Chapter 498: Negligent Mundungus
Chapter 498: Negligent Mundungus
"Let's go in", Harry whispered to Hermione, and they entered Sirius Black's rented house together.
But someone was already inside.
Harry's eyes widened as he stared at the scruffy stranger with a tangled mess of ginger hair, looking as if Crookshanks had rolled around in the mud. The man was lounging on the sofa, one short, bowed leg draped lazily on the table, seemingly asleep.
"Who are you!" Harry and Hermione drew their wands simultaneously.
Crookshanks crouched on the floor, emitting a threatening growl.
The man in the tattered coat was startled awake. He sat up, looked up to see a wand with sparks at the tip pressing against his neck, and obediently raised his hands in surrender.
"My name is Mundungus Fletcher, and I was sent by Dumbledore to protect you", the stout man said.
"You're lying", Hermione said sharply, "How could Dumbledore send someone like you—"
Mundungus gave her a hurt look. "What's wrong with me? I work for both Dumbledore and the Ministry, and I joined the Order of the Phoenix over a decade ago..."
"But why are you here? This is Sirius Black's rented house", Harry asked, keeping his wand pointed at the man.
"He sent me here; he couldn't come himself", Mundungus said carefully, leaning back cautiously.
"So you're the one who was supposed to notify me to leave early?" Harry's eyes widened. "But you did nothing, and instead, you were sleeping." He said angrily, almost mistaking Hermione for someone else because of the miscommunication.
Mundungus pointed to his droopy, bloodshot eyes. "Look at me, I just finished a big job, so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. I arrived early and thought I'd catch a few winks... I didn't expect you to show up."
"Were you busy with Order of the Phoenix business?"
"Something like that", Mundungus said vaguely.
"But weren't you supposed to protect Harry?"
"Cough, cough, a temporary assignment..."
Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance, finding the man suspicious and his eyes shifty.
"Since you were sent to notify Harry, you should know where we're supposed to go, right?" Hermione asked.
"I can't give you the exact address, at least not yet. We have to wait until—" Mundungus said, waving his hand, "Wait, don't get hasty, it's the Black Family Manor!"
Harry and Hermione lowered their wands.
"How do we leave from here?"
"Through that", Mundungus pointed to the fireplace, "the Floo Network."
"What time?"
"Seven o'clock. We also need to wait for one more person who has the note", Mundungus muttered, "Don't ask me, I don't know who it is."
Harry and Hermione exchanged another glance; they had a pretty good idea who it was.
"What's this note you mentioned?"
"The address written by the Secret-Keeper, used as the key for the Fidelius Charm", Mundungus explained. "The place we're going is under the Fidelius Charm. Once cast, no one can reveal the address to outsiders, and no one can find it unless the Secret-Keeper decides to share the secret. Once we're there, we can speak freely."
Harry and Hermione temporarily believed him, but a thorough questioning was still necessary.
"Do you know Sirius Black well?" Harry asked.
"Of course, I often use his fireplace; it's safe and hidden! And not monitored by the Ministry of Magic!" Mundungus said.
"Not monitored?"
"Sure, I bet the Black family paid a hefty price to get this technology back in the day. Imagine if I had it too—I could set up secret bases all over the world, how convenient! And I could perfectly avoid the Ministry of Magic in every country!" Mundungus said proudly, praising his grand plan.
Unfortunately, the plan stalled at the first step.
"Mr. Fletcher—"
"Just call me Mundungus, kid, I'm no nobleman", Mundungus scratched his scruffy chin.
"Alright", Hermione paused, "I heard that connecting to a private fireplace requires the owner's permission—and Wizards can't connect Muggle fireplaces to the Floo Network without a valid reason..."
Mundungus waved his hand.
"Rules are made to be broken. You get my drift", he winked at Hermione with a knowing, silly look. "Do you really think Sirius Black's ancestors never set up their own Floo Network privately? And the Ministry of Magic—hmm, they just talk a good game..."
He began rummaging through his pockets and finally pulled out a dirty, black pipe, stuffing it into his mouth. Only then did he look up at Harry and Hermione.
"Do you mind?"
"What? Oh, uh, of course not—"
"Thanks." He used his wand to light the pipe, took a deep drag, and a few seconds later, exhaled a large cloud of green, foul-smelling smoke. "I need a few puffs every hour to keep me going", Mundungus said through the smoke, as if explaining to them.
Harry and Hermione silently scooted to the other end of the sofa, putting some distance between them and him.
"Would you like something to eat, Hermione?" Harry called out loudly.
"Since you mention it..." Hermione glanced at the expanding smoke and decisively stood up. "I am a bit hungry."
They made their way to the kitchen.
"Bring me a plate too, thanks—" Mundungus shouted from the living room.
"Can you cook?" Hermione whispered in the kitchen.
"A little. I practiced at the Dursleys' house. What about you?"
"I can manage a bit", Hermione said, somewhat uncertainly.
Harry's hand touched the fridge door. "Oh no", he said.
"What's wrong—"
The fridge door opened to reveal only two tomatoes on the top shelf, the rest of the space was empty. Harry poked them, and a large mold spot became visible.
"I forgot that Sirius hasn't been eating much at home lately", Harry said.
Hermione blinked. "Would you accept some compressed biscuits?"
"I'm suddenly not that hungry", Harry hastily replied. "I just had a meal."
"Me too", Hermione said, squinting her eyes.
In the end, only Mundungus had the appetite for the compressed biscuits. Harry and Hermione had lost their appetites due to the smell of burnt socks permeating the house. Harry had to open the windows to let in fresh air.
At that moment, he saw a familiar figure walking across the street.
"Professor?" he said, pleasantly surprised.
Felix glanced at Harry by the window and nodded with a smile, then was immediately assaulted by the smell inside.
"Scouring Charm."
A whirlwind swept through the room, clearing away the smoke and dust. Harry and Hermione visibly relaxed, and Hermione took a deep, refreshing breath.
"I arrived half an hour early and found you had already left", Felix said to Harry and Hermione. "Then I got held up by some matters, which took some time to resolve with your families."
"You saw the Dursleys?" Harry exclaimed.
And more, Felix thought. He glanced at Hermione; her parents were quite persistent, seemingly knowing he was coming and waiting by the roadside to intercept him.
"Yes", Felix said briefly. "Your cousin had an incident, squealing when he saw me, and your uncle almost attacked me..."
Harry looked at him, puzzled.
"Turns out, your cousin had stolen and eaten some Frost Rat from Honeydukes, and it had nothing to do with me."
Felix looked at the clock on the wall. "It's about time." He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Harry. "You two read this, memorize the address, and you won't need it anymore."
Harry and Hermione took the paper, which read "12 Grimmauld Place." They memorized it a few times, and the paper turned to ash.
"Professor, are you the Secret-Keeper of the Black Family Manor?"
"I'm not", Felix said without elaborating. "Dumbledore is, and he provided the note."
At exactly seven o'clock, a bright green fire erupted in the fireplace.
"According to our arrangement, we have about two minutes, so hurry up", Felix urged, pushing Harry to the fireplace. "We can discuss any issues once we're there."
He packed their luggage into a ring.
Harry held Hedwig, stood in the fire, and shouted, "12 Grimmauld Place." His figure spun and disappeared, followed by Hermione with Crookshanks, then Mundungus, and finally Felix.
"Master Harry", a low, raspy voice said.
Harry jumped, his glasses obscured by thick dust. He vaguely saw a small, thin figure.
"Kreacher?" he asked tentatively.
"It's Kreacher!" the old House-elf said happily, pulling out a feather duster and bouncing around to clean the dust off Harry.
"Oh, thank you—thank you, no need, I can do it myself—"
Harry said, noticing a small square object in front of him. He took off his glasses and wiped them on his clothes.
At that moment, Hermione, Mundungus, and Felix arrived.
Harry cleaned his glasses and stared at the green object hanging from Kreacher's chest—a locket.
"Sirius gave this to you?" Harry asked in surprise. This was Regulus's relic, the fake Horcrux. He had seen Kreacher wearing it through the Two-Way Mirror, assuming it was a replica, but it turned out to be real.
"The master is very generous, he allowed me to keep this item", Kreacher said.
At that moment, someone rushed out from the living room.
"Remus", Felix greeted. "Didn't expect to see you so soon. Your mission is complete?"
"Yes", Lupin said with a peculiar tone.
"I'll go change and then head to the study. You can handle their questions", Felix said.
Lupin nodded. "Leave it to me."
"I'll go take a nap. Wake me up for dinner", Mundungus said, yawning as he headed to the living room sofa.
"Professor is joining the Order of the Phoenix?" Harry asked, watching Felix's back disappear up the stairs with interest.
"He isn't", Lupin said. "But he's on our side, considered an ally—"
(End of Chapter)
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