Hogwarts: Lacus doesn't want to be a witch who destroys nations.

Chapter 97 Companions (11 chapters released)

Lux's mind raced; she knew she couldn't win a fight.

Run, but there's nowhere to run, and you can't outrun them anyway.

reject?

The other party's attitude seemed easygoing, but the oppressive feeling brought by their unfathomable strength was very real.

The conditions he offered were almost the best solution to Lux's current predicament: to be escorted back to England by a great wizard.

"—I need to bring a vampire with me." Lux took a deep breath, stated her condition, and stared intently at the other party's reaction.

Traveling with a vampire? Most normal people would hesitate or even refuse, right?

After all, vampires don't have a good reputation in the wizarding world, let alone traveling with them.

However, Carl's reaction once again surprised her.

Instead of disgust, his eyes suddenly lit up with an almost fiery light, the kind of excitement one feels when seeing a rare treasure.

"You can control vampires? It seems you were born to be a dark wizard," Karl's voice was filled with undisguised admiration.

Lux: "???"

Who wants to be a dark wizard?! This is forced cooperation!

"Genius! A born dark wizard—well, I mean, your talent for manipulating magical creatures is astounding! Of course, you have to take me along! You're the perfect—uh, I mean, travel companion!"

Carl readily agreed, "But you have to guarantee she won't lose control, or I won't hold back."

Lux:

Damn it, it seems I've accidentally confirmed that this guy is definitely a mysterious and incredibly powerful dark wizard with an extraordinary interest in dark art.

But things have come to this point, and it seems there are no better options.

"—Alright." Lux nodded with difficulty. "I'll go with you. But it's agreed that it will be for a month, and then you'll send me back to England."

"Of course, I always keep my promises." Carl stood up with a bright smile. "Go pack your things, we'll leave in an hour."

Lux turned and ran towards the cellar. Karl leaned against the doorframe, watching her retreating figure with deep eyes, his fingers unconsciously stroking the rune brooch on his collar. "Runes—vampires—and this interesting little wizard—it seems this trip to the Soviet Union won't be boring."

Lux ran to the cellar and used her wand to remove the silver nails pinning Eve's hands and feet.

Eve flexed her wrist, a hint of confusion in her bloodshot eyes: "You're taking me away? Why?"

"We've got a temporary companion," Lux explained simply. "He can take us back to England. Don't wander off or bite anyone along the way, okay? Once we get to England, I'll find a way to help you get rid of your vampire status."

Eve looked at her, then at the direction outside the cellar, and nodded gently: "I understand."

Lux took Lumi out of the wicker basket and placed it in Eve's arms: "Hold it for me, don't let it run around."

Lumi: "Boo? Why me! I'm afraid she'll treat me like a snack!"

"She won't," Lux patted Lumi's head. "Be good, I'll buy you Honeydukes candy when we get back."

Lumi immediately quieted down, nestled obediently in Eve's arms, and stared warily at Eve's sharp teeth with her little eyes.

Lux quickly packed her things and took the remaining Filo Powder with her. Although the Filo Net was unusable, it might come in handy in the future.

When she returned to the cabin with Eve and Lumi, Carl was already waiting at the door, carrying a black bag, the contents of which were unknown.

He looked Eve up and down with curiosity. "I didn't expect you to actually tame a vampire. I thought it was a blood servant or something else."

"What, it's not allowed?"

"Of course, are you ready?" Carl asked.

"Mm." Lux nodded.

"Then let's go. Hold on tight to me, I'll use Apparition to take you away."

Lux quickly grabbed Karl's arm, and Eve, who was also holding Lumi, reached out and grabbed Lux's clothes.

The next second, a familiar dizziness struck Lux, the scene before her eyes spun rapidly, and the sound of wind and snow howled in her ears.

"Ugh—could you please let me know in advance next time?!"

Lux suppressed her nausea and waited for the dizziness to pass before realizing she was standing on an unfamiliar snowfield, surrounded by knee-deep snow. In the distance, she could see a sparse forest. Eve seemed to have no reaction and was obviously much more adapted than Lux.

"Where is this again?" Lux rubbed her almost frozen hands, her breath instantly dissipating in the wind. "In the middle of nowhere, Mr. Carl, is your academic expedition just about chatting in the snow?"

Carl seemed completely unaffected by the cold. He pulled two small glass bottles from the unassuming black bag, inside which sloshed about a murky, muddy liquid, and handed them over.

"Drink it." His tone left no room for argument.

"The compound drug used for transformation has been adjusted in dosage and can last for six hours."

Lux frowned, clutching the bottle, a pungent herbal smell lingering in her nostrils. "Change what? I'm fine as I am, there's no need to change my look, is there?"

You'll know when you get there.

Carl raised an eyebrow and pointed at Eve. "She has to drink too. Her vampire traits are too obvious. We can't just let a vampire swagger into a place like that."

Eve didn't ask any questions, took the bottle, twisted it open, and drank it down. Her Adam's apple bobbed twice, and she even licked the corner of her mouth after finishing.

Seeing this, Lux had no choice but to pinch her nose and tilt her head back. The bitter liquid slid down her throat, like swallowing a mouthful of medicine mixed with mud.

A few seconds later, a familiar tingling sensation spread from her limbs to her bones. Lux watched as her hands began to swell, her knuckles thickened, and her once-fitting cloak suddenly tightened, making her gasp for breath.

She looked down and found that she had grown at least a head taller. Her original blonde hair had grown longer and reached her shoulders. The baby fat on her face had disappeared, and her features had become sharp. She looked exactly like a witch in her twenties.

Eve's transformation was even more dramatic. Her originally slender body swelled up, her muscles bulged, and her long black dress was torn into strips, revealing arms covered with pale golden down. Her originally pale skin turned into a healthy wheat color, making her look like a strong man over two meters tall. Lumi in her arms was so frightened that she almost fell off with a "pop".

"Eve?" Lux called out tentatively.

The burly Eve lowered her head, her voice becoming hoarse and deep: "It's me."

"Comrade Lux, and your brother, Comrade Ivan," Karl said in fluent Russian, his tone becoming humble and cautious.

"Stay close to me. Remember, you are wizarding apprentices from Leningrad. You've come to the Ministry of Magic with me. Observe more and talk less, especially you."

He glanced at Lux. "Stop having that curiosity."

Before Lux could react, Karl had already reached out and grabbed her arm with one hand and Eve's arm with the other.

"Wait! Where are we going to————" Lux's protest was drowned out by the sudden, intense feeling of pressure and dizziness.

When Lux's feet touched solid ground again, her legs went weak and she almost knelt down. Luckily, Eve reached out and helped her up. Eve's grip was so strong that it hurt Lux's arm.

She forced herself to lift her head, feeling nauseous, and then froze completely.

What lay before them was not the wasteland or village they had imagined, but a vast, suffocating, and extremely luxurious palace-like building.

The enormous dome shimmered with a dark golden light in the dim sky, and the walls were made of thick, milky-white marble, carved with intricate reliefs full of the atmosphere of the Tsarist era: double-headed eagles, entwined vines, and majestic statues of wizards.

On either side of the wide steps stood enormous lampposts burning with eerie blue magical flames.

This—this is the Soviet Ministry of Magic?!

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