Chapter 161: 5-2
"I knew it, but this is..."
Spotting shadows ahead that looked like Death Eaters, I changed direction. This was the fourth time. The vines that had been entangled around Astoria apparently also served to detect and transmit any abnormalities with her body—treating her thoroughly like an experimental subject. It made me sick. The moment they were severed, it seemed an Anti-Disapparition Jinx was cast over the entire manor.
I wondered if Harry and the others had managed to safely meet up, secure the target, and escape. If they hadn't yet... maybe I messed up.
"There's no end to them."
"Tell me about it."
Holding our breath around the corner of the corridor, we waited for a pair of Death Eaters to pass by.
"...Um, Maria."
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry to ask at a time like this. But it caught my eye... this scar?"
The thing Astoria hesitantly touched while in my arms was the remnant of a Sectumsempra curse, carved in a large diagonal slash from my chest down to my waist. Because Sectumsempra is Dark Magic, standard healing cannot cure it completely. Just as George's ear couldn't grow back like bones do with Skele-Gro, in my case, the bleeding stopped, but as you can see, it left behind a rather painful-looking piece of art. Truth be told, sometimes when I lie down, the skin pulls and causes a chronic ache. That scar was visible through the open neckline of my dress.
"What on earth—who did this to you?"
"Hmm... Myself, I suppose."
"Huh?"
"Karma, you could call it."
When I flashed a smile, Astoria lowered her brows in even deeper sorrow.
"Does it hurt..."
"Ladies, that's enough chatting. Astoria, keep your mouth shut so you don't bite your tongue. Can you run, Maria?"
"Of course."
I followed Draco, who had dropped his guard of our surroundings just enough to readjust his grip on his wand. Astoria continued to stare at my scar with trembling eyes. She's a kind girl.
Oh, right. I shifted my hold on Astoria to prop her up on my shoulder, and pulled out Sirius's knife. —Riiip.
"M-Maria?"
"...Hey, are you sure about that?"
"It was getting in the way of moving. Sirius would forgive me. It’s no use to anyone if the person wearing it dies."
"...You've always been like that."
Seeing me sigh in satisfaction at my dress, which had now turned into an impromptu slit-skirt design, Astoria went pale and speechless, while Draco just half-smiled as if he was entirely used to it. That face pisses me off.
Fleeing from the frantic orders and footsteps of the men, we bounded down the stairs three at a time. We searched for an exit. As expected, a frontal assault would be impossible this time. We had to assume assassins were lying in wait everywhere.
Following the directions of an anxious Astoria, we headed toward the courtyard.
"The rear flowerbed is treated as Sister Daphne's personal property. And at her request, there is a gate that leads directly outside. Furthermore, because my sister hates interference, the security there should be lighter than elsewhere. However—"
"—It also means there's the highest probability that she's waiting there herself, right?"
In the covered walkway leading through the courtyard to the backyard, that very person was smiling, looking completely detached from the chaos of the outside world.
"Just as I thought—that lipstick suits you wonderfully, Miss."
"...Daphne."
I lowered Astoria to the ground, lending her my shoulder, as she stared at her biological sister standing coolly in our way. Though still unsteady, perhaps out of the minimum pride required when facing family, Astoria straightened her back with dignity and faced her sister.
"Sister Daphne—I..."
Clatter. As if to interrupt Astoria's words, Daphne tossed something black at Astoria's feet. Looking closely with caution, it was one of the lace gloves she had been wearing.
"Sister Daphne...?"
"What are you doing? Hurry up and pick it up."
"Ah..."
Urged by her sister's cold voice, Astoria picked up the glove. Instantly, her eyes—the exact same color and shape as her sister's—widened. Draco immediately shifted his gaze to Astoria's hands to check for any traps.
There was a trick. Inside the glove was a key shaped like a laurel wreath.
"...What are you playing at, Daphne?"
"Sister, this key is—"
"Sister?"
A voice that was icy, mocking Astoria from the bottom of her heart.
"I do not have a lowly sister who would pick up things fallen on the ground with her own hands. That is a maid's job. Now, if you have picked it up, return it to your master's hands at once. —You, whose name I do not even know."
"..."
Gasp. I caught my breath. Astoria's hand, gripping the laurel key—Daphne's key—was trembling. The eyes looking at her sister were full of yearning. She was also a little hurt. And—there was an undeniable lingering attachment and love for her family.
Astoria is clumsy with her feelings. In that case, her sister is—even clumsier than Astoria.
"...Excuse me, Lady Daphne. —Please, take care of yourself."
I followed Astoria, who took a firm, strong step forward before anyone else. We passed by Daphne.
Daphne's hands were folded gracefully over her stomach, like a true lady. Her gaze was fixed straight ahead. It was the picture of a perfect lady. A completely calculated beauty that anyone would praise. The masterpiece created by the Greengrass family.
—Only the raw bareness of the one hand that had lost its glove revealed her flaw, and her heart.
She did not look back. Because those walking behind her were people who had nothing to do with Daphne. She didn't even know their names. They were entities that must not exist in Daphne's life—neither now, nor ever. Therefore—Daphne Greengrass would not chase after an unknown girl. She simply relaxed her lips into a faint smile at the drifting scent of flowers.
"Oh, my. ...It seems she wasn't a maid, but a thief."
The next one to stand in our way was Winky. The gate to the outside was right behind her; she was truly the Greengrass family's last line of defense in the current situation.
"Step aside, Winky."
"Winky cannot, Winky cannot, Miss Astoria must not go outside."
"Do you not understand the meaning of us being in the garden managed by Daphne?"
"Winky can only be ordered by the members of the Greengrass family, and those the Master is close with. And the priority of orders is—"
Trembling violently with her entire small body, Winky suddenly widened her large eyes and bit her lip hard. She had probably been ordered to remain silent by this "Master." The existence of a house-elf is one of subordination and restraint. It was a truly pitiful sight.
But that wasn't all. Her expression was highly unusual. She was clearly terrified. I understood why Harry and the others had hesitated to flee from her.
"Winky has been ordered by the Master. Winky has been ordered to obey the commands of 'that person' above anyone else. Th-that person says—Miss Astoria must not be let out of the manor!"
Clenching her tiny hands into fists in front of her chest, the unfortunate house-elf gasped in terror.
"Winky, Winky doesn't want it anymore. Winky doesn't want to hurt. Winky doesn't want to be punished with the Cruciatus Curse!"
"—!"
I quickly turned to Astoria, who was covering her mouth in sheer shock. Astoria hadn't known. In that case, this must be a recent development.
"If Winky lets Miss Astoria pass, W—W—Winky will be k—k—killed by that terrifying 'person'!"
"Ah, Winky...! Please, come with us—"
"Maria!"
The sharp voice of restraint felt like a slap to the cheek. It was Draco. Holding the laurel key in his hand, Draco was glaring fiercely at Winky.
"Don't pity it. We don't have mastery over it. We shouldn't take on unnecessary risks, and we don't have the luxury to do so anyway."
"...But,"
"To a house-elf, anything given by their master, even death, is an honor. That is the kind of creature a house-elf is. Isn't that right, Winky the elf?"
"Ah— Ah—"
Overwhelmed by Draco's glare, Winky stepped back with tears in her eyes. Clang, the gate groaned in complaint. —I know. Draco is right. This is just my bad habit flaring up again without learning my lesson. I have no obligation to reach out a hand to Winky, and we have our hands full just saving ourselves. We can't carry any more burdens. That is reality. I understand that. However—like hell I can accept it!
"Winky, please. Come with us. I know you can!"
"Maria!"
"You can resist orders, even if just a little. I know it. —Dobby proved it!"
"That is exactly right, Maria Potter."
"..."
A sock-hat with a comical pattern, looking just like a toy. The small, completely unreliable-looking back of—my beloved friend.
"Dobby."
The small friend who was supposed to be waiting for our return at Grimmauld Place was standing firmly on the ground between us and Winky.
"Why..."
"Maria Potter. Dobby is Maria Potter's friend. Therefore—Dobby will not listen to orders."
"Ah..."
He had a proud expression. As a friend, Dobby had refused my 'order'.
"Maria Potter wants to help Winky. In that case, Dobby will assist with that."
"Dobby!"
Dobby waved his fingers three times. Three rings of light adhered to Winky. It was magic I had never seen before. Likely magic that only elves can wield.
"Why are you—Damn it, you soft-hearted fools! Enough with the hero complex, Potter!"
"I know! But I didn't want to abandon her a second time!"
"Oh, is that right? Fine, whatever, just gather them up and bring them along quickly!"
Draco, who had gone ahead to the gate with Astoria, inserted the laurel key into the keyhole. Just a little more. I looked back at Dobby, who was holding Winky, and waited for him to stand up.
"—That would be a problem."
Crack. Sparks painfully seared the space right before my eyes.
"Maria—!"
"I care not for the useless servant, but I must ask you to return Miss Astoria."
Brown hair and a slender build. A languid and somehow forgettable, mirage-like presence—Theodore Nott. Smiling calmly, he was pointing his wand not at us, but at Winky.
"M—Master Nott, Master Nott, please forgive me, please forgive me! Winky stopped Miss Astoria! Master Nott will not punish Winky!"
"Why are your voices so grating to the ear? Truly—what a useless servant. Is there no longer any value in letting you live?"
"Eek!"
Winky collapsed to the ground. Her legs seemed to have completely given out. I rushed over instinctively, shielding her small body in my arms.
"Maria, leave Winky!"
"Draco..."
"Don't think you can save everything! You aren't the hero, Harry!"
"..."
Being right always takes the shape of a knife.
"Maria Potter."
"Dobby."
Once again, Dobby's back stretched out before my eyes. He was so small and unreliable—yet he felt terrifyingly far away.
Theodore's wand was trained directly on Winky.
"Dobby will help his friends of his own free will."
—Probably. When all is said and done. I harbored an infinitely twisted naïveté. A curse clinging to my soul, one that could never be severed. Hope transforms into despair with just the slightest shift in balance—I had completely failed to grasp such an obvious truth. I had expected that he—who was serving as a stand-in for Malfoy—would be incapable of murder.
"Avada Kedavra."
The green light, and the small hands of my tiny friend, softly enveloped us.
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