A/N: Hi everyone. This is the new and improved version of Tales of the Lestrange. I'm collaborating with the fanfiction writer SkyeElf.
Enjoy!
Tales of the Lestrange
"You and Tonks are related to the Malfoys!" Harry yelled at Sirius, his eyes wide. He couldn't believe what he was seeing – how was it possible?
"Yes, well… does it really matter?" Sirius asked, staring at Harry, eyebrows raised. "I'm related to plenty of people that I'd rather not even have the displeasure of knowing. Like her." Sirius said pointing to another name on the tapestry.
Harry's eyes followed his godfather's finger. The name Bellatrix Black jumped out at him; a golden line connected her name to Rodolphus Lestrange's name.
The teenager looked a bit closer and saw another thin golden line leading from their names to another one; one that was so thickly covered in dust and grime that he couldn't make it out. This was strange, he hadn't seen may tapestries, but he was sure they weren't supposed to have that much grime on them.
"Hey, Sirius," Harry drew his godfather's attention, "Did you ever notice this?" He tapped the thin golden line. Sirius made his way over to Harry and frowned at the grimy spot.
"I never did." He said softly, his hand waving over the grime. It moved to one side and revealed a name – Roderick Lestrange – accompanied by a date of birth only a few days before Harry's. Sirius' eyes widened in horror (quite comically to Harry).
"My crazy cousin has a kid?" Sirius asked, his voice incredibly soft.
Harry opened his mouth to say something – he didn't know what, though – and was mercifully saved by Mrs. Weasley, who called them to lunch. The pair of them their way down as quickly and quietly as possible.
In the kitchen Harry joined his friends, whilst Sirius immediately made a beeline for Tonks. Soon the older man was engrossed in conversation.
"Harry?" Hermione asked, her brow creasing at him, "What's wrong?" He never could hide anything from her, could he? He needed better control of his emotions, or at least letting them show on his face. He briefly considered telling her, but decided against it. It could be nothing, after all. Why would they ever meet this person?
"Nothing, just my scar… and it's been pretty quiet all day. It just caught me off guard, that's all." Harry said quickly, but Hermione seemed to accept it and went back to her food. Harry couldn't believe it, but he guessed that Hermione wasn't going to push him. She would ask later.
Harry put it out of his mind for the time being. Ron shot him a look, but Harry just shook his head, they would talk later. Ron nodded silently and dug in.
After lunch all of the inhabitants of Grimmauld Place moved to the drawing room. With all the cleaning and the idea of his trial the next day, Harry entirely forgot about the newest name on the tapestry.
Harry exhaled when he returned to the grim old house.
Relief washed over him like an ocean – he'd been cleared of all charges! More importantly: he could return to Hogwarts! The entire mini-population of Grimmauld Place had decided on a celebration, but Hermione crying in joy wasn't an expected part of the celebration.
Ginny and the twins had the right idea, because they were dancing and chanting ("He got off! He got off!) and cheering. Ron couldn't stop smiling and Mrs Weasley kept stroking his hair – Harry feared he would go bald soon.
"Harry, mate, I can't even begin to explain how happy I am that you're going to school," Ron said, sliding Harry some butterbeer, "I mean, I love Hermione and all, but she's not you."
"Thanks, Ron," Harry smiled at him, feeling better than he had in days, "I'm glad to be going back too."
"I wonder what nonsense we'll have to do for Trelawney this year," Ron said, "I mean, it is our OWLs this year, but maybe this time we'll have to act out our dreams or something."
"In which case I'm going to dream that you're murdered violently by head lice because you ate all of their sweets." Harry said. Ron laughed.
"Mate, you're the one she likes to kill. Maybe a crab will hide under your bed and snip your toes off." Ron grinned at him.
"Why a crab?"
"Why head lice?" Ron countered, taking a bite of the sandwich his mother put in front of him. Harry loved Mrs Weasley's sandwiches, he didn't know why. It was his request for a victory lunch.
"You make an excellent point." Harry laughed, thanking Mrs Weasley for his lunch and digging in too.
Sirius sat down beside Harry and gave him a congratulatory one-armed hug.
"I'm so glad you're free, Harry," The dark haired man said, "You would've just messed up the company here."
"Oh come on," Harry groaned, "I need to go to school. If I'm lucky no one will try to kill me this year."
"I'm just kidding, Harry," Sirius said soberly, "I really am happy for you."
"Thanks, Sirius," The seeker smiled. Mrs Weasley placed Sirius' lunch in front of him. The animagus thanked her and dug in.
They had been eating (delicious sandwiches) and celebrating for nearly twenty minutes when Tonks showed up, taking a seat next to Mrs Weasley.
"Hello, Molly. Listen, mum and dad are coming for the meeting tonight – and their bringing Roderick with them. We need to set three more places for dinner tonight." Tonks said. Harry's neck snapped to her sharply – Roderick?
"Alright, not a problem, dear, will they be staying for the night?" The Weasley matriarch asked politely. Tonks nodded.
There goes Harry's theory of never meeting the Lestrange child. He wondered if the boy would have Bellatrix's hair and teeth and decided that he didn't like the mental image.
"Actually… if it's not too much trouble, Molly, they were wondering if Roderick could stay here for the rest of the summer. They are going to be very busy for the rest of the summer, and this will be his first year at Hogwarts, so they'd like him to get to know some people beforehand." Tonks sounded anxious, her fingertips tapping against each other.
"Of course dear, we have no problem with that and there's plenty of room here. I'm sure Sirius doesn't mind one more person." Mrs. Weasley replied.
"Not at all." Sirius said, smiling. Harry's eyes widened again – now this person would be living with them? And Sirius was okay with it?
"So, he'll be a first year?" Hermione asked – the entire table had heard the conversation. Harry was spared of explaining it to her, it seemed.
"No, he'll be a fifth year like the rest of you." Tonks answered, helping herself to some shepherd's pie. Harry reached for another sandwich.
"But I thought you said this would be his first year at Hogwarts." Ron probed, eyebrows raised. Harry had difficulty understanding that notion as well.
"It will, he's been home schooled by my mother." Tonks responded casually, "So he's basically up to speed with everything."
"So will he have to do sorting with the first years?" Ginny asked.
"No, you see, when you begin attending Hogwarts after home-schooling, you go through sorting after the start of term feast in front of the teachers only, you know… to avoid drawing attention to you entering with first years." Tonks replied, pouring herself a glass of pumpkin juice.
"So what house do you think he'll be in?" Harry asked next. His guess would be Slytherin, but that may be because of the last name.
"Um…I'm not sure really, Roderick could be in any house really." Tonks shrugged, and looking at them all as the questions stopped.
"You can all talk to him yourselves when he gets here later." She said, finally getting the chance to dig into her food and avoid further questions.
The others nodded and resumed their previous conversations, but Harry stayed silent. He didn't want to plan another gruesome death via carpet.
He felt a little weary, he'd had a long day. He didn't know Roderick Lestrange; however he did know exactly why he lived with his aunt and uncle as opposed to his mother and father. He didn't think Azkaban allowed children in it… there were some prisons in the muggle world that did.
He wondered vaguely if he was anything like them, but he put it in the concern in the back of his mind; considering the fact that whoever this person was he had been raised by Tonks' parents so he could not be that bad. He supposed he would have to find out later that night.
Harry and the others spent the rest of the day cleaning the house, which was by no means easy, given that every other object they tried to throw out would either try to kill them or Kreacher would attempt to save the items.
At last a few hours of cleaning (although it felt like much longer) Mrs Weasley all but shoved them up the stairs as the order members started to arrive, telling them go takes baths and entertain themselves somehow.
The means of entertainment the group of teenagers chose, however, were watching the order members arrive.
They saw Tonks run to the door to open it, a huge smile on her pretty face when she swung the door open.
"Mum, dad, Roderick, good to see you all again..." Tonks said (rather loudly) this was all they were able to hear before Mrs Black's portrait started to shriek. Once silence had been restored, they heard the stairs creak and Tonks' voice again.
"Okay, Roderick, Molly says it's the first door on the left. I promise we'll catch up later, but I can't miss the meeting."
"Alright, but I'm holding you to that promise, Tonks." A voice, very similar sounding to hers, though deeper, said. Then the door to Ron's room swung open and the back of a boy's head appeared, he was lugging a large trunk into the room. Finally he got it in, closed the door behind him and he turned around.
Roderick Lestrange was the perfect combination of the two people that Harry had seen in Dumbledore's pensieve just last year. He had his mother's long black hair, but it fell down straight as opposed to curly. His eyes were bright blue, like his fathers, and he had much kinder features than either of his parents.
Harry liked this version better than the mental one he'd conjured up earlier.
He was in good shape, with lean muscles. He looked at them all, the silence stretched for a minute before Hermione broke it.
"Hello, my name's Hermione Granger." She said, extending her hand. After a second Roderick took it and shook.
"Hello, Hermione, my name's Roderick, Roderick Lestrange." He smiled at her as she helped him pull his trunk over to the foot of one of the beds.
"Did, you say your last name was Lestrange?" Fred asked, looking at Roderick as he sat on the bed. Harry thought it was weird, then he remembered he was the only one who saw the tapestry.
"Yes." Roderick answered, his voice getting a little defensive. Harry understood – his own name was a curse he carried with him.
"You mean like Bellatrix Lestrange?" George asked, looking at Roderick in an eerily similar manner as Fred was.
"Yes, as in Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange, or to me, I guess, mum and dad." Roderick said unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice.
"You're their kid?" George said, shocked, stepping back a few inches. Harry didn't think Roderick Lestrange was that scary. Plus his teeth were perfect.
"Who exactly are the Lestranges?" Hermione asked. All the Weasleys looked at her, surprised. Harry did too – how did he know who they were?
"You don't know who the Lestranges are?" Ron asked, flabbergasted. Harry laughed inwardly – he'd just described someone as flabbergasted.
"No, I mean I've read the name somewhere before, but I can't recall exactly where." Hermione said. Before any of the Weasleys could respond Roderick spoke up.
"My mother and father are two of the most feared and loyal Death Eaters Voldemort has ever had." He said bluntly, as if he was inviting them to judge him and get over with it already.
Hermione's eyes went wide with horror. Everyone but Harry and Roderick shuddered at the use of Voldemort's name. Roderick chuckled.
"Yeah I'm used to that sort of reaction." He sighed glumly, pulled a book out of his trunk and started to read.
"I really don't mind if none of you want to speak to me now." He said lazily, though clearly not happy. He continued to read for about five minutes before Harry broke the silence, starting a sigh. If anyone did understand, it would be him, always judged by his scar and his parents.
"Listen, I don't know how other people have reacted, but I've learned to never judge someone by their family. My name's Harry Potter, nice to meet you." He said, extending his hand. Roderick looked at him, as if assessing the situation, then shook Harry's hand with a relieved smile.
"Thanks a lot. People usually just steer clear of me once they find out who my parents are; they seem to think a friendship with me would be a danger to them." Roderick's voice held the tiniest bit of contempt. Obviously these people had no tact whatsoever.
"Well, with Voldemort back, I'm not exactly safe no matter who I make friends with, am I?" Again everyone but the two of them shuddered at the name. Harry supressed the urge to roll his eyes.
"You make a good point. People would run and scream if we paired up and were let loose on them." Roderick grinned at him. Harry wondered how the hell this could be Bellatrix's son, he didn't seem insane at all.
The next hour and a half passed with everyone discussing what exactly the adults were discussing downstairs, followed by general life at Hogwarts. Harry saw Roderick's head flit between them, soaking up all of the information he could of the new school he'd be attending.
When Harry mentioned that he, Fred and George all played Quidditch for Gryffindor, Roderick's face split into a grin. Harry realised he had more in common with this boy than he thought.
"Let me guess." He said, looking them all up and down, biting the inside of his cheek. "Harry you're a seeker, and Fred and George - you've got to be beaters, right?" They all nodded impressed. Even more so when he called them on their first names rather than the distant I-am-a-new-person-here-so-I-must-be-awkward-and-wait-until-it's-they-tell-me-it's-okay.
"So you must play Quidditch as well then?" Harry guessed, appraising him. "Chaser, right?"
Roderick smiled and nodded. Harry thought he heard one of the twins whisper to the other that 'this is why Harry will be made captain soon'.
"Do you have your own broom?" Harry asked. As an answer Roderick walked over to his trunk and opened it to reveal...
"A Firebolt?" George said, enthralled. His eyes wide with excitement.
"How did you afford that?" Fred asked, longing evident in his voice.
"Well, with my parents being in Azkaban, I was given control over most of their assets at age eleven, and they had quite a bit of gold." Roderick said with a shrug. Harry thought Roderick was being modest – the Black's had plenty of gold.
They continued to talk about Quidditch and school until Tonks appeared.
"Okay, the meeting's over, you can all come down now." Roderick went over to Tonks and gave her a hug before heading downstairs with the others right behind him. Tonks was really pretty and nice – Harry wouldn't have minded a hug either.
The rest of the summer passed in a routine that, quite honestly, got boring. Sirius got along very well with Roderick...after finding out that he was not crazy like his mother and father, but all things considered Harry was glad that he got to return to Hogwarts.
He was going home.
Harry learned that he really did like Roderick. Often he, Roderick and Ron (Harry was suddenly relieved that his name didn't start with an R) would play Quidditch after returning to The Burrow for an afternoon or two. Ron was actually good, Harry saw, and wondered why his friend hadn't tried out for the team. As long as Ron wasn't seeker, Harry was happy.
Other afternoons they would, along with Hermione, play boardgames or do homework, if you could believe that. Roderick would just sit on one side and keep them company, he didn't have homework. Harry sometimes caught the Lestrange heir smiling at Hermione's downturned head – maybe because she was going out of her way to help her two fellow Gryffindors, maybe because she was pretty.
Harry looked at Hermione – she really was pretty. Her teeth were fixed after Malfoy's curse the previous year, her hair was somewhat tamed, but he liked the way her hair was – it was like it kept all of her knowledge. She wouldn't be Hermione without the wild hair. She looked up and caught him looking at her. He just offered her a smile, one she returned before going back to her homework.
"I have fun with you three," Roderick said one afternoon as they all collapsed in the room the three boys were sharing, "I've never really had friends. Besides for Tonks, but she's my cousin."
"Well, no offense, but I'm shocked we got along," Ron piped up, "Just saying that you weren't what I expected…"
"It goes to show – don't judge a book by its cover." Roderick said tiredly, but aimed a grin at the redhead.
"I beg to differ on that," Hermione said, "Books with no colour on the cover tend to be boring. I learned that the hard way."
"You're ruining the metaphor, Hermione," Roderick groaned, slapping his hand over his eyes. The girl laughed.
"I know what you mean," The brunette girl said, "That you and I became friends was surprising. I am a muggleborn, you know."
"So is my Uncle Ted, but he's a genius and one of the best people I've ever met. He took in his crazy sister-in-law's son and raised as his own. He showered me with love and affection and he not once got mad at me when it wasn't deserved," Roderick sighed, "We're all wizards and witches in the end… why can't we just accept that?"
"We do," Harry said, "I'm the one that somehow managed to kill Voldemort, Ron's a bloodtraitor and Hermione's a muggleborn. We're basically the 'I don't care about your blood'-squad."
Both Ron and Hermione burst out laughing at that. Roderick was holding back the laughter too, Harry could tell.
"He's really back?" Roderick asked once Ron had stopped guffawing everytime he thought of Harry's new squad. Everyone immediately sobered up and looked at the boy-who-lived.
"Yeah," He said, "People won't believe me… but he is."
"I think that's why my aunt and uncle are sending me to Hogwarts. It's safer and they might be a target." Roderick sighed. "Can I tell you guys a secret?"
"Of course not," Ron said, "We'd tell the whole world. We'd tell Draco Malfoy first – the secret diaries of Roderick Lestrange and make him tease you about it." Roderick blanched. "Come on, Roderick, who would we tell? Kreacher would probably get a kick out of it."
"That was… somewhat wise of you, Ron," Hermione noted, "What he's trying to say is that yes, you can trust us."
"I'm scared my mother will escape from Azkaban," Roderick's voice was shaky. "She didn't know what happened to me. I'm scared she'll find me and take me to live with her."
"We won't allow that," Harry said, "If you go – it'll be your choice."
"I won't ever choose that. Unless, you know, it's a plot to send her back to Azkaban." Roderick sighed. "My father I can handle… but I've heard the stories about her. She's insane and she's powerful. It's a deadly mix."
"It is." Hermione agreed. Harry saw her expression deepen.
"You're with us now," Ron added, "And once you're part of the blood-squad… you don't go unless you want to."
"Please tell me we are not calling ourselves that," Hermione groaned. The teenagers burst out laughing again.
When it was time to leave, they felt awfully guilty for Sirius – he had to stay in the dark house alone, because Kreacher wouldn't be very good company.
"There's really nothing you can do about it." Roderick said the day they were due to leave, and he and Harry had found themselves alone, hiding from an overbearing Mrs Weasley.
"I know, but you can't say that you don't feel bad too. I mean, he is your cousin, right?" Harry asked. He saw a small smile of pity of Roderick's face and glared at him for it.
"Well, yeah, but it's like I said, we can't do anything about it - and dwelling on it won't help at all. It'll just make it worse." Roderick said, plopping down on the bed. Dust didn't blow out of the mattress and Harry thought it was a room Mrs Weasley had already tackled.
"I know… I still wish there was something we could do though." Harry mused, starting to pace. The rest of the inhabitants of Grimmauld Place was scrambling to get their things ready, but the two dark-haired boys were done and didn't want to be in the way.
Harry had earlier almost lost hope of finding his invisibility cloak until Hermione found it hanging on a peg near the kitchen. Harry had no idea of how it had gotten there – he blamed either Mrs Weasley or Kreacher.
"All right, is everyone here?" Mrs Weasley yelled, causing the two boys to run to the dining room. The Weasley patriarch glanced around at not only the assembled teenagers, but also the various adults gathered around her. Alastor Moody, Tonks, and Lupin were all there as well. Harry exchanged a look with Ron, who just shrugged. Obviously the ginger had no idea either.
"No, but we don't have time to wait for Sturgis if we want to get them to the station on time." Moody said gruffly. Always a ray of sunshine, that man.
"Okay then. Everyone out." Mrs Weasley said, shooing them out the door. They were taken to train station in m-agically enlarged cars. Harry noted Roderick's excitement at the once-muggle object. Maybe it was a Tonks thing, Harry thought, or a bloodtraitor thing. Mr Weasley had the same strange fascination.
They were halfway to the station before anyone other than Roderick noticed the great shaggy black dog. Well, other than Harry, who had kept quiet in the hope that his maternal figure wouldn't see it.
"Sirius, what are you doing here?" Mrs Weasley muttered lowly, glaring at the dog that simply barked and wagged its tail in response.
"Merlin, Sirius, you will have us all killed," She sighed, "But there's no going back now. Just be careful, will you?" Sirius barked again and laid his head down on Harry's lap. Harry wondered if that was weird, but, in spite, scratched behind Sirius' ears. Sirius made an attempt at a growl, but Harry thought the animagus liked it.
Upon reaching the train station, they found the barrier and made their way through one by one. Sirius had explained to Harry that the barrier had a notice-me-not charm on it, or muggles would go crazy at the yearly disappearance of hundreds of children once a year through that barrier.
As they readied themselves to get on the train, the Weasleys and Harry were each given a bone-crushing hug by Mrs Weasley while Roderick and Tonks exchanged a hug and some parting words. Harry still would've liked a hug from Tonks, though, but she didn't seem to want to do anything outside waving at him.
"Be careful, and take care of yourselves." Mrs Weasley said for probably the seventeenth time. The great black dog leapt up and gave Harry a huge lick, making them all laugh a little before the warning whistle blew and the train began to pull away. The teenagers rushed, helping each other onto the train, waving at the adults.
Soon they were rushing by trees and tall grass, the drone of the train calming some of them, especially the first years, and excitement lit up through the train like fire.
Another year at Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – danger, excitement and challenges await. The boy-who-lived, most of all, couldn't wait.
A/N: So that's it for the first chapter of the reboot. We hope you enjoyed it and see you next time!