(no subject)
Who? Sebastian Savage, Harry Potter, Rhiannon Jackson, Severus Snape and Isaiah Rookwood
What? Bastian is trying to figure out what happened to Gretchen Rookwood.
Why? Because it's his job, and yeah maybe it's a little personal too.
When? Now.
Title: Guide You Home
As soon as Sebastian knew that Severus had taken in a kid orphaned by the attack on the ministry the Rookwood case became personal. He hadn't met the kid yet. Iz knew the family. Bastian knew that Augustus Rookwood had played both sides of the fence in a previous war. He also knew that Gretchen Rookwood was a missing person. They'd recovered her husband's body, but there was no sign of the wife.
And there was a kid that Bastian's biological father was taking care of. An angry teenager who was probably taking a lot of shit because his parents happened to be on the opposite side of the fight that three fourths of the student bodies parents had been on. Mostly, there was a kid who didn't have an answer for what happened to his mother. Bastian could never leave a mystery alone.
"Did you check the unclaimed bodies with the photo you had?" Harry had asked him just before he took off for the weekend. Bastian was leaning against his office door looking frustrated, and they were running over the leads.
"Of course." He wasn't annoyed by the question. Potter liked to check and recheck facts. It was something Bastian respected since he worked the same way. "If she died during the fight then someone took her body out of the ministry."
"Maybe she survived."
"Yeah, she could have. But the kid is sending owls to her, and she isn't responding. From what I've gathered from talking with him; she was an attentive mother. Both of his parents looked out for him. So, why wouldn't she get word to him that she is all right?" Bastian was frustrated. Potter gave him a sympathetic look as he leaned back in his chair.
"She could be afraid of being tracked."
"We're not exactly pursuing the Death Eaters, Harry. The truce thing sort of gave them a free pass, so why would she hide out?" He looked back down at his notes.
"Maybe she doesn't want to be found. Some of them are not taking the truce well. They feel abandoned by Voldemort. She lost her husband. We have to at least consider she took off and..."
"Killed herself? No note for the kid? Come on, who can do that to their child?" Bastian demanded as Potter merely arched an eyebrow at him. "I'm just saying the kid said his parents were good to him. I find it hard to believe a good mother would run off, kill herself, and leave her kid wondering what happened to her."
Harry shrugged and then picked up his copy of Bastian's notes. "Maybe she thought he was better off not knowing she chose to do that."
That was a possibility, but Bastian couldn't shake the feeling they were missing something. "I'm going to check the injured at St. Mungo's again. Maybe there is something I missed."
"I'll be away for the weekend, but if you need anything just message me."
Bastian followed up on leads. He talked with patients who were still in the hospital. He showed her picture around. Slowly he pieced together a half-complete picture of her whereabouts during the battle.
It was Tuesday when he followed the last lead. It lead him to Azkaban. The hospital was over crowded, and for now they didn't have enough space for those who ended up victims of a dementors kiss. The hospital was working on a better long term solution, but the wizarding community was still in a state of rebuilding. For now the cells of the prison had been turned into a place to keep those who were just shells of who they had been.
He didn't want to find her here. He'd rather be able to turn up to the kid with a body to bury or proof that his mother was alive and didn't want to be found. Anything was better than approaching the cell where a woman sat in the corner of it staring at a wall. If not for the random blinking and the movement of her chest to prove she was breathing he would have thought he was staring at a corpse.
"Fuck." He muttered as he looked down at the picture he had long sense memorized and then back at the woman. In the picture she was smiling as she placed her hand on her son's shoulder. There was a light in her blue eyes that seemed to almost shine through the picture. One look at her in this special cell in the isolated part of the prison and he realized that spark was gone. It wouldn't return.
The kid had her eyes.
He hoped telling him the truth about his mother wouldn't make the shine disappear from his gaze as well.
"Do you know who she is?" Rhiannon asked as she approached him. "I hate when I have to guard this section of the prison. They just sit and stare."
"Has there been any owls?" He asked, forcing himself to turn to face Rhia instead of staring at Mrs. Rookwood.
"Security is tight right now. All owls headed this way are being deterred to the post office in Hogsmeade. They have to be searched before they can continue here."
"Her name is Gretchen Rookwood. I'll have Potter send the paperwork over. I'm going to inform her next of kin." He walked away and didn't look back. Bastian wasn't looking forward to bringing the news back to Isaiah, but someone had to do it. The kid needed answers.
It was an hour later when he arrived at the hotel where Severus and his new son were staying. He wondered if Severus had already realized this wouldn't be a temporary placement. The kid's mother was never going to show up and be able to take him off his hands. The kid's father was buried. He was all the kid had, and well that meant in some fucked up twisted way Bastian was now connected to this kid.
Brilliant.
He knocked on the door and waited for someone to let him in.
What? Bastian is trying to figure out what happened to Gretchen Rookwood.
Why? Because it's his job, and yeah maybe it's a little personal too.
When? Now.
Title: Guide You Home
As soon as Sebastian knew that Severus had taken in a kid orphaned by the attack on the ministry the Rookwood case became personal. He hadn't met the kid yet. Iz knew the family. Bastian knew that Augustus Rookwood had played both sides of the fence in a previous war. He also knew that Gretchen Rookwood was a missing person. They'd recovered her husband's body, but there was no sign of the wife.
And there was a kid that Bastian's biological father was taking care of. An angry teenager who was probably taking a lot of shit because his parents happened to be on the opposite side of the fight that three fourths of the student bodies parents had been on. Mostly, there was a kid who didn't have an answer for what happened to his mother. Bastian could never leave a mystery alone.
"Did you check the unclaimed bodies with the photo you had?" Harry had asked him just before he took off for the weekend. Bastian was leaning against his office door looking frustrated, and they were running over the leads.
"Of course." He wasn't annoyed by the question. Potter liked to check and recheck facts. It was something Bastian respected since he worked the same way. "If she died during the fight then someone took her body out of the ministry."
"Maybe she survived."
"Yeah, she could have. But the kid is sending owls to her, and she isn't responding. From what I've gathered from talking with him; she was an attentive mother. Both of his parents looked out for him. So, why wouldn't she get word to him that she is all right?" Bastian was frustrated. Potter gave him a sympathetic look as he leaned back in his chair.
"She could be afraid of being tracked."
"We're not exactly pursuing the Death Eaters, Harry. The truce thing sort of gave them a free pass, so why would she hide out?" He looked back down at his notes.
"Maybe she doesn't want to be found. Some of them are not taking the truce well. They feel abandoned by Voldemort. She lost her husband. We have to at least consider she took off and..."
"Killed herself? No note for the kid? Come on, who can do that to their child?" Bastian demanded as Potter merely arched an eyebrow at him. "I'm just saying the kid said his parents were good to him. I find it hard to believe a good mother would run off, kill herself, and leave her kid wondering what happened to her."
Harry shrugged and then picked up his copy of Bastian's notes. "Maybe she thought he was better off not knowing she chose to do that."
That was a possibility, but Bastian couldn't shake the feeling they were missing something. "I'm going to check the injured at St. Mungo's again. Maybe there is something I missed."
"I'll be away for the weekend, but if you need anything just message me."
Bastian followed up on leads. He talked with patients who were still in the hospital. He showed her picture around. Slowly he pieced together a half-complete picture of her whereabouts during the battle.
It was Tuesday when he followed the last lead. It lead him to Azkaban. The hospital was over crowded, and for now they didn't have enough space for those who ended up victims of a dementors kiss. The hospital was working on a better long term solution, but the wizarding community was still in a state of rebuilding. For now the cells of the prison had been turned into a place to keep those who were just shells of who they had been.
He didn't want to find her here. He'd rather be able to turn up to the kid with a body to bury or proof that his mother was alive and didn't want to be found. Anything was better than approaching the cell where a woman sat in the corner of it staring at a wall. If not for the random blinking and the movement of her chest to prove she was breathing he would have thought he was staring at a corpse.
"Fuck." He muttered as he looked down at the picture he had long sense memorized and then back at the woman. In the picture she was smiling as she placed her hand on her son's shoulder. There was a light in her blue eyes that seemed to almost shine through the picture. One look at her in this special cell in the isolated part of the prison and he realized that spark was gone. It wouldn't return.
The kid had her eyes.
He hoped telling him the truth about his mother wouldn't make the shine disappear from his gaze as well.
"Do you know who she is?" Rhiannon asked as she approached him. "I hate when I have to guard this section of the prison. They just sit and stare."
"Has there been any owls?" He asked, forcing himself to turn to face Rhia instead of staring at Mrs. Rookwood.
"Security is tight right now. All owls headed this way are being deterred to the post office in Hogsmeade. They have to be searched before they can continue here."
"Her name is Gretchen Rookwood. I'll have Potter send the paperwork over. I'm going to inform her next of kin." He walked away and didn't look back. Bastian wasn't looking forward to bringing the news back to Isaiah, but someone had to do it. The kid needed answers.
It was an hour later when he arrived at the hotel where Severus and his new son were staying. He wondered if Severus had already realized this wouldn't be a temporary placement. The kid's mother was never going to show up and be able to take him off his hands. The kid's father was buried. He was all the kid had, and well that meant in some fucked up twisted way Bastian was now connected to this kid.
Brilliant.
He knocked on the door and waited for someone to let him in.