Hermione watched Lia, who clearly used every ounce of her strength but remained helpless against the mountain of gold, looking somewhat aggrieved.
The last bit of killing intent stirred by the discovery of her mother's notes was instantly dispersed.
She couldn't help but burst out laughing with a "pfft."
Lia's pleading eyes became even more obvious, her snowy-white cat ears drooped powerlessly, and the tip of her tail swept the ground uneasily.
"Alright, alright, don't worry." Hermione stepped forward, soothingly rubbing Lia's head, then looked at the pile of wealth that was still dizzyingly bright.
"Who said we were taking it all?" Hermione's voice was very low, yet carried a mischievous excitement, "We're here to 'reclaim justice,' not to move house."
She waved her wand, casting a spell on her small beaded handbag once again.
The opening of the handbag visibly widened by another circle, and a hum of space being forcibly stretched came from within.
Hermione didn't touch those Galleons; instead, she aimed her wand at the shelves holding magical antiques and jewelry.
"Those with clear magic fluctuations, priority! Those engraved with the Malfoy family crest, priority! The most flamboyant-looking ones, priority!"
While directing, Hermione used spells to suck the various potion bottles and ritual tools sparkling with inlaid gemstones into the handbag all at once.
An obsidian ring emitting a chill, a silver hourglass engraved with Ancient Runes, a gorgeously decorated dueling wand that was clearly an heirloom of some ancestor... The monetary value of these items might not be as high as the mountain of gold, but for an ancient family that took pride in bloodline and history, their symbolic significance far exceeded money.
"Enough, Hermione!" Lia shouted a decisive halt after tossing the last string of ancient-looking pearl necklaces into the handbag.
Hermione also stopped her movements.
At this moment, more than half of the collection in the vault had been emptied; the bookshelves were especially bare, leaving only a few popular books that Lucius probably couldn't even be bothered to flip through.
The entire basement looked as if it had been ransacked by a group of bandits with very particular tastes, leaving behind a complete mess.
Well... maybe it was ransacked by bandits.
"Before we leave, let's leave a souvenir," Lia said, walking to the very center of the vault.
She turned around, her back to the mountain of gold, then lifted her long, fluffy tail and shook it vigorously at the glittering wealth in an extremely human-like manner.
The movement was full of disdain and provocation.
After finishing this action, she still felt it wasn't enough and gently plucked a small tuft of soft, snowy-white fur from the tip of her tail.
She placed the tuft of fur in her palm and blew on it.
The white fur drifted lazily, finally landing on a gold coin at the very top of the pile of Galleons.
Under the dim light of the torches, that speck of pure white appeared exceptionally jarring amidst the sea of gold.
This was more heart-piercing than any threatening words.
I have been here, I took what I wanted, and I left what I wanted to leave.
"Let's go." Hermione took Lia's hand, and the two of them quickly exited the vault.
Lia reached back and closed the heavy black iron door. The eerie green light on her fingertips flickered again, and the cursed runes she had devoured reappeared on the door, perfectly intact.
It was as if no one had ever broken in.
Returning to the first-floor living room, the portrait of Lucius still stared at the empty room with that scrutinizing gaze.
Hermione took out the bag of "Traceless" Floo powder from her handbag, grabbed a handful, and threw it into the fireplace without hesitation.
Emerald flames interspersed with silver electrical sparks rose again.
"Target, Weasleys Wizard Wheezes!" Hermione's voice carried the lightheartedness of being about to escape danger.
The two of them stepped into the flames together, their figures vanishing instantly.
The very next second after they left, the doors of Malfoy Manor were suddenly pushed open from the outside.
Lucius Malfoy, wearing black robes and looking gloomy, strode inside.
He had just finished an unpleasant Death Eater meeting and was in a terrible mood.
"Master," a House-elf greeted him tremblingly.
Lucius ignored it and walked straight toward the fireplace in the living room.
He always felt something was wrong in the manor; the unfamiliar scent belonging to an intruder seemed not to have fully dissipated yet.
He scanned the living room suspiciously; everything seemed to be in order.
The portraits on the walls showed no reaction either.
Perhaps he was being too sensitive.
Lucius frowned and was about to go upstairs when his peripheral vision caught the bottom of the fireplace.
There, some unusual silver powder residue shimmered slightly in the ashes of the fireplace.
That was not the color of ordinary Floo powder.
Lucius's expression changed instantly. He turned around and hurried toward the corridor leading to the basement.
He pushed open the heavy black iron door.
The moment he saw the scene before him, the color drained completely from Lucius Malfoy's face.
His library was empty.
His antique collection had been nearly ransacked.
The heritage his family had taken pride in for centuries had turned into a messy junkyard.
Only that pile of the most vulgar Galleons remained, heartlessly mocking him.
Lucius's body began to tremble, not from fear, but from extreme rage.
He tightened his grip on the snake-head cane in his hand, his knuckles creaking from the force.
His gaze fixed intently on the mountain of gold, and then, he saw it.
He saw that extremely conspicuous speck of snowy-white fur at the top of the pile of gold coins.
Lucius reached out and used a silent spell to pull the tuft of fur into his palm.
He felt the unique magical aura on it—the aura belonging to Granger's cat.
Crack—
A crack was forced into the shaft of the snake-head cane by his grip.
The other party was telling him: Today, I can empty your vault silently; tomorrow, I can also take your life silently.
A bone-chilling cold rushed from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.
Until he figured out how the other party had breached the manor's defenses, he couldn't even make it public or ask anyone for help.
He could only grit his teeth and swallow the bitterness.
Lucius Malfoy, the pure-blood noble who held great influence in the wizarding world and was known for his elegance and power.
In his empty vault, he let out a low growl of suppressed extreme rage.
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