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Tweak says, "CHICKEN!"

Hannah Abbott (puffprincess) wrote in all_roads,
@ 2008-03-04 18:52:00

Entry tags:

*thread-completed, ernie macmillan, hannah abbott, rabastan lestrange

Questioning a Lestrange; the Centre [HA, RL, EM]
WHO: Hannah, Rabastan, Ernie
WHERE: the Centre
WHEN: Friday, 7 January, 2000; afternoon
SUMMARY: Hannah meets with Rabastan about the journal entry she saw. COMPLETED THREAD.
RATING: PG

Nervously squeezing Ernie's hand, Hannah knocked on the door to Rabastan's room. She wasn't nervous about meeting with Rabastan, only about what might need to be said. She wasn't certain Rabastan knew her father was Marked, or, if he did, if he would admit it in front of her, let alone in front of Ernie. But Ernie wanted to be there, or at least request to be there, so she had to hope that if he agreed to let Ernie stay, he would still be as candid as he would have been alone, and that he wouldn't keep things hidden thinking he was doing her some sort of favor hiding the truth from her.

"Mr Lestrange? It's Hannah Abbott," she said, clearing her throat right after voicing his name, as it sounded shaky.

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lestrange_fier
2008-03-05 12:06 am UTC (link)

Rabastan had been waiting curiously to find out what the Abbott girl wanted to talk to him about, so he answered the door relatively quickly. He was a bit surprised to see that she was not alone but he opened his door, ushering them both in.

"Nice to see you again, Hannah." He knew her from the class that she taught, and found her lectures both interesting as well as passionate. It was clear that the girl had a good deal of knowledge as well as a desire to teach...which was what made the shaky note he had heard in her voice that much more perplexing. She was normally so confident.

Ernie walked in behind Hannah, his intent to stay with her firm despite the knowledge that Lestrange might not agree. He couldn't leave her alone with this man!

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puffprincess
2008-03-05 12:16 am UTC (link)

"Thank you for seeing me," Hannah said as she moved inside. "And this is... oh, you met Ernie before, at the wedding. So you two know each other." Clearly not at ease, it was only when the door shut that she spoke, but she launched quickly into what she had come to see him about.

"Mr Lestrange," she began, the explanation coming in a bit of a rush, "I have things I need to ask you, things I'm going to need you to be honest with me about. I promise what you say won't go beyond us, because I hope you will do the same for what I say. Ernie... he'd like to stay, he's," she smiled, slightly tremulous, at Rabastan before casting a quick look to Ernie, "really protective of me. But he's here as my boyfriend, not an Auror, so he won't say anything either. But it's up to you. This is your suite and I won't make you do anything you aren't comfortable with, because I need your help and I want you to feel like you can... that is, if you even want to help me."

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lestrange_fier
2008-03-05 12:25 am UTC (link)

Well, that was rather vague. Rabastan frowned, unsure of how to respond for a moment. Even so, he could understand a thing or two about protective boyfriends. He worried about Narcissa every day, and often times he wished that he was free to stand at her side as she was going through one trial or another.

"For right now, he can stay. I assure you that I will help you to the best of my ability but it is hard for me to commit to something before I know a bit more about it. I'm sure you will understand my hesitancy to agree to something that could be end up being impossible. However, I won't speak a word of what you say elsewhere, why don't we all sit down and you continue a bit about what you came here to say, shall we?"

Rabastan led them to a couch and sat at a chair opposite of it, looking at them expectantly. Ernie took Hannah's hand in his, casting Rabastan an apprehensive look. If he reacted to questions about his brother in a negative way, Ernie would exercise his right as her boyfriend to protect her in any way necessary.

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puffprincess
2008-03-05 01:01 am UTC (link)

One hand in Ernie's, her free hand clutching her cloak one she had taken it off, Hannah sat and looked seriously at Rabastan. "I'm here because... well, in the past I've been able to see some of your brother's private entries to himself. At first, I was certain it was a mistake, because Mr Lestrange wrote things in them I knew he must not have wanted anyone else to see, but finally I told him I could see it because... because I thought maybe I could help him."

She withdrew her journal then from the pocket of her cloak, the entries in question now unlocked so he could view them, the pages marked by bright parchment bookmarks. She handed it over to him before continuing.

"I learned later he was probably lying, hoping to maybe use me," she admitted softly, still embarrassed by her faith in taking all Rodolphus had said as the truth. "No more appeared after... after he was told to stop. Until this morning. And I don't know what this last entry means. You know him better, you might even know the things he knows," she said, looking at him intently, wondering if he's understand what she was saying if he did know her father was marked, hoping he'd think nothing of the statement if he didn't, "and can tell me what this means."

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lestrange_fier
2008-03-05 01:20 am UTC (link)

Rabastan read the journal, his gaze darkening significantly. He loved his brother dearly, and wanted him to stay alive and well, but sometimes Rodolphus did things that were unthinkable, and letting Hannah see an entry like that one when she knew just who their biggest asset in the ministry was...

"I know." He said softly, looking her and then Ernie in the face. "I know who he's referring to in this entry, and I think you do as well." He read it again, unsure of what to tell them. Should he be honest and say that his brother was quite cruel at times and could be planning on killing Dominic and letting her suffer thinking about the things she could have done? No, that wouldn't do. Should he lie and say that Rodolphus was likely just toying with her again when he wasn't sure if that was the case? If something happened to her father, she would never forgive him, and despite all of her sweetness, he knew that her anger would be a fierce thing indeed.

"I'm not sure what he's up to." He said honestly. "But I would be careful. I hope that he's just toying with you again, but you can never be certain with my brother."

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puffprincess
2008-03-05 01:48 am UTC (link)

Hannah watched him with wide, worried eyes. "Ernie knows. If you know what I know, or what you seem to know, Ernie knows too, so you can say it in front of him," she said, the words awkwardly vague yet far from truly cryptic. There was little use hiding what he father was if Rabastan knew, even if she would hold tight to the secret of what he and Hestia were doing. That could only be known by them, Ernie and herself, for her father's safety.

"The other entries and things he said, he was lying in all of them, wasn't he?" she asked, nodding to the parchment bookmarked pages. She needed to know the truth, to know how to deal with Rodolphus Lestrange. "I... I thought... and still do, in a small way, that... that maybe if he had help, he wouldn't be how he is. Help more than you have here, I mean."

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lestrange_fier
2008-03-05 02:09 am UTC (link)

Rabastan felt embarrassed to be associated with someone so EVIL and yet he felt reluctant to out his brother for the wretched man that he was as well. "In the other ones..." he paused, clearing his throat. "You are a good girl, Hannah, kind and well meaning, but you are young, and some might mistake that youth for naivety. He knows what control he has over your father because of his mark, but sometimes he likes to issue little...reminders. You were that reminder. He wanted to come between you two, to hurt you or hurt him through you, I am not certain of his EXACT motivation, but I know it was not to seek help. My brother and sister in law are beyond that sort of help."

Ernie shot him a disdainful look, not understanding how someone could call someone family after all that Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange had done. Seeing the cold look that Ernie was giving him, he sighed. "Family is family, I would do my best to protect either of them, but I realize what sort of people they are. I am being honest when I tell you, Hannah, that I would be on my guard when it comes to my brother. He neither wants or thinks he needs help, and he won't take it. He is toying with you, but that does not mean that his threats are idle. Be careful."

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puffprincess
2008-03-05 02:20 am UTC (link)

Though she was embarrassed by what he was saying, knowing she had likely done her father no favors in believing Rodolphus could be helped, Hannah appreciated Rabastan's honesty. Though she had long since accepted that Rodolphus likely was beyond help, even if part of her still thought maybe it was possible, this helped to solidify that, in this case, there was no help good enough in this world to truly change someone.

"I don't know what to do, Mr Lestrange," she said honestly, her fear clear in her expression. "If this... if this is just to toy with me, to make me afraid and tell Dad so he sees it as a warning, does that mean that's all he wants? And if it isn't all he wants, could they still come after Dad? Don't they need him? Everyone else is on the run or in the Centre or in Azkaban, they can't... they won't hurt him, will they?"

She leaned forward, bottom lip trembling. "Maybe I should write back? If I do, will that keep him from going after Dad?"

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lestrange_fier
2008-03-05 02:39 am UTC (link)

"No." Rabastan said firmly. "He likes to toy with you, Hannah, that much I can tell. He likely knows that your father doesn't want you writing to him, and seeing that he is succeeding somehow, hearing you beg for your father...none of it has helped anyone else that he's gone after in the past, and it won't help you. It will only draw his attention once more to you, and make toying with you another one of his priorities."

He sighed, not wanting her trembling bottom lip to turn into something more severe. Watching as her boyfriend linked an arm over her shoulders, he could tell that he didn't want it either. "My suggestion would be to show your father and Miss Jones that entry, to warn them to be on their guard, and I would be on your guard as well. Rodolphus doesn't, to my knowledge, have someone high enough in the ministry or rising quickly enough to replace him, but if I were to guess I would say that Rodolphus has other ways to control him. You ALL need to be aware of your surroundings and on your guard. I would advise against being alone or putting yourselves in situations that could be dangerous. Be on your guard, Hannah."

Eyeing the boy who was giving him such a dismal look, Rabastan gave him a smile. Not everyone could be as forgiving as Hannah, not everyone could understand how circumstances make people change, and that was understandable. "Keep her safe, Auror Macmillan." It was embarrassing to admit what his family was to this man who was pledging his life to fight them, to protect people from them, but he knew that he owed this girl the truth.

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puffprincess
2008-03-05 03:14 am UTC (link)

That's what Ernie said before, that giving him attention would make it worse," Hannah said quietly. "That's why I didn't, and came to you instead. I'm glad I did."

She would have to tell her father and Hestia, she had known that from the start, but now she was not helpless in the telling. She would have insight to offer to Dominic, assurances to things he likely would have guessed on his own and, more than that, she now faced the full truth of what Rodolphus Lestrange had always intended.

Suddenly she let go of Ernie and stood, crossing the space between the sofa and chair to hug Rabastan. It was a shocking gesture to onlookers, no doubt, but essentially Hannah. He had done something for her, in telling her the truth, in giving her a way to keep from making another mistake as she might have done without the advice, that she could not repay and she was grateful more than she could say.

"Thank you," she whispered. "I know saying all of that couldn't have been easy."

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lestrange_fier
2008-03-05 03:42 am UTC (link)

Ernie gulped deeply, fingers clenching in an urge not to push himself away from the couch to pull her back. He knew that that was how Hannah was, but seeing her hug this man, this horrible man who had hurt so many people, scared him more than he knew how to express.

Rabastan, however, was pleasantly surprised. He hugged her back for a moment, feeling a warm good feeling wash over him as though he had done something truly good, and then he gently pushed her back, able to see from the anxious look on her boyfriend's face that if he let her linger any longer Ernie might be pushed to action and upset her, and none of them needed that just now. "You're very welcome." he said solemnly. "I only hope that what little I know helps you a bit."

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puffprincess
2008-03-05 04:17 am UTC (link)

"It all ready has," Hannah said with a bright smile, stepping back to the sofa once more. "And I have something for you. It's for the final papers for your next rehabilitation level. They need so many recommendations from staff on your character, our perceptions of your trustworthiness and ability to handle yourself for longer periods of time... and I saw you were missing one."

She turned and reached into her robe pocket, this time withdrawing a folder that she enlarged and then opened, revealing a piece of Centre letterhead, a sizable parchment filled with her feminine handwriting.

"It's the only way I know how to thank you properly," she said, holding out the recommendation to him. In doing so, she revealed she hadn't been waiting for his actions as proof, that without knowing he would help her, she had the faith in him to think he would. Even if life had taught her she had to exert caution and even disbelief, she still was unable to shake what her instincts told her.

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lestrange_fier
2008-03-05 05:14 am UTC (link)

Rabastan gaped at her. This mean the WORLD to him. It meant writing his own schedule (with centre approval of course) of where he would be. It meant two days in a row at the manor, falling asleep with Narcissa in his arms and waking to her there the next morning. It meant that he could tuck Allyssa in and be there if she woke unexpectedly in the night. She was essentially giving him a large chunk of his freedom.

And then he realized something. This was not some hastily scribbled note to thank him for helping her, she had come with it, and likely was planning on putting it in for him anyhow. Hannah had done this before...

Looking shocked, he gaped at her. "Thank you." He said, voice gruff. "Thank you. I know you understand a bit about fathers and daughters because of how much you care about your own Dad, and my daughter will be quite thankful at the new freedom that this gives me."

Also shocked was Ernie. The fact that she could grant freedom to people like Lestrange, that she could rehabilitate them to the lengths that Rabastan had been rehabilitated to (or as acting as though he was) was stunning. He tightened his arm over her back, not sure if he LIKED this, but certain that her doing so meant that she was that much better of a person.

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puffprincess
2008-03-05 05:23 am UTC (link)

His reaction drew a wider smile from her, the look of joyful gratitude on Hannah's face turned to pure pleasure that she could make someone's life better like this, help him rehabilitate and then reward him for all that work. It felt good, especially because he had helped her.

"You're welcome. I'm sure someone else would have done it, but you know the reports aren't routinely checked until the end of the month and you qualified now, so I think you should have it now."

She looked away from him to Ernie, seeing after a moment that he wasn't sure what to think about this. She was, though, and Rabastan's comment about his daughter would have chased away any doubts had she had them. Not everyone in a family was the same, something she had already learned by working for Narcissa and with Rabastan.

"We should go so Mr Lestrange can go meet with one of the schedulers," she said to Ernie and then turned back to Rabastan. "You should have enough time to get your papers approved and do your schedule before they go home for the evening."

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lestrange_fier
2008-03-05 05:35 am UTC (link)

Rabastan was so thankful to her, but she did have a point. If he hurried...he could surprise Narcissa, be home tonight even. "Thank you." He said, again, his wide smile saying thank you again for him, as he walked them to the door. He was eager now, like a child on Christmas, so ready to just get these steps out of the way so that he could go home and see his Cissa and his daughter.

Ernie was just as glad to leave as Rabastan was to see them go, but for different reasons. This was another step into that uncomfortable moral gray area. Rabastan Lestrange was responsible in part for the Longbottoms as well as countless other things, but he was also a man who clearly cared for his daughter and had helped Hannah, one who apparently just wanted to go home a free man. So many things weren't black or white anymore, perhaps it was just a part of growing up, but it was damned uncomfortable.

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