eater run hospital. They didn't say so explicitly of course but it wasn't hard to guess.
With lots of patient talk Rodolphus finally persuaded the woman to leave her brother in the care of Healer Hestia Jones.
He wasn't the first patient who got the chance to be cured because of this new law. The number of people who tried to hide their sick relatives was still alarmingly high. People obeyed the new regime and didn't cause trouble but their distrust hadn't decreased much.
When Rodolphus arrived at home, the next difficult conversation was ahead. He needed to tell Roderic about the attack on the Longbottoms.
The boy was sitting on a bench in the garden. Rodolphus asked him where his sister was first. He didn't want his younger child to overhear this.
"Roxy's in the kitchen with Mimmi," Roderic informed him. "They're making raspberry tartlets for the Longbottoms."
Rodolphus had wanted to make the meeting as short as possible but Roxy only meant well and maybe Deborah and Neville at least would appreciate the gesture.
"Good. There's something I need to discuss with you before you leave for the Longbottoms."
Roderic looked at him intently. Rodolphus couldn't fight the feeling that he guessed where this was heading.
"You've noticed that the relationship between Alice Longbottom and us isn't very good."
"Of course I have. That's why I keep asking why. Are you going to tell me, finally?"
"Yes, I am. I think you should hear it from me and I don't want you to ask them all the time."
"Alright," Roderic said in an almost challenging way.
"You know that there was a war between the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters and the old Ministry with its Aurors and you also know that the Longbottoms used to be on the other side, don't you?"
"Yes, you've told me about that."
"Well, you might not know that the Dark Lord has once been severely injured during this war. He attacked someone but the curse rebounded and he was so weakened he decided to flee."
There was an odd glint in Roderic's eyes. "The Dark Lord was so weak he had to run away? Isn't he, well, invincible?"
"The Dark Lord is the most powerful wizard alive," Rodolphus said. "That doesn't mean he is invulnerable though. He has taken measures against such occurrences by now I'm sure. Do not talk to anyone about the Dark Lord's weaknesses and the idea that he might be defeated, not even with your mother. Do you understand that?"
"Yes, Dad."
"Good. Back then, the Dark Lord had fled and it looked as if our side had lost. Most Death Eaters believed that and tried to live under the old Ministry. We, especially your mother didn't want to do that though. We had sworn loyalty to the Dark Lord and we thought it was our duty to find him and help him."
"I don't know," Roderic said. "The way he's treating Mum. I don't think he deserved your help."
"Roderic, don't talk about the Dark Lord like that. My goodness, don't you understand that this is dangerous?"
Rodolphus was overcome with worry as he looked at his boy. He didn't want to lose him because he didn't know when to keep his mouth shut. Roderic was intelligent but still too unaware of the dangers the Dark Lord posed. If only he could have avoided Roderic learning what the Dark Lord had been doing to Bellatrix.
"I won't talk about him anymore, okay?"
"Yes, I think this is the best option."
"Alright. What happened with the Longbottoms now?"
"Well, the Aurors have tried to find the Dark Lord so they could kill or capture him. A group of them did find him but they weren't powerful enough to do this of course. Among them was Frank Longbottom, Neville's father. We thought it would be easiest to get the information from him."
"But he didn't want to tell you?" Roderic guessed correctly.
"No, he did not. We wanted to make him talk and used the Cruciatus curse on him and on his wife Alice as well. We thought he might have told her about it. They still refused to tell us anything though and we used the curse on them over a rather long period of time. They became very ill and spent many years at Saint Mungo's because they didn't get proper treatment. When Neville gave them the right potions and counter spells, they recovered. Alice stayed with Neville but her husband was scared when he learned that our side had won the war and ran away."
While Rodolphus told Roderic this, he realised how very unlike Frank Longbottom such a reaction was. There was no doubt though. This was what he had done and Neville knew nothing about his whereabouts. If he knew, he wouldn't have been able to keep it secret from Rodolphus all those years. He must have changed profoundly and Rodolphus wondered if Alice had done so too and in which ways. It probably wouldn't be possible to predict her reactions by using the knowledge he had from before.
He waited for a response from Roderic but the boy said nothing. Rodolphus wondered if he should try to say something else to justify why they had acted like this but he couldn't think of anything he could tell him.
After a while, Roderic said quietly. "I almost thought something like that. She told me about the Cruciatus curse and it wasn't that hard to guess. I still hoped..."
He stopped mid-sentence but Rodolphus still knew that he had hoped he was wrong.
"It was much worse than what the Dark Lord did to Mum, right? She wasn't that ill."
There was no denying that. "Yes, she was an enemy back then, not one of our own."
Roderic didn't meet his eye. "How could you do something like that?" he suddenly asked much more loudly. "She's really nice and everything."
"Things were different back then. There was a war going on. We weren't nice to each other. Neither side was," Rodolphus told him.
"Maybe, but there was no need to torture her so badly it makes her ill. You can make people healthy, you shouldn't make them ill."
That was almost exactly what Alice had thought in the memories the Dark Lord had made them witness at the meeting and Rodolphus assumed that they weren't the only people thinking that by far.
He didn't know what he was supposed to say next. If he told Roderic that he was right, Rodolphus might compromise his own position, especially if Bellatrix heard of it.
"I think I should check if I've packed everything now," Roderic said.
Rodolphus didn't like to let him go off like that but he didn't have anything meaningful to add anyway and so he didn't stop him.
He probably should have told him earlier, not right before he left for the Longbottoms but the right moment had never arrived. It was so difficult to tell how much the information had affected him. Like Rodolphus himself, Roderic often had the tendency to hide the true extent of his feelings. Rodolphus had to admit that he didn't like that much if someone else did it.