Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Thea wrote a letter to Dumbledore, and soon Dumbledore arrived at the ward.

His expression was unusually serious: "Thea, can you tell me why you chose Aunt Narcissa?"

“...Because I am a trouble...a big trouble. Raising me...will only make the relationship between Aunt Andromeda and my mother more awkward...Aunt Andromeda is a good person...but I am not suitable for that place.” Thea’s voice was a little choked up, but Dumbledore could hear the determination in her tone.

Dumbledore sighed helplessly, a hint of regret in his eyes, as if Thea was about to step into a wolf's den, which indeed was a wolf's den.

"May I ask what you think of Andromeda?" Dumbledore asked, still unwilling to give up, considering the girl's future possibilities.

Thea was surprised that Dumbledore was so insistent on her belonging. She carefully said, "She is very brave. She is the second daughter of the Black family, one of the Twenty-Eight Holy Families. In order to pursue so-called love, she left her family and abandoned her brothers and sisters. However, she has good taste."

"It sounds like you don't like her very much?" Dumbledore asked, puzzled.

"No, I admire her. Not everyone has the courage to break away from their family of origin and, like a gambler who is blinded by greed, put all their wealth into a man."

"Fortunately, she won the bet." The girl's expression was filled with emotion.

Dumbledore understood the implication in Thea's words, realizing that the matter was not entirely within Thea's control, and that her wishes could only play a supporting role at most.

A hint of irony flashed in Thea's eyes when she saw Dumbledore no longer insisting on his custody rights.

Professor, if my final choice is Aunt Andromeda, will you do everything in your power to negotiate with the Malfoy family and help Aunt Andromeda gain custody of me?

Now that you see I've chosen Aunt Narcissa, aren't you relieved at all?

Therefore, I will only have one choice, and I only have the right to choose on the surface.

Seeing that Dumbledore was about to leave, Thea quickly called out to him, "Professor, could you take me back to the orphanage? I want to see them."

Dumbledore naturally agreed.

With a sensation of being squeezed out of a narrow tube, Thea's legs went weak as soon as she touched the ground, and she almost fell over.

Fortunately, Dumbledore anticipated Thea's reaction and caught her in time.

Thea looked at the somewhat unfamiliar gate of the orphanage, and a feeling of being in another world welled up in her heart.

Before Thea could even knock on the door, Aunt Susan from the bakery spotted her and exclaimed with delight, "Thea's back! I thought... you silly child, why didn't you tell us where you went..."

Upon hearing Aunt Susan's voice, all the children in the orphanage rushed out of the orphanage in a swarm, with the more than twenty children who had escaped from the villa being particularly excited.

Jennifer and Daisy, taking advantage of their good relationship with Thea, directly monopolized both of her hands, leaving the remaining children with no choice but to stay by Thea's side, feeling wronged.

Thea was initially surprised that no one had noticed Dumbledore, but when she saw Dumbledore wink at her playfully, she knew that it was another wizard's magic.

It took Thea a lot of effort to calm the children down.

His eyes inadvertently met those of Windsor, who was standing outside the crowd, and he eventually followed her back into the office.

Thea looked around the office. Compared to the previous dean, Mrs. Windsor was much more frugal.

The photo wall that once disgusted Thea has been replaced with a group photo of the orphanage children, which looks very heartwarming.

The two sat and stood, neither of them speaking.

Windsor felt guilty for not stopping the director's actions, while Thea harbored resentment because the adults at the orphanage had tacitly approved of the director's behavior. Both sides had reservations, making their interactions somewhat awkward.

“I’ve found my family, and they want me to go back,” Thea said calmly, standing in front of Windsor.

Windsor looked at the still frail girl before her, a pang of heartache flashing in her eyes. Her lips moved, but she only managed to say, "A few days ago, someone seemed to have come to me asking about you, but when I asked others, they couldn't remember anything about it... I thought I should tell you..."

Thea knew perfectly well: the people she had inquired about a few days ago couldn't remember, so it must have been Dumbledore and his group.

The Malfoys and other pure-blood families have always disliked Muggles, and even if they come to ask, they won't be so "gentle".

Seeing that Thea didn't speak, Windsor continued, "...You've found your family, that's a good thing. So how do they treat you?"

“They treated me very well.” How could they not? After all, they were my talisman, Thea thought.

"That's good. When are they coming to pick you up?"

"I'll be here in a bit," Thea said casually.

Seeing that there was really nothing to talk about, Windsor could only let Thea go back first. As Thea was about to leave the office, Windsor's somewhat hoarse voice came from behind: "I'm sorry."

"It's alright." Thea paused for a moment, answered in her heart, and then strode away without looking back.

"You're leaving?" Jennifer was a little surprised, but quickly recovered: "That's great. Once you find your family, you won't have to stay here any longer..."

The girl's voice gradually lowered, as if she was about to cry. Thea knew she was faking it, but she still comforted her, "Okay, don't cry. It's not like I won't come back. I'll definitely come back to see you when I have time."

Jennifer was still sobbing.

"Were the people who appeared that night related to your relatives?" Iris asked first.

The other two also looked up at Thea.

Faced with three pairs of bright, piercing eyes, Thea could only pick and choose what to say: "To be specific, what happened that night was: I wasn't feeling well, and then they found out, and then my family came looking for me. I haven't been back this week because I'm in the hospital..."

After hearing Thea's explanation, the three looked at each other, unsure whether to believe her or not.

"Considering that Thea has just been discharged from the hospital, should we believe her?" The most naive Iris asked with her eyes.

“I disagree. Knowing her as I do, she’s definitely lying.” This was Jennifer, who was closest to Thea.

The two argued back and forth, finally turning their gaze to… Daisy, who smiled and said with her eyes, “I believe whatever Sister Thea says!!”

In the end, only the world where Jennifer was injured was achieved.

Thea had just said goodbye to Dumbledore, who instructed her not to leave the orphanage for the time being, as he had a meeting to attend, but he had already notified the Malfoy family to come and pick her up.

With those magical people finally away from her, Thea could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“…Sister Thea, are you unhappy?” A weak voice came from behind Thea.

Thea turned around and saw that it was Daisy.

Seeing the worry in Daisy's eyes, Thea gently comforted her, "Daisy, don't worry about me. Since I was able to bring you out of the villa, I can certainly live well over there."

Thea gently stroked Daisy's hair, her voice tender.

Daisy felt Thea's warm hand, tears welling up in her eyes, and she said in a sob, "Since that world is so dangerous, why did you go back, sister? Staying in the orphanage is fine too."

Daisy wasn't stupid. She could tell from the superpowers those two men used that night that people from that world seemed to have this special ability.

Coupled with their attitude towards ordinary people, Daisy was even more worried about Thea.

Thea took out a handkerchief and carefully and gently wiped away Daisy's tears, her voice gentle but also tinged with helplessness: "...Because I have no choice, I have to go back."

Sensing the firmness in Thea's tone, Daisy stopped trying to dissuade her and simply nestled quietly in Thea's arms.

After a long silence, she finally asked, "Sister, are you resigned to this?"

"Not reconciled."

Unwilling to be forced out of his comfort zone and into a cage due to the magical upheaval;

I am unwilling to accept that the struggles I made to survive were considered unacceptable in their eyes;

"Sister, how are you doing right now?"

"I feel like I'm trapped in a cage," Thea chuckled.

"Is it possible to break free?"

“…Hmm, it’s a bit difficult,” Thea said after careful consideration.

"Then I'll help my sister from now on?"

“Okay.” Thea thought Daisy was joking and agreed.