Chapter 72. Assassins
The next week passed quietly, except that by the second day, Severus joined the goblins himself to speed things up. With his help, construction speed nearly doubled, and monitoring the work became much easier. After all, goblins were the finest craftsmen in this world, combining dwarven diligence and skill with a greedy love of gold. And after getting to know them better, he'd even begun to appreciate their excellent workmanship. For the entire week, he'd only deducted a measly eighty Galleons from the promised thousand, even though he'd expected to deduct at least thirty percent.
The house was nearly complete. Only the roof and windows remained to be finished. As for the interior, he decided to handle it himself, or rather, with magic, since he first needed to apply runes to the walls. Severus didn't want to show those to the goblins, and only afterward could he use transformation magic to rebuild the interior however he wanted, without anyone's help.
That week, Severus finally completed his work on the new potions. He had no intention of revealing these recipes yet, at least not until demand for his earlier creations subsided. He decided to stop adapting recipes from his old world for now. He already had enough Galleons, and his existing releases would continue yielding profits for a long time to come. Instead, he chose to dedicate himself to his studies to live up to Slughorn's expectations. The professor had spared no effort in teaching him. In this world, Slughorn had become important to him, and Severus had no intention of remaining idle. This was his second life, and he had no intention of seeing it end anytime soon. He wanted to learn as much as possible; even if this world was magically weak, it still held masters who had much to teach.
More than anything, he wanted to meet Flamel, the greatest alchemist of this world, who had lived over six hundred years thanks to the Philosopher's Stone, whereas the average wizard lived only twenty or thirty years longer than Muggles. Of course, there were exceptions: magisters like Dumbledore. Dumbledore would easily reach two hundred, as would the previous headmaster, who was already somehow into his third century. Severus did not know what rank the man held, but he was certain the old wizard had surpassed the Magister threshold. After all, this world held many mysteries, and magisters, perhaps even archmages, were not found only in Magical Britain. Of course, Severus wanted to find the legacy of Hogwarts' founders, but even if he never succeeded, he would not regret it too much.
Although Severus had reached a level of power where few could threaten him in this world, that was far from his final goal. It was only the beginning. He would regain his former strength, become an Archmage once more, and surpass his past self, breaking through to become a Great Archmage. The latter was only a dream in this magically weak world, but the rank of Archmage was not unattainable. It would simply require two dozen years of dedicated effort, as well as collecting a large number of crystals filled with pure magical power, like those in that cave.
London. Knightsbridge
In the park, not far from the city's noisy bustle, a witch dressed in black stood beside a lamppost. She calmly watched people passing by, as if lost in thought, until someone suddenly covered her eyes with his hands, earning an irritated snort.
"Stop these games."
"Miss Black, you are as charming as always," a pleasant male voice said near her ear.
"And you are as annoying as always," Bellatrix replied sharply. After he removed his hands from her eyes, he slid them down to her slim waist.
"And what can I do?"
"Do not touch me."
"That's impossible. The moment I see your face, I lose my head and want to take you home, lock you in a golden cage, and admire you forever."
Bellatrix stared at him strangely.
"Did someone hit you on the head? Or did you eat something bad?"
"Hmph! You know, I tried to be gallant with you, like a true aristocrat, saying one thing while meaning another and thinking of a third," Severus grumbled, pressing her closer.
"It doesn't suit you at all. Behave like you used to. I get enough of that at home and at every meeting with other families."
"Well, if that's what my Bella wants, so be it." Bellatrix glared at him menacingly and broke free of his embrace.
"Don't call me that. How many times do I have to tell you?" she said tiredly, taking a simple black wallet from which she pulled out a box and handed it to him.
Severus opened it with mild interest, raising an eyebrow.
"You are faster than I thought. I'll contact him tomorrow. I think he'll be here in a couple of days. Anyway, I'll send an owl."
"I see. Then I..." Bellatrix took a step, but stopped when Severus caught her hand. She looked at him grimly.
"We still have a whole day ahead of us. You know, you pulled me away from work, so you have to take responsibility."
Seeing his cheeky smile, Bellatrix really wanted to wipe it off his face, as painfully as possible.
"We agreed only on weekends."
"I don't care. I heard a new confectionery opened nearby, and they say the pastries there are among the best in the city." Her shoulders trembled, but he continued. "The sequel to that movie just came out, and I happen to have two tickets."
A few minutes later, Bellatrix gave in. Those words were too enticing, and she wasn't even angry with him for manipulating her like that, which was very strange for her. Before, she couldn't stand him, but now that feeling had almost completely disappeared, turning into something else she couldn't understand.
Toward evening, after walking Bellatrix home as usual and smiling again at the elderly lady peering from the window, Severus headed calmly toward the park, and seven shadows followed him.
When he finally reached a deserted hill surrounded by trees, he stopped, turned around, and said with an indifferent expression:
"Come out. Do you think I don't see you?"
For several seconds, deathly silence reigned, until a crackling sound rang out and six wizards in dark clothing appeared right in front of him.
"When did you notice?" one of them asked grimly, calmly drawing his wand, while the others were already aiming their wands at Severus.
"From the moment I met Bella, you tried to hide in the shadows, but you masked your magic very poorly. Tell the one trying to attack from behind to come out, too, or else." A cold smile appeared on Severus's face, and seven fireballs the size of soccer balls ignited behind his back. They radiated such heat that the snow around him melted completely.
That display of power made the leader wary. He understood it was not an illusion, and the fact that their opponent had cast it without words or a wand made one thing clear: this was not a simple sixth-year student, as they were told, but someone much stronger. The sum they had been paid was far too low.
"Andrew, come back," the man ordered sternly, and a moment later a shadow flashed past Severus and another person appeared beside the group.
"Retreating?"
"We accepted an order to frighten a simple Hogwarts student, not a wizard of your level."
"I see. So you do have brains." One fireball vanished, and in the next instant the tree behind them turned to ash.
All seven broke into a cold sweat. He was too fast. If the wizard in front of them had wanted to kill them, they would already be dead.
"I won't kill you because you didn't want to kill me and were only following orders, but you will have to work. Don't worry, you'll be paid what you're worth." Severus flashed a savage grin and tossed the leader a diamond-shaped crystal. "This is a recording crystal. Channel some magic into it, and it will record everything within ten meters of you." Then he dropped a bag of Galleons at the assassins' feet. "That's five thousand. Your task is to return to your employer, beat him, strip him naked, and throw him in the center of Diagon Alley. You can also give him my regards. You're skilled, and Rodolphus most likely didn't discuss this step with anyone."
Outwardly, their leader remained indifferent, but inside, he was shocked. How could Severus know their client? Before the operation, they had gathered as much information about Severus as possible and knew someone was backing him. Still, the team had not planned to kill him, only to frighten him, and they were just passing through, so they had not worried too much about offending anyone. But the fact that a mere schoolboy had turned out to be so dangerous made him want to curse Rodolphus, who had told them Severus was only slightly stronger than a Hogwarts sixth-year and had paid a miserable thousand Galleons. Most of all, the leader was furious at his own blindness. They had been led around by the nose like children, and if the order had been to kill him, nothing would have remained of them but a pathetic pile of ash. Even without Severus, he was going to take revenge on the damned aristocrat who had nearly destroyed his team.
Pulling himself together, the man picked up the bag and hung it from his belt.
"Thank you for leaving us alive. We will fulfill your order today. You will receive the report at twelve o'clock." Bowing, the group melted into the shadows and vanished a moment later, leaving only Severus on the snowy clearing.
Not bad. Each of them matches Slughorn in magical power, and they're physically fit as well. It would be nice to acquire them, but for now, they'll do. I need to get home. With a tired sigh, he simply vanished.
Not far from the Lestrange estate, a man in a dark cloak stood beside a large tree, as though waiting for someone.
"Where the hell are they?" he thought irritably, pacing in place.
A few seconds later, six assassins appeared ten meters away. At the sight of them, the wizard muttered, "Finally!" Or so it seemed, because their leader stepped out from the shadows behind him and punched him in the face with full force, sending the shocked aristocrat to the ground.
"What are you doing?" Rodolphus shouted furiously, trying to reach for his wand, but a kick to his hand sent pain shooting through him, making him forget all about it. "Do you even know who I am?"
"A bastard who deceived us," the leader hissed, pulling out the crystal. As soon as it glowed, he looked at the others. "Strip him and hang him on the tree. The next two hours will be unforgettable."
"Wha..." Rodolphus did not get to finish. A gag was shoved into his mouth. He could only moan in fury and his eyes shot lightning, but when he saw the gloves with blunt steel spikes that the leader was putting on, fear danced in his eyes. "What the hell is happening?"
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