AU! Set after the battle at the Ministry.

WRITTEN FOR QLFC, RESERVE LEAGUE

SEASON 7, ROUND 11

BEATER 2: A character defects from the dark side to join the light.

WC: 1288

Rabastan wailed at the top of his lungs, terrified by the hopelessness brought about by the dark and empty room. The jar around his head had shrunk it to the size of a baby's, and he couldn't breathe (his panicked movements were not helping), yet his body had stayed large and uneven. He flailed his arms and knocked some strange bell jars onto the ground. The shattered glass pierced his hands, and he bawled even louder.

Where was he?

What was he doing there?

What was going on with his strange body?

Why was the room so dark?

The sound of footsteps reached his ears, and Rabastan tried to turn his head to look, but the stupid jar around his head made it impossible. He wailed.

"Shh, it's okay," a soothing voice said. It was soft (feminine even), but Rabastan was still terrified. He didn't recognise the person. What did they want?

The voice murmured, "Don't panic. I'm just trying to help you."

The voice was so nice that Rabastan couldn't help but want to listen to it. It was gentle and musical, and he knew, if the voice was helpful, he would listen to it for the rest of his life. The tears didn't stop streaming down his face, but he calmed down a little.

"There, there, it's okay," the voice said, and then, there was a gentle hand on his shoulder. Rabastan's body sagged in relief at the sensation. The voice said, "I won't hurt you. I just want to help."

Rabastan believed the voice. He didn't doubt it for even a second. He sniffled, closed his eyes, and bowed his head in the voice's direction. The hand trailed up the side of his neck, and the voice said, "Don't worry, you'll be all right in a few minutes. Hold still."

A tingling sensation formed around his neck before travelling up to his head. The voice murmured something Rabastan didn't understand, but he trusted her, even as the tingling sensation continued to warm him from the inside out.

"Close your eyes. I'm going to tug on the jar, and I don't want it to slip and hurt your eyes," the voice said, and Rabastan immediately closed his eyes.

The hand tugged on the tight jar, and Rabastan whimpered. The voice shushed him immediately. "It's okay. You'll be okay in a few minutes. Trust me."

With a few more tugs and whispered words that Rabastan didn't understand, the jar came off with a soft plop. His hands immediately went to his face. Rabastan's head began to swell—literally—before his eyes slowly focused and landed on the figure beside him.

It was the witch he had accidentally saved from Dolohov's curse. Granger. He vaguely remembered knocking her out of the way before he slammed into the shelves, got his head stuck in one of the bell jars, and turned into a man-baby.

Thick lashes framed her chocolate-brown eyes, and his heart began hammering against his ribs. Her gaze bore into his (almost daring him to hurt her) as she finished healing spells on his neck, and he stiffened. Was she going to hand him over to the Aurors now?

Instead of summoning the Aurors, she lowered her wand and leaned back on her heels. She murmured, "Truce?"

Rabastan stared at her with disbelief. "Why did you—"

"I still believe in humanity, Mr Lestrange. I'm not sure about you, but I wasn't able to leave without helping you," she admitted as she got to her feet. She dusted herself off and turned her back on him.

"You know we're enemies, right? I could kill you right now," Rabastan called out, bewildered by her actions.

Why did she save him? Didn't she know he was a Death Eater? Had the witch lost her mind? Did she hit her head when he had knocked her away? Or was she already this daft?

"We're also humans—and humans shouldn't need to constantly fight," she said, glancing over her shoulder at him. She disappeared into the darkness, leaving a stunned Rabastan behind.

He was still sitting there when Rodolphus arrived and grabbed his arm. He hissed, "We need to leave before the Aurors get here."

Rabastan didn't reply. He was too busy staring in the direction the witch had left.

"Rab, we have to leave. Come on," Rodolphus whispered, glancing around him and dragging Rabastan behind him.

Rabastan quietly followed, his mind dizzy with thought and emotions.

What was he doing? He was sure he hadn't signed up for torturing or killing children. He had only joined the Death Eaters because Bellatrix had demanded he and Rodolphus join. Rabastan had had his whole life ahead of him, but with one mad-man's tattoo branded on his skin, he had lost everything.

When Rodolphus dragged him out of the Ministry and into an alley, Rabastan came to a sudden realisation. He yanked his arm out of Rodolphus's grasp and blurted out, "I can't go with you."

Rodolphus rolled his eyes and said, "Rab, I heard the witch. But you—"

"I can't go with you," Rabastan reiterated. He took a step back and shook his head. "I can't do it anymore. It isn't right."

"What do you want to do?" Rodolphus asked, his tone calm.

"I'm going to the Order. Come with me. I know you still hate Bellatrix after she implicated us both in a crime we didn't take part in," Rabastan said, offering his brother his hand. They had wasted more than a decade of their lives in Azkaban because of Bellatrix; Rabastan had barely held onto his sanity, and he knew Rodolphus only wished harm upon his wife.

"Do you honestly think the Order will let us waltz into their group without killing or torturing us?"

Rabastan noticed how Rodolphus had said 'us' instead of 'you', so he said, "I don't know, but I know one thing. I'm not going back to the Dark Lord. Not after...not after that."

"Rabastan…" Rodolphus pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Did you see her, Rod? Did you?" Rabastan demanded. "Did you see how she came back to help me? Me, a Death Eater! She didn't even know if I was going to hurt her. She's a Muggle-born. What we call a Mudblood. What did Lucius and the other purebloods do? They ran. They left us behind to get caught."

Rodolphus murmured, "I know, but—"

"I don't know what the Order will do to me when I show up, but I have to try," Rabastan said, straightening his shoulder. He placed his hand on his wand, which was still hidden in his pocket, and asked, "Do I need to duel you to leave?"

"Don't be dramatic," Rodolphus said, rolling his eyes. "Like you said...I loathe Bella with every inch of my being. Anything I could do to get rid of her would be great."

"So, you're in? You're coming with me?" Rabastan couldn't believe his luck.

"Yes, but I swear if any of those do-gooders try to stop me from using Dark Spells, I'll hex them," Rodolphus muttered.

Rabastan smiled. "First, let's hope they let us in."

"Any ideas on how we're going to get to them? Or how to earn their trust?"

"I have no idea. Let's just start by getting to Hogwarts. Maybe if I got a chance to talk to that witch, we might have a chance at joining the Order," Rabastan said, rubbing his chin.

"You mean Potter's sidekick? You think she'll talk to you again?" Rodolphus asked, and Rabastan shrugged. "Merlin, we are not going to survive this."

"It will be worth it. I just know it," Rabastan said, his mind now fully occupied by thoughts of chocolate-brown eyes and gentle hands.