As soon as he finished speaking, Phineas Nigellus, wearing a silver and green Slytherin costume, a goatee, and a cunning look on his face, appeared in his portrait. He soon discovered Thunder in the room. Regulus, Regulus happened to be looking at his portrait.

"If I'm not mistaken, you should be my youngest great-great-grandson, but how did you end up like this?" Phineas frowned.

"It's a long story." Regulus smiled bitterly.

Just now, through the dim light, he had seen his own face in the mirror: skinny as a stick, pale complexion, hair messy and tangled, like a ball of waterweed, and wearing a tattered robe. If you don't look at his face, , and may even be recognized as dementors.

The image is indeed unflattering, not at all like a member of the Black family who is known for his handsome men and beautiful women.

"By the way, Phineas, can you tell me more about Sirius?" Regulus tried to ask.

In a sense, Phineas Nigellus was the most informed person in the room.

He can travel back and forth between portraits of himself, one of which hangs in the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts.

There, one can always know some information that cannot be found elsewhere. Although most of them cannot be told to others due to the magical contract, the matter of Sirius being imprisoned is obviously not kept secret under the magical contract. within the range.

"It happened too long ago, maybe nine years, maybe ten years, I can't remember clearly. The mysterious man disappeared after killing James Potter and his wife. A few days after his fall, Sirius was sent to A Zikaban, the crime is what I said before. You know, I am just a portrait now, not the principal of Hogwarts, so I only know so much. In addition, Dumbledore will be here tomorrow As a guest, he thinks it is necessary for me to say hello to you in advance." Phineas finished this sentence in one breath.

This time it was Regulus who frowned.

The Dark Lord fell ten years ago?What does the death of James Potter and his wife have to do with the disappearance of the Dark Lord?How could Dumbledore be so well-informed?

"Looking at your condition, I think you need some rest," Phineas added.

Regulus was still trying to piece together the information from Phineas' words, and he didn't even notice Phineas disappearing from the frame.

"Master hasn't eaten anything. Do you need to eat now? Or drink some black tea?" Kreacher's concerned voice woke Regulus out of his thoughts.

Regulus shook his head, trying to drive those strange thoughts out of his mind, and then waved his hand to the awkward elf beside him: "He's right, Kreacher, I do need to rest. Let's talk about it tomorrow."

Strictly speaking, Regulus did not come back with an empty stomach. He just drank a whole pot of potion carefully brewed by Voldemort himself.

Strangely enough, the power of the terrifying despair potion gradually faded away. Although there was still some burning in my stomach, it was not as heartbreaking as it was at the beginning.

He walked along the familiar but unfamiliar stairs back to his room on the fifth floor and lay on the bed.

Although the bedding was full of dust and had some bugs, it was still better than sleeping with countless inferi at the bottom of the black lake.

The silver and green Slytherin-themed decorations were somewhat faded, but newspaper clippings about Lord Voldemort were still plastered on the walls.

For a moment, Regulus wanted to tear up the clippings, but he soon changed his mind.

“A brave person is not afraid to face his rotten past.”

He forgot who said this sentence, but it was quite appropriate to use it at this moment.

The heavy curtains were not closed, and several pieces of glass had been broken. Lying on the bed, you could clearly see the Andromeda Nebula hanging high in the night sky, emitting a soft light.

"Andromeda..."

Among the peers of the Black family, the three cousins ​​from the Signus family are the ones who have more contact with them.

But the personalities of those three are as different as the color of their hair.

A bit like him and Sirius.

After thinking wildly for a while, Regulus finally fell asleep and had the most peaceful sleep in years—if the days under the Black Lake were not counted.

Early the next morning, Regulus freshened up and took out a relatively complete robe from the closet, finally getting rid of the dementor look.

After going downstairs, Regulus found that the living room and dining room had been cleaned. It seemed that Kreacher had not rested all night.

At this moment, Kreacher was busy in the kitchen, trying to make something edible. Unfortunately, it was obvious that there was no fresh food at home.

"Whatever Master Regulus wants to eat, Kreacher can go out and buy it." Seeing Regulus, the elf immediately bowed.

The elf also cleaned himself up, and he no longer looked as dirty as last night.

"Just follow my previous taste. By the way, buy some candies and sweets." Regulus thought for a moment and replied.By the way, he took out a few gold galleons and gave them to Kreacher, which he dug out of the cabinet.

With a soft pop, Kreacher disappeared.

After Kreacher left, Regulus took out a huge velvet curtain and covered Walburga's portrait. She would keep crying whenever she saw Regulus. Regulus thought she needed to be quiet. a period of time.

Another reason is that there is a doorbell on the door of No. 12 Grimmauld Place. People who are not of Black family descent must ring the doorbell if they want to enter the house, and this will trigger her portrait.

Regulus had every reason to believe that Walburga would not look kindly on anyone who entered the house without the surname Black, even if that person was the great Albus Dumbledore. .

At this time, Dumbledore was standing at the door of No. 12 Grimmauld Place, wearing an elegant lavender velvet robe.

"Welcome, Professor." Regulus led Dumbledore into the room.

It has to be said that Kreacher's night's work was very effective. At least Dumbledore avoided being covered in spider webs.

But the carpet still had a musty smell, and Regulus was sure he heard Dumbledore sniffing.

Across the corridor, the two sat on the sofa facing each other. The tea set on the small table was empty.

"Sorry, there's nothing to drink at home for now. Kreacher went shopping and hasn't come back yet."

Dumbledore didn't seem to mind this: "I just enjoyed a lemon sorbet before coming here, and I'm not thirsty yet... According to Phineas, you seem to have some doubts about what happened to Sirius? "

Regulus stared at the silver tea set on the table with a gloomy expression: "As for Sirius, my dear brother, it is undeniable that he is reckless, stupid, and arrogant to a dangerous level, but the word 'traitor' is absolutely It should not be used to describe him.”

Dumbledore stared at Regulus and said slowly: "I have to be happy for Sirius to have a brother who understands him so well... However, many truths are not as people see or think they realize. Right? For example, now, people think that Voldemort is dead, but I think that he is not dead, but dormant in a corner of the world, looking forward to making a comeback."

Regulus raised his head and met Dumbledore's gaze: "Of course."

"You're not surprised at all?" Dumbledore looked a little surprised.

Regulus considered his words, but his eyes remained firm: "Even a small character like me... can come back from the dead, let alone the Dark Lord?"

Dumbledore's sharp blue eyes narrowed slightly. For a few seconds, he seemed to want to see through Regulus, but soon he changed the subject: "Speaking of this, I must remind you that as a ' People who are already dead, your life will be very inconvenient."

"Indeed, in order to make a living, I'm afraid I'm going to Knockturn Alley to sell used goods. The Black family's antiques should be quite valuable." Regulus picked up a goblet and traced the Black family's coat of arms with his finger. Pass.

Dumbledore's eyes fell on the portrait of Mrs. Black through the lenses, and he smiled: "Ah, Walburga will not be happy to hear these words. But Hogwarts needs a professor now, you have Are you interested? We can discuss the salary."

"Oh?" Regulus keenly discovered that this was the real purpose of Dumbledore's visit.

"Professor Blindmore, who taught the Defense Against the Dark Arts class last school year, decided to resign. She thought that it would be a safer job to go to Nepal to hunt for Himalayan snow monsters than to teach at Hogwarts... You know, leave We have only been studying for a few days, and Minerva is still worrying about making the book list for next semester. So we need to hire a qualified professor as soon as possible to take over the course for this year."

"One year?"

"Yes, Professor Quirrell went on an expedition to Albania. When he comes back next year, he will take over this position."

"Quirinus Quirrell?" Regulus was somewhat impressed by this name. He seemed to be a Ravenclaw student, a few years below him.

"Yes, he is a very smart young man, but he thinks that others don't pay much attention to the courses he teaches, so he has been working hard to prove himself."

"What course did he originally teach?"

"Muggle Studies."

Regulus instantly understood why Professor Quirrell was not popular.

Dumbledore continued: "You have asked so many questions. Can I understand that you are very interested in this job? As an additional benefit, I will help you obtain a new identity. At the same time, you can also It’s easier to understand what’s going on now.”

"Sounds very tempting, sir, but can you guarantee my personal safety? Death is not a pleasant feeling."

"Why do you think that? Many people think Hogwarts is the safest place in the world."

Regulus smiled: "I think the reason is obvious. My position is Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. There are rumors that the Dark Lord cursed it."

Dumbledore also smiled: "I have to clarify, this is not a rumor."

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like