Noyade | Rabastan Lestrange [2] ✔︎

48 | PLANS

A bang sounded through Lestrange manor, echoing through the long hallways with closed doors. The cat walking through the entrance hall jumped and ran off through a door. Phoenix' steps sounded too loud through the otherwise silent house as she walked inside. Before she could even wonder where to look for Rodolphus, a small house elf appeared near the broad stairs leading onto the second floor.

Timidly the house-elf made its way towards the young witch, bowing its head. "How can Winnie be of service, Miss Phoenix?"

Phoenix offered the creature a polite smile and asked, "Would you fetch Rodolphus for me? He's your new master, isn't he?"

Winnie stepped from one foot onto the other, clutching her beige robe in her tiny hands. She answered, "I'm afraid my master is in a meeting. May Winnie prepare some tea while Miss Phoenix waits?"

The thin creature stretched out its hands to take Phoenix' cloak, which she allowed the elf to do. With a snap of her fingers, the cloak was hanging next to the door.

"It's urgent, Winnie. Would you mind at least telling him that?" Phoenix said, readjusting her Slytherin jumper.

"Of course, Miss Phoenix, Winnie will be right back," the house-elf agreed and was gone in an instant.

Phoenix took a few more steps towards the stairs. She felt the urge to walk upstairs and to Rabastan's room. Did it still look the same as it had seventeen months ago or was there any indication about his mental state? Suddenly feeling cold, she ran her hands over her upper arms.

To her surprise, Winnie actually appeared with her master by her side, who crossed the entrance hall with a few large strides. "What are you doing here, Phoenix? Has something happened?"

There was concern written all over Rodolphus' tanned face. Aside from seeing him at St. Mungos and at pureblood gatherings, Phoenix had never really seen much of him. He was still as much of a stranger as a friend and in general, she had never suspected him to be one to care about others. Unlike his wife, Bellatrix, she had never seen him as evil but there had been a certain dislike towards him after what Rabastan had told her about his family. With Rabastan's suicide attempt, Phoenix' opinion of Rodolphus had changed drastically after the man had done everything in his power to change his younger brother's situation. He had even started a fight with his own parents which resulted in him and Bellatrix taking over Lestrange manor, where Rabastan would be allowed to live upon his return, under his older brother's care.

Still, his kindness towards her surprised her.

"I want to help," Phoenix said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Rodolphus weighted her words for a second and then shook his head. "No, we agreed that you would concentrate on your N.E.W.T.s and leave rescuing Rabastan to me. You should go back to Hogwarts while you still can."

"Not an option. I failed my exams already and I might have stolen a Hippogriff during my Care of Magical Creatures exam to get here," Phoenix explained.

As soon as she had said it, she realised how unlike her those actions sounded. Up to discovering her powers, she had always been a goody-good but now, she wasn't exactly a rebel but her level of impulsiveness had definitely risen.

The tall, blonde man in front of her sighed. "You shouldn't have done that."

Of course, she shouldn't have. Being a school dropout was frowned upon, especially among pureblood supremacists. It wasn't as bad as being a blood traitor but it wasn't something to be complimented on. Phoenix was sure she would hear from her parents as soon as word got to them about her fleeing the grounds. Since they had always put a lot of weight on good marks at school, they would be furious. But there was no going back now.

"Alright. We were just talking about how to get my little brother out of that prison of his. You might as well join us."

Us turned out to be, Damian Greengrass, Bellatrix Lestrange, Rodolphus and a few of the latter's closer friends - which might have included Jack if he had still been alive. They were sitting in the dining room, a map of St. Mungos spread on the table between them. Apparently they had been discussing strategies on how to get Rabastan back to freedom.

Rodolphus explained that he had been at the hospital all week, trying to figure out how the nurses' schedule worked and when would be the best time to go through with the escape. "The only issue with my plan is that the people getting Rabastan out of there will do this illegally and might be seen as criminals afterwards."

Mutters went through the group and the young wizards and witches turned to look at one another as if to question whether their neighbour would be the one to risk everything for Rabastan. For a moment Phoenix wondered if all of them knew what he was at the hospital for.

She leaned forward and rested her forearms on the dark table. "I'll do it."

So what? By the next day, everyone would know about her being a school dropout. Rescuing a fellow Death Eater was as much as she could do in order to save her reputation among the pureblood society. Still, she might not have done either if he hadn't been her friend - and if she hadn't believed that Jack would have done the same if he were there.

All eyes turned upon her and she straightened her back. "I have learned a lot about my power in the last year and I can help."

"Like what?" Bella asked, almost sounding cocky.

Phoenix narrowed her eyes but before she could answer, Damian chimed in, "What does it matter, Lestrange? She can do more than you could ever dream of and if she wants to do this, I'll be by her side."

With a glint of surprise in her eyes, Phoenix smiled at him. Although Maureen had told her that he didn't blame her for what had happened to his younger sister, Daphne, she had still feared that he would turn his back on her for being involved in her murder. Seeing him return her smile, made a weight fall from her shoulders as she turned back to face Rodolphus, who nodded.

"Alright, Phoenix, Dam and I will work at the front. We'll get him out of there by Sunday and bring him to the Averys until it's safe for him to return to Lestrange manor. Further details we'll discuss tomorrow at the same time."

The group scattered after that and only Phoenix, Bella and Rodolphus remained at the manor. The master of the house ordered Winnie to prepare a room for Phoenix after she received a howler from her mother which said that she shouldn't dare come home until she had fixed her reputation. She screamed that they didn't need another disgrace like her oldest and that she would hex her if she saw her before she had made up for her mistake.

Despite Winnie preparing a room for her, Phoenix found herself walking through the hall that night after at least an hour without sleep and tapping into Rabastan's room. In the dark, it looked mostly the same, drawings scattered all over the floor and books lying on the desk and other furniture. She pushed some of his things aside and slipped under the sheets, breathing in the scent of his shampoo.

Eventually, she fell into nightmares of failed attempts to get Rabastan out of St. Mungos.