Chapter 484
Manor, Bats, Black Dog
Chapter 484 Manor, Bats, Black Dog
Two ragged men stumbled out of the forest and half walked and half rolled down the mountain path.
There is a majestic big house on the hillside, but the tiles on the roof are incomplete, the windows are sealed, and the walls are covered with creeping ivy, which looks very desolate.
The two swallowed and hid behind the tree, observing the building that looked like a haunted house.
"This place doesn't look like anyone lives there." A man said, "Maybe we can rest here peacefully for a few days."
"You know what? Old houses like these usually have ghost stories that have been around for years," said another man.
The two looked at each other.
Gar saw desire in Lockhart's eyes - the wizard had suffered a lot recently, and he was eager to find a place to rest.
So much so that he almost forgot the desperate fear he felt when he was captured by the vampires and used as food.
Lockhart also saw caution in Gar's eyes - this bat is indeed a close relative of mice, and is as timid as a mouse.
The two men stared at each other for a moment, neither willing to back down.
Lockhart said: "What's there to be afraid of ghosts? I saw ghosts every day when I was at Hogwarts."
"I'm not afraid of ghosts, but I'm afraid of people living in them." Gar said, "- a haunted house far away from people, a big house with no one living in it, doesn't this description sound familiar to you? You wizards like to live in places like this the most."
Hearing this sensitive word, Lockhart couldn't help feeling a little nervous and subconsciously tightened the wand in his hand.
His own wand was broken by the hateful vampire, but fortunately, when Gal escaped, he also helped him steal an old wand.
It's not very convenient, but fortunately it works.
Holding the wand, Lockhart's courage returned a little.
"I don't sense any magic around there... at least no Muggle-repelling spell. Even if there are people inside, they are probably not wizards. Even if there are wizards, they are probably old guys whose thinking is still stuck in the past century."
Lockhart urged, "I've dealt with this kind of people many times. It's actually very simple. When the other party is not prepared, cast a forgetfulness spell and everything will be solved."
Gal was somewhat tempted, but still did not agree.
Lockhart persuaded him again: "What are you afraid of? You can turn into a bat and observe first! If there are people, that's your food; if no one is there, we can hide in this house for a while... It's getting dark, Gal, it's been cloudy recently."
Gal couldn't help but shiver.
It was normal for it to be dark, and in the UK, cloudy days were actually normal, but for the two of them, they always associated this gloomy weather with Dementors.
On the day when he carried Lockhart out of Hogsmeade, Gal discovered that there were Aurors lying in ambush nearby. He even confirmed that a wizard saw him, but perhaps because the group of vampires posed a bigger target, the Aurors did not catch up with them.
In order to avoid being taken back to Azkaban, Lockhart used various shielding spells on the two men, so that the Aurors could not track them down, but unfortunately, Gar was unable to get help from his uncle.
Since then, the two have completely cut off contact with the magical world and have been hiding ever since. Whenever they see the weather getting bad, they immediately find a place to hide.
They have stayed in tree holes, lived in caves, hidden in sewers, and even once barely squeezed into the trunk of a car. The only thing they missed was crawling through a rat hole.
——They still don’t know that the Ministry of Magic has sent all the Dementors back to Azkaban in order to avoid affecting the World Cup.
Not only Lockhart longed for a stable and comfortable environment, but Gar was also almost unable to bear it.
So after Lockhart's encouragement, Gar was convinced, but he also put forward his own conditions.
"Give me a couple of sips." Gal licked his lips and said, "I haven't eaten for two days. I have no strength in my body. If I encounter danger, I won't be able to fly fast."
Lockhart was unwilling: "There is a village just down the hill. If you go and steal a chicken or a pig, we will have enough food for both of us."
"No. The Muggles will find out quickly, and then scream and call the police, which might attract the attention of the Ministry of Magic." Gal refused decisively.
Whether it is a human or an animal, a corpse that has been sucked blood would easily be discovered to be abnormal, and Gal was unwilling to take the risk.
"How can the Ministry of Magic be so perceptive?" said Lockhart.
But seeing that Gar stood still, after a few seconds, Lockhart finally gave in and said, "Do you have a cup?"
Of course, Gar didn't bring a cup with him. He picked a broad leaf, rolled it into the shape of a cup, and looked at Lockhart eagerly.
Lockhart had no choice but to take out his wand and point it at his wrist. A thin wound suddenly appeared, and then bright red blood flowed out.
Gal's eyes turned blood red in an instant.
After losing just half a cup of blood, Lockhart immediately healed the wound. He looked up and saw Gar's eyes mixed with greed and hunger, and his heart suddenly tightened.
Normally they were partners in escape and mutual support, but whenever Gar asked for blood, Lockhart felt that he was just the reserve rations that the other party carried with him.
This look made him feel extremely dangerous, but Lockhart himself had no confidence that he could survive if he were to get rid of Gar.
"Let's go check out that haunted house." Lockhart pretended to be calm and said, "If we're lucky, this is where we can hide."
Gal drank the blood and licked the leaves clean, then turned into a bat and flew towards the haunted house.
He actually didn't think there was any danger inside, he just wanted to get some blood to drink.
For a magical creature like Gar who knows some magic and has vampire abilities, the place where the wizard lives is actually very obvious, and he can detect the incongruity from a long distance away.
If a wizard turns the place where he lives into ruins, he will definitely cast various expelling spells nearby, not only to expel Muggles, but also to expel dark magical creatures such as vampires.
In other words, the house he was able to approach successfully probably had nothing to do with wizards.
After reasoning in this way, Gal approached the old house without much detour, and then landed silently on the wall of the manor.
Just as he thought, Gar didn't feel any magical power, and the old house was deserted and looked like it had been abandoned for a long time.
But the manor was not completely uninhabited - there was a shabby little wooden house in the courtyard, and clanking sounds could be heard coming from inside.
The bat slid down from the high courtyard wall and hung lightly outside the window of the wooden house, peeking inside through the gap with a pair of black round eyes.
There was an old Muggle in his seventies or eighties in the room. He limped around the room, struggling to boil water and grill steaks. It seemed that he was preparing dinner for himself.
The steak sizzled in the pan and an enticing aroma wafted out. The old Muggle turned the steak over with a spatula and sprinkled some black seasoning on it.
--very good.
Gar looked at the bulging veins on the old Muggle's neck and the back of his hands and thought: Now I have dinner for the wizard liar and me.
He knew very well that this kind of reclusive old man was just like a homeless person in the city. Even if he died or disappeared silently, no one would care.
The bat opened its mouth, revealing a mouthful of fine, dense fangs, and its claws were ready to let go of the window frame above its head.
He wanted to get in, change back into human form, and have a hearty meal first.
But just as Gar was about to do so, a certain sensitive nerve suddenly flickered, and his hair stood on end. He saw that the old Muggle was about to scoop out the steak, and his hand accidentally touched the edge of the hot pot, but he seemed not to feel the temperature and still picked up the pot.
The bat was so startled that he nearly fell down. He took a closer look and thought: Could it be that the thing in there is not actually a human, but a zombie that looks like a human?
As he was watching, he suddenly heard a voice in his ear: "The soul is out of the body!"
Gal forgot everything in an instant, and felt that his soul became light, with no worries or sorrows in his heart.
He unconsciously dropped the window and turned back into human form, with a dazed and silly smile on his face.
"what happened?"
A cold and sharp voice asked.
"Master, a vampire broke in." Someone said respectfully.
"Look at his brain... look at who sent him..."
"Legilimency!"
Images flashed through Gal's mind like a movie, but he was immersed in unknown joy and didn't care about it at all.
"It turned out to be the Azkaban fugitive." The man said in surprise, "He actually ran here... He has a companion outside."
……
A group of ants lined up in neat rows, shaking their antennae and climbing up and down the cracks in the bark.
Behind the big tree, Lockhart picked off the cockleburs that had stuck to his clothes at some point, and occasionally poked his head out to take a look.
After about ten minutes, he saw Gal open the side door of the manor, stand at the door and wave at him, indicating that he should go in.
——It seems that this is an abandoned old house and there should be no one inside.
Lockhart thought so, felt relieved, and walked over quickly.
After the two men entered the gate of the manor, there was another rustling sound in the bushes, and a big black dog covered with cockleburs came out silently.
He was about to walk towards the manor when he heard voices nearby. Sirius immediately crouched down and hid behind the bushes.
"You have done well, Wormtail," said a cold voice, "and you have proved your loyalty by offering your two companions to the master."
When Sirius heard the name "Wormtail", he bared his teeth unconsciously, dug his claws into the soil, and his expression was full of murderous intent.
He wanted to jump out immediately and slit the traitor's throat, but the content of the other party's conversation forced Sirius to hold back.
"Master... Master, can you forgive me?" The familiar, timid voice trembled, and explained in panic: "I only wanted to surrender to the master, Barty... I, I didn't know that the Potter family had such powerful magic..."
The black dog crouched in a dark corner, his muscles trembling under his fur, as if ready to explode at any time. He tried hard to restrain himself from roaring, and his eyes were like burning charcoal, flashing with a fierce light.
Barty said condescendingly: "It's not enough, Wormtail, you know that sacrificing two useless prisoners is not enough... But if you can help the Dark Lord to resurrect, the Dark Lord will not only forgive your mistakes, but also grant you unimaginable glory."
"resurrection?"
Wormtail took a few nervous breaths, his breathing quick and erratic, before he asked after a moment, "What do you need me to do?"
"The master needs some materials to be resurrected, Wormtail, you can help." Little Barty said.
Wormtail breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Okay, what materials do you need? I can steal them back..."
"Not ordinary materials." Barty said: "The Dark Lord needs the bones of his father, the flesh of his servants, the blood of his enemies..."
"...Servant's flesh?" Wormtail's voice was like the buzzing of a mosquito. He said in a sobbing voice, "I, I am willing to give it... Which part of the flesh does the master need?"
"Are you worthy, Wormtail?" Barty said contemptuously, "Are you worthy for your master to be resurrected with your flesh? Hmm? You filthy, vile thing..."
Wormtail sobbed, not sure whether he felt humiliated or relieved.
"The blood of your enemy, Wormtail, you have to offer the blood of your master's enemy - that is, Harry Potter!" Barty said almsgivingly: "If you can't do it, you know what kind of punishment you will receive..."
"Harry Potter?" said Wormtail fearfully. "But... Dumbledore has protected him very well..."
"There is a chance, Wormtail..."
Batty's voice suddenly became lower, as if he had cast a spell to block out the sound. The black dog couldn't help but stick to the ground, eavesdropping with his ears erect, but he didn't hear anything.
He waited and waited, and after a long time, he finally couldn't bear it anymore, and quietly walked around the bushes and the big trees and ran towards the direction where the sound came from.
But he saw nothing.
There was no "Bati", no Wormtail, not even a trace of their presence.
The black dog lowered his head and searched for a few more times, and finally confirmed from some trampled grass that there was indeed someone standing here before, and those noises were not his illusion.
He turned his head and stared at the manor not far away with his gray eyes for a long time.
Neither the vampire nor Lockhart who ran in came out again, and no sound was heard.
That ordinary Muggle manor seemed to have turned into a man-eating monster.
Sirius really wanted to dig Wormtail out. He had been tracking the rat for so long and had never been so close to it.
But thinking of the important information he had just overheard, Sirius finally did not rush into the manor rashly. After hesitating for a while, he decisively turned around and ran into the forest.
He needed to run far enough away, then Disapparate and bring the information to Dumbledore.
……
Watching the black dog leave, Locke, who was hanging on the tree, felt a vague sense of relief - even though he didn't need to breathe.
Naturally there were no "Wormtail" and "Bati" in the forest. What Sirius heard was all the information that Locke, who played two roles, deliberately gave to them.
It is a puppet, without smell, heartbeat or breathing. As long as it keeps silent and does not move and hides in the tree, Sirius will not be able to find it at all.
But Voldemort had already occupied Riddle Manor, and Locke's plan to travel thousands of miles to dig up bones was aborted.
——Or neither?
Locke squatted on the tree like an owl, staring at the manor in the distance, replaying the information about the "future" he had received from his master in his mind.
It thought: I have to go back... I need the help of the Rubik's Cube.
(End of this chapter)