Rodolphus Lestrange, The Elder & Lesser

"But you can’t get away from yourself. You can’t decide not to see yourself anymore. You can’t decide to turn off the noise in your head. " -Jay Asher

[proudlestrange-blog-deactivated]

Never let it be said that Rab couldn’t be nice to his brother. Not that it was a common occurrence, or anything, because there was a difference between being nice on occasion and letting people know he actually gave a shit. Of course, Rod didn’t bother making himself welcome, just stood awkwardly over the table, and Rabastan rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, pulling out the chair next to him with a brusque motion and patting the seat with his hand. “It’s like pulling teeth,” he muttered, loud enough for Rod to hear him as he flashed a shit-eating grin.

"Yeah, I just got back," he said, letting the smile fall from his face. Truth be told, he hadn’t seen his brother in a while past quick civilities, and while no one would dare call him a family man, he still made a point of keeping tabs on his older brother when he could. Feeling generous, he offered his firewhiskey with a gesture, half-sure anyway that Rodolphus would turn it down. "Mm. I heard. I’m a little annoyed I missed it." More than a little, actually, not that he’d say as much. "What was it like, in the midst of it?" he asked, before he could stop himself.

Sometimes conversation between he and his brother was forced, uncomfortable, but he was slowly relaxing into the warmth of his seat, and with that some of the tension fell away. It’d been strange, growing up, being the one getting more of the positive attention, and not for the first time he wondered how much Rodolphus resented him. If the roles were reversed, Rabastan was sure he would’ve killed him by now, or something nearly as drastic, so maybe it was fate that things had turned out this way. Still, he was curious.

[rodolphus-b-lestrange]

Rod sat down, with a short glare at the comment, but let it slide. Like always. It was easier that way, really. Not getting worked over the small things. Besides, he had been standing awkwardly. It was his own fault he couldn't seem to make a decisive choice. Rod leaned back in the chair, trying to relax but feeling just the opposite. Somehow his brother always put him on edge. He paused when offered the firewhiskey, and almost turned it down, but stopped himself. He'd come here to get something to drink, if Rabastan offered, why say no?

"Of course you are," Rod said, taking a drink before pushing it back towards his brother. It was just like Rabastan to actually be sorry he'd missed a fight, a chance at death -- although, presumably, that wasn't the way he saw it. In his defense, that was where Rabastan shone. He knew how to fight, was able to find a passion and energy that Rod never could. Each battle was a credit in Rabastan's name, and another away from Rod's. The feeling was getting too damn familiar.

Rod waited, tapping his fingers across the table before answering. "It was..." How did he explain it in a way Rabstan would understand? It was terrifying, it was brutal. Everything that the Dark Lord was capable of, laid out before them like that, it was a shock to realize truly what Rodolphus was a part of, was evil. But Rodolphus was trying to forget about all of that, find the pure contempt for the dead everyone else had. He settled for the most neutral but honest work he could find, "Chaotic."

"Giants everywhere, people fighting and leaving...and dying. It was something to see," he said. "You should have been there." If it had been a few years earlier, Rod would've been delighted that his brother had missed out on something so big, so important. But now, it hardly seemed important. His brother had long outmatched him.

[rodolphus-b-lestrange]

Firefly AU:

Born and raised on Ariel, one of the ‘Verse’s Ceneral Planets, Rodolphus Lestrange has always understood the inner workings of high society. His whole life he’s maintained a strong respect and loyalty for the Alliance, even serving briefly to fight against rebel insurgents in the Unification War.

Once the war ended, Rodolphus got a job as a federal marshal, and started rising quickly in the ranks. But after a stupid and costly blunder, he was sent out to work on a small border planet moon. It wasn’t until he stepped out of the spaceship onto the sunbaked ground, amongst ramshackle wooden buildings that Rodolphus realized how different things were out there. It was worlds away from the planets he’d grown up with. He knew how to talk at parties and comment on recent masterpieces of art and literature, not spit, curse, and ride horses.

Appalled that the marshals working out there deviated so far from the law, he thought them corrupt and had half a mind to report them. But after being robbed, beaten, and kidnapped (twice), he realized: out on the border planets all the rules change. And if he wanted to survive, he was going to have to learn them.

(x) (x) (x) (x) (x)

[rodolphus-b-lestrange]

Chance Encounter | Sirus & Rodolphus

[stellavagus-blog]

It had been three days since his father’s death, one day since Minister Linton had taken office and announced his curfews, and Sirius still found himself numb at the edges. It was an effort for Sirius to force smiles around the Order, pretend that he wasn’t slipping off the deep end, and to remember that he still had to attend meetings.

Sirius flipped the paper over, half crumbling it into a little ball. Most who read it were looking for news about the new Minister, judging and evaluating him in comparison to their choice, and wondering if he would hold true to his promises to end this war before it even begins.

It was stupid.

The war had already begun, and, to Sirius’ mind, Linton had no chance. Even with his promised arsenal of weapons from the Department of Mysteries, there was no possible way it would be that easy to end this war.

But Sirius had barely skimmed the surface of the Minister’s article. In the corner of the front page of the Prophet had been an announcement for his father’s funeral, and, as soon as he’d read the announcement, he’d crumbled the paper and set it aside.

Just as he had decided to head out from the little coffee shop he heard his name, and, as dark eyes met light grey, he couldn’t help but find himself back, once more, at Weymouth’s party – a flask between them and half smiles in a tentative peace.

“Lestrange,” he replied, “Fancy meeting you here. Reading up on your new Minister?” he asked, nodding to the paper beside Rodolphus.

[rodolphus-b-lestrange]

"Hmm - what? Oh, yeah," Rod said glancing back at the paper. He didn’t know why he’d called out to Sirius in the first place, honestly. They were on separate sides after all. At the minister’s party they’d briefly gotten along, but that was before everything went to hell. Now everything had changed. Not only was the war more real than ever, Sirius was, and always would be, a blood traitor.

And from what Rod had heard, Sirius hadn’t left that night without some loses. Disowned or not, Orion’s death had to have had some affect on his son. Rodolphus was probably one of the last people Sirius wanted to talk to right now.

But he’d already said something, removed the possibility of them just ignoring each other. And since he had no plans of attacking Sirius, he settled for the third option; he kept talking as if everything were perfectly normal. 

"He’s… " Rod started, trying to come up with something to say about the new minister. But it was hard to tell. Coming for the department of ministry’s, no one could vouch for his specific doings in the past. All they knew was what was happening right now, these new laws he’d coming up with.

"Well, these laws are something. Curfew, searchings? I doubt that it’ll help much."

[proudlestrange-blog-deactivated]

There were certain bars across London that held their appeal (along with gorgeous, easy bartenders and cheap drinks, of course), but Rabastan had to be in the right kind of mood to deal with the throngs of muggles he’d run into at those places—either relaxed and indifferent or ready to start trouble. On the tail end of running various reconnaissance missions for Voldemort across England and, once, Germany, all he wanted was a quiet night at a familiar place, where he wouldn’t have to worry about hiding his wand or getting approached. Usually there’d be more of an itch, an eagerness to let loose with too many drinks or a quick fuck, but tonight it was distant, far enough in the back of his head that he could tamp it out entirely. Mostly, he was just tired.

First, though, he had to report back to Voldemort; nearly as soon as the thought crossed his mind his mark burned, insistent, and he grit his teeth. It was one thing to make the choice, but a whole other thing to be summoned, like a dog. If only he’d been quicker; then it might’ve felt like he still had some agency. “Alright, alright,” he muttered, more of a hiss than anything else, and with his eyes raised to the darkening sky he disapparated to the Lestrange manor—his home, taken over—where the Dark Lord awaited.

"You’re nearly late."

Rabastan had barely opened his eyes, and he fought to keep the twist from his mouth. “I’m sorry, my Lord,” he managed, contrite as could be, and he kept his gaze towards the floor.

"It is forgiven… assuming you have valuable information for me."

Looking up, Rabastan gave a short nod. “I’ve got a complete account of the daily schedule of the head of the Magical Law Enforcement department, transcribed in detail.” He brought the papers from his cloak, setting them on the table to his left. “Efforts are being taken to prevent unauthorized personnel in certain ministry departments…unsuccessfully, of course, though measures may have to be taken for future trips.

"Germany’s minister has little to no security unless he’s in his office, which is rare—if anything, he seems to have relaxed in the absence of any apparent attacks in Berlin and now is as opportune a time to strike as any."

Voldemort was quiet for a moment, long enough to irk Rabastan’s impatience, and then he gave a callous wave of his hand. “Good. You’re dismissed.” And that was it, that was all the recognition he received for a job well done—

He disapparated to Hogsmeade before he could do something stupid, like punch the Dark Lord in the face. Standing outside the doorway to the Hog’s Head, he took a moment to breathe, to force away the irritation that always seems as though its bubbling just beneath the surface. Satisified, as much as he could be, he pushed his way inside, gravitating towards the empty table in the back corner, the one at which he could look out at everyone else in the pub.

With a rough, agitated motion, he pulled the seat out from the table and sat heavily, barely sparing a glance at the bartender as he sprawled his legs wide and folded his arms across his chest. She knew what he wanted, anyhow—full glass of firewhiskey, plus a little something stronger on the side—and she didn’t waste any time, as afraid of him as most of the wizarding world was. As they ought to be, he thought, smug even in his annoyance. Just as he went to take his first sip, the door opened, letting in a blast of cold air that reached him even across the pub, and he managed to swallow as the person entered.

A wide grin spread across his face and he sat up a little straighter, though he kept his legs comfortably spread. “Hey, you,” he called, loud enough to halt the figure in their tracks on the way to the bar, not caring if it bothered anyone else in the pub. “Weren’t you going to come say hi?” There’s the barest hint of mockery in his voice, but it comes through.

[rodolphus-b-lestrange]

Rod needed a drink. What he didn't need was running into his brother while getting said drink. It was hardly the end-of-the-day endevour he'd hoped for.

Pushing the door open, he paused when he heard the familiar voice. He glanced over to see Rabastan seated in a corner table. Part of him wanted to turn back around and leave; there was another pub just a few streets down. But Rabastan had already seen him. It was too late now. Rod mustered up a half-hearted wave, and made his way over to his brother.

"Hi," he said, overemphasizing the word. "Didn't see you." If I had I wouldn't have come in, he added silently. "You just got back?" He'd heard Rabastan had been gone on some important mission. But then again, he always had some important mission. Maybe he should be glad his brother was back in one piece, but there was no reason to. Rabastan always knew more than well enough how to take care of himself.

"You missed quite a party," Rod said, standing with his hands in his pockets. He hadn't decided yet if he was going to sit down or excuse himself.

[rodolphus-b-lestrange]

Chance Encounter | Sirus & Rodolphus

Rodolphus read through The Daily Prophet's detailing of the new minister. For some reason, Rod had thought the ministry would continue to be incompetent, even if they couldn't be ignorant now. But he'd forgotten about the rest of the wizarding world. Outside of the order and death eater's, of course people would be scared. Now that they couldn't deny Voldemort was real, they were out to see him gone. Any sympathy and ignorance were swiftly taken out together by the giant attacks.

It was hardly crippling to Voldemort. The Death Eaters operated outside of Knockturn Alley and the middle of the night. It was an inconvenience, but it could also be a first step. Linton was playing his cards close, there was no telling what he was going to do next, except that it probably wouldn't be something to celebrate. 

Rod pushed The Prophet away, having gotten his fill of the news for the day. It'd exploded after the giant attack, not just with the event itself, but with little things that were surely the work of Voldemort. Just the day before, he'd read about how a muggleborn who died of food poisoning has definitely been murdered. Like they cared enough for that.

He was just about to get up for a refill of his coffee, when he paused, catching sight of someone who looked familiar. "Sirius?" He said hesitantly; it could easily be someone else who looked similar. Although it wasn't as if he had much reason to talk to the man anyway.

[rodolphus-b-lestrange]

Purity | Self Para

After dropping the wounded girl off at St. Mungo’s -- already beginning to descend into chaos, but at least for the moment they seemed to have a handle on thing -- he meant to go home. Home to his barren flat that always seemed cold no matter how hot it was. Home, far away from people damaged and murdered, torn apart. Home where he could hide and pretend everything hadn’t just changed.

But his mind, full of fear, and doubts, and regret, mindlessly reinterpreted he thoughts of home as he turned heel and disappeared.

He found himself standing in front of a large and ornate Victorian house. In the countryside outside of London, it sat atop a sloping hill, staring imposingly down on the other houses scattered beyond the grounds. The lights were out, leaving it darkly silhouetted against the moonlight. The night was deafeningly silent after the party’s chaos, broken only by the occasional creak. Of course he parents were out, they’d have been at the party, he reminded himself, his stomach dropping. He didn’t like his parents very much, he was never quite the son they wanted, a fact made clear time and time again. But they were his parents all they same. If they didn’t make it out … they idea felt foreign and haunted, reminiscent of the time he’d been forgotten for hours in a Knockturn Alley shop, four years old and terrified.

Part of him wanted to correct himself, go to the place he now called home. Not here, at least not now. But instead he let himself into the house, instinctively hanging his jacket -- flecked with rubble and blood -- by the door. A house elf scurried up to ask if Master would like some tea, but Rod waved him off. He walked down the hallway into the main sitting room, collapsing onto the couch. He was more tired than he’d realized. not just in the sense it felt like he just ran a marathon (there was that too, the adrenaline had burned through him, leaving him empty and spent). But he just felt endlessly exhausted. The horror of the night kept replaying again and again through his head, with no signs of stopping. And it felt as if the weight of everything was crashing down onto him. Things he’d kept pushed up between the border of denial and apathy. But now, it was all too real.

It was his family, his parents, his brother, people he didn’t want to believe he could lose (although he was sure Rabastan would make it out of this, all of this, with a grand and bloody story to tell).

It was the fact he’d had some abstract assumption, inexplicable, but there all the same, that he would live through the war. But now he wasn’t so sure. Death was so close, and life so delicate.

It was the people he’d known at Hogwarts, good people, who weren’t going to make it out of the war, or even tonight. And that was a little bit his fault, just for being with the Death Eaters.

It was the side he’d chosen, or been chosen for, not that that difference changed anything now.

It was the atrocities he watched, committed, and would commit in the future. And it wasn’t going to stop. It was all going to get worse, and if they won -- he wasn’t sure it’d every get better.

He was too kind to be a good Death Eater, much as he tried to hide it, but he wasn’t strong enough to put down his foot and say No. Never strong enough, never in his whole life. So here he was, stuck in some kind of limbo between his blood and his morals. But the winner had already been predetermined.

This, sitting here, on the cold leather of the couch in the family home, only served to remind him: he might think whatever he wanted, but he was infinitely ensnared into the wrong side. His family’s side. His side.

He slowly drummed his fingers along the arm of the couch, the portraits quietly snoring in the background. When he heard the front door bang open, almost an hour later, he let out a long breath -- as if he’d been holding it. Quietly, he slipped out the back door. He didn’t want to hear what they had to say about the party, or the fact he’d been lurking in the house for an hour just to check on them. They wouldn’t care that he’d cared, he thought. But at least now he knew they were still alive, at least he had that much.

[alice-m-fortescue]

It All Comes Crashing Down || Alice & Rodolphus

[alice-m-fortescue]

Alice was only trying to get the girl out, she had no intention of leaving before she knew that the others were safe, or as safe as could be. When Rodolphus made the hole bigger, she was going to get the girl to the other side and hope for the best. But then a hand was pushing her back, causing her to stumble slightly as the wall collapsed. Bullocks. They couldn’t fit through, she could tell that much right away. At his words, however, she knew he was looking for an out. While she might have found this to be cowardice before, she didn’t blame his reasonings, especially at the shaking of the ground with giants killing screaming witches and wizards.

She shook her head, wiping at her brow, ignoring the fact that she dragged blood across her face. They were all bleeding, all hurt in some way. “No. You go through first. I’ll levitate her.” There wasn’t room to argue. Their time was running out and Alice wasn’t leaving, even for an injured girl. She didn’t have time to heal her and if this was the best they could do, then so be it. But she wasn’t going with them. “Hurry. This isn’t going to hold for much longer” There were already pieces of wall crumbling down in chunks. If they procrastinated for much longer it could very well collapse while they were trying to get through. 

[rodolphus-b-lestrange]

He paused a second longer than he should, but didn't object. It didn't really matter and there wasn't time, anyways. He stowed his wand in his pocket, and walked up to the hole. The first piece he grabbed crumpled, and he had to feel around for a solid handhold. A deep breath, and he hoisted himself up, easing his legs through. All he could do now was hope against hope that the whole thing wouldn't come down on him. There'd be no coming back from that.

Trying not to put all his weight on one section, he pulling the rest of himself through, dropping awkwardly onto the floor. Letting out a deep sigh or relief, he caught his balance, and turned back around to look back. "I'm through," he said unnecessarily. "You can bring her through." It still wasn't over yet. Alice and the girl had to make it through without the whole thing coming down on them, and the risk of one of the giants crashing over to them still loomed.

[heirofmontague]

The Beginning of the End | Bellatrix & Rodolphus

[heirofmontague]

For as much pride as Bella took being the first to know in all of the Dark Lord’s plans, she was secretly quite embarrassed to have not had a single clue about the events of tonight. It was kind of customary for at least her to know what his next move was, and it hurt to be left in the dark. Is this what the others felt like?

"No, I didn’t know. I suppose I’m glad I didn’t, I probably wouldn’t have been able to keep it on the down low."

Of course, she saw the way Rodolphus was gaping at her, as if what she said was cruel. Maybe to the mudbloods and mugglelovers, but this was nothing unusual for her to say. “I guess it is a little sad, the poor ministry will be scrambling to keep up with us now.” Bellatrix muttered with a shrug. No, no, she didn’t feel remorse, never for the impure, but she could at least sympathize with them. How she’d hate getting torn to shreds unexpectedly.

"You’re not getting soft, are you?"

[rodolphus-b-lestrange]

At least she hadn't know. It was almost comforting knowing they all been kept in the dark. Almost, but not in actuality. In that sense, it was some sort of twisted genius. No one could give it away if no one knew. Who would have stayed if all the death eaters had been suspiciously absent, or nervous, or smug?

She was at least partially right. The ministry wouldn't know what to do, their central figure had been literally broken in two. This put them far ahead, with the advantage of fear on their side. Now everyone could see just how far Voldemort was willing to go.

He shook his head with a murmured, "No." Not because he wasn't. Not because he was sure. It was simply what he was supposed to say. He couldn't stop the doubts that swirled loudly in his mind, but he could put on a hard face and pretend they didn't exist.

[heirofmontague]

The Beginning of the End | Bellatrix & Rodolphus

“I am not sorry for your fate.”

Bella couldn’t say she was surprised at the events of the evening, and she definitely couldn’t say she was upset about them. Anyone could see that much, the smirk on her face was apparent enough. "And I’m not sorry for the Minister’s fate, he was such a blithering idiot. Stampeding around like Muggle’s rights are actually worth all the fundraising.” Bellatrix muttered bitterly, picking up the small clutch from beside her last flute of champagne, ready to go. There was no need to linger around her — after all, those brutal giants had no knowledge of who she was, and she couldn’t risk an accident happen. She knew deep in her heart the Dark Lord wouldn’t go on without his Bella by his side.

"Ro, let’s go. If I see one more person getting ripped to pieces I might vomit." She sneered, looking up at her fiance. Of course, no emotions were shown through her gaze, their relationship was simply political, nothing more. However, it was in everyone’s best interest for them to be seen arriving and leaving together.

"I warned everyone this would happen soon, did I not? I knew our Dark Lord had been cooking something up, how brilliant of him to reveal it tonight." Bellatrix continued wildly, mostly talking to just herself at this point, not caring whether Rodolphus was realling paying attention or not. She was focused on leaving this disaster before something bad happened to herself, and the screaming coming from either side of the property was simply background noise now. Those stupid people should’ve known it would be the beginning of the end.

He didn't respond to what she said, it was probably retorical anyway.

[rodolphus-b-lestrange]

Rod gaped at Bellatrix. It was one thing to be above mudbloods, and another to be totally indifferent. As if people dying all around them, of all bloods, were just background. He'd known she believed deeply in the pureblood ideals, that mudbloods were an abomination to be squashed. That muggles were pests. But amidst all this horror, her apathy seemed almost cruel.

He didn't respond to what she said, it was probably rhetorical anyway. And he couldn't think of anything that wouldn't render his thoughts transparent. Thoughts that now bordered on blasphemy. How brilliant? How brilliant to murder everyone here regardless of blood? How brilliant to snap the minister in half for the wizarding world to see, to hate? It was alienating to all but the cruelest, those with the most blinding prejudices.

He trailed along behind Bellatrix, barely keeping up. Soon he'd fall behind, but he was too stunned to acknowledge the severity of the situation. He felt as if he were drifting through some world of non reality.

"Did you know about the giants?" He chocked out, not really wanting to know the answer. The last thing he wanted to find out was the extent that his future wife supported this chaos and brutality. But some part of him needed to know, needed to find out just how far entrenched he was into the atrocities of his side.

[alice-m-fortescue]

It All Comes Crashing Down || Alice & Rodolphus

[alice-m-fortescue]

"Good." Alice didn’t really care whether or not she was a fan of Rodolphus because, right now, she was concerned with staying alive and keeping as many of her own alive as possible. "We need to be alive to do that!" She ducked as something else was thrown, a person, she thought, as droplets of blood splattered on her. She couldn’t tell where the red of her dress ended and the blood began.  

She got to her feet, more of the ceiling crumbling down in large chunks as she moved out of the way. Alice looked around, trying to spot other Order members but there was too much chaos, too much confusion and she knew their best chance of survival was to find an exit. Or make one. “Help me.” It wasn’t a request, the authority in her voice kicking in as she cast a spell, blasting through part of the wall. The ground continued to tremble, people continued to scream, but Alice had the uncanny ability to seem completely unmoved by this in order to stay focused. That is, until she heard a scream mere feet from her and she looked up, cursing to herself. A girl, probably no more than sixteen, was trapped beneath a pile of rubble. Alice spoke the curse again, making the hole in the wall slightly bigger before going over to the child. “Cover your eyes.” She didn’t wait for the girl to comply before uttering a spell. “Bombarda!” She repeated it twce, getting rid of enough of the debris to grab the girl under her arms and drag her out.  

Alice dragged the girl to the wall, the only place she could manage before turning to Rodolphus. “Are you going to help or not?” She knew helping wasn’t in the Death Eater’s nature but she couldn’t make a big enough hole without help. And they’d never get through. “Just keep–” She was cut off when something flew into her shoulder, causing the witch to call out and fall forward, a deep throbbing blazing along her shoulder. Bullocks. She gritted her teeth, switching wand hands and looking up at the ceiling. It wouldn’t hold for much longer.

[rodolphus-b-lestrange]

Rodolphus wiped blood out of his face, and pulled out his wand. Somehow he'd failed to do so before. Muttering spells as quickly as possible, he moved through any breaking and blasting spells he could think of. Confringo, reducto, expulso, anything that came to mind, in the hope that one might work enough with the others to get them through.

He glanced over when Alice moved to free the girl, about to come help, when she pulled her free and dragged her over. "What do you think I'm trying to do?" He snapped, not angry, but rushed, almost panicked. He wanted to get out alive too. Rubble rained down on them with bigger and bigger chunks. They were running out of time.

Finally, one of his spells hit a huge loose section of wall, blowing it backwards and free. He moved forwards to start climbing through, but leaped back, pushing Alice with him, as half of the wall collapsed above the hole, obscuring half the exit they'd made. One of them would barely be able to squeeze through, and they didn't have the time to make it bigger.

He glanced down at the girl still lying on the ground. Her right arms and leg were twisted at odd angles, and he doubted she would be able to pull herself through. And thundering footsteps indicating a giant coming near, and if they stuck around much longer, they would be crushed by the falling building. There wasn't time to repair any broken bones. "Can you climb through?" he asked the girl quickly. When she shook her head, Rod looked sharply at Alice.

"You climb through, I'll levitate her to the hole, we pull her through, I climb after, we all get out. Okay?" He didn't wait for an answer before pointing his wand at the injured girl. This was their one shot at getting out of her alive. And he didn't plan on losing it.

[alice-m-fortescue]

It All Comes Crashing Down || Alice & Rodolphus

It happened too fast and she cursed herself for not being more prepared. Of course she’d anticipated that something would happened, it would be foolish not to but all of this. Bloody hell. Alice’s first thoughts after seeing the minister killed were of Frank and she scanned the crowd of panicking people for him. It was chaos but as soon as she spotted him, she let out the smallest breath. If she’d been another woman, she might have gone over, made sure he was safe. But she wasn’t. And she couldn’t have been if she wanted to because a moment later that were was a crash mere feet from her, a table thrown by a giant.

Alice gripped her wand, jumping into action, looking for other members of the Order, dodging a giant’s footfall before one landed too close for comfort, propelling her forward to her knees as her foot caught on her gown and she let out a curse. Catching herself on shattered glass, she ignored the feeling of shards digging into her palms when she spotted a familiar face not two feet away.

At the same exact moment, one of the giants ripped out one of the giant chandeliers, sparks going as he sent it flying in their very direction and Alice’s reaction was immediate, her brain weighing the options within a split-second. Clutching her wand she lifted it, shouting, "Reducto!" The chandelier exploded in mid-air, raining down minuscule pieces of debris now, instead of an enormous fixture. She ignored the small cuts to her face and scrambled up, looking over at them before another table came flying. Alice grabbed their arm, tugging them down as she cast the spell again, the table disintegrate in mid-air. Exhaling for only a second, she looked at them, “Are you alright?” She wouldn’t have ordinarily asked, not in a situation like this but she was angry at herself for not seeing it coming completely. It didn’t matter what side they were on, Voldemort had targeted them all.

[rodolphus-b-lestrange]

To say Rod was shell-shocked was an understatement. He knew he should do something, get out, try to help, something other than stand and stare, utterly useless, but it was so surreal. There was a part of him that was sure this couldn't be happening. He would wake up any minute, gasping, drenched in sweat, he would make a cup of tea and the world's order would fall back into place.

Because this couldn't be real. Sending in giants to the minister's party. This wasn't fighting, this wasn't carefully planned tactics to further their side. It was crude and heavy-handed. People's screams echoed, quickly muffled by the crashes, of the manor and gardens coming down around them, giant's hands reached down and scooped anything and anyone in their way. There was no regard for who was who. There was no division between the purebloods and the unpure, the death eaters and the order. The minister was dead, yes, that much had been achieved. But this was not strategic, it was insane.

Somehow he'd managed to delude himself on what exactly Voldemort's world would look like. But not, he could see it all to clearly, all around him. Chaos, death, and destruction reigned king. And he was a soldier caught on the wrong side of the war.

A screamed spell cut through his stunned state, and suddenly his thoughts, his reasoning slammed back into him. He had to get out. He tried to jump out of the way of the table, but she was already pulling him down. "Fine," he said, his whole body suddenly lit up with adrenaline. Even if he wasn't, there was too much at stake to acknowledge it now.

He pushed himself up from the ground, quickly looking around for the exit. It was easy to find -- a mass of people proceeded it. "We need to get out of here."

[diabolireginae]

He was hesitant. He was afraid of her. Cissa wanted to just leave - someone pathetic like that was definitely not worth her time. Not that, and not marrying Bella as well. Her sister might not be the stronger, but she was more worthy than that man. How had him got so far as to be engaged to a Black and to be among the Death Eaters, Narcissa would never understand. He didn’t belong with them. No, he was weak, and weakness would perish along the dirt. Years of practice made it effortless to hide those thoughts, though, and she was every inch a lady when she answered. “A bit busy with the marriage, but fine, thank you. Oh, the party - well, I believe that with a different guest list, it might have been great, don’t you think? Well, and what about you, Rodolphus dear? There was quite sometime I didn’t see you around.”

[rodolphus-b-lestrange]

He knew Narcissa was probably just playing nice, even if she did a flawless job of hiding it. Most of the Death Eaters didn't think much of him. Other than he was a Lestrange, and not quite good enough to be one. He did try, but it was never good enough. Everything paled next to his brother. But Narcissa had the manners to pretend otherwise, at least to his face. "Of course," he nodded, even though he didn't really agree with her.

"I've been alright, thanks. I have been around actually, surprised I haven't run into you more recently. We must keep missing each other."

[absconditussapientiam-blog]

"I doubt that anything he could conjure up would make us forget whats going on," Pius answered, his tone to biting to actually be diplomatic. One day, Pius would need to learn to hold his tongue (though sometimes he had to work to speak at all), but today was not that day. 

"Best." Pius agreed with a small lift of his shoulders. "Perhaps one day sensible speech will break through to him, though I have yet to witness it with my own eyes." 

[rodolphus-b-lestrange]

"One can only hope," Rod said. "Although with everything the way it is...the Ministry is running out of time and influence to change anything, I think." Rod was getting lost in his own thoughts, thinking of the way the war was going. It was hard to know what sensible talk was these days. Who was right and who was wrong. He almost understood why the Minister would try so hard to push the whole matter under the rug. But if the Ministry had gotten involved, it could have changed everything.

[stellavagus-blog]

Wonderful.

[stellavagus-blog]

Are you kidding? This is the perfect time to work on your drinking. You’re supposed to want to kill me, I’m supposed to try to murder you - both of our sets of friends are watching us intently to make sure we do neither of those things  - seriously, they are. Look to your left and wave to Pete for me, Hi Wormtail, fuck off you little fuck!

What’re we supposed to do together if not get drunk?

[rodolphus-b-lestrange]

Fine. Fuck it, I don't want to be here anyways. You feel like sharing that flask of yours?

[alice-m-fortescue]

"Oh, yes. That makes it much better." She shrugged because they both knew it didn’t and honestly, it would be a bigger deal if she decided not to show up. She wasn’t naive, Alice knew that eyes were on her by virtue of her position in the Order. When he suggested she have done just that, avoid it all, Alice couldn’t help but chuckle and raise a brow at him. "Right. Because that would be incredibly convincing being the only one absent. At the end of the day, it’s not the worst place to be. Though, I’m sure we’re all thrilled to be around each other once more." She shrugged again and pushed aside a stray hair. "Are you predicting a mess, Rodolphus?" Of course it was the obvious conclusion to the night but if he knew something, or if she suspected him of knowing something, well then there certainly would be a mess. Alice was on her guard, especially at an event like this.

[rodolphus-b-lestrange]

He shrugged. He knew Alice was a prominent order member, but he didn't know what was expected of her. It was hard to know how the Order felt about this party as a whole. Did they expect their members to come and put on a show? None of the death eaters had been expressly told, but with nearly all of them being pureblood, they always had something to prove.

"Are you not predicting a mess? I have been since the moment I opened the invitation. If we all get out of this without a scratch, I'll be amazed. Pleased, but amazed."

[optimasx-blog]

Lucius huffed and picked off a piece of lint from his robes. It was amazing the amount of cheap fabric this event was housing. Honestly, the thread count on most of the garments the ravel was wearing was downright shameful. “Why are you staying? Wouldn’t it be easier for you to just leave?” His comment was not meant to indirectly suggest him to leave, but there was no friendliness in his questions. 

If he were to be honest, Lucius wished he had the freedom to leave this event and spend the rest of his evening where even halfbloods could not enter. Of course, if he disappeared now his father would find a way to be disappointed in him. There was never any pleasing his father, and so staying with the woman he was going to marry seemed like the best choice for now.

[rodolphus-b-lestrange]

Rod sighed and nodded, glancing down. Surely, Lucius knew why Rod just couldn't walk out. But maybe not. "It would look bad if I left," he said simply.

"And why are you here, then. If you'd love the excuse to leave?" Rod said, not caring, and perfectly able to guess at the answer. But, to him at least, it seemed perfectly clear why he couldn't just leave. Why all of the dignified pureblood had to be there the whole night. They had to keep up appearances, otherwise people might look down on them. And that, of course, was supposed to be their role.

[vindicem-mary]

He had a point; it wasn’t like the two of them actually planned their meetings, but practically running in to him more frequently wasn’t how she expected to see him. Not that she expected to see him at all. “Well, we could just stop meeting all together." She shrugged, crossing her arms in front of her. Then Moody’s reminder rang in her ear to behave and play nicely, and Mary wished Moody could see her rolling her eyes. "So why are you off away from the party? I thought you guys enjoyed these kinds of things." 

[rodolphus-b-lestrange]

"Yeah, that would probably be best, wouldn't it." With the lines so clearly divided, talking to people into the other side wasn't really encouraged. Not unless you had a good reason for it. Although all those clear concepts seemed blurred here, with most putting on some semblance of friendliness. Nobody wanted to be the person who started a fight at the Minster's party. For the night, they all had to play along with the minister's facade to some extend.

"You know just because I'm a pureblood doesn't mean I find running around playing the socialite fun."