I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 533 Negotiation

"We're the same, but—I have the ability to protect myself, while you—if you're discovered, you'll only lose your life," Bella said even more bluntly.

"Then I'd like to!"

"I won't!" Bella gasped. She glanced around to see if anyone was there, her eyes darting under her hood. "The British Ministry of Magic has very few people you can trust anymore. All the wizards who betrayed him have left. We've built fortresses elsewhere. There might be his informants here. You know that guy's relationship with him! Dumbledore won't let him get rid of that kind of relationship."

"Didn't you say he was a double agent?"

"Therefore, it's possible that the monster secretly sent people to monitor him. The moment we appeared, we would immediately step into the trap."

"No—I don't care." Narcissa lowered her voice, a hint of hysteria in it. "I must see Draco. Even if it means death."

"If you hadn't come, Draco would have been more likely to survive. The Saints might have had other plans."

"Them?" Narcissa's face was pale. "How much fighting power do they have against the current Mystic? He made an unbreakable pact with me. Bella. You know, he can't defy him; he has to protect Draco."

"That's a joke!" Bella's eyes blazed with intense anger. Ever since Owen tricked her, she had stopped believing in any contract-based spells.

"Perhaps." Narcissa remained unmoved. She was unaware of Bella's ordeal, but for now, she still firmly believed in the Unbreakable Curse.

"I'm your sister, Cici. When have I ever hurt you?"

"If you try to stop me again, then so be it." With that, Narcissa turned and rushed inside.

Bella rubbed her hands and followed them again.

She knew she could no longer persuade her.

Finally, Narcissa hurried down a street called Spider's End, its tall mill chimney towering into the sky like a giant, raised finger of warning. She walked past dilapidated windows boarded up with planks, her footsteps echoing on the cobblestones.

She arrived at the last house, where a dim light shone through the curtains of a room downstairs.

When Bella caught up, grumbling, she had already knocked on the door. They stood together outside, panting slightly, inhaling the smell of the polluted river carried by the evening breeze.

A few seconds later, they heard a noise behind the door, and then the door was opened a crack. A man peered at them, his long, black hair draped like a curtain on both sides, with a sallow face and a pair of dark eyes in the middle.

Narcissa pulled her hood back. Her face was extremely pale, almost glowing white in the night, and her long golden hair cascaded down her back, making her look like someone who had drowned.

"Narcissa!" the man said, opening the door a crack wider, letting the light shine not only on her but also on her sister. "What a surprise and delight!"

"Severus," Narcissa said nervously in a low voice, "I'm here to pick up my son."

"I know." He stepped back and let her into the house. Her older sister, still wearing a hood, followed, though she hadn't been invited.

"It's been a long time, Snape," she said simply as she passed by him.

"Bellatrix," Snape replied. His thin lips twisted into a slightly mocking smile, and he clicked the door shut behind them.

They walked straight into a small living room that felt like a dimly lit, soft-walled prison cell. Several walls were lined with books, most of them with old, black or brown leather covers; a candle-lit lamp hung from the ceiling, casting a dim circle of light within which a worn-out sofa, an old armchair, and a rickety table were crammed together.

This place has a desolate and lonely atmosphere. It seems that no one lives here normally.

Snape gestured for Narcissa to sit on the sofa. Narcissa took off her cloak and tossed it aside, then sat down, her eyes fixed on her pale, trembling hands crossed over her knees. Bellatrix slowly lowered her hood. Her sister was strikingly pale, but Narcissa's skin was a darker shade, with thick eyelids and a broad chin.

She walked over and stood behind Narcissa, her eyes never leaving Snape.

"It seems my presence here surprised you?" Bella looked coldly at Snape. From the beginning, she had suspected that this guy was a spy, but the Dark Lord wouldn't listen to her and insisted on keeping him around.

"No," Snape said. "I had a feeling you would come, which is why I came here to wait for you."

"You talk as if you're so smart," Bella scoffed. "You might be dead the next second."

"You can give it a try."

"Alright!" Narcissa interrupted them, frowning. "Where's Draco? I don't see him."

"Here." He pointed his wand at the wall of books behind him, and with a bang, a hidden door opened, revealing a narrow staircase leading to an underground space.

A strange, magical potion-like smell wafted from inside.

Then a girl bent over and walked down the last few steps to the room.

She was a very pretty little girl with striking gray eyes, a high nose, and delicate features.

"Mommy—" the girl said in a light, sweet voice, "Auntie?"

Narcissa was taken aback and looked at Snape.

"Compound Soup," Snape said lazily. "There are plenty of spies watching Hogwarts. If you want to see a corpse, you can go to King's Cross Station."

Narcissa beckoned, pulled the transformed Draco into her arms, and then cupped his forehead in her hands for a deep kiss.

This heartwarming scene was soon abruptly interrupted by another person.

"Oh! By the way," Snape said in a slick tone, "when you get back, I suggest you take him to see a therapist for a checkup."

"What?" Narcissa's face darkened. "He's been poisoned?"

"No—I mean psychological testing," Snape said with a sneer. "After all, being obsessed with a boy is a bit of a problem."

"I didn't!" Draco's expression changed, and he immediately jumped out to refute.

"Shut up," Snape said coldly. "You've been paying too much attention to him since third year—no—second year. Don't use Potter as an excuse. Do you expect me to recite every single word you've done since you took Polyjuice Potion this year?"

"You—" Draco's expression suddenly turned abnormal. He glared fiercely at Snape, eager to give him a good slap. Ever since Snape found out about his secret magic, all of Draco's secrets could no longer be hidden.

His mother seemed to have made some kind of agreement with him at the beginning of the semester, but Draco didn't care and didn't want to accept Snape's help.

He found a book called "Advanced Potion Making" at home, with Compound Potions prominently displayed. He already had a plan then.

"A boy?" Narcissa's eyes flashed with suspicion as her gaze fell on Draco, who was disguised as a girl. Suddenly, she seemed to realize something, and her heart sank into her stomach. However, she didn't delve any further into the topic. Whatever it was, she could discuss it at home; she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of outsiders.

"Alright, Draco—your potions need someone to look after them," Bella said coldly, her meaning clear.

Narcissa nodded to Draco as well.

The boy looked displeased, but did not resist. He simply left the room somewhat sullenly and returned to the hidden room.

Then Snape waved his wand, and the bookshelf closed again.

"Alright." Bella's gaze fell on Snape once more. "Let's get down to business—if you're still loyal to the Dark Lord."

"You said—" Snape neither admitted nor denied it, skipping over Bellatrix's question.

"We need to know about Canada. Don't tell me you don't know," she scoffed. "How could you, Dumbledore's most trusted loyal dog, not know?"

"What do you want to do?" Snape asked.

"That's not your question."

"Of course—" Snape's expression became inscrutable. "If you know about the Outer Gods and the Tower of Divinity, you should know what's there."

“I don’t need your explanation. Of course I know,” Bellatrix said. “I’ve been in contact with many hidden entities since I was that monster’s subordinate. What I’m asking about is the thing Dumbledore brought out of the Tower.”

"Something?" Snape said. "Ancient magic?"

"This is not your average ancient magic."

Bellatrix wore a haughty expression and said smugly, "It should be solid enough, perhaps a solid, or a liquid. Don't try to fool me. I know all about the Purifiers' technology and the goblins' technology. They unearthed something similar in the Divine Tower."

Upon hearing this, Snape's expression suddenly changed, and he looked away. He waved his wand, and a tray slowly floated out from the hidden room Draco had emerged from, containing a dirty wine bottle and three glasses.

He placed the tray on the rickety table, poured out three glasses of blood-red wine, and handed two to the two sisters.

Narcissa mumbled a "thank you," but Bellatrix said nothing. She put her glass aside and continued to glare fiercely at Snape.

"Won't you try some?" Snape grinned mischievously. "It's strong, but not spicy."

With that, he raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Narcissa also drank a glass, and Snape refilled her glass.

"I don't want to drink," Bellatrix said, then placed her glass on the table beside her.

"Do you not want to or can't?" Snape looked at her meaningfully. "Perhaps I should give you a heads-up. I have some talent for potions. Similarly, I am familiar with many of the methods of a healer."

Narcissa, keenly aware of Snape's implied meaning, looked at Bella and asked, "What's wrong? Are you sick?"

"No—she's not sick," Snape said. "She's just pregnant."

"Pregnant!" Narcissa jumped to her feet in shock. Her face showed disbelief, and in her panic, she seemed completely at a loss.

It took me a few seconds to realize what was happening.

Then she reached out and pressed her hand on her sister's stomach.

"You," she said tremulously, "whose child are you carrying?"

"Hmph—" Bellatrix tilted her head back, stroking her belly with her right hand, and said proudly, "This is my greatest treasure."

"Oh my god—" Narcissa gasped. She knew about Tom's situation. But after so many things, especially after Bella chose to betray that monster, she naively thought that her sister had finally seen through that man. Unexpectedly, she had only seen through him more deeply.

Narcissa was speechless. Reason told her that Bella shouldn't have this child. Merlin, that was the Dark Lord's child. Who knew what kind of trouble it would cause in the future? But as a mother, especially one who had just experienced meeting her "son," she simply couldn't bring herself to say those cruel words.

However, her unease did not last long, as Snape soon came to her rescue.

"You want the crystallization of ancient magic. You want to replicate the technology of the Purifiers. You want to raise your child to be the next—well—a wizard like Koyatl Stewart?"

Snape naturally knew the secrets about human alchemy.

He even knows more about this than Irving does.

Because of some of the cruel experiences Vynda Rozier had in the past, there were some things she couldn't tell Irving.

But he knew.

He knew that after Grindelwald's defeat and death, Wenda Rozier fled to the United States after hiding in Europe for several years. With the help of the Purifiers, she settled in Port Isabella and helped them decipher the ancient runic stone tablets unearthed from the Divine Tower in Brazil.

Prior to this, the Purifiers had already mastered a human alchemy technique that could infuse ancient magic into ordinary wizards, but that technique had a major flaw: almost all the wizards who were modified would die within a few hours.

The death was extremely gruesome, as it was a complete collapse of the entire body from the inside out.

It was the arrival of Wenda Rozier that changed their technology. She learned human alchemy from somewhere, perhaps as a legacy of Grindelwald. In any case, the technology she initially mastered was no less than that of the Purifiers. After the two sides reached an agreement, their technological capabilities developed to an unprecedented level.

After more than a decade of research, a feasible path has finally been identified.

This technique includes the idea that the best target for being "corroded" by ancient magic is a fetus still in the womb, because the mother can help the fetus resist some of the mutations caused by the ancient magic.

This is an extremely cruel and inhuman technology. The port of Isabella, the bottomless sea, where the grotesque monsters that are built up grow younger and younger, is a sin that Wenda Rozier can never erase.

(End of this chapter)