POV of Veatrix Lestrange

I stood in front of one of the mirrors in the anteroom of the girls' toilets near the Great Hall, putting up my long black hair. As had become a habit by now, I tucked my wand along with the two wooden, red chopsticks my aunt had brought me from Japan into my hairstyle. At the Manor, I was never allowed to do this because my uncle thought it looked ridiculous and wasn't proper for a pureblood from his house. After making sure once again that neither my wand nor the chopsticks were threatening to come loose on their own, I went back to the Great Hall.

This time, however, I would sit at the Slytherin table, as Ariana, who had just been sitting near me, had driven me crazy with her constant paranoia. She had been assuring the Weasleys and Lavender the whole time that she had a feeling something terrible was going to happen today. Yes, okay, back then during the first flying lesson, she had been right when Neville actually got hurt, but that didn't mean she had to keep making everyone nervous about it all the time.

As Bella hurriedly came towards me when I entered the Great Hall, I had the feeling of experiencing a déjà vu. I seriously wondered why she was in such a hurry again, as she had arrived very late for the feast and was now leaving it prematurely again. Just as I was about to sit down next to Zane, he stood up and motioned for me to follow him. 'So how's it going in Gryffindor?' he asked me when we had left the hall and stopped within sight of its door. 'I'm trying my best…' I assured him, but couldn't withstand his scrutinising gaze. 'It's just not easy, you know? I mean, all those years that my uncle preached to me and Draco that Slytherin is the only true Hogwarts house and that Muggle-borns and 'blood traitors' are the worst thing that could happen to wizard society, haven't left me unaffected, Zane. I'm giving them a chance, but I just can't completely banish these prejudices from my mind. They've burned in too deeply.' 'I know how hard this is for you. It's not easy for me either,' he began. 'Yes, but you don't HAVE to have anything to do with these people, after all, you ended up in Slytherin,' I interrupted him. 'What do you actually like about Bella?' I added suspiciously. 'She's really alright. She's got a sense of humour, is easy-going... And doesn't think highly of herself because of her pure-bloodedness,' he answered. 'Do I need to remind you whose daughter she is?' I asked, now with a contemptuous undertone. 'Her father was banished from my family. And she hates me. Every time I try to get a little closer to the other Gryffindors, she shows up and almost kills me with her gaze. How can one put aside one's own prejudices when others don't?' 'I know who her father is. Do you notice something? He was also the only one in his family in Gryffindor. He faced the same choice back then that you're facing now. It's up to you what you make of it. We're not doomed to become like our family. We can and must make our own decisions and live with the consequences.'

I wanted to reply to that, but our conversation was interrupted by a distraught Professor Quirrell, who rushed past us into the Great Hall. Curious, we followed him and caught him shouting, his turban nearly slipping off his head:

'Troll – in the dungeon!'

After that, he seemed to faint and collapsed to the floor. Instantly, an enormous commotion arose in the hall, which Professor Dumbledore had to quell by setting off purple firecrackers from his wand. When the students finally gave him their attention again, he instructed the prefects to lead the other students to their common rooms. As I fell in line behind the Weasleys, I noticed Zane following me instead of going to the Slytherin prefects. He quietly asked me, with a worried tone: 'Have you seen Bella? She's not with the others.' I just shrugged and gave him the hint that she had rushed out of the hall a few minutes ago, maybe she had been on her way to the toilets or something. Without hesitating for long, he simply ran off in the indicated direction. When I thought about it, perhaps the Hat should have put HIM in Gryffindor. He must be truly brave to search for Bella. After all, it meant that he could run into the troll. On the other hand, according to the Sorting Hat, one could find "true friends" in Slytherin, which could also explain Zane's search mission.

However, I wasn't particularly pleased that he was befriending the very person I was getting on with least at the moment. I simply didn't know what to make of it all anymore.