#171 - Section 171
Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up at the sight.
Having interacted with Dobby, Harry had a good impression of house-elves, so he was genuinely taken aback by what he saw.
Although Dobby had initially caused Harry a lot of trouble, Harry forgave him after realizing that Dobby had his best interests at heart, and he even helped Dobby escape his servitude to the Malfoy family.
“These are all house-elves who once served the Black family. After they die, they leave their heads here, considering it their greatest honor,”
Sirius said with a hint of sarcasm. Under the guidance of his family, all the house-elves who served them had extremely twisted personalities.
At least, that's how Sirius saw it.
Seeing this, Harry didn't ask any further questions.
Harry also knew a little about Sirius and his family's affairs.
Besides, these house-elves had all voluntarily left their heads here, so Harry didn't feel he could say much.
Harry deeply understood the house-elves' unique way of thinking.
After all, no normal person would try to stop him from going to Hogwarts in the way that Dobby did.
Later, in order to make him go home, he almost got him killed.
If Harry hadn't known that Dobby meant no harm, he wouldn't have been able to forgive him.
Following Sirius, Ethan, and the others, they went directly to the living room. Here, one could still see the former splendor and refinement.
In front, there was a large window overlooking the street in front of the house. To the side was a large fireplace, and on either side of the fireplace were ornate glass cabinets. However, the doors of these glass cabinets were quite dirty, and inside were various strange dark magic objects.
For example, rusty short swords, claws of magical creatures, coiled snakeskins, a decorative crystal bottle inlaid with a piece of opal, filled with blood, a silver snuffbox containing pustule powder, tweezers with multiple legs that crawled like spiders, a dusty box, a large gold ring with the Black family crest…
And on the other wall was a tapestry of the Black family tree.
In addition to these, Ethan also found more than a dozen ghoul and a Boggart here.
Ethan didn't know how Sirius had managed to live in such an environment.
Not only Ethan, but Harry and Lupin also noticed this, which made Sirius somewhat embarrassed.
“Adrian, this is one of the conditions I promised you: half of the Black family's assets in cash. Of course, I've been using my share for expenses during this time and haven't taken anything from your portion.”
To divert attention, Sirius could only get to the point as soon as possible.
Sirius had withdrawn half of the Galleons from both Gringotts and the family vault.
As for having a wanted poster and not being able to show his face, that was complete nonsense to the goblins. They only cared about Galleons. Sirius only needed to prove his identity to freely dispose of his family's inheritance.
After all, the Black family was dwindling, and many of their properties were managed by the goblins, which earned them a lot of money.
Once Sirius died, these properties would definitely be seized by other wizarding families and would definitely not be left to the goblins, such as those pure-blood families related to the Black family. This would completely deprive the goblins of this income.
It could be said that these goblins wanted him to live even more than Sirius himself did.
Looking at the dragon-hide pouch in Sirius's hand, Ethan didn't say anything and simply took it.
Harry and Lupin only glanced at it before averting their gaze.
It was a legitimate transaction. Although Peter had run away, the blame lay with Snape and Ron, not Ethan.
Although Ethan had gained a great advantage, it was a case of Sirius being willing to give and Ethan being willing to take.
“Kreacher!”
Sirius shouted into the empty living room.
The first transaction was completed, and there were two more to go.
As echoes reverberated throughout the old Black house, accompanied by a 'pop' sound, a sloppy and very old house-elf appeared before the four of them.
Its skin was full of wrinkles, its head was bald, a large number of white hairs grew out of its large bat-like ears, its eyes were dull, its nose was fleshy and pig-like, and its clothes were tattered. In terms of appearance, it was far inferior to his own house-elf, Hatch.
“Kreacher, why haven't you cleaned the house while I was away?”
Looking at the house-elf in front of him, Sirius was furious.
Although he hadn't given any instructions, cleaning was also the duty of a house-elf.
Moreover, it was estimated that Kreacher hadn't cleaned since his mother died. What kind of house-elf was this?
Because the house-elf had been completely brainwashed by his mother, he naturally had no good feelings towards Kreacher.
Sirius hadn't looked for Kreacher for so long after returning, nor had he asked him to serve him.
Although Sirius was now the head of the Black family, Kreacher didn't have a good attitude towards him either. The one he most recognized was Regulus.
Naturally, he wouldn't wander in front of Sirius, because according to the rules of house-elves, he had to listen to his master.
“The young master who was expelled from the noble Black family by the mistress, I didn't expect the young master to bring two dirty little brats today, and also a…”
“Shut up, Kreacher!”
Hearing Kreacher's words, Sirius's face immediately turned red.
He didn't expect his old mother not to come out to cause trouble, but Kreacher had given him such a performance.
This was also the reason why he didn't want to contact him.
Hearing Sirius's anger, Kreacher didn't dare to speak anymore and stood aside somewhat timidly.
“Adrian needs something from you, give him whatever he wants.”
“Then clean up the old Black house for me. If there's even a speck of dust, get out of the Black family. We don't need useless house-elves like you here.”
Sirius roared the last few words directly.
If it weren't for the fact that he was too old and had served the Black family for many years, he would have kicked him out the moment he returned.
Now he dared to talk to him like this, and it was already kind of him not to drive him away immediately.
Kreacher's body suddenly trembled, and he immediately said loudly:
“I will obey your orders, honorable master.”
Sirius's words just now had frightened him greatly. Protecting the Black family was his only reason to live. Leaving was worse than death.
Although he doesn't quite approve of Sirius, the Black family is all he has.
Chapter 215: Slytherin's Locket
"How about I talk to Kreacher alone for a bit?"
Slytherin's locket, while it belongs to Voldemort, could also be considered Regulus's relic.
Moreover, if they knew it was related to a Horcrux, they would likely watch Ethan destroy it, or hand it over to Dumbledore.
Even if it meant violating an agreement and costing Sirius his life, he would probably choose to do so.
The fact is, everyone present except Ethan hates Voldemort to the core.
To avoid any accidents, it's better to keep it quiet.
"Sure, go find an empty room to talk in."
Sirius agreed without a second thought, as he had no interest in what Ethan wanted from Kreacher.
Again, if Ethan needed something, he could have just told him. He wouldn't have refused even if it were all added to the agreement, since he didn't need those things anyway.
"Kreacher, let's go. Take me to a quiet room!"
After Sirius agreed, Ethan immediately looked at Kreacher.
The rewards for obtaining the relics of the four founders were quite impressive.
Even Ethan was quite envious.
"Please follow me!"
Kreacher glanced at Sirius before respectfully speaking to Ethan, though the expression on his face was still quite unpleasant.
Clearly, he wasn't convinced yet, but was intimidated by Sirius's words earlier.
He was afraid that Sirius would really expel him from the Black family.
Led by Kreacher, Ethan arrived at a room on the second floor with a golden nameplate on the door frame that read "Callidora Black."
Upon entering, he found the room covered in dust. After casting a cleaning charm, Ethan found a chair and sat down.
He then closed the door and cast a silencing charm.
"What do you need?"
Without Sirius present, Kreacher reverted to his true nature and couldn't even maintain a polite tone.
"The locket that Regulus left behind, the one Voldemort gave him, the one he died for. Hand it over to me now."
"I know about that thing. It's in your possession right now."
Hearing Ethan's words, Kreacher's face suddenly changed, and he looked at Ethan with a mixture of horror and anger.
Only he and Master Regulus knew about that matter. How did this young wizard know?
Moreover, Master Regulus had instructed him to destroy it.
After bringing the locket back, he had indeed tried every means possible, but couldn't harm it in the slightest.
But that wasn't a reason for him to hand it over, even if it was an order from his current master, Sirius.
Thinking of this, Kreacher immediately made up his mind.
"Impossible, Kreacher will not give it to you."
Watching Kreacher's extremely exaggerated gestures, Ethan was a bit baffled. If you really valued this thing so much, you wouldn't have given it to that thief later!
Since you could give it to someone else, why is it so difficult to hand it over now, following your master's orders?
"Regulus asked you to destroy it. Why didn't you destroy it? Have you forgotten his dying words?"
Since Sirius's orders didn't work, he could only try another approach.
"No, Kreacher hasn't forgotten. I couldn't destroy it, I couldn't do it. I failed Master Regulus. I should have been the one to die, it's all my fault…"
Watching Kreacher kneel on the ground, banging his head against the floor, Ethan was speechless. He must be mentally ill!
"Give it to me. I can destroy it and fulfill your master's last wish."
"No, Kreacher doesn't believe you. You must be with Voldemort, otherwise you wouldn't know these things."
Hearing Ethan's words, Kreacher's eyes even revealed a hint of hatred.
Ethan really didn't know what he was thinking, but since peaceful methods didn't work, he could only resort to force.
Kreacher, who was about to say something, suddenly froze in place, a look of satisfaction and happiness on his face, though with his expression, the smile was a bit horrifying.
Without Ethan even needing to instruct him, he directly opened the door and went out, preparing to retrieve the Slytherin locket he had hidden.
On the other side, after Ethan left, Sirius and Harry chatted idly.
After all, they couldn't just sit there doing nothing.
"Sirius, why can't I see your name on here?"
At that moment, Harry was standing in front of the magnificent tree-shaped family tapestry. There were many things worth seeing in the living room, but only this one caught Harry's interest. The others were almost all related to dark magic.
On this magnificent tapestry, Harry saw that the earliest records dated back to the mid-Middle Ages.
Moreover, many names were followed by the surnames of other pure-blood families, undoubtedly the Black family women who had married out.
Closer to the present were the Malfoy family and the Lestrange family, and a little earlier were the Weasley family, the Longbottom family, the Crouch family, and the Burke family.
It could be said that any of the more famous families in the British wizarding world could be found here.
Even the Potter family was there. It seemed that he and Sirius were indeed related, just distantly.
He didn't expect Draco Malfoy and Sirius to be so closely related, and Neville too.
However, some names in certain positions couldn't be seen, as if they had been burned by fire. In the places where these names were, there were black holes.
"I used to be on there, but after I ran away from here, my mother erased me from it."
As he spoke, Sirius pointed to a slightly charred hole at the bottom of the tree-shaped family tapestry, where his name used to be.
Ever since he entered Gryffindor, his relationship with his family had become strained.
