"How much farther?" Lys stretched her neck and asked with difficulty.
Fred shook his head, then remembered Lys in front of him couldn't see, adding:
"I've only walked this twice, and one time I encountered Dementors after getting out and lost all sense of time, so I can't be sure."
"Fine, fine..." Lys sighed and continued forward.
"I once tried to get rid of him too—it was useless. That Karkaroff neither turned against him nor spoke up. My allegiance was completely pointless, and this mark on my left arm, even when I cut—I mean, I... cough, anyway, I've been trying to find ways, Fred."
"You have to believe I really hope we could be free. I'm just... I'm just somewhat powerless."
Lys's voice was very dejected.
Hearing this, Fred said nothing, only silently took Lys's hand.
But he quickly let go, because holding hands meant Lys couldn't move at all—this place was far too narrow for his tall sister.
Of course he knew. From the scenes he'd witnessed as a child pressed against the window, he'd known Lys would never abandon anyone in the family.
He remembered Mother's hand reaching for the door handle then trembling as it withdrew, remembered Father telling him about the origin of Lys's arm scars and her childhood, thought of Lys now under even more pressure because of him.
She would abandon herself before abandoning family, even when sometimes family didn't choose her.
But Fred didn't understand.
"Why? Lys, you clearly want freedom so much... if only we weren't here..."
Lys's back and legs ached from walking. Hearing this, she simply lay down to rest. The sudden intrusion into Hogwarts, searching for Fred, and rescuing people had all been too abrupt, leaving her somewhat exhausted.
Taking advantage of this moment, she said to Fred:
"You need to understand that the weight and value of anything differs in different people's hearts, Fred. I might not understand love, can't say I love this family or love someone or love myself, but I know what I'm holding that I want so much I'll never let go, no matter what."
"Besides... do you really think if I sacrificed and abandoned you all, I'd be free? Don't be ridiculous... it might be even worse than now..."
"Many things have prerequisites and connections—you can't take them out separately and ask if they're worth it. I only know that many things, once missed or lost, can never be encountered again or recovered. If you want something... you can't look back, can't hesitate."
"It sounds a bit short-sighted, but Fred, aside from not abandoning my studies in fourth or fifth year to take the whole family abroad, I've never really regretted anything else."
Fred tilted his mouth, somehow getting distracted... he remembered the song the Sorting Hat sang about the four houses at the start of term at Hogwarts...
Meanwhile, Lys ahead also hesitated. She had once weighed values when facing choices, considering whether to abandon Noah and let him embrace the death he'd always wanted.
But she couldn't allow that family to regress. If she wanted that family to continue as it was, the most basic requirement was not granting Noah's wish...
Somehow she thought of Sirius Black... that stupid dog sacrificed by his family, distrusted by his teammates...
So in the end, Lys still didn't say it. She worried that honestly revealing her choice to go against family members' truest wishes would damage Fred's image of her.
After the siblings' brief distraction, they maintained silence without saying more.
Looking at her pocket watch, Lys wanted to quickly get Fred out of here, but this place was really too low and full of turns everywhere! She couldn't walk fast and had no way to use Flying Arrow...
Fred suddenly gripped Lys's hand and cast a Disillusionment Charm on both of them, pointing at Gabon.
Gabon's head was staring straight at the path they'd come from, tongue flicking out. Lys pulled Fred to a recessed area in the passage and extinguished the light on Fred's wand.
Lys instructed Gabon to petrify anyone if she pinched its tail.
However, what she soon saw was the savior little Potter and his friends crawling forward, holding wands for light.
After they left, Lys learned from little Potter and crawled on the ground. Because Lys couldn't use her left arm for support, this position wasn't much faster than her previous crouching and bending.
But it certainly looked much better.
"Fred," Lys wiped her forehead and said very quietly:
"The savior escaped. Looks like you don't need to worry about Black-related problems for now."
Fred said nothing.
He was getting tired too, mainly because Gabon was so heavy...
But because Lys was crawling slower and slower, Fred simply put Gabon down to let it crawl by itself. Taking this opportunity, Fred checked on Cerebold in his bag—still fine, no major problems.
Slinging his backpack behind him, Fred continued lighting the way forward for Lys.
Lys struggled terribly crawling up that upward slope. She felt like a frog—a cramping frog...
She knew she was getting close to the savior and those little friends, but she couldn't curl up anymore. Now not only did her left arm hurt, her whole body ached.
After resting briefly and finally managing to work the kinks out of her legs in that narrow opening, glimpsing a bit of the scene through that ray of light, Lys directly used magic to pull herself out of that hole like a carrot.
She had to hurry. That person who was her only remaining support within the Death Eaters, or rather, Lys's only... friend from youth until now—
Severus Snape!
He was leaning against a wall, gasping, covering his bleeding neck while making the savior look into his eyes.
Silver-white wisps were even beginning to emanate from Snape's body.
Lys looked at the two staring motionlessly at each other and jumped over in two bounds. She would have preferred walking, but her legs were numb...
Shaking off the Petrification Curse from that bushy-haired little witch, Lys opened her mouth: "Idiot!..."
Then as she was about to say more, Fred's urgent, quiet voice came from behind:
"Lys! Lys! Shh!"
"Nagini seems to be nearby—Gabon's scared!"
Snapping her mouth shut, Lys kicked away the savior who was raising his wand at her, pulled away Snape's hand covering his neck for a look.
Though the wound had been enlarged by tearing or struggling, she could still tell it was definitely a snake bite.
Then her wand pressed against the wound, muttering incantations while dumping her entire bag on the ground. Lys fumbled one-handed for a potion and shoved it into Snape's mouth.
Fred behind her, holding Gabon, blocked a curse while desperately waving one hand and quietly explaining:
"We're escaping too—no need to fight! We're escaping too!"
What else could they do! Let Lys knock them unconscious?!
However, Potter heard the snake threatening them: "Boy! Put down your—hiss, hit me again and I'll bite you—hiss, I'm hiss venomous!!!"
The bushy-haired little witch stopped the tense Potter and red-haired boy, saying quietly:
"Her voice! She's the one who told us to get down and helped block the explosion!"
Seeing Lys appear, Snape's eyes blazed bright for an instant, but he still kept his gaze on Potter. "Take it! Potter! Take it!"
Snape was glared at by Lys: "Those are your memories and part of your soul! What happens to you if he takes them? Can't I save you first before discussing this?" Lys made some sounds from her throat that others couldn't understand at all.
But Snape's increasingly unfocused eyes still stared unmoving at the savior, so Lys didn't stop Potter from using the long-necked bottle the little witch handed over to collect those emanating wisps, even extending her wand to try helping.
Since this was what Snape wanted...
Lys's legs were severely numb, and she was somewhat anxious. Nagini's presence meant the Dark Lord was also there, and from these wounds, this was definitely Nagini's bite.
Her face wrinkled like old orange peel, her legs shaking from tension and numbness as if about to collapse immediately, but she still pulled out another hand to pour an antidote for Gabon'sVenom down Snape's throat.
"Try this—I don't know if it'll work, but it's all for snake venom that prevents blood clotting, so it should be similar."
Then she targeted a Blood-Replenishing Potion and shoved it directly to Snape's lips.
Suddenly the Dark Lord's voice piercing their ears startled both Lys and Fred badly.
One knee went soft, hand trembling, spilling the Blood-Replenishing Potion all over Snape's face just to quickly draw her wand and pull up a shield in front of herself.
The other quickly hugged Gabon tight and stepped sideways toward Lys, bouncing to distance himself from Potter.
However, this was just the Dark Lord's magical voice transmission...
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