Dear Crucio,

It's not very safe to address me by name, even though you send your letters to your other uncle first. You never know if those ministry bastards check our mail.

You have the best wishes from Mr Burke; he told me he misses your help as his assistant a great deal in his barter with clients. If you ever need something I'm sure you can call in that debt.

I am glad to hear you're making friends, and yes Professor Binns' lessons are indeed rather soporific. The only thing I remember from them is that I fell asleep as soon as he opened his mouth. Who cares about goblin rebellions anyway, right?

I have spoken to that longhaired piece of arrogance, and he indeed heard from Sev about your little show. I wouldn't advice an invisibility coat; if you want to avoid facing him over it you better emigrate to the US straight away.

If it cheers you up though, we have all gotten this you-know-what kind of feeling lately, so perhaps there is a chance the tide will turn one of these days. It's only speculation of course…

Anyway, hold on tight and behave yourself okay?

Much love,

Your Uncle.

PS: The photographs you requested are sent with this. I didn't have many, and I hope you don't mind I kept some for personal reasons too. I can show you those when you get home.

(Pagebreak)

Crucie smiled as she got the envelope from Draco's owl, which landed with her first, much to the blonde's annoyance. The letter was written with an easy-read quill that produced a rather impersonal handwriting, probably so that it wouldn't require a code-cracker to read, but it had Rabastan's scribbly and undecipherable signature. That one was so complicated-looking that it was impossible to copy, so Crucie knew the letter was safe. She grinned when reading, imagining her uncle writing it. Even though he had avoided using names, it was almost as obvious as his fake moustaches. It was funny he called Lucius Malfoy a "longhaired piece of arrogance", because although her other uncle was indeed arrogant his hair wasn't much longer than Rabastan's. When reading he had added photographs, her heart skipped a beat. She shook the envelope and found three yellowed pictures. Before she had the chance to look at them though, Pansy Parkinson asked from across the table, envy and curiosity in her voice.

"Oooh, mail from the Malfoys, Crucie?"

Crucie hid the letter and photographs and put on her most innocent face.

"Yeah, it's a letter from Mrs Malfoy with the recipe of one of her pies. She suggested I could give it to the house elves to have it made for Draco's birthday. But don't tell him, it should be a surprise."

Pansy almost squealed in delight.

"Oooh, a surprise! How lovely! Can I be in on it too? I mean, you're family I've heard so it would be kinda gross if it looked like you're after him, no?"

As if she would ever think of pursuing Draco. The thought alone made her want to gag.

"Sure Pansy… I think he really likes you, by the way."

"Really?"

"Yeah. So, I see you after class, okay?"

Crucie got up and made her way immediately to her secluded corner rather than the dorms. Salazar watched in silence how Crucie re-read her letter and finally got to look at the photographs. One depicted Bellatrix and Rodolphus posing for their traditional Yule Ball photo, both dressed in old-fashioned but elegant dress robes. They looked awfully sincere, not moving much despite the photo's magical qualities… The next photograph was taken way later; it featured Bellatrix, Narcissa, Lucius, the Lestrange brothers and Alecto Carrow hanging on the sofa at Malfoy Manor, with at their feet two toddlers she recognized as herself and Draco. Rabastan was poking his brother and Lucius sported his trademark annoyed scowl, and they were all looking relaxed and relatively content. From the date on the back it was taken only a month before the thing-she-never-wanted-to-think-about had happened. Crucie felt her eyes burn but fought to keep the tears back. The third and last photograph broke her though. It was not of very good quality, hazy around the edges, but it was undeniably her mother lying in a hospital bed holding a small bundle in her arms. She smiled widely at the camera, like a proud mother would. On the back was written in an unfamiliar handwriting: "My love and our little curse".

Crucie was sobbing in moments.

"Tsssssss… Received bad newsssss?"

"Just… t-thinking of my parents…"

"Oh."

Salazar Slytherin was one of those people who were notoriously bad at comforting others. The memory was vague, but he recalled the only time he had actually attempted to comfort someone he had ended up in a duel of some sort. Now he looked down on Crucio Lestrange crying over pictures of her family, and wondered if there was anything helpful he could say.

"Missss Lestrange… I wondered… Do you play cardssss?"

Crucie looked up, slightly confused.

"I know bridge… Uncle Lucius taught me."

"Well… I have been... tssss… invited, to thissss card evening with the othersssss… I didn't think to go, but perhapsssss if you would join me…? It might… lift your sssspiritssss."

Crucie's eyes widened a bit. Had the Great Salazar Slytherin actually invited her to a card game? Speaking of unlikely events…

"I would like to come..."

"Tonight, sssseven 'o clock, the painting of Valda The Marvelloussss on the ssssixth floor. Now, if you'll excusssse me… I have thingsssss to sssee to…"

Crucie couldn't help but smile as Salazar quickly made his way out of the picture frame. It was official; she had somehow really made friends with the portrait. Not that he would ever admit it, but from that moment on Crucie knew for sure.

(Pagebreak)

Time passed, and Crucie got the feeling Hermione was hiding things from her. Having to hide a great deal of things herself had taught her the signs. She also spent more time with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, even though it didn't look like they treated her nicely. Their meetings became scarcer, and Crucie didn't have the heart to point out that Ron and Harry just used her to copy her homework. She didn't want to lose the only friendship that felt a bit meaningful to her. She sometimes overheard part of their conversations and really had to strain herself not to torture the sanity out of that red-haired Weasley twat. The way he mindlessly commented on Hermione, calling her a teacher's pet while copying her notes, saying she was anti-social because she preferred books over Quidditch… Well, if given the chance, she would gladly teach him 'anti-social', in the true meaning of the word…

It was Halloween, and once again she caught Ron saying something particularly nasty about Hermione. As she saw the girl run off sobbing, and the boys not caring a bit, Crucie couldn't control herself and sent the curse in Ron's direction. The Weasley boy screamed and fell to his knees. Crucie stopped quickly enough not to be caught, too quickly for her taste, but the boy's terrified expression did wonders for her mood anyway. While Harry helped Ron up their eyes met for a moment, a moment just long enough to convey the feeling. As they hurried away to the Halloween Feast, Crucie saw Harry turn his head once more to see her. Tssss, she thought to herself, unconsciously imitating Salazar Slytherin's favourite sound. Now she just had to find Hermione and see if she could coax her to the feast as well.

While Crucie was looking for Hermione, occasionally asking the portraits if they had seen her, a particularly disturbing message arrived in the great hall by the likes of Professor Quirrell screaming about a troll in the building. She hadn't heard the message, but when she heard loud roaring and thumping she knew something wild and dangerous must have slipped into Hogwarts. With a manic gleam in her eyes Crucie followed the sound until she came upon a 12 feet tall mountain troll. He was absolutely every bit as disgusting as Uncle Rabastan used to describe trolls, and Crucie felt absolutely no guilt when she let her power loose on him. She was quite certain the monster's screeching could be heard throughout the whole building, it almost made her deaf on the spot.

In her enjoyment of making the troll wrestle with himself in agony, she didn't notice the two boys approaching. They disturbed her in the act, but there was no time for arguing. Once her concentration broke the troll got up and threw himself at the threesome, his small brain addled with pain and rage. Harry was quick and he ducked away in a nearby toilet, pulling the other two with him. The troll wasn't so easily stopped though… Crucie's memory was fuddled and vague from the stress and tension of the moment, and later she couldn't remember exactly how it had happened that Hermione was in the exact toilet they had accidentally lured the troll into, what spells had been used and how the four of them had all done some pretty dangerous things –Ron taking the cake with ending up on the monster's head- to defeat him. When the troll at last collapsed on the toilet floor, they just had a few moments to look at each other before the professors barged in to find the humongous creature defeated by four first-years, who undoubtedly put themselves in grave danger to accomplish that. The reactions were of course outraged and while Snape practically dragged Crucie over the floor to his office she saw how the other three underwent similar treatment from Professor McGonagall, who looked anything but pleased…

(Author's Notes)

First of all, you may ask yourself: how on earth will she play cards with a portrait? Well, I think she doesn't actually plays along with her own cards, but gets to see Salazar's cards instead so they can play as a pair. Which probably makes her the only person the great Slytherin Founder has ever allowed to look him in the cards. xD

Then... the troll. Yes, the troll. I imagine Crucie would be jumping up and down with glee at the chance to torture a troll. She doesn't discriminate in her choice of victims, you see ;) She probably did help with defeating it, but since I'm bad -awfully bad really- at writing action scenes I leave it to your imagination how exactly she helped.

Any questions, just let them come! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! Your reviews are always helpful, and I love getting comments; critics and compliments alike! Help me keep this story reasonably okay with your input!