Dumbledore looked at the person before him, then at the snake on her shoulder.
Under his gaze, Lys didn't know whether to set down her wine glass or finish the sip first.
She'd been sitting peacefully in the Black Bar, drinking and listening to others boast—who knew Dumbledore would sit down right beside her?
The moment the old man appeared in the bar, every wizard chose to leave. Lys swallowed her mouthful of wine, tossed two Galleons to the barkeeper, and fled as well.
Watching Stalys Black hurry away, Dumbledore shook his head and accepted a letter from overseas delivered by a broker.
How could Lys not run? One wrong move and she'd probably be kneeling before the Dark Lord tomorrow, explaining why Dumbledore had come looking for her.
Sure enough, Lucius was called in for questioning... because that bar was Malfoy property...
Lys decided to keep a low profile and hide properly, hoping to weather this wave of purges and suspicion among the Death Eaters.
Especially since this purge was led by Bellatrix...
Two days later at noon, a brown-haired young wizard walked in.
He ignored Noah's greeting and headed straight for Lys in the corner.
In a very low voice, he said: "Professor Dumbledore sent me to find you about last time." Then he mentioned something about pineapple and maple syrup.
Though Lys maintained a blank expression while staring at him, her eyes narrowing dangerously, her scalp was practically exploding with alarm.
What matter?!
Had she let the Bones children escape?
Had she cleared all innocent family members from target homes before receiving massacre orders?
Had she let Benjy Fenwick escape four or five times?
Or was it that batch of potions she'd sold to the Order of the Phoenix long ago?
Lys suddenly realized: Wait, when Dumbledore comes himself, he always uses Human Transfiguration to disguise himself...
Lys discretely cast a silent Revelio.
The spell's effect showed this person wasn't using any identity-concealing methods.
This was wrong—very wrong.
But Lys couldn't be certain. After thinking, she raised her wand and said:
"Get lost!"
Then she threw him out.
Regardless of whether he was truly Dumbledore's man, Lys had no intention of getting involved with them. She still remembered the Prewett brothers on that platform.
Dumbledore hadn't protected his own people.
Even when she'd saved those two Bones children, it was just a momentary lapse thinking of herself—if possible, she hoped someone would help her too.
As for anything more... she'd considered it, but looking at her parents, she lacked the courage.
That young man had only spoken that one sentence from entering to leaving. When he walked out of the reading room, Lys's heart skipped—she really couldn't tell which side he was on.
Afterward, Lys visited Malfoy Manor once.
After a long silence, Malfoy finally spoke: "What you did wasn't entirely without problems, but since the Lord hasn't required us to publicly reveal our Death Eater identities, it's not too serious either."
Within two days, that wizard's body was discovered by Aurors, with news published in papers for identification.
Lys silently applauded herself—well done, another crisis averted.
Recalling that wizard's behavior that day, she became increasingly certain he'd been controlled by the Imperius Curse. Since the Imperius was an Unforgivable Curse, anyone using it couldn't possibly be from the Order of the Phoenix.
This made Lys afraid to muddy waters or put on acts during subsequent Death Eater operations and meetings.
She didn't know who was testing her, so she remained half on edge.
With Regulus's hint, Lys noticed Bellatrix watching her like a hyena.
Lys sighed inwardly—so after her warning at Malfoy Manor, Bellatrix really had been seriously monitoring her.
From then on, Lys dared make no small moves, only staying in visible places daily to read, study, carve arrays, practice spells, and try finding ways to heal her arm without triggering the Dark Mark.
Senna would occasionally complain while brewing potions for Lys: "I've spent over ten years just making potions for you two—my own research hasn't budged!"
Though she complained, Senna's potions became increasingly precise and effective. She secretly strove to let Lys achieve maximum results with minimum potion consumption.
Lys could only smile and bring Senna more strange materials and rare recipes to study.
Noah had made a dragon-hide jacket originally for Lys, but the size was too small—she couldn't button it up. After getting Noah's permission, Lys converted it into a potion pouch and gave it to Snape.
Given Lys's polarized aesthetic sense, Noah had kept the jacket simple with just basic stitching and no decorations, making it easy to alter.
Snape looked disdainfully at the huge package and its contents, then coldly watched Lys take a stack of rare books and manuscripts from his shelf.
Was this woman treating his place as a library?
The second time Lys encountered Regulus in Knockturn Alley, she was startled—the boy reeked of death, as if he'd swum through corpses.
Lys carefully sensed it—this wasn't a scent her nose detected, but a strange magical fluctuation. After thinking, she found it familiar, quickly recalling that place Regulus had taken her after massacring Raveney Bones's family—that deathly silent Muggle village.
The two fluctuations shared some similarities. Given Regulus's previous gesture toward her, Lys hesitated before following and cornering him again.
"You... you know excessive killing damages reason and soul, right?" Lys asked uncertainly.
Seeing him nod, Lys walked away with frequent backward glances—something felt off about this boy.
That day at Lucius's place, seeing Regulus chatting with Narcissa, Lys approached and squeezed between them, forcibly cutting off their conversation. Soon Regulus went to the terrace for air, and Lys followed.
As for Narcissa's thoughts about Black family cousin marriages, Lys was completely oblivious.
"The dark magic aura on you is too strong—sitting too close to your cousin isn't good for her health."
Lys considered the Muggle villages the Dark Lord had Regulus handling recently, hesitated, then offered help.
"Is there anything I can do for you?"
"My mother's injuries are heal—" Before Regulus finished, Lys refused: "Impossible. Absolutely impossible. Even if our relationship is good now, it's limited to just us two."
"Don't worry, I meant Mother's injuries are healed. Though still weak, she no longer needs Blood-Replenishing Potions."
Lys's face immediately fell. Though she knew displaying "Why isn't your mum dead yet?" would offend people, she couldn't control it.
This was more deflating than learning that locket's secret.
While Lys struggled to control her temper, Regulus posed his question: what were the limits of soul damage?
He knew most books Lys had taken from his house related to souls. Even among Dark wizards, those who touched soul topics were outcasts—no one would openly advertise soul experiments.
So Regulus couldn't find anyone more suitable than Lys to ask such questions.
Lys, in a bad mood, replied: "Limits? I don't know. But if someone's sufficiently clear-headed—has any sense—they'd never harm their soul a second time after doing it once. Soul damage... is immeasurable."
She looked suspiciously at Regulus: "You haven't done anything to your own soul, have you?" Lys tried to see his eyes by looking at his head, but Regulus lowered his head. Lys's wand shot up, casting two detection spells on Regulus.
This sparked Regulus's interest—he pressed Lys about the spells and their casting requirements.
Finding no problems, Lys looked into Regulus's eyes and nodded—this boy definitely had issues... but it wasn't her concern. As long as he wasn't mad, they could still cooperate in upcoming operations.
But soon Lys experienced the madness flowing in Black bloodline.
Regulus came seeking help.
Looking at the coastline before them, Lys glanced questioningly at Regulus—what kind of place was this? Even the Dark Lord's dark magic aura wasn't as thick as here.
This rotting magical stench.
Lys looked at the unresponsive Regulus: "Why did you bring me here?"
Regulus stared blankly at the sea and rocks: "All the way there," he pointed far away, "these two years I've watched those Muggles die like livestock before my eyes—they're so similar to us, crying, laughing, protecting family, resisting. This is so different from what I learned before."
Lys didn't know why he was saying this, but instinctively felt she shouldn't hear what came next. However, as she tried to leave, a finger pressed against her calf.
It was the Black family house-elf, Kreacher.
Lys's face went cold. House-elf magic differed from wizards'—she wasn't confident about escaping unscathed, having never fought a house-elf.
She could only follow Regulus forward.
She sighed: "Regulus, you'd better not tell me anything inappropriate. Think of the Black family, think of the Dark Lord's methods."
Regulus turned: "Yes, Mother and I discussed the Black family's future, and she talked about you. Only then did I realize why Mother's tone held regret when mentioning you—you two share remarkably similar views."
He seemed to need thought before continuing: "You only use 'Lord' when facing the Dark Lord directly. You seem to have viewed everything clearly very early, while I..." He suddenly laughed self-mockingly. "I was immersed in past deeds, using the former him to explain present actions, but I can't deceive myself anymore."
"When that German wizard cured Mother in just two months, when Old Thomas died, I was forced to wake from the truth and ideals I believed in. That enlightened lord I'd pieced together had long since fallen into madness somewhere, sometime."
Lys sensed trouble: "Don't say more, stop talking! Just tell me what you need me to do."
But the boy across from her seemed unable to hold back—he desperately needed someone to confide in.
Lys helplessly covered her head—what was wrong with these people?
"I've glimpsed a secret. Don't worry, I won't tell you what it is now, but I truly need your help."
He judged direction again, pointing far away: "You're the only clear-headed, capable person I can contact without arousing suspicion."
Lys rubbed her ring, accepting this explanation.
Being a Death Eater was like this—though the Dark Lord didn't want everyone knowing each other's identities, eyes watched everywhere. Especially as the Black family's next head, too many people watched him. He was indeed isolated in some ways.
"Have Kreacher lower his finger—you know I dislike being pointed at."
Regulus signaled Kreacher to retreat, then told Lys what he needed: "That place has restrictions—only one person can go..."
"I won't go. I refuse all actions that endanger my family. I won't report you, but won't help either. Regulus, truth and ideals aren't that important—at least not to me."
Lys tried Apparating, only to find this place Regulus had brought her to severely restricted Apparition.
Seeing Regulus's helpless but slightly smug expression, Lys pulled out amber tablets, smashed them before Regulus, and Apparated away.
Leaving Regulus standing there, delighted.
Back in the reading room, Lys grew angrier thinking about it—everyone could target her, everyone wanted to use her! From top to bottom: Old Thomas, the Dark Lord, Bellatrix, Lucius, Regulus—would it never end!
But she hadn't expected the worst was yet to come...
Bellatrix had recently been fixating on Lys, so even Lucius couldn't always protect her from bloody operations.
Coldly watching a mixed-blood wizard family fall under her attacks, Lys took a deep breath. That blood-spattering scent pierced her nose and lungs, making every breath feel like torture.
Being dragged into killings unrelated to herself—this wasn't what she wanted to do...
She hadn't worked so hard to improve her strength just to become someone else's weapon.
"Please, kill me, kill me..." The tortured old wizard begged on the ground, having abandoned hope of survival, only wanting a clean death.
When Lys's wand pointed at the old wizard, she turned her face away, but Avada Kedavra's green light still reflected through her closed eyes into her heart.
She exhaled sharply, restraining the impulse to hex the mockingly laughing Bellatrix.
"Aren't you doing well! Practice more, and you'll become the Dark Lord's excellent subordinate, hahaha..."
Lys looked at this madwoman who never concealed her identity during operations, silently pondering when to hit her with a Memory Charm...
Preferably one that would make her forget Lys existed entirely.
Of course, what Lys most hoped was for Bellatrix to...
Never exist again.
She really was very annoying.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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