Always... (Rabastan)

*Note: This thread takes place after the Battle with the Shadows and all injuries from the first encounter with them have healed.*

Morgan was walking the well-worn path to Hogsmeade. She needed to just get away for a little while, just away from everyone. Her mind was busy with the memories of everything that had happened recently: the death of her parents, the attack from the vengeful Shadows, the battle that ensued afterwards.... She just needed someplace to relax, and the Three Broomsticks with a cup of hot chocolate sounded like just the right place for that.

She had begun her training with The Order, and, even now, her ears were highly tuned in to her surroundings. After Rabastan's warning weeks prior and the attack, she suddenly felt vulnerable and did everything in her power to be aware of things around her at all times. As she walked, Morgan was unaware that she was being followed. His footfalls silent as he tracked her a ways behind her on the path. As she neared the village, the young man who graduated last year with Sirius, James, and the others closed in on her. He knew Morgan's views, blood traitor at it's highest degree.... She walked along side them as she should have and then returned to her precious light. Nothing would make him prouder than to see her blood run on the dusty ground under his feet. He had hoped that she would have been put out of her misery in that attack that wound her up in St. Mungo's for a day or two, but no such luck. Checking the blade in his pocket, he smirked, Allen was ready.

Quickly, he caught up to Morgan and fell into step alongside her. "Hey. Haven't seen you since last year. How are things?" he asked her as he had so many times before when they were schoolmates. Morgan jumped, her hand touching her wand that was tucked in her coat pocket, at the man's words. Looking, she smiled when she saw Allen, a Gryffindor from Remus' year. "Allen, you startled me. Things are... Well, they're as good as can be, I guess," Morgan answered, a little tingle of a warning pricking the back of her mind which she pushed away. They continued the small talk until they reached the first of the many forks that lead to different areas in the village. "I see you don't seem any worse for wear since your little encounter with the Shadows," he said, looking at her, his green eyes dark.  "Healed up pretty good...." Morgan began and paused, looking at him slowly. "How did you-" she started again before his hard hands were on her and threw her into the brick wall they had just passed.

Rabastan was on his mission Morana asked him to do. Nothing serious. It was basicaly just spying for some informations he himself didn't find particulary important or interresting, but he never questioned Morana's motives. She wouldn't answer him anyway, but she always knew what she was doing. And he trusted her enough to follow her lead in this. His ears however caught something strange and unexpected as he was hiding in the shadows of Hogsmeade. What he saw surprised him and certainly didn't make him feel good at all. Morgan walking side by side with Allen, death eater wannabe was the last good thing to happen, specialy with no one around. As he grabbed Morgan, Rabastan's eyes darkened as he approached Allen from behind, his wand carefully hidden in his sleeve. His face was hidden under the hood of his long black death eater cloak and he had his mask on as well. He didn't speak up and waited if Allen will notice him.

Morgan caught herself as she crashed into the bricks of one of the shops. "Allen, what are you doing?" she demanded darkly as she turned to face him. "What do you mean, what am I doing? Don't you know? Come on, Morgan! You were one of the smartest in your year. What happened?" he said darkly to her. Putting her hand in her pocket she looked darkly at him. "Still am," she said drawing her wand and quickly casting the disarming charm at him, which he blocked before returning the same spell. Morgan quickly got her shield up, but while she cast her spell, Allen rushed her, tackling her hard into the ground, knocking her wand from her hand. "Allen! Get off!" Morgan yelled, fighting the strong man that pinned her. With a swift motion, Morgan connected a punch to Allen's jaw that snapped his head around for a moment. Without hesitation, Allen raised his hand and struck Morgan. "You don't get to touch me, Blood Traitor!" he growled between his teeth, not noticing the hooded figure a small ways behind him.

Rabastan's blood was on fire, yet outside he looked deadly calm. "Didn't parents teach you how to behave with woman?" his voice was dark, cold and full of unskoped cruelty and bloodlust. He wasn't really aware of it, but Morgan could hardly recognize this voice as his. He wanted to jump at Allen, to cast curse at him, but he couldn't. Not now, not imidiately. Allen didn't attack him, and Morgan was yet unharmed. And as much as Rabastan wanted to, he couldn't attack when there was no evidence that would say he had a reason. Morana would understand and so would Marvolo. Dark Lord on the other hadn would hardly be on his side and he could get into trouble a lot more than himself by foolish action, which frustrated him more, than anything. Besides, there was still the fact Morgan didn't know who he was. She couldn't possibly recognize Rabastan now, which meant there was still risk and high possibility she will act as anyone would do against not one, but two enemies and she tries to catch Allen by surprise.

Hearing yet another ominous voice, Morgan glanced over Allen's shoulder to see a Death Eater in all his glory. This isn't happening... Allen grabbed both Morgan's hands in one, pinning them to the ground above her head, and looked behind him. "This doesn't concern you, Death Eater. She is my prize and key into your band," Allen spoke darkly. "I'll not be any such thing for you!" Morgan shouted to Allen as she tried to get free, to no avail. "Shut up, sweetheart..." he said, tightening his grip on her hands. "Come to watch the show, brother?" he asked, unsheathing a dagger that glimmered a deep green along the blade and leveled it at Morgan.

Rabastan chuckled out loud, but inside, he felt panic rise in his veins. He knew this was very dangerous game to play, but there was no way out of it. "I am not here to watch child's play," he spoke, carefully choosing his words. Allen was idiot. He was probably the worst to meet Morgan. "And you should be a little bit more careful. Do you realize what are you doing, here on public, completely unmasked? Do you realize there are people to possible enter this field any minute?" he asked Allen and his stupidity and for a second, amusement in his dark voice was almost real. If it wasn't Morgan, he would probably have great time watching this idiot. His sentence however had only two possible ends. Either he will give up and let Morgan go, or he will try to harm her quickly. Which will result in his death. Not that Rabastan would pity him, but he certainly didn't like the possibility of Morgan being poisoned by his own poison in Allen's blade.

"Don't you think I thought of that? That's why we are in an alley that not many bother to venture down. People are too busy getting to The Three Broomsticks or The Tea Shop. Really, we have nothing to worry about," Allen spat at the masked man. Morgan didn't stop fighting Allen all the while he was occupied with the Death Eater. She had to get free, had to get to her wand if she had any hope at all of getting away. Two against one were rough odds, but she might have some luck. Though, if her luck thus far was any consequence, it was unlikely. Morgan resolved that she wasn't going down without a fight. Feeling her struggle under him, Allen turned back to Morgan, "You just stop. It will be quick, you watch..." Morgan set her jaw and gave one more good buck of her body and pull on her hand, wrenching it free. Quickly she reached out, grabbed her wand, and moved to cast the first spell that came to mind when immense pain lit up light a fire in her side causing Morgan to freeze and cry out. When she had broken free, Allen took the opportunity just before she could strike with any kind of spell without his shield up. He sunk his dagger into Morgan's side, driving it up and under her ribs, giving it a good twist, before pulling it out. Looking darkly at the hooded man, he grinned and flashed the now red blade at him, "Piece of cake."

Rabastan was ready for everything. Almost. But this was unexpected. As he saw what happened, he quickly grabbed Allen around his neck and held him up. "What is wrong with you? Have a problem?! She is just a bloodtraitor. Worthless!" Allen hissed which made Rabastan even angrier and he threw him into the wall on the opposite side. "Never talk about her like this again!" he hissed as he felt strong pain at his forearm. That bastard, probably by accident, managed to cut him. It wasn't deep, but with the poison, enough for Rabastan to die soon if he didn't know how to get rid of it. He let Allen fall on the ground. "Crucio!" he casted first curse and with all his anger watched how Allen was screaming with pain. When he stopped the curse, he realized people will hear and probably come very fast. He looked at Allen once again. "That was for her. And this is for breaking rule number one. Never attack one of the highest members of Death Eater society. You should be glad and honored. It could easily be Crouch or Gaunt standing here instead of me. And you know what that would mean," he hissed and watched terror in Allen's face. "Avada Kedavra!" flash of green light came out of his wand, leaving Allen dead before he could reply. Rabastan quickly glanced at Morgan, grabbed her into his arms and before she could protest, he apparated them into Lestrange manor, to the part which belonged to him and Katrina.

As Allen was ripped from her body, Morgan curled onto her side, a hand over the deep painful wound his dagger had left. She couldn't move much due to the pain, the amount of blood she was losing, and what almost felt like a fever creeping over her. Managing to look up she watched at the Death Eater tortured Allen, his painful cries filling the area. That was for her.... Her grey-blue eyes widened slightly. For her? Why? She was a Blood Traitor, why would a Death Eater give out punishment for her? His next words sent chills through Morgan's body. If he was as important to the dark cause as Morana, Marvolo, or Barty, what did that mean for her to be alone with him? Quickly the green flash of the killing curse irrupted in front of her as Allen lay dead. The pain grew more and more unbearable by the second, and Morgan began to feel her body shake uncontrollably thanks to the poison that, unknowingly, was rushing through her system. Feeling strong arms scoop her up and hold her tight, a flash of a memory crept into her mind. I know this feeling... With a pop Morgan and the Death Eater dissapparated...

When they reappeared, Morgan was breathing heavily and labored, a small trickle of blood running from the corner of her mouth. She didn't know where they were, but she knew she was still in terrible danger. Alone in the arms of a Death Eater... "Let me go... Let me go..." she cried, her voice half as strong as before, as she tried to move to get away, gritting her teeth through the white hot pain her movement caused.

It took Rabastan few moments to realize Morgan probably couldn't recognize him, so he carefully put her onto bed in guest room and took his mask of. "Afraid I can't do that," he looked at her, worried. "Now, be still. Don't move. Not an inch. Try to breathe as slowly as possible," he ordered her as he grabbed her shirt and moved it a bit up to look at her wound. He could clearly see the veins going black under her skin. They didn't have much time. Even he himself needed to clear his wound quickly or they both will die here. "I will be right back and you try to do as I said," he quickly told her and left the room. In his mind he had to thank himself for being so paranoid and always having a cure hidden in his desk. It was just enough for him to heal and for Morgan to survive until he makes more of it. Her wound was too deep and very close to her heart.

Rabastan drank his cure and hurried back to Morgan. While his own forearm was on fire, he needed to give Morgan injection with the cure. "Now, here you have something to bite, because this will honestly hurt like hell and I can't afford you screaming here. Try to stay up. I need to give you this injection and I need to do so directly into the wound. After that, when it starts working, you will feel like you are on fire, because the cure will burn the poison everywhere in your body where it got," he quickly explained to her what was going to happen and gave her a towel. "Trust me, okay? It won't take longer than few minutes, I promise," he whispered and his voice finally changed to that one Morgan knew him with. With that, but his eyes still watching hers, in order to make her feel at least safe, he put injection into her wound.

As the Death Eater placed her in a bed, Morgan took the chance to try and get away, but the pain that now extended up into her chest was too great to allow her much movement at all. Afraid I can't do that... Her bright eyes dark and cold as ice looked up at her captor to find Rabastan's face which made her still. Seeing the worry on his face as well as hearing his warning of what to do, Morgan began to panic herself. Swallowing hard, she watched as he lifted her shirt to look where the dagger had cut her deeply. Biting her bottom lip as the movement of the fabric against her skin was almost unbearable, she felt the shaking of her muscles strengthen as the posion reached it's touch further into her body. The look on his face when he left scared her the most....

Doing her best to be as still as she could, Morgan's heart began to race, pounding heavily against her ribs. She could feel the pain moving through her, and she couldn't figure out why. As the heat of a fever began to take her, leaving a light sheen of sweat on her brow, Rabastan returned with a vial in his hand. "Rabastan.... what....what's happening?" she asked, her voice weak and unsteady from her body tembling from the tremors she was fighting. As he explained what he was going to do, Morgan finally understood. Allen's blade had been laced with poison. Her eyes grew very wide with fear at hearing that, but she trusted him. Taking the towel he offered, Morgan placed it between her teeth. She understood his warning. A Blood Traitor in the house of the Lestranges was not safe for either of them. I promise... Her eyes, beginning to glass over, locked on his eyes and she nodded not just for understanding but that she trusted him and was ready.

The moment he injected the cure into her wound, Morgan's vision went white as pain like fire raced from her wound up into her chest. She felt the fire in other parts of her body, but nothing comparied to what she was feeling in her chest around her lungs, heart, and up the right side of her neck. Clamping her eyes shut, Morgan bit the towel between her teeth hard. She didn't cry out, but weak wimpers escaped her as tears ran down her cheeks as the fever, pain, and tremors escalated...

Rabastan watched her with worry. He hoped poison wasn't as quick as it was in the end. "Shhh, just a few seconds now and it will get better," he whispered to her as he stroked her hair gently and pulled the injection out of her body. Imidiately he looked at the wound and took out bandages and stuff he needed to stitch it. "I am going to stitch this and put bandage over it okay?" he wanted her to know what he was doing, because he himself knew well how dangerous could it be not to tell her. She could panic and do something stupid very easily. As he told her what he was going to do, he gave her a few seconds to understand the information and then imidiately began. It took him just a few minutes before he managed to stitch up the wound and put bandage over it. Than he looked at Morgan again.

"I will get some of Katrina's clothes for you and I help you into bath okay? You need to get yourself clean as fast as possible. This poison won't allow me to heal you more than I did. Not for next few hours, so we need to prevent infection. I also told my house elves to get you a tea and something to eat. They will also change your sheets and you will lie down here again and than we will talk, because I know you well enough to know all in your head now are questions and slight panic," he told her with weak smile and than gently grabbed her into his arms and took her to the bathroom. In her clothes, he put her to the bathtub, in position where she could easily control water. "Do you want my help with putting your clothes off or will you manage?" he asked her.

Morgan clenched her fists in the sheets on the bed as the pain reached it's full height. Feeling his gentle touch and bearly making out his voice, she could do nothing but wait. As the pain lessened, Morgan removed the towel from her mouth while she listened to what Rabastan was telling her. He needed to stitch up the wound to close it. Giving a weak nod that she understood, she clenched her teeth together, and gripped the towel as she felt a smaller pain as he sewed her up. Closing her eyes, Morgan tried to keep herself calm and hold still for him. The pain was starting to lessen as were the tremors, but the fever remained strong.

When Rabastan spoke next, she opened her eyes, clearer than they were before, and listened to his next set of instructions for her. Morgan smiled weakly as he called her on exactly what her mind was doing. He knew her too well... Scooping her into his arms once again, she hissed a wince as pain shot through her once again. "You're a good man, Rabastan...." Morgan voiced weakly, as she rested her head against his shoulder. As he placed her in the bathtub to wash and asked if she needed help with undressing, Morgan blushed a pink that only added to the flush in her cheeks from the fever of the poison. "Perhaps, just this," she said softly, pulling her shirt up as far as she could, being limited by the fresh stiches and residual pain from the wound. Looking up at him, her eyes asked for help. Morgan knew she could manage the rest.

He couldn't help but smirk as he saw her blushing and helped her out of her shirt. "Nothing I didn't see you know? Just Remus would probably kill me, so I suggest to keep even this as a secret," he said it to cheer her up a bit. He wanted to say something about him being good man, but he rather decided that they will have time to talk about this later. Now as Morgan was safe, he himself relized he needed to stitch his own forearm. "I am going for tha clothes and fix my arm. Take your time and I let some of elves bring you clothes. If you need my help, just call, I am right behind these doors," he gave her a quick smile before he left the room.

He went to his and Katrina's bedroom and found some t-shirt, hoodie and jeans Katrina wasn't wearing really often, and he gave it to one of the elves to bring it to Morgan. Elf disappeared and he made his way back to the room and started to stitch his arm. Somehow, adrenalin saved him from the worst pain for which he was really glad. He was careful, but quick. And as soons as he was done, he started preparing another cure. Morgan will need that very soon, since poison in the end managed to get much more further than Rabastan expected.

Morgan managed a smile at his comment as Rabastan helped her with her shirt. "Don't worry, I won't tell him," she said lightly. When the door closed behind him, Morgan sighed heavily and readied herself for a bath. Filling the tub with warm water, she took a moment to look at the damage Allen had done. The wound was stiched neatly and around it she could make out the tell-tale signs of the posion still in her system. Explains things... she thought as she washed. With a small pop she looked up to see a young House Elf setting clothes on the chair next to the door. "Thank you," Morgan said warmly, causing the elf to look at her. He managed a small smile and nodded before vanishing. The warmth of the water felt good against her feverish skin and soon she was finished. Draining the tub, Morgan gently got herself out of the tub, dried, and dressed. Putting a hand to her head as the room spun slightly, she could feel the heat of the fever that simply wouldn't let go.

Standing and opening the door, she watched as Rabastan worked. As Morgan went to move towards him, she felt her legs shake under her. Hanging onto the doorframe, she breathed deeply to steady herself as the room slowly stopped moving on her. "Your elf.... Your elf is very kind...." she whispered.

Rabastan turned to her with smile full of worry. He approached her and took her in his arms once again just to cross the room and put her back to bed, now with clean sheets. Hot tea was now on the table next to the bed. "Only when people are kind in return," he replied to her and went back to his table, just to grab a glass with the cure and handed it to Morgan. "Drink this. To the bottom. It's the cure. Same I gave you before. The poison was too deep for me to remove it all at once. You will have to drink this for next two weeks. But fever should go away now, after this one. You will just feel weak," he explained to her as he sat next to her on the bed and took his cup with tea. "Now, after you drink it, I am all ears for the questions," he smiled at her once again.

Morgan was glad that she could give his elf something to be kind about. As he carried her back to the now clean bed, she moved to settle herself against the pillow propping her up. Taking the glass Rabastan offered her, she looked into it before looking at him as he told her to drink it all. Putting the glass to her lips and drinking the mixture, Morgan closed her eyes tight both from the fresh wave of buring pain, although less than before, that rushed through her and from the vial taste of it. Choking it down, Morgan put a hand to her lips to help prevent it from coming back up. When she was sure all was clear, she held out the glass to him with a small sigh. Two weeks of that....

"Thank you...." she said quietly. "Rabastan, how did you find me? How did you know I was there and in need of help?" Morgan asked, her voice growing slightly stronger. Just as he said, she began to feel the fever loosen it grip on her petite frame.

He changed empty glass for a mug full of tea. "I didn't. If I did, do you really thing I would go to help you dresses like a death eater? I had a mission," he explained as he made a wuick glance towards his mask, still lying on table. "But when I saw Allen with you, I knew you were in trouble. Truth is I messed up a bit. I am not Morana to talk people to suicide. So I didn't say what I was supposed to to make him go away," he said in apologetic voice and took another sip of his tea. He killed another person today. The guilt was not what it used to be when he became a killer all those years ago. But it was still there. Even if one would hardly recognize it. The only reason why he was thinking about it now was most likely, because it was no fun like it usually is.

Morgan wrapped her hands around the mug of tea he offered her and sipped it, welcoming the taste of it over the cure he had given her. "Good point," she said, following his glance to his Death Eater mask on the table. Her heart sank at seeing it, even though she knew all along that he would join their forces one day. It was, perhaps, one of the reasons that she chose to let him go that night. Him being on a mission sent a small chill up her spine. Pushing the thoughts of what the mission could have been, her mind turned to Allen. "I don't know what happened with him. We spoke so many times before he graduated. He was a different person then the one I saw today. What should you have said?" Morgan asked looking back at him. Looking into his deep eyes, Morgan saw something, something different from what she normally saw in them. It was interesting to her.

Rabastan got up and took his shirt off, which exposed his bare chest and also both his arms, one with clearly visible dark mark, the othey one with stitched freash wound. He did it because elf brought him a t-shirt with short sleeves which he welcomed, since it was suddenly too hot in the room for him, specialy with drinking hot tea. Than he went back to sit on the edge of the bed to Morgan. "What happened? He was a wannabe, that happened. He didn't have enough skills to actually become one of us, which made him doing lame, stupid and kinda desperate things such as attacking people out of nowhere," Rabastan explained. "Not that he could bother you anymore. He is dead now," he added. "And what I was supposed to say? Good question. Unfortunately, I can't read people's actions just by looking at them," he shruged.

As Rabastan changed, Morgan saw the clear Dark Mark on his lift forearm, just one more confirmation that he was a full-fledged Death Eater now, along with the freshly stitched cut on his right arm. The year or two since she was his had been very kind to him. Hearing him tell of Allen and the change that had come over him, she started to understand. "He thought that by taking me, it might prove that he was worthy?" she questioned outloud. True he was dead, Rabastan had seen to that, but it chilled her to her core to know that she would be seen as such a prize to the Death Eaters. Shaking her head she looked away. "Didn't think about the kind of prize I could be," she said bringing her knees up so she could rest her wrists on them.

Rabastan shruged. "Maybe. As I said, he was an idiot. Trust me, he also thought that challenge one of inner circle will gain him a position. It was honestly quite hillarious watch Morana being angry with him and torture him almost to the edge of sanity. I guess in that moment he realized that by hurting those he claimed his loyality to is not the best thing to do," he smirked darkly. "And you are not a prize to anyone. Not from death eaters anyway. How could you. There are too many people on high positions who care about you. Nobody in his right mind would try to touch you," he added. "But that doesn't mean you are completely safe. There are still others like Allen. Idiotic wannabes I call them. You have to be carefull next time. If it wasn't me there, nobody else would be able to save your life in the moment the dagger cut your skin," he told her, deadly serious.

Hearing about how she was, once again, watched by everyone, Morgan became frustrated with herself. "He never posed a threat before. How can you keep track of those that were once on the same side to find that in less than a year they have switched sides?" she asked, raising her now clear, bright eyes to Rabastan. His words about the dagger Allen used and just how serious the wanna-be Death Eater's actions had been, made Morgan pause. "You knew just what was needed.... How?" she asked, feeling the last of the fever finally leave her, but pain still remained, though much less than before.

"You can't. Trust no one. If they mean no harm to you, they will understand. If they want to hurt you, you will be ready," he replied to her first question before he looked down to his mug and back at her. "Because I invented it. And right now, I am also the only one to know how to cure it," he replied, his voice firm, not giving away any emotion. He actually considerd this poison his masterpiece, but it didn't seem all too amazing, when Morgan was hurt by it. "It attacks blood. Taking away all the oxygen and other stuff, making it basicaly black. It uses veins to get to the heart and kill. Very slowly and painfully, because last few minutes of your life, you can't breathe or move for pain. You can't even call for help. But the cure is actually not that hard to make. And honestly, except for a little scar, there will be nothing left of it. Your dagger, the one Morana gave you, that is much worse," he explained to her.

"Another reality of war...." Morgan mused quietly. Trust was a rare thing in times of war. The only ones you could really trust were the ones you knew for certain were on the same side as you. It seemed Morgan's list of trusted people was limited now to the boys, Marvolo, Rabastan, anyone from The Order... People she wasn't sure of or who were simply people she chatted with in class or in passing, they were no longer trustable. Because I invented it... Morgan listened as he told about the effects of this posion that was still coursing through her, however weakly. As it attacks blood, killing the wounded slowly and painfully, everything Morgan felt made sense. "Then how did Allen get a hold of it? I guess it was my good fourtune that you happened upon me, huh. How close.... How close was I?" she asked, her brow furrowed at the idea that, once again, she had flirted with death, likely coming very close this time to crossing the line.