AND I AM DONE!
Title: A Melancholy Song
Genre: It is romance. Sort of. And tragedy. And fluff. So. Er. Rab/Ros. Yes, that's the genre.
Characters: Rabastan Lestrange, Rosalind Bungs, others mentioned
Rating: PG-13, for mentions of death and dissection.
Word Count: 1987 words
Summary: Rosalind visits her family's graves. Rabastan gives in to his fate.
Author's Notes: My final piece for the Rab/Ros Prompt Table: #3 Autumn. Not much more to say other than: ENJOY.<3
Change is a measure of time and, in the autumn, time seems speeded up.
What was is not and never again will be; what is is change.
-- Edwin Way Teale
Autumn has often been viewed as the month of melancholy. It is a time when the the leaves fall and the warmth of summer is at its end and the prospects of a long, cold winter is at the threshold. The days become shorter; the nights, longer. Darkness becomes longer. Foliage turns brown and withers. The trees lose their plumage and the animals begin to leave for better things. Unfortunately, for humans, they cannot leave behind the darkness quite so easily.
The war was finally over.
But the hearts it left broken and the families it tore apart would not forget.
And for them, it was not over yet.
The sad leaves of Autumn fell as the winds began to blow. They floated gently, almost poetically, onto the damp, wet earth. Five simple grave markers lay at her feet. It has been two years since she last saw them alive and happy. It has been two years since she kissed her Papa good night. It has been two years since she danced with Alphonse. It has been two years since Sevastien last slept in her bed to protect her from what lay inside her closet. It has been two long, lonely and painful years since she last held her children in her arms. Rosalind tries not to cry as she looks at the graves beneath her feet. She tries not to think of the people they contain. A sad, lonely wind blows. She wraps her arms around herself to fight off the chill, but the most painful chill is not without, but within.
The scene is domestic. The autumn leaves have just fallen and the twins lie in their crib, raising their arms to be carried by their Mama or by anyone that would give them attention. Rosalind smiles at her two grey-eyed angels and kisses them both. She daydreams of the day, nine years from now, when she would be watching them as they board a scarlet train. She would cry, yes. She would wave and worry. Sevastien would comfort her and tell her they would be all right. And he would be there, lower down on the platform, standing with his beautiful pureblooded wife. They would both watch as the train that carried their precious treasures leaves for Hogwarts. They would both turn to leave, their eyes would meet and for that one, solitary second, they would both remember what it was like to be in that castle and in each others' arms.
Rosalind closes her eyes briefly as she steadies herself.
"And what are you thinking of, my dear?" her mother asks from her seat near the fire.
"Nine years hence, when my sweethearts are off to Hogwarts and how lonely I shall be."
"Non, ma petite. They shall go to Beauxbatons."
She looks at her Mama and pretends to be horrified. "And come back, married to Muggles? No, no, Grandpere will not hear of it."
"Ah, but if they go to Hogwarts, she will come home pregnant and he will come home having destroyed a young girl. Their Grandmere will not hear of that."
The tears come. As the leaves of Autumn fall, so do her tears. They roll down her face in an uncontrollable flow and she is powerless to stop it. She tries to think of something, anything else, but all that she sees is her Papa's blank stare, Sevastien's frozen scream, Alphonse's bloodied face, Ruslan's....she is sobbing now. She presses her gloved hand against her lips, fighting the almost-screams that come with her tears. She steadies her knees and summons the strength from somewhere. She refuses to fall down and give in to the grief. She digs her fingers into her hands as she tries to find the strength to stay up. She closes her eyes and all she can see is his face; his grey eyes, which he had given to their children, prominent. They look at her with love that she is sure she has only imagined.
She comes home from Diagon Alley with her mother and youngest brother. They have been out shopping for presents for the twins. It is almost their birthday. They are almost three. It seems quite impossible that it was only three years ago that they were babies and needed her every single moment. She misses the feeling of being needed, but she realizes that they will not always need her. She tries not to think too far into the future. She tries not to think of the past. She tries to live mainly in the moment and in the present, for that was where the least number of tears lay. Or at least, that's what she thinks.
The Dark Mark.
She hears her mother's scream before anything else. Shopping bags are dropped. She sees her mother run into the house first, quickly followed by Nasi. She is unable to move, unable to face the horror that she knows she will find inside. Nasi quickly returns to the door. His face is dry, but the horror on his face is too much for anyone to bear. She asks a silent question, begging him to tell her that at least one of them was alive. A shake of the head and he is gone from the door. She runs inside.
The first she sees is her beloved father, dead on the stairs. Her mother's helpless figure slumped over him. She looks for Nasi and he is down the hall, looking down at an unmoving heap on the floor. She does not know what to think or what to do. She admires her mother's foresight as her mother stands to lock the door behind them, wary of Muggle police, before returning to her husband's side. She prepares herself for what she knows what she will find. She takes a deep breath, but her nose is plagued by the smell of death and blood. She looks down and sees blood. She follows them towards an open door, towards the library.
Dear God, what have they done to Ruslan?
The world dims for a moment before she manages to steady herself on a nearby table. Alphonse lies just beyond. She turns away. She cannot look. Yet, where is Reia? It breaks her heart to leave the library, wanting to stay with her son, but she must know what has happened to her daughter. She runs into all the rooms, upstairs and downstairs. Yet, there is no sign of her daughter. She returns to the library and falls down beside her son. They have taken Reia.
Rosalind is in danger of falling when two strong arms come around her. She feels so small, so fragile, in his embrace. She is crying without restraint now, all strength blown away by the harsh October wind. She wants her children back. She wants them back in her arms. It was not fair. They were only three. They were far too young to be taken from her and in such horrible ways. She cannot stand the idea that her family had been massacred by people they trusted. Her father, murdered by her cousin Bellatrix. She has been sent to Azkaban. Her brother Alphonse, hit with a curse to the back of his head by another of her cousins, Evan. He has been killed by an Auror. Her second brother, Sevastien, killed by Rodolphus, yet another cousin. Rodolphus will stand trial for multiple charges. Her son, Ruslan, mutilated by Antonin Dolohov, a man she had gone to school with. Dolohov has also been placed in Azkaban. Finally, her daughter, Reia, murdered by her own father. Unbeknownst to all parties save herself, Reia's own father took his daughter's life. She leans her head back against the man holding her.
"Rabastan."
"Yes?" he murmurs into her hair.
"You're going to have to run."
"I can't."
"You have to."
"You know I won't."
"I won't let them take you to Azkaban," she looks up at him.
"That's not a choice you or I get to make."
"I hate you."
He kisses her forehead. "I know."
"I love you."
"I love you, too," he loosens his grip on her enough to let her turn around to face him. He links his hands behind her and doesn't let go. She takes his face in her hands and kisses him deeply. They both know that this cannot last forever. That he must go soon. That he, as always, will be taken away from her again. They are caught in a vicious cycle of parting and reunion, only to be parted yet again. She doesn't want him to be hurt, but he must. He must pay for the lives he has ended and for the hearts he has broken. She presses against him and he holds her tight. She starts crying again and he kisses her tears away. He never wants her to cry because of him ever again. Never.
"Daddy," a small voice whispers. He grabs at Rabastan's trousers.
"Mama!" two voices trill and their owners clutch at her skirts. Rabastan and Rosalind part unwillingly and look at a team of Aurors that are coming. Rabastan bends down quickly to give his children kisses and to tell them to be good. Till stands protectively between her master and those who would wish to harm him. Rabastan touches the top of her head and she looks up at him with large, sorrowful eyes.
"Take care of them, Till," he instructs. She nods.
"Goodbye, my love," she whispers against his back. He turns around for one last kiss.
"Rabastan Lestrange, you are under arrest by order of the Ministry of Magic for crimes against--" their meaningless blather falls into the background as she holds on to him and he to her. They feel the Aurors advance and he parts from her. He raises his arms in surrender and comes forward. They immediately fall on him, searching for a wand.
"DADDY!" Briallen screams and lunges forward. Rosalind stops her and Rivalen, but Rosalie is already half-way to her father. She clutches at his legs, screaming for him not to leave her. She screams at the bad men to not take her Daddy away. The Aurors advance but Rosalie has other plans and will not go without a fight. She screams and kicks at Dawlish, scratching at his face. Rosalind comes forward to take Rosalie, who leaps into her arms and starts screaming for her father.
They cast Charms upon Rabastan to prevent escape, though he shows no signs of any intent do so. Rosalind watches them take him away. She presses the back of her hand against her mouth, Rosalie in her other arm. Till stands near her feet, holding Briallen and Rivalen. Rosalind tries not to cry and be strong for his children -- their children, now. She feels Rosalie bury her face in Rosalind's neck. Rosalind sits down and gathers them all into her arms, telling them to be strong for their daddy.
For this is but the Autumn of their lives. Soon, there will be a long, cold Winter full of despair and darkness. However, as with all winters, the snow will melt and Spring will come to bring hope back to the world. Yes, autumn is a season of melancholy, but it is also the season of change, the season that prepares the world for the spring to come.
"Autumn...makes a double demand. It asks that we prepare for the future--that we be wise in the way of garnering and keeping.
But it also asks that we learn to let go--to acknowledge the beauty of sparseness."
-- Bonaro W. Overstreet
Genre: It is romance. Sort of. And tragedy. And fluff. So. Er. Rab/Ros. Yes, that's the genre.
Characters: Rabastan Lestrange, Rosalind Bungs, others mentioned
Rating: PG-13, for mentions of death and dissection.
Word Count: 1987 words
Summary: Rosalind visits her family's graves. Rabastan gives in to his fate.
Author's Notes: My final piece for the Rab/Ros Prompt Table: #3 Autumn. Not much more to say other than: ENJOY.<3
Change is a measure of time and, in the autumn, time seems speeded up.
What was is not and never again will be; what is is change.
-- Edwin Way Teale
Autumn has often been viewed as the month of melancholy. It is a time when the the leaves fall and the warmth of summer is at its end and the prospects of a long, cold winter is at the threshold. The days become shorter; the nights, longer. Darkness becomes longer. Foliage turns brown and withers. The trees lose their plumage and the animals begin to leave for better things. Unfortunately, for humans, they cannot leave behind the darkness quite so easily.
The war was finally over.
But the hearts it left broken and the families it tore apart would not forget.
And for them, it was not over yet.
The sad leaves of Autumn fell as the winds began to blow. They floated gently, almost poetically, onto the damp, wet earth. Five simple grave markers lay at her feet. It has been two years since she last saw them alive and happy. It has been two years since she kissed her Papa good night. It has been two years since she danced with Alphonse. It has been two years since Sevastien last slept in her bed to protect her from what lay inside her closet. It has been two long, lonely and painful years since she last held her children in her arms. Rosalind tries not to cry as she looks at the graves beneath her feet. She tries not to think of the people they contain. A sad, lonely wind blows. She wraps her arms around herself to fight off the chill, but the most painful chill is not without, but within.
The scene is domestic. The autumn leaves have just fallen and the twins lie in their crib, raising their arms to be carried by their Mama or by anyone that would give them attention. Rosalind smiles at her two grey-eyed angels and kisses them both. She daydreams of the day, nine years from now, when she would be watching them as they board a scarlet train. She would cry, yes. She would wave and worry. Sevastien would comfort her and tell her they would be all right. And he would be there, lower down on the platform, standing with his beautiful pureblooded wife. They would both watch as the train that carried their precious treasures leaves for Hogwarts. They would both turn to leave, their eyes would meet and for that one, solitary second, they would both remember what it was like to be in that castle and in each others' arms.
Rosalind closes her eyes briefly as she steadies herself.
"And what are you thinking of, my dear?" her mother asks from her seat near the fire.
"Nine years hence, when my sweethearts are off to Hogwarts and how lonely I shall be."
"Non, ma petite. They shall go to Beauxbatons."
She looks at her Mama and pretends to be horrified. "And come back, married to Muggles? No, no, Grandpere will not hear of it."
"Ah, but if they go to Hogwarts, she will come home pregnant and he will come home having destroyed a young girl. Their Grandmere will not hear of that."
The tears come. As the leaves of Autumn fall, so do her tears. They roll down her face in an uncontrollable flow and she is powerless to stop it. She tries to think of something, anything else, but all that she sees is her Papa's blank stare, Sevastien's frozen scream, Alphonse's bloodied face, Ruslan's....she is sobbing now. She presses her gloved hand against her lips, fighting the almost-screams that come with her tears. She steadies her knees and summons the strength from somewhere. She refuses to fall down and give in to the grief. She digs her fingers into her hands as she tries to find the strength to stay up. She closes her eyes and all she can see is his face; his grey eyes, which he had given to their children, prominent. They look at her with love that she is sure she has only imagined.
She comes home from Diagon Alley with her mother and youngest brother. They have been out shopping for presents for the twins. It is almost their birthday. They are almost three. It seems quite impossible that it was only three years ago that they were babies and needed her every single moment. She misses the feeling of being needed, but she realizes that they will not always need her. She tries not to think too far into the future. She tries not to think of the past. She tries to live mainly in the moment and in the present, for that was where the least number of tears lay. Or at least, that's what she thinks.
The Dark Mark.
She hears her mother's scream before anything else. Shopping bags are dropped. She sees her mother run into the house first, quickly followed by Nasi. She is unable to move, unable to face the horror that she knows she will find inside. Nasi quickly returns to the door. His face is dry, but the horror on his face is too much for anyone to bear. She asks a silent question, begging him to tell her that at least one of them was alive. A shake of the head and he is gone from the door. She runs inside.
The first she sees is her beloved father, dead on the stairs. Her mother's helpless figure slumped over him. She looks for Nasi and he is down the hall, looking down at an unmoving heap on the floor. She does not know what to think or what to do. She admires her mother's foresight as her mother stands to lock the door behind them, wary of Muggle police, before returning to her husband's side. She prepares herself for what she knows what she will find. She takes a deep breath, but her nose is plagued by the smell of death and blood. She looks down and sees blood. She follows them towards an open door, towards the library.
Dear God, what have they done to Ruslan?
The world dims for a moment before she manages to steady herself on a nearby table. Alphonse lies just beyond. She turns away. She cannot look. Yet, where is Reia? It breaks her heart to leave the library, wanting to stay with her son, but she must know what has happened to her daughter. She runs into all the rooms, upstairs and downstairs. Yet, there is no sign of her daughter. She returns to the library and falls down beside her son. They have taken Reia.
Rosalind is in danger of falling when two strong arms come around her. She feels so small, so fragile, in his embrace. She is crying without restraint now, all strength blown away by the harsh October wind. She wants her children back. She wants them back in her arms. It was not fair. They were only three. They were far too young to be taken from her and in such horrible ways. She cannot stand the idea that her family had been massacred by people they trusted. Her father, murdered by her cousin Bellatrix. She has been sent to Azkaban. Her brother Alphonse, hit with a curse to the back of his head by another of her cousins, Evan. He has been killed by an Auror. Her second brother, Sevastien, killed by Rodolphus, yet another cousin. Rodolphus will stand trial for multiple charges. Her son, Ruslan, mutilated by Antonin Dolohov, a man she had gone to school with. Dolohov has also been placed in Azkaban. Finally, her daughter, Reia, murdered by her own father. Unbeknownst to all parties save herself, Reia's own father took his daughter's life. She leans her head back against the man holding her.
"Rabastan."
"Yes?" he murmurs into her hair.
"You're going to have to run."
"I can't."
"You have to."
"You know I won't."
"I won't let them take you to Azkaban," she looks up at him.
"That's not a choice you or I get to make."
"I hate you."
He kisses her forehead. "I know."
"I love you."
"I love you, too," he loosens his grip on her enough to let her turn around to face him. He links his hands behind her and doesn't let go. She takes his face in her hands and kisses him deeply. They both know that this cannot last forever. That he must go soon. That he, as always, will be taken away from her again. They are caught in a vicious cycle of parting and reunion, only to be parted yet again. She doesn't want him to be hurt, but he must. He must pay for the lives he has ended and for the hearts he has broken. She presses against him and he holds her tight. She starts crying again and he kisses her tears away. He never wants her to cry because of him ever again. Never.
"Daddy," a small voice whispers. He grabs at Rabastan's trousers.
"Mama!" two voices trill and their owners clutch at her skirts. Rabastan and Rosalind part unwillingly and look at a team of Aurors that are coming. Rabastan bends down quickly to give his children kisses and to tell them to be good. Till stands protectively between her master and those who would wish to harm him. Rabastan touches the top of her head and she looks up at him with large, sorrowful eyes.
"Take care of them, Till," he instructs. She nods.
"Goodbye, my love," she whispers against his back. He turns around for one last kiss.
"Rabastan Lestrange, you are under arrest by order of the Ministry of Magic for crimes against--" their meaningless blather falls into the background as she holds on to him and he to her. They feel the Aurors advance and he parts from her. He raises his arms in surrender and comes forward. They immediately fall on him, searching for a wand.
"DADDY!" Briallen screams and lunges forward. Rosalind stops her and Rivalen, but Rosalie is already half-way to her father. She clutches at his legs, screaming for him not to leave her. She screams at the bad men to not take her Daddy away. The Aurors advance but Rosalie has other plans and will not go without a fight. She screams and kicks at Dawlish, scratching at his face. Rosalind comes forward to take Rosalie, who leaps into her arms and starts screaming for her father.
They cast Charms upon Rabastan to prevent escape, though he shows no signs of any intent do so. Rosalind watches them take him away. She presses the back of her hand against her mouth, Rosalie in her other arm. Till stands near her feet, holding Briallen and Rivalen. Rosalind tries not to cry and be strong for his children -- their children, now. She feels Rosalie bury her face in Rosalind's neck. Rosalind sits down and gathers them all into her arms, telling them to be strong for their daddy.
For this is but the Autumn of their lives. Soon, there will be a long, cold Winter full of despair and darkness. However, as with all winters, the snow will melt and Spring will come to bring hope back to the world. Yes, autumn is a season of melancholy, but it is also the season of change, the season that prepares the world for the spring to come.
"Autumn...makes a double demand. It asks that we prepare for the future--that we be wise in the way of garnering and keeping.
But it also asks that we learn to let go--to acknowledge the beauty of sparseness."
-- Bonaro W. Overstreet