September 3, 1986, 7:00 AM, clear skies.
Year of Bingyin, Month of Bingshen, Day of Gengxu, Hour of Chen.
The Star God for this hour was the Azure Dragon, and the fortune was ominous.
Of course, foreigners didn't understand any of this.
A public Thestral carriage departed from the station by Swansea, Wales, flying toward London.
Inside the carriage sat one of the Grays: Siwang Gray.
He was clutching a box tightly to his chest.
A Weight-Reducing Charm had been cast on the box; otherwise, the load of Golden Galleons inside might have crushed Siwang's old bones.
Leaving the station, the carriage flew higher and higher, hiding itself in the clouds.
This was currently the safest method of transport, almost impossible to intercept.
In all of history, the number of Thestral carriage robberies was less than five!
And just look at who had intercepted Thestral carriages in the past!
Gellert Grindelwald, Voldemort, and a fire dragon.
One must understand, Thestral carriages flew at extreme altitudes, far beyond the maximum height achievable by a flying broomstick. Ordinary wizards couldn't manage such a feat.
Besides, this was the heartland of England. How could someone possibly intercept a Thestral carriage here?
Right?
Siwang Gray glanced out the window. The weather was decent. There were some clouds, but it wasn't likely to rain.
Even inside the carriage, rainy days were still unpleasant, especially when flying.
He caressed the box in his lap as if stroking a lover's smooth skin.
"Ah, Golden Galleons," he sang, "you are so intoxicating!"
This kind of public carriage had no driver. The Thestrals knew the way themselves and would deliver the guest to the destination—the Thestral carriage station in Diagon Alley—accurately and on time.
Otherwise, Siwang wouldn't have done something so socially cringeworthy.
He was over seventy this year; he still cared about his dignity.
"That's a lovely song," a girl's voice suddenly came from outside the carriage. "If I recall correctly, old sir, you are named Siwang Gray?"
Siwang was startled. He immediately turned to look out the carriage, but there was nothing there.
Pop!
Five seconds later, inside the carriage, a person suddenly appeared opposite Siwang Gray.
"Good morning, diligent old Siwang."
Siwang Gray's pupils contracted. How could he not recognize the person before him?
It was his former young mistress, now hunted by their Gray family, Hydrus Lestrange.
He had heard that Norson Gray and Daniel Gray both died because of this little girl. It was very dangerous to underestimate this little Squib.
Siwang immediately went on full alert. He had firmly memorized the clan head's instructions—Hydrus was a bizarre girl.
"Isn't this Miss Lestrange? Good morning, my esteemed young lady!"
Hydrus accepted Siwang's bow with a grin. If not for the fact that Siwang's hand, hidden beneath the box, was gripping his wand tightly, one might have thought this was a master and servant on excellent terms.
"Siwang, if I remember correctly, you were already with our family when my great-grandfather moved from Germany to Britain... Hmm, it seems you've always been in charge of our potion garden in Wales. I'm not mistaken, am I?"
Siwang smiled and nodded.
"The young lady has an excellent memory. That's right. I have served the Lestrange family for a full fifty years."
"How nice," Hydrus said. "Unfortunately, the output of the potion garden you're in charge of began to shrink annually fifteen years ago. Last year's income was less than a third of its peak. I wonder if you have any explanation for that?"
Siwang shook his head. "No need to explain, Miss. I believe that is the payment our Gray family deserves for our hard work."
He jiggled the wooden box, and the Galleons inside made a clattering sound. There was clearly a significant amount. Hydrus was drawn in by the pleasant sound and narrowed her eyes.
'Yes, that's the sound. It's truly intoxicating...'
Siwang's voice was sincere, like a grandfather looking out for his granddaughter. "It's just that, seeing you all alone, you must be quite lonely. I'll take the liberty this once and gift this entire box of Galleons to you!"
Hydrus laughed. "These Galleons already belong to my family. You're using my family's things to 'gift' to me. Isn't that a bit much?"
Siwang shook his head. "It doesn't matter who the Galleons belong to. Right now, I'm giving them to you!"
As his voice fell, Siwang threw the box of Galleons at Hydrus while simultaneously raising his wand—"Avada—"
In his mind, Hydrus would inevitably deal with the box first, creating an opening, and would then be struck by his Killing Curse.
However, the box of Galleons simply floated in mid-air, and his wand arm couldn't move an inch, as if an invisible, powerful hand had seized his wrist.
The box floating in the air moved aside, allowing Siwang to see Hydrus's face.
The girl looked completely relaxed, her eyes faintly glowing with magical power. One of her hands pointed at the box, controlling it as it slowly landed on the seat; her other hand was pointed at Siwang's wrist, stopping his casting.
'Lord patriarch, this is the Squib you all spoke of?'
'Are you kidding me?'
"Aiya, old Siwang, you have too much of a temper," she flicked a finger, and Siwang's wand flew into her hand. "It's not a good habit to just toss around 'Avada' all the time."
"If the Ministry of Magic found out, you'd be locked up in Azkaban."
Hydrus toyed with Siwang's wand, saying nonchalantly, "At your age, if you were locked in Azkaban, you probably wouldn't have many days left to live, right?"
Siwang's face was now ashen, and cold sweat dripped from his forehead like rain. Outside the carriage, the sea of clouds was calm, but Siwang looked as if he'd been caught in a downpour.
Even though Hydrus was only eleven, the pressure the young lady exerted on him at this moment was no less than facing old Mr. Lestrange himself!
In this instant, Siwang felt the threat of death! This girl would actually do it!
Of course she would. Who could possibly understand the pain Hydrus felt at the loss of her beloved (little money)?
Seeing Siwang trembling like a quail, not daring to speak, Hydrus shook her head. "To thank you for working so hard for my family for so many years, I've thought about it, and I'd better not send you to Azkaban."
She picked up the box of Galleons and stuffed it into a small sachet hanging from her neck.
'Is she leaving?'
Siwang let out a sigh of relief. 'Good riddance, good riddance. It's best this little plague star leaves quickly!'
If the Galleons were stolen, they were stolen. At worst, he'd be reprimanded by the patriarch, but at least his life was saved.
"Ah," Hydrus said, as if making a new discovery. "You just sighed in relief! Did you just sigh in relief?"
Siwang froze. His heart stuttered. 'She's not going to let me go?'
He watched as Hydrus's eyes suddenly turned into waxy, vertical pupils, and emerald-green scales grew over her exposed skin.
'A snake?' Siwang thought.
He'd heard Norson was killed by venom spat by Hydrus.
However, when two pale green dragon horns sprouted from Hydrus's forehead, Siwang was stunned.
'Is that... a common Welsh Green Dragon?'
Hydrus's dragon claw lifted Siwang's wand.
With a gentle squeeze, CRACK, the wand shattered into splinters.
Hydrus glanced at the broken wand core. "Ah, dragon heartstring!"
She opened her hand, and the wood fragments and the greyish-black dragon heartstring fell onto the carriage floor.
"Well then, old Siwang, I wish you a pleasant journey!"
Hydrus shot skyward, punching a hole through the roof of the carriage.
The carriage shook violently. By the time it steadied, Siwang had collapsed onto the seat... That was terrifying.
Suddenly, Hydrus's voice came from the broken roof. To Siwang, it sounded like the Grim Reaper ringing a soul-summoning bell.
"Oops, I think I've caught a cold. I think I need to sneeze."
"Achoo!"
A thick gout of dragon's breath sprayed down from the roof, severing the connection between the carriage and the Thestrals.
"Oh dear, my apologies, old sir. I accidentally broke the carriage," Hydrus said sarcastically. "You definitely know the Levitation Charm, right? The wand is in the carriage, remember to use it. Otherwise, you'll die, you know!"
"AHHH—!!"
The carriage, having lost its propulsion, tumbled spinning from the sky. In moments, even its shadow had disappeared.
Hydrus didn't think Siwang Gray possessed the ability to cast wandlessly, so she had no interest in flying down to see the carriage wreckage and a pile of meat paste.
And those black, skeletal Thestrals? They continued to fly straight toward their destination.
—Their master's order was to fly to the destination. As for what happened to the carriage behind them—the Thestrals couldn't care less.
Hydrus hovered above the clouds, a smile on her face.
That was the first carriage. Next up, there were three more!
After free-falling for five seconds, she switched back to her house-elf's magical constitution.
Pop!
Hydrus vanished from mid-air.
Today was bound to be a day of heavy losses for the Gray family!
At this hour, the Star God was the Azure Dragon, and the fortune was ominous.
What a coincidence.
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