The Dark Lord's dissatisfaction with Lucius had grown increasingly severe lately, making Lys's situation more precarious as well.
Fortunately, when Lys appeared at Malfoy Manor, she often sat beside Nagini, and those watching her were somewhat deterred by the serpent's presence.
If Malfoy lost his position, Lys's circumstances would become far more treacherous.
Watching Lucius's clumsy Imperius Curse, Lys released his collar and snatched the wand from his grasp: "Imperio!"
Even wielding an ill-suited wand, Lys's Imperius made the traitor who'd been mocking Lucius slam his head violently against the stone wall.
"Lucius, do you believe that if I commanded him to die right now, he wouldn't even struggle?"
But what Lucius heard was: "Lucius, if you can't bloody learn this, believe me—I'll kill you myself!"
"So I said having you cast the Imperius..." Lucius suddenly paused.
"I mean, you casting it would make the operation prone to errors, after all..." Lucius considered carefully, "you lack... subtlety."
The wand Lys had been pressing against his ribs beneath her robes finally returned to his hand.
This was their agreement—Lys could be trusted and relied upon by Lucius, while Lucius needed to keep Lys from deeper trouble as much as possible.
Lys was upholding her end brilliantly, but Lucius had failed his part of the bargain.
"Once they return safely from Azkaban, others will handle these tasks..." Lys drew a steadying breath. "Provided none of them target me."
Lys had always been straightforward. She'd extend help to others because she craved assistance in return.
But Lys didn't necessarily require the world controlled by someone like Dumbledore, forever preaching about moral absolutes.
She didn't particularly care how others lived—as long as she and those she cherished remained unharmed. Lys's sense of right and wrong had never been sharply defined, especially when current circumstances forbade such clarity.
The prison break... unleashing those blood-stained monsters back into the world.
Lys felt nauseated, but voiced no objection.
She simply wanted to wait—wait for it all to end.
Or wait until she could...
Wishful thinking.
The Dark Lord had recruited several more Death Eaters. Lys had observed them—all ordinary fools.
When they smugly earned the privilege to sit at the same table with Malfoy and Snape—men they'd once envied—Lys sat curled on the steps beside Nagini, feeding her chunks of fresh meat.
She'd groomed Nagini's scales until they gleamed with health, and when the serpent slithered from afar, subtle iridescence flickered across her coils.
The Dark Lord remained noncommittal about this arrangement, but no longer prevented Lys from approaching Nagini.
Particularly after Lys extracted two bean-sized parasites from Nagini's scales—a discovery that left everyone present, including the Dark Lord, looking rather green.
Lys sat on the steps, carefully removing excess blood from the meat chunks to prevent Nagini from dripping unidentifiable fluids while feeding.
Listening to the Dark Lord's silken voice outlining his schemes and the sycophantic responses from below, Lys desperately wished to brighten the lamp overhead. The oppressive gloom did nothing for her deteriorating mood.
But she couldn't. Since his return, the Dark Lord seemed obsessed with shadowy environments, keeping Malfoy Manor—where he frequently resided—perpetually dim and suffocating.
Placing the final meat chunk before Nagini, Lys murmured, "Next time I'll catch you something alive to play with properly."
Under the pretense of scale inspection, Lys examined Nagini's body again. Spotless, nothing unusual. Lys couldn't fathom what caused that distinctive stench of rending souls emanating from the serpent. She'd never heard of living creatures serving as Horcruxes...
Perhaps constant proximity to the Dark Lord had... marinated her essence...
Despite her confusion, Lys didn't forget to add, "Excellent, very healthy. Hopefully those parasites won't return."
Seeing the meeting nearing conclusion, Lys quietly withdrew.
She donned a mask and descended to the dungeons, bringing meager sustenance to the prisoners. "For survival's sake, no method brings shame. Why persist in this?"
Only silent darkness answered from within the cells.
Lys sighed deeply. "I hope that among all you possess, what you're clinging to now truly matters most. Don't live to regret it."
Lys detected faint rustling, but within seconds, the darkness returned to absolute silence.
She couldn't identify the occupant, but when Lucius had hurled the mutilated prisoner into the dungeon, Lys had glimpsed his Ministry badge—Unspeakable.
After departing the dungeons, Lys found a random forest and captured prey. After comparison, she selected the healthiest specimen for Crunch to torment through half the night.
While Crunch toyed with its victim, Lys re-examined the collar around its neck, replenished the magical crystal in the pendant vial, then collapsed onto her bed for brief rest.
Upon waking, Crunch lay straight beside her, belly distended from digesting the previous night's entertainment.
Lys sat up, observing the table's crumbling bread and milk-stained cup, rubbing her stiff, numbed arms as she rose.
Nearly seven o'clock—Lys hastily washed and flicked her wand. Scattered bread slices leaped into the cleansed cup, crumbling themselves, while bottled milk steamed from the cupboard and poured itself in.
Lys perfunctorily bound her hair with magic and quickly consumed the glutinous breakfast. Knockturn Alley business awaited this morning, Nagini's feeding this afternoon. Time pressed urgently.
Mr. Borgin watched his departing customer's silhouette, collecting counter coins into his strongbox. He peered cautiously from his shop in all directions before quickly resealing the door, awaiting his next appointed client.
Lys weighed her newly purchased materials, glanced around, and Disapparated.
She retrieved Noah's inherited vault key, depositing a substantial coin pouch into the long-emptied chamber. The attending goblin informed Lys that without use for another six months, the vault faced reclamation.
Lys nodded and dry-heaved. The goblin immediately retreated from her vicinity.
Settling nervously back into the cart, Lys discreetly opened a potion vial and pilfered waterfall water while passing through the Thief's Downfall.
Perched on Gringotts' front steps, Lys endured suspicious, disgusted goblin stares while consuming two cups of magically-summoned peppermint water before recovering.
"Bloody cart..." Muttering complaints, Lys returned to her reading room for recuperation.
Watching Crunch crawl toward her, Lys embraced the serpent, reflecting that only such creatures could stabilize her fraying emotions.
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