---
Chapter 2: Hydra's Treasure
Crack!
The house-elf appeared beside Hydra on the shores of Loch Ness.
"Momo," Hydra said, spreading her hands helplessly, "why did you save me?"
The house-elf named Momo looked up at her with large, watery eyes and answered timidly,
"Little Mistress is the only heir of the Lestrange family. Momo is a house-elf bound to the Lestrange family, so of course Momo must protect Little Mistress Hydra."
Hydra smiled faintly.
"But I'm a Squib. My parents would never acknowledge me as an heir."
Momo shook her head vigorously, her expression suddenly very serious.
"Little Mistress is not a Squib! Since the moment you were born, Little Mistress has been deliberately guiding magic into every part of your body! Momo saw it all!"
She lifted her head, looking at Hydra with pure admiration.
"At first, Momo didn't understand why Little Mistress was doing that. But now Little Mistress is almost as strong as a dragon—so Momo knows what an extraordinary witch Little Mistress truly is!"
"No one has ever been like Little Mistress. Never!"
Hydra asked quietly, her expression solemn,
"You can see the flow of my magic?"
Momo nodded.
"It flickers in and out, but Momo can see a little of it."
Hydra couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
The magical perception of house-elves far surpassed that of humans. It was tragic that such a gifted race existed only as servants.
"Momo," Hydra said, "the Grey family has turned against me. It's very dangerous for you to stay with me. Aren't you afraid?"
Momo shrank back instinctively and whispered,
"Momo… is afraid…"
But then, as if mustering courage from somewhere deep within, she straightened her back and cried out loudly,
"But Little Mistress Hydra is very kind to Momo! You even taught Momo wizarding magic! Momo would give her life to protect Little Mistress!"
How is true loyalty proven, if not in moments of desperation?
Hydra smiled.
Although her plan had been disrupted, gaining such a devoted house-elf filled her with genuine warmth.
It felt like a dry, cracked heart suddenly struck a hidden spring—clear water bubbling forth, soothing and nourishing.
Hydra reached out and patted Momo's small head.
"Let's go, Momo. Take me to the old manor of the Gaunt family."
"The old Gaunt manor? Yes, Little Mistress!"
Crack!
Momo Apparated with Hydra at the gates of the Gaunt manor.
Before the age of five, Hydra had often followed her mother here. Every time, Bellatrix Lestrange would leave her alone in the garden and disappear elsewhere.
Because of that, Hydra was very familiar with this old, cramped manor.
And this visit had only one purpose—
To retrieve the treasure she had buried here.
"Tsk… it's even more run-down than before."
Hydra muttered as she walked through the overgrown grounds.
The garden statues and facilities were blanketed in moss. The pathways were choked with weeds, almost completely hidden.
Relying on her memory, Hydra soon found three French holly trees arranged in a triangle.
"Momo!"
She pointed to the ground at the centre of the three trees.
"Dig here."
"At once, Little Mistress!"
Momo happily summoned a small shovel.
With a snap of her fingers, the shovel began digging on its own.
Before long, a metal box roughly ten inches in length and width emerged from the soil.
Hydra stepped forward eagerly. Without even lifting it out of the pit, she flipped open the lid.
…Nothing.
No golden gleam. No sparkle.
The box was empty.
"Huh?"
Where were the Galleons she had put inside?
Where was the jewellery?
Where were the alchemical items?
Where had all her lovely, glittering treasures gone?
"Momo," Hydra said slowly, closing her eyes, "I might be hallucinating. Check for me—shouldn't there be a lot of treasure in this box?"
Momo opened her large eyes hesitantly.
"Little Mistress means… the eight hundred Galleons, two necklaces, and the Garland III enchanted pocket watch you buried here when you were six?"
Hydra nodded furiously.
"Yes! Yes! That's exactly what I buried!"
Momo's eyes filled with tears. She looked as though she was about to cry.
"Little Mistress… you left those treasures buried here for so many years without touching them… so Momo thought… thought you had forgotten…"
She sniffled.
"Every year, young witches and wizards lose their parents' Galleons playing treasure-hunt games…"
She shook her head repeatedly, her long ears flapping.
"So Momo… Momo collected everything and put it back in your bedroom…"
Hydra: …
That was her emergency living fund.
In her plan, even if she were cast out of the manor, she was still supposed to live like a proper young noble!
Hydra exhaled slowly and pressed a hand to her chest.
Calm down. Calm down.
After taking a deep breath, she forced her voice to remain gentle.
"Momo… tell me honestly. The treasure I hid in Uncle Rabastan's manor—"
"Momo recovered that too."
"The Black Tea Garden—"
"Recovered."
"The one buried under the tree behind Muka's Potion Shop—"
"Momo recovered that as well."
…
The more Hydra asked, the duller her eyes became, until she looked like a salted fish that had lost all hope in life.
Meanwhile, the more Momo answered, the more panicked she became—until she finally burst into tears.
"Waaah—!"
"Bad Momo! Bad Momo!"
She beat her bald head repeatedly with her thin arms, tears splashing everywhere like a burst pipe.
"Momo ruined Little Mistress's plans! Momo is not a good house-elf!"
What could Hydra say?
The little thing had only meant well.
"That's enough, Momo," Hydra said firmly. "I order you to stop punishing yourself."
Momo froze, then looked up at Hydra with tear-filled eyes.
She had hit herself so hard that several large lumps had already swollen on her smooth forehead.
"Momo, if the money's gone, it's gone. We'll find another way."
Hydra raised her right hand, forming an "eight," resting her chin on it like Shinichi Kudō deep in thought.
"We just need to figure out where we're staying tonight—and what we're going to eat."
Momo trembled all over.
She wiped her tears furiously, first with her left hand, then her right—then wiped both hands on her clean pillowcase.
Her voice rose sharply with excitement.
"Momo made a mistake, but Little Mistress is merciful and didn't punish Momo! So Momo must make up for it!"
"Momo will fetch Little Mistress's treasure immediately!"
"Little Mistress! Momo hid all your treasures in the secret compartment at the head of your bed! Momo will bring them right away!"
Hydra opened her mouth to stop her.
Going back now was far too dangerous. The Greys would definitely be searching her room, trying to determine where she might have gone.
If Momo returned now, she would almost certainly run into them.
But the house-elf was astonishingly fast.
Crack!
She vanished.
Hydra sighed.
"I'll need to train her properly in the future. Acting on impulse like that won't do."
Hydra didn't dare wander far, afraid Momo wouldn't be able to find her when she returned.
Her gaze drifted toward the old manor.
Within that crumbling structure—where even the roof beams jutted out—lay one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes: Marvolo Gaunt's ring.
As a Horcrux hiding place, the manor was riddled with deadly enchantments. An ordinary person entering it would meet certain death.
Miss Lestrange chuckled softly.
She was laughing at Voldemort's ignorance.
One of the three Deathly Hallows—the Resurrection Stone—had been used by him to create a Horcrux.
Crack!
Momo reappeared.
Her tiny body was burdened with a huge bundle.
The pillowcase that had earlier only been damp with tears was now scorched black. Large patches of her skin were burned, and her already sparse hair had been completely singed away.
"Momo!"
Hydra rushed forward and caught her.
Momo forced a weak smile.
"Little Mistress… Momo brought back your treasure."
"Momo! Where's the Healing Charm I taught you? Cast it on yourself—now!"
Momo's large eyes drooped, barely able to stay open. She was gravely injured.
"Epi… Epi… s—"
Before she could finish the incantation, Momo collapsed unconscious.
Hydra frowned deeply.
With injuries this severe, she could only hope nothing irreversible had happened.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Three figures Apparated nearby.
They were Northon Grey, Stevenson Grey, and Daniel Grey.
Daniel Grey was Northon's younger brother, the man in charge of the Lestrange family's herb gardens.
Hydra immediately crouched down.
She was positioned between the three holly trees, where dense foliage and waist-high weeds concealed her perfectly.
But—
How had the Greys found her?
Hydra's gaze shifted to the bundle in Momo's arms, and a chilling suspicion surfaced.
Had a tracking alchemical item been hidden among her belongings?
Very impressive, Grey family.
---