Chapter 469 The Silent Black Ancestral House

Moody thought for a moment and thought that the reasons given by Sirius were reliable enough without any doubt. He checked the surroundings carefully and confirmed that there was nothing unusual inside or outside the house.

Now, all the information points to the same conclusion: this is just a simple newspaper.

When his eyes fell on the conspicuous number again, he felt a premonition that it was related to the Black family. No evidence, just a hunch.

"Then let's wait." Arthur made a more pertinent suggestion, "Since it's a countdown, the truth will come out the day after tomorrow."

They're not the only ones concerned about the bizarre numbers. Even Voldemort and his Death Eaters were secretly paying attention to the mysterious numbers in the newspapers.

"Master, I found it." Little Barty hurried in, his tone full of respect, "Those newspapers were bribed by Rogge with thousands of galleons, and they published these strange numbers according to his requirements."

Upon hearing this familiar yet unfamiliar name, Voldemort's snake-shaped nostrils opened slightly, and there was a trace of curiosity in his tone: "Then what is his purpose?"

He picked up the newspaper and ran his slender, pale fingers across the other articles, as if searching for relevant clues between the lines.

Little Barty looked a little embarrassed, he really couldn't provide an answer to his master. No matter what, you can't run up to Rogge and interrogate him with a newspaper.

Voldemort sneered and said softly: "So, have others collected the information?"

Bella and the other Death Eaters looked at each other and unanimously chose silence. Their incompetence made Voldemort feel deeply disappointed. He couldn't help but longing for his capable subordinate Snape to return as soon as possible.

"Master, our spy at the Ministry of Magic has sent news." Buck hesitated for a while, and then said: "Rogge sold Amelia a magic mirror. It is said that that magic mirror can make all wizards in the magic world See her, hear her.”

"Hiss..." A satisfied smile appeared on Voldemort's snake face. He pressed the newspaper on the table and showed it to his subordinates. "I understand. The number on the newspaper is the countdown to the activation of the magic mirror."

"Buck, can you bring the magic mirror back to your master?" He looked at the other person with a slightly gentle tone, "Our cause should be understood by everyone."

Buck felt the gaze cast by Voldemort and couldn't help but feel a chill running down his spine. He swallowed and said firmly: "I am willing to go to the Ministry of Magic to steal the magic mirror for my master..."

"No, no, no." Voldemort shook his finger gently, interrupting Buck, and asked in a commanding tone: "Why don't you talk to your nephew?"

A cunning smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, as if he was weaving some conspiracy: "I know Rogge very well. He is a good boy and is willing to make deals with any wizard. If it weren't for him, how could I have hatched the basilisk? "

Voldemort then let out a series of hissing snake words, and there was a rustling sound on the grass, as if there was some kind of reptile wandering outside, which made people shudder.

"As long as the price is right, he will sell you a new magic mirror." Voldemort turned to Bella and motioned to prepare a sum of money for Buck.

Wizards in the wizarding world have understood the meaning behind the numbers in the newspapers, which has aroused their strong curiosity. Everyone wants to know what happens when it goes to 0.

At dawn on the third day, the owl arrived on time. In Blake's ancestral house, everyone stood in front of the window and looked forward to it.

"Coming, coming!" George pointed excitedly at the sky. The black spot gradually grew larger, and finally appeared in the shape of an owl.

The two brothers sprang into action, preparing to catch the falling newspaper. They want to know the above numbers as soon as possible to confirm whether their guesses are correct.

Moody waved his wand and shouted: "Here comes the newspaper." He didn't care about the dissatisfaction on the twins' faces. After examining it carefully, he carefully unfolded it.

"1!" Ron shouted, "We guessed right, this is indeed a countdown."

Moody's magic eye was fixed on the number, looking for possible hidden information, but the number revealed no code or secret. This made him frown and thought to himself: "Am I worrying too much?"

"Look, the numbers have changed." Sirius's voice suddenly sounded, drawing everyone's attention back to the newspaper.

The black number "1" in front of everyone seemed to be torn apart and instantly shattered into tiny black lines and squares. Then, part of it formed the outline of the mirror, while another part became a black stick figure.

Harry stared at the newspaper intently, curiosity driving him to ask: "How is this done?"

"Magic photo." Moody replied immediately, with a hint of pride in his voice, "Just like the photo of Sirius on the wanted poster. You can see his roar in it."

Sirius curled his lips and said in a sarcastic tone: "What a good example."

"No, the magic photo cannot last so long." Arthur shook his head, doubting Moody's explanation.

Ginny stood on tiptoes, trying her best to peek at the changes in the newspaper. Those changing lines reminded her of Daphne's magic picture book, which could play a complete animation on just one page.

Arthur exclaimed: "Look, it has changed again."

Everyone hurriedly turned their attention to the newspaper, and saw that the stickman seemed to take something out of his hand, and then flicked it against the magic mirror. A speech bubble appeared above its head, which read: "Everything appears."

"Is this a spell?" Ron whispered to himself, but no one answered him. Because at this time, a new line of information appeared on the magic mirror opposite the stickman:

"Tomorrow night at 7 o'clock, loyalty and betrayal, Regulus."

Tonks recited these words silently, the lively expression on her face gradually turning serious. "Regulus? Regulus!" Her tone changed from questioning to affirmative, as if she knew the owner of the name.

Under the gaze of everyone, Tonks looked at Sirius and said in a serious tone: "He should be my uncle."

"You mean, Regulus is from the Black family?" Lupine rubbed his chin while trying to remember, "Sirius, I remember you have a younger brother."

"Stupid idiot." Blake cursed angrily, snatched the newspaper, then turned and strode away.

His footsteps hit the floor heavily, and the sound of the door closing echoed in the corridor, as if to warn everyone not to approach or disturb him.

"Is he okay?"

Moody had no time to comfort others. His magic eye turned, and his sharp gaze seemed to see through Tonks, "Is this Regulus Sirius's brother?"

"Yes." Tonks nodded and shared the little information she knew with everyone, "I heard my mother mention that after Sirius was removed from the Black family, Regulus became the heir."

"Any more, I don't know." She raised her hand and pointed to the picture frame behind the black velvet, "Their mother should know better."

"She won't tell us." Molly immediately protested loudly and firmly opposed to lifting the cover: "I've had enough of the old witch's endless swearing."

"So do we." The Weasley children agreed in unison.

When they first moved in, they were delighted with the luxury of Blake's ancestral home. Especially compared to the Burrow, this place was completely a palace. They no longer have to squeeze in with their brothers and endure all the noise they make in the middle of the night.

However, one day while cleaning, they accidentally uncovered the portrait, which was covered in black velvet. What followed was a sharp curse from the old woman in the painting.

"A filthy filthy bastard, a disgrace to the pure-blood family...an uncultured and fat witch..."

George and Fred would have burned it if it hadn't been for the fact that the figure in the painting was Sirius' mother.

Lupine suddenly clapped his palms, with a sense of enlightenment in his tone: "I remembered that Regulus was a Death Eater. He once followed Voldemort, but there was no news about him anymore."

"Professor, was he killed by Voldemort?" Ginny asked softly.

Lupine shook his head. He didn't know much about Regulus. I'm afraid, only Sirius has actually investigated his biological brother.

Arthur seemed to realize something and shouted loudly: "The Ministry of Magic must have discovered Regulus and caught him."

He ran to the window sill, picked up the newspaper delivered by the other owls, pointed at the changing numbers on it and shouted: "Look, loyalty and betrayal, isn't this criticizing Regulus?"

"Amelia is going to use that magic mirror to hold a trial in the Wizengamot, a trial against Regulus! She wants to show her authority as a minister and warn all those who seek refuge in the mysterious man. Wizards, they will all be brought to justice by the Ministry of Magic." Arthur waved the newspaper, his eyes flashing with self-righteous joy.

However, the reaction from others was very lackluster, and the air became awkward and cold.

Tonks snorted, dissatisfied with Arthur's teasing tone. In her mind, Arthur was mocking the uncle she had never met.

"Regulus is dead." Tonks roared angrily, pushing aside the others and disappearing into the corridor.

Arthur was stunned for a moment, and then slowly came back to his senses: "Dead...dead?" His eyes swept over the others, and he murmured to himself, "But what if it was a fake death?"

Harry tugged on his sleeve and reminded softly: "In the Black family tree, Regulus's head has turned gray. Behind his birth date, there is a death date about 15 years ago."

The warm morning breeze blew gently into Blake's ancestral house, and the crowd in the living room gradually dispersed. Arthur stood there blankly, opening and closing his mouth silently, as if he wanted to say something, but the audience had already left.

"Arthur." Molly patted his back, trying to comfort him: "You shouldn't be so excited. Regulus was once a Death Eater, but he is dead. Moreover, he is also Sirius's younger brother."

"Wasn't he expelled from the Black family?" Arthur argued stubbornly, "Sirius shouldn't sympathize with Regulus, he is a Death Eater!"

Molly sighed, wondering why her husband couldn't understand why everyone was leaving. Even though there is hatred between them, blood ties still bind them closely together. Their last name is Black, and they are blood brothers.

"Don't you think George and Fred think Percy is their brother?" Molly asked.

"Percy is not a Death Eater..." Arthur's voice trailed off.

The old house lost its former vitality on this day, and everyone stayed in their rooms silently. The afterglow of the evening gradually disappeared, but not a single light was turned on in the house. The entire mansion was shrouded in silence and shadow.

Molly looked at the cooling dinner on the table and sighed helplessly. She took the food into the kitchen to heat it again.

"Are you going out?" She saw the black figure at the door and apologized hastily, "Arthur didn't mean it..."

"I know." Blake nodded, with a hint of exhaustion in his voice, "You don't have to care."

He opened the door, took one foot out, then turned back and added: "I'll be back tomorrow morning."

Blake walked down the street and finally came to Diagon Alley. When he pushed open the wooden door of the Leaky Cauldron, he remembered that the Daily Prophet's office had been burned down. Although he wanted to do this that night, someone else took action.

"Old Tom, a beer." He walked to the bar, loudly ordered a beer, and then found a seat against the wall to sit down.

"Who is Regulus?" The wizards in the tavern held newspapers and talked about it, their voices echoing in the tavern.

"Heir to the Black family."

"Heir?" Someone suddenly shouted, "Isn't he the youngest child of the Black family? How can he be the heir?"

"Who caused his brother Sirius to be removed from the family..."

Blake's expression was as stiff as a potato in the ice field. He picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. Then, throw a Siko and prepare to leave.

"I know what the stick figure in the newspaper is saying!" Joey had just returned from Diagon Alley and excitedly showed off to others, "Did you see it, the light and shadow powder made of diamonds?"

He unscrewed the box, gently picked up a pinch of powder with three fingers, and slowly sprinkled it. Under the dim candlelight, the light and shadow powder shines brightly, like a sea of ​​sand formed by countless diamonds, shining with charming light.

"Light and shadow powder? Where did you get it?" someone asked curiously.

"Diagon Alley." Joey asked Old Tom to find a mirror and prepare to demonstrate the effect to everyone. "Gringotts is distributing it, and everyone can get a box for free."

"It's nice to look at, but it's useless." Disdainful laughter came from the wine table, "I thought the stingy goblins were finally generous and distributed Floo powder."

"Hey, you don't know." Joey snorted, took out his wand and shouted to the mirror, "Clean up."

As soon as he finished speaking, Old Tom's dirty and crusted mirror instantly took on a new look, reflecting a dazzling light. However, the chipped corners on the edge of the mirror cannot be repaired.

"Watch it!" Joey deliberately and exaggeratedly threw his right arm to the sky, letting the sleeve slide down, exposing his wrist. He carefully picked up a handful of Floo powder from the box, sprinkled it towards the mirror, and muttered: "The manifestation of all things."

As the curse was uttered, ripples appeared on the surface of the ordinary mirror, as if awakened by magic. The cartoon story of cat and mouse is vividly played in the mirror, accompanied by clear sound, as if there is a theater in the mirror.

"Isn't this a two-way mirror?" A tall, big-nosed wizard asked, with a hint of dissatisfaction in his voice. "Did you secretly replace Old Tom's mirror? Or did you two collude? Get up and lie to us?"

"Liar?" Joey's voice became sharp, and his expression showed incredible grievance, as if he had been greatly wronged. "This is just an ordinary mirror. If you don't believe it, you can just find a piece of glass and try it. ”

“Can the wine bottle be okay?”

"It should be okay." Joey scratched his head, with a trace of uncertainty in his tone.

The wizard who just asked was dissatisfied and said: "What do you mean it should be possible? Is it possible?"

"I haven't tried it, how would I know?"

"Get some of that light or powder." The man continued to urge.

"Light and shadow powder!" Joey shouted, holding the box tightly at the same time, for fear of being taken away, "Just a little bit, this is made of diamonds, it is very precious."

"I know, I know." The other party was a little impatient, "Why are you so stingy like a goblin?"

There was a chuckle in the tavern, and a smile appeared on Blake's face.

The method used by wizard scholar Joey just now was to sprinkle light and shadow powder on the bottle. After reciting the incantation, the same content as the mirror immediately appeared on the surface of the glass bottle, which attracted everyone's amazement.

"Wow!" someone shouted, "That's amazing!"

"That's not the case." Joey said proudly, "With it, you can see the content previewed in the newspaper tomorrow night."