Eridanus Lestrange rocked back and forth on his silver and green adorned bed, trembling hands gripping tightly to his hair as he bit his lip harsh enough to draw blood which was his attempt to quiet down his sobs. All that was going through his mind where the images of lives that he hadn't been able to save. They went from the very first one when he was just a child, all the way to the most recent: the Triwizard Tournament maze maker. He wondered what would have happened if those people had been given the chance to live. Would they make their lives better for themselves and those around them? Would they deserve it?

Eri's mind then wandered to a certain woman named Bertha Jorkins. She had been a witch in her late thirties, and worked at the Ministry of Magic. Peter Pettigrew had kidnapped her for Lord Voldemort to get information out of before killing her. Eridanus had witnessed it all and hadn't attempted to save her, which wasn't expected of him but still he wished he could have. Bertha was nosy and not very bright, but that didn't mean she deserved to die.

“Eri, are you ready for breakfast?” A voice was calling out to him, Eridanus immediately recognizing it as that of Draco's.

Eridanus sniffed quietly before hurriedly drying his cheeks and wiping his nose on the back of his sleeve. He couldn't afford to look weak in front of others, even his cousin. “I'll just be a few moments.”

Draco nodded, not that Eridanus could see that, and allowed the boy to change into his school clothes, before he was pulling aside the green curtains that were draped around his bed offering some privacy.

The blonde haired boy paused when he saw Eridanus, immediately knowing that something was wrong. He had lived with his cousin long enough to know when something was bothering him. “Are you…” Draco hesitated, not wanting to seem too nosy. “Are you alright?”

Eridanus, seeing the care that his cousin held for him, smiled softly with a nod. “I'm just fine, Draco. Now let's go eat some breakfast.” Draco didn't fully believe his cousin yet he had no reason to question the matter further, so he simply nodded his head back in reply before the two boys were leaving their dorm and then the Slytherin common room.

The two boys were silent as they made their way to the Great Hall, Draco not wanting to disturb his cousin while Eridanus was deep in thought. They noticed a few lingering Gryffindor’s looking their way. Eridanus noticed how they looked at him calculatingly; they were wondering why he had just enrolled into Hogwarts now. As the pair passed by them, Eridanus could hear a few hushed words of, “Bellatrix...mother...insane...runs in the family…”

Eridanus’ hands clenched from where they resided in his trouser pockets, nails digging harshly into his palm as he held himself back from lashing out at the students. Draco had heard as well and snarled his lip in disgust.

“Oy, who do you filthy Gryffindors think you are?” The blonde haired male snapped at the students, their eyes growing wide in fear. Eridanus simply rolled his eyes at the antics of his cousin, however, a smile threatened to make it's way on to his face at the fact that Draco was protecting him.

“Come on, Draco.” Eridanus spoke up, resulting in all eyes then being turned on to him. “They aren't worth it.”

Draco glared one more time at the Gryffindors before making his way over to Eridanus with a smirk. “You are completely right my dear cousin.” He said as the pair walked away from the other students. Draco was glad that Eridanus was starting to get the hang of how things worked at Hogwarts, and wasn't allowing people below them to rile them up.

As the boys continued making their way down to the Great Hall, all that Eridanus could think about was that people still were going to judge him due to his family. It didn't matter that he was completely different from them, they heard Lestrange and put everyone into the same box as Bellatrix. They didn't know why Eridanus’ mother had done what she did. She wasn't a bad person, simply a woman wanting to protect her child. Was that so wrong? To outsiders, it seemed like it was. The boy mentally cursed himself while clenching his fists harder, nails sinking into flesh harsh enough to draw blood. He couldn't believe that he had been so naive to think that other students would be alright with his lineage and not make assumptions about him until they knew him. Oh how wrong he was.

A scowl was on Eridanus’ face as him and his cousin sat down at the Slytherin table, his stormy eyes were squinted while his lips were pursed in a pout. Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini were also sat with them, Crabbe and Goyle still asleep as it was still quite early in the morning.

Pansy regarded the Lestrange boy quizzically as she immediately noticed something was off with him. “You look terrible, Eridanus.” She stated simply before taking a bite of sausage. The girl was referring to the dark bags underneath Eridanus’ eyes which were much more prominent that morning that usual.

Eridanus sighed softly and reached out to grab an already filled tea cup. He sipped it, taking comfort in the warmth that the beverage spread all over his body. “Rough night.” He replied to Pansy vaguely, obviously not wanting to go into more detail.

The girl, however, didn't seem to understand that as she attempted to pry further, before Draco was harshly shutting her up with a, “It's none of your business, Parkinson.”

Pansy looked down in embarrassment while Eridanus rolled his eyes at his cousin's behaviour. Even though he was thankful for the message, he didn't appreciate how Draco delivered it as he could've done it in a much more polite way. He would have to have a talk with his cousin one day about manners as it seemed the boy was severely lacking some. This made Eridanus curious as at the manor, Draco was an absolute saint around his parents.

Draco, noticing the awkward tension, then began to rant about Potter and Weasley, something that Eridanus had learned to be a daily routine. The darker skinned boy tuned out his pale skinned cousin as he usually did, before shifting his blue eyes over to the Gryffindor table. He was surprised to see that Hermione was already up as she furiously scribbled something down, before scratching her head. Her brown, bushy hair seemed to be larger than normal and to Eridanus it seemed if she had forgotten to brush it that morning.

Hermione, having sensed that there were eyes on her, glanced up, brown eyes searching the empty hall until she locked eyes with the culprit: none other than Eridanus Lestrange himself. The boy didn't shy away from her gaze as he looked her over, wondering what was so amazing about the girl. He knew she was smart, brighter than any other student, but as for her looks, there really wasn't much there. Tanned skin; brown hair; brown eyes; large teeth, there really wasn't anything special about the girl. But Eridanus knew not to underestimate her.

Unbeknownst to him, Hermione was looking over Eridanus as well. She immediately noticed his tired composure, dark eye bags making themselves noticeable from the other end of the Great Hall. She also observed how his posture was much more slouched over than usual, as he usually paraded around with a pin straight back. Eridanus seemed to know how he looked to others and hadn't tried all that hard to hide it. As Hermione's eyes wandered over the Lestrange boy, she wondered if the boy was insane just as his mother is, or if that was simply just rumours. There was a lot to be curious about Eridanus Lestrange.

“Eri, are you even listening to me?” Draco's whiny voice brought Eridanus back to the present as he looked away from the Gryffindor table and back to his cousin.

“No, sorry.” He mumbled as he regarded the blonde, said boy doing nothing but shaking his head with a sigh before restarting what he had been saying.

“I was saying how it's completely unfair that you can only enter the Triwizard Tournament if you're seventeen. If I could enter, I know that I would bowl everyone over and win the whole thing. Watch them try to disobey me when I'm the champion…”

Eridanus smiled faintly as his cousin continue to rant on about how he'd abuse his powers as champion of the Triwizard Tournament. However, as he listened to Draco talk, his face suddenly shuttered down as he darkly thought of what would happen if Draco were to end up in the graveyard. He couldn't allow that to happen and thankfully for him, that would be impossible.

That one thought darkened Eridanus’ mood for the entire day. He went to his classes but didn't offer up answers to the questions as he usually did. The boy came off as cold and distant and not even Draco could coax what was wrong out of him. Before Eridanus was mentally prepared, it was time for Defence Against the Dark Arts class with ‘Professor Moody’.

“Alastor Moody.” The professor began as he wrote his name out on the chalkboard. Eridanus was sitting next to Draco in a shared class with the Gryffindors, his heart beating rapidly as his palms were sweating. Even though he had no reason to be afraid of the man, the professor gave off a bad aura and Eridanus felt immensely uncomfortable in his presence. “Ex-auror. Ministry malcontent. And your new defence
against the dark arts teacher. I'm here because Dumbledore asked me, end of story, goodbye, the end. Any questions?” No one spoke as Moody stared them down, his glass eye shifting from one student to the other. Eridanus’ brow rose in disbelief, he wasn't so sure Dumbledore would appreciate the professor being so standoffish.

“When it comes to the dark arts, I believe in a practical approach.” He stated eerily, and if Eridanus hadn't been used to so much worse than the man, he was sure he'd be shivering in fear. “But first, which of you can tell me how many unforgivable curses there are?”

“Three sir.” A high pitched voice answered, everyone turning to find that it had been Hermione Granger that had spoken. Eridanus wasn't all too surprised. She was the top student in their year after all.

“And they are so named?” Mad-Eye questioned further as he once again wrote on the chalkboard. Eridanus stared at Hermione in interest, noting how terrified she seemed to be as she spoke about the unforgivable curses. If only she knew that the Lestrange boy had seen them used all too many times.

“Because they are unforgivable.” Hermione spluttered. “Use of any one of them will…” She was unable to finish her sentence as her nervousness shone through.

“Will earn you a one way ticket to Azkaban.” Mad-Eye finished. Eridanus refrained from rolling his eyes at that. Although the curses would land you in Azkaban, he knew many people who had used them and were never caught, ‘Professor Moody’ included. “Correct. Now the ministry says you're too young to see what these curses do. I say different!” The man began to yell then, startling everyone as his tone increased in volume. He turned back towards the chalkboard to continue writing down key information. Eridanus didn't bother taking notes as he knew much more than others did about the Dark Arts - especially the Unforgivable Curses. And although he never would, he always had the option of approaching Moody for extra help who would gladly give it to him. “You need to know what you're up against, you need to be prepared, you need to find somewhere else to put your chewing gum other than the underside of your desk Mr Finnigan!”

All head swiveled towards the back of the classroom to where Seamus Finnigan sat. Draco snorted while Eridanus rolled his eyes. He was starting to see why Draco and the Malfoys despised Gryffindors so much. They were completely immature.

Seamus regarded the professor in shock before leaning over and whispering to his seatmate. “Aw no way, the old codger can see out the back of his head.”

Moody growled at the boy, swiftly turning around before tossing his chalk over his way, Seamus narrowly missing getting hit as he ducked to the side. “And hear across classrooms!” He yelled.

“So, which curse shall we see first?” The professor asked, bringing everyone's attention back to the lesson at hand. Eridanus was getting increasingly annoyed by the method Mad-Eye was using to teach. “Weasley!” He yelled out, causing the red haired boy to squeak as he nearly fell off his chair from how high he jumped.

“Y-Yes…” Ron stuttered, frightening by the professor, just as most other students were.

“Stand,” the professor demanded, the boy doing so shakily. “Give us a curse.”

“Well, my dad did tell me about one…” Ron started off nervously, he was speaking so quietly that Eridanus had to strain himself just to hear what he was saying. Moody grunted in a way that told the boy to continue talking. “The imperious curse.”

“Ahhh yes,” Mad-Eye responded knowingly, “your father would know all about that. Gave the ministry quite a bit of grief a few years ago.” Eridanus gulped at that, he knew exactly which event the man was talking about. And he didn't like it one bit. “Perhaps this will show you why.”

Mad-Eye limped over to a desk before picking up a jar which held a spider in it, popping open the top. Eridanus’ stomach coiled uncomfortably as he was fairly certain that he knew what was going to happen next.

“Hello. What a little beauty.” The professor mumbled as he allowed the spider to crawl on to his hand. Eridanus wasn't exactly afraid of spiders but he immensely disliked them, therefore, his heart once again began beating faster when the man pulled out his wand. “Engorgio,” he muttered, enlarging the spider. “Imperio.” He sent the spider crawling on the desk that was shared between Harry and Ron, before landing it on Crabbe's head, said boy shrieking in fear.

“Don't worry. Completely harmless.” Mad-Eye attempted to reassure, however, the students still remained unsettled as they had no idea what the professor was going to do with the arachnid. “But if she bites... she's lethal!” He continued, forcing the spider to dance atop Ron's head. Draco had a good laugh at that while Eridanus simply glared at their professor, not finding amusement in the situation whatsoever.

“What are you laughing at?” Moody demanded Draco as he noticed the blonde haired boy laughing hysterically. He shot the spider to then land on Draco's face, the boy immediately freaking out as he screamed at Goyle to get it off, said boy merely flapping his hand about uselessly. Eridanus lifted his hand to cover his mouth so he could discreetly chuckle at how ridiculous his cousin looked. He would definitely use that as blackmail material later on.

“Talented isn't she? What shall I have
her do next? Jump out the window?” Moody asked while shooting the spider against the glass before hovering it over a bucket of water, the animal wriggling as it tried to break the hold the curse had on it. “Drown herself?” The laughter in the room immediately disappeared as the atmosphere turned into a much more serious one. “Scores of witches and wizards have claimed that they only do did You-Know-Who’s bidding under the influence of the imperious curse. But here's the rub, how do we sort out the liars?” He questioned and this time Eridanus really did roll his eyes. The boy knew that most that had claimed such were lying. And he knew that their professor was aware of this as well. “Another.. another..
Come on come on.” Mad-Eye continued, multiple hands raising but one that caught the professor's eye was a timid boy named Neville. “Longbottom is it? Up.”

Neville Longbottom shakily stood to his feet. Eridanus was immediately confused on how the boy had been sorted into Gryffindor when a plant had more of a backbone than he.

“Professor Sprout tells me you have an
aptitude for herbology.” Moody spoke, obviously having prior knowledge of the boy. Neville nodded at the statement.

“Th-There's the um…” Longbottom stuttered before gulping. “The cruciatus curse.” Eridanus despised that curse. He could still hear the tortured screams of many different witches and wizards.

“Correct! Correct!” Professor Moody chanted as he nodded his head eagerly. He took a few steps to where the spider was residing, waving his hand for Neville to follow. “Come come. Particularly nasty. The torture curse.”

“Crucio!” The professors gruff voice chanted, the spider beginning to squeal due to the pain from the torture. Eridanus winced at the sounds, remembering how much worse they sounded coming from humans.

Neville’s face twisted up in pain as he watched the spider get tortured. Eridanus knew exactly why that was the case and found himself feeling sorry for the boy. Everyone had noticed Longbottom's clear discomfort, however, Hermione was the only one brave enough to speak up. “Stop it! Can't you see it's bothering him, stop it!”

Mad-Eye stopped abruptly, coming out of what seemed to be a trancelike state. He regarded Neville who looked to be extremely disturbed as his eyes were clenched shut. The professor then picked up the spider which was still making a tortured sound, before walking over to where Hermione was sat, placing the wounded arachnid in front of her. “Perhaps you could give us the last unforgivable curse Miss Granger.”

Hermione shook her head, refusing to respond as her eyes were glassy with tears. Eridanus felt like he was going to throw up and he hoped the professor wouldn't do what the boy had a feeling would happen.

“Avada Kedavra!” Moody yelled, pointing his wand at the spider. A green light emitted from the piece of wood, the spider letting out one last strangled sound before he ceased to move. Eridanus’ heart began to beat faster, his brain grew cloudy as he dropped his head on to the desk. Flashes of the spider's life came whirling into his mind and Eridanus pushed them aside before he was being brought back to the present, Draco's hand of concern being placed on his back. The Lestrange boy shrugged off his cousin's hand before giving the blonde a brief nod to show that he was alright. He turned his attention back to their professor who was walking towards Harry.

“The killing curse. Only one person is
known to have survived it. And he's
sitting in this room.” Everyone knew that he was talking about Harry Potter, although he stopped in front of the boy's desk to prove his point. The man took a drink from a flask, something that most people assumed to be alcohol, yet Eridanus knew better.

Eridanus looked towards The Boy Who Lived, a sinking feeling making itself known in his gut. Harry was simply a boy and he didn't deserve everything that was put on him. He didn't deserve what Voldemort was planning to do to him. Eridanus was ashamed to be apart of the plan yet what could he do? It wasn't as if he could simply approach the boy and warn him. He could only hope that Harry was just as powerful as people said he was. That would be his only chance of surviving the year.

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Sorry for the long wait, but on the bright side, it's been less of a wait than last time and we can only hope for progress! Also I dont know when I would've written this but I got really inspired because this book was used for reloading- accio book club, so I was getting a lot of comments ans positive feedback and it really motivated me to write. So there's a little tip from us writers to you readers, if you want the author to stay motivated writing, give them feedback! Vote, comment, tell us what we're doing right and what we're doing wrong. It really makes a huge difference.

Otherwise, what do you guys think of this chapter? Of eridanus' break down at the beginning? What those gryffindors said? The dada class? Let me know and more!!