Chapter 117 Pain

Since Christmas, Mu Yu has spent a lot of time in the Room of Requirement. Even so, she could barely get rid of this exquisite puppet in front of her until the New Year.

Her skills are much more sophisticated than those two years ago. Even if the puppet has not been possessed by her magic, it is still lifelike. Except for the still dull eyes, it is no different from her.

This time the puppet can move freely.

She looked at it for a long time to make sure there was no problem before heading to the auditorium for breakfast. This year most people did not choose to go home because of the Yule Ball. No matter how things change outside, the school still seems to have a peaceful appearance. However, she noticed that at least there were a few people missing from Slytherin House.

The Hogwarts Express picked up the students who had returned home yesterday. Those who have not come back may never come back.

When Mu Yu walked over as usual, she didn't expect that Astoria would sit directly next to her with a plate.

"My sister didn't go to the dance, she went home." When Astoria sat in front of her, she realized that the shy and introverted little girl who was somewhat resistant to her had grown up silently.

She looks much thinner than her sister, with long blond hair sparsely draped over her shoulders. From a distance, she looks like a frail porcelain doll. However, when she straightened her back, she naturally had a temperament that was not inferior to that of Daphne, and was even more determined than Daphne.

She seemed to be simply stating a fact, but also like a silent test: "Sister has been worried about daddy. One day she woke up in the common room, and you came back very late that day," she paused. "Did you talk to her that night?"

"I saw Daphne that night." Mu Yu certainly knew why Daphne chose to go home. "She was extremely drunk. I couldn't pull her up at all, so I had to cover her with a blanket to give birth. Good stove, then I went upstairs."

She was telling the truth. Astoria must also have wanted to go back with Daphne, but she probably suffered a rare stern rejection from Daphne.

How could Daphne, who loves her sister so much, let Astoria come into contact with the possible truth so early?

Astoria stared at Mu Yu for a long time, during which time Mu Yu continued to deal with the dish as if he didn't feel her gaze. It was not until Astoria looked at her for too long that she asked, "Is there any problem?"

"No." Astoria quickly lowered her head as soon as Mu Yu finished speaking.

Mu Yu knew Astoria's thoughts. Like her, this girl was always unusually sensitive to certain things.

Such sensitivity is not helpful and may only add to worry and pain. She had been almost wallowing in such pain for most of her life, and only extreme pleasure could suppress the pain that spread into her soul.

Mu Yu thought as he swallowed the last spoonful of mashed potatoes.

There was no sign of Daphne until the end of breakfast.

The usually noisy common room was unusually quiet during the last moments of the holiday. Everyone seemed to have discussed it, and even when they talked, they were gathered together in small groups and whispered.

Even so, Daphne sitting in the corner looked weird.

Astoria greeted her sister the first time she saw her: "Sister."

However, Daphne pulled Astoria's hand away tiredly, without even looking at her sister.

Mu Yu did not miss the hidden tears in Daphne's eyes when he saw Astoria.

"I'm very tired and want to take a rest first." She was choked even as she spoke.

Astoria bit her lip and stepped aside obediently.

Her sister was the most obedient and well-behaved, and the one she swore to protect with her life. If, if Astoria knew...

Daphne stared blankly at the silver-green ceiling, and every quarrel was like a crusher that never stopped churning in her mind, shattering her already chaotic thinking, and even more. Broken memories of the past.

She closed her eyes, and it was only then that a tear fell onto the soft pillow without any scruples.

"Dad, these, these are all true."

Since last year, a vague intuition has reminded her every moment that her seemingly gentle and kind father seems to have more ulterior secrets. At first, this intuition was just A small voice in her head, until she began to have endless nightmares.

She dreamed that her parents were brutally killed in her own manor, and that Leah died of illness and despair.

That small voice is also growing stronger and stronger, nourished by nightmares.

Her father had a secret, and she found that secret...

So she chose to go home after Christmas and sneaked into her father's study.

It was this thin notebook in front of her that shattered all her previous fantasies. There is also a lot of information sealed under the notebook that is sealed by magic spells, which she cannot decipher at her current level.

Fortunately it can't be cracked.

She looked up and saw her father standing at the door of the study. She suddenly found that her father, who had been with her day and night for more than ten years, had become so strange at this moment.

So strange that she wasn't sure if he would hurt her.

"Xiao Di..." Albert Greengrass softly called his daughter's nickname, and he immediately saw the notebook on the table. Xiaodi discovered his secret, this was his first thought after a brief panic.

Only the dead can keep secrets.

No, Xiao Di is his daughter, the eldest daughter on whom he has placed infinite high hopes, and the well-deserved heir to the next generation of the Greengrass family. Xiaodi will understand him, and he will definitely understand him.

"Don't be afraid," he tried to take a step forward again, "I'm doing this all for Leah."

After he said this, Daphne suddenly laughed, and the tears on her face made the smile particularly scary, and she lowered her voice. Low repeated: "For Leah, for Leah."

Albert Greengrass completely calmed down at this time. He also pulled up a chair and sat in front of Daphne, holding her hand and looking into her eyes for confirmation. He said again: "For Leah."

Daphne shook off his hand. It was the first time that she treated her respected father so rudely, but she was not afraid of the consequences of doing so.

She just felt a fire burning in her chest.

So nice, for Leah.

"Working with the French Minister of Magic and people from the United States, we searched for squibs and obscurities everywhere, locked them up on a small island in the Pacific and conducted cruel and inhumane experiments, extracting certain substances from them like juice," Daphne turned her head. Her voice was trembling, "This is how you can extend her life. Do you think Leah is willing? What kind of face do you have to keep saying it is for Leah?"

What made her even more desperate was that her father was even angry under such questioning. No, he just looked at her with an absolutely cold gaze. To Daphne, this gaze was more like a dull knife constantly cutting on her bones: "Then what do you want me to do?" He took the book The diary flipped randomly, "Leah was diagnosed by St. Mungo's as having a blood curse when she was born. Your mother and I were frightened. Every time Astoria celebrated her birthday, we were happy but at the same time worried about the next birthday. Year after year, the cycle continues. Have you ever experienced this feeling? Have you experienced this kind of suffering?"

Without waiting for Daphne to answer, she said to herself: "This experiment started a long time ago, I just joined it later. Anyway, these squibs and the Obscurials have no meaning in living, so why can't they make full use of them?" Albert Greengra Si brought up a cruel smile, "Without enough gold, without enough money, you thought Leah could study and live normally at Hogwarts as she is now. Until Bernard told me... Leah's illness can be To solve it from the Obscurial, we just need more financial support..."

"Shut up!" Daphne screamed, "Stop talking! Don't you know? They are making weapons! Making weapons!"

Her voice suddenly became louder . He softened and held his father's hand almost as if begging: "Dad, please, please, please wake up a little bit. Life and death have their own destiny, what good results can come from this? Dad, stop it, some things are not We can intervene."

"Stop, stop..." Albert Greengrass repeated as if he was suffering from a nightmare, "What about Greengrass's hundred years of glory? Where did you and Leah go after that man came back? Go."

Daphne's heart sank a little bit. Her kind and elegant father valued the continuation of the Greengrass name most, followed by her and Astoria's safety.

What does he care about is an empty surname, or the person he has been with for more than ten years?

"Xiao Di, you understand me, you understand me," Albert Greengrass grabbed his daughter's hand like a He found a life-saving straw, "There is light on the other side of the Obscurus, and Leah has been saved. I will give you a better life and a more noble status."

Daphne wanted to take her hand out of her father's hand, but found out how I don't have the strength either. There seemed to be thousands of words rushing to her lips, and every word that was about to pop out encouraged her to persuade her father again.

However, the only thing she could do was to avoid her father's earnest gaze and said feebly: "As long as you want to do it, Dad."

For the first time, she discovered that her power was so small compared to her father. Her four years at Hogwarts were more like a carefully woven fairy tale for her. While she was still immersed in it, her familiar father had long since disappeared.

Or maybe she never really got to know her father. What about Mu Yu, the friend who made her feel more and more complicated?

Did she step out of the fairy tale earlier?

"You and Mu Yu," she wiped her tears and asked her father for the last time, "have you cooperated?"

When he mentioned Mu Yu, Albert's face became terrifyingly gloomy for a moment, but he immediately restrained himself in front of his daughter and said coldly: "No."

Daphne herself didn't know how she left home or boarded the train.

"Xiao Di, are you okay?"

She originally thought she would be eager to escape from her father who had become a stranger and return to this warm castle. However, when she actually stepped off the express train and looked at the towering castle from a distance from the path, she hesitated to move forward. She didn't know how to face Astoria. Daphne couldn't even think about telling her directly that the great father in their hearts was using the guise of treating her to seek skin from a tiger to satisfy his selfish desires .

She could only smile at Shen Qitong who was greeting her. She wouldn't believe it if she said it, let alone this friend who had always been sharp-minded.

The time they got together was short, and even Daphne had an ulterior motive in approaching her at first. However, in just a few months of getting along, they had already discovered too many similarities between them.

The same ancient family faces an irresistible history, and even the two of them also have to face their relatives who are gradually deteriorating.

"Let's go for a walk together." Shen Xitong did not expose the vulnerability behind Daphne's smile, but just whispered an invitation. There was a thin layer of frost on her fiery red cloak, and she seemed to have been standing in front of the castle for a long time.

Daphne nodded silently and they walked together on the snow-covered lawn. For a moment the only sound was the crunch of boots on the lawn.

"No need to hide it, Xiaodi," Shen Qitong suddenly said softly when they were about to reach the shore of the Black Lake, "I feel the same pain."

This simple sentence seemed to trigger something, and Daphne kept Holding back tears burst into her eyes, and soon they got out of hand. Facing the vast black lake, she began to cry loudly from a low voice, as if she wanted to dump all the accumulated grievances into the lake.

"Why are you crying?" Shen Qitong calmly handed her a handkerchief, "Don't cry."

Her calm tone contained the most reassuring power. Daphne took the handkerchief, and her tears quickly stained most of the handkerchief. Only then did she realize that Shen Qitong's eyes were also red. I don’t know if it was the wind blowing or if she cried too.

The two of them knew without asking too much that they probably had similar experiences.

"I'm sorry, I just... I just don't know what to do. I really don't know..." Daphne muttered to herself while wiping her tears.

"Make a choice," Shen Qitong put his hand on her shoulder, "You know the choice before you, Xiao Di."

"You want me, let me..."

Disobedient father. Those were the words she didn't say.

"At least you still have a sister," Shen Qitong closed her eyes, and the force she pressed on Daphne's shoulders seemed to be a little heavier, "Leah has grown up, don't treat her like a child anymore. The more you treat her As a child, she will only grow faster. You all rely on each other. I have almost nothing but the path in my heart."

The only way for her now is to follow the path in her heart. Fighting on the opposite side of her former family, hopelessly hoping that her fight could delay her family from falling into a trap.

"This requires enough courage. I am a Slytherin, not a Gryffindor. I don't know if I have so much courage."

The cold wind dried her tears, and Daphne's tone was full of confusion and uncertainty.

"Do you love Leah? Do you love your father? Do you love your family?" Shen Xitong asked a question that sounded very unnecessary.

"Of course." Daphne said without hesitation.

"Then what does this have to do with which college you are in?" Shen Qitong took the handkerchief from Daphne's hand and gently wiped the last remaining tears from her, "Love can give people powerful power. Xiao Di, the world is going through something difficult. Dramatic changes in imagination, if we don't make a choice, the people we love will eventually be lost in the terrible new order."

She approached Daphne and whispered something to her softly. Such a gentle tone did not comfort Daphne at all, and her face became increasingly ugly.

"Our love is used from beginning to end to protect the people we want to protect and to strengthen our own morality, rather than to serve a vain image and fill the gap that can never be satisfied, such as selfish desires, ambitions, and power." Shen Xitong concluded, "So, Xiaodi, think about it carefully, although I know it is difficult. Keep the faith in your heart, and keep the last light in your heart for all the people we love. I will always look forward to your answer. ”

She held Daphne’s trembling hand tightly.

"Also, talk to Leah. You are closely related sisters. There is no need to hide anything from each other for protection."

Mu Yu finally withdrew from Daphne's chaotic and fragmented memory. She looked at Daphne who fell into a light sleep. Perhaps even Daphne herself didn't know that she had already made a choice subconsciously.

"You made a choice, an amazing choice, and I respect you." She sat on the edge of the bed and combed Daphne's long and messy hair, but looked at the deep lake outside the window, "For love...it's a pity that the love you have has It can only be dedicated to the gods, to the new order, the new world, and the unprecedented era. If not..."

Her movements became softer, and she looked at Daphne without any emotion in her eyes: "I am still very kind and willing to help you. Love. Love is great because of death, and it is immortal because of stagnation. I give you this opportunity."

She walked out of Daphne's bedroom without looking back.