Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 245 Drinking Poison to Quench Thirst

"If repentance were effective, what would be the point of having Aurors?"

Percy hung his head and remained silent. Seeing Percy's nonchalant attitude, Thea became even more furious.

Just minutes before, she was bursting with inspiration and quickly jotting down her thoughts and ideas about the Transfiguration Spell on parchment when a burning pain in her wrist forced her to stop writing.

When she rushed back to her room, she discovered that it was because Percy had pressed the wrong communication button in his shock!

It was just news of Fudge meeting with the Muggle prime minister, but he pressed the button as if it were extremely important.

Thea sighed and rubbed her forehead. Since her inspiration had already been interrupted, she might as well listen to Percy's news.

“Never mind,” Thea said calmly. “Has Crouch made any moves lately?”

Hearing Thea's relatively calm tone, Percy finally breathed a sigh of relief and began to sort through Crouch's recent movements in his mind.

"He won over quite a few people, most of whom were dissatisfied with Fudge..."

"He's recently preparing to make a big splash and has the idea of ​​ousting Fudge ahead of time..."

"This is not urgent."

Thea took a leisurely sip of tea. “Fudge is still useful in the ministerial position. Just keep his thoughts to himself and focus on winning people over to ensure that the hardliner image doesn’t collapse.”

“Yes,” Percy replied respectfully. “You already knew about the connection between the Minister of Magic and the Muggle Prime Minister?”

Thea didn't answer immediately. Instead, she frowned and said solemnly, "Percy, we are companions, equals. You don't need to be so respectful to me."

Percy remained silent, just as he had countless times before when the topic had been brought up.

Thea couldn't control him, so she had to answer his questions first.

"The wizarding world can never be independent of the Muggle world. As long as there is one Muggle-born wizard, this is absolutely impossible."

"Furthermore, the Muggle world may not be completely unaware of the wizarding world. For every Muggle wizard, there are countless wizard parents, friends, and relatives... How could a forgetting charm possibly keep the secret completely?"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

After answering Percy's questions, Thea wanted to continue organizing the Transfiguration notes, but Lukewood's words remained like an ice cube pressing down on her heart.

Those who play with time will eventually be played by time.

It sounds like a prophecy, or a warning.

Can……

This is one of the things that kept me alive!

I desperately need time to close the gap with Dumbledore, Voldemort, and the like. I don't want to become a pawn on their chessboard, to be pushed out like cannon fodder at any time!

I need to protect myself!

Even if this approach is like drinking poison to quench thirst, it doesn't matter!

I would rather die with my head held high on the road of resistance than cower in the midst of gunfire and turn to ashes!

Unbeknownst to her, Thea walked all the way to the backyard of the old house. She stood on the corridor and walked forward absentmindedly, almost bumping into Bella, who looked puzzled.

"Thea?" Bella asked, a little puzzled. "Why do you seem so distracted? Is the spell difficult?"

"No," Thea said, concealing her recent wild thoughts, her face still displaying the sweet smile of a dutiful daughter. "I was just a little tired, so I came out for a walk."

Bella didn't seem to care about Thea's words, nodding noncommittally. Recalling everything that had just happened in Spider's End Alley, a hint of pity appeared in her eyes as she looked at Thea.

"You and Cici are very close?"

Thea paused for a second, it seemed like she hadn't heard that nickname in a long time. Although she didn't know why Bella suddenly brought up Aunt Cici, she still nodded, "Aunt Cici is very good to me."

Seeing that Bella seemed a little curious, Thea simply started throwing out various examples, from rare jewelry to dishes that perfectly suited her taste…

Aunt Sissy was indeed very kind to her.

Hearing the undisguised affection in Thea's tone, Bella felt an increasing pity for her.

Poor little Thea, you probably have no idea how that "kind" aunt is currently weighing the pros and cons, trying to get the most out of you...

Bella's expression of pity for Thea was already the limit. She never thought that Cici was wrong to scheme against Thea. Survival of the fittest has always been a characteristic of Slytherin. If you are not as skilled as others, it is only natural that you should be schemed against.

When faced with this situation, you either fight back or swallow your anger; there is no other choice.

Bella had thought everything through in her mind, intending to remain neutral, at most helping Thea if she got beaten up...

But... looking at Thea's carefree smile, and thinking that one day that smile might turn into tears...

Bella suddenly realized that as a mother, she should take responsibility!

And so, completely unaware of what Bella was thinking, Thea was dragged away by Bella the next day for "special training"...

Thea, who was once again knocked to the ground by Bella: "..."

Fine... I'll endure it for the sake of improving my strength!

Voldemort also learned about Bella's special tutoring for her, and a few days later, as if joining in the fun, he sent Thea several books, unsurprisingly—all of them were dark magic that would allow Thea to spend the rest of her life in Azkaban.

"I'll be going out with Alex and the others in a few days,"

Voldemort's decision was beyond question, and Thea could only agree.

Even a fool could guess what the Death Eaters' activities were.

Voldemort seems to know how to drag people into a quagmire—Thea killed someone.

She was a witch named Emily Vance.

Thea could never forget the image of the blood-covered witch staring wide-eyed at Thea as she cast the killing spell on her.

Thea thought she would probably never forget this scene for the rest of her life, and this scene was very likely just the beginning.