Dollhouse [Rabastan Lestrange]

Chapter 13

"Their opinion
is not your
reality."

The sounds of quills scratching against parchment and the turning of pages in a book were the only sounds heard in the Library. The occasional whisper followed, most of which came from the group of Seventh Years sitting at a table together.

The study session had gotten off to a good start and Callista was happy to have gotten so much work done. These notes would be essential when it came to preparing for their final exams.

Lily looked up from her work and gazed at the clock above Callista's head. "Session is over. Is everyone happy with their work today?" She said in a hushed voice that still had that sense of authority she used when leading others.

They all nodded, Fallon adding that Callista would help her with her essay and the eight of them split up to continue with their day.

She left first to find Rabastan at Dinner, while Fallon would find Genevieve to meet them there. Her journey was interrupted by the Marauders, whose faces lit up at the sight of her. Not another prank.

"Cal," James said, grabbing her arm and pulling her off to the side. "I wanted to talk to you about Rabastan."

She sighed, there was no getting out of this. She needed to talk to James about it and in order for that to happen, she needed to let him voice all his concerns.

She nodded and he continued. "He's a death eater, if not, on the way to becoming one." His voice was filled with concern.

"He's not a death eater yet, my parents would have said."

He grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "I don't want to caught up in the dark arts. Either involved in it or hurt because you oppose it."

She looked at him. He always worried about her and her family. That they would drag her into the dark arts as the War continued to grow. "I won't outright oppose, not openly. James, you know I will do anything to protect my family and staying out of the war is the safest thing."

"It won't be easy staying out of the war if your husband is on the front lines killing innocent muggles." His voice was strained as he tried to get the point across to her. "How are you meant to stay safe then? You can't, not married to a man like him." He spat the word, as if it were vermin on his tongue. Rabastan was not a good person, but she did not believe that he was bad. Not in the way James viewed him.

She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the rest of the Marauders. Sirius grabbed James' shoulder. "Madame Pince is about to give us detention, she does not trust us anywhere near the Library."

She gave him an exasperated look. "And who's fault is that?"

"Oh, yeah, Callista," Sirius began, "dump Lestrange. He's probably already a death eater like his brother and my cousin."

She wanted to scream. She could not. Her reputation prevented it. Callista Greengrass maintains composure in situations like these and that is exactly what she did.

"I'm done talking." Her voice was cold, leaving no room for argument. She walked past them, determined not to be late for dinner. Her steps were harsh and quick making it known to the learners of Hogwarts School that Callista Greengrass was not to be messed with in fear of being on the receiving end of a hex. A fear that spread due to another rumour, that she hexed first years who walked to slowly when she was in a bad mood.

She heard quick footsteps behind her and turned beginning to say, "James," but she stopped her sentence. It was not James behind her, but Anya.

"I saw your talk with Potter. Are you okay?"

She slowed so that Anya could walk in step with her. She shook her head, "No. He's upset because of Rabastan."

"Ah, the new boyfriend." She looked at Callista. "Don't mind them, they're Gryffindors. They would hate it if you dated anyone wearing green and silver."

"I suppose Hogwarts' view of him makes it worse." The whole school portrayed him as cold and cruel, like most other Slytherins. It was the description given to every student in Slytherin house who never smiled to anyone other than friends and did not let anyone walk all over them.

"You know him, so are those rumours true?"

Truthfully, Callista did not know. He laughed and joked when he was with their friends and he was kind enough to them and often other students in Slytherin who needed help. The question returned to her again, was he different or was he just quiet in his cruelness?

"No. He's not a heartless monster like the school thinks he is."

She hoped it were true.

~~~

Glancing around the Great Hall at all the students walking in and finding their friends, Rabastan could not find the rest of his group. Callista, Fallon, and Genevieve had not yet arrived.

He turned back to Aidan and Magorian who sat in front of him. Severus was also missing, but he had mentioned before that he would be late. He was helping Slughorn in the Potions classroom.

Aidan tapped the table, getting his attention. "So, Callista? How'd you like her so far?"

"She's nice, I guess." He did not know what else to say. She was nice. To them. She was pretty and smart and she never let anyone ruin her mood or her confidence. But that was the way the school knew her. The way the other pure-blood families knew her.

He did not really know her. He did not know her favourite book or how she liked her coffee. He did not know what her childhood was like, though he assumed it was like the rest of them. He wanted to get to know her more. Despite being friends with the girls, he had only ever grown closer to Fallon. Her family was close with his. Another connection made possible because of their families.

"At least she's pretty," Magorian added.

Rabastan gave him a look. "You're never going to find a wife."

Aidan brought his hand up to his mouth in an attempt to cover up his laugh but Magorian slapped him over the back of the head anyway.

"Idiots." He muttered. He did hope she wanted to make this marriage work.

________________________________________

I want you all to know what word Rabastan keeps autocorrecting to. It's Rabattangebote. I love it. Rabattangebote Lestrange.

For those of you who don't know, it translates to discount offers. It's a German word and its mostly because one of the keyboards on my phone is a German keyboard so occasionally I get german autocorrections

Anyway enjoy!

– walkingmasterpiece xx