Parallel Universe No. 996, "Harry Potter."
September 1, 1986.
Ben Nevis, in the western highlands of Scotland, within Lestrange Manor.
"Miss Hydrus Lestrange,"
Norson Gray, dressed in a butler's uniform, bowed to the eleven-year-old Hydrus.
"You have turned eleven this year, but the Hogwarts acceptance letter has not arrived."
Hydrus shrugged. From the day she decided to hide her abilities, she had expected this.
"Mr. Gray, is it because I've been confirmed as a Squib that you're preparing to kick me out of the manor?"
The eleven-year-old girl had ink-black hair, and her large, black-gem-like eyes overflowed with spirit. A sweet smile adorned her delicate little face.
Her composed attitude moved Norson Gray. If this young lady were not a Squib, if she could have fulfilled the promise of the talent she had shown at birth...
"No, Miss," Norson said, pulling out his wand and pointing it at Hydrus. "Although your parents are in Azkaban and cannot send any messages, I believe they would absolutely not tolerate their daughter being a Squib."
The tip of his wand elegantly drew an arc. "So, go and meet Merlin, Miss Hydrus!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
A green light shot out, missing Hydrus but scorching the surface of the purple velvet sofa black.
Hydrus had already rolled away, diving into the open space to the left of the sofa.
She quickly got up and assumed a defensive stance.
Excellent reflexes and a powerful body had allowed her to dodge the Killing Curse.
But why would a sheltered young lady possess such impressive physical prowess?
It was because for eleven years, she had incessantly dispersed the magic from her magic circuits into her limbs and bones. This caused her magic circuits to remain constantly empty, without a trace of magic.
This made her appear to be a Squib.
But because her body was constantly being nourished and strengthened by magic, its current durability was comparable to a 4X magical beast!
...
Seeing Hydrus agilely dodge the Avada Kedavra, Norson's eyes narrowed. With a flick of his wand, a red light and a yellow light shot towards the girl in succession.
As the butler, Norson Gray had free access to the Lestrange family library, so his magical skills were quite formidable, estimated to be on par with Lucius Malfoy in a fight.
But the spells missed again.
The young girl ducked low, dodging while trying to find an opportunity to close the distance to Norson.
Hydrus believed that with her strength, the moment she got close, the fight would be over instantly!
Before she was transported to this world, she was a die-hard fan of Zhang Weili. Obsessed with the UFC, she had trained hard in mixed martial arts for a full two and a half years!
Although she gave up due to a complete lack of talent, the skills she had learned were now incredibly potent in her current body, making her a force to be reckoned with!
"Mr. Gray," Hydrus asked while dodging the flying spells, "is your action today your own, or is it on behalf of the Gray family?"
In Norson's view, no matter how talented the eleven-year-old little Squib was at fighting, she was doomed to die before him, so he didn't hide the truth.
"Rodolphus and Rabastan are both locked up in Azkaban, and as the sole Lestrange heir, you happen to be a Squib."
"Those two gentlemen are never getting out! Rather than hand over the Lestrange family fortune to a Squib like you, it's better for our Gray family to take it over. That way, the glory of a pure-blood family will not be tarnished!"
Hydrus pursed her lips. The glory of a pure-blood family? Wasn't it just simple greed at work?
Whether Hydrus was a Squib or not wasn't actually important. Since the Gray family had set their minds on it, as a young, powerless girl, she had no way to stop the Grays from gradually usurping her property. (Of course, this was just the Gray family's perspective).
But now, she just happened to be a "Squib," giving Gray a legitimate excuse to act.
First, he would kill her, then spread the news that Hydrus Lestrange was a Squib, and everything would be settled.
A crude method, full of holes?
Not a chance.
'We simply expelled the little Squib from Lestrange Manor. Whether she is dead or alive, how would our Gray family know?'
That's how the matter would end. No one would investigate further.
After all, the wizarding world never cared about the life or death of a Squib.
...
A Stunning Spell shattered an exquisite vase, sending shards flying.
"Hey! Norson, be careful!" Hydrus complained. "That was a Chinese vase from Louis XIV's private collection! It's worth over a thousand Gold Galleons!"
Norson waved his wand, his assault unrelenting, and replied with a smile, "You don't need to worry about that, Miss. From today onwards, all of this belongs to the Gray family!"
Hydrus was getting annoyed. If the Lestrange fortune was swallowed up by Gray, even if she made a triumphant return twelve years later, how much of it would be left?
This didn't align with her original plan!
The reason she pretended to be a Squib was simply to avoid the conflict between Voldemort and Dumbledore!
Having been given a rare second chance at life, wasn't it good to just live?
Eleven years ago, not long after she crawled out of the womb, she had a magical outburst that leveled the entire nursery and nearly blew up Bellatrix!
Because of this, Voldemort saw her as a treasure:
"Hahahaha, such powerful magic! This is a treasure bestowed upon me by heaven! Bella, raise her well! She will be my most powerful weapon against Dumbledore!"
It was terrifying!
Hydrus wet herself on the spot—literally—right in Voldemort's arms.
To have her life's purpose of confronting the great white wizard arranged by the Dark Lord from birth...
She would either become Voldemort's vanguard, meeting her end while clashing with Dumbledore and the Chosen One, or become a traitor in Voldemort's eyes, to be surrounded and prioritized for elimination by the Death Eaters.
Sigh...
'Can't I catch a break?'
And so, just after she was born, she immediately formulated a series of plans, which she named the "Survive Until After the Final Battle, Get Rich Overnight, and Climb to the Peak of Life" plan.
She would pretend to be a Squib!
This way, she could stay far away from the heart of the conflict—Hogwarts!
So she tried to disperse the magic from her magic circuits and integrate it into her body.
Don't ask how a newborn who had just been transported to a new world could do it.
The answer is simply a transmigrator's perk.
Things like double the mental strength, double the soul power, and so on...
It was risky, as no one had ever done it before. It was entirely possible she could have killed herself in the process!
But as the saying goes, an infant's potential is limitless!
Although Hydrus was reckless, she succeeded. Her body adapted to being suffused with magic and got used to immediately dispersing any magic from her circuits throughout her body.
While a Squib would surely be cast out of the family, that didn't matter!
As long as she lived in anonymity until after the final battle, by which time her cheap parents and uncle would be dead, she could reclaim her wizarding identity and immediately inherit the vast Lestrange family fortune!
No need to study hard, no need to fight to the death. As long as she could lay low until Voldemort was defeated, a lifetime of splendor and wealth would be hers!
It was too good to be true!
The plan had also been a success.
Hydrus did not receive an acceptance letter from Hogwarts. She was so happy about it she celebrated for several nights!
But now, her plan was about to be ruined by the Gray family.
'Damn it! I even fooled the Quill of Acceptance and the Book of Admittance at Hogwarts!'
But she hadn't accounted for human greed!
'The Gray family!'
'What happened to the loyal old butler trope?'
...
After dodging another Avada Kedavra, Hydrus's eyes lit up!
She had spotted an opening in Norson's defense!
Pushing off with her feet, she shot towards Norson like a cannonball.
With no time to cast another spell, Norson's eyes filled with panic as he could only watch the pink fist grow larger and larger...
Hydrus was ecstatic. 'So what if I can't use magic?'
'Victory will ultimately be mine!'
'Trying to snatch my family fortune from me?'
'Not a chance!'
'I won't give them a single Bronze Knut!'
...
"Impedimenta!"
A flash of blue-green sparks, and space distorted. Hydrus suddenly felt herself bound, the air around her becoming incredibly heavy, as if her body was trapped in a swamp.
Hydrus turned her head towards the stairs.
There, Norson Gray's nephew, Stevenson Gray, stood with his wand raised. He was the one who had just cast the Impediment Jinx.
'I was careless. I didn't expect Norson to have backup.'
'I'm just a little Squib. Was all this really necessary?'
Norson retreated several steps, slightly calming the panic in his heart. That had been a truly dangerous moment.
A savage grin spread across his face as he waved his wand, his words filled with smug satisfaction:
"A—"
'Farewell, Miss Hydrus!'
"va—"
'May you have a better life next time!'
"da—"
'I'll prepare a fine coffin for you!'
Crack!
It was the sound of Apparition.
A small, yellowish-green figure appeared beside Hydrus.
Seeing this, Norson grew frantic and quickly finished the spell: "Kedavra!"
Crack!
It was the sound of Disapparition.
The green light struck another large vase, costing the Gray family another thousand Gold Galleons.
But Hydrus was gone, leaving only Norson and Stevenson staring at each other in bewilderment.
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