Deliverance ~ Saturday, 19th of May, 1973

[Augustus Rookwood]

The sound of chairs scraping the floor as his colleagues left the room to pursue their given missions and enjoy the rest of this wet and grey weekend filled the space while Augustus sat silently, waiting. When the room settled there were only two left besides himself; Lord Voldemort who had been the one to order his company after the meeting had officially ended, and Reginauld Lestrange. Lestrange was an older man, bitter looking, with lines on his face that suggested he scowled more often than smiled. Augustus had begun noticing lines on his own face in recent years, but they were not as prominent nor as sour as Lestrange's. The man needs a laugh, Auggie thought as he looked across the table but he wasn't about to be the one to invite the unpleasant wizard out for a pint. Or perhaps to get laid. The sound of their leader shifting in his chair drew Augustus' attention back to the matter at hand. The prophecy.

"It came in late Thursday evening," he explained to Voldemort, "and I was able to incept some of the processing paperwork before it was logged in the Hall of Prophecy." Augustus leaned back in his chair casually, a friendly expression on his face despite the seriousness of the matter. He looked to Reginauld, ignoring the man's ever-present look of constipation and explained, "my little birds cannot say with 100% certainty, of course, being unable to retrieve the prophecy to inspect it further without dire consequences, but it would seem to indicate your youngest son is involved." Auggie smiled at the man, the gesture not returned, then looked at Lord Voldemort. "We are trying to locate the seer, M'lord but the solstice is barely more than a month away. If we have any plan to bring the lad into the fold-"

"He's too soft," the older man croaked loudly, interrupting Augustus without remorse. "Piss-poor excuse for a fighter, dunno know what good he'd be to anyone in a battle."

"I seem to recall you saying something similarly of your eldest, if I'm not mistaken, Reg. How's he turned out, d'you think?"

"Are you calling me a liar?" Lestrange seemed to inflate with long-forgotten bravado, fists slamming onto the table between them.

The sight nearly caused Augustus to burst out in laughter but the unenthused expression on Voldemort's face made him think better of it. Lord Voldemort wasn't planning a war, he was planning an annihilation. A swift and brutal end to the status-quo and an even swifter rise to power. They needed every advantage they could get if they wanted to keep the unnecessary casualties at a minimum. It seemed everyone understood that, except for Reginauld Lestrange. He was just happy to watch the world burn, but Augustus had no mind to entertain him. 

[Lord Voldemort]

They said silence was gold, and in some cases he felt the need to agree. His silence as his followers left sent a message - do as I say, follow my orders. Things were all going according to schedule, but he had other matters to discuss with some of his most loyal today. Rookwood was one of his most trusted, the man a valuable source of information given his position as an Unspeakable at the Ministry. The things they had learned because of Augustus could make or break their war, as Voldemort had to assume that he wasn’t the only one with ears to the ground about the most secretive of departments. Especially when it came to the Hall of Prophecies, the future seen and only able to be accessed by those who the prophecy is about.

The hall cleared except for Rookwood and Lestrange, not a pair that he normally would expect to get along. Rookwood was more suited to being friends with Rodolphus over Reginauld but the matter concerned the youngest Lestrange son, and as such it felt improper not to have the father here. Not that he valued Reginauld’s opinion that much, given how little he thought of his eldest son, who was a very nice asset to the cause. Voldemort had long been thinking of recruited the younger son. If he was anything like his brother, he would prove to be quite useful. The first order of business would be recruitment, as he normally did in the summers. A diner to observe those coming of age, to see how they could contribute. Not all left that meeting with a Mark, some simply couldn’t do more than sympathize with the cause. They were important to, relied on to spread word and offer aid to those who chose to fight.

“Excellent work as usual, Rookwood. Your efforts to the cause do not go unnoticed,” he spoke, fingers drumming on the table as he took in Reginauld’s displeasure at the conversation. “The seer must be found, perhaps, Reginauld, you would like to lend your expertise in this department.” That seemed to please the elder Lestrange, and Voldemort turned his attention back to Augustus. “I’ve given this much thought, and with Roldolphus great contributions, I do think we should bring the younger Lestrange into our activities.” There were several individuals he was considering for the cause, but Rabastan Lestrange was the only one who would for sure be introduced to their society. “When we bring him in, I want him under your wing Rookwood. We need the prophecy, and I’m sure you can find a way to get the younger Lestrange into the Hall of Prophecies.”