✧TRUTHS AND RECONCILIATIONS✧

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Rabastan had been searching for Aurora for the past few minutes, not that that was a new task. But his usual spots were all empty, and it took a moment to remember that she hadn't been in the manor enough to have things to distract herself with or hideaway.

"Daisy, where is Aurora?" He spoke, a bit harshly but the left hadn't taken the hit as it was the usual tone one spoke to their slaves here.

"Good mistress is playing Piano." Rabstan continued off towards the other side of the manor to where he had been searching, and soon he heard the beautiful tune of his wife's playing. Though a smile erupted on his gaunt face as he embraced Aurora singing a beautiful melody, yet he didn't think he's heard it before.

"Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Every morning you greet me
Small and white
Clean and bright
You look happy to meet me
Blossom of snow
May you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever
Edelweiss, edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever."

Her voice had been soft, a beautiful melody to accompany her angelic tone. Gods had he messed up.

"Can you teach me that when you come home mummy?" Rabastan stilled at the sound of a young girl, though then he was met with the same instrument Aurora used on the previous call.

"Of course love, how are you...Are you behaving for Auntie Phoebe and Lizzy?"

"Yes, but I miss you. Rommy and I slept in your bed last night with Loki. Can you read to me when you get back?"

"Of course darling, could you get your brother...I need to be going to bed soon, it's late love." Rabastan had remained still, especially when he wife picked up softly to the piano yet again, and he heard the sound of his son's laughter.

"Is that the piano you played with for me and Imara?"

"Hm, just the very one. How is everyone?" She knew that Romulus would give her a proper rundown, and he did brilliantly on watching everyone, minding the few days that he had camp.

"Opa wasn't in his painting this morning, it was empty."

"Ah, he was probably in the one here. He should be back if you wanted to talk to him. Is Lori doing as alright as she says?" Romulus paused for bit and sighed.

"I think she had forgotten the first night that you were away, and she came running into my room crying saying that you were missing...She only fell asleep when I offered that we both sleep in your bed. She misses Ronan too." Rabastan released his own withheld breath, the distress on Aurora was one thing being away from the children.

But the children's distress is being away from their mum was another, Lorelei was still very young to rightly understand anything more than her mummy going to work for a few days.

Rabastan vowed that he would make more an attempt, that when Ronan come that he'd make the best possible chance so that they could all return and they could be a family.

Yet his heart sank after remembering about Aidan, his wife fell in love.

What did the bloke look like?
Was he handsome?
Smart?
Surely he had to be smart if he kept up with the likes of Aurora...

"Come now, I'll be home in a week. And then you can come with, doesn't that sound like fun? Your Auntie Evie helped me with your room, and you can do whatever you want to it."

"Can I have one of those hanging chairs from the ceiling like Saros has?" Aurora laughed as she leaned further onto the piano as she giggled.

"I thought you wanted a window seat?"

"But you said that a lot of rooms have a window seat, and besides...I'll be leaving for Hogwarts so there's really no point in setting up a room." It caused his mother to frown, and before he could retract that statement Aurora found her voice.

"Romulus Dimitir, I don't like that tone."

"I'm sorry mum, but honestly...Holidays are—"

"Would you prefer to sleep on a couch?"

"No mum."

"Then it's important, I want everyone comfortable...Besides, in Britain you can have a personal cauldron as you'll need one for Hogwarts." The conversation soon drifted from there to Britain entirely, but soon Rory felt too exhausted to continue the conversation.

"Go get some sleep mum, we'll see you soon."

"Goodnight Rommy." Rabastan heard a final groan as the son took his nickname with anguish, he wasn't that surprised that he had already grown out of it, and it was indeed his mother's title for him.

Yet the second he heard a subtle sniffle he flinched as though it was he who had caused her to cry—And partially he was.

"Rory?" She hadn't picked up her head from her position, though after he took a few gaining steps she gazed up and ran a hand through her hair.

"It was Romulus and Lorelei if you're wondering if I'm cheating already." He couldn't stand the shift from the way she spoke to the children to him, it struck another nerve as he denied that he thought that.

Though he did think the first call was indeed Aidan.

"I know, I heard them both...I—I wanted to apologize." Aurora blew a whiff of air to get the hair out of her face, and she hummed.

"I was thinking I curl my hair, perhaps then I'll look like Bella." She bit back, grabbing the mirror and hurrying past her husband and making it close to the door before he called her out.

His voice breaking, close to another fit of sobs, and she turned back to see reaching out his hand, a failed attempt to catch her before she managed to get so far.

"Look what happened to Avery and Amelia when he assumed that Noah wasn't his, it tore them apart. And we have much more of a reason to not be together anymore, but I stayed Rabastan. I fell in love again, he helped me through the pregnancy, help me with the children. It wasn't like he replaced you, that was never the case..." He said all a dozen words and here he was, watching he break down yet again.

"You fell in love...With someone who's not...Me."

"I suppose that would be worse than a sudden shag with someone I thought of as a sister." His head fell down, and it was an odd stance for someone so tall, his back was slightly hunched with the years of resting against the wall and uncomfortable sleeping arrangements.

"We ended on mutual agreement after learning that you were going to be released, so it's been a while, and we've been so busy working that we're friends." She rightly didn't care if he disapproved of it, if he couldn't trust her then that was his issue.

Aidan was a friend before all else.

"When did you find out?" He looked up to the ceiling for a moment and squinted an eye, a new quirk she picked up which caused him to smirk.

"I was on vacation so perhaps almost a full year ago, the Lestrange funds and manors are under both of us...Well perhaps not this manor as I needed to fix it up without a few signatures of yours. The elves have always been here, but the roof needed fixing and all that." She was rambling, but at least her voice hadn't been as cold as before.

"Please don't think I'm unappreciative for all that you've done."

"Yet it's clouded because I was involved with another man...I understand, and I would be worried if you weren't a little angry. But not trusting me when I tell you that Lori is yours hurts. More than you can image, so perhaps Amelia wasn't entirely wrong in being bitter when Avery question it." The fact that Aurora was siding with her former friend was astonishing, and only caused Rabastan to panic further.

"I am out of strikes, you don't hold my promises or trust me in any regard. How do—What do I do?"

"That depends, what do you want?" What did he want?

He wanted to be able to sleep in the same bed as her, as the one time she had was the first few nights before retreating to her own.

He wanted his children to come to the manor and enjoy the time they had left before they all had to go to their respectful grades.

He wanted to meet his youngest daughter and hear her laughter.

As Rabastan remained quiet, Rory had been unaware of her gift seeping into his mind. The jumble of what he was thinking caused Aurora to smile.

"That is what I need to hear Rabastan, all that up there. We want the same things, so even if we're not together than we can still manage the children."

"N-not together?" This time it was her shoulders that shrunk, causing her to shake her head.

"I don't know Rabastan, I've put the children first for so long that it's hard to think of others. Don't you feel the difference?" He'd be lying if he said he didn't, so he remained silent as she ran a stressful hand through her hair.

"I'm sure we can make this work, I have hope in that at the very least. But you need to act like a father, and one comment, one word to Lori that she isn't yours or a mention of what happened...I promise Rabastan Lestrange, I will leave. And you won't hear from me ever again." He took a hard swallow in having heard the limits of his behavior.

"Yes Ma'am."

"Then we have no issues, goodnight Rabastan."

"But it feels like we still do..." He mumbled, and so she held onto the door and nodded her head in agreement. "Because you've been home for a week, and it's been six years since you've returned. I'm sorry if you thought it'd be the same." She bowed her head in a slight tilt before continuing to the guest room.

Rabastan had taken to the master bedroom, currently occupying her side of the bed and gazed to the beautiful portrait above the mantle. The whimsical memory of their wedding is what soothed him for just under four hours as he woke up in a beating sweat.

He kept silent that his night terror surpassed the potion she prescribed him, but Rory cut back as he did not need an addiction at the moment.

After getting his breath underway, splashing water in his face did he grab an extra pillow and blanket from the closet and traveled to where his wife was residing.

Peeking into her room did he see her sleep at the side of the bed with Nymeria curled up on her other side. A soft smile erupted, this he remembers. How utterly peaceful and calm his wife would look while she slept.

But even then she was thinking and planning.

He kneed down at her beside, reaching over to encase her hand with both of his. "I know you won't accept any of my promises Rory, but I'll still make them." He whispered, his tattooed hands having a loud difference to his wife's soft hands.

"I promise to try, I promise to really try. You don't want the children to know about the Dark Lord. I understand, why you want to leave all of this out...I spoke out of turn when I claimed that Lori wasn't mine even though I saw a picture. I promise that I'll be a father to them, you aren't alone in it anymore. I promise." Aurora had only been partly awake, she heard the imagination of his sudden sprout of dedication.

Yet her exhaustion and the strain of the entire day was causing her to let out a light moan and snuggle back into her pillow.

It scared him and caused his head to jump up to check. But then he noticed that there was a long pillow between her legs, and it was a large reminder that even if some things did change—There were some similarities.

He pulled the blanket up and over his shoulders and curled up against the bedside, his neck propped with the pillow to give him a bit of leverage. And for the first time since Rory had stopped sleeping beside him, he slept wonderfully.

Aurora didn't want to open her eyes, she knew it was too early to be awake. The lack of light shining on her eyelids was proof enough, but there were two sets of breathing coming from either side.

And she knew she hadn't brought another animal over than Nymeria. This caused Aurora to raise up her head and blink rather violently as she took in the darkroom.

"Hmm..." She let out, and sudden Rabastan had moved just a tad to cause her to jolt her head down. After having awoken with children out of nowhere, this was no different.

"Raba?" She whispered, tiredly wiping her eyes as she looked to the poor man who snuggled against the bed rather than in a bed. "Raba—Rabastan." Aurora had to resort to shaking his shoulder, and the semi-violent action caused him to grow startled. He thrashed his blanket down and look almost ready to attack, but Aurora remained completely calm.

Her being half-awake wasn't the smartest decision and it caused this. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, gods...I just wanted you to come into bed." She soothe his ever-beating-heart by running her fingers through his returning curls.

"Sh...Shshh...What are you doing sleeping on the floor Raba?" Withholding a yawn did she motion a pull before acting upon her hint, Nymeria knew to shift in a different position and even conformed to Rabastan's addition to the bed.

Aurora had cuddled into his side, kissing his hand and looking straight into his bewildered eyes. Shock couldn't dictate his entire expression at the moment.

"Rabastan you are loved, the children will love you. Ronan adores you, just wait until Friday...Come Friday everything will feel right." She spoke with such conviction that it allowed a part of him to calm down, and the rest of him had slowly relaxed at her warmth and the smell of her hair truly reminded him that she was here.

She was here to stay.

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Date Posted: 03-13-2020 (Spooky Friday the 13th)

Time: 3:45

Words: 2529

Author's Note:

So nothing this week went as planned, Monday was my last day before my university decided to close and evacuate the entire campus within two days. This means everything is going to be online until we're allowed back for in-person lectures again, ngl I'm happy that my bio exam was online because your girl does not do bio (Or stats if you saw my post). 

I do still have spring break next week and I cannot wait to start writing again!

I'll see you Monday:)