Harry Potter: I started checking in from Diagon Alley

Harry asked Eric, "Eric, are you staying today?"

Eric shook his head and said, "No, I have something to do with Sirius."

"...Will you come to watch the World Cup?" Hermione asked as well.

“Of course,” Eric laughed. “Sirius and I will both come after it’s over.”

Harry said, "See you then, Eric."

"see you then."

Eric turned around and went out with Sirius, then Apparated away.

……

A few minutes later.

Grimmauld Place, London.

The streets are brightly lit.

In an inconspicuous corner, Eric and Sirius landed at the same time.

Sirius led Eric to a row of townhouses, took a slip of paper from his pocket, and handed it to Eric.

An address was written on that piece of paper.

“Remember it,” Sirius said.

Eric glanced at it, and the note immediately burst into flames and disappeared.

Immediately afterwards, Eric looked up again, and right in front of him, a gap suddenly appeared in the middle of the townhouses, revealing the original appearance of a complete villa.

The house number on the villa reads: 12 Grimoire Place.

There was nothing here before Eric memorized the address.

The villa's decor is quite unique, maintaining consistency with the surrounding architectural style while also possessing its own distinctive features.

"The Curse of Unwavering Loyalty?" Eric asked.

Sirius nodded and said, "Yes, a rather special form. Now you are the keeper of the secrets of the Black family mansion."

"Is it alright for me to be the custodian of confidentiality?"

Sirius Black pouted and said, "Don't be silly."

After saying that, Sirius led Eric into the villa.

Upon opening the door, a musty, aged smell wafted out, indicating that the villa had been uninhabited for a long time.

The villa's ceiling, doorknobs, and surrounding furnishings were all covered in dust and cobwebs.

However, traces of life still remain inside the villa.

In the foyer, a huge portrait hangs, depicting a seemingly mean and acerbic witch. Below the portrait is the witch's name: Walbuga Black.

The portrait was so conspicuous that everyone who walked through the gate could see it at a glance.

At the same time, the portrait presents an extremely strong contrast with other objects in the surrounding area.

No matter how dirty or messy the surrounding objects were, the portrait remained spotless and radiant.

It is evident that someone has been maintaining and caring for this portrait for many years.

Upon seeing Sirius Black, the witch in the portrait, who had been sleeping with her eyes closed, suddenly awoke and roared, "You dare come back! You're a disgrace to your family!"

“My mom,” Sirius said, pointing to the portrait with a look of disgust.

The next second, with a soft snap, an old and frail house-elf appeared out of thin air in front of Eric and Sirius.

The house-elf was draped in a tattered cloth, and its expression was almost identical to the portrait of Sirius's mother, making it impossible to feel any affection for it.

“Kreacher welcomes Master back.” The house-elf named Kreacher bowed deeply to Sirius.

After saying that, he lowered his head and muttered to himself in a different tone, "Look, that scoundrel who has ruined the family's reputation is back. Poor Kreacher has no choice but to obey his orders. He has also brought back a Mudblood friend. If the mistress sees this, she will be very sad."

Chapter 156 Regulus Black

Sirius was furious when he heard Kreacher's words. He pointed at Kreacher and shouted, "Kreacher! I don't want to hear you call Eric a Mudblood!"

“Yes, yes, Kreacher will obey his master,” Kreacher replied, then his tone shifted to something else entirely, “It’s truly pathetic that the heir of the Black family would defend the Mudbloods. If the mistress were to see this…”

Sirius was furious, but he was helpless against Kreacher. He said to Eric, "He's old and mentally unstable. He served the Black family his whole life and has to listen to me, but I don't like him very much."

Upon hearing Sirius's words, the witch in the portrait roared loudly once again.

A torrent of filthy words poured from her mouth, raining down on Sirius and Eric.

Sirius, undeterred, took out his wand and waved it.

A thick layer of black gauze, which had been hanging horizontally above the frame, fell down and obscured the portrait.

The black gauze also has a certain sound insulation effect.

The voice coming from the portrait has now become a muffled, hesitant sound, making it impossible to understand what is being said.

Sirius said, "My mother's portrait is permanently fixed to the wall and can't be taken down, so this is the only way I can deal with her."

Eric waved his hand dismissively, of course he wouldn't take Kreacher and Sirius's mother's attitude to heart.

He accompanied Sirius to the Black family's ancestral home this time in order to find one of Voldemort's Horcruxes.

The portrait was just an inanimate object, and Kreacher's attitude towards him had no bearing on his goals.

As long as Kreacher continues to regard Sirius as his current master, he will have no choice but to obey Sirius's orders.

Slytherin's locket, one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, is Eric's true purpose for this trip.

After Voldemort crafted this locket into a Horcrux, it was stolen by Regulus Black, who was a Death Eater at the time.

Kreacher's previous owner was Regulus Black, Sirius's younger brother.

Sirius said, "What did you say you were looking for here? I asked Kreacher to help you find it."

After saying that, Sirius said to Kreacher, "Kreacher, I command you to answer Eric's questions and help him find what he wants."

“Yes, Master,” Kreacher said through gritted teeth.

He was very unwilling, but he had no choice.

House-elves like Kreacher have different values ​​than humans.

They were born considering themselves slaves and took pride in it.

Based on this, a social system developed that depended on wizards for survival.

For example, right now, although he was unwilling, he still set a rule for himself: he had to carry out the orders of his current master, Sirius.

In the original story, Kreacher's thinking eventually changed, but he still regarded Regulus Black as his master.

When it comes to house-elves, Eric chooses to set aside his desire to help others and respect their fate.

Last year, Harry met a house-elf named Dobby.

Dobby is a rare house-elf who is able to recognize self-esteem, making him an anomaly among house-elves.

Eric respects Dobby's sense of self when dealing with house-elves like him.

But Eric wouldn't stop Kreacher from treating him like a slave.

This was his own choice, and Eric did not force him to change.

Eric asked with a smile, "Regulus Black used to live in this house too, didn't he?"

Kreacher shuddered, looked at Eric in shock, then realized what was happening and replied, "Yes... Young Master Regulus is also Kreacher's master."

Sirius asked in confusion, "Eric, you know Regulus? My brother is a Death Eater, why are you looking for him?"

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Eric said. “A few months ago, Dumbledore and I discussed what a wizard like Voldemort would choose to forge if he were to create a Horcrux.”

"The results of it?"

"The result is that I believe Voldemort considered himself the successor of all wizards. He held himself in high esteem and saw himself as the representative of all wizards. He also enjoyed collecting magical items of value and significance," Eric said. "Dumbledore said that Voldemort had a habit of giving such items as rewards to his subordinates. So we speculate that perhaps among these items are Voldemort's Horcruxes."

Sirius Black said, "Has Voldemort gone mad? Giving away Horcruxes so casually?"

Eric laughed and said, "On the contrary, this is the best way to hide Horcruxes. The key is that the person who receives the reward will not know that he has received a Horcrux. They will only think that it is a gift from the Dark Lord. If you were a Death Eater, would you not do your best to protect them?"

Sirius thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense. As long as the secret of the Horcrux isn't revealed, then his Horcrux is safe. But what does that have to do with Regulus?"

"It's just speculation, since Regulus was once a Death Eater, and he's your brother."

Sirius gave a mocking smile and said, "Then you might be disappointed. My brother is incompetent. Even though he became a Death Eater, he didn't do anything earth-shattering. In the end, he mysteriously disappeared. I heard he was killed by Voldemort, and died a very ignominious death."

Upon hearing this, Kreacher glared angrily at Sirius.

“But he’s a member of the Black family. Even if you don’t care, I don’t need to elaborate on the Black family’s influence. Voldemort values ​​Black’s support highly,” Eric said.

“That makes sense,” Sirius said.

Eric chuckled casually, “Just think of it as me coveting the Black family’s wealth. It’s like searching for a needle in a haystack. The Black family is full of talented people, so I have to look for them one by one. If I don’t find anything here, then my next target will be your cousin, Bellatrix.”

"Whatever you want, take whatever you need. I'm going upstairs to take a nap."

After saying that, Sirius stretched lazily and went upstairs.

After watching Sirius leave, Eric said to Kreacher, "I want you to find all the items that are related to Regulus Black."

“Yes…” Kreacher lowered his head deeply, his body trembling like a leaf.

Chapter 157 Slytherin's Locket

Sirius Black stopped caring what Eric was trying to do.

He really didn't care about the house or anything inside it.

He is the least Blake of Blake's Blake.

Sirius Black had no respect for his younger brother, Regulus, who was eager to become a Death Eater.

Given Sirius's straightforward personality, it's quite normal for him to make such a decision.

The entire Black family adhered to that pure-blood value system, which Sirius Black found quite repulsive.