"When it comes to dealing with his subordinates or enemies, his methods are ruthless enough. Both his heart and his wand are as dark as they come," Lys said while patting Gobble. "He is a terrifying, powerful man—the most powerful I've ever seen."
She sighed. "Severus, as I've said before, our circumstances are different, and so are our perspectives. I don't even need to see it to know that your eyes must be filled with admiration. You've been chasing power since your second year, and the Dark Lord must align perfectly with your imagination."
Snape frowned slightly at being exposed but waited silently to hear what she would say next.
"But so what? Just like that stupid dog and I wanted to tell you, as long as you can bear the consequences, it's just a matter of different choices. I don't have the brains to scheme endlessly, and the Dark Lord can even perform Legilimency. Although I don't know what choices I'll make in the future, I know I'm not suited for that world. I'd die quickly, waving my wand around like a fool."
After hesitating for a moment, Lys added, "Severus, if it doesn't harm your interests in the future, could you help me out?" She knew it was abrupt but felt there wouldn't be a better opportunity.
Snape's extraordinary talent in Potions meant that he would undoubtedly become Britain's greatest Potions Master. If he chose to join the Death Eaters after graduation and serve the Dark Lord, he would surely rise to the top! Surely!
Lys couldn't forget the vision during her OWLs exam—the Dark Mark on her arm seen through the crystal ball. She hadn't taken it seriously before, but after meeting the Dark Lord in person, it became a lingering worry she couldn't share with anyone.
Given their shared history of fighting side by side, Lys hoped he would agree.
The two remained silent until Hagrid came rushing back, panic-stricken. "Lys! Help! Dodonna's having trouble giving birth! I can't handle it!"
Realizing their conversation wouldn't reach a conclusion, Lys could only sigh. Grabbing her wand, she was yanked away by Hagrid, who lifted her by the collar.
"Severus, keep an eye on Gobble for me! Don't let him eat anything strange!" Gobble had a history—he once ate a treasure-hunting mouse at a pet shop and even stole Senna's potion ingredients, leaving Lys too scared to utter a word at the time.
Standing upright and rummaging through the materials in his box, Snape's hair fell in front of his eyes.
Was she really that... afraid? And yet, she trusted him to be someone who might help her in the future.
But she was right—her head was all muscle. Even that incident with Thomas had been pointed out to her by the youngest Black boy.
A simple-minded yet clear-headed and powerful person was a good friend to have.
Under the condition of not harming his interests? She saw things far too clearly...
While Snape slowly organized his materials, Lys was growing increasingly anxious.
Due to her blindness this year, all the animals had been treated by Professor Kettleburn.
And now, a unicorn—an animal that only pure-hearted girls could approach—was having a difficult birth!
Lys had never dealt with anything like this; it was utterly beyond her experience!
The unicorns didn't reject Hagrid's approach but were uneasy about Lys getting close. Lys guessed it was due to the lingering magical fluctuations from her dark magic practice the night before.
Fumbling to one side as if dusting off her clothes, Lys adjusted her magical aura. Only then did the wary unicorn herd allow her to approach the struggling unicorn.
This might be the greatest benefit of her blindness—an unusual understanding of magic.
Lys struggled to recall the contents of a Muggle medical book she had read, which included an anatomical guide to horses. Out of curiosity, she had read it thoroughly. "Hagrid, is there anything different about their anatomy compared to horses?"
The question stumped Hagrid. He didn't know either.
Finally, as the unicorn was on the brink of losing its breath, Lys cut open its belly and pulled out a swollen baby unicorn that was nearly suffocating.
After handing the little creature to Hagrid, Lys drew her willow wand, plunged her hand into the silvery, bloody belly, and tried to save Dodonna.
Layer by layer, she explored. Thankfully, they weren't much different from horses. Lys worked as quickly as possible to stop the blood loss.
Although Dodonna survived, she would never be as healthy as before. Lys couldn't be sure if some parts had been properly reassembled, even though she had nearly stuck her head inside to check.
Despite this, the unicorn herd was grateful to Lys. The tall, robust leader brought a plant to her, placed it in her hand, and nuzzled her before leading the herd away.
The baby unicorn was also placed on the leader's back by Hagrid.
"They have their own ways of caring for their young. I can't help with that," Hagrid explained, about to grab Lys by the collar and take her back, but she broke free!
"Hagrid! Help me out! Pack up all the grass here for me, and I want the soil too! My goodness, so much untainted unicorn blood! If I'd known, I would've brought your cauldron!"
When Snape was prying a dried Diricawl from Gobble's mouth by its collar, Hagrid returned with a large bag of strange items in one hand and Lys in the other. Lys was holding a cloth-wrapped bundle of fresh, blood-dripping material.
"Se-Severus! I'll share some with you! It's my first time seeing so much untainted unicorn blood and flesh!" Lys was excited and decided to send half of it to her mother via owl later.
Snape looked at the messy, blood-soaked bundle glowing with a silvery sheen and connected it to what Hagrid had said about the unicorn's difficult birth. "This is... this wouldn't be..."
"Yes, it's a unicorn placenta! I bet you can't find anything this good on the black market or anywhere else!!"
Ignoring the disgusting texture, Lys wiped her hair-poked eyes and hurriedly worked with Hagrid to process the materials. It would be a shame to waste them.
She still remembered her mother's expression of admiration when she had her own room during that holiday.
Looking at the blood-soaked, disheveled Lys fumbling around, Snape once again marveled at Lys Black's keen sense for materials. Some techniques he had only vaguely conceived were already mature methods in her hands.
In the end, all three were satisfied as they returned to their beds. Lys sent the materials to her mother via six owls, Snape obtained a large bottle of not-so-clean unicorn blood collected from the soil and grass, and Hagrid was simply happy that the animals were safe and sound.
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