RP: Unlikely team mates

[shh_ginny]

Date: March 28th, 2005
Characters: Ginevra Weasley, Rabastan Lestrange
Location: The Church on River Road
Status: Private
Summary: Ginny arrives for her 'appointment'.
Completion: Complete

Comments

[shh_ginny]

Resting her head back against his chest, exhaling deeply, Ginny closed her eyes with relief as the feeling of disorientation lessened and then faded. She was still prickly about the situation but recognized the charged synergy of his magic as it shifted around her, her own still tightly focused but Ginny gradually loosened her grip on it. Likening the light sensation to the split second in his reading room when he'd fallen asleep, the oddly familiar touch persisted now with direction and her lips curled up in a smug smile.

I thought you weren't sure about trusting him.

'I wasn't but I have good instincts.'

For what exactly? We're leaning up against a rather fit man and all you can think about is trust?

'We wake up next a very fit man practically every morning that we're undeservingly happy with. Rabastan is a friend, that's all, so let's try to focus here.'

When she opened her eyes again a heartbeat later, the disorientation and chill was gone entirely and, taking her hand from her pocket, Ginny reached back and curled her hand around his wrist. "I'm fine now, Rabastan. These must be your wards then, if you weren't feeling oddly but I think there's something wrong with them, I couldn't focus on anything but vertigo-like reactions - it's like they're off-key."

It was disconcerting not to be able to look up at him and she turned her head, resting her cheek against his warm, soft skin. "For future reference, I hate surprises. Actually," she chuckled, "hate would be too nice a term." Ginny gave his wrist a small squeeze. "I know you won't hurt me but knowing something and reacting instinctively are a great distance from each other in my head when I'm surprised."

"Come on, my very big, very warm friend. Show me what you brought me here to see." Ginny smiled, feeling significantly more relaxed than she had all day.

[shh_rabastan]

"They should be off-key. I need you to stay calm, Ginevra. The answer is likely to surprise you, but keep in mind that the source is not what you may think. I set them using blood magic.

"I needed a way to keep Rodolphus, and more importantly, Bellatrix, out of here. Lestrange wards are incredibly strong, but as my parents discovered they have a weakness. Lestrange wards don't precisely react to any Lestrange blood -- that would be foolish considering most of magical Europe has a Lestrange somewhere in their family line -- but the wards do recognize close kin. I used blood magic to change the kinship line."

Rabastan kept his breathing in sync with the healer's and slowly strengthened the protections a bit in case she lost focus when he told her the rest. "The blood used was cord blood... from a stillborn child of my blood but another line, making the wards no longer responsive to a Lestrange. Beside myself there is only one other person in the world who can access this cave without me and for good reason. He is only one of less than a handful I would trust with what is inside.

"Aside from the blood magic, the wards are being... infected... is probably the best word by what I keep in there. I think the last thing I added has eaten through the spiritual barriers inside. I am not feeling the temple wards at all." Rabastan had been in a hurry last time because Dark Mark had been hot and itchy, and he wanted to get as away as fast as he could in case he was being tracked. "What do you feel here, Ginevra?"

When she chuckled and turned her head her hair tickled against his skin. "I told you I was going to show you what kind of Death Eater I was, didn't I? Oh, all right. I concede the point. The next time I wish to show you something I will be more forthcoming with details before I take us off. Is that what you have in mind?" She wasn't his pupil and he had no right to expect her to blindly follow him. Actually he rather doubted she would ever want him to teach her anything because that would require asking and Merlin forbid that should happen twice in one century. Her head might implode from the stress of all that asking for help.

"Moving may be a bit awkward like this, but go slow. Keep your breathing even if you can, a smooth flow helps me shore up the bond. Close your eyes for a moment. When you open them, don't focus on anything in particular. You should see a softly glowing path through the Valley... cave... I call it the Valley. When you're ready, let us begin, little friend."

[shh_ginny]

Ginny shivered at the explanation for the disharmonious wards - blood magic was considered the strongest of magics but to use the blood of the dead was a dangerous and forbidden thing and for the wizard to have used such a medium only heightened her apprehension of the wards.

She considered his question for a long time, feeling him fidget behind her as he waited for her response. Finally, Ginny answered, "It's hard to describe… like being up too high on a broom - that feeling of not knowing which way is up… intense cold… Almost like… well, almost like that odd tingle I got when I removed the hex from you… his hex. It's dimmer now with your magic creating a space... between."

Ginny shook her head, trying to clear the disturbance from her thoughts, sighing. "You presume there will be a next time, Rabastan. Let's get through this first, shall we?"

"Awkward? Pish, hold out your arm, silly, hand up." She nudged him gently and waited for him to do so before toeing off her light moccasins. Setting her arm along the length of his own, she curled her fingers between his as she stepped back onto the tops of his shoes. "My brother, Charlie, used to do this when I came to see the dragons. He called it 'walking for the baby'. It was the only way they'd let me get close and while I'm a slight bigger now, you are - as you so aptly pointed out - not a weak man. Just mind the toes, if you would."

She closed her eyes and did as he said, nodding when she saw the path. "Lead on."

[shh_rabastan]

"I may have put something of his in here? Why would he send me to fetch something of his anyway? He could have sent anyone after it if he knew where the cursed thing was hid... a test. As a test, I should have anticipated that." It wasn't the first time that Rabastan had wished he had inherited his mother's gift for telling exactly whose magical signature she felt, but that trait was passed to Rodolphus, not he. Rabastan's gift was picking up even the smallest signs of magic, but being able to detect even minute traces of it made him less sensitive to recognizing individual signatures. In fact, he was bloody awful at it.

"Are you sure it feels like his hex? The bloody thing took forever to retrieve and if it is his, we need to be prepared. It can't get through the protections, but can make things difficult for us. The rest of the items are dangerous, but they've been quietly resting here for at least a year, most much longer. There is always a taint of dark magic coming from them, but none of them could have impacted the temple wards. This is more like what I found in Montenegro where I obtained the item last October, a chaotic feel. Actually, I think we should go back. I wasn't expecting this, Ginevra. It may not be safe for you, even strapped to me. I can take you home and come deal with this alone."

[shh_ginny]

Ginny stepped down and slipped her feet into her moccasins once more, removing the transfiguration spell on the length of cloth that had been his shirt. She frowned at the increasing background noise but kept her hold on his hand as she turned and planted her free hand on her hip. "Yes, clearly what you should do is take me home because we all know how cowardly Gryffindor are."

"This is absurd. Even if that's what it is, it's not him, it's something he had. Maybe it wasn't a test... a trap possibly." She pointed back to the cave. "What is in there? The Staff you mentioned - other things I assume? Things he wanted and you secreted away. You left it in there with objects of power..." Shaking her head, she raised her hand. "No, no, I know you didn't know what it was. "

"You could have just told me, Rabastan. Do you think I have so little faith in you that I wouldn't believe you? That I'd have to see what you'd done to understand? Bloody hell, I know I'm but a child to you but clearly, there's a grave misunderstanding here if you think I'm some kind of Doubting Thomas." She raked her hand through her hair, grumbling. "You can't leave it in there and I can't wield properly tied up like a Christmas goose. I can't go in there but you can. Okay... what would Pav... Yeah, go in and bring it out. Beyond the cave but within the wards. Here."

[shh_rabastan]

He staggered a bit when she rejected his magic. Temple magic needed to be released gently, not abruptly. It was disorienting and took him awhile to bring the center back within himself.

"Of course it isn't him. You told me there weren't any of those monstrosities left, even though I still doubt that anyone would break their soul into seven pieces. Although I do believe that if anyone would, it would have been him. It's just cursed but I didn't have time to figure it out or break it. Keep your..." Rabastan threw up his free hand.

"Do I look stupid? The Staff isn't in there. It has a home. These are all dangerous, but only a few can inflict harm on more than anyone in close proximity."

"I did tell you, Healer. I have told you that there is no dark magic in me. I have told you that not everything is as it first appears. I have told you that I was a Death Eater. I have also told you that the protection upon me precludes any evil from bonding to me. I have told you that it is physically impossible for me to harm others, even in self-defense. I have told you that you are not the only one with a calling to render aid. I have told you that I have no training in dark arts. I am not a Dark Wizard, Miss Doubting Thomas.

"I brought you to show you exactly what my job for him was, so you could understand... and honestly so that I could show that I really did do all I... never mind that part of it was more for myself than for you." He sighed. So many mistakes. So many complications. So very alo...

Why is being alone in all of this bothering you? You wanted it that way before. No, bloody idea. I'll figure it out later. Just get her home.

"Let's get you home, little girl. It's past your bed time. The Big Bad Wol... Death Eater needs to walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death alone. Hell isn't for angels. It's only for those without souls. People like..." He was so weary "...me. Do you wish to use your portkey or should I take us back to the church?"

[shh_ginny]

Ginny blinked, her gaze drifting away from him out over the forest beyond while she waited for him to stop his ranting. "No. Oh, don't worry, I won't try to stop you from going in there but I'm not leaving until you come out."

Stepping toward him, she tapped his chest with her finger, glaring up at him. "I'm not a little girl and I sure as hell am no angel and I'm tired of you treating me like that. Sod on tired of it so you can just shut up for a minute."

"Clearly, you feel some need for me to believe you and you don't think I do. We're arguing the same things to each other over and over because we're not hearing each other. You associate the dark arts with Voldemort and can only see them used for evil and you clearly believe I am of the same opinion." She tapped him again, harder. "Well, you are wrong on both accounts, Mr. Know It All Old Man. I took the hex off you with a dark arts counter. I used a dark spell to heal you."

Ginny sighed, tired of it all at once, the fight draining out of her. "If you want me to be close to you, why do you keep pushing me away?"

[shh_rabastan]

I took the hex off you with a dark arts counter. I used a dark spell to heal you.

"That isn't dark magic! You had no intent to harm when you lifted the hex. You used magic to heal me. Magic just is remember? The spell itself is not what makes magic light or dark. It's the intent. I can only see Dark Arts used for evil or at least for malicious purposes because if the intent isn't there, it simply isn't dark. There is no 'list' remember, Healer?"

He grabbed her finger that was poked into his chest. "And stop that! It bloody well hurts, you know. You'll leave a bruise..." He snorted. "Merlin, we're a unlikely pair. The Healer who knows Dark Arts and absolutely loathes asking for help, and the Death Eater who refuses to learn them and absolutely loathes admitting he'd actually like to have it... help that is."

Rabastan released his hold on her finger, but kept his left hand resting lightly on her arm. He held out his right hand, "Rabastan Lestrange, Doctor of Philosophy, Charms and Magical Theory Master. I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Healer... Weasley, was it?"

[shh_ginny]

"It was dark magic. A transference curse, actually. I simply split the hex off you and moved it." She hesitated, knowing the likelihood he would explode when she told him the truth. "Moved it to myself where... Oi! I'm talking... where it could be lifted normally because it was something made for you - it simply couldn't function on me. Sometimes you have to think outside the box."

She stifled a chuckle when he grabbed her finger, rolling her eyes at his weak protests. "You forgot stubborn, thick-headed, willful, insecure, approval-seeking and emotionally afraid to take risks."

Shaking her head in disbelief, Ginny smiled, taking his hand but not shaking it, curling her hand around his larger one instead. "It remains Ginevra and that would be Healer, Healer Specialist and all around General Pain in the Arse. I've been meaning to get that last part added to the sign on my office door but the Administrator keeps turning down the request."

"You know, if you just told me what you want help with, I'd help you and I'd sort of feel obligated to tell you what I want help with." She looked up at him, catching her bottom lip between her teeth.

[shh_rabastan]

Moved it to myself where...

Rabastan had been on the verge of exploding when she told him she'd taken the hex onto herself, but he held back until she finished. They had done enough talking at cross purposes. He could at least hear her out. "Thinking outside the box is something of a specialty of mine. Tell me... no, not now. I'll want the whole story later, though. Now, just tell me if you are all right?"

You forgot stubborn, thick-headed, willful, insecure, approval-seeking and emotionally afraid to take risks.

"If we were to substitute arrogant for insecure, and self-righteous -- at least as far as Magical Europeans go -- for approval-seeking, and emotionally starved for emotionally afraid, I'd think you were describing me.

"Just ask to have 'GPA' added after your name. They'll think it some kind of muggle degree, like my PhD, and you can have the last laugh if anyone actually asks." He chuckled.

"Let's move back from the wards first. You are pale... unless..." Rabastan reached out with his magic again.

[shh_ginny]

Are you all right? Hahahaha, he's a comedian! Who'd have guessed?

'He means the hex.'

"I've no desire to be a martyr, Rabastan. I'm fine. I wouldn't have done it if there was any chance I couldn't have countered it. Knowing all the arts is important for my work because my patients can't tell me what hex was thrown at them." Ginny shrugged.

No, I got the first two spot on.

Ginny looked at him shrewdly, wanting to say it but not wanting to fall into an argument again. Chuckling, she said. "Well, I said afraid because it's shorter than 'tired of getting burned'. Damned British reserve."

"I am? I..." She lifted her hand to her face, blinking in confusion. Her other hand, the one she held to him, tingled and grew warmer. If she'd had to describe the sensation, Ginny would have been stumped. It was not as if she felt him when he loosened his magic, and in unleashing her own, she felt more of herself, far more powerful then before. Those realizations made her glance up at him sharply, stating quietly. "This is a great deal of magic between us. Surely you know that."