Together, they entered the Wizarding Platform, where Sirius was waiting for them.
Harry immediately went to him and gave him a big hug.
Sirius patted Harry on the shoulder, then looked at Ivan and spoke.
"Are you ready, Hales? We don't have to go to Kingdom Cross Station, we can just use Transfiguration here…"
"Of course, anytime! But where should we teleport?" Ivan asked. He knew Sirius's home address, of course, but he had to have been there before he could perform a Transfiguration, or there could be a deviation.
'Oh, I almost forgot. Lupin will take you then!' Sirius said awkwardly.
Fortunately, Lupin had to go this time, or he would not have had enough magic to transport the two of them so far.
"Ivan, remember to write to me during the summer holidays…" Hermione suddenly reminded him.
Then the little witch seemed to remember something and stared at him fiercely. "Don't you dare forget this time!"
"Of course, I promise! I'll write to you as soon as I get back, okay?" Yvonne nodded, as if she had committed the letter to memory.
Sirius watched this with a smile, and the little witch, having received a positive response from Ivan, pushed her suitcase and Ron through the connecting walls towards King's Cross Station.
Ivan, Lupin, Sirius, and Harry were left behind as the crowd dispersed.
Like Ivan, Harry did not plan to go straight home, but instead planned to stay with Sirius for a few days.
As for the Dursleys? Harry asked Hedwig to give them a letter two days ago, and they were so happy about it that they wished he would never return.
"Come on, we're going to Grimmauld Place!" Sirius said to Ivan and Lupin, taking Harry by the hand.
Lupin nodded, grabbed Ivan's wrist and waved his wand!
"Disillusionment!"
As the incantation was spoken, Ivan felt himself being sucked into a narrow space, his body spinning inside before being kicked out again.
When he came to his senses, he found himself standing in the corner of the alley.
'We're in luck. No Muggles have been through here!' Sirius said, looking around to make sure the alley was clear, and leading the way out.
Ivan, Harry, and Lupin followed.
Beyond the alley was a small square, somewhat run-down, with cracked and unattended stone tiles, through which weeds stubbornly poked, and only the distant sound of Muggle traffic horns could be heard.
"Sirius, are we there yet?" Harry asked.
"Yes, that's right! That's it, 12 Grimmauld Place…" Sirius said, looking at the mansions behind the square and pointing to a sign above one of the gates.
Ivan looked over and saw the mansion Sirius was pointing at.
It seemed that this place had not been designated as the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, and the Fidelius Charm had been placed on it. Otherwise, he would not have been able to see it.
However, the house had fallen into disrepair. The windows above were broken, and the walls were filthy. Even the paint on the door was peeling.
Harry was also looking at it with a look of astonishment, apparently having not expected the Sirius home to be so run-down.
Sirius cleared his throat and hurried to explain.
"Don't be fooled by the appearance of this house. That's because it hasn't been lived in for too long. After I take care of it with the Restoration Charm and the Dust-Removing Charm, it will be very comfortable here…"
"That's good, I can help later!" Harry didn't care what the house looked like, he was just surprised.
They climbed the ragged steps to the front door.
The front door was simple and unadorned, and for some reason it was covered in scratches. The silver knocker was shaped like a coiled snake, and there were no keyholes or letter boxes.
Sirius pulled out his wand and tapped it on the door, causing it to rattle and rattle, and a moment later the door creaked open.
"Alright, we can go in!"
Sirius casually led the way for Ivan and the others, but when they entered, he frowned.
Because the house was dark and filled with a musty, rotten smell, the floor and walls were covered in a thick layer of dust, and there were cobwebs in some of the corners.
Sirius noticed this, and his face fell.
Although he had been back before, he had been on his own and had only returned to pick up some things before leaving, not caring if the place was broken or not… plus, having lived at Hogwarts for so long, he had forgotten all about it.
"Clean it up!" Sirius hurriedly cast a spell with his wand.
A storm of magic swept through the living room, blowing a cloud of dust and sand into the air, where it formed a ball and flew out the broken window.
The dark living room suddenly became cleaner, though it was still a little messy.
Sirius, on the other hand, would be exhausted, gasping for breath as he looked around at the huge house.
For the first time, he wished the house were smaller so he could clean it…
'It looks like a lot of work, let's all help!' Lupin laughed at Sirius's pathetic state.
"Well, it would be quicker if we cleaned them separately!" Ivan suggested, taking the opportunity to find where the Horcruxes were kept.
Yvonne was pretty sure it was in this room, but she couldn't have memorized the exact location.
"What about me? I haven't learned that kind of magic yet…" Harry asked nervously. Sirius and the others seemed to think that cleaning was a different kind of magic than he thought.
But he doesn't know the Dust-Repelling Charm…
"It's all right, just stick with me, I'll teach you myself!" Sirius tried to comfort Harry after a short break.
Just as they were about to move, a low, tinny voice called out.
"…a truly disgusting smell of living flesh, as the horrid wastrel sets foot in the noble Black House with his dregs of friends.
The poor mistress would go mad with rage if she knew this… Poor old Kreacher couldn't stop them, what could he do…"