#004003

He's back home, after having assured Rogers he'd be gone for thirty minutes at the most- 'I just need to go get something', the lie passing Rabastan's lips far too smoothly without a chance for any reply as he'd swung out of the room with a wave and a grin at his coworker. He'd sent a letter to the Malfoys earlier, but who knew when Rod would get the news- it might be a risk to leave the Ministry at such an hour and time, but it was a risk he was surely justified to take considering the circumstances.

After all, it was always better to get things over with as quickly as possible, and he wasn't sure if Rod would forgive him if he left it for any longer. (The thought leaves a faintly bitter taste in his mouth).

Hesitation slows his motions, a sliver of doubt coiling in his gut as he stands in the cold, before Rabastan grimaces and pushes the door open- a backdoor, he wasn't feeling fancy enough to go in by the front gate, especially not for an occasion such as this. For a moment as he stands in the slightly darkened corridor, there is a sense of being lost- there are countless rooms in the manor, countless steps to trace, before he just follows his feet to where he thinks Rod would be at such a time.

The lit lamps seem to confirm his hypothesis as he nears the living room (well, one of them), but he has to pause before the door for just a moment, take a breath and pull back all his uncertainties before he can push it open- and it would probably be a little anticlimactic now if Rodolphus wasn't in there, but ahah, he is.

Though it feels a little anticlimactic, anyway.

"-Brother.” He starts, and there is a sudden swell of relief that Rodolphus is still here, safe- because Rabastan hadn’t been certain, not entirely, not until now and he could see with his own eyes. He stills at the doorway, just for a moment. “I was looking for you."