Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

The next day, as dawn broke and the sun rose in the east.

Thea checked her luggage one last time, and quietly told Lucius to keep her trip a secret before saying goodbye to Draco.

Looking at the smiling Thea, Draco's anger grew, along with the resentment he had been harboring.

Why didn't you tell me you were leaving beforehand?

Even my dad knew before I did!

I'm the only one in my family who's an idiot!

Thea also noticed Draco's anger and grievances, and half-coaxed and half-indulged him as he signed a series of unequal treaties with her.

For example, you should bring him various dragon-themed models, puzzles, gemstone buttons from Germany, well-tailored suits, and so on.

Finally, Thea hugged several relatives who were standing by the fountain.

She turned around and walked step by step toward the place where she had been phantomized at the entrance of the manor, without ever looking back.

At 11:00 a.m. on July 5, 1992, Thea boarded a plane bound for Russia.

In fact, Thea had plenty of time, enough to go to the orphanage to say goodbye, but after hesitating for a long time, she ultimately did not push open the door.

I'm no longer on the same path as them.

I'll only get them into all sorts of trouble.

They can't be implicated by me.

Thea gazed blankly at the clouds outside the window, repeatedly reminding herself of this.

Just to be on the safe side, Thea carried a small Muggle-style suitcase. She didn't cast an invisibility spell on herself and slightly modified her face to make it less conspicuous.

The suitcase had been modified, somewhat like Newt's from Fantastic Beasts. All four house-elves stayed inside, and Thea only wore part of her protective gear; the remaining four-fifths were inside the suitcase.

On July 6, Thea arrived in Russia.

The two men who came to meet Thea were rather tall and thin, and their complexions were not very good.

Thea guessed that perhaps Russia's economy was not doing well, and that people were also affected to some extent.

The three got into a somewhat old car and were surprised to see Thea. One of the men, a man with short hair (Oleg), explained, "It's more convenient to use a car."

Thea nodded.

The driver was named Ivan. He was rather quiet and didn't say much the whole way. Oleg did most of the talking to Thea.

The car eventually stopped in front of a three-story red and white building.

As soon as the car stopped, several female waitresses in uniform came out to greet us, all speaking broken English.

But Thea understood the other person's purpose: "I want to bring my suitcase into the house."

Thea looked at the wrinkles on the other person's face and the calluses on their hands, a glint of light flashing in her eyes. She then nodded slightly to the group, indicating that they could take it inside.

"Are those waitresses?" Thea didn't linger, but instead had Oleg lead her directly to the basement of the house. On the way, Thea asked.

“…Yes, miss, they are the waiters I found around here…” Oleg was a little puzzled, wondering why Thea suddenly asked this.

"Go settle their wages later, and give them three times the extra amount. Then tell them they don't need to come anymore," Thea said casually.

Seeing Oleg's surprise, Thea explained, "I'm not the kind of pampered young lady who doesn't need to be waited on every day, and besides..."

Thea turned her head and said seriously, "I don't need any other unrelated people to know I'm here, do you understand?"

Oleg felt a cold sweat break out on his back as Thea stared at him intently. He stammered, "Is the payment... coming from you?"

"…Yes."

"Okay, miss."

The two stopped talking and walked silently toward the basement.

When the two arrived at the door, Oleg opened it with a "whoosh," and the dust that rushed in made Thea cough a few times, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

Then, Thea looked at the scene before her with some surprise, and then turned to Oleg with shining eyes.

I didn't realize this person was so capable!

Uncle Lucius is quite capable; he managed to find such a talented person in just one night.

The basement was spacious, and the bright lights made it seem like daytime. A row of neat targets was placed in front of the wall, and the distance to the targets was marked with paint on the floor.

On one side of the basement, various protective gear items, such as appropriately sized gloves, wrist guards, and earmuffs, were displayed.

What attracted Thea most to the other side of the venue were neatly stacked wooden crates.

Thea suppressed her excitement, slowly walked forward, and opened one of the wooden boxes. Instantly, a sense of dread swept over Thea's entire body.

The unique sense of danger associated with firearms bursts forth instantly; the smooth curves, the exquisite patterns, the just-right degree of curvature...

That's right, the box contains Thea's purpose for coming here – guns!

Thea had planned to hone her dueling skills during the holiday, but an accident occurred. Therefore, Thea decided to ensure her safety through other means.

Then, the gun came into Thea's view.

Compared to wizards who need to wave their wands to cast spells, guns only require pulling the trigger to fire bullets, making them undoubtedly more convenient.

The only problem is that Thea is still too young, and the recoil of the gun is a bit of a problem for her.

However, in the face of life and death, any difficulty can be overcome.

Seeing that Thea remained silent, Oleg took the initiative to explain: "The shipment in front of us mainly consists of handguns, a total of 62. The remaining boxes are filled with bullets."

These pistols were found exactly as you requested; they are compact, powerful, and have excellent sound suppression.

Since you have no prior experience with firearms, I have arranged for two shooting instructors to be with you. They will arrive around 8 p.m. tonight.

The main courses include: fixed-point shooting, moving shooting, gun disassembly, and live-fire drills.

If it's convenient for you, training can begin tomorrow morning.

Thea nodded, indicating that she understood.

After seeing that Thea had finished looking at the site and the guns, Oleg took Thea to her room and provided her with lunch.

Thea plays the role of the daughter of a British businessman who plans to order a batch of guns and wants his daughter to come here in advance to train her shooting skills.

He himself was delayed by some matters, as he had many orders and Russia's current economic situation was not good.

Therefore, Thea, the daughter of their sugar daddy, naturally became the object of their flattery.

Besides training her shooting skills, Thea had another purpose: to find a completely safe route for purchasing firearms.

If possible, Thea plans to equip Malfoy Manor with a batch of weapons as their last resort for escape.