Three days later, Lys returned to Britain via the International Floo Network, standing outside the Ministry of Magic waiting for Noah to collect her.
She reached into her wizard robes and fingered the once-popular Saints pendant, toying with it briefly before tucking it back inside.
It seemed Germany's attitude toward that imprisoned Dark wizard remained quite ambiguous...
In Germany, the damage and memories Grindelwald had left were far more vivid and immediate. He wasn't the wise, charismatic figure Lys had gleaned from thin scraps of paper and fleeting remarks from others.
To most Germans, Grindelwald appeared as an extremely dangerous extremist and opportunist. Only a handful of families who'd profited during his reign maintained any ambivalent stance.
Just as Lys didn't understand the darkness that had once lurked behind the Saints, the German wizarding community seemed equally unclear about what it meant to be a Death Eater.
Consequently, throughout her stay, she'd been addressed most frequently as "Miss Black."
Was she supposed to present herself as nobility over there? But she didn't want to be a Black...
Lys muttered aloud: "Tsk, maybe I should let that little dumpling take the Black surname... I'll be Lam, hehe."
"Ahem!" A pronounced cough sounded beside her. Noah stood holding an apple, caught between offering it and not.
For a moment, the atmosphere between father and daughter grew painfully awkward.
They remained silent all the way home, silent through dinner, and silent as they prepared for bed—until Lys finally spoke to explain: "I didn't mean—"
"I know," Noah said, rubbing his nose tip. "I understand. It's just... the Black surname brings too much trouble."
He looked somewhat dejected. "I know..."
Their day-long silence had already caught Senna's attention. She asked, "What's wrong?"
Lys's comment had been meant as a joke—partly sincere but not truly serious. However, Noah's next words made her straighten up.
"Little Star wants her surname to be Lam. I think... I think both children can take the Lam name."
Having said this, Noah seemed to release some burden he'd been carrying.
"Black was my mother's choice, not mine..."
He raised his head to look at his family.
"That's right—it wasn't what I truly wanted..."
"Yes, that's not what I want!"
He repeated this statement three times.
Senna glanced between Lys and Noah with confusion: "But we agreed—one child would be Black, one would be Lam... you..."
Senna had originally suppressed this issue, feeling that since her husband bore the Black name, it should be passed down. After all, her husband's Black couldn't be the same as those lunatic Blacks.
Though the little madwoman inheriting the Black name was admittedly a bit unhinged...
But the question of Lys and the little dumpling's surnames was definitively settled when Bellatrix came calling.
He'd declared: "Both my children's future surnames will be Lam, not Black. I don't think Miss Bellatrix needs to concern herself with how we raise our children—after all, we're not really Black family members, are we?"
That's right—despite Lys's extensive efforts to conceal their location, Bellatrix had tracked them down. Though she hadn't found the actual house, she'd brought two wizards and blocked the perimeter of Lys's grove.
Lys racked her brains but couldn't figure out how their house had been exposed. But that wasn't the important thing right now—the crucial matter was...
Fifteen minutes earlier—
"Sta~lys Black, won't you come out to see me? I think Incendio would be perfectly suited to this quiet forest, don't you?"
At that moment, Lys was awkwardly cradling her little brother, who'd been ejected from the room after using magic to levitate Senna's freshly prepared potion ingredients as toys.
The little creature was still cackling mindlessly. Noah was in the bathroom handling personal business, and Senna seemed to have cast a Silencing Charm on herself in her room. For the moment, only Lys could respond.
Of course, even if Noah and Senna could react, Lys wouldn't let them venture out into danger—after all, Bellatrix's power ranked among the strongest of wizards.
Lys tried stuffing the little creature into a basket so she could hurry outside, but he clung stubbornly to her hair, refusing to let go.
"Incendio! Hmph, not weak protective magic. You two, together!"
Sensing the house's defensive spells beginning to sound alarms, Lys simply hauled the little dumpling—still gripping her hair—outside with her.
"Bellatrix! Ugh! What are you doing?! Even the Dark Lord doesn't consider me a traitor, so why are you... ah! Still pestering me!"
The little creature, stark naked, perched on Lys's left arm guard, clutching her hair while attempting to climb toward her shoulder, making Lys yelp involuntarily.
Even Bellatrix paused momentarily at this sight.
Her gaze fixed on the little creature with some delight. "So what they said is true..."
Lys emerged from the courtyard, left arm supporting her brother, right hand gripping her wand, hair disheveled from being grabbed, wearing only a loose old robe stained with the little one's drool. Her still-bloated figure and puffy face from the potions' effects made her appear thoroughly dispirited.
Bellatrix repeated: "So what they said is true..."
She tilted her head, circling Lys. After confirming the child possessed not only black hair but also the signature Black grey eyes, her face bore a trace of manic grin as she pressed close to Lys's face.
"You've birthed a—a little Black... hahaha..."
But the next moment her expression turned cold. Ignoring Lys's wand pressed against her ribs, she whispered: "I hope you know how to properly raise a Black."
She suddenly stepped back. "Don't be like you—wearing the Black name while disgracing it completely! Being able to serve the Dark Lord should be every Black's—"
Lys's expression wasn't very clear on her round face, but Bellatrix still caught her impatience.
Bellatrix couldn't understand why this woman showed no pride whatsoever in bearing the Black surname.
Lys took a sharp breath before asking: "How did you find my house?"
Bellatrix's gaze drifted to the little creature clinging to Lys's hair and squawking, maintaining rare patience: "The Portkey Lucius gave you was registered."
Lys rolled her eyes. Of all the illegal activities her senior had engaged in, now he chose to follow regulations.
But this was unfair to Lucius—he simply hadn't mastered the precise Portus spell yet and could only request one from the Ministry.
"But I used it elsewhere. How did you track down this specific grove?" Lys continued her relentless questioning.
Bellatrix didn't know either; one of the wizards she'd brought had pointed it out. She turned toward that wizard, and a muffled voice emerged from behind his mask—
"There are no birds here."
Lys suddenly understood. She hoisted the little creature sliding down her hair, provoking another round of indignant squawking.
"My little brother—listen carefully~—will have the surname Lam in the future. Hey! This has nothing to do with you, Mrs. Lestrange!" Lys's tone rose with smugness.
With one sentence, she struck Bellatrix's two sorest points.
Since Regulus's disappearance, the Black family faced the crisis of surname extinction—Black would no longer be able to serve the Dark Lord!
And now such a perfect Black was going to bear the Lam name! Bellatrix absolutely couldn't accept this!
Moreover... marrying that worthless Lestrange was the worst mistake of her life!
Just as she was considering simply taking the child back to Black ancestral home to raise, Noah pushed open the courtyard gate and positioned himself in front of Lys.
He declared: "Both these children's future surnames will be Lam, not Black. I don't think Miss Bellatrix needs to worry about how we raise our children—after all, we're not really Black family members, are we?"
Bellatrix's attention immediately shifted. "Two children..."
She unconsciously glanced toward Lys's belly.
Lys sighed helplessly. She figured today's fight probably wouldn't happen—she'd never thought Bellatrix was this dense!
"This is my little brother. I am our family's first child, and this—my brother—is our family's second child!"
Lys raised her left arm, shaking it twice, then shook her head, trying to dislodge the little dumpling's grip on her hair.
"So annoying!"
Of course, her "so annoying" referred to others constantly assuming she was pregnant.
Ultimately, this matter came to nothing. When Bellatrix attempted to use force, Lys suppressed her using the Dark Lord's name.
"The Dark Lord's intention is for me to maintain a low profile, avoid fame, and stay out of trouble. But I think fighting a few earth-shattering, headline-making battles over someone trying to steal my brother wouldn't be difficult or excessive—don't you agree?"
Bellatrix didn't want to agree. She knew how Fenrir Greyback had disappeared, so she knew this Black disgrace before her was absolutely capable of such things.
Make their Lord unhappy? They weren't worth it.
Even so, Bellatrix's departing gaze was filled with "just you wait."
After the three departed, Noah glanced at Little Star's hair—now tangled into a mess by his son—and hesitated.
Faced with choosing between rescuing Little Star and addressing his biological needs, Noah opted to rush back to the bathroom.
Lys looked toward the forest canopy outside, then retreated into the courtyard.
"Salabold! Get down here! Fight! Fight!"
Poor Salabold, for chasing away all the birds around their home, earned himself a week of confinement...
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
🔥 Want to read the next 80 chapters RIGHT NOW?
💎 Patreon members get instant access!
⚡ Limited-time offer currently running...
👉 [Join on Patreon - patreon.com/DarkGolds]