allendalepharm Chapter 242 On-site Elevator Installation Service
Chapter 242 On-site Elevator Installation Service
Chapter 242 On-site Elevator Installation Service
Finally, the train arrived at King's Cross Station, Platform 9¾. I got off.
Several figures strode forward in the crowd, yet it seemed as if no one saw them; only passersby would instinctively give way.
A group of six.
Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Grindelwald, Lupin, Lockhart, and Percy Weasley.
After exiting King's Cross Station, it's about a 20-minute walk to finally reach my destination.
Located between 11 Grimmauld Place and 13 Grimmauld Place, a house suddenly squeezed out of the narrow gap between the two houses as Dumbledore waved his wand.
here……
Lockhart had been here before.
12 Grimmauld Place, the ancestral home of the Black family!
Although the Act of Secrecy requires all wizards to live in wizarding communities, no matter how forcefully the Ministry of Magic establishes the Auror Force—an unprecedented military organization in wizarding history—to implement this policy, it is impossible to make powerful pure-blood families completely abandon their ancestral homes.
Then a very interesting scene unfolded.
Most wizards live in wizarding communities or villages, while these ancient pure-blood families have all Muggles as their neighbors.
"Tsk~" Grindelwald looked at the dilapidated old house with disdain, and then at the house numbers 11 and 13 on the left and right, and complained, "It's too deliberate. Anyone can guess that there might be a house hidden here."
He then gestured to the dilapidated house in building number 11, "Why not buy this building too, then pretend to be a Muggle and live there, cooperating with number 12?"
Dumbledore glanced back at him, as if to say—you think you can?
Old Gorshkov rolled his eyes, too lazy to say anything more. He was right, at least Lockhart agreed; in some ways, some of Dumbledore's arrangements were indeed poorly executed.
But in any case, this will be the future headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.
As Dumbledore stepped forward and knocked on the door, a rather disheveled figure opened it.
"Sirius!" Lupin exclaimed excitedly, stepping forward to hug Sirius.
Old friends reunited, and there was no distance between them because of their past life experiences. Such brotherhood is truly enviable.
The Black family's ancestral home was right on Muggle Street, and since no one wanted to linger too long, they quickly went inside.
Lockhart led Percy at the back, looking up at the obviously dilapidated house, at the peeling paint on the door, the scratches all over it, and the dirty walls, and couldn't help but feel a little sad.
The Black family, arguably the oldest and noblest of the Twenty-Eight Holy Pureblood Families, has fallen into such a state of ruin.
Stepping across the threshold, you are greeted by a dark foyer, damp and filled with a faint smell of mold and a sweet, pungent stench of decay. The walls are covered with peeling wallpaper, and the floor is covered with a worn-out carpet with many dirty footprints.
The Black family worshipped the ominous, and many of the decorations in their home featured snakes, making the interiors appear particularly eerie.
Dumbledore could handle it, his expression unchanged; he too had grown up in a family on the verge of ruin.
Grindelwald couldn't stand it.
He glanced disdainfully at Sirius, who had been living there for quite some time, and finally couldn't resist drawing his wand and pointing it around.
In an instant, everything seemed to turn back time, and the house went from dilapidated to magnificent and resplendent.
The wallpaper was reattached to the wall, the dusty carpet regained its original color, the mold in the corner and the strange smell in the air disappeared completely, and even the light coming in from the window became bright and clean in an instant.
It's a matter of magic.
Of course, this is a spell belonging to a magic master.
If Sirius Black were to do it, or if Kreacher, the last house-elf of the Black family, were to do it, it would be a huge undertaking.
The scene before him left Percy Weasley and Sirius completely stunned.
His gaze was so complex as he looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar surroundings. Before he could say anything, a sobbing sound suddenly came from the corner of the wall.
It was a house-elf's wail, so painful, as it reminisced about the family's past glory and cursed the fact that the family was now occupied by outsiders.
Sirius was furious and was about to kick him, but Grindelwald stopped him.
Grindelwald's gaze was so cold. "Strictly speaking, you were expelled from the family, so you are indeed an outsider."
Sirius, somewhat exasperated, glared defiantly at Grindelwald. "So what?"
"So what?" Grindelwald laughed. "It means you don't have the right to command this house-elf, it means you're not its master, and it means that its presence at the Order of the Phoenix headquarters could potentially leak all information about this place."
"How dare it!!!" Sirius roared.
"To it, it's just trying to drive out outsiders who are taking over the family business; it's righteous." Grindelwald shrugged. "A righteous person fears nothing, not even death."
With that, he gracefully raised his wand and pointed it at the house-elf Kreacher. "If you don't mind, I can help you get rid of this problem. After all, you all claim to be good people and shouldn't be doing this."
"No!" Sirius cried out urgently, leaping in front of Grindelwald and raising his hand to block the wand. He didn't know how to persuade the Dark Lord, so he could only look pleadingly at Dumbledore beside him, "Please don't kill it!"
Kreacher looked up in disbelief at Sirius's retreating figure, momentarily forgetting his wailing.
Dumbledore reached out and grabbed Grindelwald's arm, which was holding the wand, shaking his head. "I don't think we should punish others for evil they haven't committed."
Grindelwald sneered, "No wonder the wizarding world is in this state under your leadership!"
Dumbledore simply looked at him gently but firmly, neither arguing nor saying anything, which ultimately made Grindelwald put down his wand in annoyance.
"Cough cough~"
Lockhart coughed twice, drawing everyone's attention, before saying, "Actually, there is still one official member of the Black family. If he agrees, Sirius can still return to the Black family."
Dumbledore frowned in thought. "I don't recall the Black family having any official members?"
Lockhart explained, "It's like a ghost, neither truly dead nor truly alive."
Dumbledore couldn't help but wonder if it was Phineas Black, one of the magical portraits of past headmasters hanging in the Hogwarts headmaster's office.
However, magical portraits cannot be chosen arbitrarily; this is a rule in the wizarding world.
He quickly found the answer.
As Lockhart strode forward, he used some kind of black fire magic characteristic of the Black family to ignite the fireplace. In the firelight, a figure appeared on the rocking chair in front of the fireplace. (Previously appeared in Chapter 184)
He was a somewhat thin and aged old man, but he looked very energetic, with sharp eyes.
"Hello, Mr. Arcturus Black," Lockhart greeted with a smile.
"Who are you?" Old Blake looked at him with some confusion.
"I offer elevator installation services," Lockhart chuckled. "My name is Gilderoy Lockhart."
Old Blake clearly hadn't heard of the name before, and looked around blankly before his gaze sharpened. "Grindelwald!!!!"
Grindelwald looked the other man up and down with great interest. "You remember me?"
Old Blake's face darkened. "You were the one who killed me back then. Do you think I'd forget you?"
For a moment, the expressions of the people around them became strange.
So Dumbledore had no choice but to step forward. "Actus, it's been a long time!"
Old Black stared at Dumbledore in a daze, and it took him a while to realize who the old man with the long white hair and beard was. "Albus?"
"Yes." Dumbledore smiled and gestured to Sirius, who looked hesitant a short distance away. "He is Sirius, do you remember him? The last descendant of your family, but he was excommunicated by your son."
"The last descendant..."
Old Blake felt a little sad when he heard this.
"Orian is always so impulsive," he muttered, a happy smile spreading across his face as he watched Sirius being pushed over by Lupin. "Orian's opinion doesn't count. I've always disagreed with removing Sirius from the family. He's a brave boy who dares to pursue himself and break free from the constraints of his family!"
Sirius Black was already in tears, and with a wail, he knelt before old Black and wept.
"Get up, stop crying. Whether you do the right thing or the wrong thing, you should bravely try new things in life; it's not a sin!"
He looked at his grandson with affection, and shouted excitedly, "Kreacher! Kreacher! You must still be alive!"
The house-elf Kreacher rushed over excitedly, tumbling and crawling, "Master, Master, I'm here!"
Old Blake looked at Kreacher with some sadness. "You're getting old too."
Kreacher immediately knelt on the ground and wept as well.
"Alright, alright, stop crying," old Blake instructed. "Kreacher, the family tree is still on the wall, isn't it? Add Sirius's name for me!"
"Master!" Kreacher cried out, "Sirius betrayed Black, he doesn't deserve it!"
Old Black simply smiled and looked at it, not issuing commands just because it was a house-elf. Instead, he calmly advised, "The Black family is either completely wiped out, or there is still a lineage, Kreacher. Which do you think is better?"
Kreacher was stunned.
Its rather dull mind couldn't comprehend such a complex matter.
"Go ahead. Add the name." Old Black was shrewd. Dumbledore and Grindelwald were both there, as was Sirius. The scene before him meant the possible resurgence of the Black family. Even if it wasn't for personal reasons, he had to consider the future of the family.
The last descendants...
There's no other choice, so what's there to pick?
"Go ahead, add it and bring it over so I can see it."
Kreacher was loyal, and no matter how unwilling he was, he had no choice but to obey.
(End of this chapter)