So in case you haven't noticed already me and Dora have another new story now! It's called Valley of the Shadow and is based on the third Cursed Child timeline, so the basis that Voldemort won, but Bella, Remus and Dora are alive. I know a couple of you asked what we were doing apart from this so there you go, that's what we've been doing. Please do go and take a look and let us know what you think!
For now, please read, enjoy and please do review this chapter!
Bella
Rabastan Lestrange had been in the study of Black Manor when the paper had been brought to him. The room itself had been self claimed as his own study, mostly due to the fact that Andromeda near enough refused to go into the room and Nymphadora did not seem to want to enter the room much more than she did. Therefore, the room that was supposed to be owned by the head of the Black house hold had fell to the Lestrange. It was still early, when he had left his room his wife had been happily sleeping, he had poked his head into the room of his now six-year-old son to see he was happily snoozing spread eagled on the bottom of his large double bed.
So, naturally, after he had been in the study for merely a minute the elf had sought the only awake member of the Head of House's family to deliver the paper to. Rabastan dismissed the elf with a wave of his hand, sighing to himself as he leant back in the grand leather chair simultaneously pulling the paper from the desk.
"Let's see what idiocy the Wizarding World has succumbed to today, shall we?" Rabastan muttered to himself as he unfolded the paper. He froze. "What the . . ." the man leant forward on his chair, flattening the paper on the desk as he frantically read the headline.
RODOLPHUS LESTRANGE ON THE LOOSE
Shortly after the six year anniversary of The Battle of Hogwarts and the imprisonment and death of many notorious Death Eaters, the once greatly feared followers of Lord Voldemort, one Rodolphus Lestrange has escaped Azkaban prison. It was in the early hours of this morning, April 15th 2004, that The Ministry of Magic was alerted to the missing inmate. Though there is currently no official word on how the Death Eater has managed his escape this reporter, and many others I'm sure, put Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt's decision of removing Dementors to the once secure fortress into question yet again.
It is suspected that Rodolphus Lestrange will soon try to reunite with his still wanted and highly dangerous family members, brother Rabastan Lestrange and Nymphadora Lestrange, sister-in-law and daughter of the notorious and late wife of the escaped, Bellatrix Lestrange. The pair were last seen by Ministry officials at the home of Andromeda Tonks mere days after the great battle many years ago where each Auror involved in their attempted recapture sadly lost their lives. The trio are considered to be highly dangerous criminals, though mystery still surrounds both their whereabouts along with the mysterious identity of the two children they took with them. Though Rabastan and Nymphadora Lestrange have one child registered to their names within the ministry's records the identity of the second child, seen in memories retrieved from those that tried to capture them, is still unknown. Though there have been many speculations as to the child's identity no unanimous evidence has been obtained.
When asked for comment on the escape and the question of the integrity of Azkaban as a secure detention facility one Harry Potter, head of the Auror Office and once dubbed 'Chosen One' had only the following to say "Azkaban Prison is still the securest way to keep these dangerous criminals under our watch, what happened in this case was an unfortunate event that will not repeat itself. I have great faith in the skill of my team to recapture this criminal." Though after questions of the skill of the department was brought into question as to why there are still two high profile Death Eaters and their murderous accomplice on the run Mr Potter soon seemed to find excuses to 'return to his very important work'.
It is thought that the continued search for Nymphadora and Rabastan Lestrange along with Andromeda Tonks will increase in severity along with a reinstated watch on Malfoy Manor as Rodolphus Lestrange is sure to turn back to his accomplices or else try to return to the once head quarters of Death Eater activity to wreak havoc on the Wizarding World yet again.
As the Wizarding World is on high alert for the recapture of the dangerous criminal, and the hopeful capture of all those Death Eaters that have yet to be rightfully captured and punished for their crimes, this reporter is losing faith in the ability of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to truly keep us all safe.
"Rodolphus . . ." Rabastan breathed, staring at the photographs on the front page. A photograph clearly taken on Rod's arrival to Azkaban the last time, holding his prison number with a look of defeated anger in his eyes, wounds from the battle still on his features along side a photograph of one Harry Potter looking highly uncomfortable in the presence of reporters. He read the article again, then once more, then a third time. It was only once he had stared at the page for a further five minutes that the reality of the situation fully formed in his mind.
Rabastan Lestrange laughed, loudly and arguably less sanely than usual as he jumped to his feet. He almost knocked over his chair as he ran down the corridors, ignoring the tired face of a seven-year-old girl poking her head out of her door in confusion as he darted past her and towards his own room. He near enough wrenched the door off of the frame, grinning at his stirring wife as he jumped to the bed.
"Rab . . ." Dora groaned, frowning in confusion as the man excitedly kissed her firmly on the lips before brushing her hair out of her face.
"Morning Dora." Rabastan laughed, dropping the paper onto the woman's lap "Beautiful morning."
"What?" Dora mumbled, kissing him back lazily before she winced at her husband pulling her to sit up "Rab I'm tired, I don't feel well—" she froze as she saw the paper on her lap, Rodolphus Lestrange staring back at her "Wha—?"
"Read it." Rabastan grinned, kissing her cheek firmly before he watched her eyes scan the page until she had finished reading.
"I—" Dora shook her head in amazement "I'm impressed, I suppose." The woman sighed as she got up from her bed, grabbing her dressing gown as she tied it around herself.
"You suppose?" Rabastan scoffed "Dora it's bloody brilliant!"
"Yes . . ." Dora sighed "Let me show Andromeda." The girl looked to the clock on the chest of draws before she opened the door to their room, simultaneously summoning the paper to her hands "Come on, she'll be in the dining room at this time."
"Dora—" Rabastan started before Dora turned and kissed him firmly on the lips.
"You're excited, I get it," Dora gave a strained smile as she looked into her husbands eyes, letting the man wrap his arms around her waist "but this puts us in danger too. You can see that, right?" she sighed as Rabastan eventually gave a hesitant nod "Right. So we need to talk this through, I don't like repeating myself and I'm sure Dromeda can help so let's talk this through with her there too, okay?"
Rabastan narrowed his eyebrows at the woman, taking in her sweet face silently asking for him to understand her wish. It was a deep sigh he let out a nod, the grin returning to his face as the woman pressed a gentle kiss to his lips before taking his hand in her own as he released his embrace around her and allowed her to take her out of the room.
"Sh—Sugar." Dora winced as she literally bumped into Delphini stood outside of her door.
"Rodolphus escaped?" Delphi asked "Isn't that Mum's husband?"
"Merlin, Delphi." Dora sighed as she shook her head, walking towards the dining room "Don't eavesdrop, it's rude!"
"Hey!" Delphi pouted, running after the pair "Answer me!"
"Yes, Delphi." Dora answered as Delphi sped to keep up with the pair "Rod is Rab's brother and Mum's husband."
"Oh." Delphi remarked "How did he get out? Is he coming here? How come he got locked up and not you? Why—"
"Delphi." Rabastan snapped, enticing a glare out of the child "Stop it."
"Rab." Dora sighed, opening the door to the dining room as she let go of Rabastan's hand, letting him go in ahead of her before she turned to the child "Delphi, why don't you go get dressed then I'll come and find you once we've talked to Dromeda?"
"No." Delphini crossed her arms "I want to know what's going on."
"I—"
"Dora?" Andromeda called from the dining room.
"Delphi," Dora sighed "go get dressed, you can go wake up Rigel if you want. I promise I'll explain everything once I've talked to Rab and Dromeda about it, okay?"
Delphi narrowed her eyes at the girl, a look of annoyance that looked far too mature for the seven-year-old on her small features. It was only once Rabastan called for his wife, annoyance in his voice that Delphini finally moved "Promise?"
"Promise." Dora nodded, smiling slightly as she watched the child walk towards her room before going into the dining room.
Andromeda was sat at the table, a disregarded half eaten piece of toast in front of her as she sipped from her mug of coffee with a look of curiosity to the paper in the woman's hand. Without a word Nymphadora closed the door, throwing the paper to the table in front of the witch before she sat opposite her. She watched Andromeda read for a moment before she turned her gaze to her now pacing husband.
"Rab sit down, you're making me feel ill." Dora groaned, ignoring the knowing glance of Andromeda before the elder witch returned her gaze to the paper.
"Well . . ." Andromeda sighed, looking up to Nymphadora and then Rabastan as she put the paper down "this is certainly interesting."
"We'll need to reinforce the wards on the place, I know we do it regularly enough anyway but still." Dora sighed.
"Yes, I agree." Andromeda nodded.
"Right," Rabastan nodded "you get to work on that, I'll get to work on getting Rod."
"Wait—What?" Dora frowned, looking to the man and groaning in annoyance as she reached out and stopped him pacing, pulling him to the seat beside her "You can't, Rab."
"What do you mean I can't?" Rabastan said.
"I—Well—" Dora spluttered, trying to put her thoughts into words.
"It's too dangerous, Rabastan." Andromeda spoke surprisingly gently to the man "They will up the ante in their search for us, if anything we should be keeping our heads lower than usual rather than going out trying to find Rodolphus. It's highly likely he'll soon be caught anyway, he's on his own."
"I will not let him be on his own!" Rabastan snapped, standing up again as his wife winced and averted her gaze from him.
"How do you expect to find him, Rabastan?" Andromeda raised an eyebrow at the man.
"He is my brother." Rabastan growled.
"And you are a father and a husband with other responsibilities, how do you expect to find him whilst keeping them protected from prowling Aurors?" Andromeda hissed, standing from her seat as she glared at the man.
"Nymphadora is more than capable of defeating Aurors and protecting the children!" Rabastan snapped "So, for the matter, are you together!"
"You're being selfish and irresponsible." Andromeda snapped.
"No, you just don't want me to get Rodolphus back." Rabastan glared "You can't face the idea of having to deal with him, you're the one being selfish here! I know where he will be, we agreed before the final battle—a meeting point if we got separated. I need to check there."
"You'll risk yourself, you'll risk your family and your ability to support them for the slightest chance that he may or may not be there? You agreed this years ago, what makes you think he'll remember?" Andromeda asked.
"He'll remember." Rabastan hissed before looking to his wife "You can hold the fort whilst I'm gone, can't you?"
"I—" Dora chewed her lip "I don't like the idea of you going away."
"Why?" Rabastan frowned "You've gone before looking for supplies, why can't I?"
"Because I morph . . ." Dora sighed.
"Right . . . So morph, you go." Rabastan grinned, sitting next to his wife "I'll tell you where to go, you'll be fine Dora I promise. Just scout the place out and come straight back, okay?"
"I—"
"She's not going, Rabastan." Andromeda stated matter of factly.
"Well, I'll go with her, you can stay and look after the children." Rabastan shrugged "You morph, I'll use a disillusionment charm to conceal myself whilst you check the area out—"
"No, Rabastan." Andromeda said.
"Do not tell me what to do and what not to do!" Rabastan hissed "Nymphadora can speak for herself, can't you Dora?"
Rabastan looked to his wife, his features of frustration and annoyance fading slightly as he looked to his wife staring down at the table in front of her as if it held the deepest darkest secrets of life. She twidled her hands in front of her as she looked up to the knowing face of Andromeda Tonks for a moment before avoiding her gaze.
"You didn't talk to him last night, did you?" Andromeda sighed.
"Talk to me?" Rabastan frowned "About what?"
"I was going to, but you were asleep and I—I didn't want to disturb you." Dora sighed before looking away from Andromeda again and back to her hands nervously twisting in her lap "I was going to tell you today."
"Tell me what, Dora?" Rabastan sighed in frustration "What's happened? What's wrong? Why can't we go find Rodolphus, Nymphadora? I will find him whether you want me to or not."
"I—" Dora sighed heavily before she looked to Andromeda "Can you go see to Delphi, I told her to go get dressed but she's probably either eavesdropping again or tearing her room apart."
Andromeda nodded after a moments hesitation, walking to the door and stopping just before she opened the solid wood "You come find me once you two have decided what you're doing." The woman waited for Nymphadora to nod slightly before she left the room, closing the door behind her.
"Dora, tell me what's going on." Rabastan looked to the woman seriously, taking both of her hands in his own as he tried to search for his answers in her eyes. She looked concerned, frightened almost "Please."
"I—" Dora hesitated for a moment before with a deep breath she looked up to her husband "Remember last night, when Rigel wouldn't sleep and I went to try and convince him and you fell asleep before I came back?"
"Yes . . ." Rabastan nodded.
"Well, after I managed to put Rigel to sleep I went to see Andromeda in her room—she has troubles sleeping so I figured she'd be awake and, well she was, sat reading some really weird book on—"
"Dora you're babbling." Rabastan said "Tell me how on earth this affects me and my brother?"
"I'mpregnant." Dora blurted, her face going bright red in embarrassment in the sudden outburst before she carried on babbling "I suspected I was, for a little while, but I didn't want to believe it. So I went to see Andromeda and she did the test spell and I'm pregnant." She looked back down at their entwined hands, playing with the mans wedding ring as she refused to see his reaction "I can't go morphing and risk a duel because I don't want to duel when I'm pregnant, it was hard enough last time, now the risk of capture and Azkaban is ten fold and I don't want to risk that, I'm sorry."
"Dora . . ." Rabastan breathed, pulling a hand away as he took her chin in his hand, raising her head to look at him directly "I love you." He pressed a soft kiss to her lips, laughing slightly once she returned the gesture. Though she soon pulled away, much to his confusion.
"I—It's not safe, Rab." Dora sniffed, swatting away a single tear "There's three adults and two children to look after as it is, this will just make it harder. I'm scared, Rab."
"Dora." Rabastan sighed, wrapping his arms around the witch before he pulled her onto his lap, stroking her hair out of her face as he gently embraced her "We'll be fine. This is amazing news, we did always say we wanted more than one . . ."
"Yeah," Dora let out a slight laugh "but with your brother escaping and the search for us increasing . . . I don't want you to risk getting captured, I can't do it without you—"
"Dora, it will be fine." Rabastan kissed her temple "I will be fine. I'll get Rod back, bring him back here and together we can all protect each other. Four adults and three children seem like much better odds for survival, no?"
"I suppose." Dora mumbled, wrapping her arms around the mans neck as she snuggled into him "I can't believe I'm admitting this but . . . I do miss Rod as well . . . a fair amount."
"A fair amount?" Rab chuckled, stroking the woman's hair.
"Mmhm." Dora nodded, melting into him for a few minutes of silence before she pulled away again, looking him firmly in the eyes "You can go get him. But by merlin Rabastan Lestrange I swear if you do not come back in one piece you and I will be having a serious argument, curses flying, red hair, screaming hormones, the lot."
"Sounds terrifying." Rabastan smirked before kissing her again firmly "I'll be back, I promise. All in one piece."
Dora nodded "Okay . . . Go, bring Rod home to us."
With one last deep kiss and a longing embrace Rabastan raised himself from his chair, lifting Dora to her feet before he reached down and stroked her stomach with a boyish grin "You stay safe too."
Dora nodded "Go, before I change my mind." Rabastan nodded, heading for the door with a grin "Rab!" Dora called, smiling sadly as the man turned back to see her "I love you."
"I love you too, Dora." Rabastan smiled, blowing her a kiss before he raced from the manor with all the excitement of a small child, ready to reunite his family again.