After Hallie left, Rita lay on the ground and didn't get up for a long time.

She looked feebly at the mark on the back of her hand, her eyes slightly glazed.

This mark is extremely complex, and at the same time it flashes and flashes, emitting an eerie light.

Rita already knew how to use the sigil and easily removed it from the back of her hand.

And this made her even more awe-inspiring, because the legendary Dark Mark could not hide himself.

"Alas, I'm really cheap, and this time I kicked the iron plate." Rita couldn't help but thump her head, which was still aching, and sighed in a low voice,

"But Harry Potter seems to have a lot of ambition and knows how to use politics and public opinion."

"She should be able to become the Minister of Magic, and it seems like a very good choice to follow her and do things for her."

After a long time, Rita turned into a beetle and flew in the direction of Hogsmeade.

……

On a path leading to the periphery of the Forbidden Forest, Hedwig was asking Harley for advice that she had been holding back for a long time:

"Sister Harry, didn't you say that the witch path has all kinds of curses and dark magic?"

"I remember you mentioned that you could kill that mouse named Peter Pettigrew whenever you wanted."

"Then why don't you use the same method to threaten this woman named Rita Skeeter and forcibly control her?"

Hallie listened to Hedwig quietly, and then did not choose to explain directly: "Hedwig, let me give you an example. ”

"I order you to deliver the letter for me or I ask you to deliver the letter for me, which do you prefer?"

Hedwig tilted her head and thought, "The second one." ”

"That's right," Harley patiently continued,

"You see, I threatened that Skeeter with my life to ask her to do something for me, and I made a deal with her to help, it must be the latter that is more acceptable to her."

"In the course of this transaction, I just used her life, plus hiding a secret that didn't mean anything to me after it was leaked, in exchange for her doing things for me."

"If you think about it, I didn't actually give anything, but I was able to minimize Skeeter's resistance."

Hedwig nodded thoughtfully, and asked again, "Then aren't you afraid that she won't trade seriously?" After all, trading is not mandatory. ”

"I've given her dignity and given her steps. If she's not interested, then I'll have to say I'm sorry. ”

Harley said lightly, her voice unusually cold,

"That sigil is the dark magic I designed based on Voldemort's Dark Mark and the abilities of the Xenopath."

As she spoke, Harley's right hand went up, and the symbol representing the witch appeared in mid-air.

"The symbol itself contains a mystical meaning, equivalent to a constant ritual. For now, it will only point to me in this world. ”

"If Skeeter betrays me and wants to do something bad, it will be easy for me to lock her place or take her life."

"And she's also a smart person, and although she doesn't know witches, she can definitely associate Voldemort's Dark Mark with this special mark, and she can guess my intention in leaving this mark."

"Skeeter has seen my previous methods against the Eight-Eyed Spider, and knows that I am not a suspected dark wizard, but a far superior to a dark wizard."

"So what to do, I think Skeeter himself should know very well."

"It's like beating her with a stick and giving her a sweet candy. Russell the Great's words are coarse, but the truth is not. ”

Hedwig nodded, and did not continue to ask who Russell the Great was, but only said at the end: "Human beings are really complicated. ”

"It's normal." Harley said casually, and then a man and a bird went straight to the edge of the Forbidden Forest into invisibility.

……

Easter is finally here, but the students don't like it.

Halloween has a Halloween dinner, Christmas has a Christmas holiday, and Easter has ......

Easter Homework!

After all, when the Easter holidays came, the time was already approaching the final exams.

The professors tacitly increased the amount of homework several times, and even Professor Lupin, who has always had few assignments, assigned a few more papers on dark magic creatures.

And everyone seems to firmly believe that their own class is the most important, and the homework of other professors can be put on the back burner, so they are reluctant to reduce their homework.

This is a pain for the students.

However, Harley and Hermione didn't have this problem, after all, their excellent performance in the last few classes before the break had exempted them from most of their homework.

Now, under the leadership of Professor Lupin, the two of them have made their way to Black's Mansion with the help of the portkey made by Professor Dumbledore.

Located at 12 Grimmauld Place, the old Black House has been magically hidden between 11 and 13.

Neither Muggles nor ordinary wizards who didn't know about it could see the gates of Black's old mansion.

Even powerful magicians can only see that there is a disharmony caused by magic here, and they can't enter Black's mansion without knowing the exact location.

After all, the Black family has no shortage of powerful magic masters, and after years of reinforcement, there are basically no loopholes in the interior of this house.

Led by Professor Lupin, the trio walked up the stone steps.

Professor Lupin tapped his wand lightly on the large silver snake-shaped knocker.

Inside the gate, there was a loud sound of metal hitting and the clatter of chains.

After a while, the door slowly opened.

The bottom of the gate rubbed against the floor with a screeching sound, apparently not maintained for a long time.

"Fluorescent flickering."

Professor Lupin calmly recited the incantation, the tip of his wand glowing warmly, illuminating the dark foyer.

A damp smell came over the face, mixed with a large amount of dust, and an eeriely sweet smell of decay.

Hermione thoughtfully pulled out three cloth masks, one for Hallie and Professor Lupin.

"Thank you." Professor Lupin took the mask and said in a relaxed tone, "It's a shame that I didn't think to bring a mask before I came." ”

"I should have thought that this old Black house had not been maintained and cleaned for so long, and there must have been a lot of dust."

"Sirius, on the other hand, isn't good at cleaning."

As they spoke, the three of them carefully examined the foyer.

A row of old-fashioned magical gas lamps on the wall lit up automatically when they heard the voice of the voice.

However, the gas lamp is probably too old, and the magic inside has not been recast for a long time, so the light is extremely cloudy.

In this dim light, the foyer looks extremely eerie, and the peeling wallpaper reflects an eerie glow.

Overhead, there is also a spiderweb-shaped chandelier with a green color and a large number of serpentine patterns.

The chandelier was gone, though, except for one or two bulbs that occasionally shimmered with a dull glow of magic.

There are many portraits on the walls, in addition to the lamps, but the portraits are blackened and the borders are almost rotten.

Harley remembers a book about the common sense of life in the wizarding world, and although magical portraits can be used to visit each other, they are still deeply connected to the original portrait of herself.

If their own portraits are not properly preserved and eventually decay, they will die with them, even if they escape into someone else's portraits.

And this is probably the case with the ancestors of the Black family, whose names are written under the frame.

"Hallie! Remus! Hermione! A cry of surprise rang out from the depths of the house, and Sirius strode out.

But his image is really not good-looking:

Sirius was dressed in patched black robes of unknown date, holding a wand in one hand and a bottle of insect spray in the other.

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's still dirty in here." Sirius stepped over a worn chair lying on the carpet and exclaimed,

"Kreacher, that old animal, always tries to interfere with me, doesn't let me clean, and secretly picks up what I threw away."

"Sirius," Professor Lupin shook his head, "I really think you should be kind to it, it's pathetic too, after all. ”

"yes, it's really pitiful." Sirius snorted coldly,

"I'm sorry, Remus, I mean...... You know, Kreacher has been completely brainwashed by my mother to recognize only my mother. ”

"It doesn't look down on me at all. If it weren't for the Black family's magical bindings, it would even want to kick me out of the Black House. ”

"Of course, I don't care about the garbage heap of the old Black House, but I can leave on my own initiative, it can't drive me away!"

As he spoke, Sirius subconsciously waved his wand.

"Who's Kreacher?" Hermione couldn't help but ask.

"A house-elf, a house-elf who has served the Black family for a long time......"

Sirius explained aloud, and Hermione couldn't help but frown.

After the incident before Harley's second year started, she didn't have a liking for the creature.

Harley and Hermione also talked about the history of house-elves, especially their "glorious record" of trying to exterminate all wizards and enslave the human race.

This caused Hermione's impression of the creature to drop to freezing.

Although Hermione was very impressed by the good service attitude of the elves in the Hogwarts kitchen, it did not prevent Hermione from having a good impression of the group itself.

Sirius continued to explain, even going back to Kreacher's ancestors who had cut off their heads and hung them on the walls of their homes.

"Alright, Sirius." Professor Lupin said,

"I understand how much you hate Kreacher, there's no need to spend your time on it."

At the same time, he gave Sirius a vague look and gestured to Hermione on the side.

Sirius also immediately realized that the topic really didn't seem appropriate in front of the two underage wizards.

He stiffly changed the subject: "I have already vacated the room for you, which is on the second floor." ”

"But Harry...... Can the two of you sleep in the same room? ”

As he spoke, the expression on Sirius's face was vaguely embarrassed,

"I'm so sorry, I only cleaned out two rooms, Remus can stay with me, I want to ......"

"I'll stay with Hallie." Hermione quickly replied, "We usually live in the same dormitory, which is normal. ”

"That's good, that's good," Sirius was embarrassed to rub his hands, but suddenly remembered that he still had a wand and insecticide spray in his hand, and could only smile helplessly,

"That old guy Kreacher has been interfering with my work, otherwise the old Black Mansion is so big, it definitely wouldn't be ......"

I don't know how uncomfortable Sirius was tortured by Kreacher during this time, he always subconsciously led the topic in this direction.

Fortunately, Professor Lupin forcibly dragged him and offered to settle the children first.

The group made their way around the various facilities, and also passed the row of crumpled house-elf heads that Sirius had mentioned.

Looking at this kind of picture, the expression on Hermione's face became more and more unnatural.

Although she didn't have a good impression of the house-elves, Hermione was disgusted by the Black family's brutality.

Hallie and Hermione's room is located on the second floor on the right-hand side of the second door.

The room is dimly lit, has high ceilings and has two single beds side by side.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid you'll have to clean it up again." Sirius said apologetically, "I've got two quilts for you, so you can tidy them up yourself." ”

"I'm going to take Remus to our room first, and then we'll go to lunch after we're done."

After Sirius left, the door slammed shut, and the room was lit up.

Looking at the two beds in front of her, Hermione seemed to have some regret, and pulled out her wand vigorously, and waved it a few times: "Whirlwind sweep!" "Clean up!"

Two spells were used, and the room suddenly became a lot cleaner.

Harley pulled their mattresses out of her pocket and threw them onto the bed, tucking Sirius' purple quilt into a nearby cupboard.

"Look, I'll just say it." Hermione said triumphantly as she made the bed,

"I knew that if I wanted to go to this kind of old house that no one had lived in for many years, I should bring all kinds of daily necessities."

……

After tidying up the room, it was almost noon.

Sirius wanted to cook for himself, but Professor Lupin forcibly stopped him and forbade him to destroy the stomachs of the two little witches.

Harley dug some pounds out of her pocket, and the four of them finally chose to go to a nearby Italian restaurant for lunch.

Back at Black's house, Sirius gets straight to the point, taking Harley and Hermione to the Black family's library.

After all, the house is so dirty, many places have not been cleaned, there is nothing to visit.

Professor Lupin, on the other hand, chose to stay in the living room to rest.

After all, he is a werewolf, and the Black family's powerhouse will not welcome a werewolf no matter how he thinks about it.

Sirius apologized for this, but Professor Lupin was very open-minded and looked very free.

"This is arguably the most precious place for the Black family."

After saying goodbye to Professor Lupin, Sirius walked cautiously down the hallway, introducing Harley and Hermione,

"I left a note in my room, and I didn't expect it to be cleaned up."

"I thought my room had been cleared, but I didn't expect it to be still there, and it was untouched."

"I know that I am the only one in the entire Black family who has been sorted into Gryffindor, and the others are Slytherins."

"So only my room was decorated in gold and red, and there was a lot of lion decoration, which didn't go with the silver and green serpents of the others......"

Sirius suddenly remembered something, "...... Sorry, I digress. ”

"All in all, even I need to look at the note again to find the right way to the library."

"There are all kinds of magic applied here, and although they are not deadly, they can trap people."

"Without the help of the Black family or Professor Flitwick's level of magical prowess, that person could have been asleep here."

"After all, knowledge is always the most valuable asset of a wizarding family, and the Black family, which can be called pure-blooded in pure blood, has immeasurable value of hidden knowledge."

Sirius and his party avoided all kinds of defensive magic and finally came to an ancient gate.

The door is devoid of any ornamentation, and like the door of a normal room, it has only a silver handle in the shape of a snake's head.

But Harley could feel that there was a powerful magic at work on this door.

It seems that only a special medium poured into the snake's head handle can open the door correctly.

Otherwise, the intruder will enjoy a deadly counterattack.

Apparently the ancestors of the Black family were also old silver coins, leaving non-lethal spells in front of them, and the last line of defense was mixed with a deadly spell.

If a magic master really breaks through all the way and cracks all kinds of non-lethal magic, it is very likely that he will let his guard down and end up being overshadowed by this magic.

After standing in front of the door, Sirius drew a brand new wand.

He had bought the wand from Ollivanders and was used specifically for combat.

The worn-out wand was just a second-hand wand that Sirius had bought from Tumbledown Alley, after all, Sirius, who had experienced the wizarding wars, knew the importance of a spare wand.

Sirius swiped his wand on his arm, and the blood flowed out quickly, and the wound healed quickly.

The blood was suspended in mid-air and then automatically poured into the mouth of the serpentine handle.

After devouring the blood of the direct members of the Black family, the silver snake seemed to come to life and began to spin on its own.

Sirius also aimed his wand at the handle, silently reciting the incantation.

After a series of complex operations, the door slowly opened.

"Dear ladies and gentlemen!" After the doors were fully open, Sirius said in an exaggerated voice,

"Allow me to solemnly introduce you here—the Black Family's Library!"

With that, Sirius took a step forward, then turned sideways.

Looking at the scene in front of her, Hermione's mouth opened wide in shock, and a flash of excitement flashed in Hallie's eyes.

Harley had the privilege of seeing Nicol's collection of books, far better than the one in front of her in terms of quantity, but far inferior in quality.

Although Nicol had lived for more than six hundred years and amassed a vast collection of books, his collection contained a large number of Muggle books—

Whether it's Muggle food magazines, music collections, or art periodicals, Nicol collects them.

But the Black family is different.

As the oldest and richest pure-blood wizard family that claimed to have existed since the Middle Ages, the members of this family only collected valuable magic books.

"Go ahead, there's no magic in the library, after all, no one wants these valuable magic books to be destroyed."

Sirius waved his hand and disappeared into the sea of books with the two little witches,

"You pick some of the things you want to learn, but don't choose too many, focus on understanding a certain subject first, and then move on to the next one."

"It's easy to chew more than you can chew, anyway, the book is here, and you won't run away with long legs."

"Oh, by the way," Sirius said aloud, as if remembering something, "the bookshelves are of three colors, green, silver, and black. ”

"The green shelves are ordinary magic, and the silver shelves are advanced magic, but the nature is more like normal magic."

"As for the black bookshelf ......"

Sirius paused, and his voice raised a few points,

"The magic books on it are all about black magic, and the darker the shelving, the more dangerous the magic is."

"When you see a black bookshelf, try to avoid it, after all, many dark arts books don't need to be looked through, and just getting close to it can be disturbed."

Harley agreed, and her wand slipped from her wizard's robe into her hand.

A small bright silver snake appeared, merging into a magic mirror, forming a simple clone.

"I'm sorry, Sirius." Hallie thought silently, "How could a witch let go of the dark arts?" ”

After more than an hour of wandering through the sea of books, Sirius beckoned Harley and Hermione to leave.

Hermione had several books on astrological prophecy in her wich, and it was clear that she couldn't forget Professor Trelawney's prophecy.

Harley only had a simple spell book in her hand, but the silver Patronus clone had retrieved several dark arts books for her.

"Selected?" Sirius glanced at the two of them's book, "Charms, as expected, astrology...... Divination class? ”

"To be honest, I didn't even take this class, after all, we didn't have a divination teacher at that time."

"I remember that Professor Dumbledore was about to cancel this class, after all, most of the current divination prices are old liars."

"I don't know what happened, he inexplicably recruited a Sybil Trelawney, and the course continued."

Hermione nodded repeatedly, clearly agreeing with Sirius.

Although Professor Trelawney succeeded in making a true prediction, after thinking about it, Hermione also realized that Professor Trelawney apparently only occasionally made a real prediction.

Most of the time, especially in class, Professor Trelawney is the old liar who only boasts about deception and does not teach students what they really can.

"Okay, now that you've made your decision, let's leave." Sirius waved his hand,

"When you need any books in the future, you can write to me directly, and I will help you replace them."

……

……

(Thanks to the two bigwigs of "Angel Who Supports God" and "Nine-Tailed Yanhu" for their tips!) ）

(PS. The original Magician's Courageous Loyalty Spell in the Order of the Phoenix, not here, just an ordinary hidden nature magic.) ）

(End of chapter)