HP: The Stellar Witch [OFC]

Lys and Senna were spotted by members of the Order of the Phoenix while on the high platform. Suppressing all her fear and unease, Lys held the weakened Senna tightly and struggled to leap down from the platform.

Her wand was to be confiscated, and Lys cooperated without resistance. However, she showed them her academic record and explained, "I'm still a student of Dumbledore. I got caught up in this while trying to save a few children. Also, there are three more survivors up there."

The person pointing their wand at Lys didn't lower it but instead summoned a companion to inspect the platform. The witch leapt up and immediately let out a horrified scream.

"Oh! My Merlin! Albus, Moody is here! Come quickly!" she shrieked repeatedly, calling for Dumbledore. He couldn't even wait a few steps and Apparated directly onto the platform.

Lys thought to herself: poor Moody. As an Auror who had cost the Death Eaters five members, he had been left on the square to endure curses and humiliation, even being paraded around by Bellatrix for her own amusement.

Cuts marred his face and head, one eye had been gouged out, his body bore blisters from self-inflicted burns, his arm was twisted, and his leg—maybe it could still be saved above the knee? Lys thought she had been quite ruthless, but the curse shouldn't have spread that far.

"Headmaster, Headmaster!" Lys, holding her mother in both arms and carrying Gulp on her shoulder, couldn't hold on any longer. She slid down to sit against the platform, still raising her hand to attract Dumbledore's attention.

"Headmaster, look at me. What about me and my mother?" She looked up at the white-bearded man before her, feeling uneasy. "I don't want to take sides. I don't want my family to be in danger."

Dumbledore's stern expression and piercing blue eyes revealed something Lys couldn't quite decipher. She hurriedly added, "I didn't hurt anyone! I only got involved because I was trying to bring young Moody and Blake back to their families! And that big Moody—he's alive because of me!"

Lys felt a pang of fear. Dumbledore's silence left her uncertain about what might happen if she were deemed a follower of Voldemort.

"And you are?" Dumbledore couldn't recognize the blood-covered figure before him. Her face and body were smeared with half-dried blood, making her unidentifiable. It was odd for someone claiming loyalty to Voldemort to stay and call him "Headmaster" while saying such things.

"Me!" Lys pulled Gulp from Senna's arms and hung it around her neck. "Starlys Black, the one who got into that fight at school!"

Dumbledore's expression grew complicated. He remembered her—the student who had once accused him of arrogance and narrow-mindedness, judging her with dictatorial authority.

To be honest, his feelings toward this child were mixed. At times, she reminded him of Tom—equally talented and with a troubled childhood.

She had once asked him, "Why do you always test people's hearts by letting things spiral out of control?"

Looking at how she protected the person in her arms, wasn't she more capable of love than Tom?

"Of course, I understand. Then, 'Menthos,'" Dumbledore said, taking out a pocket watch and casting the Portkey spell. "Please don't mind waiting in my office until I return. For now, it's not safe..."

Lys quickly agreed, "Understood, understood." Before Dumbledore could finish, she grabbed her wand, took the Portkey, and placed it in Senna's hand. The two of them, holding the pocket watch, were yanked by the magic, their navels pulling as they were flung into Dumbledore's office.

Dumbledore sighed, watching the spot where the two and the snake had vanished. "For now, it's not safe..."

Lys thought the fewer people who saw her, the better. After all, from the explosion to Dumbledore's arrival, it had been over thirty minutes—more than enough time for Aurors to arrive.

But none came. Whether through Floo Network fireplaces, Apparition teams, or broomsticks, the Aurors of the Ministry of Magic didn't show up. In the end, it was Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix that arrived first.

This made Lys suspect that the Ministry of Magic was already in the hands of those pure-blood families.

If Aurors got involved, she would inevitably have to take a public stance, and Lys didn't want that.

The Dark Lord was unstable, and the white wizards weren't strong enough. Life under either side wouldn't be good.

She planned to graduate from school in two years and see if the war would end. If not, she'd find a way to leave Britain with her parents.

Or, if her parents wanted to leave now, Lys wouldn't object.

After settling her mother on the oversized sofa, Lys glanced out the window at the expansive lake and the vast forest in the distance.

This was Hogwarts.

On the slender table in front of the sofa were some silver instruments emitting strange mist. Lys leaned closer to take a look and saw her reflection in the shiny surface.

Her messy, slightly curly hair was disheveled, and her face and body were covered in bloodstains. She tugged at her torn dress, only to find it soaked with blood, dripping when squeezed.

It must have been from the runes magic being broken and the blood she lay in on the platform. She hadn't noticed earlier, being preoccupied.

The stench was unbearable. Lys quickly cast two Scourgify spells on herself, then checked Senna. At least she looked clean and pale, though weak. Even Gulp seemed fine. But why did she look so wretched?

However, Scourgify didn't work. Lys tried Aguamenti, but it didn't help either. Perhaps it was a restriction in the Headmaster's office or Dumbledore's precautionary measures. No matter. She scanned the room, grabbing candies and biscuits from the table and handing them to Senna. She even poured her a glass of pumpkin juice.

"It's not very tasty, Mom, but drink some. Who knows when that old… Headmaster will be back."

Glancing at the portraits on the walls, Lys sincerely hoped she could keep her mouth shut in such tense moments.

"Is Dad okay?"

"He should be fine. I checked; we weren't followed. Coco will take care of him. He must be very worried now..." Senna, still groggy after removing her ring, replied weakly.

Looking at the bloodstains on the floor and sofa, Lys obediently waited for Dumbledore to return.

And so, they waited for a day and a night. When the sound of the stone door opening woke Lys, who had curled up on the carpet beside the sofa to avoid squeezing Senna, she cautiously raised her wand. "Headmaster?"

"Yes, it's me, child... Ahem, my apologies. The situation was too severe to avoid keeping you waiting." Dumbledore remembered how Lys disliked being called a child and reacted strongly to it.

Seeing her disheveled state, he waved his wand, casting several Scourgify spells, then conjured a warm basin of water and a towel. "It was my oversight, but I was truly…"

He also conjured an emerald green wizard's robe, a men's style. "Hmm, I suppose the shop might have mistaken my size. It's a bit short for me."

Seeing her reflection much cleaner, Lys first helped Senna wipe her face, then buried her own face in the basin, splashing water everywhere. She quickly changed out of her dress, grateful to be rid of the stink.

Senna, still weak from her injuries, leaned against the sofa back. She had been lying there the whole time.

Dumbledore turned to Lys and said, "I've already informed Poppy about your sister's injuries. She'll be here shortly. In the meantime, let's discuss what happened yesterday. I hope..."

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