WHO: Maddie Savage & Rabastan Lestrange. WHAT: Intimidation. WHEN: Tonight, 30 January. WHERE: A muggle pub. WARNINGS: Violence & Unforgivables.
Rabastan didn’t want to step on Yaxley’s toes, but some of the former Aurors were so loud.
Madeline Savage was especially vocal with her discontent. The Savage name stuck out every time he read it, bringing back memories of a bloody night with the Averys. It only felt right to teach the lone survivor of that slaughter a lesson — it felt like it would bring everything full circle. The address on file at the Ministry was outdated, but that stroke of luck was cancelled out by the new identification cards. Their tracking spell made it all too easy for Rabastan to track her down.
As he entered the muggle pub, there was a look of mild revulsion on his face. He spotted Savage’s bright blond hair in the corner, but he didn’t approach her immediately. He wasn’t up for another intense duel while he was still healing. No, he cornered the first lone muggle he spotted, jabbed his wand into their stomach, and whispered, “Imperio.”
A few minutes later, a balding middle-aged man approached the young hitwitch. “Ms. Savage?” he asked, his eyes glazed over.
Maddie had been trying to have a night away from her troubles (something that happened more frequently than it maybe should, but), finding a random muggle pub to have a few drinks in (and maybe someone to go home with).
She definitely hadn’t given anyone in the pub her full name as yet, so the approach immediately put her on guard, her hand sliding to her hand as she turned her face towards the man that had approached.
“Can I help you?” She asked coolly, her gaze shifting over him and memorising his features. The glazed eyes concerned her, though not nearly as much as the knowledge of her name.
“Mr. Lestrange says hello,” was all the warning Maddie received before the man pulled out a sharp, intricate-looking blade and lunged toward her, intent to kill.
Maddie reacted instinctively, grabbing the wrist of the man and twisting until he dropped the knife, or at least stopped coming for her. The glazed eyes suddenly made more sense.
“Does he?” She replied mildly, as if talking about a friend. The people around her were shrieking and trying to get away, with more than one cry to call the police. “He doesn’t happen to be nearby, does he? I’d love to catch up.”
Rabastan slid off a nearby barstool, mouth stretched into a wide, terrible smile as he aimed his wand at the blonde’s neck. “Would you really?” he asked, clasping his free hand to his chest. “I’m flattered.”
“Oh yes,” Maddie replied, one final twist of her would-be attackers wrist before she focused her attention on the Death Eater. “Let’s take this outside, shall we?”
There was a considering noise from Rabastan as he pretended to mull her proposal over. “But it’s nice and warm in here,” he said after a beat, flicking his wand toward a man cowering in the corner. The man flung toward Rabastan as if he was being hoisted by invisible ropes. “See, you won’t learn if I do it to you.”
He pointed his wand at the man’s kneecap. A heartbeat later, the man screamed as the bone shattered with an audible crunch. “This is what happens when you don’t keep your mouth shut. Other people suffer.”
“You must feel super tough right now, attacking defenceless people.” Maddie held back her wince at the man’s scream, trying to keep her attention on Rabastan. She couldn’t afford to let him distract her.
After a moment of hesitation she finally drew her own wand, flicking a silent Disarming charm at him.
A shimmering shield slammed down in front of Rabastan at the last moment, sending the Disarming charm careening off toward the bar. His mouth twisted into a smirk as he grabbed a highball glass from the bar and flung it in Maddie’s direction, wand snapping and weaving in the air as the glass shattered. Less than a second later, sharpened fragments began to propel themselves toward the former Auror.
A flick of Maddie's wand brought up a bar tray to block most of the glass, a few pieces flying past and leaving a gash on her cheek. She winced for a second, before frisbeeing the tray back towards Rabastan.
“Get out of here,” she hissed to a handful of muggles who for some idiotic reason hadn’t fled yet.
With a flourish of his wand, Rabastan sent the tray hurtling toward the muggles. Their panicked screams filled the bar as his attention snapped back to Savage. He stepped closer, flinging a volley of slashing curses at her, and he made a point of stomping on the muggle’s shattered knee as he approached. “Take your best shot,” he told her.
Maddie’s instincts still screamed to disable and arrest, despite the months of having to watch, furious and impotent, as the Death Eaters ran the show. Of suffering through the indignation of being demoted, the humiliation of being ordered around by Yaxley.
Instead of doing what she should, she did what she wanted to do, and threw a fiery curse at the Death Eater. She wanted to see him burn.
He shouldn’t have taunted the hitwitch without reinforcing his shield. Rabastan deflected the brunt of it, but flames still licked at his side, burning through his robes and searing his skin. He immediately retaliated by aiming a bone shattering curse at the blonde’s ankle.
She’d hoped the Death Eater would be distracted a little longer than he was, and Maddie had started flinging Shield Bubbles at the remaining Muggles, a thin layer of protection between them and any further attacks.
The curse smashed through her own shield and shattered her ankle, Maddie immediately crumpling to the ground and holding back a shriek of pain.
Rabastan inclined his head toward Savage as he watched her collapse. He kept his wand trained on her as he said, “Keep your mouth shut, Savage. Follow Yaxley’s orders. I know it might be hard, but keep the unprofessionalism to a minimum.”
Her instinct was to tell him to go fuck himself — but the cries of the injured muggle reminded her it wasn’t her life at stake her. Rabastan could, and probably would, kill everyone here and sleep perfectly well that night.
“Fine,” she ground out, lying through her teeth. “Get the fuck out of here.”
“Watch your tone,” Rabastan chided with a sneer. He turned on his heel to leave, then paused, as if he had suddenly remembered something. His cloak whipped around as he faced Maddie once more, this time uttering the incantation for the Cruciatus.
Maddie had sagged for a moment when Rabastan turned his back, her mind racing through what she needed to do. She needed to splint her ankle, she needed to check the muggles, call for —
Every thought she was having evaporated when the curse hit, and this time she did scream at the pain flooding through her. Everything else would have to wait.
It didn’t last long, however. He wanted Savage to taste just enough of the curse to make her compliant. There was something approaching a smile on Rabastan’s face as he pocketed his wand. “It’s been a pleasure, Savage.”