afternoon hes[tea]a || [RAB]

Hestia heard her name in the wind and immediately felt the muscles in her back seize with response. It was terrifying...like being snuck up on by a ghost. Slowly, she managed to turn and found herself dead-locked in a gaze with a familiar face. So familiar. This was the meeting that she had been anticipating. A familiar face practically back from the abyss. Her brow immediately furrowed as she continued to look at him, the confusion obviously written upon her overly-expressional face.

She sucked in a breath when he spoke his name and cocked her head slightly to the side, “Rab?” She repeated, taking a step forward to look at him closer. He seemed too thin, eyes far too sunken in, clothes hanging off of him like a child playing dress up in his father’s cloaks. This was Rabastan, the boy who had always listened when she spoke about the weird things that happened to her...seemed to grasp that they were so much more than just dreams and fables within her head. And she listened to him as well - they had been confidants for years at Hogwarts. But she hadn’t see him since he had disappeared in January. Azkaban, Murder, Necromancy. The rumors had been furiously relentless within the castle. But Tia refused to listen to them, “Merlin’s beard, you look horrible.” She confessed as she took another timid step towards him, "Horrible in the nicest way possible, I assure you..."

The blonde slipped her gloves off and shoved them into the pockets of her coat and reached to touch his cheek to make sure that he was real and not some object of her lately over-active ability. Her fingertips collided with cold flesh as she realized that this was indeed Rabastan - but perhaps not the same Rabastan that she once knew. Then she went in for the hug, wrapping her small arms around the perhaps even smaller boy that stood before her. It was then that she felt it...the strange feeling in the pit of her stomach again, warning her... “I won’t ask where you’ve been, I sincerely doubt you'd tell me anyway. But I’m so glad you’re safe.” She wanted to ask if he wanted her to bring him some food, something to flesh out his skeletal figure, but Tia held back, unsure of what this meeting held, “What are you doing here?” She pulled back from the embrace, the feeling in her bones subsiding a little.

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TAG; RABASTAN LAIUS LESTRANGE

NOTES; --

There was always a mutual understanding that existed between the once-Slytherin and the Ravenclaw girl. Rabastan and Hestia had found a kindred friendship amongst one another and even now, it seemed to persist. She watched him as he carefully closed his eyes, looking even more delicate. Listening to him pulled on her very heart-strings. They were quite literally experiencing the same unsettling feeling in their bones; hers wrought on by visions of utter chaos and destruction, his, perhaps, more because of his immediate interaction with the other side, “Things are taking a turn for the worst.” She agreed with his mental situation - talking would help. It would help them both.

When he pulled her back into the embrace, the normally-buoyant blonde wrapped her arm around his neck, moving her hand soothingly across his long-hair as the hum in his words reverberated through her body. There was an air of honesty that seemed to stagnate between them, setting Hestia’s mind on alert. He knew that she had seen something - she couldn’t keep it from him. He must have seen it in the corner of her eyes...lurking just beneath the mask of happiness that she put on, “Seen more than I’d care to admit.” She breathed into his shoulder as they stood there, the stale air seeming to warm ever so slightly around them. Hestia felt safe there with Rabastan...until the chill set in again. Hearing Voldemort’s name mentioned seemed to send a physical shock through her body, reminding her that this was not simply a meeting of old friends, but a pointed encounter, “I knew there was more to this story than the rumors let on. One of the masked men but you wear a mask yourself...” The hand that was not around his neck held onto his body, fingertips gripping Rab’s forearm as she steadied them both against the weight of their situation.

Refusing to pull away from him, the blonde brushed his hair from his neck as they stood there still in embrace, “They’re so vivid, so real.” Her visions. The agony of her existence over the past month. She saw death in her dreams, when she let her mind wander to the corners of her own thoughts...she felt the rot and danger that lay ahead of them. It was horrifying for her - and yet, somehow she managed to put on her smile and pretend that everything was fine.

“I keep seeing the same thing, over and over again.” Her mouth went slightly dry as she tried to fathom her own thoughts into sentences that he could understand. She attempted to laugh, but it caught in her throat - refusing to let her hide behind her wall of safety around Rab, “Every time I close my eyes I’m haunted by the hollow gaze of masks staring at me....” Her fingertips found the skin of his neck as she squeezed her eyes shut, submitting to her own mind’s torture, “Rab, I’ve seen the most horrible start of something and I think it might be a war...murder of so many people. Tell me I’m wrong. Please.”

---

TAG; RABASTAN LAIUS LESTRANGE

NOTES; eeek. poor babies, can't get their lives together.

Tia realized in that moment that she had been holding her breath, trying her hardest not to shake with the thoughts that were swirling around in her head. How could she possibly take things getting worse? Tia was a peace-keeper, she always had been. The very thought of anger and violence breaking out around her felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. Rab was right - however, she had to be strong. She had to face this storm.

“I know.” She nodded into his shoulder, eyes squeezed shut at the thought. Rabastan would do anything for those he loved, it was part of what made him so unique. But the idea that he was putting himself in danger by hiding behind enemy lines made Tia nervous, “I don’t want to see you lose yourself. The world couldn’t stand to lose you.” She couldn’t stand to lose him; he was her brother in many ways. If there was one thing this world needed, it was more people like Rabastan Lestrange. She couldn’t imagine waking up from a vision and seeing him dead within her mind. It would devastate her.

But he was right. The inner eye had been calling to her, trying to warn her and those around her that it was coming. Rab knew she needed to listen, but the thought that these things had already started happening sent another chill through her veins. The Slytherins versus the Gryffindors suddenly seemed like so much more than just house rivalry. Suddenly she wished she was still wearing her mittens, “Merlin.” She managed, her throat feeling slightly swollen with the fear that was inside of her.

There was a grin on his lips as he leaned back to talk to her. The blonde felt the sides of her lips turning upwards ever so slightly - unable to help herself. There had always been something about Rab that made her feel reassured. Although they hadn’t worked out in the past, there was still a very strong connection there. She would protect him until the end and she knew that he would do the same for her. Rabastan was calling her to arms: Petite and bubbly Hestia Jones was going to war and she was bringing everything that she had with her. She would be brave, she would use her gift to stop this before it got out of hand, “Alice. Gryffindor. Right. Got it.” She repeated, nodding her head along with his words so that she would remember. If there were more like Rab maybe he could stay safe...she tried not to think of the possibilities that loomed overhead. Suddenly she felt the breath being sucked from her lungs, “Rab...” Her bright brown eyes sought out his own in the woods, “I’m scared. This is uncharted territory for me. And I’m seeing things and I can’t control it. I don’t know that I’m ready for war. What if Alice thinks that I’m not ready to be a part of all this...” Her squeaky voice dropped to a near whisper as her smile began fading with her anxiety increasing.

---

TAG; RABASTAN LAIUS LESTRANGE

NOTES; --

Hestia had seen things, about all of them. She had even dreamt of the death of her sister, upon the bloody pyres of a hundred of her peers she would die along with them, fighting for something that Hestia only remotely pretended to understand. Now she could only hope that it was a nightmare and not one of her visions. She couldn’t bare to think that even with all the precautions that they were about to take it was possible that hundreds, thousands would die at the heart of this war, including those that she felt so strongly about, “I don’t think that anyone is ready for what’s coming.” She agreed with him. The storm that was brewing at the horizon had become bigger than any of them could have ever imagined.

She shifted nervously, but refused to remove herself from Rabastan completely, holding onto his forearms with her fingertips. War. She had fought it all her life - always willing to pick up a peace stick rather than her wand. Tia had always been afraid of the kind of destruction that the world would fall into if everyone just raised arms against one another. And here she was, about to enter into the very world that she had feared all along. He was right - there was no way to prepare herself truly for what was coming, but she could at least do what she needed to. If Rabastan said that they needed her, then by Merlin, she would go and do what she had to.

Strong. That was the word she had to keep reminding herself of. She was strong and she could do this. She wouldn’t let the visions plague her any more, but instead, she would use them to help their side. The stars, the moon: they would align for her. She would make them, “Thanks. I’ll see what help I can be to her. Maybe she’ll need a little comic relief. I’m always good at that. Maybe paint a landscape for our secret headquarters or something-” She managed and then forced one of her bubbly giggles to her lips. It tasted foreign on her skin, though...as if someone else was laughing from within.

“What exactly are we getting ourselves involved with? I mean-” She finally broken their contact, running her fingertips through her short blonde locks, the tear in her morals obviously written across her scrunched up face. The lines were so blurred...especially with Rab playing the double agent. It worried Hestia - who could they trust? How would they know who was truly playing for their side, “Who else do we get? Students? Professors? Who can we trust?”

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TAG; RABASTAN LAIUS LESTRANGE

NOTES; this is not good. this is not good. i’m so sorry hahahaha.

Her skin burned at the touch of his fingertips. There had always been something residual between the pair of them - something that Hestia tried her hardest to ignore. Their personalities felt like fire and ice sometimes and - whereas normally the opposites would have attracted, they were dangerous to one another if they cared too much. No, Hestia and Rabastan would have never been able to work no matter how much then mattered to one another. She understood that - just as she understood most things that others did not. It was a part of her ‘gift.’

Standing there, she was tempted to press up onto her tip-toes and stare at him dead in the eyes, but she kept herself from doing so. It wasn’t like that between them any longer, it never could be. Rab’s touch on her forehead sent a shiver down her spine as he moved some of her hair from her eyes, “You know I’d trust anyone you sent my way.” She said with a gentle smile, looking up at him from under her light blonde eyelashes. Her eyes met his and it looked as if he was going to say something else, but silence settled on his parted lips. The silence she had so often missed between them - it was comfortable, “I trust you.” She told him, reaching up and putting her hand against his cheek as she offered what she had left to offer - the tiniest bit of a smile on her normally bubbly countenance.

“Professor Riddle.” She had seen him a few times in her visions, but never been able to piece together the puzzle to figure out what part he played in all of this. Now she understood - he was the facilitator. He was the leader. He was their enemy. A shiver ran through her spine. She knew that some of the blood-lines had been polluted with incest over the years. The Rosiers were just the beginning of what could happen if the wizarding world continued with this nonsense. The Ravenclaw inside of her understood the lack of variation between all of the pureblood families. They were going to war and she was in the middle of it.

Sometimes she wished that when she closed her eyes, she would see Rabastan’s smile lighting up her visions. That she would see him growing old with the woman that he loved, raising children and living out his life. But instead, she closed her eyes and saw darkness and flashes of green. She saw death and destruction. She saw this war that he spoke of and knew that they would all come out changed - not necessarily for the good of it all, “And they’re willing to kill to become like them?” It was appalling, all of it was, “We were meant to be something so much more than this. Without our differences, are we anything at all?” Her brown eyes met his again and she longed for his happiness - she longed for all of this to disappear, but she knew better, “They can’t. I will fight it to the grave, Rab. I swear.”

---

TAG; RABASTAN LAIUS LESTRANGE

NOTES; —

His movements were quick and the change in the air was evident. She saw him drawing away even before her brain could fully process what was happening. Tia nodded along, trying her hardest to think of something else to say, but the words wouldn’t come out. Instead, she remained rooted to the spot, looking rather like a deer in headlights. She would find Alice first thing when she got back to the castle - it was that important and she knew that was what she was meant to be doing. She could only hope that Alice was amenable to having her on-board with the whole thing. Rab announced they weren’t alone and momentarily, she feared the worst. Looking up at him, she expected their eyes to meet one last time, but he was gone with a simple pop.

“I-“ love you. The words never made it out - like they always had, they were stuck in the back of her throat where they belonged. Rabastan was someone else now; he was meant for someone much more than her. Reaching around, she ran her hand over the back of her neck, aware that the hair there stood on end.

’Ah shoot! Crap, these were my last god pair.’

That was when she saw him: the figure that had apparently been watching them in the woods. The one that made them not alone, “Oye!” Hestia grabbed at her oversized jacket, looking for her wand amongst her layers. When her fingers finally wrapped around it, Tia drew it quickly and pointed it in his direction, “What’re you doing spying on us-me?” She could feel the shake of her fingertips against the stiffness of the wand, but she tried her hardest not to show that she was frightened. After everything that she had been told, there was more than a few nerves, “Yes, you!” She moved forward a little, still holding herself tall as she jerked her chin slightly higher. The blonde wasn’t intimidating in the slightest, but she could at least try.

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TAG; VEL NPC

NOTES; stab me with a blunt instrument. dammit hestia.