Chapter 7, The Final Countdown

Nothing ever changed in Azkaban save for the weather and people's moods, both of which made for mild drama that eventually got sorted. Rabastan settled, along with everyone else, into a dull monotony, but when Barty Crouch died, that sort of shook it up a bit. At first everyone was pissy that he'd gotten visitors when no one else ever could, but what with the dying, there were bigger things to concern oneself over.

"Do you think his family killed him," Rodolphus asked. "I think his family killed him. I'd kill him if I was his family, after all."

Bellatrix tittered appreciatively. "Annoying little bastard. I'm glad he's dead and that we didn't do it, so there shall be no getting in trouble for us."

"I'm just saying. His family visits then he's dead and stinking to high heaven," Rodolphus said. "I think his family did it. He was fine until they came."

"Stands to reason," Bellatrix said. "What do you think, Prat? You've been unusually quiet."

Rabastan hadn't spoken during the little exchange, because he was busy recalling the growing horror of smelling a rotting corpse. Even out here with the open sky to blow away the scent, after a few days, it had gotten bad. Rabastan had never particularly wished to smell long dead persons that he knew. At least Bellatrix's concerns of him losing himself to his ravenness were proven unfounded. Ravens tended to eat dead things if corn or something better wasn't to be had. With that in mind, they must think corpses smelled appetizing, yeah? But Rabastan certainly did not! Even worse than that, it was disconcerting on a deep visceral level. It could've been him! "What if? What if the Dementors did it? Or rather exposure to their shit for so long, you know? What if... I just hope we aren't fucking next is all," he muttered...

"What's that," Bellatrix screeched. "Can't hear you." But she was laughing. She clearly fucking heard him.

"Fuck off, Bella."

"We aren't going to be next," Rodolphus assured firmly, and Rabastan felt a little better for some reason at that. Rod just had that effect on people. He could calm the storm when he wasn't being part of it. "It only means he was never worthy to be one of us." Rod was probably right at that, Rabastan decided.

"It should have been Regulus there with us," Bellatrix said. "He could've made a far better look out than Crouch. He should've been there. If he was, we wouldn't be here."

Rabastan didn't know what to say to that. Black had gotten himself dead somehow, and thinking of it always set his teeth on edge. After a moment he filled the silence with, "Yeah, that would've been nice." And that was true. Regulus could be annoying but he was trustworthy and loyal. He did what he was told and did it well. Surely he hadn't deserved whatever had happened to him, probably fucking Aurors.

They had no way of telling time, so no way of knowing that it was an entire eleven years later that the next upheaval took place. Rather than a death, it was an escape. One day just after sunset, Sirius Black in his dog form came running past their cells. Pausing at Bella's, he wagged his tail, let out a single sharp bark, and dropped a big doggy dump before running off. This time when Bellatrix began to shriek, Rodolphus did not dare trying to calm her down. This time rather than screams of tormented madness, she was letting out screams of pure, unadulterated rage laced with impressive profanities against Sirius Black.

He'd gotten out under his door. Though a large dog, he'd somehow made it work. As Rabastan replayed the image of the black dog darting past his cell in his mind, he realized that said dog was painfully thin. Was Black sick? That would be nice. Perhaps he'd gone off somewhere to die just as real dogs did. If not, though, he'd starved himself to make a break for it. What had taken him so long to sort out how to do that, though, Rabastan couldn't help but wonder. He didn't dare ask the question aloud in order to have the input of the other two as he normally would for fear of setting Bellatrix off again.

Her screams had eventually become wrathful sobs, and now she was finally silent. Likely Black had taken so long to come up with the starvation escape plan, because he was too stupid to think of it earlier. That or he simply hadn't the self-control to turn down even this drab food in the face of hunger. Neither option would've surprised Rabastan. He was impressed with himself for not being regretful that he couldn't skulk away under his own door, though. He'd never feel right leaving the other two. They stuck shit out together. He still spent his time in his raven form when it wasn't raining, and he believed it was what kept him sane.

Rod didn't talk as much, though at least when he did, he sounded like himself. More than once, Rabastan wondered how long the Dark Lord was going to take to come back for them. The fact that the likes of Sirius Black had gotten out first just wasn't fucking fair at all!

"There is no god damned justice," Bellatrix said harshly, as if reading his mind.

"It's almost as if something summoned him," Rodolphus murmured half to himself.

"What? Like some sort of dog calling charm?" Rabastan snickered. Not wanting to call the Dementors over with any happiness, he made sure to keep his mirth brief, though.

"Who the hell knows," Rodolphus said. "Something."

"One day," Bellatrix enunciated carefully. "When we all get out of here, I am going to kill him."

Rodolphus gave a satisfied grunt. "Good."