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Chapter 20
Accident
Hydras stood in front of the bathroom mirror.
Whenever she handled her daily personal hygiene, she switched into her house-elf physique.
She opened her mouth and pointed at it with her finger. Instantly, a refreshing sensation spread through her mouth.
She pointed at her face, and it became clean, smooth, and fair in an instant.
She pointed at her hair. Her long black hair floated up lightly, all traces of grease vanishing as it neatly braided itself.
She nodded in satisfaction.
That day, I was so frightened by Dumbledore that I fled Diagon Alley in a panic and completely forgot to buy the textbooks… what a pity.
But after thinking it over, she realised that she didn't actually need wizarding magic at this stage.
Was it that house-elf magic was no longer appealing?
Or that the fire dragon's magical constitution was still incomplete?
As for the two ancient books taken from the Grey family vault—one was written entirely in runes, the other in Old English.
There was no need to mention the runic text; Hydras was fluent in runes.
But the Old English book…
Although she recognised every letter individually, once they were put together, she couldn't understand a single word.
After switching back to Audrey's appearance, Hydras headed downstairs.
"Audrey, you're up!"
Rick stuck half his head out of the kitchen. "Look what I made for you!"
"Good morning, Brother," Audrey said cheerfully as she came down the stairs.
"Let me see what you're so proud of!"
On the dining table sat a plate holding several crooked, strip-shaped objects.
"I made these based on your description of youtiao," Rick said earnestly.
"I tasted them myself—they're delicious!"
Staring at the rather… unappetising fried dough sticks, Audrey gave an awkward smile.
I really shouldn't have taught Rick how to make youtiao… I've dug my own grave.
Do these even look edible?
Rick saying they tasted good proved nothing.
The British palate was… questionable.
She dipped one into milk and took a bite.
…Hm?
Audrey froze.
To her surprise, Rick's youtiao were unexpectedly crispy—and genuinely tasty.
"Delicious!"
Rick's eyes curved into crescents at the praise.
He sighed.
"If our income hadn't improved over the last two months, we really couldn't afford to make things like this."
He glanced at the pot of hot oil on the stove and sighed again.
…
…
"Brother, I'm going out to play!"
Audrey dashed out the door.
"Hey—slow down! Don't trip!"
Rick called after her, but she didn't turn back. She simply raised her hand high and waved.
"Okay!"
Rick chuckled and shook his head as he moved to close the door.
Suddenly, a tabby cat darted out through the gap, startling him.
"Oh? Golden Tiger?"
"Didn't Audrey take you with her?"
Golden Tiger had been with them for three months now.
This cat had an extremely strong personality.
It couldn't be held or petted.
It insisted on eating the same food as they did and refused all cat food and tinned meals.
If it wasn't fed on time, it would beat people up.
It was practically a grumpy old grandfather in feline form.
Fortunately, it didn't wreck the house or cause trouble.
And even when it hit people, it always retracted its claws.
A very sensible cat—by some standards.
…
…
High above the sky, not far from the Welsh Thestral Stagecoach Station.
Hydras hovered in mid-air, gazing into the distance.
She was currently using a Thestral constitution.
The reason she wasn't using the fire dragon physique was simple—she had discovered a serious problem.
She didn't yet have full control over it.
Not only would her body undergo partial draconic transformation, but her personality and temperament would also be influenced by a fire dragon's instincts.
So for now, she relied on Thestrals for flight—fast, agile, and invisible to most people.
A few minutes later, a carriage departed from the station and flew toward her.
Hydras smiled faintly.
"The Grey family… do you people ever learn?"
"At least change the delivery time."
"This fixed schedule is embarrassingly easy."
She rose higher into the sky.
Below her, the sea of clouds wasn't just an endless mass of woolly shapes—some clouds resembled crimson-stained mountains under the setting sun, rugged and majestic.
Once the Thestral carriage entered the five-hundred-metre range, Hydras cancelled her Thestral form and began to free-fall.
Five seconds later, she switched to her house-elf physique.
Crackle!
Hydras appeared inside the carriage, beaming.
Before she could even see who was opposite her, she shouted:
"Robbery! Hand over the Galleons!"
She knew the routine well—after all, she'd intercepted these shipments four times already.
The man sitting across from her remained perfectly calm.
A box that should have contained Galleons sat quietly beside him.
He had short, neatly combed grey hair. His black waistcoat made him look sharp and capable, while the overcoat he wore gave him an air of authority.
Hydras stared, stunned.
"Bode Grey?"
She was genuinely surprised.
"Is there no one left in the Grey family?"
"Does the head of the family really have to transport Galleons personally now?"
Bode Grey's expression darkened.
For the past three months, the Grey family had become the laughing stock of the wizarding world.
Their Galleon shipments were attacked by a fire dragon.
They tried bribing Ministry officials with joke products.
They falsely accused Gringotts of embezzlement.
They even sold Lestrange family artefacts at absurdly low prices to cover household expenses.
Bode Grey hadn't understood what was happening—until he accidentally heard the name:
Hydras the Dragon.
Setting aside the Gringotts affair—he had neither evidence nor the means to confront them directly—
There was no doubt she was involved in the Thestral carriage robberies.
And now, she had delivered herself straight to him.
As expected—
Hydras had crashed right into his trap.
Still using the same tricks?
Did you really think I was as incompetent as the others?
"Miss Lestrange," Bode said coldly,
"You stole nearly ten thousand Galleons from the Grey family. Don't you think you owe me an explanation?"
Actually, it was closer to twenty thousand.
Hydras smiled.
"Grandfather Bode, don't you know where the Grey family's wealth really comes from?"
She liked conversations like this.
They gave her time to transform.
As Hydras shifted into her dragon-man form, Bode showed no surprise.
"Indeed," he sneered,
"There are no wrong nicknames—only wrong people."
"Hydras the Dragon?"
"Then today, I'll be the dragon slayer."
Boom!
A terrifying aura erupted from Bode Grey.
A magical shockwave exploded outward.
The entire carriage disintegrated mid-air.
The four Thestrals pulling it were injured, shrieking in pain as they scattered into the distance.
Protected by dragon scales, Hydras was unharmed.
She clearly saw the wooden box beside Bode shatter as well—
And inside, there wasn't even a single Knutt.
So from start to finish…
This had been a trap.
She had been the rabbit running headlong into a waiting tree stump.
Hydras floated in the air, her dragon-blood roaring with fury.
I was actually outplayed?
Bode Grey was enveloped in a howling gale.
He hovered calmly in mid-air.
"Miss Lestrange," he said coldly,
"You're not the only one who can fly."
His voice was utterly devoid of emotion.
"I don't care how you obtained your power."
"That no longer matters."
He raised his wand.
"Norson. Daniel. Stevenson."
"Those useless fools failed to kill you and let you live this long."
"But now—"
"For the sake of the Grey family…"
"You'd best die here."
"Infinite Ice."
The temperature plummeted.
Hydras felt her body stiffening as ice crystals rapidly spread across her form.
The freezing was terrifyingly fast.
Another second—and she would have been completely encased.
The dragon-man shot upward at full speed, narrowly escaping total immobilisation.
Freezing a fire dragon's body was no ordinary feat.
Even more terrifying—
The range of Bode Grey's magic was enormous.
From above, she saw a thirty-metre-wide area below turn deep blue—
And that frozen zone was still expanding.
Hydras was shocked.
She had never imagined that the low-profile head of the Grey family was such a powerful wizard.
She turned and fled.
Her instincts screamed at her—this was not an opponent she could defeat.
She accelerated desperately, trying to widen the distance so she could Apparate away.
But now—
The fatal flaw of needing five seconds to switch constitutions became painfully obvious.
Five seconds.
Enough to kill her.
Still, she trusted her speed.
As long as she could create distance, she might survive.
However—
"Trying to run?"
Crackle!
Bode Grey Apparated directly in front of her.
"Why didn't you Apparate?" he mocked.
"I hear you're very good at it."
"It's all right."
"I'll give you a chance."
"Let's see whether I can track you through magical resonance, Miss Lestrange."
His tone was dripping with sarcasm.
Hydras' face went pale.
She had made a catastrophic mistake.
This time—
She was truly in trouble.