...
By the time grass and trees began to sprout, Lys could barely manage to use magic again. And if she used magic crystals, the burning thirst in her body wasn't quite as severe.
She brought that white crystal vial she'd never dared open—with the Horcrux inside—and emptied all the magic crystals she'd stored in Gabon's nest before returning to that seaside cave once more.
This time she also brought two large boxes of wizard blood stored in preservation containers, obtained from Knockturn Alley.
Even having seen it twice before, when Lys sailed across that sea of corpses again, she still couldn't help her legs going weak for a moment.
The Dark Lord was a madman she could never defeat.
A madman.
A lunatic with no future who had repeatedly split his own soul...
This concept was deeply carved into Lys's heart.
Setting foot on solid ground, Lys steadied her fearful emotions and began searching for her willow wand. She finally found the pocket-sized wand with its faint silver shimmer in a corner of the stone corridor and quickly tucked it into her left arm guard.
Then she reminded herself several times to always return her wand to its proper place after use...
After preparing herself mentally and defensively, Lys was ready to return the Horcrux to that pool.
She recalled the general shape of the chain before it was retrieved, then poured it into her palm.
But before putting it back, she hesitated. Looking down at the locket in her hand—if she could study it, perhaps she could master more abilities and gain more information.
It was all soul magic. Maybe she could conduct some soul-related experiments on it?
Perhaps she could research how to repair her own soul?
And this was the Dark Lord's Horcrux—acknowledged by Dumbledore as advancing certain magics forward.
It had even promised to teach her power. She would guard against it, and when she didn't need it, she'd seal it in the isolation crystal vial.
Yes... she just needed to be careful, and she'd know more.
When she possessed secrets unknown to others, when she had power enough to crush anyone—what troubles could she possibly encounter?
None.
That's what she told herself.
She faintly heard a voice: 'Even if you wished the moon would never rise again, what would be impossible?'
She decided not to put it back.
The Dark Lord was terrifying, a madman—but this was just an abandoned fragment of him.
As long as she wiped away all traces cleanly, and with her Occlumency skills, the Dark Lord would never suspect she had taken it.
To make the 'moon' never rise again...
Lys pinched the chain, trying to put it around her neck, but operating with one hand was truly difficult. She extended her left hand to separate the two chains pressed together.
Pain!
Broken bones grinding through flesh and blood—her mind snapped back to clarity!
A chill ran down Lys's back. She had no time to worry about maintaining the shape and simply released her grip on the chain. With a "plop," the locket created two bubbles as it sank to the pool's bottom.
Those arrogant thoughts completely vanished from Lys's mind.
Lys thought: Ah... my arm hurts so much!
And then... her defenses against mental magic were absolutely bloody useless!
After carefully confirming once more that she hadn't left anything behind, Lys returned to shore.
Standing on the shore, still uneasy, she checked again before boarding the small boat. After sitting down, she unconsciously went through her important belongings once more.
Lys had prepared to use magic crystals to make another desperate speed run, but when she sat in the boat, it slowly began its return journey without requiring her power. Lys couldn't say whether she felt disappointed or relieved.
She didn't know what factors caused this different outcome, but she had no mind to investigate—she just wanted to leave.
When leaving that sea of corpses, Lys silently said "goodbye."
It seemed she wasn't destined to become their colleague, and she hoped they wouldn't get any new colleagues either.
Only when she stepped onto the shingle beach did Lys exhale heavily. Finally, she'd resolved this major concern.
After all, that locket contained the Dark Lord's soul. If he truly discovered it missing, he'd undoubtedly turn the world upside down searching for it.
Lys walked far away, only stopping to eat and rest when utterly exhausted before continuing forward. Only when she felt she'd gone far enough did she board the Knight Bus to leave.
She'd arrived the same way—she felt like her boot soles had worn thin by a layer.
Returning to the reading room, Lys's first action was placing Gabon on her shoulder to prevent Cerebold from defecating on her head.
She was very tired and just wanted to sit down, drink some honey water, and not wash her hair.
This stupid bird was attentive to everyone except Lys—always fussing over Noah and Senna, even carrying nuts Noah fed it over to Senna's hands.
It just didn't understand why the mistress wouldn't eat the nuts it brought, only eating those from the bag.
Whenever Cerebold showed attentiveness to Senna and Noah, Lys would shoulder Gabon and glare at the bird.
This day, Lys finally caught it off guard and plucked one of the stupid bird's tail feathers. She found a stationery shop and had it processed into a quill pen.
Every day, Lys strutted about using that feather quill to write trivial notes, sending them everywhere and ordering things, just to irritate Cerebold.
Every time the bird saw its own tail feather made into a quill, it would fly into a rage while carefully protecting the notes—a performance Lys never tired of watching these past few days.
Noah, while tailoring Lys's clothes, sighed—how was it that Little Star seemed more childish as she grew older, still going back and forth with a bird...
This day, Senna went to Gringotts to store potions in her vault. When she returned, she asked Noah: "I only noticed today—there are several large chests in the vault's corner, all filled with Galleons... What have you two been doing?"
Noah explained. He'd always assumed Senna knew about Lys's small smuggling business in Knockturn Alley—after all, some of her experimental potion materials came through this channel.
But Senna just looked confused: "Weren't those gifts from Little Lunatic's school friends?"
Noah covered his face with a laugh and patiently explained everything. By the end, Senna's expression was thoroughly strange.
"Noah, do you know... all those years, how desperate I was trying to scrape together money for decent materials?"
Senna rarely spoke in this tone. She tilted her head back slightly, but before she could say more, Noah pressed her head against his shoulder and handed her a handful of nuts.
Lately, Senna had been very sentimental—he was already familiar with this kind of opening.
But fortunately, when not drunk, Senna wasn't someone who liked being overly emotional. Leaning against Noah's shoulder, she said nothing more.
Senna sighed, popping nuts into her mouth while opening a bottle of mead for a sip. She tasted it and checked the label. "Heh, it's even vintage..."
Thinking of how before Little Lunatic started school she could only afford the cheapest bulk liquor, Senna mocked herself—she'd certainly gotten sentimental lately.
"Tomorrow morning I want chocolate salted egg rolls and mushroom soup with mint beef."
Noah nodded at this odd combination.
Senna drank quite a bit that night. In the end, Noah escorted her back to her room.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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