Stepping out of the fireplace onto Durmstrang's black stone floor, Lys's first reaction was simple: bloody freezing!
Without hesitation, she yanked a windbreaker from her satchel and threw it over her suit jacket.
Around her, the other candidates had already begun their magical displays—warming charms crackling to life, transfiguration spells reshaping fabric, weather magic swirling in miniature storms. Lys almost felt like applauding the show.
But these demonstrations weren't what the old family heads cared about. They swiftly selected four candidates based on their preferred strengths—two for each position.
Lys made the cut. Among them: those with raw magical power like herself, theoretical experts, a published educator whose books graced many shelves, and a well-rounded candidate who excelled across the board.
The committee favored the educator and the balanced candidate. The former's sharp mind could outmaneuver cunning students, while the latter's versatility could crush troublemakers in any arena.
Their final decision? Let the students choose through combat—a magical siege.
Watching the eager faces beyond the stone platform, Lys felt her mouth go dry. This... this was just sanctioned bullying, wasn't it?
The other three candidates shared her thoughts, though in their minds, she was the child. The youngest among them was forty-six, after all.
Lys barely looked twenty-five.
Yet when the dust settled, only Lys had come close to the family heads' impossible standards.
The moment she realized this position wasn't make-or-break for her future, something shifted. Her shoulders relaxed. Her grip on her wand loosened. When a student mouthed off—whether from habit or arrogance—she gave them her full attention.
The recipient of that attention, though seething, couldn't quite meet her eyes afterward.
The other three? They couldn't control the older students. Simple as that.
Surveying the clearly stratified group of shaven-headed children, Lys shook her head and signed the teaching contract. Her new life as an examination instructor had begun.
Durmstrang operated on mixed-age education—advance when ready, provided you passed three teachers' evaluations.
In her spare time, Lys would assist one of the Dark Arts professors. The work proved leisurely, almost relaxing. Each evening, she could return home punctually through the office fireplace.
Friedm had developed the endearing habit of waiting by the door at exactly the right time.
Lys never connected her fireplace directly to home—too dangerous. She remembered all too clearly how Death Eaters had once infiltrated a wizard's house through the Floo Network when the Ministry fell under Voldemort's control.
Instead, she traveled to the lakeside cabin first, then Apparated home.
"Sis! Sis!"
"Snap wants to go too! I want to go too..." Fri gazed up at her with those impossibly large, watery eyes, practically bouncing in place. He desperately wanted to "work" as well.
Lys chuckled and scooped him up by the collar, depositing him on the windowsill with a few gentle dismissals before starting dinner. Those illegible German papers—looking like spiders had died crawling across parchment—could wait until after they'd eaten.
Fri's attention shifted quickly. Soon he was wielding a tiny silver knife, cutting salad with surgical precision. Each piece uniform, each cut deliberate—just painfully slow. By the time Lys had finished her tomato pasta and steak, he'd only just selected the perfect ingredients for his masterpiece.
After dinner, Lys tackled the hieroglyphic mess that passed for student essays.
Anything illegible earned an automatic failure. Problem solved.
Work complete, she suspected her restless little brother was probably feeding his Puffskeins with the leftover salad scraps.
Years ago, during her travels, Lys had discovered wild Puffskeins in a forest and brought them home for Fri. They'd been multiplying ever since. And it wasn't just Puffskeins—the boy was obsessed with anything remotely furry.
Friedm kept all the creatures in separate enclosures, only releasing them to roam when Lys was away.
With time to spare, she returned to her pyramid discoveries—ancient texts about the soul's final destination...
But her mind kept wandering. Happy childhood memories. The pets and companions from that old Herpo storybook. Her first-year self, dreaming of a fluffy kitten...
Now Fri had everything she'd once wanted.
Lys rubbed her temples and forced herself back to those mind-numbing papers, pushing the thoughts away.
The next morning, Lys brought Snap to work. Fri clung to Senna's leg, devastated.
"Mum, I want to work too! Only Sis earns money in this house—won't she get tired?"
The comment hit Noah and Senna like a Stupefy to the chest. They scrambled to explain the household's division of labor.
Dad handled the complex accounts Lys couldn't manage. Mum brewed potions for the family and researched exclusive products for Lys's business channels.
Though Fri didn't fully grasp the explanation, he caught the essential point—he was the only one not contributing. The realization left him utterly crushed.
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