Noyade | Rabastan Lestrange [2] ✔︎

27 | NOTHING YOU CAN DO

Going back to Hogwarts felt different than every other time before. There was this sense of finality among the seventh years, as it was the last time they would return. Never again would they board the Hogwarts Express on platform 9 ¾ and neither would they ever see the lights of the castle from afar again, knowing about the four-poster beds waiting for them in their dorms. It was no secret that most of them hadn't exactly enjoyed attending lessons, but almost everybody would miss the castle and the familiar atmosphere among friends. However, no matter how strong the sense of an ending was, it was nothing compared to the feeling half a year earlier when Phoenix and her friends had realised that everything would be different with one of their friends dead and two others absent.

The first few weeks went by in a blur. The students were counselled on their job choices – Phoenix was still firm in her decision to become a healer – and prepared for their N.E.W.T.s and life simply went on as it had before the holidays. Only that it wasn't the same. Ever since New Year's Day visions kept hunting Phoenix no matter how hard she tried to shield her mind from her powers. Pictures of blood, screams, fabric and so much more appeared whenever she wasn't paying attention and made her wake up screaming at night. She had trouble paying attention at school and staying awake in general because it took up so much of her energy.

And then there were also her worries about her friends.

Rabastan seemed hell-bent on making everybody hate him, throwing insults left and right, and making a joke out of basically everything. Not only that, but he kept being reckless, as he in one moment balanced on the edge of the astronomy tower and provoked magical creatures in the other. The toll his behaviour took on Regulus and Jack, who were the closest to him, was more than obvious. The former devoted more and more time to recruiting more young Death Eaters and helping out the Dark Lord from afar to distract himself from the fact that there seemed to be no helping his best friend.

With Jack, on the other hand, Phoenix seemed to finally have broken through to him. He didn't play her strong protector anymore and rather told her about what was going on inside of him. However, she didn't really know if she could truly take his worries along with her own problems. He seemed to be close to a breakdown. He had been forced to abandon some of his lessons due to high fevers and barely slept at night, which left him with dark circles under his eyes. Nonetheless, what worried Phoenix the most, was the trembling of his hands, which had grown worse and how he jumped at the slightest noises or had to squint his eyes at the tiniest bit of light. She didn't know how to go about it and, aside from talking to his older brother, could only watch him get worse.

When he entered the classroom at the end of January to replace his brother, she barely noticed as she had buried her head in her hands hoping that the headache would soon go away.

However, Maureen nudged her arm and murmured, "He looks awful."

Phoenix lifted her head. She was just as shocked as her best friend when she caught sight of Jack, leaning against the teacher's desk with his arms crossed. His cheeks were feverishly red and he had dark circles under his eyes. His hair was dishevelled and his face a grimace of uneasiness. Not only that, but when he grabbed the chalk to write something onto the blackboard his arm shook more violently than she had ever witnessed.

With widened eyes Phoenix instinctively glanced towards Rabastan, who sat on the other side of the room. He looked just as spooked by Jack's appearance as she was and to her surprise, glanced at her as well. He rose her eyebrows at her and pointed at the brunette man. Phoenix shook her head to tell him that she didn't know what was going on with him either.

Jack's voice sounded raspy when he started their lesson and started to ask them what they knew about vampires. Normally Rabastan would have made an arrogant comment, but this time he was completely silent. When Phoenix glanced towards him and saw him sitting exactly the same as he had sat five minutes prior with a pen clenched in his hand, she definitely knew something was up.

Rabastan knew Jackson Avery better than anyone else in this room and even he seemed unusually worried although he had tried to make everyone believe that he didn't care about anything.

Helplessly, Phoenix kept watching Jack without really listening to what he was saying. She noticed how he was holding himself upright by holding onto the desk and only moved as little as possible.

Everything went well until there were only ten minutes left of the lesson, which was when it happened.

Despite his hold on the desk Jack's legs gave in and he fell forward, his body hitting the floor before Phoenix could even move. A high pierced scream ran through the room and immediately Rabastan and her charged towards Jack at the same time. Afterwards Phoenix couldn't recall who got to him first, everything happened too fast. Since he wasn't moving, Rabastan turned him onto his back. His eyes were closed, but they were moving vividly under his eyelids, sweat was lacing his hairline. Her ex-boyfriend tried shaking him awake, but when he didn't show any signs of consciousness, he screamed something she couldn't quite make out. She heard everything like somebody had shoved cotton into her ears or held her under water.

"Merlin," she found herself breathing, before she placed her hand on Jack's cheek and called out his name over and over again. "Come on Jack, wake up. Please, wake up."

She looked at Rabastan, who kneeled at the other side of Jack, staring at him in pure shock. "What's wrong with him?"

As if he'd know or care. She immediately wished that she could take that thought back. Of course Rabastan cared, otherwise he wouldn't have reacted the way he had. But when he still didn't answer she only found one solution to their problem. She placed both her hands on Jack's chest, reaching inside of her. Due to her exhaustion trying to use her abilities hurt and she felt tears burning in her eyes as she watched a golden glow come out of her hands.

"Come on, Jack," she pressed through her teeth, ignoring the black spots invading her vision.

However, somebody tried to pull her hands away. Instinctively she plunged one hand towards them and made them crash into the teacher's desk with a wave of pressure coming from her hand, before she returned her hand to Jack's chest. "Please, Jack. You have to stay with us."

It was like she was in a trance. She didn't hear or see anything beside her hands on his chest as pain started to rip through her body and she screamed out. Still, she bit on her lip and tried keep letting her magic flow into Jack's body to heal him, tears streaming down her cheeks.

The black spots started to grow when she felt a hand being placed on her left one and she heard a voice come through. It was still muffled at first, but then she heard, "You're going to kill yourself, love."

"Then so be it," she breathed, groaning as she forced herself to hold the spell. "I can't let anybody else die."

"And I can't lose you." Rabastan laced his fingers through hers and softly pulled her hands away. "Please, there's nothing you can do."

With a small sob Phoenix let him pull her into his arms, where she collapsed. She buried her head against his shoulder and Rabastan pulled her tightly against him, whispering, "There's nothing we can do."