InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Goooo humpbacks!"

The last half-hour of the shift always seemed to last for about three hours instead, when everything was done and the hands of the clock crept glacially closer to knocking-off time, carrying with them the dread that something would go catastrophically wrong and you wouldn't get to leave until it was fixed.

Not that it really mattered today, since Rabbit was lined up to pop along and chat with the nice Aurors straight after work anyway. He wasn't the only one either, so it wasn't precisely a surprise when a message from Rodolphus interrupted Rabbit's spinning-around-in-his-chair: She's digging. They don't have anything solid.

Another chime: But I am openly cooperating with the investigation.

Rabbit snorted, and sent back: How civic-spirited of you. I'm just finishing up here to go for my turn to be cooperative

The door opened, and the next shift started arriving; Rabbit grabbed his things, exchanging the usual cocktail of idle gossip, tech updates and shit-talking with the incoming shift as the outgoing shift danced around them and out the door.

He didn't check his messages again until he was in the lift, and snorted at: I have the utmost faith in you, brother.

Rabastan Lestrange was expected on level 2, yes, come right this way to wait in a room decidedly more friendly than the usual interview rooms. Rabbit slouched in a chair to wait for Auror Travers, idly messing about on his phone and occasionally stifling a yawn.

Alice was quicker this time. Her files were all ready, but she knew she was dealing with a different personality with Rabastan Lestrange. It probably was still likely that the brothers talked to one another, but there was supposed to be pressure about seeing both of them so quickly in a short period of time.

“Thank you for coming, Mr. Lestrange,” she said coming into the waiting room. She already knew sort of what to expect from Roldophus. She did think that Rabastan would be a bit more unpredictable.

With his approach, she took her seat before he could even stand, and offered a quick hand shake instead. “I’m sorry for your loss. I understand that this is difficult, but I just have a few questions,” she explained as she sat back.

“You work in the floo office, is that right?” Alice asked and when she’d found that out, that certainly had sent up a red flag. “Have you known of any issues before with the international floo connection from the Lestrange estate?”

Rabbit was certainly a far cry from the pureblood perfection of his brother; shaking hands even as he shoved his phone back in the pocket of his jeans, scruffy-haired and a day or two unshaven, and far less formal in his diction as he said, "Not allowed to work on the connections of friends and family. Official policy." He offered a wry smile and scratched at the back of his neck. "Honestly, those international connections are usually pretty robust because no one wants to get shown up in front of foreigners, so there's been some yelling going on behind closed doors."

Alice nodded and that made sense Rabastan’s explanation that he wouldn’t have worked on the floo connection. “Of course. But from your experience, what would you think might have caused an accident like this if the connection is supposed to be stronger?” she asked. Alice was mostly trying to gage reactions here, and comparing how both brothers approached her answers.

"Yeah, I haven't been thinking about that a lot the past weeks or anything," Rabbit commented, the corner of his mouth twisting. He ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up in new ways. "There are about two dozen things that might have put stress on the connection. Enchantments or potions or artefacts or something else maintenance didn't pick up. Some combination of them." He shrugged. "No way of knowing."

Alice knew that the question might seem more insensitive in other circumstances, but she was trying to investigate a suspicious death here. Rodolphus had given her no indication that Rabastan might have had anything to do with this, but the floo office connection was suspicious.

“That’s all good to know though, thank you,” Alice said to at least show she appreciated the information. She made mental notes of what Rabastan was saying, but also watched the physical reactions too. “Do you know of anyone that would try to harm you, or any members of your family?” Alice asked next.

Rabbit's eyebrows went up, and he huffed a surprised little laugh, then rubbed a hand over his mouth. "Sorry. Just. My father and I could barely share a meal in the last ten years, let alone an enemy. Or a conversation about one. Sorry," he repeated. "No. The answer to your question is no. I don't know anyone who... not like that."

Alice looked at him at this reaction which was interesting. Now, pureblood children having issues with their parents was not a new thing. This reaction of course seemed a little more than what Rodolphus had mentioned. “So you and your father had problems then?”

"No problems at all unless we had to actually be civil to each other." Rabbit flashed a brief and brittle smile. "Which didn't happen that often, so no, no problem. I've been my own man for, shit, more than ten years now, and he didn't like it and I didn't care." He looked at Auror Travers and said, "I didn't kill him."

If Rabastan and Corvus had barely talked for ten years, the question that nagged at Alice was why now, if the Lestrange sons were involved at all. She was still convinced that this was suspicious, but she wasn’t going to get much through interrogation it seemed.

She didn’t flinch or try to react more when Rabastan was far more to the point and blunt than his brother. “I would hope not. We do suspect it was an accident after all,” Alice said to return to the casual part of this interview. There was no formal charges being laid down, and this wasn’t a criminal investigation yet.

“Do you have any enemies specifically, Mr. Lestrange?” Alice decided to ask. “Anyone that might think an accident like this would be suspicious, considering your position in the floo office?”

His eyebrows ticked up as Rabbit considered that one for a moment. Was there anyone it might be fun to drop in this mess? Probably not worth the tangle. "I've pissed off my share of possessive boyfriends over the years," he admitted, "but this would seem to be a bit over the top. And none recently, anyway." He tapped fingers against the edge of the table for a moment, a frown forming between his eyebrows, then ventured, "Is there any reason to think it wasn't an accident?"

Alice nodded and believed that explanation. “We are just looking into all possibilities to make sure we haven’t missed anything in our investigation,” she offered as a simple explanation. Alice wasn’t going to let Rabastan to start asking more questions as well.

She closed up her folders and looked across the table to Rabastan. “I believe that’s all I need for now. If we find out anything, we will be in touch with your brother and you. If you have any concerns with us, you know how to contact the Auror office.”

"All right then," Rabbit said, standing up and absently patting his pockets to make sure he still had everything. He flashed the Auror a quick smile and added, "Cheers, I guess."

Alice stood and led Rabastan out. There was no thank you here and she kept this more abrupt. For the most part, both brothers were consistent, but now Alice needed to go back to the evidence again.