Lys's words made Lucius change his approach—he wouldn't be satisfied until he'd devoured every last morsel of the Thomas family.
Otherwise, the Death Eater expenses that might fall on his shoulders could suddenly shatter the Malfoy family's financial chain.
Moreover, the Dark Lord's intention was to avoid making Thomas's disappearance too abrupt, drawing unnecessary attention. So Lucius orchestrated quite a performance.
First, he arranged for Young Thomas to shine with the Noble Bloodline Protection Act, burning through some inconsequential favors to get Thomas's section passed.
Then he leaked Thomas'sDeath Eater identity to Bartemius Crouch—the most ruthlessly impartial head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Bartemius Crouch was one of the few Ministry officials who openly opposed Voldemort's faction. His hardline approach and methods had earned considerable public support, making him the strongest contender for the next Minister for Magic.
When such intelligence reached his ears—about capturing a recently notorious Death Eater—he couldn't resist acting on it.
He conducted a discreet investigation and discovered that the Thomas family had been involved in plenty of bloody dealings over recent years. Nearly half the goods they circulated on the market were problematic.
He issued a search warrant, preparing to raid the Thomas residence.
This was exactly what Lucius wanted—Crouch's official Ministry search warrant. While Old Thomas was busy relocating goods, Lucius had his people completely empty both Thomas warehouses.
Lucius drew considerable blood from Old Thomas during his subsequent floundering.
During a Death Eater operation, Young Thomas was ruthlessly set up by Lucius and Lys. The leading Auror, Alastor Moody, wounded him severely. Within three days, Young Thomas was dead at St. Mungo's.
Old Thomas, insisting on getting his son to St. Mungo's for treatment, exposed the Death Eaters' next plan. Still reeling from his son's death, he was then savagely punished by the Dark Lord.
A few days later, Mrs. Thomas and her daughter published an obituary: Old Thomas had committed suicide.
But would someone so inherently cunning really take his own life?
No.
It was Lys.
She slipped into Thomas's bedroom at midnight. To avoid triggering the family's magical alarms, she brought Gabon along, having him petrify Old Thomas.
She moved aside the pillow he'd instinctively reached for—Lys suspected it was a Portkey—then stood by the window and chatted with Old Thomas for a while.
The longer they talked, the more disgusted she became. This man who couldn't even remember her name properly was the same bastard who'd pushed her into the Death Eaters...
"If you die, your wife can take your youngest daughter and rely on Gringotts vaults to keep the Thomas name and bloodline going a while longer. But believe me—if you don't die, Lucius will, with the Dark Lord's tacit approval, bleed the Thomas family dry to the very last drop of value."
Old Thomas was initially furious, swearing in his heart that this insolent Black would regret her words forever! But when he saw the letters Lys traced in the air with her wand, boundless terror consumed him.
She was right, but Old Thomas didn't want to die. He wanted to ask the Dark Lord directly—after all these years of dedication, pouring his heart's blood into service, staining himself with gore, and losing his heir in the process.
Now to be casually informed of his death sentence by some young upstart—his heart rebelled!
But under the petrification effect, he couldn't even draw a proper breath. Time crawled by in silence. When the moon moved to the window's center, Lys tilted her head and asked, "Have you decided?"
As the petrification weakened, Old Thomas managed to ask, "Did the Dark Lord order you to take my life?" Seeing Lys shake her head, hope hadn't even begun to rise before it was brutally crushed.
"This is the Lord's requirement for Lucius. I'm just Lucius's muscle."
The Dark Lord had orchestrated Abraxas Malfoy's death with his own hand, and now had Malfoy's son arrange his own ending...
A tear slipped from Thomas's eye corner. He tried to struggle, but it was useless.
He couldn't understand it. Abraxas Malfoy had died for constantly contradicting and obstructing the Dark Lord's commands and arrangements, but he hadn't done that—he'd even invested the family's ancestral property and savings in the Dark Lord. Why was this happening now?
"Do you have any last words? I can let you leave a will or something." Lys held Gabon as she inquired.
Time was almost up. If Lys hadn't wanted to test something, she wouldn't have handled this personally.
Old Thomas pulled out a key and placed it on the table, then wrote a long piece with stiff fingers—only to tear it up himself.
On the second sheet, he left only a few words before dropping the quill: "I don't want to die, I don't want to die... I really don't want to die. I know your family's situation—I have considerable assets overseas, secretly acquired. Spare me, just let me leave Britain alive, and I'll give you half! I'll leave a will and magical contract—you'll have access to the Thomas vaults, and no one will ever know!"
Lys stared in amazement. She'd been moved by the genuine family affection and detailed instructions in Old Thomas's first letter, only to have him immediately demonstrate what "unpredictable human nature" meant.
"You should know what treatment your wife and daughter will receive. If you leave and they have no vaults to depend on—you know your family will be stripped clean by both the Ministry and Lucius!"
Lys glanced at the bold "I don't want to die" on the second letter, pursed her lips, looked at Old Thomas muttering "I don't want to die," then raised her wand to restore the first will.
She shook her head at Old Thomas. "The more I see people like you, the more I admire my mother for extending her hand to me and my father back then. Tsk." Clicking her tongue impatiently, Lys forced a bottle of poison down Old Thomas's throat—Snape's contribution, since Lys's own poison brews were never quite successful enough to kill anyone.
With her wand's movement, Lys adjusted Gabon's position—he was interfering with her performance. The spell translated from that book she'd used as shield and stepping stone in second year flowed from her wand tip.
Lys wielded this magic far more smoothly than in fifth year. As the incantation poured from her lips, her magic followed immediately. Soon Old Thomas closed his eyes and collapsed onto the bed, unable to make any more threats or pleas, falling into a dream of unknown content from which he'd never wake.
Looking at Old Thomas lying naturally upright on the bed, Lys placed the will properly, hesitated briefly, then pressed that key on top of the will as well.
Afterward, Lys carefully observed herself, using her wand to cast two detection spells on her own state. Now she was certain—taking another's life did indeed affect the soul.
She was currently under that influence, though not severely enough to tear her soul apart. At most, it caused some negative effects: arrogance, coldness, and extreme emotional swings.
Any soul-affecting influence was amplified at least twofold on her, but now it was only a slight manifestation.
So perhaps she'd been overly nervous before, too superstitious about what she'd read in books?
A cold smile curved Lys's lips. She cast spells to erase her traces and prepared to leave, but Gabon's tail kept brushing against her hair.
She impatiently scolded Gabon: "Don't cause trouble at a time like this!" Then she suddenly froze.
Why was she being impatient with Gabon?
Lys swallowed hard and activated the ouroboros ring on her middle finger. As that coolness flowed through her entire body, she finally noticed what Gabon wanted her to see—a very small, blank picture frame in the corner!
Lys's nose went cold with perspiration. Even though she wore a mask, she was supposed to create the illusion of Thomas's suicide. She certainly didn't want the Ministry issuing a warrant for her arrest!
Her first reaction was to quickly review tonight's cover story in her mind—no major flaws, at least she had something to report to the Dark Lord. But she felt lingering fear—the consequences of murder were truly terrifying, both frightening and troublesome!
She didn't have much brainpower to begin with, and after killing someone, she had even less...
She quickly double-checked the scene, then took the picture frame with her.
While climbing out the window using Arrow Flight, she suddenly slapped her thigh—she should have asked more about those overseas assets!
Having resolved a burden on her heart, Lys returned to the reading room and exhaled deeply, cautiously drinking a small sip of soul stabilizer.
It was only during Lucius'sVeritaserum incident that she'd discovered her resistance to potions. This wouldn't do—potions were her ultimate medical recourse. If she ever desperately needed them and they proved ineffective, that would be a major problem.
Before Mrs. Thomas issued the obituary, Lys had also figured out the picture frame in her hands. It posed no threat to her—just a simple blank frame. The magical fluctuations disguising it as a portrait were actually concealing two other items: a key ring and a reusable Portkey.
But Lys didn't rashly test the Portkey's destination. She didn't need to take that risk. She tossed the frame and its contents into the box inside the wall, then restored the wall's surface.
Lys sat back in her corner, checked the time, and when it was time to compress magic crystals for Gabon, she cast protective spells around herself and began compressing magic by hand.
By dinner, Lys had compressed several crystals and placed them in Gabon's nest. She noticed the white crystals were being consumed quickly lately. Since she hadn't been out recently, she'd visit Knockturn Alley tomorrow to check the ledgers and order more supplies.
The next day, walking through Knockturn Alley's narrow passages, Lys carefully observed a figure ahead—she vaguely thought it looked like Regulus.
Watching him get rebuffed by various brokers, Lys found it somewhat amusing. The Black family heir should have had dedicated channels—he'd probably never personally shopped in these places before. Seeing him rejected repeatedly...
After some thought, Lys followed to greet him and see if she could help.
Lys followed him through a small alley and was just about to call out when she suddenly lost sight of him around a corner.
Without looking back, Lys immediately cast a protective spell and fired a Forced Manifestation Charm at the strongest magical fluctuation. Regulus wasn't weak either—they exchanged several spells before Lys's wide-cast magic caught him.
With a wand pointed at him, Regulus's face beneath his mask grew tense:
"Who are you?"
Though he raised his hands in apparent surrender, exposing his wand to show harmlessness, a button on his cloak flashed darkly as he spoke.
Correspondingly, the cufflink on Lys's wrist shattered.
"I just came to collect something and saw you, was about to call out, but you attacked first." Lys slightly raised her hood to indicate who she was.
"Why didn't you call out earlier? I thought someone was following me." Regulus seemed to relax slightly, though he sounded somewhat accusatory.
Lys brushed the cufflink fragments from her sleeve, somewhat helpless: "How was I supposed to call you—let everyone nearby know you were here shopping? Or just yell 'Hey, brother of that mutt'?"
Regulus shook his head, lowered his hands, and turned to leave, but Lys called after him: "What are you looking for? I know this area well—need help finding anything?"
Regulus seemed hesitant, but realized that if Lys asked those people, she'd learn what he was seeking anyway, so he simply asked directly.
Regulus said he wanted to find some information.
Nodding, Lys thought you asked the right person. She immediately led him to an old witch.
Carrying her purchases, Lys stepped out of Knockturn Alley's low doorway, not forgetting to remind Regulus: "Your alchemical items are too distinctively family-styled. If necessary, you should tidy up before going out."
Two gray dogs, stars, and swords—the Black family crest. Every Black family item tried to showcase their identity and status, which was rather conspicuous in a place like Knockturn Alley.
Carrying the crystals from Knockturn Alley, Lys returned home and nicely decorated Gabon's nest. But Gabon was displeased that Lys had gone out without taking him along. His stubby tail tip kept stirring things up, making a complete mess of the nest. Lys quickly took Gabon out for a walk, even visiting the pet shop to buy a pile of eggs and strange creatures.
The pet shop owner suggested Lys take Gabon out to practice hunting and release some energy: "Though this type of snake is naturally lazy, only eating without moving isn't good—it might cause digestive difficulties and emotional instability."
Lys had a sudden realization. After informing Noah, she took Gabon to the forest where she'd once caught gorillas, letting Gabon play outside those gorillas' territory for two days.
Lys's playful mood emerged. She summoned her silverback gorilla Patronus and charged into the gorillas' territory, watching them stick their bottoms up while searching everywhere for her vanished Patronus, sitting on the ground scratching their heads when they couldn't find it. Lys laughed until tears nearly came.
But soon she couldn't laugh anymore. Gabon had swallowed a piglet, his belly bulging so much that Lys couldn't carry or shoulder him at all...
As evening approached, Lys controlled Arrow Flight to float Gabon beside her while she stood atop the forest's high branches, watching the clouds turn brilliant red in the sunset.
She turned to look at the half-moon and its surrounding faint stars, raised her hand between the two, watching the light from her opal ring and labradorite beads change with each breath.
As long as there was light—any kind of light—she would keep moving forward.
Lys would never allow anyone to close her door and throw her back into darkness.
She lowered her hand, pushing away those thoughts. As for how to move forward? How to keep going? She'd figure it out when the time came.
For now... she didn't know either.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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