As the two of them drew closer, some of the prisoners who'd been sitting quietly in their cells suddenly scrambled up, gripping the bars, shouting and screaming:
"I'm innocent! Every charge against me was a setup!"
"Let me out! Help — keep those damn monsters away from me!"
"Please, please, just give me one piece of chocolate — just one, and I'll tell you where a secret treasure is hidden! Gold, jewels, all kinds of rare magical materials!"
Only a small handful were calling out for help, though. Most of the prisoners were curled up in balls, as still as corpses, while a few others babbled and cackled nonsense as if driven mad.
"Don't mind them, Mr. Charles. They haven't been locked up long — give it some more time, and they'll settle down like the rest."
Bernadette said flatly, "You mean they'll be broken by the dementors."
The Hit Wizard nodded. "Exactly. Don't let how pitiful they look fool you — every single one of them has innocent blood on their hands."
"No! I didn't! I was doing an experiment and it exploded by accident — I only hurt someone because of that!"
"I just used magic to fake a magic show, to make money off Muggles — why? Why lock me up for that?"
Bernadette glanced at the Hit Wizard, who gave a cold snort. "If he hadn't lost control of his magic and killed over a dozen spectators on the spot, he wouldn't be in here."
"..."
The prisoner roared furiously, "That was the magic's fault, not mine!"
He grabbed the iron bars and started shaking them with all his strength, making a huge racket — which immediately drew two dementors floating over like tattered sacks, delivering a kiss to him without the slightest hesitation.
The prisoner instantly went limp, as if every ounce of strength had been drained from him, collapsing to the floor, trembling nonstop as if in unbearable agony.
Bernadette watched a moment longer. "Directly extracting the target's happiness, leaving them in despair and pain?"
An interesting ability. If she got the chance, she'd definitely need to study these dementor "creatures" further.
"Starting from this cell, they're all Death Eaters."
As the Hit Wizard led the way, Bernadette paused briefly in front of each Death Eater's cell in turn. This group had clearly received "special attention" from the dementors — their state was noticeably worse than the other prisoners, as if they might drop dead at any moment.
Crash!
A figure suddenly slammed against the cell door, pressing a filthy, disheveled face against the bars, tilting her head with a manic grin as she stared at Bernadette, cackling wildly:
"Who are you? New Hit Wizard? Why do you care so much about us — got a grudge against us? Did we kill someone of yours? Hahahahahaha, don't worry, the Dark Lord will reunite you with them soon enough! Heeheeheeheehee!"
Bernadette's steps faltered slightly. From about ten centimeters away, through the bars, she said calmly, "My surname is Chen. My parents were Chinese. Ring any bells?"
Bella blinked, seeming to search her memory for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Hahahaha, so it's you, it's you! I remember — that Chinese couple, tortured to death with the Cruciatus Curse, bit by bit, by my own hand."
"Every time I think about their wailing right before the end, about how they begged me not to hurt their child, it just gets me so excited... so, I decided to give you a taste of even more suffering. Didn't expect you to actually survive, hahahaha. But don't worry — I'll be getting out of here soon. And then, I'll send you to join your parents."
The Hit Wizard beside them went pale. He truly hadn't expected this "connected hire's" relationship to the Death Eaters to turn out like this — the exact opposite of what he'd assumed.
Bernadette's brow furrowed slightly, and she turned to the Hit Wizard. "Can you command the dementors? Have them come give her a few more kisses. She's too loud."
"That... I can't direct dementors remotely."
Bernadette tossed him a Galleon, activating her "Black Box" ability. "Then I'll have to trouble you to go fetch some."
"Right. Please be careful — these Death Eaters are all extremely dangerous."
The Hit Wizard hurried off after saying that.
Bella cackled after him. "Hahaha, you think a few dementors scare me? If you've got the guts, take your revenge yourself, hahahaha."
"Mm. I'll think about it."
Bernadette nodded and started walking on, but after a couple of steps, she turned back. "Oh, right — good news for you. That Voldemort you've been pining over? I already killed him a while back."
"!!!"
Bella's pupils contracted, then she burst into loud, mocking laughter. "Hahahaha, you pathetic little brat — you have no idea how powerful my Master truly is. Just wait, it won't be long before—"
"Sure, sure, sure."
Bernadette gave a dismissive nod and didn't bother responding further, walking on a few more steps until she stopped in front of the cell holding Sirius Black.
Like the other Death Eaters, he was curled up in a corner, motionless, seemingly indifferent to everything around him. But Bernadette knew he'd been quietly watching her ever since her exchange with Bella began — even now, in the dark, his eyes were fixed straight on her.
A moment later, Sirius slowly sat up, his head hanging low, long hair covering most of his face, a low, rasping laugh escaping his throat:
"Why do you keep staring at me?"
Crash!
He suddenly lunged forward, slamming himself hard against the cell door with a huge crash, hands reaching desperately through the bars to grab at Bernadette. "You like looking so much? Come right in and look up close, then! Come on!"
He glared at her with blood-red eyes, baring the same yellowed teeth as the other prisoners, cackling with excitement. "Heh, look at that soft, tender skin of yours — you'd be delicious, I bet."
Bernadette lightly tapped a finger in the air, and with a soft click, the cell's lock sprang open.
"???"
That caught Sirius off guard, and for a moment he forgot to keep up his act.
Bernadette calmly pulled the door open, then, with a wave of her hand, sent Sirius stumbling backward several steps. Only then did he snap out of it, quickly dropping his head again and putting his savage act back on.
"Sirius Black."
Bernadette looked at him, her voice flat. "Do you remember Harry Potter?"
"!!!"
If Sirius had been putting on an act before, this time he was genuinely rattled. He lunged forward without hesitation, hands reaching to grab at Bernadette — only to find his body flying backward through the air even faster than he'd lunged forward, slamming into the wall.
Years in Azkaban, kissed repeatedly by dementors, poorly fed and poorly clothed — Sirius's body was already terribly weak, and that impact left him feeling like every bone in his body had come loose.
Still, murderous fury burned in his eyes as he forced himself to try to stand back up.
Bernadette said, "Aren't you the one who betrayed Harry Potter's parents, the one responsible for their deaths? So why get this worked up just hearing his name?"
Sirius let out a vicious, hissing laugh through his teeth. "Of course — of course I mean to kill him too!!! I heard, out there, they call him the Chosen One, say he defeated my great Master! I'll kill him, avenge my Master!"
Bernadette smiled. "That's simple enough. Hand over the Black family fortune, and I'll take care of it for you — I'll kill Harry Potter myself."
"..."
The smile at the corner of Sirius's mouth froze, then he said, feigning indifference, "Hahahaha, you think I'm a fool? You're not the first one who's tried to con something out of me this way, and you won't be the last."
"I could bring you Harry Potter's head first. Once you've confirmed it's really him, then hand over what's mine."
Bernadette looked down at him from above. "How about it?"
"No... I have to kill him myself, that's the only way I can..."
Before he could finish, Bernadette suddenly said, "Peter Pettigrew isn't dead."
To be continued…
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