HP: The Last Trial Ch.7 (Patreon)

Chapter 7

ASTORIA GREENGRASS

“AVADA KEADVARA!” and her heart nearly lept out of her chest as she felt something move whizz past her.

BOOOM.

The sound of a spell hitting a stone wall behind her, blasting it off, made her open her eyes, and she saw Crovus kneeling on the ground, his left hand gripping his wand arm, as he writhed on the ground, fighting himself.

“AGHHHH!” a visceral and gut-wrenching scream from him made her rush towards him.

“CROVUS! CROVUS!” she screamed, trying to get back her friend, but then suddenly she saw those eyes land on her, those same dark red orbs filled with malice and hate and stilled before she was sent flying back, crying out in pain as her back hit the hall.

“AGHHH!”

“AST…… ARGH!” and she felt tears well up in her eyes as she fell to the ground, her body writhing in pain. Her vision cleared up, and she looked up to find Crovus holding his head, screaming.

“NO! I have had enough of you!” cried her friend, his voice changing tones before suddenly a dark shadowy wisp surrounded him and shook the whole room.

She tried to get up, to get away. To call the teachers. Knowing that she needed to hurry and get help.

Yet, as she struggled to her feet and tried to walk away. She missed the wand aimed at her and could only scream in severe pain, as a spell hit her from the back.

“CRUCIO!”

“AGHHHHHH!” her whole body was burning. She felt her vision blur as she tried to crawl away. And though the spell ended, her body continued to writhe in pain as she felt a person approach her from behind.

And the last thing she saw, was those dark red orbs focused onto her, as Crovus aimed his wand at her, its end lit up in an ominous purple hue.

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AMELIA BONES

Amelia Bones couldn't believe her ears as the whole court became still, trying to process what they had just heard.

Son. He had just said, son.

Crovus Lestrange was the son of Voldemort.

“What did you just say? Can you please repeat that?” cut in Percy, who had become a bit pale, and seemed rather perplexed by this shocking revelation like the rest of them.

Crovus Lestrange looked up, and his face had a look of resigned rage and disgust as he spoke up once more.

“I believe I answered your question. You asked why Voldemort was so intrigued by me, right? Well, that’s your reason. It was because I am his son, or at least he seems to think of it that way,” added Crovus Lestrange with a broken chuckle, and this was the first time she had seen emotion in the boy.

And a boy, he seemed in that moment. A boy, who had given up.

Even, the reporters were quiet, with the whole court waiting for Crovus to speak up. She saw him hesitate before he sighed in and closed his eyes as he began in a small tone.

“Tom Riddle’s biggest fear was death. He was afraid of dying, and so all his life, he did everything he could to run away from this fearful inevitability,” began the boy.

“He delved deep into magics so vile and foul that the mere mention of them would damn one’s soul. Yet for all his faults, he was a brilliant wizard, and so he managed to defeat the inevitable, , he would go on to create several artifacts, artifacts just like that diary which would grant him what he had always desired,” at this, the boy looked up.

“Immortality, for at least a while, until one day he would come to know of a prophecy telling him of the birth of an infant who could one day grow up to become his equal. It was a signal of his eventual demise. And so, he would grow fearful and anxious, and while he would look for this child of the prophecy, he would make a contingency plan,” and this time, the boy pointed at himself.

“I am that plan,” and she frowned, and it was at this point Daphne Greengrass finally stood up, and under the scrutinizing gaze of the whole court, and looked towards her client.

“Dark Magic is said to take a massive toll on those who dare to use it. It’s powerful, extremely powerful. Voldemort’s continuous experimentations had robbed him of many bodily functions including those necessary to produce the next generation,” and she frowned at those words.

However, she knew there was more to the story, as Daphne Greengrass handed an envelope to the Court assistant, who handed it to her.

“Yet Voldemort was relentless. The artifacts he had created contained portions of him. Portions that could come to influence and control someone. They contained very pieces of his soul,” said the boy repulsively. And her heart shook as she heard that, confirming her suspicion. Voldemort’s immortality had always been a mystery. The Ministry had spent massive manpower to find the source behind this, and in the end, had made several theories about how the man had achieved his immortality.

And that sentence and the nature of that diary just confirmed her suspicion. It was a magic first used by Herpo, the Foul. A magic so vile the very mention of it could land you in prison in nearly all of the world. Horcruxes!

Voldemort had made Horcruxes!

“Yet there was a slight problem in this plan. While these artifacts could control children, they couldn’t really fully control adults. And so, he needed a vessel. A contingency plan, and so I was born!” Crovus Lestrange finished with a forlorn and broken laugh.

“A homunculus created by Voldemort by deceiving his most loyal follower!” and she felt her whole world shift as soon as she heard those words.

Homunculus! And her fingers shook as she saw the envelope in her hands, the seal of St. Mungo’s on it.

“The defense would like to submit exhibit B. A medical report from St. Mungo’s for one Crovus Lestrange,” came the voice of Daphne Greengrass. And even without opening it, Amelia knew that the contents of this report changed everything.

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CROVUS LESTRANGE

‘Nooooo!....’ he screamed as he saw his own body, aim the wand at Astoria. His consciousness was fleeting, being overpowered by the fragment of the Dark Lord from the diary, yet Crovus knew that he couldn’t give up.

“AGHHHH!” he screamed, trying to wrestle away control from the dark lord again, pushing him back, as he tried to aim away, though the spell left his wand, a purple orb racing across the cave, heading straight for Astoria.

“NOOO!” he screamed again, holding on for dear life as he fought to hold back the Dark lord.

“AGHHH!” but the spell hit Astoria, pushing her back into the wall, as a large gnash appeared on her body, as her clothes began to redden in front of his eyes.

“NO! NO! NO!” Crovus screamed as he managed to push back the Dark Lord in that moment.

~’Can’t you see. Your struggle is futile. I am Voldemort! You cannot stop me!’~ came the voice of the Dark Lord, as Crovus remained rooted on the ground, mind racing as he watched his only friend writhe in pain on the ground.

And in that moment, he felt rage, anger, and frustration build up. Anger at himself for putting Astoria’s life in danger. In his rage, his eyes landed on that accursed diary lying on the ground, some distance from him.

This diary had been the cause of this whole mess. And so, in his rage, he picked up his wand and felt the dark lord panic inside him as he aimed it at the diary.

~’What are you doing’~ came the panicked voice, as Crovus used the most deadly spell that came to his mind.

~’STOP!’~ the voice screeched in pain, trying to wrestle him out of control, and Crovus felt his whole body burn from the inside, and felt his whole body burn as he uttered the words.

“AVADA KEDAVRA!”

~’NOOOOOO’~ came the scream as the spell raced towards the diary and hit it. Crovus felt his vision darken, before suddenly a massive force pushed him back, sending him rolling across the ground as a massive explosion shook the whole cavern.

BOOOM!

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HARRY POTTER

Harry Potter felt conflicted as he found himself standing once more in the Headmaster’s office. The office held bitter sweet feelings for him. He had experiences much in this office, this was where he had learned the truth about himself and Voldemort. It had bene the place where he had even met his Godfather for the first time, learned abut his destiny. It was also the place where he had seen murder committed, murder of the man whom he considered a savior.

And now, as he glimpsed at the moving form of that same man, looking down at him with those half-moon spectacles, the light in them lost to the ravines of death, the look on his face, made him doubt everything he knew about the man whom people considered to be the Greatest Wizard of their age.

“So, it is true?” he questioned, and saw the man wither at his words as Albus Dumbledore, or his remnant in the portrait, took off his glasses, and nodded slowly.

“Yes, I believe it is,” and Harry’s breath hitched as the implication behind those words dawned on him. Daphne Greengrass was right. Everything she had said was true.

He heard Hermione gasp by his side, reeling from the shock of the revelation as well. They were both speechless. Dumbledore had always championed for peace, for keeping children away from the dangers of war. And yet, the man had thrust a thirteen-year-old into Voldemort’s clutches, just so he could have a double agent.

“How could you?” Hermione gasped out the very question that was just on his lips, and he saw Dumbledore sigh as he spoke up once more.

“It all began at the end of your second year, the day I called you into my office,” and suddenly Harry’s eyes widened as he recalled that incident from the end of his second year. After their exams, one day, out of nowhere, he had been called by the Headmaster to the second floor, to the abandoned girls toilet on the floor. And had been asked by the man to use parseltongue to open a passage.

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ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

Albus Dumbledore stood in the abandoned girls’ lavatory on the second floor, frowning as he felt the snake embezzle onto the tap as Severus paced anxiously behind him.

“Are you sure that the two of them went down there?” he questioned the ghost residing in the lavatory, the ghost of perhaps the first victim of Tom’s cruelty. Moaning Myrtle. She had been a sweet girl, and yet her life had been cut short by a young Tom Riddle.

“Yes, I saw the boy and the girl enter these washrooms myself,” she said before she snorted into the handkerchief.

“It was the same eyes as that time. The same eyes, I was so scared,” and she continued to weep as she waved out of the lavatories, her last words making him anxious.

“Where is he!” Severus snapped, understandably given that it was two students from his own house who had been missing for several hours now, two very interesting students.

Astoria Greengrass and Crovus Lestrange had gone missing several hours ago, both of them last seen on this floor. Severus had been keeping an eye on Crovus for some time, growing concerned by his erratic behavior. The boy had been much different than Dumbledore’s expectations, for someone who had been raised in the same household as Draco Malfoy, the two boys were completely different.

And though, from what he had heard from Severus he had nothing to be concerned about in the case of young Mr. Crovus, he couldn’t settle the unease he felt whenever he took a good look at the boy. The face, it felt rather familiar and ominous. And then midway through the year, the boy’s behavior began to change, a shift that didn’t go unnoticed by Severus and himself, neither did the fact that the petrifications that had plagued the school stopped nearly at the same time. And Dumbledore had a hunch that the two events were somehow connected.

“He is here,” he said as the doors to the lavatories opened, as a nervous Mr. Potter entered the washrooms, growing paler as soon as he saw Severus standing at the side.

“You definitely took your time, Potter. Five points from Gryffindor for your tardiness,” Severus cut in, making him shake her head. Harry was about to protest but stopped himself, probably aware that arguing with Severus won't do him any favors.

“You called for me, Headmaster,” Harry turned towards him and asked nervously, and he nodded as he motioned for the boy to come closer.

“Yes. Yes, I did,” Albus said as he had the boy come closer and stand in front of the sink.

“I believe we are in need of your assistance in a matter of extreme importance,” Albus began, and the boy perked up, and looked towards him.

“You see that we suspect that the chamber of secrets that was opened earlier in the year is situated in this very bathroom and requires a certain prowess to be opened,” and he saw the boy frown at his words.

“The Chamber of Secrets!” the boy asked, in astonishment, and Albus nodded, and saw Severus running out of patience.

“He wants you to use Parseltongue to try and open the chamber, we believe Salazar Slytherin used his natural gift to lock and seal the chamber, so only someone possessing the same gift could open it” Severus cut in hurriedly, and he saw Harry look up at him and he nodded.

“Yes, we need you to try and sue parseltongue, hoping that you could open yup the chamber,” Albus ordered, and hadn’t that been a surprise learning that Harry was a parselmouth, just like Tom. And he thought whether it was just a coincidence or was there something more sinister going on here.

“I will try,” said the boy as he closed his eyes, and then AAlbus felt his whole body shiver, as a slither yvoice came out of his mouth.

~~ “Open. ~~

And Albus didn’t know what he had said, but whatever it was, it worked, and the sinks began to shift, as the the whole room began to change, and a round door appeared infront of him. A round door that was open.

“That will be all Mr. Potter. You can go now, and please take care to not mention this to anyone else,” Albus said seriously, as he felt the presence of dark magic emanating from the cavern.

The boy was amazed, and nodded and, with a final glance at him, made to move out of the room.

“And twenty points to Gryffindor for assisting the staff in their duties,” Albus said and saw the boy smile at the points, though upon seeing the scowl on Severus’s face. The boy quickly ran out of the washrooms, avoiding any deductions that Severus might give him.

“This reeks of dark magic,” Severus said as he stepped up beside him, his wand lit as he cast a tracking charm.

“There are two people down there, and they are not in good condition,” came Severus voice, and Dumbledore didn’t miss the hint of panic and concern in his tone. For all that could be said of Severus, the man did care for his students.

“Let’s go,” he said as they entered the door, taking care not to close it behind them, and the presence of the dark magic became heavier and heavier with very step they took. The presence was something, he had felt before, just a year ago, when he had rushed back to castle to rescue Potter from the crutches of the Dark Lord.

“Look,” Severus brought his attention to the massive dried husk placed on the side, of the cave.

“That’s basilisk skin. Our guess was right, the monster was a basilisk,” said Severus, and Albus nodded, becoming more cautious, as they entered the end of the passage, and they both stilled as they saw the scene in front of them.

For right there stood a massive marble figure of one Salazar Slytherin with a massive snake sculpted around his neck, with a cave opening carved below him. However, what had troubled them both, were the two of his students, lying there on the ground in a puddle of blood, with a diary oozing black, that dark, ominous fluid lying there by their side.

“It’s them. Crovus and Astoria!” said Severus as he rushed towards his two students. And Dumbledore feared in his heart, had he been too late once again?

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