Narcissa hesitated for a moment before speaking softly to Karmit.
"Little Karmit… you don't need to push yourself so hard. The Black Family—and all pure-blood families, really—are declining. You don't have to shoulder everything alone."
Karmit froze for a moment.
Then he turned back to her with a small smile. "I know, Aunt."
With a snap of his fingers, a vortex swallowed his figure, and he vanished.
Draco blinked in confusion. "Mum… what did you just say to Cousin?"
"Nothing," Narcissa said gently. "You'll understand someday. But Draco, promise me something."
Draco nodded quickly. "Of course, Mum!"
She bent down slightly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"If—Mum said if—one day you find that your beliefs differ from Karmit's, I want you to think carefully.
Think about whether you are right, or whether he is. He's your cousin. I hope you will always stand on the same side as him."
Draco scratched his head. "Of course! I'll always stand with my cousin!"
Narcissa kissed his forehead with relief. "Good boy. Now go to bed."
Draco nodded and let his mother walk him back to his room.
Narcissa then made her way to the study. Lucius was reading, but he stood up as soon as she entered.
"Karmit left?"
She nodded. "He did. But Yaxley doesn't seem ready to let things go. Why didn't you let me help the child?"
Lucius's voice was calm. "It's not that I won't let you help him. It's that he doesn't need your help.
He has his own plans—even I can't see through them. We shouldn't interfere. Don't disrupt whatever he's plotting.
Karmit's strength… it surpasses even the Dark Lord."
Narcissa sighed. "He's still just a child… an eleven-year-old child. To have such power at this age… how much must he have suffered to get here?"
"This is the path he was born into," Lucius said. "From the moment he came into this world, his fate was already set."
"You think he'll turn to darkness?"
"I don't know," Lucius admitted.
"He hides too much. I've watched him grow, but I still can't see through him. I won't predict his future—but I know one thing: his future will not be weak."
Narcissa looked at him quietly.
"So… Karmit is your contingency plan?"
Lucius nodded slowly. "The Dark Lord will return. I can feel it. And when he does, I won't be able to protect you or Draco.
But Karmit… he will be strong enough. If the Dark Lord truly rises again, I trust that with Karmit, both you and Draco will survive.
Narcissa… I can't let anything happen to you. Or our son. I would give up everything the Malfoys have if it meant keeping you safe."
Narcissa leaned into him, eyes soft. "I know. Karmit is a good child. He never forgets favors—and he never forgets grudges.
He always repays what he owes, both good and bad. Don't worry. He will protect us. And so will you. We are safe."
Lucius wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her tightly, as if afraid she or Draco might disappear the moment he loosened his grip.
...
After leaving Malfoy Manor, Karmit did not return to the Black estate.
Instead, he appeared in the streets of Knockturn Alley.
He slipped into the shadows along the wall. Two figures emerged beside him—Bilair and Belinda.
"Master!"
Karmit nodded. "Everything ready?"
Belinda nodded. "All prepared. We can begin anytime."
Karmit smirked. "Yaxley is still useful, so he can't die yet. But his foul mouth irritates me. Let's give him a lesson."
Both subordinates grinned. "I imagine the lesson will be quite painful," Belinda said.
Bilair's eyes gleamed with bloodlust.
Belinda pulled a wand from her cloak and handed it over. "Master, the wand. Acquired from a wandering wizard we killed earlier."
Karmit took it, feeling the rejection pulsing from within.
He let out a cold snort. "A tool, and it dares to choose its wielder?"
He forced a surge of magic into the wand.
A sharp crack split the air. A fracture spread along its surface, and the rejection vanished instantly.
"Refuse me, and you'll pay for it."
He gripped the wand backward and strode toward a nearby shop, his followers right behind him.
At the door, he tapped the wand lightly against his leg.
"Belinda, go knock. We should be polite guests."
Belinda smirked. "Yes, Master."
She stepped forward, raised her wand—
°Bombarda Maxima°
A blast erupted, shredding the shop's door instantly.
Belinda retreated to Karmit's side.
Screams erupted from inside.
"Who's there!?"
"Enemy attack—defend!"
Several spells shot outward.
Bilair and Belinda didn't even move—watching with mocking smiles.
Karmit raised his wand lazily.
With a delicate tap of his finger—almost like flicking ash— A shimmering barrier spread out from his wandtip.
Every spell slammed into it and bounced harmlessly away.
Bilair whispered, awestruck, "Before serving the Master, I never imagined the Shield Charm could be used like this."
Belinda added, "Even the wizard who invented it probably never thought it could be cast anywhere, not just on yourself."
Bilair gazed at Karmit with almost religious devotion.
"The Master's power is beyond mortal understanding. If there is a god in this world… that god must be our Master."