Chapter 5
Days bled into months, before she knew it she was in the process of packing her trunk up. It was almost time for Yule break and for the four friends the time in Hogwarts was pretty peaceful. The only disturbance was after the Halloween feast when a troll got in and the professors just got there in time to save Granger who had broken an ankle when tripping over the debris running from it.
Nelda could feel the startings of anxiety. The closer she got to being a half a year older the closer she got to the soulmate bond getting stronger. After half a year of finding out your soulmate's name you can start to feel what they feel. She was scared about sharing feelings with him. The fact that Rodolphus already knew she was his soulmate terrified her, let alone that soon he would feel her weaknesses. What if he used it against her? She wasn't ready, but when did fate ever care about that. She sometimes has nightmares about him breaking out and finding her. Or worse yet, what if his wife finds out; that would be a one way ticket to join her parents in the Janus Thickey ward. She hasn't even told Theo or Dee yet. And honestly she was scared too. What if they were disgusted?
What she didn't know was that the emotion sharing was already in play. In the middle of the North Sea ice blue eyes snapped open at the foreign feeling of anxiety. It was muted almost as if it was not his own. A frown spread over a weary pale face. It took a moment for his mind to clear up. 'This must be Nelda's emotions' he thought to himself curiously with a slight smirk. He could feel her now and he won't let go. Though he did feel slightly bad about the fact that she would feel his fear every time the dementors came around.
"Rabastan." He called out softly to his brother, his voice hoarse with disuse. Once again his brother ignored him. 'God why must he be so difficult' he thought, sighing to himself. "Rabastan for merlin's sake answer me you ass." He said this time louder.
"What Rodolphus. Can't you see I'm having a conversation with myself. It's rude to interrupt, you know." Rabastan said dryly. He was sitting against the wall with his head tilted back and his jade eyes closed.
"Rabastan I can feel her now." Rodolphus said.
"Feel who Roddy? Are you going insane? That's dear Bella's job." He replied back.
"No you idiot! I meant Nelda. I can feel her through the soulmate magic." He snapped before the name Bella registered. "Oh Merlin, Bella! I completely forgot about that harpy. How am I supposed to protect my soulmate from my wife? Bella would see her as a threat. She would kill her!" He spoke in a rushed tone, worry clear in his voice and on his face.
"Rodolphus calm down! It'll be fine, we're in prison after all. Besides, if we do get out I'm sure that the two of us can protect her." He replied soothingly.
"She would be in constant danger if Bellatrix is alive. She won't give up! You know how she is!" He snapped.
"Then we simply kill her. I don't have a problem with that vindictive bitch being dead. Do you?" He said seriously, opening his eyes to stare at his brother impassively.
"I would do anything to protect Nelda. Anything but stay away. Now that I know who she is to me I'll do everything in my power to have her." He said with a dark possessive glint in his eye. He was telling the truth, he would do anything no matter what the cost. Now that he knew who his soulmate was there was nothing he wouldn't do to make his way to her side. "Maybe I can get someone to get a message out to her." He contemplated.
Then they heard heavy booted footsteps walking down the hallway. Two aurors stopped outside of Rodolphus's cell door one had a patronus cast that took the form of a lynx.
"Rodolphus Lestrange, it's your unlucky day. My name is Rufus Scrimgeour and this is my partner Kingsley Shacklebolt. We were tasked to bring you to the visiting room." He said drolly.
"Who would possibly want to visit me?" He scoffed out.
"That's the unlucky part. The person here for you is dowager Augusta Longbottom." Shacklebolt informed when Rufus said nothing.
The two brothers froze. This was completely unexpected. 'Well this is awkward.' Rodolphus thought to himself. He dragged himself into a standing position with a grunt. He could feel his knees cracking and for a moment, felt like an old man.
"Let's get on with it then, auror man. From what I remember, Augusta Longbottom was not a woman you kept waiting." He said in a jovial tone, walking to the middle of his cell so they could open the door. Once they opened the door and entered he held out his wrists so they could put the magic dampening handcuffs that licked to a chain that went around his waist to prohibit free mobility.
"Lead the way gentlemen. I'll be back Rabastan, try not to hurt yourself by thinking too hard." He said before being led out into the hallway.
The two aurors led him through two hallways and down the elevator to the first floor. From there they walked into a large white room with only a table and two chairs. They sat him down into the chair facing the door and attached more chains onto his waist chain to prevent him from being able to stand.
"Is this really necessary? Can't you loosen up a bit on the chains, they pinch." He said exasperatedly. When they didn't answer he went on. "I'm not planning on attacking an old woman! What kind of person do you take me for! I'm not an animal for Merlin's sake." He said with a bit of humor knowing fully that they thought he was unhinged and deranged due to the attack of the Longbottoms. He could feel his lips twitching while trying to stop himself from laughing at the face they made at him. It was so easy to mess with people when one was a notorious criminal.
After they chained him down securely they left. It took about five minutes until another person entered the room. Augusta Longbottom was a stern looking woman with her grey hair pinned up under her hat, which had a stuffed vulture on top of it. She stood at a tall 5'10, with a willowy figure. She was dressed in deep blue, almost black, robes with the Longbottom consort ring on her right hand. She paused just after the doorway and took in his appearance whilst the door clicked shut.
"Well, you've seen better days young man." She said with a bit of satisfaction in her eyes. She continued her way over to the table and waited for a response.
"I would stand to greet you properly madam, but it seems I'm a bit chained down at the moment. Would you like to have a seat?" He spoke in a cultured tone while staring into her cold dark hazel eyes. While he took her in, he crossed his ankle over his knee and leaned back further into his chair, there was no reason to reveal his shock at her visit. He didn't think he would ever see another Longbottom in his life, no matter if one was his soulmate. Getting out of Azkaban was a pipe dream after all.
"Do you know why I'm here Mr Lestrange? It's not common for a grieving mother to visit her child's tormentor in prison. I wonder, how's your wife Bellatrix?" She asked nonchalantly.
He could feel his eye twitch. Why was this old woman bringing up that hag?
"I wouldn't know how she is, madam. Nor do I care to know. Why do you ask?" He asked, trying to discern her reason for the visit.
"Just wondering how she took the news about who your soulmate is. Do I need to say what would happen to you if something happens to my Nelda? After all you took two of my family, I wouldn't be surprised if you took a third away too." She said casually. Her body language betrayed her though, she looked as if she was ready to tear him apart piece by piece.
"I would never harm my soulmate! Nor would I allow anyone else to either." He ground out, a dangerous look in his eyes and his body tense.
"You already harmed your soulmate! She had lasting effects from the crucio you and your monstrous family put her under! She would wake up with the twitching caused by the curse crying out in pain for five years! She was a one year old, you monster!" She bellowed out.
"We thought she was a squib till she was six when I took her to St Mungo's and found out her core was almost completely exhausted because her magic was trying to heal the damage you caused. She still has nightmares about it! She sees your face in her nightmares; she remembers it due to how traumatic it was!" She continued on not even noticing how pale he went or the trembling in his hands. "Do you know how terrified she was when your name showed up on her arm? She is terrified that you'll break out and finish what you started! Then there is the fact that she has to live with her parents being unable to recognize her let alone even remember that they had a daughter in the first place!"
"I would never harm her again! I would never let any harm come to her! She's my soulmate, woman! I would rather die than hurt her again!" He shouted back.
"Are you telling me you would protect her?" She asked unbelievingly.
"Yes!" He answered immediately.
"You would protect her from your wife?" She asked again.
"Yes! I would kill Bella before she even took one step in Nelda's direction!" Was his immediate answer.
"What about Rabastan?" She asked to be sure.
"If I need to, yes. Though I doubt that it would be necessary. He is after all planning on helping me kill Bella to keep Nelda safe. He is after all quite possessive and he sees Nelda as his new sister. He hated Bella, couldn't stand how crazy the bint was." He answered once again.
"Are you telling me that Rabastan already accepted her as family?" She raised an eyebrow at the thought.
"Yea. As soon as her name showed up on my arm she became family. That's just how he is. He is already just as protective of her as he is me." He supplied.
"You know that this is a horrible situation, right? You don't expect her to be comfortable around you at first, correct? You won't force her into something she doesn't want. I won't let you." She informed him.
"I would never force her into something she isn't ready for. And I know she will be terrified of me at first. Especially if she remembers that night. But I won't give up on her. You understand that right? She is my soulmate. My better half and my reason to live now. She became my life as soon as her name appeared and the sole reason for my sanity now. If something were to happen to her I would destroy the one responsible. Whatever crime to my name now would pale in comparison." He said darkly.
"You will never be good enough for her, you know." She stated matter of factly.
"I'm not a good man, I'm sure you know this. Sometimes though it's better to have a bad man on your side than a good man. I would protect her no matter the consequences. I don't have the morals to refrain from killing whoever hurt her. She is mine to protect now and even if I never get out, everything of mine is now hers by Lestrange tradition. But if I do get out, and seeing as the mark on my left arm never disappeared I will, I won't let anyone touch her, no matter who it is." He stated firmly.
"Even your dark lord?" She asked boldly.
"Even the dark lord himself. I might have followed him in the past but my loyalty is forever Nelda's now. Though be warned, he is not dead. If he was then the mark would disappear. Listen to me, when you leave here, update your wards. Put darker wards or extremely obscure ones up instead. The ones we broke through would be too easy for him. I know you don't trust me but you can trust that I need Nelda to be safe. He would come for you and her just because you aren't on his side. If need be, go to Lestrange castle with Nelda. The soul mark will allow her entry. In the top drawer of the desk in my office is a book of wards that only the Lestrange family knows how to set up or take down. We never taught the dark lord or Bellatrix no matter how many times they asked since it was family magic. My house elf castor can show you where the office is and for Merlin's sake if you do a fidelius then make yourself a secret keeper. Lord knows why the Potters chose Peter Pettegrew as theirs. He told the dark lord the first chance he got." He said urgently, looking deeply into her eyes with pleading ice blue orbs.
"Wait a second, I thought Sirius black was the traitor?" Her voice painted with shock.
"No. Black tried to kill us every time he saw us in uniform. He was one of our most dangerous opponents. He hated the dark side surprisingly a lot for someone who used dark spells against us. He hit poor Allysius Parkinson with an entrail expelling curse. Of course poor Allysius might have been the one to rape and kill Dorcus Meadows but that's not really my problem. And he hit Selwyn with the fulmina curse, after that he was scared of lightning for over a year. Though he never gave any information at all even when held under crucio. Gotta respect his pain tolerance, right before the Potters went into hiding we had captured him for about five days. He didn't crack even a little bit under Bellatrix's loving touch." He spoke with a look of reluctant respect on his face.
"Then why is he in prison for killing twelve muggles and Peter Pettegrew with an exploding curse?" She asked with interest.
"The blasting curse was one of Pettegrew's favorite since it didn't take a lot of power. Black tended to use more powerful curses like the bone breaking curse or the flesh burning curse; that took aim and precision. My guess is that Pettegrew framed him to get himself out of trouble. You should see him on your way out if you can. I can bet you anything he'll tell you what happened. He was always an extremely bad liar." He informed her with a look of amusement in his eyes.
Then a knock on the door interrupted their time. "You got five minutes left ma'am it's been fifty five minutes." A deep voice said from behind the door.
Augusta sighed. She came in here for answers only to leave with more questions. At least she knew that Nelda was safe from harm from this man. Due to the honesty in his answer she decided to give him something of a peace offering. She would never like this man. Matter of fact she would always hate him with every fiber of her being but she cared for Nelda more than she desired for revenge. "Here. Take this and don't show the guards, do you understand me." She said sternly, giving him a piece of paper.
He looked down at what she gave him and inhaled deeply, shocked. In his hands was a picture of a young girl who looked to be ten or eleven in a greenhouse working with the plants with a soft angelic smile on her face and her soft round cheeks flushed with happiness. Her hazel green eyes shining with the adoration she felt for the plants she was working with. She had golden hair that was pulled back in a Dutch braid and had dragonhide gloves in her hands to protect them from the thorns of various plants. She was wearing a white button up blouse with a soft yellow high waisted skirt that started right under her chest and ended at her knees in a flowing manner. The skirt had white lace on the bottom and was obviously hand tailored. She also had on femanine light brown dragon high boots that came to the middle of her shins.
"Is this-" he trailed off, completely shocked at the treasure he was holding in his hands.
"That is my granddaughter Nelda. She had just turned eleven a week prior to that picture. It was the latest picture I have of her, I brought it with me if you passed my test. Obviously you did or you wouldn't be holding it. Just to be clear, I hate you. I will always hate you but my love for Nelda is way deeper than my want for revenge. Just know though that if you hurt her I will kill you in the most excruciating manner I possibly can." She replied back casually. She watched as he slipped it into his uniform, right over his heart. She had taken notice of the soft awed look in his eyes and knew she had made the right choice, no matter how much she loathed it.
"I would expect nothing else madam. For the kindness that you have shown me I will tell you this. There is a way to reverse some of the mental damage due to over exposure to the cruciatus spell. It won't be a fix all you understand but it should draw them out of their minds. The spell Amino inveniet domum along with the spell Amino claror should help bring them back if done everyday for a month. Of course I doubt they would be capable of ever being fully healed due to Bellatrix's enthusiasm but they would probably be able to come home. I created them after the war started and told no one in case I ever needed it to clean up after my wife." He said with a serious look on his face. He thought he would need them to fix up Rabastan after Bella descended into madness. She couldn't turn her wand on himself due to a drunken vow he conned out of her after their wedding night, of course he himself could harm her with no problem.
"You swear it. It might help them? Why would you tell me this? I don't understand your motive." She questioned. Her face had a look of complete shock and hope. If this was true she might have her son back. Nelda might have her parents back. There might finally be hope.
"As I said, I created them at the beginning of the war. I tested them on a couple of Bella's other victims and my own to see if they would work and it did. But none were ever held under the crucio as long as your boy and his wife. Also no one had to wait this long for the treatment either so in this part it is a bit experimental. But I'm certain it will help. One spell is to help the mind find its way home and the other is to brighten the mind. If nothing else they will be able to recognize you and Nelda. Consider this the first gift from house Lestrange to house Longbottom with the intention of a possible courtship in the future." He said with an amused look in his eye.
"Then house Longbottom acknowledges the intentions of house Lestrange and will henceforth put it into consideration. House Longbottom will let house Lestrange know it's answer by this time next year as house rules dictate." Augusta answered before standing up and walking over to the door and knocking to let them know she was ready. "Boys, I want to talk to Sirius Black before I leave. Lead me to his cell now." she said while staring them down with a gimlet eye.
"But ma'am-" Rufus tried to speak only to be cut off. Somehow Rodolphus had gotten out of the chair and stood behind the older woman.
"I believe she said now." He purred out almost leaning over the woman's shoulder and looking Rufus right in the eyes.
Augusta didn't even flinch at having her child's torturer standing so close behind her. She had heard him walk over, though she was amused at how pale Rufus was getting. When Kingsley and Rufus didn't move she lifted an eyebrow. "Boys, let's get a move on it. We might as well escort him to his cell on the way since he is up now. Where is Black's cell?" She inquired.
"At the top floor ma'am. Understand though that if we do this you mustn't tell anyone. It is against protocol and we could lose our jobs. Do we have an agreement?" Kingsley asked.
"I agree now let's move on. I don't have all day. Come along now, Lord Lestrange be a dear and escort an old lady though this maze of hallways." She said with a slightly put out tone.
"Of course,madam. If I remember correctly it's this way to the elevator." He said, holding his arm out for her to hold on to. They took off leaving the two stunned aurors behind. When they noticed how far the inmate and older women got they had to jog to catch up. Once they reached the elevator they all climbed in. It took about one minute to reach the seventh floor and exit. He had to pause as soon as they got off to question the auror on where the cell was from there. Turns out it was on the complet other side of the prison. As they got closer they could hear a female's manic cackle along with the sound of a deep feral growl.
"Will you shut up you crazy manky slag. Your voice is driving me bonkers!" A feral voice growled out.
"Awe is itty bitty Siri having a bad day. Want your favourite cousin to come over and make it better. It'll only hurt a little bit." A deranged female voice called over from the next row.
"Keep yourself silent, you no good whore. You're a disgrace to our family!" Sirius replied back in a dark tone. Then he noticed the group making its way down the hall. "Well isn't this a surprise? Rodolphus, old buddy, old pal. Did you come for a rematch? I'm sorry to say it won't be as fun since we don't have wands but I do need to repay you for that fire curse you almost hit me with. You singed my luscious locks." He spoke with an almost crazed glint in his eye as he made eye contact. He then noticed who he was escorting and stood up straight before bowing slightly to her then walking over to the bars. "Madam Longbottom, well aren't you a sight for sore eyes. Still as beautiful as ever, how's Frank and Alice? I haven't heard anything about them since I've been in here, the last thing I heard was that they were in hiding." He spoke in a calmer voice, the crazed glint lessening into a desperate one.
"Unfortunately Frank and Alice were the victims of Rodolphus, Bellatrix, and Rabastan Lestrange along with Bartimus crouch Jr. They no longer know who we are let alone who they themselves are." She spoke softly looking into his eyes.
Sirius let out a terrifyingly animalistic growl then banged his fist on the bars. "What did you do to them, Rodolphus! They were good people!" He ground out.
"We tortured them Black. With the crucio, it's why we're here in prison and not on the outside." He said matter of factly.
"Calm down Sirius. Rodolphus has given me two spells he created that might bring them back." She told him with a slight smile.
"Really? Why would you do that? What do you gain?" He asked dumbfounded.
"Nelda Longbottom is my soulmate." He replied softly as if that answered everything. And it did, he could see an understanding glint in Sirius's eye then a concerned one.
"What about Bella? She won't fake that well at all." He asked just as softly.
"Rabastan and I will deal with her in our typical way." He replied evenly.
"Understood. If you need help I'm glad to offer it. I am one of the last Black alive." Sirius said with a smirk. "Now why did you guys stop to visit little old me?"
"I want to know what happened to get you here. From what Rodolphus said it was Pettegrew who was the secret keeper and not you? If that is true then why are you in prison and he is dead?" Augusta inquired.
"It is my fault in a way. I thought I was being smart, the greatest prank we would have ever pulled off. I suggested Peter because Remus kept disappearing. I was going to be the decoy. Everyone knew I was brothers in all but blood with James. It was perfect, then it wasn't. I was heading to Peter's house to check on him when something went wrong. I could recall the address to James and Lily's cottage so I went into Peter's home and noticed that nothing was overturned. I then drove to Godric's Hollow to check up on James but I came to a destroyed house instead. I saw James first, he had stood in Voldemort's way without even a wand in his hand to try and buy Lily time." His voice cracked at that, his eyes were far away and filled with anguish."Obviously it didn't work because when I followed the sound of an infant crying. I found Lily dead in front of the crib and Azalea was bleeding from her forehead. I knew what happened then, Peter had betrayed us. I had packed a diaper bag for Azalea and was on the way out when Hagrid showed up and said that Dumbledore sent him to take Azalea to safety. I don't even know how Dumbledore knew but he sent Hagrid anyway. I gave him Azalea, I wasn't thinking clearly. All I was thinking at that time was I needed to get revenge for James so I tracked Peter down to a street in Muggle London. When he saw me he started screaming about how I betrayed James and Lily, then he cut off his little finger and shot a blasting curse at what must've been an oil line, the whole street exploded. Then he transformed into a rat and got away and the aurors showed up and arrested me on the spot. I never even got a trial." He said with a far off look in his eye.
"What do you mean by transformed into a rat?" Augusta asked.
"I mean that Peter, James, and myself all became animagi in our fifth year. James was a stag that's why we called him Prongs, Peter or Wormtail was a rat." He snarled out the last part.
"I noticed that you have neglected to tell us your form, Sirius." Rodolphus drawled out reminding Sirius that he was there. He kind of felt bad for the man. Yea they were enemies on other sides of the war, but no one deserved that level of betrayal.
"I'll give you three guesses if you guys are right I'll tell you anything you wanna know." Sirius replied with a smirk
"Then I'm gonna go right out and say it from your reputation with the ladies I'm going to see you're a dog." Rodolphus laughed out. Then he noticed that Sirius was looking at him strangely. No way he was just joking he couldn't have gotten it right.
"Well, way to ruin the fun, how do you get in on the first try?" Sirius asked confusingly.
"Honestly I was just joking. I didn't think I was going to get a right on the first try either!" He replied back, his eyes glinting with humor.
"Well I promised you anything you wanna know." He said grudgingly.
"Honestly I kind of want to know why you hated the Black family so much?" He asked then tilted his head.
"It's not the whole Black family I hated. I just don't like my mother or father, grandpa Arcturus was pretty fun along with aunt Melania, Uncle Cygnus sucked but Narcissa and Andromeda were cool, Bellatrix was and always will be a slag. My favorite was uncle Alphard though he never listened to mother. And of course before he died I loved Regulus, he was my baby brother. I hated having to fight him but mother got to him. I think he was scared she would curse him like she did me so he followed her every word." He answered truthfully
"Huh. You know Regulus was a good kid. He was friends with Rabastan so I looked out for him and tried my best to keep him away from Bella. We still don't know what happened to him, Rabastan was devastated. Do you know if anyone on your side killed him?" He asked.
"No. No one would dare. Everyone knew he was my little brother and every one knew how dangerous I was. They wouldn't have wanted to upset me after all they considered me a loose cannon. To be honest I thought it was someone on your side who offed him, that's why I switched to deadly curses for all death eaters. I figured if I killed off enough of you eventually one of you would've been my brother's killer." He said curiously.
"Nope. We all wondered where he went but no one ever came forward with any information, I wonder what happened." He trailed off.
All three of the adults talking were startled by the sound of someone clearing their throat. They all turned a glance in the direction that the sound came from to see that the two aurors that had escorted Augusta and Rodolphus over had slightly annoyed looks on their face
"It's time to finish up. I hope you got what you came for Dowager Longbottom but we must be leaving soon. We need to escort Lestrange back to his cell." Rufus said briskly.
"Fine fine, youngsters these days rushing an old woman along like she's an inconvenience. Back in my day young men knew how to treat the elderly." She groused, causing both Sirius and Rodolphus to crack a smile. "Oh and Sirius, as her godfather you should know that house Longbottom has offered sanctuary to Azalea and she has formally accepted. She was living with her aunt and uncle." She informed and watched as a dangerous, slightly unhinged look reenter his eye. Obviously he didn't completely escape the Black madness.
"She was to never go there! Dumbledore knew that! Both he and I were at the signing of their last will and testament. She was supposed to either go to me, Alice, Remus, or Andromeda." He growled out.
"Yes well she grew up knowing nothing of the wizarding world. Luckily she and Nelda are friends along with Theodore Nott, who has practically adopted her from what I hear, and Daphne Greengrass. All of which are in Ravenclaw." She offered.
"Thank you for letting me know. When you see her next tell her I love her, and that I think about her every day and that the thought of her has kept me sane for the past ten years. Tell her to do good in school and to hold onto her friends with everything she has. Tell her I'm proud of her no matter what and let her know that she is the heir to the Black estate should anything ever happen to me. Please take care of her in my stead." He pleaded out the last bit to her. His answer was a firm nod.
"House Longbottom has stood by house Potter for over five centuries, it's not gonna change now." She stated firmly.
"Black be careful, the dark Lord's not dead. My mark has not disappeared, this is the only warning you're going to get from me." Rodolphus stated before he started to escort Augusta away.
"Thanks for the warning Lestrange." Sirius called out to the retreating man.
The four made their way to the other side of the floor with the two aurors walking briskly in front and the other two behind them. Once they reached his cell he could feel Rabastan staring at them with a heavy gaze. When he looked towards him he saw Rabastan leaning up against the bars. His jade green eyes were flicking back and forth between him and Dowager Longbottom.
"Merlin Rabastan can you get any more creepy?" He snarked at him.
"Yes actually. I was discussing ways to creep more people out with myself earlier and decided that just smiling at them for no reason with my eyes open a little wider would do the trick. Do you want to see?" Was the reply he got back causing him to sigh. Why must his younger brother be like this?
He proceeded to walk into his cell and turn towards the door with his hands held out so they could release the chains. Once he was free he rubbed his wrists, Rufus had too much fun tightening the cuffs on him earlier.
"Now be a good boy and don't go insane until my Nelda meets you. If you scare her I'm spelling you bald." Augusta said blandly, reaching through the bars and patting his cheek condescendingly, causing Rabastan to burst out in laughter.
"Rabastan, this is Dowager Augusta Longbottom, Nelda's grandmother. Lady Longbottom this is my brother and presumptive heir Rabastan Lestrange." He introduced the two with a wave of his hand.
"Well met madam. It's a lovely day today isn't it?" Rabastan said with a slightly deranged smile.
"Well met young man. I would say the sun feels wonderful. Don't you agree?" She replied back with a smirk.
"I agree the sun seems wonderful against my skin. It's a shame that it cannot shine through the muck of the prison. I dare say your outfit looks particularly fetching." He shot back with his smile widening and an amused glint in his eye.
"Why thank you Mr. Lestrange. I would say the same but unfortunately grey just isn't your color." She snarked back.
At her wise crack his face shifted out of his crazed mask. A genuine smile crossed his face and his eyes were softer, more welcoming. It totally changed his whole demeanor from a deranged sociopath into a warm young man with a sarcastic humor.
"Welcome to the family lady Augusta. As presumptive heir of house Lestrange I vow on my family's honor that I will do everything in my power to protect my new found sister. In accordance to that I offer up a spell I created. It's called Aeris filum fulgur. What it does is shoot out a copper wire that wraps around the target and connects at both ends then sends a current of electricity through the wire. It keeps the opponents stunned on the ground while continuously shocking them. It's one of my lesser known spell I created in seventh year. Just jab your wand in their direction and the spell will find them." He said with a warm tone of voice.
"Do you like spell creation Rabastan?" August probed.
"Yea. It's just a hobby but I have about thirty spells I created through the years." He answered back.
"Do the Lestrange focus on spell creation or is it just something that you two brothers seem to do." She grilled.
"All members of house Lestrange must either create or modify an existing one. They must have one done by the age of sixteen. It is then added to the family grimoire. It is a family tradition that has lasted for three thousand years. Why?" He asked with a look of blatant curiosity.
"I was curious due to the fact that Rodolphus told me that he also created spells. Do you expect your significant other to create spells as well? "She continued to ask.
"It's preferred but not necessary. If you're asking because of Nelda I don't care if she does or doesn't to be honest. I would just be happy to have her in my life." This time it was Rodolphus who answered.
"You know I won't have her come here, correct? I won't have her experience the dementors and have to relive her worst memory, which involves you. I will visit once every three months. If Nelda is agreeable I will ask her to write a letter for each visit." She told Rodolphus.
When he reached his hand out to Augusta the aurors started to step forward but stopped when she waved them off. She might be old but she was a dueling champion for five years in a row and had a defense against the dark arts mastery. With this thought in mind she stepped forward and placed her hand in his. The moment after her hand settled he lifted it up to his face through the bars and kissed the back of it.
"I expected that. After all, I know full well that you would do anything in you power to protect her. If you ever need something from me tell me. I might not be able to give you much but I might be able to come up with solutions that you wouldn't think about. I know that our houses align differently but there is no reason that we wouldn't be able to meet in the middle." He said before releasing her hand. "Take care of Nelda and yourself. Nelda will need you to be a strong support. You raised her and she will look to you before her parents, remember that." He watched as she nodded before leaving with the two aurors. When they were alone he turned to his brother and raised an eyebrow at the look he was getting.
"So... you're not dead and I'm not dead. What's the deal?" Rabastan asked.
"When the war started I created two spells that when casted together could heal the mind after prolonged cruciatus exposure. I told her the spells. Also she said that she values Nelda's happiness over her want of revenge." He ran his hand through his hair and exhaled heavily. "She gave me a picture of her." He said before he showed Rabastan.
"Well, doesn't she look like a sweetheart? I bet she's a softie. Look how sweet she looks. Don't you just wanna pinch those cheeks." He said with a teasing note to his voice and a mischievous glint in his eye.
"Alright alright I know she is young, you don't have to tease me about it. Before we know it though the age gap won't matter, witches and wizards typically live to two hundred years old after all. When she is older she will definitely be a looker. Look at the way she is with plants. She must be a green witch, do you know how rare that is?" Rodolphus asked his brother.
"I know that it's rare but what's so good about it?" Rabastan.
"Green witches are always extremely fertile. They never have a problem when it comes to having multiple children. You know I always wanted a large family. Maybe she would like one too. Plus the land they live on becomes extremely rich in nutrients. The healthier plans attract more animals which lead to herds of magical creatures showing up. It causes the area around them to become rich with magic. Having the air rich with magic makes it easier to do rituals. Plus in all of Lestrange history there has never been a green witch in the family." He lectured to his younger brother.
He glanced down at the picture of his young soulmate with a soft wistful look in his eyes. He could already imagine a life with her. He imagined that she was in his home around the age of thirty four, barefooted and round with child while three other little ones ran about underfoot. He could hear the sounds of laughter ringing down the ancient halls, filling the cold stone castle with joy. He wanted that. He wanted it so bad that he could taste it. That thought sent a huge surge of longing through him.
Miles away on the Hogwarts express Nelda jerked awake from her nap. There in the center of her chest she could fell a foreign feeling of longing and felt dread. That wasn't even close to what her own emotions felt like. It must be Rodolphus.