strange days have found us.

Rabastan Lestrange | 16 | Slytherin "Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent underneath it."

[galaxydromeda-deactivated201609]

Birthday Girl

Andromeda was woken up by her owl, usually she indulged herself a little sleeping time on Friday’s since she didn’t have early lessons but the owl hoot and bit her until she took the letter and gave it a treat. It was her father’s owl.

Cygnus was a man with little words, he usually spend time with the family and was satisfy of how much it was, even if they didn’t exchange much or were just playing chest, the older Black just kept on doing his business on the background and care little for fondness, but he was at least a notch warmer than his wife.

His father informed her about her engagement and told her the name of her husband to be. A French heir that graduated from Beauxbattons last year and now was doing some business with trading, something rather boring and a bit shady so instead of being a pleasant surprise she just was left with a bitter taste, a new necklace for her jewellery box and a dry happy birthday from both of her parents.

She put the necklace on, one that had a swirling galaxy trinket hanging from it, and prepare for her day.

The news left her distracted and soon she was bumping on people, having her head in the clouds and not thinking clearly. “I’m so sorry, it’s totally my fault.”

[lestrange---rabastan-blog]

Rabastan had been wandering the grounds aimlessly since very nearly sunrise that morning; he didn’t have any early classes, so he thought maybe for once his body would allow him to sleep in, but he’d had no such luck. Even after spending a good portion of the night in the Forbidden Forest practicing spells, dragging himself back to his dorm when the moon had nearly already crossed the sky, he’d woken up bright and early, just like he always did. He was groggy, to say the least.

He turned a corner sharply, trying to keep himself awake by walking briskly, nearly jogging, when he collided with a smaller figure, sending both of their things crashing to the floor. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, bending down like a robot to begin to pick his things up when he heard a familiar voice begin to apologize. “Andromeda,” he sighed, nearly yawning, “it’s all right, I wasn’t paying attention either. It’s not your fault.”

[mei-renaudin-blog]

“Merci beaucoup,” said Mei gratefully as she followed him. “Your accent, by the way, is impeccable,” she remarked. The way he’d spoken earlier reflected his English accent, but the way he’d changed his voice was admirable. “Do you speak French? And oui, I am one of the Beauxbatons students, as you noticed.” She shrugged. “But yes, I suppose I’m getting on well with the castle. And you? Slytherin, judging by your robes?”

[lestrange---rabastan-blog]

“Oui, merci,” Rabastan replied simply, a little pride coloring his cheeks from the way she’d complimented his accent. “Une bonne quantité. Ma famille était de la France.” They turned a corner, coming upon one of the small staircases enclosed by a wall so that it could not move. “But thank you. Yes, I’m, uh... Slytherin. Do you... I mean, are you... are you finding everything all right with Hogwarts? Do you like it, I mean?”

[rcdlestrange]

“I guess the rest of us just have a better sense of humour,” shot back Rod darkly but the gaze he threw over his shoulder was nothing short of amused. To be truthful, he lived for little digs at his brother. Falling back from the rest of the group to walk beside Rabastan, a scoff parted his tiers at the topic of conversation now turning towards him. “Black mailing Prefects doesn’t always go to plan, they’ve become ever so temperamental.”

[lestrange---rabastan-blog]

“You blackmailed a Prefect?” Rabastan tried to hide his surprise. There wasn’t much he put past his brother, but it was still unnerving to hear some things directly from him. “The hell did you need to blackmail a Prefect for? Which Prefect?”

[mei-renaudin-blog]

Mei swore under her breath (in French, of course.) “How the hell can a staircase have a mind of its own? Leave it to Hogwarts.” She rolled her eyes and snorted when he said that the staircases were deliberately going to inconvenience her. “Damn it. Er, I have class in roughly a minute, and that’s the only path I know. Would you mind leading me to the Charms classroom on the third floor?”

[lestrange---rabastan-blog]

Rabastan half-smirked, jerking his head for the girl to follow him. “Of course, cherie,” he said in the accent he’d once tried so hard to perfect to impress his grandfather. Lestranges are French at heart, Rabastan, you remember that, he used to grumble. “You’re one of the Beauxbatons, I take it. Most people get lost once or twice because of the staircases, but the French kind of gave it away. I’m sure you’re getting on just fine, though, right?” 

[aristocraticmalfoy]

“You know what, Lestrange?” Lucius paused, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. Perhaps he was being too open with the boy– he’d blame Narcissa for that lovely new trait– but he didn’t seem like the type to use that to his advantage. Compared to his brother, Rabastan didn’t have nearly as many connections; he had no upper hand. Besides, it seemed like he could use a bit of advice. “I think being ignored in our world, especially with what’s going on now, may be almost… preferred, if you will.” He stopped walking suddenly, turning to face Rabastan. “You don’t have to be your brother. Make something of yourself. “ Lucius chuckled and slapped him lightly on his shoulder. “Use some of that Slytherin ambition and excel at what you’re good at. I’m sure there are plenty of things you can do that your brother can’t.”

[lestrange---rabastan-blog]

Rabastan could feel the hot, red blush bloom fully in his cheeks; his eyes were unnaturally wide, and when he realized just how awestruck he must have looked, he quickly averted them, kicking the dirt beneath his shoes as they made their way back to the dormitories. Rabastan couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt that another person, especially a person in their society, was being completely honest with him, let alone telling him that he didn’t need to be like someone else; he didn’t need to be Rodolphus. Rabastan felt a little like the wind had been knocked out of him. “Thank you,” he said quietly, and he meant it. “You know, I... I’ve never heard that before. Rod is a bit of a golden boy. It’s, uh... nice to know that someone thinks I can do something he can’t.”

[squadleadcr-a]

“I wasn’t aware you owned the forest, Lestrange,” Ophelia commented, arching a brow as she approached him. “I was mildly curious. Can you blame me?”

[lestrange---rabastan-blog]

“Actually, Parkinson, I do,” Rabastan replied, crossing his arms over his chest as they came face to face. “Or I could just make it easy and say that Daddy owns it like just about everyone else here. Wouldn’t that be easy? But what is it that makes you so mildly curious about my spot in the forest?”

[mei-renaudin-blog]

“Do you see that staircase over there? Yeah, the one that leads from the painting of the evergreen tree to that tapestry. It was here a few minutes ago, so will it ever come back here? I’ve been waiting for a while now, got here just when it moved. I need it to get to class.”

[lestrange---rabastan-blog]

“You might be waiting a long time, love. It’s not like these things are on a timer or anything. They’ve got minds of their own, you see. And if you keep thinking about how much you need that particular staircase to get to class, the longer that particular staircase won’t appear. Trust me.”

[mostdelicatedaffodil-blog]

Narcissa paused. There were plenty of weird things going on with Lucius and her sisters. Really, the only one in her family that didn’t seem to be acting strange was Regulus. But she certainly couldn’t tell Rabastan that. Image was everything, after all, and she didn’t want her image to be one of dysfunction. She shook her head, “No, everything is alright. I’ve been a little on edge lately, but nothing unmanageable. –” She tilted her head, “What about you, Rab? How have you been? Besides, y’know, being locked in a closet with me.”

[lestrange---rabastan-blog]

Rabastan knew too well the look on her face: Of course not. Everything’s fine. As long as we say everything’s fine, everything’s fine, right? “On edge?” he asked innocently, turning his head to once again try to make out her shape in the darkness. “You know, for the record, there’s nobody here but the two of us. I know you’ve got appearances to uphold, but you can’t live like that forever.” Rabastan sighed, smirking in response to her question. “You know me, Cissa, I’m great. Aren’t I always?” 

[raffaellaburke-blog]

“It is. My mother comes from an Italian pureblood family. She won in the naming process.” There were a few moments of comfortable silence, both of them simply staring at the other. Rafaella could only recall a few run-ins with Rabastan over the years– sitting next to him at Quidditch games, relaxing in the common room at the same time, eating breakfast together– but none of their encounters had been particularly memorable. Despite being in the same house, they ran with different crowds. “Oh, I was just making my weekly rounds. It’s interesting to see what people get up to in the Forbidden Forest at night. When I asked you about wanking earlier? I was being serious. You have no idea how much wanking goes on in here.”

[lestrange---rabastan-blog]

“Can’t say I’ve met many Italians, not that I wouldn’t like to.” Rabastan held her gaze, for once not sizing her up, not trying to think ahead of her. The night was cool, and the Forbidden Forest didn’t seem so lonesome in the moonlight. “So you come down here to watch people wank? Is that like something you’re into? No judgment, it’s just a little more straightforward than I would’ve expected. Then again, I did say there were going to be no secrets between us.”

[rcdlestrange]

“–so, why are you here?” questioned rod wearily as he forced his hands into the deep crevices of his pockets. detention, on a friday night. was there truly anything worse?! despite being in the forbidden forest, it didn’t appear anymore interesting than polishing trophies or scrubbing floors. a group of them had been pulled together to help slughorn out and with such a – monotonous to say the least – task at hand, he’d entertain conversation with a brick wall if it cured him of his boredom.

[lestrange---rabastan-blog]

“Some Gryffindors don’t think that the jelly-legs jinx is as amusing as I think it is,” Rabastan said half-heartedly. He followed indignantly behind his brother, cursing the circumstance that landed them both in the same punishment. “Lucius was there, at least, so Slytherin didn’t lose any points. Anyways, I suppose I could ask you the same thing.” Rabastan met his brother’s eyes. “Why are you here?”

[mostdelicatedaffodil-blog]

Narcissa could hear the warmth that flooded into Rabastan’s tone and it did a lot to make her relax. She sighed, the tenseness of her shoulders disappearing a little bit. She moved to lean against the wall next Rabastan. It was dark, and a little hard to see so she felt free to pout. It made her feel better and Rabastan couldn’t see it. After a brief moment, she looked over at him, “I hope so. It’s just annoying that I’m going to have to miss Potions, probably.”

[lestrange---rabastan-blog]

“I’m sure one class won’t hurt, right?” He looked over at her, attempting to make out her shape in the darkness. He thought maybe he could hear the faintest bit of a pout in her voice, but he assumed with a girl as well-taught as Narcissa Black, she had learned to disguise it. “You don’t sound too excited at the prospect of either of those, though. Something going on there?”

[aristocraticmalfoy]

“We do?” Lucius frowned. His relationship with Narcissa at the moment wasn’t exactly one to be admired. Compared to some of the other arranged matches, he supposed his was one of the better ones, but they still had much work to do. “We’re getting there, but… I think we have the potential.” He glanced toward Rabastan before facing forward, “I’m not close with Rodolphus, honestly, and Bellatrix never seemed like the type to be satisfied with an arranged marriage.“ Lucius sighed. “Still, we deserve the little happiness we can get… Or else we’ll go mad, won’t we?”

[lestrange---rabastan-blog]

Rabastan listened with a sort of awe as he spoke. Lucius Malfoy was giving him life advice, and even perhaps sharing a bit of himself, his own concerns, with Rabastan. His cheeks felt a little warm at the thought. “Yes,” he agreed. “But happiness is such an arbitrary thing. I always thought maybe I’d be happier if my parents paid the same attention to me as they do Rodolphus. Hell, if he even paid attention to me, the git. But I know he thinks that I have more freedom than he does... Considering he’s already arranged to be married, I guess he isn’t wrong.” 

[mostdelicatedaffodil-blog]

“Don’t be such a downer, Rab.” Narcissa snapped in frustration, turning away from the door. It was very rare that she was cross with Rabastan. They were in the same year and they were friendly. But she was frustrated about being locked in a closet and it made her a bit more temperamental than normal. She huffed and crossed her arms, “I hate Peeves. Dumbledore should be sacked for even allowing him in the school.”

[lestrange---rabastan-blog]

Rabastan could sense that perhaps Narcissa had more on her mind than she was willing to let on. He’d always enjoyed her company; they were to be family, after all, and he thanked Merlin it was Narcissa with whom he’d become trapped and not her sister - Rodolphus’s betrothed, he reminded himself. “Don’t worry, Cissa,” he said, his voice softer now as he leaned against the wall. “I’m sure one of your sisters or Lucius will notice that you’re missing fairly quickly.”

[lestrange---rabastan-blog]

WHY YOU SMELL LIKE PERFUME AND SEMEN? WHAT THE HELL YOU BEEN DOING?

“Is that supposed to insult me?”

[raffaellaburke-blog]

Rafaella let out a laugh, pulling her hand away from his lips with a smile on her face. “I can’t quite say that I forgive you. You can make it up to me later.” She looked him up and down with a curious eye; if she was asked, she would daresay that Rabastan was more attractive than his brother. As far as Rafaella knew, he wasn’t seeing anyone, nor was he engaged. Making a match with a Lestrange, even if he wasn’t the firstborn, would be beneficial for any family. “Most people call me Burke, but I think I’d be willing to make an exception for you.”

[lestrange---rabastan-blog]

“I can be the only one, then. Raffaella. I like that. Is that Italian?” Rabastan recognized the look in her eye; he’d seen it on more than his fair share of girls before. He’s not the heir to the fortune, they’d think, but he is a Lestrange. There’s always a chance something could happen to his brother, right? He’d gotten used to it, but at least it was attractive on her. The Burke family name didn’t hurt either. “So I told you what I was doing, or at least I promised to. Can I at least have a hint to why you’re here?”

[aristocraticmalfoy]

“Oh, good. I figured I’d have to hex you. Not sure what kind of first impression that would make of me.” Over the years, Lucius had heard quite a bit about Rodolphus Lestrange. He was heir to the Lestrange fortune; he would be the one to carry on the family name. Rabastan was not mentioned nearly as much. The boy was second born to an affluent family– in the eyes of their society, he was merely a spare. It was a similar situation to that of the Black boys. Sirius, however, was seen to be an unfit heir at a young age, forcing Regulus into the position. Rabastan, however, was not as lucky. “I swear all of our families try to make us feel small.” He admitted, “Besides, being arranged to marry someone at our age is a bit… overwhelming. It isn’t easy to take on.”

[lestrange---rabastan-blog]

“I can’t imagine,” Rabastan admitted, looking down at his feet. He remembered the look on Rodolphus’s face when the arrangement was made; it was truly the only time in his life when he’d felt afraid for his older brother. “I’m sure it can’t be easy, knowing you’re promised to someone like that for the rest of both of your lives... But you and Narcissa make it look so easy. At least, from what I’ve seen. Not that I know you two very well or anything.” He paused to take a breath, then continued. “I... can only hope my brother finds similar happiness with Bellatrix.”

[raffaellaburke-blog]

“Oh? So you’re willing to become a half-breed. Not something I’d expect to hear from Rabastan Lestrange.” She raised a single brow, slightly intrigued, “You’re right. I’m not meeting anyone. Not tonight, at least.” She stopped, taking a step closer to him, “Burke. Rafaella Burke. I must say I’m a little disappointed you didn’t recognize me.” Rafaella smiled teasingly, “Why would I tell you that when you haven’t told me what you were doing yet? For all I know, I could’ve interrupted you wanking.”

[lestrange---rabastan-blog]

Rabastan bowed gracefully, taking her hand and kissing it. “Miss Burke, of course. Forgive me. The night is dark and full of terrors.” He straightened, stepping close enough to her to smell the vanilla from her hair, to count the green specks in her mostly blue eyes. “I’m afraid my activities in the Forbidden Forest must remain a secret for now. Though you are a pureblood so I’m sure it isn’t hard to guess. However, if we were to meet somewhere other than a dark forest late at night... maybe that could change. There don’t have to be any secrets between us, Raffaella. Can I call you Raffaella?”