Remembering she still needed to check on Lulu's mother's progress, Lys walked back to her room, extinguished the lamp, and stayed out for the night.
Lys hadn't given advance notice, so the protective wards around Lulu's house remained active. She spoke the magical password before entering.
Seeing lights still on in the house from a distance, Lys knocked on the door, waited two seconds, then pushed it open.
Unfortunately, her timing was off—Lucy wasn't home, only Lulu was there alone.
The moment Lulu realized someone had entered her home, she immediately raised the pine wand in her hand.
Finding this amusing, Lys didn't reveal her identity. Instead, she drew her wand to test the child, discovering that Lulu's progress had been remarkable—her understanding of spells was excellent.
Due to some unknown obstacle, Lulu could barely pronounce incantations, except for "Impedimenta."
And sometimes, though Lulu would shout "Impedimenta," her wand would produce entirely different spell effects.
Impedimenta seemed to have become a catch-all term for Lulu—essentially meaning "spell."
Lys effortlessly deflected the magic, testing Lulu's abilities, then satisfactorily pulled back her hood.
Lulu lowered her wand, her face flushed red, but still couldn't say a single word. Lys pulled out some Honeydukes sweets she'd gotten from Noah and placed them in Lulu's hand, patting her shoulder to signal she'd done well.
After analyzing Lulu's combination of several minor hexes and a few not-quite-standard Dark Magic spells, Lys praised her again.
Unexpectedly, Lulu's face turned even redder.
She pulled over a stool for Lys to sit on, eagerly bringing out the lists her mother had compiled over the past few days for Lys to review.
Lulu pointed at the lists, clearly wanting to explain them to Lys, but Lys watched her quietly and still heard nothing.
Lys gestured that it was fine, then looked down to read. Based on her recent time mingling among Germany's upper circles, Lys could make educated guesses about some of the goods and sellers' identities on the list.
Picking up the quill from the table and dipping it in ink, she tried to make some notes. After drawing one line, she realized it was the same color ink as the list's handwriting. Lys frowned.
Lulu beside her quickly drew her wand and tapped it against the ink bottle, straining to change the ink's color to an unusual shade of red.
Staring at the quill tip, Lys said: "Magic is the extension of your will. When you truly possess this ability, the more you believe, the more magic can fulfill your desires."
"Well done. Keep it up." Lys hesitated but still used the color-changed ink to mark the list. Soon, the page looked as if someone's blood had been spilled on it and partially dried.
It looked familiar, but Lys couldn't remember where she'd seen this color before. Replacing the quill in the ink bottle, Lys prepared to leave. Before departing, she asked Lulu about her preferences regarding wands.
Lulu simply pointed longingly at the blackthorn wand Lys wore at her side.
Lys smiled, indicating she understood.
Planning to prepare two emergency Portkeys for Lulu—after all, a child alone at home wasn't very safe—Lys left the house, reinforced the protective wards by twenty percent, then Disapparated.
A few days later at a routine reception, Lys was idly tapping the table edge, about to call a server for a drink, when she spotted someone completely unexpected—
—Lorolyn Aibo!
"Hey! Has the Aibo family's business expanded to Germany?" Lys asked the plump girl in the corridor.
Lorolyn looked somewhat puzzled at the witch before her, seeming confused about who this was, but when she saw that large fat snake, she pointed at Lys in surprise.
"Oh! Oh! Oh! Merlin's beard, Stalys! Long time no see~" Lorolyn was just as enthusiastic as she'd been years ago.
She downed her wine in two gulps and set the glass on a decorative stand in the corner. Behind Lys, a server discreetly cast a spell on the glass, sending it to its proper destination.
Lorolyn grabbed Lys's arm and looked her over curiously. She was considerably shorter than Lys, and looking up, she seemed somewhat regretful:
"Oh! Though I'm not thin myself, Lys! What a shame... you know what I mean."
Lys shook her head helplessly. "Can't be helped—had some potion side effects that were quite severe recently, but at least I'm not continuing to gain weight now."
"By the way, has the Aibo family really expanded business to Germany recently?" This was what Lys was truly curious about. Had the Ministry's hub deteriorated to the point where trade required personal visits?
"Hey, it's just that business in Britain has become difficult. Came to Germany to have a look, and also to confirm that trade application we submitted last time..." Lorolyn looked rather embarrassed.
Lys thoughtfully gave her several surnames. "These families—absolutely, absolutely avoid contact with them. Either their goods are problematic or the people are!"
"Oh~ Goodness, my father said one of those families offered very attractive terms! I should have known—what could that short-sighted old man possibly understand! Thank you for the warning, Lys. Running into you is simply wonderful..."
Lys really liked this girl. During her early school years, most of her pocket money had come from collaborations with this generous, straightforward girl.
Lys smiled, then carefully inquired about what aspects of that trade deal had Lorolyn so puzzled that she'd had to come see for herself.
That trade application had been one Lys had carefully matched with a very suitable family—the profits were quite substantial.
And Lys knew that for the Aibo family, making an international trip these days wouldn't be easy.
"Oh! Honestly, when I was drafting that trade application, I left huge margins in the transaction prices specifically for later negotiations, but!" Lorolyn lowered her voice, "But I didn't even get a second look at that document before the collaboration was finalized!"
"Mother always says such large profits must be problematic. For my idiot brother's inheritance eligibility, I had to come confirm things, but that family's people actually said that, uh... the person responsible for screening trade documents had earnestly recommended our goods to them."
Lorolyn took another glass of wine from a passing server's tray and ordered a glass of milk for Lys: "I remember you liked drinking milk."
After sipping her wine, she asked Lys: "So do you know who this Miss Lam responsible for these matters is? I want to thank her properly! Though our family's goods are indeed excellent, this price is simply beyond our imagination!"
Lys picked up the milk before her and took a sip. "That's me... I changed my surname. Now they address me as Stalys Lam."
Lorolyn's chubby hand gripping the wine glass froze. "So you're... working for that gentleman?"
But before Lys's expression could fall, Lorolyn casually raised her glass: "Doesn't matter. Speaking of which, I had no idea you'd gotten married—back then you were so handsome you barely left any room for those men."
Lys stared at the girl before her for two seconds, then laughed heartily and began explaining: "No, I haven't married. It's just due to certain issues—I'm now using my mother's surname. My mother's surname is Lam."
After chatting briefly about other things, Lorolyn suddenly brought up her brother again: "You don't know—that boy El had a foreign girlfriend before and got scammed terribly. Mother nearly stripped him of his inheritance rights. Fortunately, that trade proposal with Germany was his responsibility, and your approval saved him some face, so now he's fine. He's already engaged to another girl and will be having his wedding ceremony soon. Will you come to the wedding?"
Seeing Lys shake her head, she continued: "That's fine too. International travel is such a hassle now, and I don't particularly like that woman anyway—too delicate, terrifyingly thin."
It wasn't until the banquet ended that Lys and Lorolyn exchanged correspondence details. Lys also introduced her to her underground channel, giving her Lucy's contact information.
When saying goodbye to her, Lys realized she wasn't suitable for contact with these British wizarding families determined to remain neutral—not even through letters. Judging from Lorolyn's recent reaction, it seemed everyone assumed her current position meant serving the Dark Lord.
She hoped Lorolyn wouldn't think she was unwilling to be friends with her.
After all, these staunchly neutral families conducted their business through the official Ministry of Magic's Department for International Magical Cooperation, not through the Malfoys or Lestranges.
That's why the Aibo family had taken such a risk to come confirm things personally—because... they didn't trust Death Eaters.
They hadn't even dared send their family heir over...
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