Hogwarts: A Chinese-Style Professor

Chapter 224 Vigil

Kreacher bowed slightly and led the two deeper into the mansion with steady, deliberate steps.

Harry stood behind him, watching all this in astonishment, tilting his head slightly to survey his surroundings—the eerie and chaotic atmosphere of the last expedition was completely gone, and now every corner of the mansion showed signs of meticulous care.

Kreacher finally stopped in front of a tightly closed, carved wooden door, slightly ajar, from which a warm and steady candlelight shone.

Kreacher stood by the door and stepped aside.

The interior rooms were decorated like a funeral hall, simple yet solemn.

The heavy curtains were pulled back a corner, letting in slivers of moonlight that mingled with the glow of the numerous white candles in the room.

In the center of the room, an open black coffin sat on a shelf, covered with a dark green velvet cloth embroidered with the Black family crest. Around it were many elegant white lilies, their cool fragrance mingling with the scent of beeswax.

Sirius was sitting in a high-backed chair to the side of the coffin.

He was also wearing a crisp black suit, and his hair was carefully combed, unlike his usual messy hair.

He turned his head when he heard the noise, and his expression seemed relatively calm.

"You are here."

Sirius Black.

Harry watched this somber scene, not understanding what had happened, and dared not speak.

Levi casually beckoned over two chairs, and he and Harry sat on either side of Sirius.

There were moments when the three of them didn't say a word, but simply watched the human body covered with velvet in the coffin.

Sirius Black was the first to speak.

Thank you for coming here.

His voice was soft, and it conveyed an unprecedented gentleness.

Harry looked at him and saw the candlelight flickering in his grey eyes—he had never seen Sirius like this before.

“I rarely talked about him with anyone before.”

Sirius Black spoke slowly.

Li Wei looked at the face covered by velvet in the coffin and imagined what a vibrant face it must have been.

"Regulus. In my foolish past, I always felt that he was a product of family domestication."

Obedience, following the rules, and adhering to those outdated pureblood dogmas—I loathe that family, I loathe their attempts to control me—to turn me into someone like them, to live the same life as them.

Why should I? I'm living a life they've never experienced, while I can see the end of their lives in the blink of an eye.

My mother and I had countless arguments—Regulus always stood quietly in the corner, watching it all unfold.

I hate him even more than my mother, who is always arguing with me.

I think he's cowardly and indecisive—everything about this family makes me feel restricted and angry.

The firelight illuminated Sirius's face. Levi leaned forward slightly to listen quietly. Harry glanced at his godfather, then turned to look at the velvet cloth covering the coffin—imagining what kind of face lay beneath it.

"But I forgot that he was only fourteen when I left home."

She was still that child whose eyes would light up when she saw me secretly modifying the flying broom, but who didn't dare ask any questions and could only watch from behind the door.

"Once, I got hold of a difficult-to-pull firework and lit it in the attic to see how it would turn out."

The sparks nearly set the tapestry ablaze, and I frantically shoved them out. Turning around, I saw him clinging to the top of the stairs, his face pale with fright—at the time I just thought he was cowardly, but now I think he was probably afraid I'd be discovered and scolded again.”

Harry looked at the coffin and imagined a thin, dark-haired boy trapped in the shadows of the old mansion, both idolizing his rebellious brother and tightly bound by family responsibilities.

He suddenly became curious about the face beneath the velvet.

"May I lift the velvet cloth and take a look—I want to see what kind of person he is."

"Of course—I don't think he'd mind. If he hadn't died, the three of us would definitely have become a family."

With Sirius's permission, Harry carefully lifted a corner of the velvet cloth—he was mentally preparing himself, thinking he might see a rather gruesome corpse, or perhaps just a skeleton underneath? He might be a little disappointed.

The velvet cloth was lifted. To Harry's surprise, a handsome and refined face appeared—though it seemed somewhat swollen from being in the water, its brilliance was still undeniable.

[Image of Regulus as a child]

"He's a handsome young man, isn't he?"

"yes."

Harry quickly put the cloth back—because he felt it would be impolite to stare at the dead body.

"He is actually very smart."

Sirius continued.

"He is especially good at potions, and Slughorn has praised him several times, but he never boasts about it in front of me."

At that time, I was only thinking about myself, and my heart was filled with anger and unhappiness. I had no intention of paying attention to his affairs at all.

Looking back now, I realize how utterly inadequate I was as an older brother—I shirked my responsibilities, only thinking of my own pleasure. His bravery was completely different from mine; I was such a fool.

"No—Sirius."

Harry reached out and placed his hand on Sirius's clenched hands.

"Don't say those things—no matter what you say or think, in my heart, you are a responsible person."

Do you remember? You told me that after I graduated, we would live together and become a family.

Li Wei sat on the other side, listening quietly, his fingers twitching slightly—the surrounding candlelight grew warmer and more stable in the silence.

"family."

Sirius was somewhat stunned, his expression complex.

Harry continued:

"Yes, family—and I think this is just like what I did with Peter Pettigrew at the beginning of the school year—just like my father would choose to forgive Peter and let him face justice. If Mr. Regulus were still alive, he certainly wouldn't want you to say that about yourself."

Although I don't know much about him, I believe you are one of the few people he cares about and values ​​in this world.

"Harry——"

Sirius suddenly hugged him tightly—his voice a muffled whimper behind Harry's neck.

"Yes, that must be it."

A moment later, he gently pushed Harry aside again, looked towards the door, and called out:

"Kreacher, could you come here for a moment?"

Kreacher, dressed in a suit, timidly entered the room—he was far more presentable than before, but had lost his former rudeness and malice. His hands hung limply together as he cautiously looked at the two men.

“Harry—let me introduce you to the third member of our Black family—the house-elf Kreacher.”

He put his arm around Kreacher and hugged Harry and the other two again.

Kreacher quickly burst into loud sobs.

Then, for some reason, Harry also started to cry.

Sirius sensed their emotions and began to tremble.

Li Wei sat to one side, not turning his head to look at this perhaps 'undignified' scene, but staring intently at Regulus under the velvet cloth.

At that moment, he had a strange feeling—these people were sitting here, discussing 'him' around Regulus's corpse, as if 'he' were still by his side.

Therefore, death may not be the end of life.

Forgetting is the answer?

Li Wei shook his head, trying to erase this absurd thought from his mind—when a person dies, it's like a lamp going out; everything afterward is meaningless.

just,

Regulus, is this what you want?
(End of this chapter)