HP: The Last Death Eater Trial (OC son of Bellatrix)

Part 4

Chapter 4

CROVUS LESTRANGE

As the doubt seethed in his heart, he began to grow more and more sure about his suspicion. He sat on the other side of the Great Hall, as they had their dinner. The attacks had really shaken the whole school, and the whole school was whispering about the so-called heir of Slytherin.

His eyes moved the Gryffindor table towards the prime suspect.

Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, sat there rather alone with his two companions. The infamous Golden trio sat there, and his eyes narrowed as he felt their eyes meet. The three of them seemed to have been staring at him.

Both of them were quite similar in some aspects. Both of them were famous for things they had no control over and were greeted with turned heads and small whispers wherever they went. However, their reasons for infamy were quite different. For while Harry was greeted with warmth and appreciation, Crovus was mostly greeted with a guarded glance and evading eyes.

They quickly evaded their gaze.

Why were they looking at him?

"Hey, cousin!" suddenly, the all too familiar voice of Draco pushed him out of his trance and he looked to the side, and found his cousin and childhood friend taking the seat next to him.

"Have you heard, the governors are thinking of sacking Dumbledore?" said Draco with a smile, pointing towards the teachers' table as Crabb and Goyle sat down by his side.

"But why?" came the question from Astoria, who had sat to his other side with her sister, who also seemed interested in this whole debate.

"It's the attacks," he answered just as he had expected, "Father petitioned that he is too old for the job, and that they need someone new," said Draco, and he saw Astoria frown at those words.

"But that's stupid. He is the best wizard of magical Britain. Who else would be able to solve this mystery," he saw Draco seethe at the rebuttal, but he knew that his mother would have words with him if he misbehaved with Astoria. He had learned that lesson pretty quickly when he had tried to prank her when they had been younger, and so simply shrugged sulkily.

"But at least whomever they bring in would be better than him," Draco remarked as he began to dig into his dinner.

Astoria seemed rather put out by the news and remarked sadly.

"I hope the attacks, stop soon. I kinda like him," she said and Crovus's eyes narrowed onto the red-head sitting across from him once more. And he found out the girl had been looking at him for some reason.

Red. He blinked suddenly as he felt a red hue appear in her eyes momentarily, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared as the girl quickly evaded his gaze and looked away.

Was he imagining this? No.

But why would she attack muggle-borns? She had no apparent connection to Slytherin and her family was quite fond of muggle-borns. Was he wrong about this?

But a part of him continued to whisper that she was somehow connected to all this, despite no apparent evidence.

"Are you fine, Crovus? Have you taken your potion for today?" came the worried voice of Astoria from the side, and he looked towards her and nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, I am fine. Just got lost in thought," he replied and began to eat again, his mind focused on the red hue he had seen in her gaze and how it had seemed so familiar to him.

0000

HERMIONE GRANGER

"How the hell did she know about all that?" Harry nearly shouted as he paced in Ministry Hall, as the hearing came to an end for the day. They had been harassed by the reporters after the hearing, and the Aurors had stepped in and forced all of them out of the building.