HP: The Last Trial Ch.19 (Patreon)

Chapter 19

DAPHNE GREENGRASS

Daphne Greengrass found herself standing in St. Mungo’s after the end of the trial proceedings. The Trial had officially come to an end, and though there were doubts lingering in her heart she had done the best she could.

And now she could only pray that it proved enough. For this trial was no longer just about Crovus, no it was also about the little child she held in her arms. Astoria Crovus Lestrange was a little child, born prematurely the little bundle of joy had been fighting for her life since the day she had taken her first breath.

Named after her own sister, she shared a connection with the little girl. It was magnanimous of Adelaine to name her like this, and the blonde seemed to be aware of Crovus’s relationship with her sister.

Yet Adelaine had told her that she was aware that she could never replace Astoria in his heart, and neither did she wish to. The girl simply cared for Crovus, and wished to be with him. Both of them had now bonded with each other, and she had offered to make her the girl’s godmother. An opportunity which she wished to accept,

Yet the girl was strong and, despite the odds, had refused to give up. And she hoped neither would Crovus. He had to wake up, had to know that there were still people waiting for him, praying for him.

Adelaine had left the court and had rushed to his side once more; just like the last three days, she had refused to leave his side.

“She is fine; she just has a bit of a fever from the change of atmosphere, but she will be fine,” the healer assured her as he gave the little girl’s cheek a small pinch.

She had volunteered to take her to a healer, for she had felt that she had been unnaturally flushed. Worrying for her health, she had taken her to the healer, though thankfully, it seemed that there was nothing wrong with her.

“I am not prescribing her anything yet; just take some precautions, and hopefully, she will be fine,” he said as he looked toward her.

“Though, if you feel her health deteriorate, please bring her to the ward immediately,” he said pointedly.

“With her history, I believe it would be prudent if we don’t take any risk,” he said, and she nodded.

“Thank you for this, healer Shafiq,” she said as she stood up, scooping up the little blonde girl in her arms. She walked out of the room and found Tracy waiting for her outside.

“The special edition has been published, and from what I have heard, it's flying off the shelves. Your gamble worked. The people are sympathetic to Crovus’s case. Convicting him right now would be suicide for the Ministry,” Tracy said as they began to walk towards Crovus’s room.

“Good,” she said and saw that even in St. Mungo’s, people were all busy reading the special edition, their noses buried in the Prophet, as they read Tracy’s article.

“They wouldn’t really convict him, will they. He has suffered enough,” Tracy questioned from the side, as she adjusted her glasses.

“I hope not, but even if they do. I have several motions prepared already to challenge any such rulings,” she told Tracy, who looked at her with a raised brow.

“Good, if you need me for anything, don’t hesitate to ask,” Tracy offered, and she nodded, though the brunette had done enough for her.

Tracy’s eyes then moved to the sleeping bundle of joy in her arms as her expression softened.

“She must be little  Astoria,” she said as she touched the little the little girl’s nose.

“Yes,” she confirmed, and Tracy began to play with the girl, scooping it out of her arms.

“Miss Greengrass. Miss Greengrass!” she heard her name getting called and glanced back to find a nurse looking at her with a complicated expression.

“The Healers are calling for you….” And she didn’t let her finish as she broke out into a stride, her heels clacking on the ground as she jumped up the stairs and rushed towards Crovus’s room. her heart stilled as she saw healers standing outside the room as Adelaine stood there weeping.

Her heart nearly gave out, yet she willed herself to move forward; the sound of her shoes made Adelaine look up, and as she saw the glint in those eyes, she felt hope bubble in her chest as the blonde rushed towards her and spoke up with a broken smile.

“He is awake. He is finally awake!”

0000

CROVUS LESTRANGE

Pain was the only thing he could feel as he stared at the room’s roof, a roof that he was rather familiar with.

And as he listened to the healer explain nearly a thousand facts about his health, he could scarcely believe that he was alive.

Barely though. From what he could make out, his arm was scarred pretty badly, and they still couldn’t tell the extent of the damage. Yet would it matter though. He had supposedly killed Britain’s golden child. He could already imagine how the incompetent Ministry would be calling for his head, trying to punish him for their own incompetency.

He was so lost in his own mind that he failed to see when the healer left, and a certain blonde girl entered the room and moved to the side of his bed.

“Crovus,” someone called out his name in an all too familiar soft voice, breaking him out of his reverie, and he glanced down and found himself staring at the disheveled face of Adelaine.

“Adelaine,” he managed to eke out of his parched throat, and from the puffiness around her eyes, he could tell that she had been crying.

She nodded as tears dripped down her face.

“Yes, it is me, Adelaine,” she began as she slowly reached for her hand, his own eyes landing on the armless stump of her shoulder as a pang of regret hit him.

“I am so sorry. I should have tried to reach out….” She began, but he cut her off.

“No,” he answered and saw her still as her hand stroking his face stilled for a moment, and he noticed how thin she had become, thin and pale.

“You wished to leave the country, and it was good that at least one of us could get away from this shit hole,” he answered and saw her sniff as she shook her head.

“But why are you back?” he questioned after taking a sip of water and saw her gulp down as she answered.

“I learned of your trial, and your lawyer, Daphen, reached out, hoping for me to come back to give a statement,” and suddenly, it all came back to him.

“Is it still going on? The Trial?” he questioned, he thought it would have all been over by now, with the Ministry declaring him guilty.

“It ended today,” she answered, and he was surprised by the words.

And he sighed tiredly.

“I never should have let Daphne waste her time like this, a;; this has left me so tired and done with li…”

“Don’t say that!” Adelaine cut in as she placed her hand on his mouth, stopping him from speaking any further.

“Never say that again. No matter what you think, Crovus, you mean a lot to me. And not just me but many others as well. So, even if you are tired, let us carry this burden now, but don’t give up,” she said as she stared into his eyes.

“Just please don’t give up,” she said, and he felt his chest warm up at those words, as Adeline looked at him with a heated gaze, waiting for his answer.

But what could he say? He was simply too tired. Tired of his life, a life which shouldn’t have even existed. A life which was a product of a magical experiment.

Yet the more he stared into that ocean-like gaze, the more he felt himself reluctant to deny her. And so, in the end he could only answer her with a small nod.

“Ok, I will try,” for that was all he could do.

He saw her look away; suddenly, her cheeks flushed as she gulped.

“I wished to come back sooner to see you. To help you,” she began, explaining even though she didn’t have to. She didn’t owe him anything.

“But there was a reason I couldn’t do it, I was ashamed because I didn’t know what to do,” she began her words, making him frown. She finally looked towards him and continued.

“There is someone I want you to meet,” she added with a sigh as he walked out of his room, leaving him alone.

Then she entered the room once more, this time with someone else, Daphne, he recognized. Yet his lawyer and friend held in her arms a bundle of cloth.

And for some reason, he felt his heart beat quicken as she saw them walk towards him. He used his arms to push himself up, each small movement causing him enough pain to blur his vision.

Yet as Daphen walked to his side, and lowered the bundle of cloth he stilled.

Wrapped in a simple pink quilt was a child. And the more he looked, as the little girl opened her eyes and looked at him with those all too familiar red eyes, he stilled, his chest pained as barely managed to speak up.

“That i…”

“She is your daughter,” Daphne spoke up. And his head snapped towards her as the black-haired girl gave him a small smile.

“Astoria Crovus Lestrange,” she answered, and his heart stilled as his head snapped towards Adelaine, for in his life he had only ever had a physical relationship with one person.

She answered his unasked question with a nod.

“Yes, she was the reason I couldn’t come back. Her birth was rather complicated, and I was in the hospital,” she answered, as she looked down.

“The healers wanted me to abort her, but I refused. I couldn’t do that to you, it just felt wrong,” she answered.

And he didn’t know what to think. His mind, always racing to think, refused to budge as he found himself mesmerized by the little bundle of joy now staring at him with those small red eyes, as her face suddenly scrunched up as she began to cry.

And for the first time in a long time, a desire to live, a desire for a future bubbled in his chest.

0000

AMELIA BONES

The Minster of Magic found herself sitting in the court room once more, with the jury sitting beside her as they all gathered for the last proceeding of the Trial of one Crovus Lestrange.

And hadn’t it been a trial for the ages. Each day of this trial had brought new troubles for her and the Ministry, each day bringing with it new and more damning revelations regarding people they had all thought to be heroes yet had been nothing but that.

And as Daphne Greengrass wheeled, the recently woken up, Crovus Lestrange to the defendant’s corner, she had to hand it to the young attorney. She had fought this case with all her might using everything in her arsenal.

Her thoughts about the boy in question were conflicted, he was dangerous, there was no doubt about that. He had also ion the other hand managed to do what few others could. None could deny the importance of his role in bringing down the Dark Lord, and though there were many in the Ministry in the jury and the Ministry itself that wished to do away with the child, fearing his overwhelming potential that made it clear that he would grow up to rival the likes of Voldemort and Dumbledore themselves.

Yet they were idiots. Scared idiots.

And as she stared at the boy, for the first time since the start of the trial she could see a certain look in his eyes. One that had been missing for all this time, in e that refused to accept his fate, a glint that showed a desire to live.

And it was probably connected to the little girl held by Adelaine Murton in her arms. Astoria Crovus Lestrange, his daughter.

She picked up her gavel and struck the wooden pad twice, and the commotion died down. As both the defense and prosecution stood up.

“Today, we are gathered here for the dispensation of judgment in the case of the People vs Crovus Lestrange,” she began as the whole court held their collective breaths, waiting for the decision.

It was not an easy decision to make, there were people on the jury who had a grudge against the boy others were too conceited to see his actions for what they were and wished to punish him for he had overshadowed them. Yet there were also those who were ashamed and remorseful that a young boy had to endure this much so they could all live freely.

The people themselves were supporting the boy, with only a few speaking against him. Hermione Granger herself had led a protest in his favor, to the surprise of many.

“This case is perhaps one that shall go down in history,” she began as she put down the paper with the judgment and looked up unto the court.

“The actions of the defendant were criminal, yet the boy in question was a minor, forced into making unimaginable decisions because of our own failures and the machinations of some people we have held in high regard,” she continued.

“And so, after analyzing the facts and confirming them through various testimonies and taking into account the intentions and consequences of the defendant’s actions, the court finds Mr. Crovus Lestrange,” she finished as she glanced at the young boy in question and continued in a booming voice.

“Not guilty!”

0000

ASTORIA GREENGRASS 1996 (Flashback)

“You should come in,” she managed to speak up using all her might, knowing that he stood there right outside her door.

St. Mungo’s was basked in darkness, with everyone having fallen asleep already.

And the door opened, and she was right. He was there, Crovus was there. She felt her eyes tear up as she saw him enter her room his face thinner and paler than ever, his eyes tired and sunken in.

He looked as if he was carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders and seeing him like this broke her heart.

It had been a ritual of sorts, over the years she would often feel a presence outside her door. And knowing whom it was, she would call him to come in. Yet at her words he would vanish into thin air, making her doubt whether he was really even there, or not.

Yet she believed in her heart that he was there. That it was him. She knew what kept her alive all these years, and she had an inkling about who was this mysterious supplier, for there was only one person who would do something like this for her.

“It has been some time, Crovus,” she said, and even saying those words pained her as he walked towards her, and given his reputation, she should have been sacred. Yet she wasn’t, for why would she be?

“Indeed,” he answered as he came and stood by the side of her bed.

“Why did you come in today?” she questioned as she looked him in the eye.

“I don’t know,” he answered in a tired voice, and she slowly reached for his hand.

She had a thousand questions. About why he was doing this? How would it all end?

Yet they all seemed so meaningless as she stared into his tired gaze. Those eyes that seemed to have seen so much endured so much.

“How are you?” in the end, she questioned with a smile and saw his eyes widen at the nature of her question.

Both of them would talk for hours that night, the night before the final clash between Voldemort and the boy-who-lived. Yet she would remember none of it in the morning except a simple prayer.

‘May the Gods bless you with the happiness I could never give you!’

0000

The story comes to a close. An epilogue comes out next week. After that, a small wait and a new story.