Chapter 277 - 276. Mortis.

After a blow like that, any other wizard would, at best, have suffered a severe concussion.

But Mortis managed to sense the magical surge behind him at the last moment and erect a barrier, though that didn’t save him from the pain and burning at the back of his head.

When he finally stopped, he stared in surprise at Severus, who stood before him, looking entirely ordinary.

He simply couldn’t comprehend what had just happened.

Severus had managed to get behind him!

And if Severus hadn’t spoken, Mortis doubted he would have detected him at all.

It simply didn’t add up.

*I can’t even sense his power... what the hell?!*

"Why are you silent? Here I am, standing right before you, listening carefully. Speak," Severus said indifferently, feeling his irritation rise slowly. Mortis reminded him too much of another.

The same arrogant manner of speaking, that contemptuous, disparaging look, and the fondness for dark robes, though the latter could be said of most wizards.

But taken together, it irritated him greatly.

"So this is what ihiros’s apprentice is like. It’s frightening to imagine how powerful your teacher must be..." Mortis stroked the back of his head, adopting the demeanor of a kindly old man, as if parodying Dumbledore, though the latter did it far more naturally. "I only wished to offer Miss Black an apprenticeship. It was painful to watch such a sweet young lady squander her talent."

"Is that so? In some ways you’re right. Before meeting me, she did indeed do so," Severus said, ignoring the angry glare from Bellatrix. He smiled warmly at Mortis, sending chills down many spines. "But at present, she is following my mentor’s methodology. Or do you believe he lacks the qualifications to teach?"

"Merlin forbid! Of course not!"

"Is that so? Then what of your earlier words?"

"I was simply too foolish and understood nothing, so I spouted nonsense. Besides, my eyes aren’t what they used to be. Old age is no joy..." In an instant, Mortis seemed to age five years as he sighed sorrowfully, lowering his hand from his head to the small of his back. *Arrogant brat...*

"I see. You’re only leaving here alive today because you wished to protect her, and no one died. But I never want to see you here again. Otherwise, death will seem like a luxury to you..."

Crimson flame enveloped Severus’s palm. The sight of the flame and the heat radiating from it filled Mortis with panic for the first time in two hundred years.

The Shadows near Severus exchanged puzzled glances at first, not understanding what was happening. But when their eyes fell upon the ground, specifically the grass withering away in a path leading straight to Mortis, they understood why sweat was streaming down his face.

"Such a terrifying flame and incredible control... How can anyone achieve this at such a young age? It was frightening even to imagine what he must have gone through to obtain such power..." José wiped his face, smiling nervously as he imagined the consequences of being struck by something like that.

"Disappear!" In that instant, the flame shot from Severus’s hand, streaking toward Mortis, who managed to Apparate from the field at the last instant, escaping death, though he understood perfectly well that if Severus had wanted to, he could have killed him at least twice by now.

Dispelling the remnants of the flame, Severus approached the wizard lying on the ground, struck by Mortis’s attack. After quickly examining him, he looked up at the nearest Shadow.

"Take him home and tell Nelly to give him a General Restorative Potion. Also summon a Qilin. They’ll handle it from there."

"Yes." Without another word, the Shadow touched the unconscious body and vanished without any of the special effects the Death Eaters favored, like flames or black smoke.

"José, I expect your report. You’re dismissed," Severus added sternly, looking at the shadow wizard, who gave a humorless smile, nodded silently, and sank into the shadows.

Severus had personally warned José to report any suspicious persons near this place immediately. Severus couldn’t watch over Bellatrix around the clock, which was why they were needed.

Bellatrix herself observed all this with some curiosity.

On the one hand, she understood she ought to be indignant, thinking he saw her as weak and incapable of protecting herself and her family. But on the other hand, with reason prevailing over her less admirable impulses, she understood that such protection wasn’t a bad thing.

She immediately thought of one reason for keeping this secret: the Death Eaters’ mark, through which Voldemort could overhear conversations and learn of it.

And although she would once have considered such a thing a weakness, now Severus’s care only stirred warm feelings in her. She was even beginning to miss his little gestures and silly jokes.

It was just that her pride would never let her admit it.

Finally landing on the ground, she examined the scorched patches of her favorite training spot with mild displeasure.

"I thought you had completely forgotten about me," she said, shifting her gaze to Severus.

"How could I forget you? I simply had a lot of business to attend to in France and only recently returned, and even here, it followed me," he said with a resigned sigh as he approached her. "I wanted to meet with you next week, before I finish preparing for a very important day..."

"Is that so... well, let’s drop that topic and talk about my bodyguards..."

"What’s wrong with them?" Severus looked at her in puzzlement. "They’re good men, and I have complete confidence in them. They simply had bad luck with their opponent today..."

"Their existence, and the fact that I knew nothing about them." Though she had accepted their presence, she wanted to pester him a little to get back at him.

"Ah, so that’s what you mean..." He gently took her hand and smiled. "I was simply worried that those people might return and try to harm you and your family, so I asked them to watch over you, and in case of danger, to report to me immediately."

"But you still haven’t fully answered my question."

"The fewer people who know about them, the better for both of us. Besides, haven’t you forgotten my condition?" He sharply pulled the barely resistant Bellatrix into his arms, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "I have many secrets, and you’ll only learn of them when you become Mrs. Prince and I can fully trust you."

"So I don’t deserve your trust?" Pulling back, she looked him in the eye with feigned offense.

"When you fully open yourself to me, then we’ll discuss this again."

"Something tells me that will happen very soon..." It was only after seeing his mischievous grin that she realized what she had said. "No, I didn’t mean..." She began to panic and make excuses, but...

"I’m glad you understand that, my little squirrel."

"I didn’t mean that..." she sighed.

"Of course, of course. Though I’ll certainly try to make it happen as soon as possible..." He lifted her chin and gazed into her dark, piercing eyes before pressing his lips to hers. After a few seconds, she responded, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. "Am I forgiven?" He pulled away for a moment, earning a dissatisfied grumble.

"Oh, shut up!" Taking the initiative, she greedily pressed her lips to his, unwilling to let him go so easily. Such eagerness pleased him, though he understood that her impulse was partly due to their relatively long separation and today’s incident.

The kiss didn’t last particularly long, but the feelings and passion they poured into it more than made up for it, making it one of the best this year, and possibly last year as well.

"You know, your strawberry taste reminded me of our first meeting..." Those words brought a blush to Bellatrix’s cheeks, especially noticeable against her pale skin.

"If you don’t want a repeat of what followed, you’d better not remind me," she threatened, narrowing her gaze. In response, he smirked wickedly and kissed her nose. She froze with wide eyes, reminding him of Nagini’s reaction.

"Don’t threaten me, at least not while you’re in my arms. Otherwise, my revenge will be terrible..."

"Do that again and you’ll be missing teeth," she said, narrowing her eyes menacingly. But such sharp words didn’t offend Severus at all; on the contrary, they amused him even more.

"I was thinking: how about instead of little squirrel, I call you little strawberry..." He calmly tilted his head to the side, dodging her headbutt. "All right, all right, little squirrel it is." Looking at her angry little face, he couldn’t help wanting to provoke her even more.

Dodging her headbutt once again, Severus finally had to release Bellatrix, and she sprang back and drew her wand.

"I’d love to play with you a bit longer, but I have some business to attend to. However, if you can wait half an hour..."

"Fine, but I’ll make you fight seriously today!"

"I’ll look forward to it." Winking one last time, he vanished. She merely snorted but didn’t lower her wand, and after a few seconds, a smile crossed her face.

"What a cheeky one you are..."

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