The atmosphere in the courtroom was utterly bizarre.
Some sat in silence.
Some sneered.
Some said the boy had been deceived by the Dark Lord—Muggles were just tool-using monkeys. Without the world's most wondrous power, magic, how could they possibly threaten wizards?
Others said the brother wasn't a good person either.
Some wanted to investigate St. Mungo's...
Too many people were talking. Lys's ears buzzed with indistinct noise. Even Dumbledore's firm, earnest voice was lost on her.
Tool-using monkeys? Lys slammed her back against the chair. Did they know that in the Dark Lord's eyes, the blood of these incompetent wizards was only fit for scrubbing floors?
The Dark Lord's speeches at every gathering were already seductive enough—who knew what else he'd whispered to them privately, what promises he'd made?
And herself?
Hadn't she once thought being a Death Eater wasn't so bad?
Suddenly bending forward to cover her face, Lys wondered why the Dark Lord couldn't just die completely when he died.
Whether killed by a one-year-old baby or some even more absurd method—
Completely... dead...
Could she make him completely...
No, no, no.
If the Dark Lord wasn't completely dead, who would be the one to die for real?
There were too many uncertainties.
She could only say the Dark Lord hadn't died completely, but she didn't even know if he was truly still alive.
The Dark Lord's magic was acknowledged as something that pushed beyond wizarding understanding.
Whatever she thought or did, even the slightest flaw or failure would let him find her!
Jerking upright, Lys's mind went blank momentarily—she couldn't even sort out what she'd just been thinking.
Her abnormal behavior caught the attention of certain people on the dais—Dumbledore, for instance, and the Wizengamot wizard who'd questioned her earlier.
The courtroom's chaos gradually returned to order under the chief judge's control.
The wizard who'd lost his wife loudly demanded whether there were other fish that had slipped through the net among those previously tried.
The chief judge stared at him, saying he wouldn't rule out the possibility, but asked him to present evidence. Only then did the man quiet down.
After all, his wife's death was suspicious too. He wanted to make a scene to display his grief, yet didn't dare let people truly scrutinize him.
Every face was visible to Lys as she looked up, waiting—waiting to retrieve her wand and hurry home with Gabon.
She was afraid...
Afraid of what?
Afraid of being discovered as a Death Eater and thrown into Azkaban, yet also afraid that without demonstrating "loyalty," she'd be hunted by the Dark Lord—who might or might not return, and when.
If possible, she'd even want to leave traces in Azkaban, but Lucius's representative had nearly jumped up: "Mr. Malfoy will kill you!"
Yes...
If a string of Death Eaters were exposed because of her, her parents would absolutely face retaliation.
She couldn't sacrifice her parents, her upperclassman, or anyone close to her just to ease her conscience and avoid retribution.
Impossible...
Her heartless, hair-pulling little brother would end up in the same hunted, threatened, impoverished hiding that she'd once faced.
That little Malfoy who wouldn't let her hug him would lose any future where his spoken wishes could be fulfilled.
Even Snape might be implicated, unable to continue researching his beloved potions...
Wait!
Lys suddenly looked up, taking a sharp breath. Snape had already had rumors circulating about him. Even without solid evidence, he bore the Snape surname. If he wasn't recognized as the Prince heir, wasn't acknowledged as nobility, his sleeve would be pulled up!
Lys inhaled again, her entire posture becoming oddly stiff.
He probably... didn't have the habit of keeping letters, right...
But Lys couldn't verify any of this. Her mind full of suspicion, she retrieved her wand and left the Ministry of Magic.
Standing at the Ministry entrance, Lys momentarily wanted to check on Snape first, but she restrained herself.
She Apparated to Diagon Alley first. After Noah and Senna discussed it, they hadn't sold the reading room shop. To avoid trouble, Lys hadn't stayed there before.
But now she needed somewhere to calm down.
Sitting in a corner, Lys spent a long time in a daze before locking the door, restoring the shop's protective charms, and heading to Malfoy Manor.
The entire Malfoy family was in the study at this hour. Narcissa had even placed Gabon where she could see him.
When the house-elf invited Lys in, she was led straight to the study.
Lucius worked busily, looking up to ask Lys:
"The Ministry has taken over the German affairs. What will you do next?"
Narcissa was also reviewing several documents, occasionally destroying sensitive materials.
Little Malfoy was being tended by a house-elf called Dobby, sitting in a wooden playpen to the side. Those blue-gray eyes immediately turned away upon seeing Lys looking at him.
Lys bent down, scooped up Gabon, and nuzzled him before answering:
"I want to stay in Germany."
Britain wasn't safe for Lys now. Not being betrayed was naturally best—she'd have a legitimate identity to live with. But if anything unexpected happened, being in a foreign country would give her more time to react.
Malfoy was noncommittal. Having someone with Death Eater-related exposure risks outside Britain, not under Auror surveillance, benefited him.
"My people reported you wanted to enter Azkaban? Why would you think that?" Lucius suddenly grew serious.
Lys lowered her eyes. "Do you believe the Dark Lord could truly be killed by a one-year-old Potter child?"
Silence...
Still silence.
Lys broke it first: "How is Severus?"
At this, Lucius's expression grew strange. "Him? Dumbledore took him away."
Lys's expression also became peculiar. "When?"
"This afternoon. I originally planned to..." Lucius began explaining his original plan while resuming his work, leaving much unsaid.
Lys understood—he couldn't be caught with evidence, or the Malfoy family fortune would become the Ministry's revenue source.
Though it nearly was already.
Lys listened while spacing out, absently stroking Gabon's snake head as she calculated.
So this afternoon Dumbledore had gone to take Snape away, not specifically to stop that Ravenclaw from exposing his family as hidden Death Eaters.
But why take Snape?
She couldn't understand—couldn't understand at all.
Lys unconsciously kept stroking, polishing the scales on Gabon's head until they nearly gleamed...
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