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Chapter 487: If the poor Mistress knew this news, she would surely be driven mad.
Chapter 487: If the poor Mistress knew this news, she would surely be driven mad.
The group stepped onto the Wizard Platform, where Sirius Black was already waiting for them.
Harry immediately went up to him and gave him a warm hug.
Sirius Black patted Harry on the shoulder, then turned to Ivan and said, "Are you ready, Hals? We don't need to go to King's Cross Station, we can use Apparition right here."
"Of course, anytime! But where should we Apparate to?" Ivan asked. He certainly knew the exact address of Sirius Black's home, but the prerequisite for Apparition was that he had to have been to the place before, otherwise there could be a deviation.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Let Lupin take you then!" Sirius Black said, a bit embarrassed.
Fortunately, Lupin was also going this time, otherwise he wouldn't have had enough magic to Apparate two people such a long distance.
"Ivan, remember to write to me during the summer holidays", Hermione suddenly reminded him.
Then, the young witch seemed to remember something and glared at him fiercely. "And don't forget this time!"
"Of course, I promise! I'll write to you as soon as I get back, okay?" Ivan nodded repeatedly, indicating that he had firmly remembered it.
Sirius Black smiled at the scene. After Ivan gave a definite answer, the young witch pushed her luggage and walked through the wall with Ron, heading to King's Cross Station.
As the crowd gradually dispersed, only Ivan, Lupin, Sirius Black, and Harry were left.
Like Ivan, Harry didn't plan to go home directly but intended to stay at Sirius Black's place for a few days first.
As for the Dursleys? Harry had sent them a letter via Hedwig a few days ago. Upon learning the news, they were overjoyed and couldn't wait for him to stay away forever.
"Let's go, our destination this time is Grimmauld Place!" Sirius Black took Harry's hand and said to Ivan and Lupin.
Lupin nodded, grabbed Ivan's wrist, and waved his wand!
"Apparition!"
As the spell was cast, Ivan felt himself being sucked into a narrow space, spinning around inside it, and then being kicked out a moment later.
When he came to, he found himself standing at the corner of an alley.
"We got lucky, no Muggles passed by here!" Sirius Black looked around, saw that no one was in the alley, and straightened his clothes before leading the way out.
Ivan, Harry, and Lupin followed closely behind.
Outside the alley was a small, somewhat dilapidated square. The stone bricks on the ground were cracked and neglected, with weeds stubbornly pushing through the cracks. In the distance, the faint sound of Muggle car horns could be heard.
"Sirius, have we arrived?" Harry asked.
"Yes, that's right! That's it, Grimmauld Place 12", Sirius Black looked at the few manors behind the square, pointed to one of the signs on a door, and said.
Ivan looked in that direction and clearly saw the manor Sirius Black was pointing to.
It seemed that this place had not yet been designated as the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix and had not been subjected to the Fidelius Charm, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to see it.
However, the old manor was in a state of disrepair, with broken windows, dirty walls, and peeling paint on the door.
Harry was also looking at it, his face filled with astonishment, clearly not expecting Sirius Black's home to be in such a dilapidated state.
Sirius cleared his throat and quickly explained.
"Don't judge the house by its appearance. It's just been too long since anyone lived here. Once I use some repair and cleaning spells, it will be quite comfortable to live in."
"Great, I can help out with that later!" Harry didn't really care how the mansion looked; he was just surprised at first.
The group stepped onto the somewhat broken steps and made their way to the front door.
The door had an ancient and simple style, covered with numerous intersecting scratches. The silver door handle was shaped like a coiled snake, and there was no keyhole or mailbox.
Sirius drew his wand and tapped the door, and the sound of chains rattling could be heard from behind it. A moment later, the door creaked open.
"Alright, we can go in now!"
Sirius led the way for Ivan and the others with a casual air, but as soon as they entered, his brow furrowed.
The house was pitch Black, filled with a musty, decaying smell. The floor and walls were covered in thick layers of dust, and spider webs hung from the corners, making it look completely uninhabitable.
Sirius only now noticed this, and his face fell.
Although he had returned before, it was alone, and he had only come to retrieve some items without paying attention to the state of the place. After living in Hogwarts for so long, he had completely forgotten about it.
"Scourgify!" Sirius quickly waved his wand, casting the spell.
A storm of magic swept through the living room, carrying countless specks of dust and sand into the air, forming a ball of dirt that then flew out through the broken window.
The dim living room immediately became much cleaner, though it was still somewhat cluttered.
Sirius, who had cast the spell, was now quite exhausted, panting heavily as he looked at the large house, feeling rather helpless.
He wished for the first time that the house could be smaller, to make it easier to clean.
"This looks like a lot of work. Let's all help out!" Lupin, seeing Sirius's disheveled state, couldn't help but smile.
"Sure, we can divide the work to make it faster!" Ivan suggested, taking the opportunity to search for where the Horcrux might be hidden.
While Ivan was certain the object was in this house, he couldn't remember the exact location.
"What about me? I haven't learned that spell yet", Harry asked somewhat awkwardly. The cleaning the others were talking about seemed different from what he was used to, involving magic.
But he didn't know the cleaning spell.
"Don't worry, just follow me, and I'll teach you myself!" Sirius, having rested a bit, regained his strength and reassured Harry.
Just as everyone was about to start, a low, fragmented voice suddenly sounded.
"Disgusting human stench, the detestable wastrel and his ragtag friends have entered the noble Black Family Manor.
If the poor mistress knew this, she would surely be furious. Poor old Kreacher couldn't stop them, what else can it do?"
(End of Chapter)
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