Dollhouse [Rabastan Lestrange]

Chapter 20

"Yes, my Lord."

After their shared kiss, Callista and Rabastan were more comfortable around each other. It was as if the ice had broken after the weeks of unease and caution between them. At first, Callista's action confused him but she told him about what transpired after Potter's party. He began to understand the caution on her side and even agreed with her newfound confidence. They were going to get married anyway, they could at least make the situation their own.

A week had passed and now they were boarding the Hogwarts Express for Easter Holidays. Very few people were going home for the week-long break but their entire group, except for Severus who never went home during the holidays, was amongst the learners going home.

For them, however, it was compulsory. Their parents had wanted them all to return so that they could attend a Ministry Ball that the Malfoy's are hosting. Though, for the three boys the occasion was much darker.

All three of them were going to receive their Dark Marks. Aidan and Magorian were excited but he was riddled with nerves. They had spent the year proving themselves but his recruitment was expected. His brother and sister-in-law were two of The Dark Lord's most trusted Death Eaters.

He had seen them at work and he had to admit he was fascinated with The Dark Arts. At Hogwarts, they only touched the surface of magic. It was so much deeper. While he wanted to work with these dark wizards, and to some extent he agreed with their ideas, he was scared.

He was scared of what being a Death Eater would mean. He was choosing a side in a war. A war he would have to fight. Rodolphus and Bellatrix killed many people and would kill more. It was expected. He did not want to kill but he had a feeling Bellatrix would make him do it.

There was another part of him that called out against being a Death Eater. It was the part that had grown to care for Callista. Her heart was too kind for the world she was put into and he feared that she would hate him when she learnt that everyone was right. That he was going to be a Death Eater. That he was a horrible person and she was too good for him.

It was a child's dream to wish for a different life than what they had. They were born into a war that would go on despite them and life was becoming all too real.

~~~

The Lestrange Manor carried a dreary atmosphere that afternoon. He walked in and kissed his mother on the cheek, dropping his bag for the house-elf to take to his room. Rodolphus walked in behind him and nodded to their mother. A gesture of encouragement?

She never agreed with allowing her children to be involved in the war. It was their father who encouraged it and it was expected of them. Over the beginning of the year, their father's health had taken a drastic decline. The healers suspected that he would be gone in the next few years. His brother made sure they followed out the wishes of their father and took it upon himself to make sure his little brother took the Dark Mark.

He turned to Rabastan and gestured him forward into the living room. He walked through the door and he heard a voice that could only belong to Bellatrix as she greeted him.

He took a deep breath and wrenched his hand from his mother's, whose arms had snaked around his arm when he entered. Without looking back he walked into the room and shut the door.

The Dark Lord sat in an armchair reading a letter. Bellatrix and Rodolphus stood to the side, their faces stern. He looked up. "Ah, the youngest Lestrange." His voice was cold and harsh, as if everything that made him human was taken from it. "I do hope you'll prove to be as useful as your brother. Will you?"

He glanced at his brother who gave him a nod. "Yes, my Lord."

"Hold out your arm."

With a glance at his brother, he pulled him the sleeve of his left arm and held it out. The Dark Lord's hands were cold against his wrist as his grabbed it and yanked him forward. His nails dug into his wrist as he pulled out his wand and dug it into the center of his forearm.

"Do you swear to serve me with your life?"

He gulped. "Yes, my Lord."

"Good." He whispered, "Morsmorde."

Rabastan hissed as a sharp pain pierced his arm and it shot up his arm and into his chest. He scrunched up his face as he fought against the pain, against the urge to run. He forced himself to stand still, to bear it. He watched the outline form, and then the mark began to darken and he could see the details in it.

His breaths grew heavier and then it stopped. The sharp pain was gone and all that was left was an ache that spread through his entire body. Beads of sweat had formed on his forehead, below his hair. His clothes stuck to his skin and he wanted to rip them off.

"For your sake, you better prove a good addition to my ranks." He apparated out of the house and left the three Lestrange's in the room.

"You better not disappoint, Rabastan."

Bellatrix laughed. "Yes, it would be such a shame." The two walked out of the room, leaving Rabastan alone.

He fell to his knees and clutched his arm, the severity of what he had just done sinking in. There was no going back now.

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