Hydrus quietly opened the bundle.
The Gold Galleons and jewelry dazzled her eyes.
This was the small personal treasury she had painstakingly saved for eleven years!
She took the small sachet hanging around her neck out from under her collar and opened it.
It was a small item enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm, with an internal volume of about one cubic meter.
Not large, but enough.
At the moment, the space contained some bottles and jars—those were the potions she had brewed over the years.
Normally, Squibs couldn't brew potions because they lacked the necessary magical elements, but Hydrus had magic; it just wasn't in the place it was supposed to be.
There was also a birth certificate in the sachet, evidence to prove she was Hydrus Lestrange in the future.
Hydrus placed the Gold Galleons into the sachet one by one, her movements gentle and slow, careful not to make a sound.
She didn't dare take the jewelry and alchemical items because she couldn't be sure which one was the tracking device.
Comparatively, the Gold Galleons were safer!
As currency forged by goblins, they were already infused with goblin magic, making them more difficult to modify and less likely to be a tracking device.
"Uncle! She's over there! In the holly bushes!"
Stevenson Gray's voice rang out, making Hydrus's heart jump.
'Tsk! I've been discovered!'
She quickly grabbed a large handful of Galleons, stuffed them into the sachet, then picked up the unconscious Momo and leaped into the tall grass.
"After her! Don't let her escape!"
Hydrus moved through the desolate courtyard, with red and green beams of magic light shooting at her from behind.
At this moment, Hydrus was like a snake, slippery and agile.
Crack!
Crack!
The pursuing Grays were able to use Apparition without interruption. Two of them suddenly appeared to her left and right front, forming an encirclement and blocking her path!
"Miss Hydrus," Norson Gray seethed through gritted teeth, "can you peacefully go to your death now?"
Hydrus stood up straight. This was arguably the worst possible situation.
She glanced around. Norson was to her front left, Daniel to her front right, and she knew without looking that Stevenson was behind her.
She noticed that behind Daniel was the main entrance to the old Gaunt house.
'The situation is terrible, but not necessarily without a way out.'
Hydrus had three gambles.
First, that in a sudden situation, the Grays would not use the Killing Curse on her.
All three of them probably knew the Killing Curse, but based on her earlier fight with Norson, his casting of it was not proficient, about half a second slower than a normal spell.
If something unexpected happened, they would most likely use a spell they were more practiced with, not one that cost them an extra half-second.
Second, that she was fast enough—fast enough to exceed the activation speed of a magical trap.
The old Gaunt house was full of traps, but magical traps needed time to trigger. An ordinary wizard would find them hard to avoid, but she, Hydrus, had a body comparable to a 4X magical beast. She might just be able to dodge them.
Third, that her throwing accuracy was good enough to hit their spells.
The third point wasn't actually that important; it was just thrown in to make it seem like she was a brilliant strategist. 'It makes her look like she has strong reasoning skills, doesn't it?'
She pulled three Gold Galleons from her clothes and gave Norson a slight smile. "Mr. Butler, I have a piece of advice for you."
Norson returned the smile and bowed slightly. "I am all ears."
She put on a profound look and said slowly, "Please remember, never underestimate anyone!"
Before the words had even finished, Hydrus looked at Daniel and even gave him a flirtatious wink, which momentarily distracted him, making him wonder what this young lady was trying to do.
As her voice faded, taking advantage of Daniel's momentary distraction, Hydrus charged straight at him!
Target: The old Gaunt house!
Daniel was shocked and casually flung out a spell.
It was a Knockback Jinx! Not the Killing Curse!
First gamble, Hydrus won.
With two Galleons clenched in her teeth, Hydrus carried Momo in her left hand and flung one Galleon with her right. 'As long as it's not the Killing Curse, the margin for error is much higher. I can be bold!'
The Galleon flew out at high speed and collided with Daniel's Knockback Jinx!
The jinx was neutralized, meaning she didn't have to dodge and could sprint straight for the door!
Third gamble, she won that too!
In a flash, she was beside Daniel, only two steps away from the door!
At this moment, Norson and Stevenson attacked simultaneously. Although Hydrus couldn't see clearly, the light erupting from their wands was not green!
She spun around and threw the other two Galleons, aiming at Norson's and Stevenson's spells respectively.
This time, however, she didn't succeed.
Norson's spell was fine; Daniel happened to be on Hydrus's left side and took the Leg-Locker Curse for her.
But Stevenson's spell and the Galleon missed each other, and it struck Hydrus.
The instant she was hit, Hydrus knew what spell it was.
It was a Full Body-Bind Curse!
She hadn't learned nothing during her eleven years of pretending to be a Squib!
Invisible chains surrounded her, binding her tightly in the next instant!
However, her forward momentum wasn't lost. Still bound, she crashed through the weathered door and into the old house.
'It's over. The second gamble failed.' Forget relying on speed to dodge traps; Hydrus was now lying three meters from the door, completely unable to move!
Daniel, who was closest to the door, casually cast a counter-jinx on himself, then strode through the doorway, laughing maniacally.
"Miss Lestrange, the game of cat and mouse is over!
You're finished!"
Suddenly!
A black beam of light shot out from the umbrella stand behind the door, hitting Daniel squarely.
Daniel turned in confusion, looking at the umbrella stand.
His wand fell to the ground as he let out a wail:
"No!!!!"
Daniel's entire person rapidly turned gray and ashen. Then, his body disintegrated like burned-out embers, scattering in the wind, leaving only a skeleton that clattered to the floor in a heap.
This scene shocked Stevenson and Norson.
Hydrus was ecstatic. 'Thank you, Lord Dark Lord! Your traps were a huge help!'
Taking advantage of the two Grays' dumbstruck state, Hydrus struggled hard, discovering that the Full Body-Bind Curse didn't seem impossible to break.
"Ha!"
Snap!
Under her monstrous strength, the chains of the binding curse were actually broken!
'Is it because Stevenson is too weak?'
Hydrus scrambled to her feet, snatched up Momo who had been thrown to one side, and quickly dashed up to the second floor. Miraculously, she still hadn't triggered a single trap.
Stevenson didn't have time to think about how Daniel had died. His only thought was to catch Hydrus and execute her.
That way, the Gray family would prosper, and he could enjoy the life of a young noble master!
Seeing Hydrus run up to the second floor unharmed, he immediately rushed into the house without a second thought.
Norson was horrified when he saw this.
'This broken-down house has traps! How can you just charge in?'
Sure enough, Stevenson was inside for less than two seconds before he screamed and retreated.
His left hand was turning black, starting from the fingers and gradually spreading upwards.
Norson made a split-second decision, waving his wand.
"Diffindo!"
He cast the Severing Charm, and Stevenson's entire arm was cut off. It fell to the ground and then, as if a fast-forward button had been pressed, it blackened, rotted, and turned to dust in less than a few seconds.
Stevenson, having narrowly escaped with his life, panted heavily. He had been scared to death!
"Why are you so reckless, Stevenson?" Norson scolded. "This is the Gaunt family's old house, the former residence of That Man. How could you just barge in!"
Stevenson, clutching his left arm in pain, retorted, "But that little half-breed went in, didn't she? Why is she fine?"
'That's right, why was Hydrus fine?'
Norson suddenly thought of a possibility.
It was no secret that the head of the Lestrange family, Rodolphus, and his wife, Bellatrix, did not have a good relationship.
And it was rumored that Madam Bellatrix was very close to That Man...
So Hydrus was very likely...
If she was his daughter, then it all made sense!
This was terrible!
That Man had only disappeared; no one knew if he was dead or alive.
What if he returned one day and found out their Gray family had tried to kill his daughter...
Wouldn't that mean the annihilation of their entire family?
Pushing aside this terrifying thought, Norson quickly tried to reassure himself.
'It can't be, it can't be. How could that little Squib be That Man's offspring? I must be overthinking it!'
'Besides, That Man has been missing for so many years, he's probably dead out there somewhere!'
'No matter what, the most important thing right now is to kill this little Squib!'
Norson had Stevenson rest at the entrance while he himself began to circle the old house.
'Is there a way to force this little wench out?'
'Burn the house?'
"Incendio!"
Blazing red flames shot out, but before they could even get close to the old house, they were shattered by some unseen force.
Norson didn't dare try to attack the house again. This old place was too uncanny.
...
Hydrus stood at a second-floor window, looking down.
Although she had been lucky and hadn't triggered any traps on her way up, Stevenson was now blocking the door, and Norson was prowling outside.
Momo was severely injured and unconscious.
At this moment, she was trapped with no way out.
"Little Mistress," a young, cold voice rang out, "do you require my assistance?"
This wasn't Momo's voice. Hydrus followed the sound and saw a small, emerald-green snake coiled around a candlestick, flicking its tongue at her.
'Wow, a talking snake!'
As a polite young lady, Hydrus naturally had to respond:
"Sssss-hss-sss? Sss-hss-sss?"
[Who are you? How can you talk?]
The moment the words left her mouth, Hydrus immediately clamped her hand over it.
Her beautiful eyes widened, pupils quaking.
'I'm a Parselmouth?'
It was common knowledge that the Lestrange family did not produce Parselmouths.
Nor did the Black family.
But the family members from this house, on the other hand, every one of them spoke with a hiss!
The Gaunt hovel, the last residence of Slytherin's bloodline in Britain.
And the last wizard widely acknowledged to possess the blood of Slytherin was the master of this very house, the infamous Tom Marvolo Riddle.
Voldemort.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]