Chapter 657: Zolid Orphanage. Daughter

London, inside an abandoned house.

No one had lived here for a long time. Dust covered everything, and rats and insects scurried about.

Blue flames suddenly sprang to life inside the fireplace.

A moment later, two people began to emerge.

However, because the fireplace was rather small, a corpse was thrown out first.

Only then did Gus and Lippi step through.

"Mission complete."

Gus immediately turned to Lippi. Ever the professional, he had waited until they were completely safe before asking for payment.

Lippi’s expression darkened. Looking at Gus’s sparkling eyes, she turned her face away. "I’ll pay you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Gus’s face fell as he said irritably, "We agreed you’d pay me as soon as the job was done."

"Take this as collateral for now." Lippi sighed and handed the Bloody Blade to Gus.

This money-grubber really wasn’t willing to cut her any slack.

"I’m only giving you extra time because of my boss. This is mine too, as interest."

Lippi had just taken out the cigarettes she’d casually picked up when Gus snatched them away.

Staring at her empty hand, Lippi muttered, "At least leave me one."

As a heavy smoker, she hadn’t had a cigarette in months.

"Tch." Gus glanced at her. "One hundred Galleons."

"Are you robbing me?" Lippi snapped.

"Take it or leave it." Gus stuffed the cigarettes into his pocket and made to leave.

"One hundred Galleons!" Lippi raised a hand with difficulty and said bitterly, "I’ll pay you tomorrow along with the rest."

"Deal."

Gus smiled brightly, took out a single cigarette, and presented it to her with both hands.

It really was just one.

Lippi took a deep breath and reminded herself that she couldn’t turn on someone who had just helped her.

With trembling hands, she put the cigarette between her lips. Just as she was about to light it, a raindrop landed on the bridge of her nose.

The two of them looked up at the same time.

Gus said in surprise, "I was wondering where the light was coming from when there aren’t any lamps on."

There was a huge hole in the ceiling, and rain had quietly begun to fall through it.

Lippi was speechless. She tucked the cigarette into an inside pocket.

The next second, the clouds opened.

Both of them were instantly drenched.

They stared at each other in silence.

Expressionless, Gus said, "Just so we’re clear, no refunds."

Lippi: "..."

I really want to kill you.

Lippi used Mobilicorpus to make the corpse float, then looked at Gus as the two of them walked out the door together.

"Where are you going?"

"Me?" Gus glanced around and pulled his clothes tighter around himself. "I’m going home, of course."

Lippi nodded. She still had to go find Barty Crouch Sr.

The two parted ways there.

Gus watched Lippi leave, then felt his completely empty pockets.

"Forget it. No money is no money."

He walked alone through the night.

Unlike the people around him hurrying to get out of the rain, he strolled leisurely through it without the slightest concern.

...

London, Zolid Orphanage.

Gus stood outside when an elderly woman noticed him.

"Who’s there?"

The old woman was extremely wary.

Gus stepped beneath the eaves and took off his hat.

"Oh, my goodness, it’s you!" The old woman exclaimed in delight. She came closer to confirm his identity. "Gustavo Altma Fring."

"You still remember me?" Gus asked in surprise. "Mrs. May."

"Of course I remember you. You were always the best-behaved child here." Mrs. May welcomed him warmly. "Come inside. I’ve spent all these years wondering where you went."

"My goodness, you didn’t even bring an umbrella."

Mrs. May was still just as she had been before. She kept fussing over him, complaining that he had come through the rain without any protection.

It was just like when Gus had gotten soaked outside as a child.

Even her scolding felt warm and comforting.

He stepped into the orphanage where he had once lived. Gus had been abandoned outside a monastery as an infant before eventually coming to Zolid Orphanage.

Until he was eleven, he hadn’t even known he was a wizard.

Mrs. May treated every child well, even though most of the time there was never enough food to go around.

It was a small orphanage, and the children there were not the sort people considered cute or desirable.

Most of them were abandoned children with disabilities, sent here only after other orphanages refused to take them.

Because children like them were destined never to be adopted.

Gus had been an exception. The monastery had regarded him as an ill omen after mistaking the accidental magic he performed for something monstrous.

They tied him up and prepared to perform an exorcism.

But he escaped and was later found outside by Mrs. May.

Memories of everything that had happened here brought a smile to Gus’s face.

"I remember Little Ears used to wet the bed during naps, and Gap-Tooth always kept his mouth shut whenever he smiled," Gus said, reminiscing about his old friends.

"Gus," Mrs. May suddenly said. "He’s dead."

"Who?" Gus froze.

Mrs. May looked sorrowful. "Dunbar. He died in his room. He killed himself."

Dunbar was Gap-Tooth. His teeth had been badly deformed, and back then they had all given one another nicknames based on their disabilities.

The smile vanished from Gus’s face. "Why?"

"Because of life." Mrs. May looked around the orphanage. "We’re on the verge of bankruptcy. The children don’t have enough to eat. Dunbar worked at a circus to help ease the orphanage’s burden, but in the end, he couldn’t keep going."

As Mrs. May spoke, she began to cry.

All of them had physical disabilities, and ordinary employers would almost never hire them.

The only jobs available to them were the lowest-paid, most degrading kinds of work.

"A few months ago, a donation was sent to the orphanage. If only it had come sooner, just a little sooner..." The old woman broke down in tears.

Under the dim light, Gus fell silent.

He raised his hand slightly as lightning flashed outside the window.

For a moment, he seemed to see endless blood flowing over his hands.

Dirty. Filthy.

He stared blankly at Mrs. May, then silently lowered his hand.

"If only it had been sooner," he murmured.

The death of his friend left him with complicated feelings.

Mrs. May cried for a while before wiping away her tears and forcing herself to pull together. "How have you been?"

She was afraid Gus might end up like Dunbar.

Gus smiled. "I’m doing well. I have a job now, and a family."

"A family? You’re married?" Mrs. May asked in delight. "When you were little, you never liked playing with the children outside. I was always worried about you."

"I’m fine," Gus said seriously. "Really."

Mrs. May finally relaxed.

Gus stayed there for a long time. By the time he left, there were hardly any pedestrians left outside.

Only one or two people passed by from time to time.

He slowly walked into Scorpion Tail Alley.

He didn’t look at the house numbers. He could have found the place with his eyes closed.

Number 78, Scorpion Tail Alley.

He stopped in front of the black door.

Rain continued to fall over him, but he didn’t move, as though he had been Petrified.

"Amia, it’s time for bed."

A voice came from inside.

Gus took a deep breath, suppressing his complicated emotions, and waited for nearly another hour.

Finally gathering his courage, he stepped forward and knocked on the door.

A short while later, it opened.

A woman with short hair stood there. She froze when she saw Gus.

Smack!

Gus’s head turned to the side. A red handprint appeared on his left cheek.

He reached up to touch it and smiled. "Been working out lately?"

The words had barely left his mouth when a second slap landed across his right cheek.

The woman lowered her voice, barely containing her anger. "I thought you were dead. Then suddenly, you sent a huge sum of money."

"I thought I was going to die too," Gus sighed. "But it seems God doesn’t want me to go see Lipia yet."

"Shut up!" The woman’s eyes reddened. "You have no right to mention her."

"My sister. Your wife."

"It was you. You got her killed!" the woman growled. "Do you remember? She had just given birth to Amia that day when she was caught in the explosion!"

"Yes, I remember. I remember everything." Gus’s smile turned bitter. "I just want to see her."

"She’s not a witch!" the woman warned. "Don’t drag all those grudges and feuds you can never escape into this home."

"I just want one look." Gus pleaded, "Please, Jura."

Looking at the man in front of her, Jura’s heart eventually softened.

Gus entered the house, moving quietly and carefully.

He went upstairs and gently opened the door a crack.

He saw her.

His daughter.

She looked almost exactly like her mother, though her eyes were like his.

That one glimpse was enough.

Gus closed the door.

He looked at the girl’s aunt. "Thank you."

Just as he was about to leave, Jura stopped him.

"You’ve already made enough money. Or is it that you just can’t give up the thrill of taking risks?"

Jura grabbed his hand, her voice softening slightly.

"Think about Amia. Think about..."

Gus interrupted, "I still have some things to take care of. You know people like me can’t stay with their families."

He looked at Jura gratefully. "I’m very thankful to you, Jura. You’ve taken care of my daughter, but I can’t drag her into this."

The words on Jura’s lips came to a halt.

That single word, "I", never came out.

All the feelings in her heart turned into the force with which she slammed the door shut.

On the other side of the door, Jura’s eyes reddened.

Leaning against it, she murmured to herself, "You never saw me."

Was it only because she had been one step behind her sister?

Gus left.

He was a fugitive and an outlaw.

But he was also a father.

The blood on his hands should never touch his daughter.

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