There's Love In Information
C12: Bagging The Lestranges
Standard Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters
It took two months before all preparations for the two raids were done and with all of the information they had, they were confident that there would be no issues today and like last time they had gathered at their office at the break of dawn, much to the consternation of Bellatrix who had some issues with this far too early time of day.
Everyone had thankfully become used to the raven haired witch's grumpy morning demeanor and usually left her alone because of it and only Hermione and Luna were safe from her wrath, usually.
This morning however Fabian made it a point to stay close to his mother, asking her to help him draw up team for today's raid. This was partly because he knew how personal this was for her, and that it was safer to have him take the brunt of her snarky comments.
Since this was the first time they would go after multiple subjects at two different locations, Fabian was a bit nervous about, since he and Dora would each lead a team and thus would not be together for this. He knew it had to be done though, since both teams needed one of them to give orders when necessary.
Bellatrix was feeling the same nerves since Hermione would be on the team with Dora as well, and while she knew her lion could handle Rabastan Lestrange easily, she worried for her lover none the less. "Are you sure it is a good idea to have your sister in the other team? knowing how protective of her you are." She asked softly.
He smiled and nodded. "I'm more than confident in Luna's abilities mother. She's become a lot more devious these past few months, and while I will worry for her like I do for Dora, I can't have Fleur and Luna in the same team because of her Veela blood. It might be dangerous if she senses Luna to be in danger, and while I know you and Hermione also share a mating bond, I don't think it'll show itself so volatile as it will with Fleur and Luna, which is why I put Luna with 'Mione and Dora. They can handle Rabastan Lestrange with five people. From what you've told me he was always a bit daft."
Bellatrix smiled at that. "He sure is, and now that I have the time I just want to say how much it means to me that you are willing to let me join on the raid against Rodolphus. I will try to keep my emotions in check, but I can't make any promises."
"That's fine Mom, we actually need your battle witch persona today. We don't know what defenses he has, and I know you are more sensitive to magic when you are in a battle situation. All I ask is that you don't kill him. We can't get information from a corpse after all, well technically we could, but those practices aren't really what we prefer to use. We would rather let aunt Cissa loose on them." He said with a soft smile.
Bellatrix grinned at that. "I can't wait to see her in action. If it is anything how she acts with us when she wants information, I almost feel sorry for him."
"Almost, yes. But not enough that you will actually care what happens. I'm pretty sure we can get to the really important people in this real quick, like Lucius and whoever he has as his seconds." He said with a soft smile.
Bellatrix smiled at that. "If he has kept anything of the Death Eater hierarchy, he would've gone for either the Carrows or his usual stooges of Crabbe and Goyle, and honestly I'm more afraid of the Carrows than I am of Crabbe and Goyle."
"Obviously. While their nieces thankfully turned out okay. I've heard plenty of stories of Amycus and Alecto. I know that Crabbe and Goyle junior are carbon copies of their fathers. Lazy and dumb as bricks."
Bellatrix smiled at that as she finished her coffee. "Then I think we're ready to get this started."
He smiled at her. "Not so fast Mom, Dora and I have to brief our teams first, so we'll be at least another hour before we can apparate there."
Bellatrix grumbled a little at that as they made their way back into the main area, where Fabian took this time to explain. "So, we have our teams for today. The team going to Rabastan will be led by Dora and will further consist of Hermione, Luna, Pansy and Draco. The other team will be led by myself and will consist of Bellatrix, Fleur, Ginny and Astoria. Andromeda, Narcissa and Daphne will prepare things here for the interrogations and eventual paperwork, and Daphne will also be our contact with the D.M.L.E. once the Auror representative will deliver those reports.
We don't expect many problems with Rabastan, but we fear that Rodolphus won't go down without a fight, so that is why we are taking a more experienced team there, no offense to anyone of course. We merely want to be as safe as possible. The first team to come back with their bounty will get the first crack at interrogation. The other one will be held in the dungeons until further notice.
When we're all back safe there will be a short debrief as well as the opportunity to comment on the raid itself. There is always room for improvement after all. We'll take half an hour to mentally prepare and then we'll go. We all have our locations and have scouted the surroundings endlessly so we all know what to expect, more or less that is. There will always be surprises after all."
Everyone nodded at that before breaking off into smaller groups to prepare the way they needed to before this raid.
Dora of course wasted no time in climbing into his lap and resting her head on his shoulder. "Stay safe today love. I would never forgive myself if you got hurt today." He said softly.
She smiled and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I will if you will love. I don't want to come back and your mother telling me that you two got reckless."
He smiled at that, knowing she had a point. "I promise love. I wouldn't want to lose my bed privileges after all." He said with a wink.
She just smiled and pressed a kiss to his cheek before making her way to their office so she could go and change for the raid. It wouldn't do for her to go hunt Death Eaters in a skirt after all.
…
When they appeared in a dark alley next to Rodolphus' house, they split off into two groups, one going through the front while checking for traps, and the other going through the backdoor doing the same, with Ginny being their lookout as per usual.
Bellatrix and Fleur would take the main entrance at the front of the house, since that was probably the place where traps would be most common and they had the most experience in dealing with them, and of course since Bellatrix had been forced to marry the man, she knew best what to expect from him.
This left Fabian and Astoria with the backdoor entrance, which hopefully would be lighter protected since it was well hidden through the garden and since they had discovered that he rarely had visitors, it had become a bit overgrown and unkempt. "My aunt would have a fit if she saw the state of this garden." He said in a whisper as he and Astoria slowly and carefully cut a path through the garden, all the while keeping one eye on the windows to look for any movement.
Astoria smiled at that. "I think this is by design Fabian. He wants people to think this house is empty."
He nodded at that. "Well, by the time the sun comes up they'll be right." He said with a soft smile.
Fabian was glad he had chosen to go this early, because there was no way a man with the lifestyle he had would be up this early on a Monday morning. "Backside seems to be clear, we're going in." He said through the magical earpiece that they had developed in preparation for this.
"Entryway is clear as well. Few minor protection wards, nothing we couldn't handle. Rodolphus has always been notoriously cocky." Bellatrix said through the earpiece.
"Copy that, going in now. We'll meet in the hallway once we've made sure the back area is clear." He said in a whisper.
He heard an acknowledgment from his mother and future sister-in-law as he and Astoria made their way further into the mansion, discreetly checking several rooms they passed on the way, thankfully finding them empty.
As they met up with Bellatrix and Fleur in the hallway they were glad to find out there weren't any more wards found. They wouldn't want to trigger anything at this point.
Since most of the rooms were on the upper floor, they silently made they upstairs before splitting off in two directions, Bellatrix and Fabian going to the left and Fleur and Astoria going to the right.
Mother and son crept silently through the seemingly endless hallway, both of them on high alert since while it was very early, it didn't mean Rodolphus Lestrange would be any less dangerous if he was awake.
Loud snoring put them on high alert immediately, Bellatrix more so than Fabian because she recognized it immediately. "He's close. I recognize that snoring in my sleep, given since it was more common than the abuse he put me through." Bellatrix said in a whisper.
He gave her a soft smile and gave her hand a quick squeeze. "Shall we repay the favor, mother?"
She nodded and slowly opened the door where the snores came from, immediately stunning the individual on the bed, not even noticing who it actually was.
Fabian had expected this and stepped in next to her, seeing the now stunned body of Rodolphus Lestrange hanging from the bed thanks to the force of his mother's stunner. "At least we have the right guy." He said softly.
Bellatrix nodded, but her eyes never left Rodolphus' body, not even noticing how Fabian informed the others that they had their man.
"Mom, are you okay?" He asked softly.
She nodded and pulled him in her arms, hugging him to her body as she took a few deep breaths. "I'm okay now Fabian. I can't believe it was so easy after everything he's done to me."
He smiled at her. "It's over now. We'll take him back to the Department and let your sister loose on him. She'll have him sing like a bird in no time. If I'm not mistaken he fears her more than you for some reason."
"That's because he knew he could control me when we were together, but now I will show him why he should fear me." She said with a growl to him.
He nodded and smiled at her. "We'll make sure he pays Mom. I promise. Could you bind him while I go and check on the others."
"How I about I go and check on them. I don't trust myself not to end him right now." She said softly.
He nodded and pressed a kiss to her cheek before she left, casting a full Body Bind curse on him as he hauled the man to his feet. "We've got him Gin. How is the situation outside?"
"Everything is still clear so far Fabian. No suspicious movements so far. Glad to hear you've gotten him without issue. I received word from Dora that they might be a while. Apparently Rabastan was expecting a party."
"I expected as much to be honest. He has been a paranoid bastard throughout this investigation. Did they mention anything about needing help?" He asked softly.
"Not as far as she told me, it seemed she and the others have everything well in hand." Ginny said with an audible smile.
"Good, then we'll be out soon. Mom is helping the others clear out the rest of the rooms."
"Very well. I presume we're using tag'em and bag'em protocol here?" Ginny asked.
He smiled at that particular name, one the redhead herself had come up with for their post arrest information gathering techniques. "Of course we are. I'll get him to Narcissa with my mother, and depending on her state of mind by then, we'll be back, otherwise I'll let you know."
"Copy that Fabe. We'll get started once you guys have taken him to the Mistress of Information." Ginny said with a light laugh.
He couldn't help but laugh at that as well. "I'm sure she won't mind that title. Fabian out."
"So Mr. Lestrange. It seems your last defeat wasn't humiliating enough. Let's see what you know shall we?" He said almost viciously as he made his way out of the room to meet up with his mother who was coming up through the hall. "Ready mother?"
Bellatrix nodded and smiled at him as he took his shoulder and he apparated them back to the Department.
…
At the same time Nymphadora and her team had appeared in a far less pleasant neighborhood, since unlike his brother, Rabastan Lestrange had kept anything but a low profile after the war, thus forcing him to live under the Ministry's radar for months on end.
Their earlier investigations on the neighborhood and property had already told them he lived alone and rarely entertained visitors, but that he had become very paranoid in the months they had observed him, which would make this a potentially dangerous arrest.
Their one luck was that it was a relatively small house with only one proper entrance and exit, and through their observations over the last months the had found out that there wasn't any other way to get out through other means.
Because of this they would only have three people going in for the arrest, since it otherwise would be difficult to keep quiet inside of the house.
Therefor Luna and Draco would be their lookouts while Dora, Pansy and Hermione would make their way inside.
Dora was glad that she would have both of them next to her on this part of the raid, since she knew how good Hermione was in these types of situations and Pansy too had proven herself above and beyond over the last few months, and it wasn't that she didn't trust her niece and nephew, but with their keen senses they would be suited better on lookout.
After a few more moments of preparation Hermione spelled open the door, all of them being met by a flurry of hexes and curses from inside, to which Dora and Pansy only barely had time to put up a shield before returning spells themselves.
Because of the tight confines of the entrance and the hallway, they traded spells for nearly half an hour, none of them gaining any ground before Hermione found an opening to disarm him, and immediately stun him as a follow up.
As he fell back they entered the house properly, Dora immediately binding Rabastan with a body bind curse. "Well that was a surprise we didn't account for. Let's not dawdle any longer than we need to and get him to the Department. Could you let Fabian and the others know we had some resistance here Pansy?"
Pansy nodded at that. "Of course. Are you going to take him while we start processing?"
Dora nodded at her. "Yeah, we don't want to take any risks with him at this point. I'll be back as soon as I can." She said with a smile.
Pansy nodded and smiled at her. "Tag'em and bag'em I presume?" She asked as she sent her Patronus off to Fabian.
Nymphadora laughed and nodded. "Yes, it has worked great so far and I see no reason to change a working method."
Pansy smiled as her horse Patronus came trotting back to her, nuzzling her cheek as it relayed its message. "Fabian and the others have already got Rodolphus in custody and apparently Narcissa is already interrogating him. They're sweeping through that mansion as we speak.
Nymphadora pouted a little at that. "Shit. I really would've hope we would be done sooner. I'm going to hear that for a while."
Pansy smiled at that. "Some private arrangement with the Director, Dora?" She said as she wiggled her eyebrows.
Nymphadora smiled at that. "Not in the way you're thinking, but yes." She said with a slight blush.
Pansy smiled at her. "Don't worry Dora. You aren't the only one with kinks in this Department."
Dora laughed lightly at that. "I'm sure I'm not, but let's not discuss that now, shall we. We still have a job to do."
"You're right, I shouldn't overshare. My girlfriend probably wouldn't appreciate that too much at this stage. I'll go and get started on gathering information with Hermione and Luna." Pansy said with a smile.
"I'll be back as soon as I have him in the dungeons. It shouldn't take too long, depending who Madame Bones put on guard duty today." Dora said with a soft smile before apparating away.
Pansy then made her way to Luna, who smiled at the raven haired witch as she approached. "Is everyone okay Pansy?" The blonde asked sweetly.
"We're all fine Luna. How were things on this end?" Pansy asked kindly.
Luna smiled at her. "Both Draco and I felt some pressures against the wards we put up, but none of it managed to get through. It felt decidedly dark though, gave me a very uncomfortable feeling. It all left when you took him out."
Pansy nodded at that. "I'll ask Draco how it felt. He is a bit more knowledgeable about Dark Magic and he might be able to identify what happened."
Luna nodded and smiled at that. "That's a good idea. Is there anything I can do at the moment?"
"We were just about to go tag'em and bag'em, so we could use your help with that. Dora's taken Rabastan to the dungeons until Narcissa can get to him. Apparently your brother was quicker in arresting Rodolphus than we were." Pansy said with a smile.
Luna smiled at that. "To be honest I expected that, he had our mother with them and she knows that man better than anyone."
Pansy only nodded at that as Luna made her way to the house and she made her way to Draco, needing to know exactly what had happened outside of the wards before Nymphadora came back. "Hey blondie. What happened?"
Draco smiled at her. "He had implemented runes in the pavement that triggered the moment you guys burst through the door. It was a favored tactic during the war too. It's how they brought the wards down for the final battle between Potter and the Dark Lord."
"That makes sense. What exactly did the runes do?" Pansy asked softly.
"They battered against our wards to push them inwards, which could've resulted in a giant explosion if we didn't manage to push back." Draco said kindly.
Pansy nodded at that. "Then I'm glad you two are so good with wards. Thank you for keeping us all safe today Draco. Could you inform Dora of this when she gets back? I need to go and help Hermione and Luna with information gathering."
He nodded and smiled at her before Pansy made her way back to the house to go and help the girls with the gathering of information.
…
When everyone was back at the Department later that morning, there were literal dozens of boxes with information and evidence they had gathered, which was what most of the Department was now already working on, with the exception of Fabian, who was underway to Madame Bones to get the updates from the Greyback raid, something she had only wanted to share with him given the sensitive nature of it.
This left Dora in charge of everyone and seeing how tired everyone was already, she called everyone to their office, with the obvious exception of Narcissa, who had made a lot of headway in her interrogation of Rodolphus Lestrange, and had asked for no interference from the rest at this point.
"First of all I want to thank you all for how enthusiastically you have all gone into sorting the evidence so far, but I can see that everyone is already tired because of the early hour. So what I suggest is that we take a few hours just to wind down. By that time Fabian should be back and we can have our debrief. I know we're all anxious to get this over with as quickly as possible given the amount of evidence and information we have gathered, but it won't do anyone any good if we overwork ourselves like we did when we got Yaxley, and honestly that is not what we want at this point, because I have a feeling things are going to get kicked into a higher gear now, but for now, let's wind down, and I'll get an order for lunch in. We've certainly earned it." Dora said kindly.
Everyone smiled at her. "I think that I speak for everyone when I say that we completely agree with you. We wouldn't want to overwork ourselves even with the extra hands we now have. That might seriously hurt our productivity in the long run." Fleur said after sharing a look with the others.
Dora smiled at her ex-girlfriend. "That's my fear too, and I think Fabian will understand when he comes back. He hates early mornings probably even more than his mother does."
Bellatrix huffed at that. "I'm getting better at those, thank you very much."
Hermione laughed lightly and pressed a kiss to her lover's cheek. "Sure you are love."
Bellatrix shot her lover a glare. "I happen to think I've made a lot of progress over the last two months."
Andromeda smiled at her sister. "You've gotten better, Bella, but there is a bit to go. You still have the tendency to bite someone's head off in the mornings."
"Hush Andi. It's not like you were any better when we were growing up." Bellatrix said with another huff.
They all smiled at her as Hermione deliberately placed herself in her lover's lap while pressing a kiss to her lover's cheek.
Bellatrix grumbled a little but wrapped her arms around her lover while the others took a seat too, most couples cuddling up together while they talked about everything not connected to everything they had gathered today.
Dora took this time to talk to her mother, since she hadn't really taken the time to do that ever since they had started this second leg of their investigation. "Hey Mom, got a minute?"
Andromeda smiled and nodded. "Of course Dora. I always have time for my darling daughter."
Nymphadora smiled and took a seat next to her mother. "I just wanted to check in for a bit, we haven't really talked ever since we've gotten swamped with the new information."
Andromeda smiled at her. "I understand sweetheart, but we knew it was going to get busier when we needed to start our investigations on the Lestrange brothers. They are high profile targets and there is a lot we needed to do, but I've been doing a lot better ever since I've had Daphne to help me. She's taken a lot of the load off my back."
"That's good to hear. We were worried that we might overwork you, and you know that is the last thing we would want to do." Nymphadora said with a soft smile.
"Oh sweetie, I've raised you and that was more tiring than this job. Don't forget you were quite a rambunctious child at times." Andromeda said with a soft smile.
Dora blushed at that. "Yeah, you've reminded me a lot of that over the years. Aren't you glad that someone else has taken over that part." She said softly.
Andromeda laughed lightly at that. "Indeed I am, and I'm sure Fabian knows exactly how to discipline you, since I am pretty sure that you don't make those noises for just anyone."
That only darkened Dora's blush. "Could we not talk about my intimate relationship with Fabian in that manner. You've never been so vocal about my relationships before."
"That's because I've never seen you really in love, Dora. You're different with Fabian and that is why I tease you a little bit more about it. I think it's sweet." Andromeda said with a smile.
Nymphadora smiled at her mother. "I suppose you're right. I've never felt so strongly for anyone before, and I doubt I've loved anyone I've been involved with the way I love Fabian."
Andromeda smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. "Your aunts and I have always known it was inevitable that you and Fabian would eventually get together in this way. It's why we permitted you two so much."
Dora smiled at that. "I know, you guys have told us that before and we're still very grateful for all of the things you've allowed us over the years."
Andromeda smiled at her. "Like I said it was inevitable, and we knew if we guided you two correctly everything would be fine, as you two have proven over the last months."
Dora nodded and smiled at her. "We've done everything to prove to you and aunt Bella that you can trust us and we're glad we haven't given either of you any reasons to distrust us."
"We have known that for a long time sweetheart, and we knew upfront that you two would be respectful of the freedoms we gave you two, but I think your lover is back, shall we go and listen to what he has learned from Amelia?" Andromeda asked with a smile.
Nymphadora nodded and followed her mother into the main area where Fabian had just gathered everyone.
…
After his meeting with Amelia, Fabian had stopped by the lunchroom for a quick bite to eat, knowing his girlfriend had already placed an order for lunch.
From what Madame Bones had told him, there had been no issues with Greyback's arrest, and as predicted they had been forced to put him down permanently.
She had been a bit shocked that Rabastan of all people had turned into such a paranoid man and that he had attacked them.
She was however glad to hear that both brothers had been apprehended relatively easily, even with everything Rabastan had thrown at them.
When he stepped back into the Department after lunch, he was not even surprised to see everyone talking softly to each other instead of working on the files they lifted. "I see everyone is working hard in my absence." He said mostly teasingly.
"Hush Fabian, I think everyone has earned a little bit of R&R after this morning, and besides, your girlfriend gave us the okay to be lazy until you came back." Hermione said in a similar tone.
He smiled at her. "I was teasing 'Mione. Everyone has gone above and beyond today, and after our debrief and update from Madame Bones, we're going to call it a day."
Hermione smiled at that as they all took a seat at the round table in the center of the room, which they usually used for these types of talks. "Right, I'll get the update out of the way first, to make it easy. Greyback was expectedly very vicious when the Aurors surprised him, and a there have been a few minor injuries among the Aurors. Greyback however did not come out of this alive, which is honestly what we had expected. We have our two main targets for information and that's what matters. Greyback is too dangerous to be left to chance, and it will deprive Lucius of a physically powerful member in his ranks, plus no reason to get any other werewolves on his side."
"Did Madame Bones mention who were injured Fabian?" Nymphadora asked softly.
He smiled at her. "Not by name, but it were few of the newer recruits, unfortunately not the two who have caused everyone so much trouble. They were not a part of this raid, since they have been benched for the foreseeable future."
"We'll send a get well soon basket or something like that. It'll only help interdepartmental relationships in the long run." Narcissa suggested with a soft smile.
He nodded at her. "That's a good idea auntie, and now that we've covered Greyback, how goes the interrogation of Rodolphus?"
Narcissa smiled at him. "Like Yaxley he's quite happy to talk, and I am pleased to inform that the new Death Eaters are far smaller than we originally thought. Most of the old faithfuls were done with everything after the war and only those who were loyal to Lucius have thrown their lot in with him. So far he's named Crabbe, Goyle and Nott senior. Surprisingly all juniors are not a part of this, so if at all possible we should let them go. They shouldn't have to suffer for the sins of their fathers, and while I think Rabastan will tell me mostly the same, I'll interrogate him tomorrow if that's okay with you."
"That's fine aunt Cissa. We'll spend most of the week with going through those files anyway so take all the time you need in breaking them. I think Madame Bones will thank you for it, as will the majority of the Wizarding World." He said with a smile.
"I don't think I'll be able to get much more from him without turning his brain to mush, which is something I would rather avoid. I won't have him drip the meager contents of his brain on my interrogation room floor." Narcissa said with a smile.
He smiled and nodded at that. "Very understandable, the mess isn't worth it." He said before turning to Dora. "So babe, what happened at Rabastan?"
"He either knew we were coming for him, or he was so paranoid that he was expecting something. Whatever the case. he sent a slew of stunners and hexes to us the moment we opened the door, and to add to it, he had placed runes that pushed against the wards, at least that is what Draco told me." Dora said with a smile.
Draco nodded at that. "Yes, runes the Dark Lord himself was very fond of. He used the same runes as the ones they used when they brought down the wards at Hogwarts for the final battle, with the added effect that these would explode in a large radius when they reached a certain point. It took everything Luna and I had to hold them back which is why we couldn't help on battling Rabastan."
"That changes a few things. It seems they are getting a bit desperate to make things happen. I think he expected an Auror raid and had hoped to take them out in the process. I'll make note of this in my end report to Madame Bones, and then she'll make sure he'll get thrown through the Veil. Rodolphus was all in all a very easy arrest. Like we did with Yaxley we caught him napping, and thus were able to make the arrest easily, so we don't have too much to add in that aspect. His house however was a treasure trove of information, which will certainly keep us all busy for the next couple of weeks." He said with a soft smile.
"I'm sure it will, but as you know, we don't mind. We all knew what the job was before we signed." Luna said with a smile.
He smiled at his sister. "I know, and let's be honest, everything we've found out so far has helped us tremendously in hurrying this investigation along, but for now, we'll make sure Lestrange is safely put in a cell and then we'll call it a day. Not everyone is built for early days like you and Fleur."
Luna giggled at that as Fleur pressed a kiss to her girlfriend's cheek. "Then I'm glad I'm mated to the one Black who loves the mornings as much as I do." The blonde said with a wink.
Fabian only smiled at her. "Perhaps, but let's not make this day longer than it has been. Dora and I will bring Rodolphus to the dungeons and then we can go home, so take that time to finish up the last few things."
Everyone nodded at him before they made their way to their desks, while Nymphadora and Fabian bound Rodolphus again and escorted him to their dungeons, which were specially designed to mimic the feeling of Azkaban, but without the Dementors.
Once he was secured in his cell, they made their way back, Floo'ing home afterwards, since it had been a long enough day already, for all of them.