#829 - Weeding and root removal
“Actually, Dobby's nature isn't bad. There's a good reason why he attacked you.” Anduin explained, “Remember that dark magic item in Ginny's hand that drove you all crazy?”
“That was actually placed on Ginny by Dobby's original master. The reason he tried so hard to drive you out of Hogwarts was to protect your safety.”
“What?” Harry was shocked to hear this. “So there was such a tortuous reason! Why didn't he just tell me directly? He only knew how to cause us trouble.”
“The highest law for house-elves is the order of their master. They cannot disobey their master's orders, let alone actively betray them.” Anduin shook his head sadly. “Dobby is already very brave to have done this much.”
“So that's how it is. Then you caught him, and you discovered him tampering with my flying broom, right?” Harry finally understood the whole story.
“Yes.” Anduin nodded. “I caught him and then had his original master release him from servitude. After that, Dobby started working for Silver Gleam Commerce.”
“Who is his master?” Harry asked with an angry face. “Who exactly wants to harm Ginny? We can't just let him go.”
“Don't worry, he's no longer a threat to us.” Anduin smiled to reassure Harry. “But I can't tell you his identity for the time being, and I also hope you don't ask Dobby too much.”
“Okay……”
Harry nodded, slightly disappointed, but he didn't blame Anduin for it. After these two years together, he was no longer the naive boy he used to be.
When a person is no longer self-centered and knows how to think from other people's perspectives, it is a sign of maturity.
Harry even guessed that Anduin was hiding this person because he had deeper plans. After all, the professor had done similar things more than once while at school.
Sometimes they were even kept in the dark. Now that he was willing to inform him in advance, it was already a great courtesy.
“Sounds good, but…” Sirius next to him couldn't help but smile wryly, “But I doubt whether Dobby can get along well with Kreacher. That old fellow probably won't be so polite to a fellow elf.”
“Then you have to pay attention to Kreacher's safety.” Anduin sneered, “Dobby has been receiving training from Kiki for more than half a year. It's not a good idea for ordinary people to provoke him.”
“Haha, then I'm even more looking forward to it.” Sirius laughed upon hearing this.
Afterwards, Anduin personally cooked a dinner and had a good meal with the two of them.
After the meal, Black asked Harry to return to his room to pack his things first, and then took advantage of the time alone to ask about the thing he cared about most.
“How is it?” Sirius looked around repeatedly, making sure that Kreacher wasn't nearby. “Is there any news about Peter?”
“Don't be so anxious…” Anduin shook his head speechlessly. “There has been progress, but Peter's whereabouts have not yet been finally determined.”
“Then what did you mean when you said in your letter that there was progress?” Sirius paced back and forth irritably at the thought of that traitor.
“That's because I found a breakthrough.” Anduin smiled slightly. “Do you remember Voldemort I mentioned to you last time?”
“Every time I hear you say his name so unscrupulously, I feel inexplicably at ease.” Sirius shook his head with a smile. “Of course, didn't you say he didn't really die?”
“That's right, and this year I caught him again.” Anduin's casual expression made it seem like he was talking about something insignificant.
“Ah?” Sirius looked at Anduin blankly. He always felt that he should be very surprised at this time, but when he saw the other party's expression, he couldn't get excited, and only felt a little dazed.
Voldemort wasn't a roadside stone. How could he be as common as anything in Anduin's mouth?
“Then, I let him go again.”
“Ah? Do…do you know what you're talking about?” Sirius's voice suddenly became high-pitched, and he even showed an unbelievable expression.
If he was just surprised and at a loss at Anduin's statement just now, now Sirius was really a little mentally broken.
Who would finally catch Voldemort and then let him go?
“You didn't jump up in a hurry like before when you heard such news. It seems that your emotional management has improved a lot.” Anduin joked.
“Don't joke with me. I just couldn't digest the information for a while.” Seeing Anduin's calm expression, Sirius felt a lot more at ease.
“That's right…” Anduin was too lazy to continue teasing Sirius, so he briefly recounted his plan from the previous period.
“In other words, you installed something in Voldemort's brain, and now you're going to use him to fish? Isn't this a bit risky?” After listening to Anduin's plan, Sirius was even more surprised than before.
Sirius had never seen anyone dare to play the Dark Lord like a monkey. He really didn't know how to describe Anduin now.
“There are risks, of course. With Voldemort's magical attainments, it's not surprising that he discovered the trap I left him, but this is also an excellent opportunity to wipe out the Death Eaters in one fell swoop!”
Anduin said with a stern expression, “I'm not talking about sending them to Azkaban, but…”
He put his thumb on his neck and slashed it fiercely, his eyes full of murderous intent.
“You want to kill them all?” Sirius was shocked to hear this.
“Cut the weeds and eliminate the roots, or there will be endless troubles!” Anduin lowered his voice. “I'm only telling you this. Dumbledore doesn't know my real plan, so remember to keep it a secret for me.”
“Does cutting the weeds and eliminating the roots also include those already in Azkaban?” Sirius widened his eyes. “Is it necessary to go to this extent?”
“Some things cannot be forgiven…” Anduin stared at Sirius with a gloomy look. “I thought you were the one who could understand the most.”
Sirius knew what Anduin was referring to, but he didn't expect this young man to be even more narrow-minded than him, still so unforgettable after so many years, and he even wanted to vent his anger on others.
He thought he was the most extreme one.
“I can understand.” After pondering for a moment, a trace of violence flashed in Sirius's eyes. “What do you want to do? I'll help you!”
“You don't need to do anything.” Anduin nodded indifferently. “Just wait and watch the show.”
“No.” Sirius shook his head decisively. “Please accept my help. Maybe it's not important to you, but I also want to do something for it… to atone for my sins.”
Anduin took a deep look at the other party, and then nodded, “Okay, then get ready, I'll come pick you up tomorrow…”
The next day, Anduin visited Grimmauld Place, Number 12 again very early, and also brought Dobby as promised.
“Mr. Potter, I'm very sorry for doing such outrageous things to you before. Dobby knows he was wrong.”
When Dobby, who had changed into a shrunken version of a suit, saw Harry again, he took the initiative to apologize.
Although Dobby had received long-term training from Kiki, he still hadn't completely gotten rid of the house-elf style, and his expression was full of shyness and restraint.
However, compared to other house-elves, Dobby had already shown great independence, and even Kiki often praised him in front of Anduin.
“It's okay, but it's best to speak directly in the future, and don't cast spells on me again.” Harry couldn't help but joke after seeing Dobby, whose mental outlook was completely new.
“Okay, Harry, take Dobby to familiarize yourself with the situation at home first.” Sirius also showed a welcoming attitude towards Dobby, and at the same time instructed Harry, “I'm going out with Anduin, and I may be back later.”
“Also!” Sirius emphasized again, “If that Kreacher comes out to make trouble, tell him to get away from me.”
“Don't worry, Mr. Black!” Dobby patted his chest confidently. “With Dobby here, no one else will disturb Mr. Potter.”
“Hehe, even his state is different after following Anduin. It would be great if Kreacher could be like you.” Sirius nodded to Dobby, and then followed Anduin out of Grimmauld Place, Number 12.
“Where are we going next?”
After coming out, Sirius realized that he didn't even know what he was going to do with Anduin today?
“Let's first get the remaining two Horcruxes of Voldemort and completely cut off his retreat.” Anduin smiled coldly, then grabbed Sirius's shoulder and Apparated away with him.
When the two appeared again, they had arrived at the entrance of Gringotts in Diagon Alley.
“Gringotts? You don't mean to say that Voldemort's Horcrux is inside here, right? As far as I remember, he doesn't seem to have opened a vault in Gringotts.” Sirius looked at Anduin in surprise.
“Not just you, it was also beyond my expectations when I found out.” Anduin smiled and led Sirius inside, “You should still remember your cousin, right?”
“You mean… Bella?”
Sirius had several cousins, one of whom was Narcissa, who later married Malfoy, who was Draco's biological mother.
There was also Andromeda, who was disowned by the Black family for falling in love with a Muggle in her early years. Her daughter was Anduin's apprentice, Nymphadora Tonks.
In comparison, his eldest cousin Bellatrix was more famous. After marrying into the Lestrange family, this guy became a loyal follower of Voldemort. Now their whole family is in Azkaban counting stars.
“That's right, your cousin is more trusted by Voldemort than you think.”
As a celebrity in the British wizarding world and a senior partner of Gringotts, the guards immediately bowed respectfully to Anduin as soon as he approached the bank.
“Are you saying that Voldemort's Horcrux is in Bella's vault?” Sirius also understood Anduin's meaning at this time, and quickly asked in a low voice, “In that case, why are we entering Gringotts so ostentatiously? Shouldn't we sneak in secretly under the cover of darkness?”
“Sneak in? Why sneak in?” Anduin glanced at Black in surprise.
“If we don't sneak in, how can we enter Bella's vault?” When Sirius talked about this, even his expression became sneaky. “Gringotts is the most heavily guarded place in the wizarding world!”
“I know very well how tight the security is here. The security system here was also equipped with the help of Silver Gleam Commerce. Ten more intruders like you won't work.” Anduin laughed.
“Isn't that great!” Sirius suddenly came up with a bad idea. “Since you are very familiar with the security here, wouldn't our chances of sneaking in be greater?”
“Why are you always thinking about being a thief? Stealing things past the security system you sell, isn't this smashing my brand?” Anduin rolled his eyes speechlessly.
But he didn't know if he still remembered that his family had just done something similar at Ilvermorny School in the United States a few months ago.
“Let's just walk in and take it ourselves, don't think about things too complicated.”
“Just walk in and take it? Do you think this is your home?” Sirius suddenly felt that Anduin seemed to have lost his mind. “Can those goblins agree to such an outrageous request?”
In Sirius's impression, goblins, especially the goblins of Gringotts, not only rejected human wizards, but were also extremely stubborn. How could these arrogant guys allow anyone to overstep their rules?
“That's what you don't understand.” Anduin grinned. “In the wizarding world, there is actually no creature easier to deal with than goblins. They are actually simpler than many people think. They are simply greedy for money!”
“As for the rules, the meaning of that kind of thing is to be broken, it just depends on whether you can pay enough price.”
Speaking of this, the two also entered the lobby of Gringotts. A goblin manager sitting at the counter saw Anduin and immediately went around with bright eyes.
“Mr. Wilson, what a rare guest. If you have any needs, you just need to have Silver Gleam Commerce send us a message.” The goblin manager said with a flattering smile.
As one of the top wealthy people in the wizarding world, Anduin is the highest-level VIP in Gringotts. They even opened a green channel for Anduin alone. Usually, no matter what kind of business, someone will handle it specially as long as you say hello.
“I'm here today for private matters.” Anduin didn't say much nonsense, just gave the other party a faint look.
“Understood! Please follow me.” The goblin manager nodded knowingly, and then led the two around the lobby and into a luxuriously decorated reception room.
Sirius couldn't help but marvel at this scene. It was the first time he had seen a goblin so respectful to a human, and at the same time, it was the first time he knew that there was such a private reception room in Gringotts. Even when they were in the Black family, they could only line up obediently in the lobby to withdraw money.
