Marmoris | Rabastan Lestrange [1] ✔︎

36 | TENSE

It was fear, determination or anger, or some powerful mixture of them all, which usually brought people in books closer together. Phoenix had read enough romantic and adventurous stories to have come across scenes of misery, leading characters to put down whatever they were fighting about and stand on the same side of the line. Still, she had never believed it to be that easy. Just because something bad happened, one couldn't just forget about all these things that caused a fight. The differences where still there.

But when she rounded the corner after changing into dry clothes and saw her brother, standing in front of the entrance to the Hospital Wing, she realised it wasn't about forgetting. She hated Regulus' decision to join the Death Eaters, but she couldn't help but imagine him falling instead of Rabastan - from a much greater hight. A shocking event didn't make one forget, but it made one look at things from another perspective.

So she accelerated her steps, walking down the hallway. Her brother turned around, a look of surprise crossing his face, but before he could even say a single word Phoenix drew him in a hug. She didn't care about the game their house had lost or about the fact that her brother was still wearing his drenched Quidditch gown - not even him being a Death Eater changed anything in that very moment.

She could feel an aura of surprise and worry hovering in the air around him and pulled away before the feelings could hit her too hard. "How is he?"

"I don't know. They've been in there for almost an hour by now but they won't let me in."

"What if he-" Phoenix couldn't finish her sentence as the air caught in her throat. What if he's never going to walk again? She knew their society was incredibly good when it came to healing, but there were things harder to mend than just a broken arm, and the blonde boy not feeling his legs couldn't be a good sign. Losing his ability to walk was the last piece needed to fully make him an outcast in his family.

Regulus shook his head, droplets of water falling out of his dark curls. "Don't you dare even think like that. He'll be as good as new in a few hours, you'll see."

Phoenix couldn't tell who he was trying to convince, her or himself.

★

Those hours, he had predicted, were spent by the siblings sitting next to each other in the hallway. Cara Zabini had shown up after quite some time, but Regulus had casted a cold look at her, which made her turn on her heels almost immediately. They barely talked, but if they did they were careful not to pick up the topic of him being a Death Eater. Perhaps they were running away from facing some difficulties but for those hours they were better off like that. More than once Phoenix found herself nibbling on her nails, a habit which her mother had basically beat out of her, or playing around with the bracelet Rabastan had got her for Christmas. She felt like crying, although she didn't know why. She wasn't the one in pain and fear about losing her ability to walk. She was perfectly fine, but she could feel a weird kind of nervousness nagging on her.

When the doors to the hospital wing finally opened, she jumped to he feet just as fast as her brother did. Madame Pomfrey wore an exhausted look on her face as she watched the siblings approach her.

"How is he?" Phoenix asked at the same time as Regulus wanted to know: "Can we see him?"

A soft smile found its way up to her lips, but she shook her head. "I can't tell you."

"What?" The word left Phoenix' lips before she could hold them back. Her heart was beating hard in her chest at the young healer's response. Did this mean he wasn't going to be alright?

"I'm not allowed to tell you unless you're family," the brunette explained further, her hand already placed on the door handle behind her back.

"But we are basically family," Regulus piped in, taking a step closer.

Once again she shook her head, making Phoenix' heart sink further. "I'm sorry, but-"

She felt the wave of anger from her brother's side before he even opened his mouth to shout furiously. "Can you see any family around here?" He paused for a second, lowering his voice a little. "We've been best friends for almost our entire lives and my sister she's..." He looked at her, apparently not really knowing what to say. "She's his girlfriend. See, were the closest thing to family Rabastan has at Hogwarts and you're severely mistaken, if you think his brother or even his parents would show up. Please, you don't have to tell us anything, just let us see him."

Phoenix slightly tensed as he portrayed her as Rabastan's girlfriend, considering how fast word spread at this school. She was sure even the young healer knew about his reputation when it came to girls, but she relaxed a little, realising what her brother was trying to do. She casted him a side-glance. She could feel his worry and slowly fading anger, realising she had hardly ever seen him that concerned about somebody, who wasn't a part of their family.

Madame Pomfrey was obviously unsure about what to do next. She glanced back into the room and then both ways down the corridor. "Thirty minutes, no second more. Understood?"

Both of them nodded, following her inside. It wasn't hard to spot Rabastan in the back of the rather long room, considering he was the only patient. He lay in one of the beds, his face just as pale as his hair and the sheets, covering up his body.

"I gave him a sleeping potion. Don't expect him to wake up during your visit," Madame Pomfrey informed them before vanishing into her office, which was located close to the entrance.

Slowly Regulus and Phoenix approached their friend, sitting down in chairs on each of his sides, silently watching his chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm.