This year's feast differed from the previous two in one small detail — a live choir. However, the sight only made Victor frown.
— Why aren't there any Slytherins in the choir? — he asked Daphne quietly. — Are all Slytherins completely untalented?
Instead of Daphne, Gemma, who was sitting nearby, answered:
— Slytherins have never taken part in anything like this. We are far too proud for that. That's why even now, after you've shifted the general perception of our house, we still aren't invited.
Victor nodded, keeping his heavy gaze fixed on the singing students.
— Daphne, what's our next holiday?
The girl thought for a moment:
— Halloween.
Victor narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing in them:
— Write it down. We need to organize our own Halloween concert. And show everyone that Slytherin is full of talented students.
When the Sorting Ceremony and the welcome speech came to an end and the students began noisily dispersing to their common rooms, Victor stood up from the table:
— Daphne, see to the preparations for our house party to celebrate the start of the term. I'll be stepping out for a bit. Lilith, you're coming with me.
Very quickly, the two of them were ascending the spiral staircase leading to the Headmaster's office.
— Headmaster, I've come to visit! And by the way, your speech this year was dreadfully boring, — Victor declared right from the threshold, pushing the door open.
Dumbledore smiled warmly, puffing on his pipe:
— Hello, Victor, do come in. And this must be Lilith? Don't be shy, come in, my dear, — he said softly, noticing the girl frozen right at the entrance.
Victor realized instantly: as long as she was here and could hear every word, Dumbledore wouldn't have a candid conversation with him.
— Sunshine, come over here, — he called out amicably, taking her by the hand and settling her into a comfortable armchair for guests.
Before the girl could even blink, Victor drew his wand and aimed it straight at her face with lightning speed:
— Somnum.
Lilith immediately slumped limply against the back of the chair and fell into a deep sleep.
— My, how unusual to see you with a wand, let alone casting spells, — Dumbledore remarked with a gentle chuckle.
Victor slipped his wand back into his pocket and shrugged:
— Well, I decided to revert to factory settings, so to speak. Lately, I've been neglecting the fact that I am, in fact, a wizard.
Dumbledore nodded, then shifted a thoughtful gaze onto the sleeping girl:
— I didn't expect to meet another student like her within the walls of this school...
— Another one? — Victor perked up. — Meaning there was someone else just like her?
Dumbledore nodded in affirmation:
— Yes. And you know him very well.
Victor froze for a second, frowning as he hurriedly searched his memory for familiar faces:
— I hope you don't mean Lockhart? — He was the only absolute master of Legilimency Victor could recall.
The Headmaster smiled into his gray mustache:
— The very same.
Victor instantly and demonstratively lost all interest in the girl.
Dumbledore, noticing the shift in his mood, chuckled softly:
— Ha-ha-ha! Victor, there's no need to be disappointed in her just because of what Professor Lockhart became. Besides, he wasn't always that weak. True, ordinary spells came to him with great difficulty, but when he realized his gift during his fourth year... Believe me, he became a remarkable wizard! With speeches alone, he made entire crowds fall in love with him, altered the memories of powerful sorcerers for years, claimed others' achievements as his own, and made everyone around him believe his lies. It was simply that worldwide fame eventually went to his head — he stopped improving himself, and over time, lost his skills altogether.
Victor gave an understanding nod:
— But why are they so powerful in Legilimency? Is it some special bloodline? You know, like Veela?
— No. Sometimes wizards are simply born with unique natural abilities. Like your friend Lovegood, for instance: ever since birth, she could see others' emotions, and due to her father's fairy tales, perceives them as otherworldly creatures surrounding people. As for this girl, she was born with an incredibly potent mental potential. And believe me, even now, she surpasses the young Lockhart in many ways.
Victor cast a long look at the peacefully sleeping Lilith:
— Then I suppose I made the right choice by keeping her close to me. It seems she's holding a grudge against me for something... I felt it back by the train. Though I doubt I ever did anything bad to her.
Dumbledore grew solemn:
— If it helps... She is one of the children Fenrir abducted back then.
Victor's eyes widened instantly, and he slapped his forehead with his palm:
— Of course! That's where I knew her face from... She's that same girl who played me so cleverly while I was an emotional mess. But why did she target me specifically? I saved them! And anyway, how does she even remember me? I explicitly ordered Antoine to erase their memories... Ah, right. Her mental barrier likely just blocked the spell. But why did nobody report this to me? Then again... with her cunning, she could easily have feigned that it succeeded. Damn, now she's even more interesting to me. I'm dying to pry into her head and see everything for myself.
— Victor, you shouldn't... — the Headmaster tried to warn him, but the boy cut him off at once:
— Yeah, yeah, I know! If I go in there with brute force, she'll turn into a vegetable.
Victor clicked his tongue in annoyance. He was practically bursting with curiosity, but he still wouldn't stoop to crippling a child just to satisfy his interest.
— Whatever, we'll deal with that later, — he waved it off. — By the way, did you see my Patronus? I thought it'd turn out to be a regular snake, but it turns out my true essence is an actual Basilisk! Ha-ha-ha, cool, right?
The Headmaster raised an eyebrow slightly:
— Yes, impressive. Though my Patronus — a Phoenix — is still cooler. By the way, try not to summon it in front of people unless absolutely necessary: there were only Dementors around this time, but should Aurors show up, they'll quickly figure out you've acquired a pet Basilisk. Speaking of which, where is it?
Victor pulled a disgusted face:
— Ugh, don't even mention that dumb reptile. It's sleeping. Nicolas said the little thing went hungry for too long, and now that it's finally fed, it's fallen into a deep hibernation for growth.
— And how long will it sleep?
— Well, Nicolas mentioned it could take anywhere from one to three years. Anyway, what I actually came for: how about my snakes hosting a concert for Halloween?
Dumbledore looked at Victor with interest:
— A concert? Care to elaborate?
Victor smiled.
Lilith woke up twenty minutes later, but continued to pretend to be asleep, listening in on Victor and Dumbledore's conversation. However, they were discussing nothing of real import — just carrying on idle, polite chit-chat. When she imperceptibly fluttered her eyes open and looked at Victor, her brow furrowed, and her hands clenched into fists. Everything was going completely off script once again.
Ever since childhood, she knew she was different from the rest. Lilith grew up in a massive, destitute family among an endless string of brothers and sisters. She didn't remember her mother — her father claimed she had died. Food was always scarce in the house, and barely had Lilith turned six when her unusual gift manifested: she began hearing others' thoughts. Quickly realizing how she could profit from this, the girl started manipulating her younger brothers and sisters, soon becoming an unquestioned authority to them.
However, her ability didn't work on everyone. She couldn't breach the minds of her father or her elder siblings — until one fateful day.
One evening, her older brother returned home drunk. For amusement, he began tormenting the younger ones, mercilessly using magic against them. Lilith no longer remembered what exactly she had done to anger him, but that day she felt the sheer agony of the Cruciatus Curse firsthand. The girl thought she would burn up from the inhuman pain, but fortunately, her eldest sister stopped the scoundrel in time. And at that very moment, as Lilith stared at her brother choking with hatred, she caught a fleeting glimpse of his thoughts for the first time. It hit her then: if she focused with all her might, she could breach the minds of the older ones too.
For the next six months, she practiced relentlessly until she learned to control her gift with confidence. Soon, Lilith uncovered a rather scandalous secret: her young stepmother and her older brother were engaged in a secret love affair. Burning with a desire for vengeance for the torture she had suffered, Lilith was eager to tell her father everything. But she reconsidered on the spot: without proof, he wouldn't believe her, and would only punish her severely for lying.
For several months, she cautiously pushed the lovers toward exposure. They had always been extremely discreet, but Lilith gradually planted thoughts in their minds that there was no need to fear her father. Over time, they let their guard down. Rumors began circulating through the house until, one day, her brother and stepmother simply vanished. Her father announced to everyone that they had run off together, but Lilith knew the truth through his thoughts: her father had simply killed them both.
Her successfully executed revenge and the intoxicating sense of her own superiority went completely to her head. Grand plans for the complete enslavement of the entire family brewed in her mind, but she didn't have time to put them into action. A few years ago, her father joyfully announced that he was going on a job that would bring them immense wealth and left with a friend — never to return.
Following her father's disappearance, Lilith focused on the younger children, gradually brainwashing them while completely ignoring her elder brothers and sisters. That proved to be her fatal mistake. Just a few days later, her eldest sister, who had assumed the role of head of the household, sold her off.
She couldn't understand: why?! What for?! But when the buyers came for her, Lilith managed to read her sister's thoughts: it turned out she had long noticed her younger sister's suspicious manipulations and was terrified of her. Lilith realized far too late just how careless she had been.
That was how she ended up in England, in the gang of the werewolf Fenrir Greyback. Lilith burned with hatred for her sister and dreamed of retribution, but in captivity, revenge was the least of her concerns. While the other children were being mercilessly bitten, she somehow managed to stall the moment until she implanted the idea into the werewolf responsible for their upbringing that she had already been turned. Very quickly, Lilith managed to lead the group of captive children and was already formulating an escape plan when he arrived — a boy with red eyes, who dealt with three adult werewolves without so much as lifting a finger.
Try as she might, Lilith couldn't penetrate the mind of that monster. But seeing Victor's incredible power, she was consumed by the desire to subjugate him. If she could make him her bodyguard, she would become truly invincible!
A few hours after the boy left, a group of wizards rescued them. Feigning the part of a terrified orphan, Lilith sobbed continuously and clung to the only young woman among the rescuers. When the woman attempted to erase the girl's memory, Lilith masterfully pretended that it worked and that she had forgotten all about them. Later, at the Ministry of Magic, she convincingly played the role of a helpless orphan. Professor McGonagall came for her — and that was how Lilith ended up at Hogwarts.
Encountering Victor again on the train, Lilith swore to herself that she wouldn't waste this chance. She would bend him to her will no matter what, break his mind, and turn him into a submissive puppet. She genuinely believed it would work: in the caves, she had already managed to pull the wool over his eyes, and now she only needed to make him feel sorry for her and creep into his thoughts step by step.
But everything had crumbled. This Victor had changed catastrophically. The boy who had shown her care and pity back in the caves seemed to have vanished into thin air — standing before her now was a completely different person. He had seen right through her in an instant, learned her secret that nobody else knew, and now she sat there, helpless, pretending to sleep, trembling with horror before the unknown.
Lilith bitterly regretted ever setting her sights on him. Regretted that she hadn't forgotten him like all the other rescued children. She was afraid of him... deeply afraid.