Lys drew a breath. Dumbledore could be so certain...
Then it seemed truly only that snake and little Potter remained.
Looking at the now-blank portrait, Lys found two empty bottles to collect some of Snape's memories, carefully storing them before leaving the Headmaster's office.
Just as she was about to find a window and jump out—
"Clang-ting-ling-clatter, clang... Sorry, Black."
Lys pulled back her foot from the windowsill and turned toward the familiar suit of armor now gripping a two-handed sword.
Its sword tip struck the base fixing it to the floor, the metallic voice ringing out:
"Freedom."
Lys thought for a moment, then blasted apart the temporary fixing charm at its feet. She sighed and repeated:
"Freedom..."
Then, as if mocking herself, she laughed briefly. Lys flicked her wand to conjure a hood and mask over her head and face before jumping from the windowsill.
The freed armor also gripped its two-handed sword and leaped after Lys from the eighth floor.
Lys landed gracefully with Flying Arrow, while the armor rolled once on the ground clutching its sword before rising on one knee in a forward lunge.
Could the castle's protective magic make the armor smarter and more agile?
Glancing questioningly at the armor standing behind her, Lys headed toward the Forbidden Forest.
She had to see whether little Potter had actually stepped forward.
When she and the armor stood together at the castle entrance, she saw the Dark Lord emerge from the Forbidden Forest, showing off as he carried Harry Potter's corpse.
The Dark Lord announced with barely contained excitement:
"Ahaha! Harry Potter is dead!"
Lys felt a mix of dark satisfaction and regret as she mourned Potter briefly, then fixed her gaze on Nagini coiled around the Dark Lord's shoulder.
Little Potter had gone to his death...
That left only... Nagini...
That snake...
That snake whose scales she'd personally tended while fighting nausea.
That snake that might be the Dark Lord's final anchor.
It reeked of fractured soul, yet in this moment it mesmerized Lys.
Gabon seemed to sense Lys's intense emotions too. Instead of quickly lowering her head as usual when seeing Nagini, she craned forward to look, her forked tongue flicking in and out as she fixed cold eyes on the other snake coiled around that detestable wizard's shoulder.
Behind Lys, more people gradually poured from the Great Hall. She heard Professor McGonagall's shriek.
The wailing that followed was deafening—they were all mourning Potter's death...
But Lys's eyes held only that black-robed figure with the snake on his shoulder.
The Dark Lord whose words were pulling down the banner in wizards' hearts.
She pulled the potion she'd taken from Snape from her bag and poured it into her mouth.
Just then, chaos erupted—sudden upheaval!
Many wizards poured through the outer walls to support Hogwarts, a mighty force.
Two giants began fighting each other nearby for some reason.
Centaurs and strange house-elves instantly filled the clearing.
Among the giant beasts and Thestrals, Lys even spotted a sphinx.
Roars and shrieks filled everyone's ears.
Curses exploded overhead.
The Dark Lord's proclamation was drowned out.
But none of that mattered now...
As chaos erupted, Lys squeezed Gabon's tail tightly. With Gabon's petrification, the curse Lys had been brewing between her lips shot out violently.
But Lys was amazed to see a young man ahead of her wielding a sword, severing that snake's head.
Her curse's beam missed, passing through the gap between the separated head and body.
Her curse had missed, but...
A shriek identical to the diary's death cry reached her—Lys didn't miss it at all.
Her wild "Hahaha" laughter made the Hogwarts students and staff, already wary of this hooded wizard, back away further.
But it didn't matter much—from the clearing before the castle gates to the Great Hall inside, everywhere people were fighting. They couldn't get far anyway.
Staggering two steps in place, Lys raised her wand toward the Dark Lord.
Now she completely forgot she'd only come to look and then quickly escape with Fred.
Potter was dead.
Nagini was dead.
Her mind was filled entirely with "The Dark Lord can truly die now."
Her fear!
Her longing!
Her freedom!
The shadow that had covered most of her life now stood before her. Her deeds were exposed—she'd be hunted either way.
So why not, before being hunted, let her try.
Just try...
Her heart trembled, but Lys's curse rang out clearly:
"Avada Kedavra!"
Unfortunately, the sickly green curse from her sneak attack was blocked by a silver shield the Dark Lord summoned.
Already enraged by Nagini's death, the Dark Lord drove back the three people surrounding him and pointed his wand at the attacker—
Lys.
He narrowed his eyes sharply: "Black!"
Lys's wand tip trembled, but she still fired her curse.
Using Flying Arrow to quickly dodge the Dark Lord's curses and the serpentine magical bindings formed from his power, Lys shook the Fiendfyre serpent from her wand to the ground.
But this time the little snake didn't burn wildly with borrowed magic, growing enormous.
Instead, it became smaller and more solid, lunging fiercely toward the Dark Lord!
This was Lys's new understanding and application after Gellert Grindelwald had lifted the curse's restrictions for her.
"Lacero!"
As the runic curse left her lips, Lys's left hand also drew her willow wand from her waist.
Generous magic poured out, trying to counter another of the Dark Lord's attacks—magic like black mist.
Barely, but successfully.
However, while distracted, Lys's Lacero lost its overwhelming force. After breaking through two silver shields, it ultimately couldn't breach the Dark Lord's defenses.
After mutual testing, the two figures exchanged two more curses at extreme speed.
The Dark Lord's narrowed eyes relaxed, revealing a trace of contemptuous smile.
Lys drew a sharp breath, holding her wand in confrontation with the Dark Lord.
Those few seconds made her clearly recognize the gap between them was still considerable, but she didn't want to give up. Such chaos might be the best opportunity.
The Dark Lord looked at Lys, lightly tapping his wand:
"I should have thought of it. Everyone in the Black family except Bella has this problem—timid and hesitant, offering only a small portion of their loyalty, always thinking of self-preservation yet all being clever."
The Dark Lord extended his pale hand—like he'd been dead for days—toward Lys, palm open.
"The Dark Lord forgives you, red-haired Black girl. Stand by my side, support me, offer your submission again... I'll give you what you want. After today, the Dark Lord will be the true king. Think what you'll gain?"
Seeing the Dark Lord completely expose her identity, Lys simply made her hood and mask vanish entirely.
Someone cried out in surprise—no one had expected that someone who dared and could trade blows with the Dark Lord was a seemingly young witch.
Even acquaintances called out their various names for Lys: "Oh! Tork! Look, it's our senior!" "Starlys!" "Professor Rahm?!" "That Black!"
Watching Lys raise her wand to deflect a curse that had bounced toward him, the Dark Lord continued: "Look at your crude magical usage now. You still need some tempering and guidance."
"Black! Tell the Dark Lord! What do you want... The Dark Lord grants it to you."
With a flick of his hand, the Dark Lord struck down a witch nearby—part threat, part show—and stepped menacingly closer to Lys.
Lys's eyes twitched but she didn't retreat a step. She was working hard to gather her magic—the potion she'd just drunk was taking effect.
"What I want? I want peace! I don't like being forced to kill! What would I gain? Crucio like a dying dog? Instead I'd lose the freedom to be myself. And you actually dare target my mother and my brother! What I want is my freedom!"
Lys flicked her hand, directing the magic-replenished little snake to attack again.
The Dark Lord, displeased with Lys's defiance, launched his own assault.
Lys defended desperately. She was puzzled—why had the Dark Lord's attacks on others seemed relatively weak, yet when it came to her, his magic was so powerful!
But she still shrieked during the gaps:
"What I want is your death! Will you give me that?!"
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