This time, Voldemort had come to Grimmauld Place to wipe out the Order of the Phoenix partly to secure his rear before the war, and partly to test Snape.
After several members of the Order of the Phoenix had escaped in previous operations, he had already begun to suspect Snape.
If anything went wrong with this operation as well, given Voldemort's nature, he would kill Snape outright to eliminate future trouble even without sufficient evidence.
"Thank you!"
Seeing Hawking's spirit body vanish and feeling himself regain control of his body, Harry sincerely offered his thanks.
What followed was the welcome reunion of family and friends, as well as Harry's explanation and relaying of Hawking's warning.
"No wonder. No wonder the Firebolt, Invisibility Cloak, and wand I kept in the cabinet kept disappearing from time to time—especially the wand. It even broke several times. I spent quite a few Galleons having Ollivander repair it."
After hearing Harry Potter's account, Sirius Black finally understood.
Ron, standing nearby, immediately laughed.
"I always suspected Kreacher did it."
Hearing Ron mention Kreacher, Hermione curiously looked at Kreacher, who was despondent over the destruction of the Locket Horcrux.
"By the way, Hawking just said you knew the whole story behind the Locket Horcrux. Could you tell us about it?"
"Yes, this is—"
Kreacher had barely begun when Snape beside him interrupted.
"We should talk on the way. If what Hawking said is true, we need to leave immediately and return to Hogwarts to tell Dumbledore.
"Also, since this was a test aimed at me, if Bellatrix doesn't report back, Voldemort will probably come here himself."
Though the sight of Harry's family being so happy stung his heart, as long as Lily was happy, he did not care.
The most important thing now was to leave this