Chapter 443: 12 Grimmauld Place
Chapter 443: 12 Grimmauld Place
After obtaining what he desired, Kyle did not linger and immediately left, but instead of returning to St. Kachibor Village, he went to London at the invitation of Sirius.
Late at night, the two appeared in Grimmauld Place, not far from King's Cross.
Kyle recalled Sirius' words and as soon as he thought of 12 Grimmauld Place, a shabby door appeared out of thin air between numbers 11 and 13.
It was the Black family's mansion, and Sirius' current residence, protected by the Fidelius Charm.
Although Fudge had promised to relocate all the Dementors and Aurors tasked with capturing him, Sirius still felt safer residing here.
He withdrew his wand and tapped it on the door, and Kyle heard a series of loud, metallic clangs, along with the sound of rattling chains.
The door creaked open.
"Come in quickly," Sirius said.
Kyle stepped over the threshold into a pitch-black entrance hall, damp and filled with an overpowering stench of decay.
"No one has lived here for a long time. I plan to give the place a good cleaning before Harry arrives," Sirius said.
Then, Kyle heard rustling sounds, and a row of old-fashioned gas lamps on the wall lit up, casting an unreal, flickering light on the peeling wallpaper and threadbare carpets in the entrance hall.
Kyle ran his finger along the surface of a nearby table, and it came away coated in a thick layer of dust.
"It won't be easy to clean this place up, and a lot of things need to be replaced," Kyle remarked.
"Yes, we'll take it slowly," Sirius said. "I had intended to bring Harry over in a few days, but Dumbledore told me that rat needs to take a month's worth of Potion to recover.
With the upcoming trial as well, there won't be time during the holidays, so we'll have to wait until Christmas. So, we have plenty of time."
With quick footsteps, Lupin emerged from a door at the other end of the entrance hall and strode towards them.
"Oh, Kyle, it's wonderful to see you," he said with a smile.
"The feeling is mutual, Professor," Kyle replied.
"I'm no longer a professor, just call me Lupin, or Moony if you like," Lupin said.
As Kyle was about to speak, he suddenly noticed a pair of eyes, as big as tennis balls, staring at them from beside a cabinet not far behind Lupin.
It was a house-elf, quite old by the looks of it, with loose, sagging skin, a bald head, and large white tufts of hair growing from his bat-like ears. His nose was fleshy and enormous, resembling a pig's snout.
To be honest, even Dobby could be considered handsome compared to this creature.
"That's Kreacher, a house-elf," Sirius said, "but he's gone a bit mad now and is completely useless, otherwise the house wouldn't have ended up in this state."
"Greetings, young master," Kreacher said, bowing when he realized he'd been spotted. Then, in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, he muttered, "Smells like drains and dishonor, that filthy blood traitor's back, bringing a young 'un with 'im, except for the werewolf, oh the shame, poor old Kreacher, what can he do..."
"Get out of here, Kreacher!" Sirius snapped impatiently.
"Yes, young master," Kreacher bowed again and shuffled out, but continued muttering as he left, "Young master's a nasty, ungrateful little brat, breaking his mother's heart, but Kreacher will obey..."
"Sorry about that, Kyle," Sirius said, shaking with anger. "He's been alone for too long, and he's been getting crazy orders from my mother's portrait, talking to himself... he's gone mad.
"Bang!"
Before Sirius could finish his sentence, he kicked over an umbrella stand and nearly tripped, but Kyle caught him just in time.
"Oh, darn it..."
Lupin covered his face, looking exasperated.
The next second, a terrifying, bone-chilling scream filled the house.
Two old and tattered velvet curtains were drawn apart, revealing a portrait of a hatted old lady screaming her lungs out.
"You good-for-nothing brats! Disgrace to the family! Get out of my ancestor's house this instant..."
The shrill curses were enough to deafen one's ears.
"Shut up!" Sirius reacted the fastest, covering his ears and rushing forward to grab the edges of the curtains.
The old lady's face turned pale at the sight of him.
But before she could utter another word, Sirius forcefully drew the curtains shut.
The curses ceased, leaving an eerie silence in their wake.
"Looks like you've met my mother." Sirius said with a bitter laugh, "She never liked me because I was sorted into Gryffindor, and by the time I ran away from home at sixteen, her dislike turned to hatred.
But as long as you keep the noise down when passing by, she won't know there's anyone outside."
"I didn't expect this place to be so lively." Kyle said with a smile.
"I certainly don't think so." Sirius said, "Let's go, hurry up, before she wakes up again."
Sirius led them through the corridor to a relatively cleaner room.
It was spacious, with an imposing round table in the center, apparently a guest room.
"If you want to study that box, you can do it here." Sirius said, "This house is protected by the Fidelius Charm, so you can use any magic you want here, and the Ministry won't know who did it. They can only find Grimmauld Place at most, and then they'll find that there's no one here."
"Box? What box?" Lupin asked, confused.
"Don't ask me, Moony." Sirius rubbed his forehead, "Honestly, I have more questions than you.
Can you believe it? Kyle just took a walk in the Lestrange ancestral home and found a very well-hidden box... as if he were just getting a piece of bread from the kitchen."
Lupin was bewildered.
But then he saw that Kyle had indeed taken out a box and placed it on the table.
"Is this the Lestrange family's?"
"It used to be." Kyle said.
He didn't explain much, but looking at the two of them, he said, "If you choose to stay, then remember to keep this confidential. No matter what happens here, don't tell anyone about it. This includes Professor Dumbledore."
"Of course." Sirius immediately nodded, a slight curve forming at the corners of his mouth.
Although he had a lot of questions in his mind, it didn't matter... Looking at Kyle, he suddenly felt like he had gone back to his school days.
That was how they used to be, secretly making the Marauder's Map without anyone knowing... That feeling was truly memorable.
Lupin hesitated for a moment, then nodded as well.
"Good, remember, keep it a secret." Kyle smiled, "Otherwise, I'll beat up Harry, you know he can't beat me."
(End of Chapter)
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