As soon as Sirius Black stepped into the dark and dusty hallway of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, he was greeted by a cacophony of shrieks and howls. The portraits that lined the walls, depicting various members of the ancient and noble Black family, woke up one by one from their slumber and expressed their outrage at his presence. Their screams were like the noise produced by the machinery in a Muggle factory running at full capacity, causing even the air to ripple with sound waves.
However, no voice from any of the portraits was more piercing than the voice of this old lady, who occupied the largest and most ornate frame at the end of the corridor. She glared at Sirius, who was sitting on the floor gasping for breath, with a look of pure hatred and contempt. Apart from the initial surprise, the old lady's mouth, which had lost many teeth over the years, opened wide and her loose yellow skin tightened around her bones.
"You…you, good-for-nothing, disgrace of the family, I gave birth to a bastard!" she spat, her voice raspy and shrill.
The old lady in the portrait bared her teeth and seemed as if she wanted to burst out of the canvas and take a bite at Sirius' neck. Her eyes were bloodshot and bulging, and her hair was a tangled mess of gray strands.
"You dare to come back here, you…you disgraceful bastard, filthy scum, get out of the house that our ancestors left behind!" she screamed, her voice echoing through the house.
Sirius's dark eyes suddenly ignited with fire. He stared at the distorted and cursed old lady in the portrait, and a surge of strength emerged from his weak and emaciated body. This strength made him raise his proud chin and slowly stand up, despite the pain in his limbs.
Sirius stared fearlessly at the old lady in the portrait, who was spewing out malicious curses and coldly said,
"Long time no see, my dear mother."
The old lady in the portrait suddenly held her breath, her expression as if she had been deeply insulted. Seeing her like this, Sirius felt a sense of satisfaction. He had always hated his mother, who had treated him cruelly and disowned him for his rebellious choices. But before he could say anything else, the old lady started screaming again,
"Kreacher, Kreacher, you damn thing, where have you been slacking off!"
Bang!
Under the dim and flickering light, the air suddenly exploded with a loud noise. Kreacher, the house-elf, squeezed through the air and appeared in the bustling corridor. He had apparated from somewhere in the house, obeying his mistress's call.
This house-elf looked old and worn out, with loose and excess skin that was several times more than what its body actually needed. Although its head was bald like all house-elves, a bunch of white hair grew out of its bat-like ears. Its eyes were bloodshot, watery, and grayish, and its fleshy nose was large, just like a pig's nose. It wore a dirty and ragged pillowcase, which barely covered its thin and bony frame.
Kreacher appeared next to Sirius, but it didn't even look at him. Instead, it respectfully saluted the portrait of the old lady and bent its waist so that its forehead touched its own feet.
"My esteemed mistress, Kreacher, have been waiting for your command." the house-elf said in a hoarse and low voice, like that of a bullfrog, and kept muttering under his breath,
"Kreacher did not slack off, my esteemed mistress. Kreacher has served the noble Black family all his life. Kreacher is loyal and faithful to his masters."
"Get rid of this mongrel, this rebellious spawn, out of my house!" the old lady pointed her index finger at Sirius' chest and shouted.
"Ah, it's you, young master–" Kreacher, who seemed to have just noticed Sirius, turned around slowly, reluctantly, and perfunctorily bowed. Then, it lowered its voice and continued muttering,
"Young master Sirius is a hateful and ungrateful scoundrel. He has hurt his mother's heart too much. Now, this despicable person has escaped from Azkaban and returned to my esteemed mistress's house. But why did he come back? He should have stayed in Azkaban and atoned for his foolish actions. He is not worthy of being a noble Black."
"Long time no see, Kreacher–" Sirius leaned against the wall opposite the portrait, covering his painful ribs, and said with a dark expression,
"To be honest, I'm a bit surprised. I thought you were already dead, But, you don't look much better now, You look like you've become senile–"
"Young master always likes to make jokes. Kreacher is not senile–" the house-elf spoke while bowing to Sirius, as if it was instinctual for it to do so.
"Kreacher noticed the young master as soon as he entered the house. If it weren't for the mistress's command, Kreacher would have wanted to hide and not come out, because Kreacher knows that the young master must have caused a big trouble again to run back here. Just like before, it will only make my respected mistress sad. Kreacher wishes the young master would leave and never come back."
While the old lady in the portrait kept shouting for Kreacher to kick Sirius out of the house, and Kreacher kept muttering, Sirius' face turned from yellow to blue, and he gritted his teeth and said to the old lady,
"Shut your mouth, or I'll command Kreacher to throw everything in this house, including your portrait, out!"
The old lady was stunned for a moment, as if she hadn't expected Sirius to dare to say such rebellious words. She gasped and clutched her chest, as if she was having a heart attack.
And Kreacher at Sirius's feet also showed an indignant expression, he was about to say something, but at that moment, another intense burst of fire suddenly appeared at the other end of the corridor, and the violent explosion made the entire house tremble!
"Yo-ho–"
A cheerful voice rang out from the flames, and a figure emerged from the smoke. He stomped his feet, hurriedly extinguished the flames on his sleeves, and looked at the dumbfounded Blacks and the dirty house-elf next to Sirius. He waved his right hand and smiled happily.
"Phew–it's not easy to get into this house for a visit. Sorry for interrupting your reunion."
He said, as if he had just popped in for a cup of tea, rather than breaking through a series of powerful wards and enchantments.
After a suppressed silence, it was the portrait of the old lady on the wall that first showed her power.
"A lowly, filthy mudblood like you, who are you, and who gave you the courage to break into my house? GET OUT!" she shrieked, her voice full of venom and malice.
'A lowly, filthy mudblood?'
Crack!
Bryan's face darkened, and a fine thunderbolt flashed in his purple eyes. A strong aura surged like a torrent from where he stood, making the air around him crackle with electricity.
The lights emitted by the gas lamps on the long corridor walls flickered madly as if being whipped by the wind, and one by one, the portrait frames hanging on the walls fell down with loud thuds. Although the frame where the old lady was located did not fall, it seemed as if it had been hammered by a giant fist, and cracks appeared on the precious mahogany frame, making the old lady's face look ferocious. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted directly in her own portrait, unable to bear the pressure of Bryan's magic.
"Who is this? So rude." Bryan said, as he walked with a dignified pace towards Sirius. He sounded annoyed, but not angry. He was used to dealing with people like the old lady, who clung to their outdated notions of blood purity and superiority.
"My mother. She has always been like this." Sirius replied dazedly, but then he regained his senses and looked at Bryan Watson approaching him. A chilling aura rose from the depths of his heart and spread throughout his body.
'How is this possible?!'
The first thought that came to Sirius' mind was this.
Putting aside how Bryan managed to follow him who used Apparition, the fact that he could break into this house was incomprehensible.
This house was where Sirius was born and raised. Since he could remember, everyone living in this house had always told him about the great efforts the noble ancestors of the Black family had made to protect this house. Everyone told Sirius that as long as the protective spells on the house didn't fail, it would be almost impossible for even Albus Dumbledore to enter!
Having been influenced since childhood, Sirius never doubted the reliability of the ancestral home. Otherwise, he wouldn't have thought of this place first when he was in dire straits.
But now, a wizard had actually broken through the powerful enchantments protecting this Manor and forcefully entered.
At this moment, Sirius finally understood why Albus Dumbledore had chosen this young man who looked barely twenty years old to an incredibly important position as the Director of Student Security Office!
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