Chapter 12

Chapter 12

DAPHNE GREENGRASS-(1998)

Adelaine Murton. Daphne read the name again off the piece of paper as she sat in the Leaky Cauldron. Besides, the name was an old picture, a photo she had obtained from one of the seniors who had been in the same year as Adelaine.

And right there, in the corner of the picture, stood the girl in question. A blonde girl with curly hair that reached her shoulders, her height neither middling as she stood on the edge of the picture, clad in Slytherin Green.

She didn't remember much of the senior, given that she often kept to herself. And so, in this case, there was only one person she knew who could help her locate the girl in question. A person whom she wouldn't hesitate to call a sister.

Tracy Davis.

The door to the bar opened, and she looked up and found a rather familiar face walking in. Her raven black hair had reached her shoulders as she adjusted her glasses, and rushed towards her with a smile.

"Daphne!" she nearly shrieked as she hugged her, and she found herself smiling at her infectious energy. The war hadn't been kind to any of them, and in those dark hours, when the future had appeared bleak, it had been this energy that had kept her going.

"Tracy," she greeted her friend, who took the seat opposite to her.

"So, tell me, what dilemma has forced the great Daphne Greengrass to remember this humble servant?" she teased, and Daphne shook her head.

"How have you been, Tracy?" she questioned, and her friend simply raised a brow.

"That's what you ask me. You vanish for months without a single letter, and then one day without any heads appear in court to defend the person you, in your words, 'hate the most', and then you ask me how have I been?" she complained, and Daphne sighed, as she saw that Tracy was wroth with her.

"I apologize for it, but there was no time," she tried to explain, but Tracy was having none of it.

"You could have said anything. Do you know how big of a story this was? My boss at the Prophet chewed my ears for days, for not knowing anything about this," Tracy huffed as she looked away like an angry cat, making her shake her head.

Tracy Davis had always been fascinated with gossip and was right now one of the Daily Prophet's biggest rising stars. And she could understand her anger, given that this was a major news scoop that she had denied him. And she knew just how she could make it up to her.

"Ok, I am sorry, and to make it up to you, I will give you an exclusive interview about Crovus's case," yet that didn't seem to convince, her, who looked towards her with a narrowed gaze.

"Hmm, add to that an exclusive short interview with Crovus Lestrange, and that will cover the cost of whatever you have called me here to do," she countered, and Daphne sook her head with a sigh.

"I cannot promise that, but I will mention it to him," she offered and saw a smile appear on her face as she took off her glasses.

"Deal!" she said, like a child who had just gotten her favorite candy. Tom brought them two pints as she cast a privacy ward around them.

"Tell me, how did you even get this case?" Tracy questioned. And Daphne thought of the day it had all begun, the day of her sister's funeral.

"It began after Astoria's funeral, after everyone left. I was standing there infront of her grave when a letter came for me," she answered and saw Tracy's smile drop at that as she looked at her with a sad expression.

"A letter from Headmaster Dumbledore," she finished and saw Tracy's eyes widen in surprise.

"The Headmaster?" she confirmed, and she nodded.

"Yes, the headmaster and that was how it all began. Nearly all of it was set up by him," she answered, and that was true, and with every new piece of information she would discover, she would become more and more angry with the man. Angry with herself as well for having put Crovus through everything they had.

"The truth is that I couldn't believe everything for days, and then I read about the trial coming up, and so I knew I had to do something," she finished and saw Tracy nod as she reached for hand.

"How is he?" she questioned, and Daphne replied in a concerned tone.

"Tired. Weak, he has tremors in his hands, and though he doesn't say it, I know he hasn't slept peacefully in quite some time," she told her as she looked up.

"And you know he wasn't even going to defend himself. He planned to confess to everything, and he would have let them hang him, and no one would have ever what he had done for us all," she said as she rubbed her eyes.

"No matter, I am not going to let that happen. I am going to get him out, no matter what. And for that, I need your help," she said, and Tracy nodded as her eyes glinted.

"Anything," she said, and Daphne pushed forward the picture and all she had learnt about Adelaine from Crovus.

"There is a person I am looking for, Adelaine Murton," Tracy frowned at the mention of that name.

"Adelaine Murton, didn't she die in that Ministry attack…." She said, and Daphne nodded.

"Yes, but she didn't. Crovus told me that she is still alive. And escaped to America to get away from Voldemort and her father, but that is all he knows, she could prove extremely valuable for me in this case," she said and Tracy nodded as she looked through all the information she had provided her.

"America, that is tough," she muttered before she picked up her glasses and gave her a nod.

"But you don't have to worry, I will handle this. Plus, I have a debt of my own to repay to Crovus," said Tracy surprising her wither her words.

"A debt?" she questioned surprised, and Tracy nodded.

"You remember how I told you that someone sent a letter to our home warning us about a Death Eater attack," she told her, and Daphne nodded. That letter had saved the life of Tracy and her parents, and her eyes widened as she realized just who had sent that letter.

"I matched the handwriting with one of Crovus's old assignments, and the letter was from him," and Daphne smiled as she saw Tracy give her a nod as she stood up.

"Tell him that I said thanks for saving me and my parents' lives," and Daphne nodded as she stood up and shook her hand.

"I will."

0000

ADELAINE MURTON-(Flash Back)

Adelaine Murton didn't like attention. She didn't wish to bask in attention like girls her age. She unlike the rest of her classmates, preferred the tranquility of solitude. Yet, as she entered her sixth year, silence and solitude were becoming much rarer.

The Quidditch World Cup, more importantly, the resurfacing of the Death Eaters had caused a mayhem in the society. The Dark Mark, the symbol of fear and darkness for many, had gone up in the skies and had unsettled the Wizarding World of Great Britain as the dark memories of the war resurfaced. The Ministry remained useless as always, and the populace became restless.

Shea herself was reminded of her mother and the injustice suffered by her. And her gut wrenched in disgust and agony as she realized that if the likes of her father had their way, there would be many more who would suffer the same fate as her.

And as the Dark Mark lit up the sky on that fateful night, many people rejoiced, people like her own father as they saw this a sign from their Lord. A sign hinting at his return. And so she found herself pushed by the man, as he ordered her to get close to the heirs of the Death Eaters, hoping to learn more about the return of the Lord.

Malfoy, and Zabini had been tight lipped about this issue yet their glee at the mention of the return of the Dark Lord, made her gut curl up. Most of her house's reaction was like them as well, glee as they relished in the suffering of muggles and muggle born.

Well, not all. Few of them were different, the Greengrass heiress had been rather quiet about the whole ordeal, and her family were also neutral during the last war. Her friend Tracy had been another one who had paled slightly at the mention of the Dark Lord.

And the most unexpected had been the reaction of one Crovus Lestrange, she had expected to see the same glee in his gaze, yet as she mentioned the Dark Lord and looked into his eyes, for a moment she felt as if she was staring into her own gaze. A cold stare, impassive at first yet as one were to stare deeply into those red orbs one could feel a storm brewing.

Of all her house mates he was the most intriguing. After his reaction she had found her eyes seeking him out through the school and she hadn't missed the drastic change the boy had undergone over the summer break.

While he had always been brilliant and was amongst the best in his class. In his third year he had taken the school by storm, leaving his other batchmates behind and she had seen him even challenging her own classmates to practice duels.

The boy was an enigma, and she could feel her eyes seeking him out every now and then. She ahd seen him enter the dorms late at night and had seen him wobble to his room on several occasions, yet over the month of her patrols she hadn't caught him wandering the Halls even once.

Where exactly did he vanish to, and how did he get injured. With these questions plaguing her mind, she rounded the last corner and stopped as she heard a noise coming out of one of the dungeon rooms.

She frowned and took out her wand as she slowly made her way towards the cause of this disturbance and was somewhat surprised when she found it to be none other than the room of her Head of the House, Professor Snape.

The man was a prodigy in the subject, having gained his mastery in less than five years though he wasn't a particularly good professor. His explanations were often lacking, and he expected his students to learn the basics on their own, which for a subject as dry and tedious as Potions was nothing less than an idiot's hope.

The door to his office was slightly open as she slowly walked towards it trying to discern what was going on. And as she neared, she realized that he wasn't alone, and was joined by someone else.

THUNK!

"ARGHH!" she heard the sound of a shield breaking before a body was thrown into the wall, grunting in pain as she reached the door and began to look in through the crevice, recognizing the other occupant in the room.

It was none other than the boy who had recently occupied her mind, the son of Bellatrix and Rudolphus Lestrange, Crovus. Crovus Lestrange and she watched him fall to the ground as he hit the wall. He grunted in pain and she held herself back from intervening, wanting to understand what exactly was going on here.

"Get up!" came the sharp voice of their potions professor as a spell raced through the room aimed straight for the young boy's head. The boy rolled to the side, grunting in pain as the wall behind him blew up, much to her concern.

"Do you think just because you know a few spells, you are special? You are nothing!" the potions professor snarled as he hurled a volley of spells at the injured third year, who barely dodged the spells before erecting a rather impressive shield to protect himself.

And she hadn't missed how he had done it without chanting, which she could barely do as a sixth year.

"You wish to join the ranks of the Death Eaters! Do you even know what this means!" the professor snarled, and she stilled as she heard those words.

Death Eaters, she was familiar with the term. Most people her age were. She had also heard the rumors about their potions professor, how the man had been one of them. And her gut twisted in anger as she realized that all those rumors had been true.

"Do you think the Dark Lord will accept a child into his ranks!" the man snarled as a barrage of spells impacted the young Slytherin's hastily erected shield as cracks appeared in it. And she frowned as she heard those words.

Crovus Lestrange wished to join the Death Eaters. Had she been wrong about the boy. Yet her heart refused to believe those words. Those eyes, they had been filled with rage and disgust at the mention of the Dark Lord. Then why would he want to become a death eater.

Was it because of her parents? But both of them were in Azkaban.

"AGHH!" the boy grunted in pain as his shell broke and a spell hit him in the chest making him grunt in pain.

"Give up on this dream of yours!" the Potions master spoke, yet the boy struggled back to his feet as he wiped away blood dripping from his mouth.

"You and I both know that I can't!" uttered the boy huffing for breath.

As a prefect, she had to intervene, yet she knew she couldn't. The truth was that she had no purpose listening in, yet as she watched that third-year boy stand there defiantly in the battered state, as she listened closely to each and every word hoping to learn the truth of what exactly was going in here.

He had never seemed to her as the blind follower and had never made any remarks against half-bloods or muggle-borns. Yet here he was, being trained by one of the Dark Lord's followers, at great peril, to join the ranks of death Eaters.

It all didn't match up.

"Then show me that you are ready! Show me that this is all not just a waste of my time!" the potions master uttered as she heard him utter rather ominously.

"Legilimens!" and she stilled as she recognized the spell and barely held herself from intervening as the boy bit his lips, though he did not evade the man's gaze even as blood dripped down his nostrils.

"You may have gotten lucky last time with your magic lashing out! Yet you need to be stronger, your defenses more fluid!" remarked the potion master as she felt him end the spell Crovus Lestrange fell to his knees and huffed for air.

Silence reigned over the room, and she was about to leave the corridor when she heard the potion master speak up.

"Why must you do this, Lestrange?" the potions master questioned, his voice much smoother and rather filled with concern. The boy in question huffed as he gave the answer with a broken smile.

"Because just like you, Professor, I have no other choice!"

And for some reason, she felt her heart sink at the tone of the young Lestrange. It had seemed so broken, so lost. Like the last cry of a sinking man, and so she found herself standing there with her eyes fixed on his form. His clothes were disheveled, and she could tell that he had many bruises and scars hidden underneath that set of uniforms.

Nothing more was said by the potions professor and she watched as the boy wobbled towards the door. She quickly rushed back into the corridor as she watched the boy leave the office, not missing how his eyes narrowed as he stared for some seconds at the spot she had been standing at before he wobbled away.

And so would begin this game of cat and mouse, as every night she would try and follow the boy in question hoping to solve the mystery that was Crovus Lestrange. She would see him traverse the Halls, sometimes to the dungeons sometimes he would vanish into the seventh floor, and sometimes she would find him climbing up the astronomy tower sitting down at its edge, and staring into the sky with vacant gaze.

And then after a year had passed, on one such night as she would follow him to the same astronomy tower her eyes would widen as a gruff voice would make her still in her spot.

"Why don't you come out, after all, it has been a year now since we began this game of ours!"

0000

HERMIONE GRANGER-(1998)

Her meeting with the portrait of the Headmaster had shaken her to the core, along with the transcript from the proceedings of the court. And so, Hermione Granger had found herself plagued with questions as she failed to wrap her mind around the true nature of Crovus Lestrange.

And so, in the end, she found herself in the Ministry Halls, her pace quick as she made her way down to the dungeons, as she hardened her heart to confront him herself.

Getting a slip to meet with him hadn't been hard given her status as a war hero. Plus, he wasn't placed in a high-risk cell and was reasonably compliant. The Auror in charge frowned as she handed him the slip.

"Time for visits is over," he remarked, and she raised a brow.

"That is from the head of the DMLE. I can have him come down himself, but I don't think he will be pleased being disturbed like this," she uttered and saw him thin his lips as he sighed and put his stamp on the slip as he made her sign her name.

"Only twenty minutes, not a second more," he said as he began to lead her through a corridor with a number of cells before he came to a stop near one of the doors.

"If he makes a move, you call for me immediately," she nodded as she saw him knock on the door.

"Lestrange, someone's here for you," and then the Auror twisted open the door, yet she stilled as she saw the scene inside the cell.

For inside the cell, they found a rather unfamiliar person standing infront of the unconscious and bloodied form of Crovus Lestrange, the Auror beside her stilled as well. She reached for her wand, yet she was too late.

"Who are…" but that was all he managed to utter before a spell hit them from the side, and she felt her body curl up as her vision began to darken.

"Ahhh, if it isn't Hermione Granger, the mudblood war hero," she heard someone utter in a silky tone as darkness enveloped her on all sides.

"Today must be my lucky day!"

0000

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