Crack!
The house-elf appeared on the shore of Loch Ness with Hydrus.
"Momo," Hydrus shrugged, "why did you save me?"
The house-elf named Momo stared at her with large, watery eyes and said timidly, "Little Mistress is the only heir of the Lestrange family. Momo is the Lestrange family's elf, so Momo must protect Little Mistress Hydrus."
Hydrus smiled. "But I'm a Squib. My parents would never recognize me as their heir."
Momo shook her head and said very seriously, "Little Mistress is not a Squib! Little Mistress has been deliberately channeling magic to all parts of her body since she was born! Momo saw it all!"
She looked up at Hydrus with great admiration.
"At first, Momo didn't know why Little Mistress was doing that, but now Little Mistress is almost as strong as a dragon. Only now does Momo know what a great witch Little Mistress is!"
"No one has ever been like Little Mistress, ever!"
Hydrus asked with a serious expression, "You can see the flow of my magic?"
Momo nodded. "It's faint, sometimes there and sometimes not, but I can roughly see a little of it."
Hydrus couldn't help but sigh. The magical aptitude of house-elves was so much stronger than that of humans. It was truly sad that such a race was reduced to being slaves.
"Momo, the Gray family and I have torn all pretenses apart. It's very dangerous for you to be with me. Aren't you afraid?"
Momo shrank back, her voice small. "I am afraid..."
But the next moment, as if something had encouraged her, she straightened her back and said loudly, "But Little Mistress Hydrus is very good to Momo, and even let Momo learn wizard magic! Momo will protect Little Mistress, even if Momo dies!"
'How does one test true loyalty? In times of poverty and distress.'
Hydrus smiled. Although her plan had hit a snag, gaining a loyal elf like Momo made her exceptionally happy.
It was as if a spring had suddenly opened up in her dry, cracked heart, and clear water was gushing out, nourishing and soothing her.
Hydrus patted Momo's little head and ordered, "Let's go, Momo. Take me to the old Gaunt house."
"The old Gaunt house? Yes, Little Mistress!"
Crack!
Momo appeared with Hydrus at the entrance of the Gaunt family's estate.
Before she was five, Hydrus often came here with her mother. Bellatrix would always leave her in the garden and disappear, her own whereabouts unknown.
So she was very familiar with this old, small estate.
And this time, she had come purely to retrieve the treasure she had buried here!
"Tsk, this place is even more dilapidated than before!"
Hydrus complained as she walked through the weed-infested manor.
The sculptures and fixtures in the garden were covered in moss, and the path was hidden by all sorts of plants, making it hard to see.
Relying on her memory, Hydrus quickly found three French holly trees arranged in a triangle.
"Momo!"
Hydrus pointed to the ground in the middle of the three trees and ordered, "Dig down from here!"
"Yes! Little Mistress!"
Momo very happily summoned a small shovel.
She snapped her fingers, and the shovel began to dig automatically.
Before long, a metal box, about ten inches long and wide, appeared before the two of them.
Hydrus excitedly took two steps forward. Without even taking the time to lift it out of the pit, she eagerly opened the lid.
However, the expected dazzling golden light did not appear. The box was completely empty...
'Huh?'
'Where are the Gold Galleons I put in here?'
'Where's the jewelry I put in here?'
'Where are the alchemical items I put in here?'
'Where did all my lovely, glittering treasures that should be in this box go?'
"Momo, my eyes might be playing tricks on me," Hydrus said, closing her eyes. "Can you check for me? Shouldn't there be a lot of treasure in the box?"
Momo opened her large eyes wide and hesitated. "Are you referring to the eight hundred Gold Galleons, two necklaces, and the 'Garland' III magical pocket watch that you hid here when you were six?"
Hydrus nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, yes, that's what I hid!"
Momo's eyes began to moisten, and she almost cried. "Little Mistress, you, you buried those treasures here for several years and didn't touch them, so Momo thought... thought you had forgotten about them... After all, every year there are little wizards who lose their parents' Gold Galleons playing treasure-hunting games..."
She shook her head vigorously, her large ears flopping back and forth. "So Momo... Momo moved those treasures back to your bedroom..."
Hydrus was speechless.
'That was the living expense money I prepared in advance!'
In her plan, even if she was cast out of the family, she was going to live like a noble lady!
'Whew...'
Letting out a breath, Hydrus patted her small chest.
'Calm down, calm down...'
Hydrus took another deep breath, then tried to make her voice sound as pleasant as possible. "Momo, tell me the truth, the batch of treasure I hid at Uncle Rabastan's manor..."
"Momo helped you retrieve that, too."
"The Black tea garden..."
"Retrieved."
"Under the tree in the backyard of the Mukka Potion Shop..."
"Momo retrieved that as well."
...
The more Hydrus asked, the more disheartened she became, her eyes resembling those of a salted fish that had lost all its dreams.
And the more Momo answered, the more flustered she became, until finally, she couldn't hold it in and burst out crying with a "Waaah!"
"Bad Momo! Bad Momo!"
She pounded her big head with her skinny little arms, tears flying everywhere like water from an open faucet.
"Momo ruined Little Mistress's plan! Momo is not a good house-elf!"
What else could Hydrus say?
The little thing had meant well.
"Alright, Momo, I order you to stop punishing yourself."
Momo stopped hitting herself, her eyes watery as she looked pitifully at Hydrus.
The little elf had hit herself so hard that several large bumps were already swelling on her bald forehead.
"Momo, the money is gone, it's gone. We'll just have to find another way," Hydrus said, making a 'C' shape with her right hand and cupping her chin, striking a Kudou Shinichi-like thinking pose. "But we need to figure out where we're sleeping tonight and what we're eating."
Momo trembled all over, wiping her tears hard, first with her left hand, then her right.
She wiped her soaking wet hands vigorously on her clean pillowcase.
She shouted excitedly, her already shrill voice becoming even more piercing, "Momo made a mistake, but Little Mistress is merciful and didn't blame Momo! So Momo must make up for the mistake! Momo will go get Little Mistress's treasure right now!"
"Little Mistress! Momo put all your treasures in the hidden compartment by your bed! Momo will go get them now!"
Hydrus wanted to stop Momo. After all, it was too risky to go back now. The Grays were surely searching her room for clues to her possible whereabouts.
If Momo dove right in, she would very likely "run into" the Grays in her bedroom.
However, the little elf's movements were incredibly fast. With a crack, she was gone.
"Sigh, I'll need to train her properly in the future. She can't be much help if she's this reckless."
Hydrus didn't dare to go far, afraid that Momo wouldn't be able to find her when she returned.
She looked at the old hovel. Inside that dilapidated house, with its rafters exposed, lay Voldemort's Horcrux: Marvolo Gaunt's ring.
As a place where Voldemort hid a Horcrux, the house was filled with traps. A normal person entering would certainly die!
Miss Lestrange let out a small, derisive laugh.
She laughed at Voldemort's ignorance, using the Resurrection Stone, one of the three Deathly Hallows, to create a Horcrux.
Crack.
Momo reappeared, her small body carrying a large bundle.
The pillowcase, which had only been tear-stained moments ago, was now charred black. Large patches of her skin were burned, and the sparse hair she had was completely gone, burned away.
"Momo!" Hydrus hurried forward to support her.
Momo managed a weak smile. "Little Mistress, Momo brought back your treasure."
"Momo, what about the healing spell I taught you? Hurry and use it on yourself!"
Momo's large eyes were drooping, almost closing completely. It was clear she was badly injured.
"Epis... key..."
However, before she could finish the spell, Momo fainted.
Hydrus frowned. 'With injuries this severe, I really hope nothing terrible happens!'
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Suddenly, three people Apparated near Hydrus.
The three were Norson Gray, Stevenson Gray, and Daniel Gray.
Daniel Gray was Norson's brother, responsible for the Lestrange herbology gardens.
Hydrus quickly ducked down. She was between the three holly trees, and the dense leaves and waist-high weeds concealed her figure.
'But...'
'How did the Grays know her location?'
Hydrus looked at the bundle Momo was carrying, and a guess immediately formed in her mind.
'Did they mix an alchemical tracking device in with my personal belongings?'
'Very capable, Gray!'
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]