Several years later
—July 1992
Lys was preparing to take Friedm, who had received two admission letters, to visit schools.
Though he was now an eleven-year-old boy who could no longer be grabbed by the collar and swung about by his sister, Friedm still obediently followed behind Lys.
"Lys, can I go to Durmstrang? I want to stay with you." Friedm had absolutely no interest in seeing Hogwarts.
Even though Lys was using academic exchange as an excuse to pull strings and take him there this time, even though Dad said Hogwarts was the finest magical school in the world, he wasn't interested.
Lys frowned as she looked at Friedm. She really didn't want Friedm returning to Britain. Recently, she'd heard some rather insubstantial rumours, and regardless of their truth, she felt Britain would likely be somewhat chaotic.
That day in June—she didn't know whether she'd had too much to drink or if it had actually happened—she always felt her Dark Mark had burned for just an instant.
She was afraid she wouldn't be able to look after Friedm properly.
Moreover, last Halloween at Hogwarts, a troll had broken in and attacked students, and the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor who should have been helpful had actually been the first to faint.
This forced Lys to recall the several times she'd nearly lost her life at Hogwarts.
"Are you certain you won't learn more before deciding?" Lys reached out to soothe Crunch, who had been jolted on her shoulder when she'd stopped suddenly, then asked Friedm seriously.
She still wanted to see which school Friedm would prefer before making a decision. If there were problems, she'd find a way to solve them.
"I'm certain! Lys, I only want to follow you!" Friedm's grey eyes looked earnestly at Lys.
Lys reached out with her left hand, clad in thin dragonhide gloves, and patted his head. "There are still a few days before the exchange quota is confirmed. You just make your decision. Wait in the shop a bit longer—I need to handle something, then I'll come fetch you."
She raised her gloved hand and gestured. A beautiful girl approached from the distance and bowed respectfully.
The girl wore a black suit with green embroidered patches—shirt, waistcoat, and jacket all crisp and immaculate. Matching trousers were paired with ladies' high-heeled dragonhide boots. Her long, straight, dark brown hair hung down her back, tightly bound with a black ribbon, and she clutched a rather lengthy blackthorn wand in her hand.
Vaguely, she bore a resemblance to how Lys had appeared the year she'd graduated.
Friedm ran enthusiastically toward Lulu. During full moon periods when Lys was busy, Friedm would stay in the shop with Lulu, and he was already quite familiar with her.
"Lulu, watch this lad. I'll be back in roughly"—Lys glanced at the time displayed on her wand—"half an hour to an hour. He's not to leave the shop." After delivering these cool instructions, Lys stepped out of the shop and Disapparated.
Appearing at the entrance of the Karkaroff estate, led by the butler, Lys met Menelquid, who had increasingly developed the bearing of someone in power over recent years.
This was Lys's second recent visit, still concerning that matter which disgusted her.
"I'll say this once more: my mother is a free potioneer. I won't allow her potions to gather dust solely on the Karkaroff family's shelves simply because you wish to help certain families monopolise the market."
Menelquid impatiently tilted his head. Here we go again. He couldn't pinpoint when it had started, but this intriguing little witch had become remarkably stubborn.
Yet she now possessed the capital for such stubbornness. Her peculiar magic had been whispered about in smuggling channels across different countries in recent years, even more eye-catching than her enormous magical power. She remained cautious, though, always wearing a mask to conceal her identity.
Beyond a select few, the world's impression of her was merely an ordinary assessment instructor at Durmstrang with modest assets.
Lys stroked Crunch on her shoulder twice. Only after hearing no response for some time did she glance up at Menelquid.
"I recall you used to be more... pragmatic, Miss Lamb." His tone carried ambiguous implications.
"Pragmatism is how the weak protect themselves. Besides, the Karkaroff family isn't that petty."
Menelquid suddenly chuckled. He remembered the girl who'd dared slam the table with him.
"Mrs Black's potions are still recommended to..."
"I refuse any action that would let my mother's potions gather dust. I'm confident Mr Karkaroff will devise a superior solution."
Lys paused thoughtfully. "Under your mediation, I've already ceased expanding channels and retaliating against those noble families. I can make concessions, but you cannot perpetually demand them of me."
Lys smiled with false pleasantry. "If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave, Mr Karkaroff."
After brief courtesies, Lys nodded to Menelquid and strode from the reception room. She walked directly past the woman shooting hostile glances her way, left the Karkaroff estate, and Disapparated back to the shop.
Lys's previously clandestine channels, operated through Lucy as a front, had overstepped certain boundaries, resulting in several families joining forces to issue her a warning. She'd nearly been murdered in that frigid land, yet she'd still managed to escape...
Because Lys's alternate identity remained well-concealed, they could only trace back to the identity she'd left behind in Britain. During that period, whenever Lys had time, she'd go smash those noble families' 'windows' and dismantle the protective enchantments around other family members' homes, causing all the old codgers in various families to be dragged from hiding.
Though Lys had nearly been killed by them, she'd been self-aware enough not to touch any actual family members or any of their ancestral homes.
Not only because those hereditary families possessed myriad dangers, but because doing so would fundamentally alter the conflict's nature.
It would shift from their aggressive monopolistic behaviour hindering her development to her threatening those families' very existence—making extermination entirely justified.
Regardless, Karkaroff had ultimately traced Lys's activities and mediated, allowing those families to preserve their dignity.
From that point forward, Lys's channels had become quite renowned. Apart from those established old families, Lys's secret networks had become many people's second choice.
Returning to the shop, Lys stepped inside.
Lulu maintained her characteristic manner of never speaking when silence would suffice, never uttering two words when one would do.
Friedm, meanwhile, chattered endlessly to her about his various fluffy pets.
Seeing Lys return, Friedm immediately bounded over. "Lys, are we going home now?"
Lys raised her wand again to check the time. "Lulu, the ledger."
Lulu swiftly fetched this quarter's accounts and handed them to Lys. Only after Lys had Disapparated away with Friedm did she manage to squeeze out:
"Business was excellent this quarter."
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