Hydrus's main purpose in coming to Diagon Alley was to deposit her money; she needed her own vault.
However, it now seemed she had a brand-new mission.
Get her hands on the money the Gray family was withdrawing, and while she was at it, disgust them!
Hydrus followed closely behind Selenis Gray. As expected, the Gray family's financial director entered Gringotts.
Going through the procedures, entering the underground vault, withdrawing the Galleons... This whole process would take about forty minutes to an hour.
During this time, she had plenty of time to prepare.
An entrance to Knockturn Alley was located diagonally opposite Gringotts.
Evidently, the entrance to Knockturn Alley was placed here because those dark wizards and unsavory types also had financial needs.
Hydrus walked into Knockturn Alley without hesitation.
As soon as she entered the dark, narrow alley, unidentified figures in black cloaks surrounded her.
"Yo, a little witch."
"She's wearing Muggle clothes!"
"Is she a Mudblood? Who cares! Those old perverts aren't picky!"
The whispers reached Hydrus's ears.
She sighed. This was the dark side of the wizarding world: a naked survival of the fittest. They couldn't even be bothered to put on a veneer of civility—if you were weaker than me, you deserved to be killed, robbed, and cheated by me.
"Are you lost, child?"
An old woman with a hooked nose and a face full of pockmarks approached Hydrus. When she spoke, her mouth full of rotten teeth stank.
A hand like a rotted branch grabbed Hydrus's wrist, forcefully dragging her, trying to take her away. "Come with me, child, I have many interesting toys at my place!"
Unbeknownst to Hydrus, the old woman had already broken the hidden capsule in her necklace. A confusion potion atomized, blowing onto Hydrus's face with her breath.
"Come, come, come with me!"
The dark wizards on the sidelines were all annoyed, hating that they had acted too slowly and let the old woman get to her first.
"Damn it, Old Ames got her first!"
"That old hag always strikes so fast!"
"Next time, let's not just watch, let's just grab!"
Hydrus, her wrist caught, kept her head down. She seemed to be controlled by the confusion potion, which made Old Ames extremely proud.
'This girl's skin is so smooth. If I extract her life essence, my own life should be extended by a few months!'
However, when she tugged, Hydrus didn't budge. Old Ames even felt like she was wrestling with a dragon.
Hydrus looked up, her yellow, vertical pupils looking at Old Ames mockingly.
The dragon scales appearing on her body made the old hag understand one thing: she had messed with the wrong person.
Crucially, Hydrus had replaced her Metamorphmagus constitution with her fire dragon one, restoring her original appearance.
Although her body was currently dragon-like, her facial features were still relatively clear.
"Miss Lestrange!"
Old Ames was shocked. She quickly bent over, assuming a deferential posture. "I didn't know it was you, I didn't know..."
The surrounding dark wizards scattered instantly, hiding in the dark corners of the alley.
"Quick, run! It's that wanted Hydrus Lestrange!"
"The Lestrange who killed two adult wizards and escaped the Aurors several times!"
The actual magical level of Knockturn Alley's dark wizards was very low. Even a "unit of combat" like Lucius Malfoy could cause a massacre here.
Therefore, Hydrus, who could kill two adult wizards, was a very powerful "dark wizard" in their eyes!
She was an existence they could not afford to provoke.
Old Ames didn't dare leave, remaining bowed, apologizing repeatedly, "I'm sorry, Miss! Please spare me, please spare me!"
"I never said I was going to kill you," Hydrus tilted her head. "You just wanted to kindly take me to play with interesting things, didn't you?"
Old Ames's face lit up with a smile, and she immediately seized the opportunity. "Yes, yes, yes! I just wanted to make you happy!"
'Good thing she's just a young lady, ignorant of the darkness in people's hearts. So what if she's powerful?'
'She seems so easy to fool!'
Hydrus nodded. "I just thought of something fun. Since you want to make me happy, I assume you'll cooperate with me, right?"
Old Ames suddenly had a bad feeling in her heart. She asked nervously, "I wonder... what you want to play?"
"Old woman, have you ever played 'fly high'?"
As her voice fell, Hydrus grabbed Old Ames's arm and hurled her into the air.
The old witch shot toward the sky like a rocket.
"Isn't it fun? Old woman?"
Hydrus, looking like she'd done a good deed and was seeking praise, shouted at Old Ames in the air.
Old Ames was already scared out of her wits.
'Easy to fool my foot! This girl was clearly toying with me!'
She flailed in mid-air, completely at a loss.
"Ahhh—"
She screamed as she fell. What little life she had left was scared half-gone.
Fortunately, she remembered she was a witch. Just before she hit the ground, she used all the learning of her entire life to cast a Hovering Charm.
Although it didn't completely negate the force, and she still slammed heavily onto the ground, at least she hadn't died on the spot. It was a blessing.
"Wasn't it fun? Old woman?"
Hydrus walked over, looked down, and asked again.
Old Ames, prone on the ground, could only see a pair of small, white leather shoes.
She couldn't see Hydrus's expression, but she knew that if her answer didn't satisfy Hydrus, this "ruthless" fugitive would do it to her again!
At that point, her old life would truly be over!
"I won't dare again! I won't dare again! Young lady, I'll never dare again!"
Old Ames kowtowed, her rear end high in the air, humbled to the dust.
"I was blind with greed! It's all my fault! Spare me, spare me!"
Hydrus kicked her and asked flatly, "Do you have any Galleons? As compensation for my spiritual distress, hand over all the Galleons you have."
Old Ames paused, then fumbled all over herself, producing thirty-two silver Sickles and twelve bronze Knuts.
"Tsk, so poor."
Hydrus complained, but her hands didn't hesitate.
She snatched the coins from Old Ames's hand and turned to leave.
She left Old Ames prostrating on the ground, as if repenting her sins.
However, did it end there?
Viciousness flashed in Old Ames's eyes. She raised her head slightly, looking at Hydrus's back—
'I must kill this girl, drain the last drop of essence from her marrow, and then take her head to the Ministry in exchange for the reward!'
'No, no, that's not enough!'
'I'll skin this girl from head to toe, make her into boots and bags! I'll drain this girl's blood and use it to bathe!'
"Stupefy!"
As the old hag's hateful wand waved, a red light shot out, hitting Hydrus squarely in the back.
'It hit! It hit!'
'You damned girl, let's see you act arrogant now!'
Old Ames leaped up from the ground with agility that belied her age, wanting to go and collect her spoils.
But she had just gotten up, before she could even take a step, she froze.
She saw that Hydrus, despite being hit by a Stupefy, hadn't moved an inch. Instead, she turned around, her face full of rage.
"Ah! It's a misunderstanding! Miss Lestrange, it's all a misunderstanding! My wand just... slipped!"
Ignoring Old Ames's explanation, Hydrus's dragon eyes swirled with golden flames:
"I only have two sets of these clothes!"
The dragon scales had extremely high magic resistance. A wizard like Old Ames had no way of breaking her defense. However, while the spell couldn't break the scales, it could damage clothing, especially Muggle clothing...
Hydrus only had two sets of Muggle clothes to change into. One being ruined meant she had to buy another set.
Buying another set meant spending money again!
Money!
Money!
Money!
At this thought, the tyranny brought by her dragon constitution mixed with the calmness from her Slytherin blood, creating a strange chemical reaction.
Hydrus couldn't control her explosive emotions. She opened her mouth and spat a plume of dragon's breath; yet, the flames were controlled with extreme precision, enveloping Old Ames perfectly, without even scorching the wooden signpost nearby.
The dragon's breath surged. The old woman didn't even have time to let out a wail before she was turned into a pile of humanoid black ash.
The wizard-scum hiding in the dark, peeking at the scene, were scared stiff.
This was a humanoid evil dragon!
A humanoid evil dragon!
And from this day on, "The Evil Dragon Hydrus" became the untouchable taboo of Knockturn Alley.
Want to mess with her?
First, think about Old Ames, who was burned to cinders.
...
...
Hydrus walked for a few more minutes, entering Borgin and Burkes with a furious expression.
"Welcome, Miss Lestrange."
The proprietor, Borgin Boke, appeared before Hydrus.
Borgin Boke's voice was extremely greasy, just like his lank hair. In the dim light of the shop, his oily hair looked as if it had just been fished out of a vat of salad oil.
Hydrus was still maintaining her dragon-human form. The proprietor recognized her as soon as she entered, which surprised Hydrus. This Borgin Boke was really something.
"No need to be surprised, dear Miss," Mr. Borgin said with a smile. "I have many eyes in Knockturn Alley. News of your arrival at the alley's entrance traveled much faster than you could walk."
Hydrus walked from the backlit doorway to a spot illuminated by the shop's oil lamp, like an ancient beast emerging from the gloom into the light. Her intimidating aura was staggering.
Even though she was only 1.4 meters tall.
But who could ignore those glittering golden dragon eyes and her body of emerald scales?
Mr. Borgin looked at Hydrus, and it was as if he was seeing the Tom Riddle who had worked for him decades ago.
"Miss, I wonder what it is you are looking for?"
Hydrus took an empty Galleon box from her sachet and said:
"Fill this box with lead blocks. It would be even better if you could set some small cursing tricks inside;"
"I also need an alchemical item enchanted with a 'Confundus Charm,' to make people mistakenly believe this box is full of Galleons."
"Ah, Miss, are you planning a prank on someone?"
Mr. Borgin rubbed his hands.
"But lead blocks aren't necessary, and an alchemical item with a Confundus Charm is too expensive. It's not worth it.
Miss, my recommendation is to cast a long-lasting Confundus Charm on this box. It's simple, convenient, and everyone will believe this box is full of Galleons!"
Hydrus trusted Borgin's alchemy level and nodded slightly in approval.
Borgin mused as he spoke, "As for the prank... how about making the person who opens the box break out in acne all over their body?"
Hydrus nodded. The curse or prank was just a bonus. "Alright, I'll leave it to you." Hydrus added, "Please be quick, as fast as you can. Oh, and find me a fitting wizarding robe while you're at it."
"No problem, esteemed Miss," Mr. Borgin bowed and took the empty box. "That will be seven Galleons in total!"
Hydrus counted out seven Galleons, her brow furrowing in pain.
But when she thought about being able to fleece the Gray family again, she felt that paying seven Galleons was acceptable after all.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]