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Chapter 444: The Key
Chapter 444: The Key
Sirius Black had always considered Kyle a rare model student.
With outstanding grades and abilities far beyond his peers, Kyle was also adaptable and not constrained by rules.
More importantly, he was despised by Snape... Sirius firmly believed that only truly good children could attain this 'honor'.
In private, he and Lupin had also discussed Kyle, and they both agreed that if Kyle ever became the headmaster of Hogwarts, they wouldn't be surprised at all.
However, it only took one evening for Sirius to overturn this idea.
Aside from Kyle threatening to beat up Harry, which good student could be so proficient in using blasting curses...
It had been almost half an hour, and the parlor seemed like a fireworks display, with the sound of explosions crackling almost non-stop.
And amidst the blasting curses, there was one spell that Sirius was very familiar with.
Sirius watched as the majestic round table suddenly split in two from the middle, the cut smooth and straight as if it had always been two separate pieces.
He had seen this spell used by Snape before when he was a Death Eater, and the two of them had clashed numerous times.
But he couldn't understand why Kyle would know it too. Surely, Snape hadn't taught him...
Sirius shook his head, immediately dismissing the thought. Whether it was Harry or Lupin, they had both said that Snape disliked Kyle, and there was no doubt about it.
Sirius pondered for a long time but still couldn't figure it out, so he eventually gave up and decided not to think about it anymore...
Perhaps the spell was recorded in one of the books in the library, and both Snape and Kyle had just happened to read it.
On the other hand, after casting blasting curses non-stop for so long, Kyle also paused to catch his breath, setting down his wand and sitting in a chair next to the box.
This box was much tougher than he had imagined. Neither blasting nor cutting curses seemed to leave any mark on it, and even the Godric's Sword, a legendary artifact, could only scratch a shallow white line on its surface.
While Kyle rested, Lupin and Sirius also tried their hand at opening the box, but to no avail.
Moreover, the explosions had attracted Kreacher.
He pushed open the door and saw the parlor, which now resembled a ruin. His eyes filled with anger and terror as he started muttering again, his mouth repeatedly uttering words like "good-for-nothing", "brat", and "disgrace to the family".
Sirius felt a headache coming on and turned to shout, "Shut up!"
Kreacher obediently closed his mouth, but after less than a minute, he started grumbling again, this time with a malicious look in his eyes as he glared at Sirius. "Young Master actually wants to destroy this place. If my mistress knew, oh, how heartbroken she would be. And this good-for-nothing is also colluding with outsiders, trying to open Miss Bella's..."
At this point, Kreacher suddenly stopped talking.
But the three wizards keenly caught the last sentence and turned to face him.
"Kreacher!" Sirius asked immediately, "Do you know what this box is? You've seen it before, haven't you!"
"Kreacher doesn't know." The elf shook his ears and squeaked, "Kreacher would never betray Miss Bella!"
"Tell me, it's an order!" Sirius said loudly.
Kreacher's expression turned ugly, but in the end, he bowed low and said, "This is a box left by the old master for Miss Bella. Only the ancient and noble blood of the House of Black can open it!"
Black frowned. Kreacher usually referred to his mother as 'mistress', and the only person who would be called 'old master' was his grandfather.
Just as he was thinking this, a spell flew past his ear and landed on Kreacher, who had been about to bash his head against the door, perhaps as a way to punish himself for failing to guard the secret. But now, he was firmly bound by a rope and couldn't move.
"I order you not to do anything so foolish, Kreacher," Sirius said with a frown.
The elf stopped, but continued to mutter curses under his breath.
Sirius paid no heed and turned away, saying excitedly, "Ha! Now, what were we doing just now?"
Or perhaps, he would use his wand to make a small cut on his hand, letting a few drops of blood fall onto the box.
In the blink of an eye, the drops of blood traced the patterns on the box, quickly forming vivid, crimson runes.
"Click!"
With a crisp sound, the box split open, revealing a uniquely shaped golden key inside.
Black recognized it at once; it was a key to a Gringotts vault, and he had one himself, almost identical in design.
"Finders, keepers!"
Kyle quickly snatched the key and tossed the now-empty box to Sirius.
"Since this is your family's item, I'll give it back to you. Although there are some scratches on it, it doesn't seem to affect its use."
"Wait..."
Before Sirius could say anything, Kyle had already thrown the key back into the box.
"I'm not interested in the Lestrange family's vault."
Sirius, now realizing what was happening, furrowed his brow and said, "But I must remind you that those greedy goblins won't let you into the vault with just a key. They-"
"It's alright, I have you to vouch for me, don't I?" Kyle interrupted with a smile. "Once you've cleared your name, you can go to Gringotts as Bellatrix's cousin and a relative of the Lestrange family, carrying the key with you."
"That still won't work..." Sirius shook his head. "The Lestrange family's vault is most likely among the higher-ranked ones, and to transfer a large amount of assets from those vaults, only Bellatrix Lestrange or Rodolphus Lestrange themselves can do so.
Besides waiting for them to die, there's no other way."
"No, I think you misunderstand," said Kyle. "The gold is secondary; what I want is an item in her vault."
"If it's just one item, that's no problem." Sirius' eyes lit up. "Do you want the deed to their property in Diagon Alley... let me tell you, that's the most valuable thing they own. Any one of those deeds is worth several thousand galleons."
"...No..." Kyle shook his head slightly, exerting great willpower to keep his eyes off the enticing image of piles of galleons.
"No?"
Sirius was puzzled. He couldn't think of anything more valuable than property in Diagon Alley.
"It's an ancient artifact." Kyle tried his best to ignore the tempting mental image. "I can't say for sure right now, but I think that item is in her vault."
Although Sirius had no idea what Kyle was after, he nodded, not pressing the issue further.
(End of Chapter)
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