Chapter 109. Chimeras.
Severus watched a four-meter creature with a gorilla's body, a tiger's head, and bear paws as it tore into another beast. It was not the first twisted product of wild magic he had seen.
To him, chimera territory felt like a testing ground where magic ran rampant, mutating flesh the way an artist smears paint, creating contradictions so absurd you wondered how any of the monsters managed to breathe, hunt, and keep moving at all.
And this one still looked relatively decent. Earlier he had seen something that made even him wrinkle his nose in disgust. It was hairless, grey-skinned, and moved on six limbs, with three scorpion-like growths where its tail should have been. If it had been just an animal, he would not have cared. But the upper body was human, and the two front limbs were incredibly long arms ending in three clawed fingers. Instead of a head, it had a hole packed with teeth. He could not even guess what it had been assembled from, and he had no desire to meet it again.
So he decided to find the ingredient quickly and get out of this insane jungle. Nagini agreed completely. The very sight of these creatures left a heavy, oppressive feeling that made you want to leave.
Of course, there was a brighter side too. He had seen a rabbit with a long dark horn and a fox tail, a griffin with a lion's body, an eagle head, and wings, and that same lion. Even though it was a blend of four beasts, it was especially beautiful. Severus even considered taking it with him, if they happened to meet again.
But he was not going to linger here for its sake. Recasting his masking charms, he kept moving.
He had not gone even a hundred meters when he stopped and stared, curious, at a small magical creature. It had a lion's body and paws, a doe's head, a snake tail, wings, and dragon horns. Right now it was fighting with its own tail, and the tail was winning.
"Is this fate or what?"
"Maybe we take this cub and leave that giant?" Nagini suggested. She knew he wanted the lion too.
Severus did not answer. He only looked right, then left. He amplified his perception, though the radius had dropped by almost half since they entered the Forbidden Forest, then lifted his gaze and smirked.
"So that is what it is."
"Hmm?"
"See for yourself." He pointed at the gorilla-bodied chimera, now sated after its meal, starting to head toward the baby still playing with its tail.
Nagini tensed when she noticed where the monster was going, but the fact that Severus was still smiling calmed her a little.
To her surprise, the cub was not frightened at all. If anything, it perked up and began growling playfully at the approaching chimera.
That reaction made the creature hesitate. It stopped and glanced around, but finding nothing strange, puffed out its chest and continued.
"Raaaar! Ssssss!" the cub roared, and its snake tail hissed.
As if mocking it, the chimera bared its teeth and swiped a chunk of dirt. The baby was knocked back a meter but sprang up at once and roared again, this time with real annoyance.
The chimera only squinted, satisfied. It did not go straight in. Instead, it circled, occasionally feinting an attack and darting back.
That finally enraged the cub. It charged, and the beast looked almost amused, curious about what the little thing would try.
When only a meter separated them, the cub stopped, opened its mouth, and unleashed a powerful stream of flame. Every hair on the chimera's body seemed to stand on end, but it did not even manage a squeak before the fire swallowed it, licking over fur and flesh as if they were dry paper. The stench of burning spread through the air, thick and oily. The little fawn lifted its head proudly, and a few seconds later it was back to battling its tail, right beside the smoking corpse.
Nagini could not hide her shock. The baby was no bigger than an ordinary dog, yet it had burned a four-meter monster before it could even dodge. She did not want to imagine how strong the parent must be.
"Interesting baby," Severus said, smiling. He dropped down from the tree, instantly drawing the cub's attention.
"Severus... maybe leave it? You already collected beasts from the two previous zones."
"If we're leaving this forest, we're leaving with good souvenirs." As if it understood, the creature narrowed its eyes and growled. "A lion's roar from a fawn's mouth. I was wrong to think you're only mixed on the outside. Your insides belong to different beasts too."
This time, it didn't wait. It rushed at him and, without hesitation, spat flame again. Just like before, the fire engulfed him completely, but...
"Not bad, good girl." A cheerful voice came from inside the huge fireball. The next moment, the flames dispersed, leaving the fawn staring in disbelief.
At the same time, a furious lion's roar rolled across the area. The nearby chimeras fled in animal panic, as if an apex predator had just appeared.
A red whirlwind dropped from the sky, landing right in front of Severus and shielding the cub. It was a massive lion, almost thirteen meters tall, and aside from the head, it looked exactly like the fawn.
"Human! Leave this place!" A loud, human-sounding voice came from its mouth. Two red eyes drilled into him. The pressure was heavy, both mental and magical, but Severus didn't even flinch. He stood calmly and smiled back.
The beast wanted to tear the human apart, but that calmness gave it a bad feeling. The cub was behind it, so it chose to negotiate first.
"Listen, have you thought about moving?" In the same breath, a huge paw lunged for Severus, and his smile sharpened into something harder.
London.
In a spacious room with three windows and a couple of training dummies, Regulus lay on the floor. His shirt was soaked through with sweat, and his chest rose and fell with uneven breaths. He clutched his wand and tried to get up again, but he could not.
"That is enough for today. You did well," Bellatrix said, standing over him.
"Cousin, give me five minutes. I can still..."
"I said that is enough for today," Bellatrix repeated firmly. She narrowed her eyes, and Regulus, already pale, went even paler.
"Yes, Cousin!" Regulus finally let his wand slip from his hand. "Listen, has there been any news from him?" he asked cautiously, propping himself up.
"Hmm. It would be wonderful if there continues to be none. I hope he dies there."
Regulus could not suppress a smirk, even as he wondered how he could have ever developed feelings for Bellatrix.
"Mother said you should visit her today. It is something to do with the Lestranges. I saw their house-elf with a lett..."
"And why are you telling me this?" Bellatrix asked indifferently, not even turning around as she headed for the exit. "Tomorrow, same time."
"Yes, Cousin." As soon as she left, Regulus clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. Two more years and I can join the Dark Lord. But even with those spells, I am still far from Bella's level. With a tired sigh, he got up and, swaying slightly, went for the door.
Back in her room, Bellatrix closed the door behind her, walked to the bed, and fell face-first into the pillow, as if she could smother her anger there. When she rolled onto her back, she noticed the golden mirror decorated with roses on her nightstand, shining softly in the dim light.
I will try to contact you more often, if I can in that place. But if something serious happens, just break it and I will know immediately. Remembering his words before he left, Bellatrix felt her anger flare up again.
"Damn it!" She snatched up her wand and sent a yellow beam at the nightstand, at his gift, but at the last instant it veered off and struck the vase instead. The vase exploded into shards. The mirror remained untouched. "Why? Why can I not do this?" She punched the wall and flung her wand aside. Could she really... do this? It couldn't be. She could not. Rising grimly, she grabbed the mirror, swung her arm, and froze. If I do this, he might cut all ties with the Dark Lord. Yes. I should not do this. Swallowing hard, she set it back on the nightstand. That's right. Even as she said the words, she knew they were excuses, but she could not admit that to herself.
At that moment, an old house-elf appeared in the room, dressed in a torn rag that barely covered him.
"M-Mistress, the Mistress summons you."
"Tell her I'm coming now." Detachment settled over Bellatrix's face as she looked at the elf indifferently. "And clean up the shards."
"Y-yes!" The elf snapped his fingers, and the vase reassembled itself. Bellatrix had already left the room and started down the stairs.
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