Word Count: 401

Kingsley has never been a fan of this place. Really, he doubts anyone else in the Auror office is. Azkaban doesn't discriminate between the guilty and the innocent. Its menacing chill still finds it way beneath the skin, freezing the marrow in Kingsley's bones.

Ordinarily, he wouldn't be here unless his job required him. Today, however, despite the story given, this is personal.

"You just had to prove me wrong, didn't you?" he mutters, leaning against the cell door.

Rabastan looks up, dirty hair hanging in his eyes. When he sees Kingsley, he grins. "No. I proved myself right. You shouldn't have loved me."

Kingsley flinches. Maybe that's fair. He had known the Lestranges' reputation, and he had fallen anyway. His judgement isn't exactly the best. Still, he had hoped against hope that Rabastan would be different.

"I told you I was no good," Rabastan whispers. "Why would I lie?"

"Can you really blame me for wanting you?"

He hates admitting that. Even now, after Rabastan's abhorrent behavior, after what he's done, after all the pain he's caused, there's still a part of Kingsley that loves him, that still believes that he can be saved. It's foolish, but he doesn't want to let go of that dream.

Rabastan laughs at that, climbing to his feet and making his way closer. He rests a hand against the bars, a hint of a sad smile on his dry, chapped lips. "Look at me, Kingsley," he says. "This is what fun looks like. Wasting away in Azkaban, listening to my brother screaming and knowing I can't help him. Getting excited when they say you're coming to visit. But you know what?"

Kingsley shakes his head. He's heard this tone so many times before. Whenever Rabastan would try to push him away, his voice would be firm, his tone hard. Maybe it was supposed to scare Kingsley away, but it never has.

"It was always going to happen," Rabastan continues, despite Kingsley's denial. "This is who I am. I'm sorry I can't be saved."

"You can."

He wants so desperately to believe. Despite everything, he wants to be able to fix Rabastan.

"I do love you," Rabastan saya. "Always have, always will. But it's time for you to let me go."

But Kingsley won't. In the end, if it's the last thing he does, he will find a way to save the man he loves.