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Chapter thirty-nine: Castor's POV
A slow filtering moonlight fell onto the beaten grass when I made my escape. I didn't tell anyone where I was going, I just knew that I had to help in any way I could and being stuck in Hogwarts under the watchful eye of the Carrows and Snape… facing their torture… hearing them spout hateful things about muggleborns and blood traitors, I couldn't be much help stuck there. I didn't want to say goodbye because I knew that it would make it so much harder to leave, leaving Luna and Neville behind… not knowing when I would see them again, or if I would ever see them again. As I'd only just gained them back and now I was leaving them just as soon.
In all of it, I missed Colin, being unable to sort everything out with him hurt. I hadn't seen him since before my departure to Azkaban, as all muggleborns had been expelled. Fabian on the other hand had turned into a self-righteous pureblood fanatic, I could see somewhere behind his eyes that he didn't mean the words he said but he had joined up with a cruel gang of Slytherins and bullied other students, especially those he considered blood traitors. I never figured his idiocy was strong enough for him to join up with them, I figured him too scared to do something like that as most Death Eater's were strong people even if misguided, however… maybe it was his fear that guided him, maybe he just wanted to feel safe and protected.
The ministry had taken the photo album with the pictures from my parents past when I'd gone to prison but Luna and Neville had however managed to save one of my sketchbooks and my pencils, the sketchbook was mostly empty and I hoped that if I had a spare moment I could document my adventure in drawings as I'd put the pencils and sketchbooks in my bag.
Apparently I'd escaped from Azkaban in December of 1997 and it was now March of 1998, I'd been in prison for well over a year. I would have left Hogwarts earlier, I'd planned to leave at the Christmas holidays, just never come back but the Carrows hadn't let me leave, they'd shoved me in the dungeons and mocked me, commenting that my parents would soon be coming for me. It was plain to see the reason they hadn't let me leave was because they feared that I wouldn't come back, just as I had planned and they knew how mad my parents would be… well at least my father… who couldn't wait to hurt me.
They'd been keeping a watchful eye on me but I'd been planning my escape and now finally it seemed… I was to be free. I took a deep breath before running out, trying to hide in the shadows, I sucked in deep breaths again and again, trying to stop myself from hyperventilating. I drew my wand and pointed it at Amycus Carrow who stood guarding the entrance to Hogwarts and whispered the stunning spell as he fell down and I ran out further into the night. There were dementors, milling around, causing me to shiver but I forced myself not to think about Azkaban and what they did to me, forced myself not to be afraid before continuing on.
Figuring that if I'd done it once I could do it again, I clutched my wand tightly to myself and apparated, I wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do but it was the only place I could think of to go. The Burrow. A place that I had only visited a few times in the holidays when I visited Fred and George. I remembered it to be friendly and welcoming and at least if Fred and George were there, people who knew me, I could hopefully convince everyone of my innocence, as only the students of Hogwarts so far knew the truth. I apparated just outside the wards and rushed as fast as I could to the entrance, knocking on the door politely, wondering exactly who would open it.
"Ah that must be Fleur and Bill back from checking the grounds," a voice that sounded like Molly Weasly said as I gulped, unprepared for what was going to happen next.
"I'll get it," Remus spoke next and I heard footsteps edging closer as my nerves grew, there was a click and the door opened, he stood gasping in shock at me, I was dressed in the Hogwarts uniform that Snape had provided me with on my return, to replace the old one I'd had. I quickly barged past Remus before he could fire a spell at me or protest and stood, facing various members of the order. Molly Weasly was there, Arthur wasn't, I suspected that most likely he was at the ministry. My cousin was there, as was my Aunty Andy, who wasn't technically a member but more a friend of the order. Fred and George were there, I noticed with surprise that George was missing an ear. Kingsley was also there and he gave me a suspicious look.
"Something wrong Remus?" I heard Bill ask as he entered the room with Fleur, his voice faltered, "Oh."
I stood staring at them all for a few moments as they stared back at me, before finally I could bring myself to speak, "I swear… I'm not here to hurt you, I want to help defeat Vo-," I began but Molly raised her hand.
"Don't say his name, they can track us now if you say it," she whispered nervously.
I shivered and nodded, "Look I know you don't believe me but I didn't kill Uncle Ted and I want to help, being stuck at Hogwarts with the Carrows and Snape… I can't do any good there… so I… I came here. Please… you've got to believe me, I'm sick of being trodden on, of these bastards just messing with me, ruining my life… I'm going to do something to help."
Fred and George grinned at each other, "Lee Jordan owes us five galleons. Ha! We betted that you were innocent… I mean at first we weren't sure but then I mean, we just knew it, in our hearts we knew the truth," Fred said leaning back in his chair as George winked at me.
"Well… I don't see any confirmed proof quiet yet," Molly said but I did notice sadness in her voice, she wasn't happy about not trusting me and she didn't want to be malicious, she was just being careful and that I could understand.
"I have truth serum," I found myself laughing at Remus's words, almost doubling over that the order would do something that a year earlier the 'great and mighty' ministry had refused to do… if I ever saw Scrimgeour again… I'd make sure that he paid for not doing his job properly. "Thought… you know with the war and everything it might come in handy at some point and well here we are," Remus smiled, handing it to me as I drunk up.
"We might as well go through the standard procedure and make sure he's defiantly not an imposter at the same time," Kingsley said wisely. "Are you Castor Sirius Regulus Black, the son of Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange?"
"Yes I am."
"Are you sixteen? You'll be seventeen this year?" I sighed, it was sad I'd missed my whole fifth year, and a bit of the beginning of my sixth… it was time that I could never get back. I'd been fifteen when I'd gone into Azkaban but I'd grown up, my hair had been longer but I'd cut it back now to its normal, crazy curls that were atop my head and shaved the sides again so that it was far shorter on the back and sides as usual.
My violet eyes sparkled as I smirked, ready to finally have the justice that I had waited for.
"Yes I am sixteen and I will be seventeen this year."
"Did you murder Edward Tonks?" I heard everyone, especially my cousin and aunt gasp.
"No, I did not. My father killed him with my wand and mutilated his body after his death…," I whispered nervously, I still had strong nightmares of the event. I looked at Tonks, at Andromeda, they both burst into tears.
"I'm so sorry Cas," Tonks whispered but my aunt was too consumed by her emotions to bring herself to speak but the look in her eyes was one of complete despair and apology as she looked at me. Tonks hugged Remus and I looked at them both in confusion.
"While you were… away," Remus said sadly, "We both got married… in fact we um… we have a son, he's called Teddy… after your uncle," Remus finished giving me a smile. I felt my heart flutter with joy that they were finally together and that they had a son.
"Do you think that… maybe one day… when this is all over I could see him?" I whispered, Tonks smiled and walked into the kitchen, returning with her son on her hip and a broad grin on her face as my eyes lit up and Remus ruffled my hair.
"We're… especially me… we're all really sorry," Aunty Andromeda whispered but I nodded.
"It's fine… I don't blame you guys, I blame the Death Eaters… Tom and the ministry, well especially Scrimgeour for refusing to allow me to use the truth serum," I growled.
Kingsley sighed, "Scrimgeour wasn't a bad person… he wanted to help, it's just he was doing it wrong, accusing people who were innocent just to appear to be on top of things and not allowing people a truly fair trial." My eyebrows furrowed and Kinglsey coughed, "I'm sorry… I guess no one told you, Rufus died on the first of August last year, Tom killed him. The ministry is now infiltrated completely by Death Eaters and Tom… but I figured you knew that he had power there at least by the fact that Hogwarts is being run by Death Eaters." I nodded, I'd worked out that that ministry was now controlled by Death Eater's but I had no idea Scrimgeour was dead. I sighed. Kinglsey was right, he had been trying to do good and help, he'd just gone about it wrongly in an attempt to make the public think he was capable, still innocent people, like myself had been put away just so he could appear like he was doing his job correctly.
I stroked the head of little Teddy Lupin and smiled up at his parents before Tonks embraced me tightly and warmly, "I won't ever doubt you again Cas. I won't ever let you go again."
"I love you Dora," I grinned as her hair changed colour rapidly before settling on bright neon purple. "I want to help in some way and well I can't really help you guys with the ministry issue seeing as they'll lock me up as soon as they see me or kill me or something… or most likely just hand me over to my parents who'll kill and torture me. So, I was wondering, if you know where Harry is?"
They all shook their heads, "No one knows, I wouldn't suggest looking for him though. He's on a really secret mission," Remus said, I liked how they all left out exactly what that mission was.
"Well… if I can't help Harry then… there must be something I can do…," I whispered.
"The best you can do is keep yourself safe," Fleur smiled.
"Yeah we'll need everyone when this whole fight comes to a head," Bill nodded.
"We can keep you safe here Castor," Molly whispered.
"Please Cas… I don't want to lose you again," my aunt whispered, I looked at her with a trembling lip, I knew it would hurt us both but I couldn't just stay here, being useless.
"I can't just stay here." I told them a slight hinge of anger entering my voice at their refusal to allow me to help.
"We're coming with," Fred and George said together but Mrs Weasly grabbed them by the collars and pulled them back into their chairs.
"I'm leaving and you can't stop me… I'm going to do my part," I nodded, heading for the door, I shoved Bill out the way, muttering an apology at the same time, they shouted after me but I refused to listen. There had to be a way, that I could find Harry, that I could help him. Then all of a sudden it became very clear to me, I could help to divert at least some of the pressure, just for a while off of him and onto me. I would happily sacrifice myself to win this war that had been raging in my absence.
"Ministry of Magic, here I come," I chuckled, apparating to a street nearby and heading to the main entrance,
"He's here! Lestrange is here!" Someone yelled, throwing a curse at me but I cast a reducto and the wall behind them smashed into thousands of pieces, a clump hit them and they fell down, out for the count.
I looked with disgust at the new statue of muggles being crushed and rolled my shoulders back, preparing for what was going to happen next.
I was angry, raging, I wanted all these muggleborn haters, all these people who had wronged me so badly, who had wronged all my friends and family so badly. I'd read over them sometimes, when I had spare time, I'd read over the dark magic books in Grimmauld Place, I was nowhere near an expert but I knew a little bit and I knew that right now, with the violent rage I was feeling, I wasn't going to be using just school standard spells.
"FIENDFYRE!" I screamed, hurling the fire towards the stature in a big swirling mass, it licked at the walls and reached the ceiling. Usually I could never cast a spell so big and strong but in my anger, my magical power was far stronger. "HOW'D YOU LIKE THAT VOLDEMORT? COME ON FACE ME YOU COWARD! YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE! SOME OF THE BEST WIZARDS AND WITCHES I KNOW ARE MUGGLEBORNS AND YOU DARE SAY THEY DON'T DESERVE TO USE MAGIC! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO USE MAGIC YOU MONSTER! COME ON VOLDEMORT!" I heard footsteps running towards me as reinforcements came because I'd used his name. "I'M NOT SCARED OF YOU VOLDEMORT! I HATE YOU BUT I'M NOT SCARED!" I dodged a green killing curse, they didn't care about saving me for my parents now, I was being too dangerous. I used reducto again and one of the walls flew to bits, causing a few of the people attacking me to fall to the ground, paintings and other things came crashing down as the statue continued to burn. I fired more spells, some slightly dark, as more rubble came tumbling down and the ministry continued to be destroyed in my anger. Then, very suddenly it happened, the torture curse caught me in the back, in my anger I hadn't defended myself properly. I fell down, consumed by the pain to find a very smug looking snatcher standing over me.
"You're in for a world of pain after that boy… let's take you to your parents, that's what the dark lord ordered us to do with you… unless of course we just had to kill you because you were being too difficult," I shivered, Voldemort had ordered me to be taken to my parents. It wasn't just something my father wanted, Voldemort wanted it as well, maybe it was some kind of sick reward in Voldemort's eyes for my parents loyalty. My heart beating fiercely in my chest, a slow trickle of blood falling down my face from where a curse had hit me, I closed my eyes, only to open them again. He smirked and then swung his fist right into my temple, my vision went hazy and began to fade to black, "If you like muggles so much boy… it seems only fitting you get hurt in their way." He said finally as I blacked out.
There we go, hope you liked the chapter, please review and as always thanks for reading!