What happened within that dark, forbidding stone tower remained unknown to anyone else...
Early the following Saturday morning, Will stood outside 12 Grimmauld Place, carrying his Book Trunk. From the outside, the house looked filthy and neglected, its windows grimy beyond belief.
To Muggles, the house did not exist—or rather, they subconsciously ignored it.
But to wizards, a black door covered in scratches stood there, its silver knocker shaped like a coiled snake, with two small black gemstones set into its eyes.
The door had neither a keyhole nor a letterbox and could only be opened with magic. For now, though, Black was at the entrance to welcome him personally.
Sirius wore simple black robes. His hair was more neatly trimmed than at their last meeting, but his eyes still held that same untamed gleam.
"Right on time." The corners of Black's mouth lifted. "I thought you'd oversleep like every other student."
"I rarely oversleep." Will stepped into the entrance hall.
The interior was more oppressive than he had imagined.
The entrance opened into a long corridor, with peeling wallpaper, a worn carpet, gas lamps, and a cobwebbed chandelier shaped like a great snake, along with branched candlesticks.
Most of the decorations in the corridor featured snake motifs, though there was also an umbrella stand made from a troll's leg. A staircase led to the upper floors.
The high ceiling was blackened by soot from kerosene lamps, and the dark green wallpaper was mottled and peeling.
The air smelled of dust and mildew. Some cloyingly sweet incense had been used in an attempt to mask it, but with little success.
Several portraits, darkened with age, hung on the walls, including a huge one concealed behind a moth-eaten, moldy curtain.
"Don't mind them," Black said carelessly. "They're all noisy nuisances."
Before