"Do you consider us friends?"
Lucius tilted his head slightly, unconsciously raising one eyebrow, which made his expression appear inscrutable.
"Senior, I must say your ability to hide your thoughts isn't as good as Senior Narcissa's." Lys's calm voice made Lucius somewhat embarrassed.
"Ahem, Cissy she used to..."
Lys repeated her question as if for amusement: "No need to explain. Answer me—do you consider us friends?"
"Cough!" Lucius cleared his throat again to mask his embarrassment, his eye twitching involuntarily, but he nodded seriously.
"Good. I was beginning to think you had some objection to my red hair."
Lys pulled out a stack of letters from her pocket. "Some of old Thomas's secret hideouts from years past—I had people raid them at the end of last month. I'm not short on money now, so I used all those valuables to pay rewards. I sent some of what remained to the wife and daughter Thomas abandoned, but I discovered some rather interesting things that might help you not fear the Ministry so much."
Lys had indeed only remembered the Portkey she'd taken from the Thomas house long ago after her mark had burned, which led her to obtain these items.
Lucius squinted as he examined the letters' contents. Actually, he'd heard whispers about many of these matters before, and he even had copies of some correspondence, but clearing the Malfoy family's charges had been the ultimate purpose of those letters.
"The one conducting the searches is a Weasley. You should know about their family's..."
As he spoke, Lucius carefully examined those clear signatures and honorifics... correspondence with the Thomas family, who'd been crushed under Death Eater charges.
Lucius's initially raised head lowered again. "Junior, you really are... I truly must thank you properly. I'd already started disposing of my collection. They'd even begun to learn about this manor."
"What's the meaning of this search?" Lys suddenly remembered the portrait saying this inspection was different from previous ones.
Lucius paused. "This sort of thing happens every year. In recent years, the Ministry has been able to take less and less from me. I think some people are running short of pocket money."
His tone even carried some mockery: "And that Weasley might be venting for Dumbledore, so he's particularly thorough. After all, his wife's from the Prewett family."
Prewett... Weasley, Dumbledore?
Why did people and matters related to Dumbledore seem much more active lately? Had something happened?
Lys didn't know if she was being overly sensitive, but she decided to pay closer attention to British affairs during this period.
Nodding, Lys said: "Then I've nothing else and shall leave first. No need to see me out, Senior. Rest early as well."
Lys stood and walked toward the manor's entrance on her own.
But Lucius still insisted on seeing her to the manor gates, watching her Disapparate.
He returned to the reception room to ask the portrait about everything Starlys had done there, then sat in that chair, lost in thought.
Starlys's reputation had gradually risen over these ten-plus years, though not under her own identity. Whenever wanted notices and announcements appeared, Starlys would have some sought-after goods flow through her hands, making it hard not to connect her to these events.
But she was also cautious. Only in the early stages when building her reputation had she immediately fenced goods after taking action. Later, she always staggered sensitive timing so almost no one suspected her involvement. He only knew because of that question she'd asked: "Are we friends?"
Though they truly were friends.
But why did she seem so concerned about his family being searched? Could the recent rumours be true?
Unable to puzzle it out, Lucius shook his head and returned to Malfoy Manor. He'd promised little Draco he'd take him to buy new textbooks for school tomorrow.
Since those Dark Arts artefacts no longer needed disposal, perhaps he could still get some more sleep when he returned and wake up later in the morning.
Adequate, high-quality sleep was essential for maintaining one's skin in its natural optimal condition.
Clutching those letters from officials and nobles who'd once tried to gain favours from the Dark Lord through Thomas, Lucius satisfactorily smoothed back his hair.
Those ambiguously-positioned old foxes shouldn't refuse his Hogwarts reform proposals this time, should they?
He felt he could drink a few fewer bottles of Severus'sElixir of Glory this month.
Lys, upon leaving, didn't return to Germany but cast Human Transfiguration on herself and entered Borgin and Burkes.
Obviously, at this godforsaken hour, the owner wasn't working, so Lys simply removed the door and walked in.
Lys pulled out a bag of Galleons from her package and placed it on the counter before Borgin and Burkes. "The usual arrangement."
Borgin and Burkes, angry but not daring to speak, straightened his pyjamas and nodded, his dishevelled hair shaking accordingly. "Of course."
Borgin and Burkes—one of Britain's largest fencing ringleaders. She truly didn't know how he managed to have so many people find him just by standing behind his counter every day.
Lys glanced at the shelves. It seemed many people had been clearing out their collections recently...
Borgin and Burkes carefully placed a package on the counter. "These are the wooden materials they brought back from the East in those years. Though they obtained quite a lot back then, not much survived unruined—too many people didn't know their worth."
"Has anything happened recently? You've quite a few new items here."
Her left hand, clad in dragonhide gloves, pulled out a volume of Hogwarts history. Lys flicked her hand and tossed another small bag of coins onto the counter.
Facing his customer's inquiry, Borgin and Burkes maintained excellent professional standards, weighing the bag before answering: "There've been some rumours about Albania recently. The Ministry's somewhat on edge."
People with certain information channels had all heard rumours that Britain's Dark Lord was recuperating in Albania, waiting to make a comeback. This news wasn't fresh.
Lys nodded to indicate she understood, opened the package to examine the wood inside, then turned to leave.
By the time she made her circuitous way back to Germany, dawn had broken. Lys placed the wood she'd recently collected from various channels on Senna's materials rack and left a note.
After preparing breakfast and tending to the courtyard, she changed into loose wizard robes and sat down.
Heating a pot of milk for herself, she sat at the dining table and quickly polished off breakfast, then opened The Daily Prophet, which arrived a day later than in Britain.
On a nearby shelf, nearly half a month's worth of Daily Prophet issues and some information Lys had specifically collected were neatly stacked.
Taking a long breath, Lys set down that nonsensical rag. She was certain Britain wasn't suitable for Friedm to attend school—just look at those opinions and actions.
Even though the Dark Lord had been gone for over ten years, Britain's wizarding world still couldn't emerge from the shadows. Those opinions, those policies—they merely glossed over the surface whilst remaining dark, filthy, and cowardly underneath.
The struggle between light and dark hadn't ended with the war's conclusion. This was evident from Hogwarts'Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers over these years...
Lys's furrowed brow gradually relaxed when she saw Friedm enter the dining room with a tuft of hair sticking up at the back of his head.
Hey readers! 👋
Great news! HP: The Stellar Witch [OFC] main storyline is now complete on Patreon!
And that's not all - we've got 4 exclusive bonus chapters in the works that you won't find anywhere else!
Enjoy the read, and thanks for being awesome! 💫
👉 Join on -
patreon.com/DarkGolds