The First Meeting

"Neville, there's something I'd like to ask."

Hannah was upstairs with Deborah, checking one last time that she had packed everything. It was the best moment to do this.

"Would you mind if I talked to him alone at first?"

Neville gave her a startled look. "You want to talk to him alone?"

"Yes. There are some things that might come up from the First War and you don't know about all of them yet." She thought of Hannah and Medea Selwyn. "I'd rather not have you hear about them for the first time in front of Lestrange."

"I'll do whatever you think makes this easier for you," Neville said.

Alice smiled at him. This was really sweet of him. Many sons would have been angry because they were being left out. She was going to tell Neville everything important but not in Lestrange's presence. She wanted to do this her way.

"Thank you."

"I thought it would be easier for you if you're not alone with him," Neville said. "But it's your choice."

Hannah and Deborah came down the stairs; she kissed her daughter goodbye and told her to behave herself well once more.

Neville had prepared a Portkey which made them arrive in front of the Lestranges' house a few moments later. No house was visible in the fen but this didn't surprise Alice. She had been here once before for a Herbology project back in her sixth year. The Ministry later on had never been able to find the house to search it.

Neville could access it though. He raised his wand and spoke: "We are Neville Longbottom, Alice Longbottom and Deborah Longbottom. We've been invited here by Rodolphus Lestrange."

With her senses for magic sharpened during Auror training, Alice could feel that something was happening. Maybe the spell checked if they truly were who they claimed to be if that was possible at all. Alice shivered. She didn't like being exposed to any Lestrange-related magic.

When the spell had obviously decided that they were trustworthy, an iron gate with the family crest on it emerged in front of them. It seemed to stand in the countryside on its own. Neville rang the bell.

Alice took a deep breath and stood up a little straighter. Her throat felt very dry. Pretend it was just some sort of Auror mission she told herself. She had endured so much back then, both in practice and training. She would make it through this as well.

Rodolphus opened the door, his son Roderic trailing behind him. Alice looked at the green garden behind the two wizards. It hadn't changed much, still full of all kinds of plants both exotic and mundane growing in patterns only the owners of the house really understood. She had loved this garden when she had been here for the first time and dreamed of having something similar when she was grown-up. It had never happened. The Muggle house she had shared with Frank only had a small garden with a lawn, some patches with flowers and vegetables and a few trees. Apple of course and hazel, too magical plants. The new Muggle owners had probably cut them down by now.

"Good evening," Rodolphus said. "Come in."

Reluctantly, Alice obeyed. She was rather sure that the enchantments didn't only keep intruders out but also prisoners in. The gate closed behind them, Debbie looked around the garden. "Where's Roxy?"

"She's in the kitchen with the House Elves. They've made tartlets," Rodolphus said. Turning to Neville he added. "It was Roxy's idea."

"That's really nice of her," Neville said and cast a furtive glance at his mother.

She knew what he was thinking. Alice didn't feel able to eat anything in Rodolphus' presence. Well, she'd excuse herself with stomach problems.

Someone hat put up a table on the terrace and set it with plates and glasses of water. Roderic and his father sat down on the garden bench while Neville and Alice took the chairs on the opposite side of the table. Debbie sat down on the bench as well.

A few moments later, Roxana and a House Elf arrived with the tartlets. The two girls greeted each other happily and Rodolphus ordered the House Elf to take Deborah's things to the guest room where she was staying. Roxana sat down beside Debbie. "The raspberries are from our own garden. I've picked them myself," she stated proudly. "Sandy helped with the baking though."

"They look delicious," Neville said and took one of the tartlets.

"Thank you, I'm not hungry," Alice said as Roxy passed the plate to her.

The little girl looked disappointed. "Do you think I can't make tartlets?" she asked.

Alice sighed. "No, that's not why. I've just had lunch rather late today."

"There's always room a tartlet," Roxy said.

"Well, alright, I'll take one," Alice said. She didn't want to disappoint the child when she had made such an effort. Cooking and baking themselves wasn't ordinary behaviour for the Lestrange children. They were probably used to House Elves doing everything for them.

She took a deep breath and made herself eat it. The combination of sweet, aromatic berries and soft cake didn't make it very difficult to do so.

"They're really good," she told Roxy and the girl smiled. At least, she wasn't scared of her anymore as she had been in the beginning. Roxana's brother however, was acting really oddly. He was very quiet and avoided to look at Alice. Normally, he tended to stare at her and other people in an almost unsettling way.

Did his mother's punishment at Voldemort's hands still bother him that much? Alice knew it had been a shock and maybe one he couldn't get over that quickly. So far, he had lived a sheltered life as a child of a very privileged family. Being forced to realise that there were real threats to him and his parents must have been very disturbing. Alice rather didn't contemplate the alternatives. They weren't abusing him, where they? If he openly spoke up against Voldemort, it wasn't unlikely. She remembered the rumours about the Blacks' household as well. She could try to get him to open up when they were on their own but maybe she shouldn't. There was nothing she could do to help him after all. She was as powerless as he was.

Maybe the reason was much more harmless. He might feel awkward alone with a friend of his sister's around and maybe a bit worried about how he'd get along with Francis as well. She decided to try and talk to him. "You aren't eating anything. Don't you like raspberries?"

"I'm not very well," Roderic said in a small voice that wasn't like him at all.

Alice felt even more worried at this. It could simply be a physical thing of course but maybe it wasn't. "Well, Neville will surely have something for you if you're not better tomorrow," she said. If it was an upset stomach (or something like Dragon Pox though Rodolphus had surely taken the precautions as far as his son was concerned), Neville would know what to do.

"Tell me, what would you like to do if you're better? We have to do lessons first because we've skipped them today but if we get up early, we'll still have plenty of time."

Roderic began to make suggestions and his voice became far more eager. "We should discuss it with Francis," he suggested in the end.

"Yes, that would be fair," Alice said and almost without thinking took another tartlet. Neville gave her a slightly surprised look. He probably remembered her meagre breakfast. She almost managed to ignore Rodolphus' presence as long as she focused on the children. The fact that he didn't say anything helped as well.

When all the tartlets had been eaten, Alice knew the time to do what she had come for was there. "I think we should discuss what the Dark Lord wants of me now," she said, gladly realising that her voice sounded relatively normal, not shaky and weak as she had feared it might. She forced herself to look at Rodolphus for the first time. He looked older of course, over twenty years had passed, and rather weary but still handsome in a way though she'd never admit this last part openly to anyone.

"I'd rather talk to you alone first," she said. "Neville wasn't present at the meeting and I don't want to spend too much time explaining."

"That might be a good," he said. "Neville, I have sought out the article by this German Healer for you. I'd like to hear your opinion on her approach. It's been published twelve years ago and it has never received much recognition but I think it could be interesting. You find it in my study."

"Thank you," Neville said. "Don't you want to talk in the study?"

"No, we're going to the living-room, I think. Roderic, Roxy, please don't interrupt. You can show Deborah where everything is."

The six people got up from the table and walked off into different directions. Alice followed Rodolphus into the house. The corridor behind the door was rather cool, especially for such a warm day. The Lestrange ancestors on the portraits whispered to each other but Alice tried not to listen.

The Lestrange living-room had changed slightly since the last time she had been here. The carpet, wooden floor and furniture were still the same but someone, probably Rodolphus, had added an assortment of house plants, one of them climbing up the wall on the back of the room. Alice liked room plants but Neville didn't want any. His grandmother hadn't approved of having plants in the house and he had never strayed from her wishes as far as room decoration was concerned. Only Hannah had brought some new additions, many of them pink or frilly. Giving Alice a say in this hadn't occurred to anyone.

Alice flinched slightly when the grandfather clock in the corner tolled six times.

"Sit down," Rodolphus said and she obediently sat on one of the two couches putting a copy of the "Pure-blood Youth-Magazine" on the marble table between them.

"The children sometimes leave their things lying around." Rodolphus said and sat down on the opposite side of the table.

Alice did not respond. She didn't feel like making small talk of any kind.

Rodolphus obviously noticed this. "Well, let's not beat around the bush then. The Dark Lord spoke to me about your case this morning. He has other concerns at the moment and isn't interested in interfering. He has left it to me to decide if you are to be trusted or not. It's the normal procedure actually. For Neville and Hannah, it was the same way. He saw them once and left the rest to me or to Medea Selwyn in Hannah's case."

"She's told me about that," Alice said. She didn't want to remain completely silent because it would have made her look afraid. She had her doubts that having Rodolphus decide over her fate was better than having Voldemort do so but she didn't mind if she wasn't forced to face him and the entire Death Eater circle again.

"So you've discussed the procedure? Good," Rodolphus said.

He was talking exactly the way he used to talk back at Saint Mungo's when she had been his patient. When he had wanted to persuade her that she couldn't leave her bed and go back to work and fighting right away. Once, she had been strongly inclined to do just that every time. Nowadays, she had no reason to leave her bed anymore, literally or figuratively, because there wasn't anything left to fight for.

"Yes, Hannah's told me about it," she said.

"Did Neville tell you about his patients which are not, to let me phrase it that way, approved by the Ministry?" Rodolphus asked.

"Neville doesn't tell me much about his work," Alice answered swiftly. She knew about the conversation between Neville and Rodolphus concerning the Order but she wasn't going to give anything away. Maybe her testimony was the evidence he needed to be able to act against Neville and herself.

"He's playing a dangerous game," Rodolphus said. "And he has been doing so right from the start. Did he tell you about a patient called Gary Williamson?"

Alice shook her head. Neville had never mentioned this name to her. It wasn't a lie that he didn't tell her much about his work. Especially not about the patients who had shared her fate.

"He was supposed to appeal for clemency as you had done or go to prison," Rodolphus said. "Neville helped him flee before either could be done. This was against any procedure of course. I told the Dark Lord I had allowed it because I hadn't considered Williamson important or a threat. I knew that wasn't true and faced the consequences so Neville's position wouldn't be damaged. From this point onwards, I knew that he had never truly changed sides. It was about two years after he had finished school."

Alice wasn't going to fall for any traps. Rodolphus had always been a smooth talker who could make people say things they wanted to keep to themselves without them really realising. She had learned this kind of thing as well though and didn't intend to play along.

"Let's assume this is true," she said. "Why did you help him hide this?"

"He is very talented and a pure-blood. I didn't want to lose him because it was his belief to do what is best for his patients. I made sure that he didn't repeat this though. The other one, from the radio station, left with an official permission."

"Alright. But why are you telling me all this in the first place?"

"I'm telling you because I want you to understand the situation even if you have not discussed it among yourselves. I can't tell for sure at the moment. Occlumency allows us to hide much but we can't overstrain it or we're going to lose credibility. Mistakes made by one person can cause a chain reaction which might have severe consequences for a number of people. You're probably familiar with this kind of situation from your time as an Auror. That's why we all need a certain amount of information about what everyone else is doing. It would be highly advisable if you and Neville kept fewer secrets from each other for a start."

"That's none of your business," Alice responded, anger getting the better of her.

Who did he think he was, trying to give some sort of advice to her and Neville? This conversation was different from anything she had imagined beforehand and she didn't like it. It was difficult to decide how to react. At least, it kept her mind so busy that she had no time for memories.

"Given that I'm lying to the Dark Lord for Neville's sake I think it is," Rodolphus said. "He told me he wanted to ask you to teach him Occlumency. Has he done this so far?"

Alice tried to keep her face impassive. Neville had asked no such thing of her. They had never discussed the subject matter of Occlumency and Legilimency at all save for the meeting with the Dark Lord She wondered if she would harm Neville by admitting that he hadn't asked her any such thing. No, probably not. Maybe it was a trap again, an attempt to prove that Neville sought information which allowed him to keep secrets from Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

"Neville never told me he was interested in this art," she said.

Rodolphus looked slightly angry for a moment but didn't say aloud whatever went through his head. "Well, I'll probably have to discuss this with him," he said. "Anyway, the facts are as follows. You have applied for citizenship and are on probation; Neville is a respected Healer but secretly treats people who are wanted by the Ministry. I don't know for sure if you're informed about this but I assume so. I am supposed to be responsible for assuring your trustworthiness and Neville's as well which requires me to lie to the Dark Lord if I don't want either of you to get into serious trouble. Don't you understand that it would be sensible to exchange some information so we don't end up telling contradicting stories?"

"That would be the case if I had any reason to assume that you are interested in our well-being," Alice said trying to hide her feelings behind those formal words.

It was absolutely impossible for her to understand how he could believe she would trust him at all. People said Azkaban was quite harmful to the mind. Maybe he had really forgotten about his involvement in the First War and now believed he had always worked as a Healer for the Death Eaters or something along those lines. Still, even if he did that, the memories during the Death Eater meeting he had seen along with everyone else should serve as a reminder, shouldn't they?

"I can't imagine that Neville being a talented pure-blood is enough reason for you to lie to the Dark Lord as you said. I'm sure he's not the only one."

"I don't know how much Neville told you about this time himself," Rodolphus said. "After Harry Potter's death, the Dark Lord asked Bellatrix and me to go to Hogwarts and put an end to the resistance that had formed under the Carrows and was led by Neville. I believed and Professor Snape did nothing to change my mind that he was one of those shallow and foolishly reckless Gryffindors who consider themselves to be above rules and planned to deal with him accordingly."

These adjectives were among the last Alice would think of when describing her son.

"I soon learned that this wasn't quite true though. I had to put him in quite a few detentions and I learned that he had wished to become a Healer before he realised that his marks didn't allow for it. I decided to start teaching him the necessary skills in detention and he gradually began to go along with it. He was the perfect candidate for this with all the necessary traits."

"And you've offered him a cure for me, for us, as a price."

It wasn't a question. Alice knew that this was what had happened and it still made her feel angry, sad and humiliated at the same time. She believed that Rodolphus had really wanted an apprentice after learning how threatened his own life was in Azkaban. He had cared about his former work too much to simply want to see it fade into nothingness. She had been nothing but an object in this game. Used and promised as a price for good behaviour.

"I was a thing for you to achieve your aims. What I actually wanted didn't interest you at all, once again."

"It didn't occur to me that you would have preferred to stay at Saint Mungo's while your son and many other children are killed by the Dark Lord for their continuous rebelliousness," Rodolphus said. "It seemed to me that everyone benefited from this plan. You got out of the hospital; Neville stopped his pointless fight and could do the work he had always dreamed of doing while the Dark Lord was satisfied with us as well. What is it you would have wanted instead?"

"If everything else had stayed the same, I would have wanted you to slip a poison into my food as everyone thought you would," Alice said. "Or even better, you should have finished it right away. Allow our family to move on but not even that mercy you could grant us."

Neville's life would have been very different then and his childhood not quite so blighted, Alice was certain of that. He wouldn't have been forced to deal with all the conflicting emotions her state had forced him to go through. Neville never told her about that but she was certain they had been there.

"You made sure I couldn't be there for him when he would have needed me and he has grown up to be a fine young man on his own. Helping me now wasn't doing him a favour but you probably knew that from the start. I'm completely useless and give him nothing but extra-work and worry. I feel like a guest who doesn't realise she should have left long ago."

Alice knew telling him about this at all was pure madness but at the same time she felt it didn't matter. He couldn't think any less of her anyway, no matter what she said or did so why not? Better she told him then someone she knew would be hurt by hearing this like Neville.

Even if Rodolphus passed it on, Neville probably wouldn't be any more inclined to believe him than she would be in a similar situation.

"Alice, do you really believe that Neville and his student army would have stopped the Dark Lord?" Rodolphus said slightly raising his voice to emphasize his point. His face reflected no emotion. "Imagine the Finnigans, the Macmillans or Padma Patil in a battle. They're no fighters and they weren't able to do more than simple fourth-year duelling spells. They would have ended up dead or in prison if they had kept this up, Neville probably dead."

Alice wondered where Rodolphus had gotten the idea that she was blaming herself for Neville giving up his fight. It was true but she hadn't mentioned it a single time.

"Would you have wanted him to die, blaming himself for your death because he didn't protect you? Do you really think this would have been better than the life he has now? Neville isn't going around killing Order members and Muggle-borns, is he? He has cured people I would never have raised a wand to save and has helped many more in secret. Without him and the others who have survived, this would be a much harsher place."

Alice didn't understand Rodolphus' views on this. Why didn't he do anything about it if he really believed Neville was doing all those things? Was he still trying to get her to confess something? Probably. As if she was foolish enough to trust him.

She wasn't going to tell him anything about Neville and the Order that much she knew for sure. Better keep him talking so she wouldn't end up in a situation where she said the wrong thing. There was something which had been bothering her for years. She didn't truly expect an honest answer from Rodolphus but he would believe her that she truly wanted to know.

"What happened at Saint Mungo's when the Dark Lord gave you the job? Who made the potion for me? You or Neville? What happened then?"

"Did you never discuss this with Neville?" Rodolphus asked.

Alice had to admit to herself that this would have been the logical thing to do. She hadn't wanted to bother Neville with questions like this and make him feel bad about himself.

She shook her head.

"Neville is an adult now. He isn't the fragile child you seem to think he is. He had already grown out of this at seventeen," Rodolphus said. "Whatever, I can tell you too. He should be busy with the article and if not, he'll probably find something else that interests him in my study."

"I'm sure he will," Alice said as the clock tolled once. Quarter past six. She needed to get him away from the subject matter of Neville's perceived work for the Order.

"Well, the months right after the takeover were extremely chaotic. This wasn't different at Saint Mungo's either. Getting things to run smoothly again was the first thing I needed to do. There were problems with contagious diseases and people faking them. The Healers were reluctant at first but they realised that my instructions made sense rather quickly. I reinstated Healer Derwent's therapeutical regime and you were all transferred into Belvina Burke-Ward. Do you remember that?"

"Sort of," she said. This wasn't the moment to start remembering any of this and she wouldn't let him lead her to do so. Back then, she hadn't recognised him and had thought he was simply another Healer she hadn't met yet. "You blended in rather well."

"I take that as a compliment," Rodolphus said. "Neville and I made the potion together. He didn't know enough to do it alone at this point. You responded to it very well. I accompanied Neville when he gave you the first dose but didn't when you got the second. You should know what happened then."

Alice did remember that part rather well. At first, there had been so much to see, feel and taste which she hadn't known for so many years and only then she had learned the terrible truth about the state of the wizarding world from Neville and Hestia. This had quenched all the blossoming hope she had felt and it had never really returned ever since.

She would definitely ask Neville about it as well. Check if the two stories matched.

"Did you ever consider any alternatives to becoming an Auror?" Rodolphus asked. "Or did you always know that was what you wanted to do with your life?"

Alice was startled by this question. She had no idea where it was coming from at the moment. Her first impulse was to tell him that it was none of his business but she decided against it. There was no reason to be uncooperative in this point.

"The same things Neville wanted to be actually. I thought I could be a herbologist or a Healer. My parents hoped I would be a Healer; they wished to have one in the family again. They'd be proud if they knew about Neville."

Alice swallowed trying to do so quietly. Her parents had died in an accident of the Knight Bus the year before Neville had been born. Well, maybe better they had never known what would become of their daughter. When they had died, she had been a successful and well-respected Auror.

In her first year of Auror training, she had been close to dropping out and applying at Saint Mungo's after all. She had been horrified by the conditions in Azkaban and didn't want anything to do with that. Marlene and strangely enough even overly strict Moody had managed to persuade her to stay after all.

He looked at her intently. Alice wondered if he tried to use Legilimency but she was rather certain she'd notice if he did. There was no reason why this subject should be worth the effort anyway.

"Would you still want to try it? There are free positions in all departments. You already have various certificates from your first-aid for Aurors examinations and you have the necessary marks and the necessary talent."

Alice didn't say anything. The idea of her being a Healer as well now had something absurd and surrealistic.

"Simply think about it," Rodolphus said. "I merely wanted to inform you that the possibility exists. You didn't let the Dark Lord know about any plans you might have for the future."

He was right, Alice thought. She hadn't considered this point at all but she had been lucky, the Dark Lord hadn't wanted to find out anything about it either. She had never thought much about her future, only that she wanted to be able to have a job and get out and do something, especially when the children were out of the house.

The clock tolled twice. Half past six. Alice looked at Rodolphus. So far, he had done a very good job at keeping any emotion out of the conversation. He wasn't threatening her in any obvious way and he wasn't mocking her either, he rather acted as if they had never met before he had become Neville's teacher at all. Just what Neville had predicted. He had obviously given up on finding out anything about Neville and the Order as well. Still, leaving it at that felt wrong to her. She needed to know where he truly stood on behalf of Neville and herself. Alice wasn't sure how she was supposed to get those answers though. She had been an expert for Legilimency but Rodolphus seemed to lie even to the Dark Lord with ease. It was unlikely that he'd let her see anything he didn't want to and she didn't want to get herself into trouble by trying. At least not right now. There might be an opportunity in future.

"For the moment, I'd like you to do something plant-related," he said. "There are plants that need a very high level of maintenance and can't be grown in the Hospital Nursery if there's no known important demand. Some of them have rather promising traits we'd like to look into though. I'll give you the seeds and necessary books with the instructions on growing. Neville has done something like this in the past a few times as well, I'm sure he will be glad to assist if there are any problems. I'll tell him about it as well."

Alice merely nodded. Among the possible tasks she had imagined, this was one of those she minded doing least but she had no intention of letting Rodolphus know that.

"There's something else," he added.

Alice wasn't surprised. She looked at him expectantly, waiting for an elaboration.

"I wanted to ask Neville but you have much more time on your hand and we can combine it with the meetings we need to have anyway. Do you think you could teach me to perform the Patronus Charm?"

Alice stared at him in disbelief. "The Patronus Charm?" This piece of magic had always been strongly connected to the Order for her. They had used it to pass on messages in the past. The idea of teaching it to Rodolphus was very strange.

"Yes. There are many stray Dementors nowadays. It would come in useful."

Alice thought hard. The Patronus Charm was pure white magic and couldn't be used for offensive purposes at all. Only in defence. He wouldn't be able to harm anyone with this spell.

"I can try it," she said slowly. "But I can't promise anything. The Patronus Charm and dark magic don't go well together."

Gideon Prewett had experienced this in a striking fashion. When he had become one of the cruelest among Auror ranks after the loss of Edgar Bones and his family, the charm had stopped working the way it should, a symbol of corruption for everyone to see. Many members including Dumbledore had blamed Gideon for his decisions. A few weeks later, he and his brother Fabian died in a "heroic battle" against five Death Eaters. They had been remembered as heroes. No one had called Gideon that during the last months of his living years.

The last meeting between Alice and Dorcas Meadowes had ended in a stupid argument because Alice had believed her colleague had been flirting with Frank.

And she had failed Lily so dismally. The son she had died for was dead as well now.

Sirius had died believing she thought him a traitor, after twelve years spent in Azkaban for something he didn't do.

Maybe her thoughts of dying had to do with a desire to make up for those things she hadn't been able to make up for while they had been alive. Alice knew how fleeting the hope of this was but she couldn't let go of it completely.

"Alice,"

It was the second time during the course of the conversation he had addressed her by her name she thought, wondering why she kept track of that at all. She probably wouldn't be able to demonstrate the charm. There wasn't enough happiness left for this.

"I'm not asking for any promises. Learning to do the spell is up to me but I think it's more likely to work with proper instruction."

"I can try," Alice repeated. "Simply tell me when. Is that all for now?"

"Yes, it is. Let's go and inform Neville."

They got up. Alice thought that she hadn't given away anything that might threaten Neville. The prospect of trying to teach the Patronus Charm to Rodolphus didn't appeal to her too much and she wasn't sure if he didn't intend to use this as a means to get her into trouble for her failure.

Still, she'd have to try and there had been no difficulties so far. Maybe doing this would teach her something about him as well which made it easier to understand their current position.