"Cough, cough, cough..."
Victor Wick and Severus Snape were in the middle of a conversation when a series of hurried coughs suddenly erupted from the container.
"Creak!"
The lid of the container was pushed open from the inside just enough to create a gap. A small head poked out, struggling to spit out a mouthful of thick, blood-red liquid before gasping for air.
She seemed to want to climb out, but for some reason, she slowly pulled her head back in.
Upon seeing this, Snape grew anxious and tried to rush forward, but Victor grabbed him firmly.
"Don't be in such a hurry. If she can breathe, it means we've succeeded! Let's step outside for a moment."
"But..."
Before Snape could finish, Victor grabbed him by the collar and hauled him toward the door.
With a casual flick of his wand in his right hand, a blanket floated over and landed on the lid of the container.
"Bang!"
The door was shut tight.
Once Lily saw that they had both left, she let out a quiet sigh of relief and pulled the blanket toward herself...
Outside.
Snape shook off Victor's hand, clearly dissatisfied. "Why did you pull me away? I need to check Lily's body to see if there are any issues!"
"Are you suggesting you want to examine a naked lady? That kind of conduct is hardly that of a gentleman..."
Snape's brow furrowed deeply. "How can we care about that at a time like this? What if her body wasn't reconstructed properly and something went wrong?"
"Comrade Snape, calm down. Please consider her feelings," Victor said, giving him a flat look. "It'll be the same if we check on her after she's dressed. Besides... if there really were a problem, could you even solve it? What's the point of being anxious other than adding to the chaos?"
Snape was left speechless. Victor's final point was true; if there truly was something wrong with Lily's body, Snape had no way to fix it, as that was Victor's area of expertise...
After a long while, the door was slowly pushed open.
A small figure wrapped in a blanket stepped out. "I... I'm ready."
Snape looked at the small figure before him and listened to the tender, youthful voice, momentarily stunned.
He had originally thought Victor's previous comments were just a joke, but he hadn't expected... that he had actually resurrected Lily into her eleven-year-old self!
When Victor had initiated the modeling process earlier, the speed had been so fast that he had only seen a flash of white light. And when Lily's head had popped out just now, it had been covered in red potion. He hadn't seen her clearly before Victor pulled him out.
So, it was only now that he truly saw Lily's appearance...
However, the wild joy in Snape's heart quickly overshadowed any lingering dissatisfaction.
"Do you feel any discomfort anywhere?" Snape's voice trembled slightly.
"No, I feel... very good." Lily looked down at her hands. The sensation of living once more felt almost... intoxicating.
Anyone who hasn't experienced the ethereal drift of being a ghost would find it hard to understand the feeling of possessing a physical body again.
An hour later, Lily had changed into clean clothes and had been thoroughly tidied up.
She paced around the laboratory incessantly.
Snape sat quietly to one side, gazing blankly at the young Lily before him.
Though he had initially hoped Victor would resurrect Lily as an adult, the truth was that this Lily was the one who held most of his beautiful memories.
In other words, the Lily before him now was the light of his life that he could never truly forget!
Lily finally grew tired of walking and sat down on a chair.
She looked up, her green eyes meeting Snape's gaze...
Snape slowly extended his hand, and a small white flower suddenly appeared in his palm. The flower drifted up from his hand and floated gently into Lily's, just as it had when they first met.
"It's a pleasure to meet you again, Lily..."
Lily looked at the flower in her hand, a trace of a smile touching her face. "Me too, Severus..."
Unlike the two sentimental souls, Victor Wick was currently busy modifying the rebirth pod.
Although Lily had been resurrected, the experience hadn't been particularly pleasant. The excess potion had caused her to choke quite a bit, and cleaning her body could only be done after she stepped out.
This was still very inconvenient, so he added several more functions to the rebirth pod.
Finally finishing his work, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked over to Lily, inadvertently blocking Snape's line of sight.
"This is for you," Victor said, handing over several bottles.
"What is this?"
"Don't you feel hungry? Even though you've been reborn, it's no different than being a newborn. This is a nutrient solution. To be safe, you should stick to this for the next couple of days and then slowly transition to real food on the third day," Victor instructed.
"Alright..." Lily took the nutrient solution gratefully.
"Do you have any plans for the future?" Victor asked.
Lily lowered her head in thought for a moment and then shook her head. "I haven't thought about that yet."
Having just been resurrected, she had spent all her time adapting to her new body and hadn't considered the matter.
But since she was resurrected, she was no longer a ghost. She could no longer slip into the Soul-Summoning Banner and follow Victor back to Hogwarts as before.
Therefore, she needed to find a place to settle down.
Snape suddenly spoke up, "My house is empty. I usually stay at the school, you could..."
"Your place is a mess, so forget it," Victor said with a wave of his hand.
Was Snape's home at Spinner's End really suitable for Lily?
Forget Lily, even Victor didn't want to stay there for long. One look at the things in those bottles and jars was enough to cause nightmares...
"Until you've fully recovered, you should stay here. Even though this is Knockturn Alley, it's fully equipped with all the necessary facilities. Besides, the young people outside are very obedient and capable; they'll look after you well," Victor suggested.
"Alright." Lily felt as though she owed Victor more and more.
Victor walked out the door, called over one of the girls, and whispered a set of instructions to her.
The girl then entered the laboratory and very politely led Lily toward a bedroom that had already been prepared for her.
Looking at Lily's retreating back, Snape's gaze was incredibly complex.
Only after Lily's figure had completely vanished did Snape look at Victor, his tone calm and solemn.
"Even though you're a bastard... from this day forward, my life is yours."
Victor patted Snape on the shoulder. "I'm not the Dark Lord; I don't need you to throw your life away for me... Just be my friend. I've never had many friends..."
"Alright..."
Inside the cave.
When Regulus noticed that Quirrell's movements beside him had ceased, he knew that Voldemort had awakened once more.
However, after taking over Quirrell's body, Voldemort didn't speak. He merely looked at the campfire before him in silence for a long while.
"Master?" Regulus called out softly, unable to restrain himself.
Voldemort slowly turned his head to look at him, then looked back at the campfire, murmuring under his breath.
"Every capitalist should be hung from a lamp post..."
"Master, what did you say?" Regulus couldn't quite hear him.
"It's nothing..." Voldemort's brow was locked in a frown. "Contact Victor Wick... tell him to come and meet me as soon as possible! I... have some questions for him!"
"Are you saying this is my reward?"
In the laboratory, Victor Wick looked at the Chimaera before him with an expression of surprise.
At this moment, the Chimaera was no longer the dull-eyed creature it had been during the day.
It looked silently at Victor, its eyes having regained their spirit. Victor could feel the magical power within it gradually recovering as well...
Snape had already left by now, leaving only Victor in the laboratory.
From within that mirror, Merlin let out a light chuckle. "This is to reward you for being willing to act according to our agreement."
"How did you do it?"
"I took back the artificial soul you created for the Chimaera and then returned its original soul. This is an equivalent exchange of soul power," Merlin explained with a smile.
"So, this Chimaera has been truly resurrected?"
"Yes. Don't worry about it causing you trouble; its loyalty to you has been branded into the depths of its soul by me. It is a contract rooted in the soul itself. You brought it new life, and it serves you in return. It is very fair."
As soon as Merlin finished speaking, the Chimaera's front legs bent slightly as it actually bowed to Victor.
Victor raised his right hand and gently pressed it against the Chimaera's forehead.
"My, my... you've certainly given me quite a surprise. In that case, I'll have to speed up the establishment of my nature reserve. I can't keep a dragon and a Chimaera in this small training facility in Knockturn Alley forever..."
The mutated dragon and the Chimaera... both were rare enough magical creatures to perfectly fit his previous vision of the species he wanted to include in his nature reserve.
"It seems you were indeed very worried that I would act recklessly," Victor said, looking toward Merlin.
"Indeed. You and I both know your capabilities. Once you decide to break the rules and act wantonly, the damage you could cause to this world is immense," Merlin said softly. "Therefore, it is also the Great One's wish to give you appropriate rewards when you choose not to violate the rules."
Victor laughed happily. It was fortunate he had never thought of crossing the Great One's bottom line.
"So, if I continue to stay within my bounds and use my power appropriately, I'll keep getting rewards?"
"Naturally. However... we hope you can always maintain your current moral compass," Merlin added with a hint of concern.
Victor's lifespan was infinite; who could say if his thoughts might become corrupted in the future?
But the future was far off; for now, they simply hoped Victor would remain as he was for as long as possible.
The Great One's meaning was clear: if everyone followed the rules, everyone would benefit. But if Victor chose to ignore them, the Great One was more than capable of solving the problem—even if it was a bit troublesome...