Like holding a balloon, Lys floated her little brother above her head as she followed Senna to the wizard who sold books.
Looking at the books on the stall that radiated dark magic auras, Lys was momentarily dazed. Was Germany really this relaxed about dark magic? Selling dark magic books openly on the street, with two children squatting nearby reading them.
How different from Britain, where you'd have a crowd condemning you before you'd even done anything with a book.
Snape was born in the wrong country... That was Lys's only reaction at the moment.
Senna pointed at two books displayed on the stall, signaling Lys to take a look.
Lys was drawn to the books, while the book stall owner was captivated by Frie floating peacefully asleep in mid-air.
"Such steady magical flow—to let a tender, sensitive infant rest so comfortably within it that he sleeps peacefully. This kind of magical control is quite extraordinary."
At this moment, Lys was frowning as she confirmed with Senna whether this book truly contained what she wanted.
"But Mum, what this book discusses isn't really..." Lys glanced at Noah, who was checking whether Frie needed a diaper change. "This is a hair growth potion recipe, Mum. I don't think it's very reliable."
Then she held up another book. "This one talks about controlling corpses, not maintaining the freshness of flesh materials."
Senna's vocabulary mastered through the dictionary still had quite a gap with practical application. Frustrated, she scratched her head. "I'll buy them anyway—I've come here twice already!"
She even grabbed several more books in exasperation, planning to buy them all. Taking them home to decipher with the dictionary would be worthwhile too.
Lys efficiently pulled out money, but the stall owner didn't take it. He stared at Frie above Lys's head and asked his question: "Such steady, flowing magical circulation—you look so young. How old are you?"
Lys blinked, not understanding several of his words. The other person rephrased, and Lys answered: "I'm... twenty."
The other person looked at Lys with an expression of disbelief, thinking this foreigner with a child was just being evasive. He silently took the money from Lys's hand, packed up the books, and handed them to Lys. Noah took them from the side and stuffed the books into the basket originally intended for Frie.
Actually, Lys wasn't being evasive—she really was only twenty.
Even if her current appearance didn't look much like that of a young maiden, her magical control wasn't something that improved with age.
Just look at what she'd experienced during her childhood and youth when her magic was rapidly growing. Before Lys came to Germany, she'd gone for such a long time without using magic at all. When she controlled it again, her magic seemed even more vivid and present.
But... she really was only twenty...
Lys shrugged helplessly and glanced at Senna, who had been laughing almost to death this whole journey.
The group, with their floating purchases and Frie, entered a shop selling clothes and fabric. Lys saw something that interested her in the corner. After glancing at her parents who were discussing diapers, she quickly bought it, shrunk it, and tucked it into her robes.
Having bought fabric that pleased Noah and wizard robes that fit Lys, the family of four finally set off for home.
Because Frie was asleep, they didn't choose to Apparate but decided to walk home leisurely. After all, the magical pressure during Apparition would make a sleeping or just-awakened little child very uncomfortable.
Back in her room, Lys guiltily took out what she'd bought—a corset.
But she had no intention of wearing it. Lys was very clear about the harm wearing a corset would bring to her body. She just... just felt a bit uncomfortable inside.
Setting fire to the thing in front of her, Lys dusted off her robes and lifted her head. Hah—after her last show of authority, who would dare call her an ugly British woman?
In September, Lys returned to Britain once.
Because a batch of materials didn't match the contract description, Lys needed to see what was wrong.
When she arrived at Malfoy Manor, Lucius wasn't there. Lys was chatting with Senior Narcissa about some boring topics, trying to find something new to talk about. Just when Lys couldn't keep up the conversation, Lucius returned.
Silence spread among the three. Narcissa pressed her hand to her chest and took a breath: "I'll get some Calming Draught."
Looking at the disheveled Lucius, Lys tentatively asked: "Still haven't found what the Lord is looking for?"
Lucius, clutching his forehead, tried to force himself to maintain his posture, but seeing Lys slouched in her chair leaning toward him, he unconsciously relaxed a bit.
The agony of Crucio was truly unbearable—he felt like there was a knife stirring his ribs inside his chest.
"Can't find it. The problem is we're not very clear about what exactly the Lord wants to find. But the Lord's target is very specific—whether it's a person or object, it's in the hands of the Order of the Phoenix."
Lucius already knew from previous letters why Lys had returned to Britain. "I'll handle that shipment. You'd better stay in the guest room these few days and not go out. Right now everyone has been instructed to confront the Order of the Phoenix. If you show yourself and attract attention, you'll be assigned tasks too."
Lucius took the potion Narcissa brought and swallowed it, looking somewhat better. "The nobles have all paid no small price. Right now nothing is more important than what the Lord is searching for."
Lys's mind became confused for a moment. The Order of the Phoenix? Wasn't it Regulus? Or had Regulus gone to find his brother?
But Lys couldn't get an answer. She simply stayed quietly at Malfoy Manor for a few days, attended one Death Eater gathering, then returned to Germany with the documents Lucius gave her.
When Lys stepped onto German soil, she unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. On this return to Britain, she'd seen the silent Diagon Alley, the terrified Ministry of Magic, and Lucius kneeling to kiss the hem of the Dark Lord's robes trailing on the ground.
She saw the youngest Lestrange son tortured by Crucio until he was like a dead dog.
She saw... saw the once-proud nobles whose eyes had sparkled with cunning now prostrate like branded slaves across the floor...
She saw the Dark Lord's face, pale and waxy as if melting, his blood-red eyes, the eerie green light at his wand tip, and the Daily Prophet filled with death and photos of the Dark Mark over houses.
And actually, these signs had already appeared before she joined.
She couldn't imagine what those Slytherins had said to Regulus in the common room and on that rocky shore back then...
That fanaticism for Slytherin's last bloodline, the admiration and reverence for his wisdom, talent, and ability.
She couldn't see it anymore—all those things were gone. Even when Lys was still at Hogwarts, these things seemed to be disappearing bit by bit.
Those prostrate people weren't invisible either—they just couldn't escape.
Standing outside the German Department of International Magical Cooperation, Lys considered herself rather fortunate.
She took a deep breath of German air, and for a moment actually felt this air had a different flavor.
The freedom to be herself?
Lys exhaled that breath. Until the Dark Lord's damned thing was found, she'd better behave herself.
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