The Writer and the Death Eater | Rabastan Lestrange

Chapter Seven

 There were plenty of times when Tommy could be ignorant of the world and people around him, but this was not one of those times. Given that he had been having more difficulty with his writing, he was paying to attention to everything around him, and that included Rabastan Lestrange. 

 Tommy had already thought there had to be much more Rabastan than what was on the surface. Once he found out the Englishman had had trouble with the law in the past, Tommy knew he was right. There was something more to Rabastan than what met the eye. Yes, he was currently a sixty-year-old rich tourist, but who was he before that? He must have been other things before Tommy met him. 

 Or maybe Tommy was reading too much into the situation because he needed a distraction from the fact that he was still dealing with his writer's block. After all, he had been a writer for pretty much his whole life before he met Rabastan. Maybe Rabastan was just a man from a wealthy family who happened to get in trouble every now and then when he was younger. He did sense a bit of arrogance from Rabastan, but that could be explained by the fact that he came from some rich family that probably spoiled him as a child. 

 This was why Tommy did his best to concentrate his energies into his writing, so he wouldn't get distracted by a train of thought like that. Rabastan Lestrange was now his friend and collaborator; if there was anything he felt Tommy should know about him, he would come out and say so, wouldn't he? 

 For the next few weeks after meeting at The Resort that morning, Rabastan often came to Tommy's apartment to talk about ideas for the book. 

 "Have you come up with a name for the character?" Rabastan asked once. 

 "I just came up with one the other day," Tommy answered. "He's an Englishman named Roger Lancaster. He has the same initials as you, R.L." 

 Rabastan raised his eyebrows. "He's an Englishman with the same initials as me?" 

 "Well, it only felt right to put a little of you in it since you've been so kind in helping me. For his personality, I'd say a bit snobbish and arrogant at times, but he's not really  a terrible person." 

 Whenever Tommy was typing up passages from the story on his typewriter, Rabastan would always stay silent, as if he knew conversation would be a distraction without Tommy even having to say so. Tommy appreciated the fact that he could tell so easily. The silence between felt a bit awkward at first, but the more time they spent together the more comfortable they both felt. 

 It took time for Tommy to get through the beginning of the story, almost two weeks (the writer's block issue would clearly not be going away too easily). By then, he was ready to share all of what he had written with Rabastan. When Rabastan came over and Tommy read passages out loud, he must have sounded strange somehow, because he finished the last paragraph of the first chapter, Rabastan asked, "You don't normally read your works aloud to people, do you?" 

 That actually was true. Tommy didn't normally share what he was working while any of his books were still in the process of being written, not even Gustav, who was practically his best friend. When he told this to Rabastan, he asked, "It's a little arrogant, though, isn't it? I know you're shy by nature, but it could be worth it to get advice from other people before you send your work to your publishers." 

 Tommy turned away. "I know. I...guess I'm just awkward with people. I wrote to my publishers a few days ago to let them know I really am writing something new. I feel bad about keeping them waiting for so long when I wasn't really doing anything at all." 

 "I'm sure they're glad to hear something new is in the works. Now, you've got your beginning of the story. Where does it go next?" 

 That was the question Tommy was dreading. He didn't know what was next. He had been up all night thinking about it, and he had nothing. He admitted it to Rabastan with an averted gaze, hating to have to look someone in the eye and admit he had no clue what to do. 

 "That might be just as well," said Rabastan. "I think I might have something. After he's released, Roger wants to tell his side of the story to the world. Thing is, he doesn't have a clue how. Then he meets a writer named...well, I haven't thought of a name yet, but Roger tries to talk him into writing a biography." 

 Tommy looked down at his typed pages. Yes, that could work perfectly. 

 "And since Roger as the same initials as me," Rabastan went on, "I think the writer should have the same initials as you, T.O." 

 "Oh. But I don't think I know any O surnames besides Olsson." 

 Rabastan shrugged. "There's Irish names. O'Malley, O'Rourke, O'Brien. For the T, maybe he could be Thomas, since you're usually Tommy, anyway."

 Tommy nodded. "Thomas O'Rourke. I like that." He hurriedly scribbled that down. 

 "Tommy...I've been reading a few of your other books as well," Rabastan admitted. "It looks like you've written mostly horror and ghost stories, so I imagine a book like this must not be particularly easy for you. But you're a great writer. I know you're having trouble now, but I think you can overcome it." 

 Tommy smiled. "Thank you." He turned back to his typewriter. "Let's see if I can come up with an opening for the next chapter sometime today."