Chapter 488
Old Books and Horcruxes
Chapter 488 Old Books and Horcruxes
Privet Drive has always been quiet, clean and elegant, but recently, earth-shaking roars would erupt from a certain house from time to time.
"I don't - I don't - I want cake! I want chocolate! I want steak -"
Dudley Dursley glared at the carrots and two lettuce leaves on his plate with resentment and howled at the top of his lungs.
Next came the screams and cries of Petunia Dursley, and then the angry roar of Vernon Dursley.
Harry shrank his neck, grabbed the two finger-long carrots on the plate, and said hastily, "I'll go see if there's any mail in the mailbox."
It was not known whether any of the three men had heard his excuse for going out, but Harry wisely avoided the conflict that was about to break out and nimbly rushed out of the Dursleys' door, leaving all the terrible noises behind.
He casually looked through the mailbox, placed the newspaper that was delivered this morning on the rack in the hallway, and then ran all the way to the Black house.
Needless to say, the table was already filled with delicious, hot breakfast, with thick bacon sandwiched between toast, fried eggs and sausages on the plate, and a bowl of boiled black beans next to it.
Wade, who was helping to set the table, saw Harry come in and asked curiously, "What did they give you for breakfast today?"
"Look!" Harry showed the thin carrots in his hand, then put one of them into his mouth and bit off half of it with a snap.
"That's all?" Sirius asked angrily.
Harry shrugged and said, "Dudley only had two carrots, they were just a little thicker than mine - Aunt Petunia has never been so fair!"
"The whale in his family really needs to lose weight, otherwise it will die of obesity sooner or later. But you are as thin as a cucumber, why are you on a diet? This is abuse!" Sirius was still very angry.
Lupin's actions were more direct. He put two more slices of toast on Harry's plate and said, "Eat more. If you don't have enough, there's more."
Harry filled his stomach contentedly and crunched down another carrot.
Lupin looked at Harry's carefree appearance and smiled gently, hiding the worry in his eyes, and looked at Sirius beside him.
Sirius did not hide the information he knew from Lupin. Both of them felt heavy-hearted when they learned that Voldemort had made a comeback and had once again targeted Harry.
But they didn't show their feelings and just chatted and laughed as usual.
"What are your plans for today, Wade?" Harry said, "Aunt Petunia forgot to give me any work this morning, so I have all day."
"Shopping." Wade said, "I'm going to visit Mr. Nick Flamel in a couple of days, and I want to buy a suitable gift."
"Oh, shopping..."
Harry showed an expression as if he had a toothache, and Lupin's eyes darkened for a moment.
The last time Wade was kidnapped while he was shopping, this left both of them with some psychological trauma.
"What are you going to buy?" Sirius reminded: "Remember not to buy anything too expensive, it may cause embarrassment."
"I haven't thought about it yet." Wade said worriedly, "Is there any magical item that Mr. Flamel hasn't seen? The Muggle gift is exquisite enough, but it feels a little lacking in sincerity. I want to go around Diagon Alley and see if there is anything suitable."
Ever since the kidnapping, the Greys no longer frequent places like Diagon Alley in order to avoid becoming bargaining chips for others to threaten Wade.
This was also the purpose of his coming here today - when it came to buying gifts, it was better to have an elder to help with advice.
Harry asked, "Vade, why don't you make your own? I thought it was amazing the last Christmas present you made for me."
That little flying broom can still fly around the house. Ron said that it is actually quite rare for such a toy-like magic item to have such a long validity period.
"Well..."
Vader touched his chin, a little embarrassed.
Nicolas Flamel is considered an academic leader in the field of alchemy. Wade gave away his own works as gifts. What is the difference between this and an elementary school student - or at most a junior high school student - giving homework as gifts to others?
I guess looking left and right, up and down, everywhere I looked, I saw the words "not good enough" written all over. Wade stammered out his thoughts, and the three people opposite him laughed.
Harry turned to Lupin and said, "Although he didn't mention me at all, I always felt as if I was being ridiculed..."
"Vader...Vader..." Lupin smiled helplessly and said, "Excessive modesty is arrogance. You underestimate your own ability."
Sirius seemed much more serious. "I remember that there are some rare books on alchemy in the basement of my house. Even Nick Flamel may not have seen them. You can take them for reference."
So after a short rest after dinner, everyone headed to Grimmauld Place.
The old Black house was no longer the dilapidated one it once was. Now the house looked old and tidy. Kreacher, wearing a new tea towel, stood at the door and bowed to welcome the guests.
Although he still looked down on werewolves, half-bloods, and muggles, after everything he had been through, the house-elf had learned to treat Vader and others with double standards.
He diligently made hot tea for everyone and put an extra piece of sugar in it for the two minors. When Kreacher came out with the tray, he suddenly found Sirius leading a few people to the basement, and his face suddenly became slightly distorted.
"A prodigal son... The young master is such a prodigal son... Is he planning to give away the Black family's hundreds of years of collection again? No! Kreacher must protect the Black family's property! Kreacher... Kreacher must stop it..."
The house-elf wandered around for a few circles, but finally couldn't resist the sense of mission that he had cultivated since he was a child, and ran towards the basement with the tray in his hand.
As an ancient wizarding family, the Blacks naturally have some secret rooms hidden in their old house.
For example, the basement at the end of the porch only has a kitchen on the surface, and Kreacher's nest is hidden in the cupboard. But as long as you knock on the bricks next to the kitchen according to a specific pattern, a hidden entrance to the library will emerge.
When Kreacher ran down with the tray, he saw that Wade and the others had no intention of emptying the library.
Harry curiously looked at the various old books in the corridor, but did not want to pick up any of them.
Remus Lupin was reading a magical notebook about werewolves.
As for Wade, after he found the book he wanted, he cast a copy spell.
Kreacher hurriedly stopped, put on an attentive smile, and distributed black tea to everyone.
When he got the last cup, he found that his master was unusually quiet today. Kreacher walked over quickly and saw Sirius holding a strange human-skin magic book in his hand with a terrifying expression on his face.
That look even reminded Kreacher of the way his old master would get furious at home before he died.
The elf was suddenly a little afraid. He timidly called out in a low voice: "Master... would you like some tea?"
Sirius glanced at him, stuffed the book back, and said in a commanding tone: "Kreacher, don't go near this book or read the book on it in the future."
Kreacher would not have looked at it anyway, so he said softly, "Yes, Master... Master Regulus said the same thing before..."
"Regulus?" Sirius was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "Yes, of course he knows... He must have seen it..."
Sirius' handsome face had a complex expression, a mixture of regret and sadness.
When he walked out of the bookshelf, he once again inadvertently recalled Regulus's expression at that time -
"Sirius, what are you doing here?"
Sirius closed his eyes, waved goodbye to the illusion in his mind, walked past the bookshelf, and saw his godson blowing on the teacup with a happy expression.
A word from the book emerged vividly in my mind:
[Horcrux].
(End of this chapter)