Chapter 442: Treasure Hunting
Chapter 442: Treasure Hunting
Many ancient wizards were fond of living in Wiltshire, a place that was once bustling with various banquets held in different mansions every day, and was also the place with the most wizards.
But twelve years ago, everything changed drastically.
As if overnight, almost half of the wizards were forced to move, becoming neighbors with Dementors, leaving behind large empty mansions.
The area suddenly became quiet.
However, the other wizards living here felt that this was not bad... at least they could expand their mansions without any worries.
The Lestrange mansion was located on a hillside to the north.
Several windows around the house were broken, the roof tiles were incomplete, and the originally grand gate and walls were covered with various unknown vines, looking almost like the Screaming Shack in Hogsmeade from the outside.
But over a decade ago, this was the most spacious and grand building within a few kilometers, and the Lestranges were once prominent in the wizarding world.
However, after its owner was sent to Azkaban, the mansion gradually deteriorated into its current state.
No wizards living nearby were willing to come here, let alone help with the cleaning.
At night, the hillside was quiet, with only sporadic insect sounds heard.
In the moonlight, two figures, one large and one small, emerged from the shadows and stopped in front of the house.
"Sirius, are you sure this is the Lestrange family's ancestral home?" Kyle examined the house, which was no better than the Screaming Shack, and asked doubtfully.
"Yes, if we're talking about the same Lestrange..." Sirius replied.
"This place is too dilapidated," Kyle frowned, "Didn't they ever think of using the Loyalty Oath Charm to protect it?"
"No, and there's no need," Sirius said, "Twelve years ago, who would dare to target them? That woman... Bella, she was once a favorite of the Dark Lord, and there were too many wizards trying to curry favor with her. Because of the Dark Lord's trust, the Death Eaters almost made this their command center.
If there was a Loyalty Oath Charm, it would have been very inconvenient.
"Ironically, it was probably the same group of people who, after she was sent to Azkaban, turned this place into what it is now."
Sirius glanced at Kyle and continued, "Although I don't know why you suddenly wanted to come here, I'm sure that anything of value inside the house has long been looted, and you're destined to make a wasted trip today..."
"Is that so... Not necessarily." Kyle walked forward.
Sirius showed a hint of helplessness but still followed.
The lock on the gate had long become a useless decoration, and Kyle easily entered the house after slightly clearing the entangled vines.
The interior looked even worse, with almost no intact furniture, and the largest item was a table with a missing leg.
As Sirius said, there was almost nothing of value to be seen, and even the decorations on the pillars or walls had been removed.
"If I could, I really wouldn't want to step into this place," Sirius frowned.
"What are you looking for? If it's Galleons, just ask, I have plenty of them."
"That's yours, I don't want it." Kyle took out a Sniffle from his pocket.
"Let's find the underground vault here..."
Sniffle looked around and quickly headed in a certain direction. During this process, it seemed like a vacuum, sucking up broken glass, iron, and other debris on the ground into the pocket on its belly.
Finally, Sniffle stopped in front of a statue in the corner of the room.
There should have been a statue here, but now only the pedestal remains, and beneath it is an opened hole.
It seems that this place has been visited as well.
Kyle casually picked up Sniffle, scratched its belly, and somewhat disdainfully threw away the junk it had picked up earlier. The little guy was still a bit reluctant, squeaking and squawking.
Kyle didn't pay attention to it. He held up an oil lamp and walked into the underground vault on his own.
As expected, there wasn't much left here either, but fortunately, the thing Kyle needed was untouched.
On the wall of the narrow vault, there was a painting without a frame, its colors already faded long ago.
Vaguely, one could see that the background of the painting was this house, but the people inside were gone.
"This painting should be old Rodolphus Lestrange, but I can't remember his name." Sirius, who had followed him in, said, "Kyle, don't tell me you're looking for this thing... This magical portrait is only valuable to the Lestrange family; elsewhere, it's just trash."
"Yes, but it's not just that..." Kyle said.
Sirius was a bit confused.
But the next second, he saw Kyle throw away the magical painting and take out a hammer from somewhere, pounding the wall behind it.
"Bang... Bang... Bang..."
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The wall was unexpectedly fragile, and it was soon smashed, revealing the dark gray stone inside, but Kyle's actions didn't stop...
The dull pounding made Sirius, who was already confused, even more perplexed. He didn't understand what Kyle was doing, intending to tear down this place? But just as he was about to ask, the wall cracked again.
Sirius was surprised to find that as Kyle knocked down more stones, the originally gray stones gradually became distorted, followed by constant compression and squeezing. Soon, it turned into a dark golden, fist-sized box.
"Transfiguration... I thought there was a hidden compartment." Kyle put on the dragonhide gloves, picked up the box, and shook it... A crisp sound came from inside.
Apparently, the key he was looking for was hidden in this box.
But the question was how to open it. He took a general look and saw that the entire box seemed to be cast in one piece, with no visible joints or even a keyhole.
Watching Kyle, Sirius blinked, looking silly. He stammered, "This, this is..."
"It should be a magical artifact, specifically for storing important items." Kyle said, "But opening this thing isn't easy..."
"I know." Sirius scratched his hair. "But how did you know there was something behind this wall... I mean, this is the Lestrange family's manor!
Did you come here before? But that's not right. When Bellatrix Lestrange was caught by the Aurors, you weren't even a year old."
"No, I was over two years old then." Kyle corrected.
"That's not important!" Sirius felt his head getting bigger, "How did you know... the location of this thing!"
"Of course, someone told me." Kyle laughed. "I spent a little money and got the information from an informant."
"Who is it!"
"Believe me, you definitely don't want to know their name."
Kyle put away the box and carefully checked the surroundings to ensure there were no missed spots before picking up the oil lamp and leaving the vault.
It's inconvenient not being able to freely use wands here.
(End of Chapter)
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