Anne, Ignored

The old, nearly decaying House-elf in front of me must be the... Kreacher Sirius was talking about.

In Sirius's words:

It is the epitome of the evil of the Black family.

It really did resemble a madman, hunched over, dragging its feet, wandering step by step like a decaying ghost.

It muttered in a hoarse, deep voice like a bullfrog:

"A friend of that wicked master, secretly standing at Master Regulus's door."

They're just like that thief Mundungus Fletcher; they're definitely trying to steal something.

Kreacher rubbed his eyes and whispered:

"My poor mistress, if she knew from beyond the grave, what would she say to old Kreacher about her son bringing scum into the house?"

Mudblood, Werewolf, liars, and thieves—poor old Kreacher, what can he do...?

"What are you saying? Speak up, Kreacher," Hermione asked with concern. "Are you unable to walk?"

She looked at Kreacher, who seemed so old, and assumed he was unwell and needed help.

But Kreacher's light-colored eyes suddenly widened, and he began to mutter faster than before.

"The Mudblood were talking to Kreacher as if she were my friend."

What would Kreacher's mistress say if she saw him speaking to such a person?

William raised his finger, about to shut Kreacher up, when a furious roar came from behind him.

"Shut up, Kreacher! If I hear ' Mudblood ' from your mouth again, I'll kick you out of here!"

Sirius walked over, raised his fist, and glared angrily at Kreacher.

As soon as Kreacher saw Sirius, he immediately bowed deeply, so low that it was almost comical, his large, pig-like nose flattened on the ground.

"Get up now," Sirius said impatiently. "Didn't I tell you not to come near my room?"

"Kreacher's cleaning up." The House-elf glared at him hatefully. "Kreacher has served the noble Black family his entire life."

"So? The house gets dirtier every day? And this is how you clean it?" Sirius said dismissively.

"Young Master always likes to crack a little joke." Kreacher bowed again, then lowered his voice and muttered:

"Is the young master a despicable, ungrateful scoundrel? He broke his mother's heart."

"My mother has no heart? Kreacher," Sirius sneered. "She lives entirely on resentment."

"No matter what the young master says," Kreacher muttered, "The young master isn't even worthy of wiping his mother's shoes."

My poor mistress! What would he say if he saw Kreacher serving the young master?

Sirius was clearly no match for Kreacher. He was about to curse his elderly mother when William spoke up:

"We don't know what your mistress will say, but the angrier she gets, the happier we are."

I heard from Sirius that he's going to tear down this old house in a few days and build a three-story house instead.

We also want to invite our Muggle neighbors to come over and visit.

Sirius paused for a moment, then nodded, as if he really had this idea.

Kreacher opened his eyes wide and cursed:

"Despicable young master? You can't do this! This is the Black family's ancestral home! It has a history of over a thousand years, it can't be demolished!"

You beast! You good-for-nothing brat!

"Of course we can tear it down," William said with a devilish grin, his voice trailing off.

"Shall we also paint a fire-breathing dragon and nine suns in your mistress's portrait?"

Oh? By the way? I heard from Draco that his grandfather, Black Malfoy, had a crush on you, Mistress, when he was young.

I'm on good terms with Draco; I can ask him for a painting by his grandfather to place next to your mistress's portrait.

His grandfather died of Dragon Pox. I wonder if it's contagious between people? Don't let it infect your mistress and husband."

Kreacher was trembling with rage. Despite the sweltering heat, he was covered in cold sweat, his hands and feet were ice-cold, and tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.

Just as he was about to curse William, William added:

"I also need to move the Fat Lady and Cadogan over here so they can keep your mistress company."

The Fat Lady is Zaun witch who loves to argue with others in the middle of the night. You can have her engage in a real-life online battle with your mistress.

And there's Sir Cadogan, he's a dragon knight, he'll get along well with your mistress."

Kreacher swallowed his words, glared at William with hatred, muttered "devil" over and over, and walked away in fear.

Sirius raised an eyebrow and whistled, "You're something else, William."

"Don't argue with Kreacher. Attack what he cares about most, and he won't dare to insult you," William said.

Sirius nodded thoughtfully. "How about we do it now and send Sir Cadogan over?"

"..."

William glanced at him and said speechlessly, "I was just saying, but that's your mother."

"I don't have a mother," Sirius said coldly.

"When I was your age, I ran away from home and moved in with James. She was eager for me to leave so she could leave all her inheritance to my brother."

Sirius sighed:

I don't like the Black family.

The tombs they built were more magnificent than the houses of the living; they recounted the ancient names on their genealogy scrolls with more affection than they would their own children.

A wizard so cold-hearted towards family is bound to decline and his family line to die out.

William patted Sirius on the shoulder and comforted him, "I believe that the Black family will change starting with your generation."

Sirius paused for a moment, his expression softening as he looked at the three young wizards before him, as if they were old friends, and smiled:

"Yes, that's why I cherish my life now."

Having confirmed the information, William took his leave with Hermione and Anne and departed from Black's old house.

This time, Hermione Apparition, and the three of them appeared at the cabin in Ottery St Catchpole.

As expected of a typhoon, even this area was affected, with torrential rain falling from the sky.

But they didn't go inside immediately. William conjured up a long bench, and the three of them squeezed together under the eaves, whispering among themselves.

William looked at the puddles below the steps and said softly:

"Anne, after Hermione and I leave, you should try to stay close to Kreacher; he might know where the pendant is."

Anne nodded.

"Anne, you need to be nicer to Kreacher," Hermione added.

This time, Anne didn't nod, but asked, puzzled, "Hermione, he was just cursing at us..."

"That's Sirius's fault," Hermione said bluntly.

He never saw Kreacher as a being with the same sensitive emotions as humans.

"Kreacher has been living alone for a long time; he must be longing for some warmth."

"But Sirius treated Kreacher very roughly. Kreacher, in turn, treated him just as badly."

William tucked his hands into his sleeves, leaned back in his chair, and looked up at the rain.

He had to admit that Hermione was right.

From a security perspective, Kreacher is a ticking time bomb. He lives at the Order of the Order of the Phoenix headquarters and knows many secrets.

The safest course of action is to make him one of our own. Otherwise, kill him.

Otherwise, if we continue to treat him badly, something bad will happen sooner or later.

It's either Sirius or another member of the Order of the Phoenix.

"That's right." William nodded. "Anne, listen to Hermione, be nicer to Kreacher."

"William, you're always so good to me, you always support me!"

Hermione looked at William with excitement, then tilted her head back and quickly pecked the boy on the cheek.

William grinned and reached out to ruffle her hair.

"Hey, can you pay attention? I'm still here!" Anne said irritably. "Don't pretend you can't see me!"

Hermione raised her chin, defiantly saying, "Who told you to be here? You can go back to London, then you won't be able to see anything!"

"Hmph, I'm here to keep an eye on you two!"

Anne suddenly leaned forward, reaching out to catch the raindrops pattering down from the roof, and splashed them at Hermione.

Hermione gasped, stood up, and ran into the rain.

Her boots stomped on the bluestone slabs of the courtyard, splashing up countless tiny water droplets.

Anne yelled and chased after them.

Gazing at the two playful young girls, William smiled knowingly, his long, narrow eyes slightly narrowed, his expression gentle.

(Please give me your recommendation votes and monthly tickets, everyone.)

Thanks to "A Piece of Mo", "Little Lion Duck", "Book Friends 421439", and "The Man Under the Moon Has Passed" for their rewards.)