Leaving the portrait of Mrs. Black, they passed through the door at the end of the hallway and into the basement.

The basement level appears to be the kitchen, which is almost as dimly lit as the foyer above, a cavernous room surrounded by rough stone walls.

Most of the light came from a few short candles around the large fireplace at the end of the room, the walls around the tubes were all blackened by the smoke, and the heavy iron pots and basins hanging from the equally black ceiling looked hideous and eerie in the darkness.

Adjacent to the kitchen is a small dining room with a sink in the corner and two wooden cupboards covered with cobwebs on either side, filled with silver cutlery.

Through the moldy carpet, you can see the green marble floor below with delicate carvings, and in the center of the house is a table and chairs that can seat many people, and the temperature here is much cooler than above, and the smell of mold and decay in the air is even worse.

"Go this way!" Sirius ripped off a green tapestry with the Black family crest on the north wall of the dining room, revealing a black brick wall.

He tapped his wand on a wall, opening a hidden door.

Just like the wall that leads to Diagon Alley, the wall spins open to reveal a narrow, steep staircase that continues down.

Aven noticed a small silver snake on the brick, but it was so inconspicuous that it was impossible to notice it without looking closely.

"In the ancient pure-blood wizard families, there was usually a secret room like this, which hid some of the family's hidden secrets. Sirius said as he bent down and walked in, "This is where the Black family keeps their books, at least when I left this house, and it's kept inside."

He stopped halfway through his sentence.

Passing over Sirius's shoulder, Evan saw a house-elf standing in the tunnel.

Not an ornament hanging on the wall, but a living house-elf.

The house-elf was already very old, his skin was full of wrinkles, several times more than his body actually needed, and although his head was bare like all house-elves, there was a lot of white hair growing out of those two big bat-like ears.

His eyes were bloodshot, watery and gray, and his fleshy nose was large, almost like a pig's nose.

He had a dirty rag around his waist, like the one used by a man in a tropical country to cover his body, but other than that, he was almost naked.

Evan suddenly realized that this guy should be the house-elf Kreacher, and he was still thinking about when he would be able to meet each other.

Like a statue, Kreacher stood at the corner of the staircase, standing still.

He bent over, his head up, and looked at Sirius Black in surprise, a strange expression mixed with inexplicable oddity, and then he began to whisper in a hoarse, deep voice like a bullfrog.

"What did poor old Kreacher see, the young master of the ruined family, who had disappeared for more than ten years, came back with a group of little cubs to spoil my mistress's house. Kreacher's voice was slow, his eyes full of disdain, and he bowed to Sirius as he spoke, as if instinct had asked him to do so.

"Long time no see, Kreacher, I didn't expect you to be alive. Sirius said calmly.

Although he had met an acquaintance, there was no joy in his voice.

"Who is he?" Harry asked in a low voice.

"Kreacher, the house-elf who serves the Black family. Sirius paused, then added, "A crazy guy." ”

"The young master always likes to make a little joke, Kreacher is not crazy, Kreacher just didn't see the three young masters. The elf bowed to Aven, Harry, and Hermione again, and then said in a soft, but clear voice, "Kreacher smells of mudblood, and if the poor mistress knows that the young master has actually brought such scum into her house, what a shame she will say to old Kreacher!"

"Shut up, Kreacher, don't call them mudbloods in the future. Sirius shouted angrily.

"It's okay! The house-elf doesn't seem to know what he's talking about. Hermione looked at Kreacher in fear, and she stepped forward timidly and tried to say, "Hello, Kreacher! I'm Hermione Granger, this is Evan Mason, and the one next to her is Harry Potter." ”

Seeing Hermione talk to him again, Kreacher's two pale eyes suddenly widened, and the words that came out of his mouth were even more angry than before.

"The slut cub brought back by the master actually talked to Kreacher again, pretending to be nothing, as if she were my friend, and if Kreacher's mistress saw him with such a person, oh, what would she say, think about it"

"I say it again, shut up, Kreacher!" Sirius said through gritted teeth.

Hearing Sirius's command, Kreacher immediately shut his mouth.

He walked up from the tunnel, his eyes slid over Hermione, Aven, Harry, and then his eyes widened as he began to whisper again.

"Is this true, really Harry Potter?!Kreacher saw the scar, it must be true, it was the boy who stopped the Dark Lord, Kreacher didn't know how he did it"

"We all know how that goes. Sirius exclaimed.

"Kreacher only knows that the young master has just returned from Azkaban. Kreacher's gaze returned to Sirius, "My poor mistress, she swore not to recognize his son, and now he's back, and he's said to be a murderer."

"Sirius has proven his innocence, he didn't kill, he's a hero now!" Hermione hurriedly explained.

"There's no need to tell him that!" Sirius glared at Kreacher in disgust, "he won't listen, he used to be like that, a nasty house-elf. ”

"How can the young master say that Kreacher, Kreacher has never done anything out of the ordinary, Kreacher just obeyed his master's orders and served the noble Black family for the rest of his life!" Kreacher said and bowed again, then lowered his voice and muttered, "Even if the young master didn't kill anyone, he was a nasty, ungrateful lewd billet who broke his mother's heart"

"My mother has no heart, Kreacher. Sirius said angrily, "She's completely on resentment." ”

"Anyway. Kreacher muttered indignantly, "The young master is not even worthy to polish the soles of his mother's shoes, my poor mistress, what would she say if she saw the young master come back, how she hated him once!"

"Enough, what are you hiding here?" Sirius said contemptuously, "don't think I don't know, you'll find us as soon as we enter this house. ”

"Kreacher is guarding the last of the Black family's legacy. Kreacher walked around Sirius and picked up the tapestry he had just left on the ground, "As soon as the young master returns, he will destroy everywhere, if this tapestry is thrown away, the mistress will never forgive Kreacher, it has been in this house for seven centuries, Kreacher must keep it, Kreacher must not let the young master and the three little cubs destroy the tapestry." (To be continued.) )