A deep-blue hydrangea had just been cut, dew still clinging to its petals. It trembled slightly, its intricate clusters of petals forming a perfect sphere.
Then, a hand in a plain glove picked it up and placed it in a tall-necked vase.
Wade leaned against a cabinet nearby, watching Elsie arrange the flowers with unhurried care as he said,
"So it was the Stonefield family? Then it's no surprise."
"In their eyes, a few 'ordinary' lives, or even several 'special' wizards, are nothing more than consumables in the course of an experiment. There's no real difference from us pruning away excess branches and leaves."
Wade lifted his gaze from the arrangement and asked, "Had you heard of Prometheus before?"
Elsie shook her head. "No. They did a good job keeping it secret."
"But I feel like... you aren't surprised at all," Wade said.
Elsie looked up at the boy beside her and smiled. "Wade, in this country, the rich really can do whatever they want. I've heard of things even worse than Prometheus."
"About two years ago, your Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, discovered an island in the Atlantic Ocean. Many children had been imprisoned there after being taken by Muggles for experiments. They even created an extremely rare Obscurus."
"That incident was ultimately handled by people jointly dispatched by the Ministries of Magic of several countries, and it dominated the headlines for at least half a month. You should remember it too."
Wade touched his nose and nodded.
He did more than remember it. He had been one of the participants.
It was just that Dumbledore, in order to keep certain people from bothering or targeting Wade, had concealed his existence from the public.
"When I saw the reports back then, I thought... this could never be an isolated case," Elsie