Sirius led everyone up the stone steps to the front door. Before them stood a black, mottled door without a keyhole, with a silver knocker shaped like a coiled snake.
Sirius drew his wand and tapped the door once. A series of loud metallic clanks and the rattling of chains followed, then the door creaked open.
"I didn't expect them to have left the door-opening spell unchanged."
Sirius remarked casually, then gestured for them to head inside. At the same time, he discreetly tapped Lupin's arm with his left hand. Lupin glanced expressionlessly at Douglas beside him, then casually placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, signaling for him to slow down.
Douglas stepped over the threshold into a pitch-black entrance hall. The damp smell of mildew, mixed with the stench of rot, hit him squarely in the face...
Under Sirius's astonished gaze, Douglas's wand dropped swiftly into his hand. He cast a Bubble-Head Charm and a Shield Charm on himself, then sent out a detection spell... At the same time, Dobby, who stood beside Douglas, snapped his fingers. A row of old-fashioned lamps on the hall walls lit up at once, casting a dim, flickering, somewhat unreal light.
The dim lamplight revealed the entrance hall, where the wallpaper was mottled and had even peeled away in large patches.
The carpet was not particularly dirty, but it clearly had not been replaced in years and had been worn very thin.
The candles on the cobweb-shaped chandelier hanging from the ceiling had long since burned out and had not been kept replenished. A snake-shaped candlestick also stood on the table by the door, likewise without a candle.
At a glance, some places in the entrance hall had also been fitted with some
Douglas frowned slightly. Wasn't there supposed to be a house-elf