Warning

Once the seed of a rift was planted, even altering every memory in the mind could not change the suspicion that had already become deeply engraved on the soul.

From the moment Anna placed the memory in the crystal bottle, she knew Bellatrix could no longer escape this bottomless trap.

The last rays of the setting sun were growing dim. Standing in the middle of the seemingly empty corridor, she carefully put away her wand.

The four hiding under the Invisibility Cloak did not know what the two had just been doing with their wands. They had yet to encounter that advanced memory magic, and because of the light and their angle in the corridor, they had not seen the memory bottle containing the silvery substance either.

The girl patted the pocket at her waist where she kept her wand, finding it almost unbelievable how smoothly things had gone.

Although her old father could also manipulate people's minds, he generally amplified thoughts they had buried deep in their hearts and dared not voice in public. He could not, as she had, make Bellatrix let him alter her memory through conversation alone.

As the conversation had begun to flow, an extremely eerie feeling had seemed to surround the two of them.

The feeling was truly strange. If she had to put it into words, it was as though an invisible thread had extended from within her as she guided the conversation, seemingly able to touch the fluctuations of the other woman's soul.

Rather than a conversational technique, what she had just done was more like a kind of magic akin to bewitchment.

When she had another chance, she would have to experiment again and see what power within her was at work.

It was most likely connected to a certain god. Could this ability be her true golden finger?

It was getting late, and Severus and Lily were probably waiting in the Great Hall. She had better hurry over so they would not worry.

That was what Anna was thinking when, as she passed the four trembling figures, she suddenly stopped beside them.

"Oh, right.

"It would be troublesome if certain people happened to see Miss Black and me meeting just now.

"Perhaps I should find those people and cast a Memory Charm on each of them.

"Hehe."

The sight of someone talking to herself in an empty space was truly creepy, and to James Potter and the other three, her words were even more terrifying.

Anna did not lift their Invisibility Cloak, however, and soon left.

About ten minutes after she had gone, James Potter, who had remained silent the whole time, finally pulled the Invisibility Cloak off them and leaned against the wall, gasping for breath.

"I-I swear, she definitely noticed us just now!"

Sirius had lost his usual elegance. He swallowed, still shaken, and kept his eyes fixed on the direction Anna had gone.

"Impossible! My Invisibility Cloak couldn't have failed!"

James Potter immediately protested, but he sounded rather unconvincing.

"Then how do you explain what she said before she left? And she just had to stand right in front of us when she said it. My god, I nearly pulled out my wand!"

Sirius looked away and pressed a hand to his chest. His heart was still racing.

James Potter was instantly silenced. If he had not clamped a hand over his mouth, he might have screamed when Anna said she would cast Memory Charms on them.

"Whatever the case, I really don't want to mess with her anymore."

He had originally wanted to uncover her secrets, but while he had seen a secret, he had also seen his own cousin!

Sirius could not forget how Bellatrix, who had come storming over in a rage, had gone from looking annoyed to looking vicious. After they exchanged a few words, her expression had turned fearful, mixed with fascination, shame and anger, and many other emotions he could not understand. In the end, she had actually let the other girl take out her wand!

The two had acted so mysteriously, as though they had made some kind of deal. Unfortunately, they had been too far away, and from the snatches of sound, the four could only guess that they had been talking about the Dark Lord!

The Black family had always been closely connected to the Dark Lord, so Sirius knew very well how frightening that man was. He wanted nothing to do with any of it.

On top of that, Anna's pointed warning before she left had made it clear that if they dared tell anyone about this, things would not end well for them.

"Let's not talk about this here. It's too late. We'd better head back first."

Lupin reminded them. The sky had gone dark, and the magical torches in the corridor had begun to blaze, but they could not dispel the chill of the night.

"Right, right, right. Let's hurry back."

Peter Pettigrew nodded at once, but the four walked in the direction they had come from for quite some time and still could not find their way back.

Newly arrived young wizards could hardly be expected to understand Hogwarts' complicated layout, especially now that it was dark and some corridors had no torches. Wandering through the gloomy, icy castle, they became completely lost.

"I'm back."

Meanwhile, Anna returned to the bustling Great Hall and sat down beside Snape. She forked some food from a plate on the table and began enjoying her dinner.

"What happened to you this time?"

Snape knew perfectly well how long it took to get from the Owlery to the Great Hall. Since she had arrived so late, something must have delayed her.

"Nothing much. I ran into Bellatrix and had a little chat, that's all."

Only after finishing a small cake did she answer unhurriedly.

"Her?"

The person beside her frowned, as though recalling something unpleasant, and gave a quiet snort.

"I thought it would be Malfoy or Voldemort himself. I didn't expect her to be the first one to come looking for me.

"She really is Voldemort's most loyal Death Eater, rushing to the front line for everything.

"Ah, but that might not be true anymore."

Recalling her conversation with the woman, Anna chuckled and raised her cup toward the High Table.

Dumbledore, who had come for dinner, saw the relaxed, cheerful smile on her face and smiled and nodded gently in response.

Did something good happen to this child? Why is she smiling so happily?

Whatever the case, as long as she's happy.

He thought.

Snape heard what she had said, and doubts arose in his mind.

"What do you mean?"

"I'll tell you when we get back. Oh, right, I led Potter and the others to that remote corridor on the west side. They might not find their way back even by tomorrow morning."

Anna changed the subject of Bellatrix. With people coming and going here, she could hardly go into detail.

"How did you run into those people?"

"Maybe because of what happened on the train, Mr. Potter wanted to play a trick on me in revenge. Too bad he miscalculated."

"Hmph, stupid Potter!"