Chapter 977: I Just Want to Make a Horcrux
Chapter 977: I Just Want to Make a Horcrux
To celebrate the children's graduation from Hogwarts, Mrs. Weasley prepared a grand dinner.
She invited many people, including Sirius, Cedric, who lived on the other side of the village, and the Lovegood family.
Even before dinner started, Hermione's family arrived.
Mr. Granger, Hermione's father, drove into Hogsmeade, filled with curiosity about the place.
Although he had been to Diagon Alley and King's Cross Station, famous wizarding attractions, this was his first time visiting a village inhabited by wizards.
Especially after seeing The Burrow, with its crooked architecture that even a stack of blocks couldn't replicate, Mr. Granger stood there in a daze.
He blinked in bewilderment, looking at Mr. Weasley, who was stroking his car.
"I heard that there are Muggles living here too. Don't they find this place strange?" he asked, his gaze unconsciously falling on another house not far away.
From his current angle, the house looked completely normal.
There was no crooked loft, seemingly glued on, and the roof was not oddly shaped. It didn't resemble a wizard's residence at all.
"Don't worry, there's a Muggle-Repelling Charm on wizarding residences, so they can't see it," Mr. Weasley said without turning around. "Oh, this car is amazing. Can it fly?"
Mr. Granger hadn't recovered from his previous surprise when he was stunned again.
He was driving a car, not an airplane, so how could it possibly...
"I used to have a flying car, but it was left in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts," Mr. Weasley explained.
This statement caused Mr. Granger's brain to pause momentarily, but he soon remembered that Hermione had told him about it before, mentioning that her classmate had missed the train and ended up driving a flying car to Hogwarts.
But that was many years ago.
While the adults chatted, Hermione had already run off to find Ginny.
The Burrow had never been so lively, with nearly twenty wizards and a Muggle in the garden, making it seem a bit crowded.
But everyone was in high spirits, especially Mr. Granger, who wanted to stay for the night if not for the limited rooms in The Burrow.
After dinner, the group dispersed in the garden.
Mr. Weasley watched longingly as the car drove away from the village, while Harry left The Burrow with Sirius and returned to Grimmauld Place Number Twelve.
Kyle, who lived next door, had been waiting for Sirius to come and ask for Snape's address, but he hadn't shown up for several days.
Instead, Snape took the initiative and visited Sirius, who was preparing to open a shop in Diagon Alley.
Upon receiving a message from Lupin, Kyle didn't hesitate and immediately went to Grimmauld Place.
Although Voldemort was dead, the magical protection around Grimmauld Place remained, so Kyle had to Apparate to a nearby abandoned phone booth first.
When he stepped out, there were already several familiar faces nearby.
Mr. Weasley, Lupin, Tonks, Fred, George...
His father, Chris, was also there, talking to Mr. Weasley.
"What's going on!" Kyle hurried over, "Why are you all outside? Did something happen inside?"
"I don't know," Fred frowned, "Someone locked the door, and none of us can get in. We can only wait here."
"It's Sirius..."
Everyone's gaze turned to Lupin.
"You mean, Sirius locked the door to prevent Snape from escaping?" Fred asked excitedly.
George even pressed his face against the window next to the door, trying to catch a glimpse of the situation inside, but even with his features squished together, he saw nothing.
"I don't know if it's to trap Snape..." Lupin sighed, "I wanted to stay, but Sirius refused."
"They wouldn't really fight, would they..." Fred suddenly looked up.
"Why do you say that?"
"Well..." Fred analyzed seriously, "Not involving Lupin is because Snape is no longer a Death Eater. If they killed him, the Aurors would definitely come, right?"
As he spoke, he glanced at Tonks in the crowd and Kingsley, who had just arrived.
Come to think of it, they were indeed Aurors, and one of them was the Head of the Auror Office.
This was convenient; as soon as the fighting inside the house ended, the Aurors could immediately arrest the culprit without waiting.
Kingsley was also in a dilemma.
Fred was right, Snape was no longer a Death Eater, and killing him would definitely violate the Wizarding Law.
Moreover, the more troublesome thing was that Snape was also a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and he had passed on a lot of messages for them, so he was a hero hidden in the shadows... Well, half a hero.
And Sirius was also a member of the Order of the Phoenix.
If they really fought, which side should he help?
Or neither.
Kingsley stood there, feeling conflicted.
But Tonks didn't have such concerns. She was related to the Black family, and Lupin and Sirius were best friends, so even though Snape was also a member of the Order, she would firmly stand on Sirius' side.
He had already started considering how to naturally stall Kingsley and buy Sirius time to escape.
Kyle was also thinking, but his thoughts were the opposite of Tonks'. He was wondering if Snape's capture would affect Conna.
Probably not, since Conna didn't come here with them.
Additionally, since Snape chose to come here himself, he wouldn't be foolish enough to kill Sirius. If a fight did break out, he would probably choose to flee directly instead of fighting Sirius.
"Wait, you don't believe his nonsense, do you..." Seeing that Kingsley and Tonks, both Aurors, were deep in thought, Lupin quickly spoke up, "I think Sirius just has something to say to Snape...
"After all, if he really wanted to fight Snape, he wouldn't have left Harry behind, right?"
Only then did everyone realize that Harry was also in the room.
"Why didn't you say so earlier..."
Fred and George's faces fell in disappointment, while Kingsley heaved a slight sigh of relief.
"Sorry, I just noticed it myself," Lupin said, pulling at the corners of his mouth.
"Are you going to stay here or go back to the Ministry? I think we don't need so many people here."
"Forget it, since we're here, let's wait a bit longer," Kyle spoke up first.
These days, Kyle had been very relaxed. He didn't have to worry about Voldemort suddenly appearing and attacking him with a wand, nor did he have to attend classes. Hagrid took care of the Blast-Ended Skrewts, and Rozel was in charge of the Horcrux matter... He was completely free.
These days, Kyle had been busy with another matter at home, occasionally going to Diagon Alley to relax.
By the way, his shop had been closed for a while during the peak of Death Eater activity.
But now it was open again, although Dobby had finished his part-time job and returned to Newt's place. The new employee was someone Kyle had found from the Hogwarts kitchen.
House-elves wouldn't easily leave the families they served, as this was considered betrayal in their understanding. However, thanks to Kyle's identity as a Hogwarts professor, these elves almost agreed without hesitation.
Hermione was particularly interested when this was mentioned last night.
After graduation, Hermione restarted the House-Elf Welfare Promotion Society, but this time her focus had changed.
She no longer forced House-elves to accept payment, but instead wrote an article advocating for the kind treatment of House-elves by wizards.
The so-called payment was no longer Sickles or Galleons, but instead, richer food and more suitable tools.
Well, although this article could only be seen in 'The Quibbler', she had reportedly received several letters.
Half of them were scolding her, but the other half affirmed her views.
This greatly encouraged Hermione, as she now had supporters, unlike at Hogwarts, where everyone opposed her.
Kyle blinked, not continuing to think about these matters.
After a brief discussion, everyone waited outside, listening carefully to the sounds from the room. Some even took out their wands, ready to break in at the first sound.
But the room remained quiet throughout, and even the Weasley brothers' Extendable Ears didn't pick up any sounds.
After an unknown amount of time, the door was suddenly opened from the inside.
George, who had been eavesdropping by leaning against the door, stumbled and, with determination, crashed into Snape's arms.
At this moment, even the wind seemed to have stopped.
After a heart-wrenching silence, George was the first to react. Before Snape could swing his arm, he sidestepped and bent down, pretending to be nonchalant as he picked up something that looked like an ear from the ground.
He also dodged Snape's swinging arm and cloak.
"Oh, it's here, no wonder I couldn't find it. I'd better go and check if it's broken..." He spoke some incomparable words and quickly walked away without looking back, soon disappearing at the other end of the corridor.
Snape's face turned ashen. Despite the crowd outside, he remained silent, letting out a cold huff before disappearing from his original spot.
Tonks, who disliked Snape, spoke loudly to ensure Kingsley heard her, "Using Apparition in front of so many people, even Muggles, is unacceptable!"
Kingsley heard her, but chose to ignore it.
Apparition was not a significant issue, and if Muggles witnessed it, the Dissipation Incident Response Team could handle it in an instant. Moreover, there were no Muggles on this street.
Twenty minutes earlier, Kingsley had evacuated all Muggles from the area and cast Muggle-Repelling Charms due to concerns about a potential altercation. A decade ago, Sirius and Peter Pettigrew's chase had destroyed an entire Muggle street. He didn't want a repeat of that.
This situation, however, worked in Snape's favor, as no Muggles witnessed his Apparition.
Tonks muttered under her breath, seemingly complaining about someone's dereliction of duty and abuse of power.
Kingsley continued to feign ignorance.
"You..." Sirius stood at the door, observing the crowd outside, momentarily at a loss for words. After a while, he stammered, "I didn't expect... Come in and sit down."
"No, I have other matters to attend to. Maybe next time," Kingsley shook his head and Apparated away.
He was accompanied by Tonks, an Auror like him, and Mr. Weasley and Chris, who had not yet finished their work.
They had rushed over upon receiving the news, and now that the situation was under control, they naturally wanted to return to their duties as soon as possible.
However, Kyle stayed behind, as he had business with Sirius.
The two of them entered the house, and indeed, Harry was there.
Unaware of what had transpired between them and Snape, Harry was sitting in the foyer, staring blankly, not even noticing the arrival of others.
"He... um..." Sirius looked at Kyle, wanting to explain, but seemed to have reservations.
"It's fine, you don't need to explain. I can guess," Kyle said.
Snape had come to find Sirius... or rather, he had come for Harry because of Lily Evans.
As for what they discussed, Kyle neither knew nor cared.
Fred and George also stayed behind, attempting to cheer Harry up in their own way... George lit a Weasley's Magical Fireworks and stuffed it into Harry's shoe.
A few seconds later, two flames shot out from under Harry's feet, and he soared into the air like a rocket.
In an instant, he snapped out of his daze, screaming as he crashed around the house.
"Sorry, Sirius," Fred said with a grin, "We just thought Harry should cheer up a bit."
"And rest assured, our fireworks have undergone rigorous testing and are perfectly safe..."
Before he could finish, Harry drifted in mid-air and collided head-on with a worm-eaten velvet cloth.
"Mudblood, you disgrace to the Black family..."
Mrs. Black's screams echoed through the house.
"Well, there might be occasional mishaps," George said sheepishly, "but Harry is definitely fine."
"Alright," Sirius rubbed his forehead, tacitly approving their actions.
He, too, wanted Harry to divert his attention quickly.
Fred and George's method seemed a bit unreliable, but it was surprisingly effective in its own way, so he let them be.
Afterward, he led Kyle to the basement.
"I received your letter last night," Sirius said as they walked, "You asked me to help you find books related to soul magic, but I haven't had a chance to look yet. Snape's arrival was poorly timed."
"It's okay as long as you agree to let me borrow from the Black family's private library," Kyle replied.
"Of course, feel free to use it. Even if you take all the books, it's fine," Sirius said without hesitation, "But what are you doing with soul magic? Of course, I don't mean anything else, but most of that magic is Dark Magic, so it's better to stay away from it."
"It's nothing," Kyle said, "I just want to try making a Horcrux."
...
(End of Chapter)
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