Win's influence was decisive for the Lady. Although the house-elf was a servant who had much lower rank and importance than the wizards who visited her, soon the girl began to see her differently.
To begin with, the elf sincerely cared about her, and was the only one who asked her how she was feeling and showed compassion when she returned injured from her trainings with Voldemort.
The elf gently treated her wounds, and prepared a bath so that the girl could recover her heat, while combing her hair slowly and softly. And always, without exception, she hugged her before going to sleep.
Of all the beings surrounding the Lady, Win was the only one who saw and comforted her in her most vulnerable moments.
Win never judged or insulted her, and she never hurt her. The house-elf was always sweet and patient, and tried to protect her from anything that could cause pain or discomfort. And when no one was looking, Win was the only one who talked to her, about things that went beyond magic and training.
Only Win noticed the changes that the Lady experienced as she grew up and took it upon herself to offer explanations and advice.
Win was the first one to find out when the young Lady got blood on her underwear. She also noticed the new shapes of the girl's body, and provided her with appropriate clothing. And so, little by little, Win became not only her only friend and advisor, but also the closest thing to a mother figure to her.
ooo
The Lady seethed with rage. She knew she shouldn't take sides and openly punish her death eaters, but she hated that the Carrows acted like this behind her back, without even asking permission to do so.
Furthermore, how were they going to get the students' collaboration if they were mistreated? It was difficult enough to maintain the tense truce with the teachers, not to mention how exhausting it was to mentally control their every move.
She could feel Dumbledore and McGonagall fighting her control spell tooth and nail, and she couldn't afford any distractions.
Every day she found it more difficult to keep the spell intact, and she was reaching the point of focusing all her energy and resources on it, neglecting other things.
The Lady wished her lord had assigned her other, more sensible death eaters, but there was little she could do except try to keep the situation from getting out of control.
At least, she hoped that Amycus had learned his lesson and wouldn't dare torture the students anymore.
ooo
When they finished preparing Amycus's office, the members of Dumbledore's Army headed to the Lady's chambers.
They had outlined several plans in case they encountered a Slytherin teacher or student, but they didn't need it. It seemed like no one at Hogwarts wanted to go near that corridor unless they had no other option.
Despite everything, they had to hurry, to finish before she returned. Furthermore, they had to be very careful, since they imagined that the witch would have protected her chambers with a large number of enchantments and curses.
Hermione tried to dissuade them, saying that they shouldn't do it, and listing the various punishments and repercussions that awaited them if they were found out, but no one listened to her. In the end, frustrated, she could do nothing but shout at her classmates as they walked down the hallway.
"It won't do any good! The room will be so protected against magic that you will not be able to enter."
But Harry had already foreseen that possibility and had anticipated it. If the Lady though like Voldemort, she would not be prepared against a muggle attack.
While Luna, Parvatil and Ginny guarded one end of the corridor, and Neville, Dean and Seamus stood guard at the other, Harry covered himself and Ron with the invisibility cloak.
They both approached the door of the Lady's office, and Ron put into practice one of the tricks learned from the twins. Using a lockpick, he tried the lock until it opened without problems.
The inside of the door glowed dimly, due to the presence of the protective spells, but, as Harry had imagined, nothing would happen as long as they didn't use magic inside that room.
Without wasting time, they hid a large package of firecrackers and flares in the chimney flue, and with a very fine thread, they joined the fuse of the projectiles with others that they hid throughout the room.
They tried to open the door that led to the bedroom, but it didn't have a lock, and since they didn't have much more time, they decided to finish the mission and return to the hallway in a hurry.
Just in time, they saw Draco Malfoy approach suspiciously towards the three girls standing guard, followed by Crabbe and Goyle. Judging by his expression, it was clear that he suspected something.
To create a distraction, Harry stepped out from under the cloak, behind the blonde's back.
"Hey, Malfoy," he called, and his voice alerted the members of Dumbledore's Army to disperse.
"Wow, scar-face, getting into trouble once again?"
"You look very proud, is it because your mother is Voldemort's new pet?"
"Don't even think about mentioning my mother," Draco growled, white with rage.
"She was the only one left to lick your master's ass. How good is she at being his daughter's assistant?"
Completely angry, Draco took out his wand and pointed it at him. Harry did the same, knowing that Ron was behind him, under the invisibility cloak, supporting him.
Then, Draco's eyes widened, turning even paler. His face was such a genuine sign of terror that Harry couldn't help but turn around.
Right behind him, he saw the Lady, closely followed by Narcissa. Harry wondered if they had heard the exchange of insults, and tried to turn around to face them.
The Lady approached him, very slowly, still looking into his eyes, and Harry felt his right arm go numb, refusing to respond to him. He couldn't use his wand, no matter how hard he tried.
"You are Harry Potter," she looked at him intently, with one dark eye and the other grayish. He did not respond, but returned her gaze, undaunted, in a clear act of defiance. Compared to Voldemort, she at least seemed human.
They remained motionless for a few seconds, scrutinizing each other in silence. Finally, the Lady bowed her head.
"You're brave," she smiled imperceptibly when she saw that Harry didn't look away. "You're going to need it."
Harry didn't know how to interpret that. Was she going to attack him? If she wanted, she could torture him just like she had done with that death eater in the Great Hall.
Then, the Lady shuddered and rolled her eyes. Harry felt a burning pain in his scar and felt his mind trying to see something that wasn't there.
Voldemort was elated. He was really happy about something. He had achieved it. He had succeeded...
But when he was about to delve deeper into Voldemort's mind, something stopped him.
Harry opened his eyes, and it took him a few seconds to realize that he was in Hogwarts, in the middle of the hallway. The Lady was very close to him, she had placed a hand on his shoulder, looking at him in a very strange way. Her blind eye shone in its gray haze, as if it were a crystal ball.
"Don't do that again, or he will possess you," she whispered in Parseltongue, and for a second, her voice sounded human, and slightly worried. And as suddenly as she had moved, she released him, recovering her haughty and serious demeanor. "Return to your common rooms," she ordered, before moving towards her office, as if nothing had happened.
The members of Dumbledore's Army hurriedly obeyed, and Ron grabbed Harry's arm to drag him away.
They had to go away as far as possible before the explosions started.
ooo
Adolescence brought many changes, and not just physical ones. Even despite the spell she was under, the Lady began to experience waves of rebellion and defiance.
She couldn't say it out loud, of course, but that didn't stop her from starting to ask questions and wonder about the world around her. And as always, the elf Win was the only one who gave her answers.
Taking advantage of her closeness to the young woman, Win began to influence her education. Coincidentally, as if she did not realize it, she left at her mistress' disposal books about other branches of magic that Voldemort did not consider important enough to delve into. Thanks to them, the Lady discovered that there were many other interesting things that she did not know, and that she wanted to learn.
She voraciously read books on Transformations, Herbology, Incantations and Divination. At night, when no one was watching her, she secretly practiced everything she learned behind her tutors' backs, exploring the limits of her powers, and becoming stronger.
Voldemort had forbidden her from attending Hogwarts, to keep her away from Dumbledore's influence and to be able to use her as a surprise weapon in the war. But he didn't count on the effect that the insignificant Win would have.
The house-elf, emboldened and defiant, not only tried to provide her with all the subjects a young witch would study at school, but also helped her cultivate her mind in other ways.
Secretly, she provided her with philosophical treatises, to make her think, and books of poetry, stories and novels, so that she could distract herself and reflect. Some of the books had been written by muggle authors, but it didn't mattered. The Lady devoured them all, learning from them, analyzing.
Every book she read changed her inside, making her ask questions and revise what her tutors taught her.
She began to wonder about what was happening in the outside world, and about the war. And for the first time, she began to question everything Voldemort taught her, and his purpose of cleansing the world of the presence of muggles.
That didn't stop her from training in the Dark Arts, since she wasn't strong enough to rebel openly, but now there was more than cruelty and blind obedience behind her desire to learn.
ooo
The Lady entered the room, and slammed the door, leaving Narcissa outside. She wanted to be alone to think.
What was the reason for such euphoria? What could the Dark Lord have achieved to cause this outburst of energy?
Distractedly, she lit the fire, shaking her fingers slightly, while with her other hand she massaged the bridge of her nose to alleviate the headache that had been plaguing her for days.
That sudden joy had nothing to do with her, she was sure of that. Maybe it was that wand her lord was looking for? Had he finally found the trail? Or maybe it was... What was that smell?
She looked up at the smoke coming from the chimney, her head still focused elsewhere.
Then, all hell broke loose.
ooo
The sea, she could only hear the sea.
In the middle of the cottony and empty darkness, the sound of the waves accompanied her.
She couldn't move, only float.
In front of her, a long beach of whitish sand stretched to infinity.
ooo
The sound of the explosion echoed throughout the corridor. Narcissa, who had been busy talking to her son, looked terrified at the smoke coming out from under her mistress's door.
Without a second thought, she ran over, grabbed the burning handlebar, and ignoring the pain of her burned hand, turned it.
The door opened before her, releasing a cloud of smoke of various colors, accompanied by sparks and flares that traveled down the corridor, bouncing off the walls.
Coughing and covering her nose and mouth, Narcissa carefully entered the room. Through the smoke she could see pieces of the broken furniture, the remains of the destroyed chimney, and on the floor, among the rubble, the Lady, who was lying on the floor without moving.
Her heart in her throat, Narcissa knelt next to her, feeling for a pulse with trembling hands. To her relief, the Lady was still alive, but seemed to be in serious condition. She was bleeding from her nose and ears, and it appeared that debris had hit her hard on the head.
Hurried footsteps arrived at the office, stopping at the threshold. Narcissa turned in time to see Snape's face fall as he processed the scene. The woman understood how he felt. The Lady couldn't die!
"She's still alive," she managed to say with a trembling voice, but Snape didn't respond. He simply waved his wand to levitate the Lady, and carefully took her out of there.
Curious students were beginning to gather in the corridor, attracted by the noise. Dumbledore and McGonagall came running, both with identical expressions of determination and wands in hand, finally free of the immobilizing spell, but they stopped in alarm when they saw what was happening.
Without giving any explanation, Snape simply made his way through them, to take his mistress to the infirmary. It was unknown whether he was angry or scared, but his expression suggested that he would not tolerate delays or distractions.
Madam Pomfrey prepared a stretcher in the corner of the infirmary, and devoted herself onto the injured woman. She was also aware of the seriousness of the situation and wasted no time in asking useless questions.
She let Snape assist her with the more serious magical injuries and between the two of them they stopped the bleeding, and set the broken bones. The most serious injury was the blow to the head, and the shattered eardrums, but they could not rule out other internal damage.
And while they both worked, the Lady was still absent.