Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 110 Mother and Daughter Reunion

Thea was somewhat lost in thought when she heard a hoarse, wary voice coming from beside her.

“Oh, Dumbledore,” the visitor said with a hint of complaint, “you’re a full twelve minutes late!”

Thea rarely heard anyone speak to Dumbledore in such a rude tone, and she looked at the person with some curiosity.

But he was startled by the other person: the face was by no means handsome; it looked as if it had been carved from a piece of rotten wood, and the sculptor only had a vague idea of ​​what a human face should look like, and was not very skilled at using the carving knife.

Every inch of skin on his face seemed to be scarred, his mouth looked like a crooked gaping mouth, and the part of his nose that should have been prominent was missing.

What's most terrifying about this man is his eyes.

One of his eyes was small, black, and sparkling; the other eye was large, round like a coin, and a bright, vivid blue. That blue eye moved incessantly, turning up, down, left, and right, completely unrelated to the normal eye—then, the blue eyeball rolled back and disappeared into the man's head, leaving everyone with only a large white eyeball.

The stranger approached Dumbledore, extending a hand that, like his scarred face, was covered in wounds. Dumbledore shook his hand before turning to Thea and introducing him:

“This is Alastor Moody, an Auror.”

"Hello, Mr. Moody."

Thea bowed politely to the other person, but she did not extend her hand to greet him, because the way he looked at Thea was definitely not friendly.

Moody was wary of Thea's greeting and remained silent for a long time. But in the end, because Dumbledore was there, he reluctantly nodded to Thea and then walked towards the prison first.

Seeing this, Dumbledore looked at Thea with some concern, but Thea simply shook her head, indicating that she was alright.

The two then followed Moody toward the entrance to Azkaban.

"Good morning, sir!"

Several male wizards, clearly guards, greeted Moody in unison. Thea noticed that one of the wizards slipped something into Moody's hand.

"Don't call me sir! I've already retired."

Moody retorted gruffly.

"Put these two badges on, or I can't guarantee those Dementors won't give you a kiss."

Moody shoved the badge into Thea's hand with a harsh tone. His serious expression, combined with the eerie prison background, made him look exactly like a vengeful devil.

"And... what about Professor Dumbledore?"

Thea quickly took the badge and put it on, then looked at Dumbledore with a slight hesitation.

Moody looked impatient when he heard Thea's question. "He doesn't need it!"

"Oh."

Thea obediently responded and followed Moody's footsteps.

Moody's cane made a thumping sound in the silent corridor, followed by Thea's clear, drum-like footsteps, and finally Dumbledore's unhurried footsteps.

The three walked silently into the notorious prison.

Along the way, Thea saw the ragged, emaciated criminals in the cells, huddled in the corners of the prison, half-dead and unable to even groan in pain.

"What's wrong with them? Are they sick?"

Thea couldn't help but ask.

Upon hearing this, Moody said sarcastically, "You just got sucked by a Dementor. Otherwise, why don't you think you've encountered a single Dementor?"

"Alastor!"

Dumbledore reminded Moody in a reproachful tone.

Moody responded with a breath.

The three walked for an unknown amount of time. The deeper they went, the more chilling the air became, and they couldn't help but shiver.

Dumbledore immediately cast a warming spell on Thea, and before Thea could thank him, Moody's voice rang out again:

"We've arrived just ahead."

As he spoke, Moody stopped in his tracks.

Thea seemed to realize what she was about to face, and immediately turned around in a panic to face Dumbledore.

“Go ahead, you’ll have to face all of this eventually.” Dumbledore’s tone remained gentle yet firm. “By the way, this is what Minerva asked me to give you.”

As he spoke, Dumbledore handed Thea a stack of parchment, silently urging her to come forward.

Thea took the documents from the other person with trembling hands, and then walked resolutely into the depths of the prison.

Thea had never found walking so difficult. She numbly peered into the cubicle, trying to find the figure she longed for.

This... is a man!

No, that's not it either!

What about this one? ...No, it's not.

Thea had seen countless unfamiliar and numb faces, but not a single one matched the person in the photograph…

Finally, when Thea saw someone's face clearly, tears unexpectedly streamed down her face.

Bella huddled in a corner, half-asleep, silently cursing the damned Dementors.

But her ears caught the sound of unfamiliar footsteps. Without thinking, she shouted at the person with all her might:

"Go away!"

Thea froze on the spot, and then a deep sorrow welled up in her heart.

Bella's perceived loudness was actually just the volume of a normal person speaking.

Thea lowered her eyes sadly, and after composing herself, she looked up again, her composure belying that of a thirteen-year-old.

Seeing the other person's obvious resistance, she hesitated for a long time before softly calling out, "Mother?"

Bella was stunned for a moment, her mind, which hadn't been thinking for a long time, suddenly started working rapidly.

She only has one daughter…

Without thinking too much, Bella blurted out, "What are you doing here?!"

"I miss you."

Thea omitted the earlier turmoil and gave this answer in a light and casual manner.

Bella felt as if she had been punched hard in the back of the head, and all her thoughts ultimately condensed into one sentence:

"……Feel sorry."

I'm sorry, of course I didn't protect you well.

I'm sorry I haven't been able to be by your side all these years.

I'm sorry, I haven't fulfilled my responsibilities as a mother.

After Bella apologized, she fell silent again.

Thea guessed that Dumbledore wouldn't give her much time, so she quickly opened the parchment and began to read her prepared speech to Bella.

“Mother, I am now living at Malfoy Manor. The inheritance rights temporarily belong to Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius.”

Before Bella could ask, Thea explained the reason.

"The Lestrange family relinquished custody of me, and I chose Aunt Narcissa over Aunt Andromeda."

"I am currently studying at Slytherin House at Hogwarts. My classmates treat me well, and no one dares to bully me."

"I achieved straight O's in my first-year final exams, ranking first in my year and adding 128 house points to Slytherin's score."

"In second year, the final exams were canceled, but I was always first in every class test, and I even got a total of 221 points for Slytherin."

"I also joined the Quidditch team as a Chaser, and in the game against Gryffindor, I threw 15 balls, and Slytherin won...."

Thea talked a lot, and although Bella didn't say anything, Thea noticed that Bella's fingers clenched and unclenched as Thea spoke.