Dreams of Home

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Rabastan Lestrange stared at the window with a cold fury coursing through his veins. The rage had not subsided since the moment his brother hit the ground, and he thought of little else in the days that followed. Yaxley had written him a letter expressing his shock of what they had witnessed. Neither of the Slytherin teens could believe that Potter had thrown off the cruciatus curse. The way he dueled made what they had seen in class look like child's play. The others were scared now. In his friend's letter, he expressed that Mulciber and McNair were terrified of the display of power they had seen, and that neither were interested in pursuing Potter or Essex any further.

The youngest Lestrange, now heir to the family, could hardly believe what had happened. Rodolphus had been getting personal training from the Dark Lord. Even without it his brother was a gifted wizard, but not seemingly so in the face of someone who had been trained since he could hold a wand. At least that is what the rumors were.

Rodolphus' wife had been inconsolably angry. Bellatrix was a mad witch at the best of times, but when she heard her grandfather, the lord of her family, had been supporting Potter she nearly lost what was left of her sanity. According to his father, the witch may fall to him, something he dreaded deeply. Bellatrix may have been a beautiful woman, but he had seen the woman's bloodlust on the battlefield, seen what she was capable of in their raids on the muggles. Rabastan may have had a wild side in him, but something told him the Black family madness had descended upon the beautiful woman in question and that was something he desperately wanted to avoid for his health and wellness.

It did nothing to help when the Dark Lord insisted that the Potter boy not be antagonized further by the children of his followers. His father stated that the Heir of Slytherin did not wish to see any more pure blood spilt, but that only meant Potter would get away with what he had done!

Slamming his hands on his desk he put his hands in his hair. The loss of his brother, and the responsibility of a woman he cared nothing for would be an immense burden on the teen that would be seeing his graduation from Hogwarts in the coming months. Damn that Potter Bastard! Rabastan thought viciously. Pacing his room now he desperately tried to think of ways to get even with his adversary.

After many hours of frustration, no immediate answer came to mind, but one thing was for certain. The score would need to be settled, somehow, someway, Rabastan would avenge the execution of his brother. The image of the man being ceremoniously beheaded after Potter tortured him was something he would never forgive, and one day he would make Harry Potter suffer the same way he did. With or without the help of the Dark Lord.

.o.

If the students of Hogwarts were wary of Harry before, they were positively terrified of him now. It was the Chamber of Secrets all over again. The whispers followed him at every turn. It hardly bothered Harry though. His Slytherin friends understood why he chose the path he did. The Gryffindors seemed wary.

Frank and Sirius, who were raised under the Pureblood umbrella, seemed to be the most understanding. Alice and Lily had grim looks on their countenance every time Harry encountered them. It was as if Harry was a walking grim reaper in their eyes. The other three Marauders didn't seem to understand at all. James had been very quiet, while Remus and Peter seemed to think he might start firing killing curses in the Great Hall at any moment.

The week had passed with quiet buzzing anticipation of the upcoming Quidditch Match. Regulus Black had his hands full trying to find replacements for the seventh years who had been suspended. The practices that week were hardly inspiring as the team seemed to realize they were completely outmatched by Gryffindor without their starters. Even if Harry beat them to the Snitch the likelihood that they would be down by more than 150 was high.