The three of them followed Lupin through the door and into the nearly pitch-black interior.
There was a musty, grayish smell mingled with a sweet, rotting stench, giving the impression of an abandoned empty house.
Once everyone had entered, Lupin closed the door, plunging the entrance hall into complete darkness.
Suddenly, a rustling sound followed by a line of old-fashioned gas lamps lighting up, casting an eerie, flickering light over the long, grim hall, revealing peeling wallpaper and worn carpets.
Above, a cobwebbed chandelier emitted a dim glow, while crooked, darkened portraits hung on the walls.
Both the chandelier and a wobbly candelabrum on a nearby shaky table were designed to resemble a large snake.
As a group of wizards appeared with hurried footsteps, the leader, Sirius Black, greeted Alaric with a warm smile.
"Alaric is here, along with Miss Granger and Miss Delacour," he said, stepping forward and enthusiastically leading the way.
"Come in quickly. Many people here are eager to meet you."
The expressions of the wizards behind Black varied—some with pleasant smiles, some with surprise, and others with furrowed brows.
But Black paid them no mind and led Alaric and his companions to the living room.
The living room was much brighter compared to the entrance hall.
A few wizards and witches, standing or sitting around the fireplace, were engaged in conversation.
As the trio arrived, the room's occupants turned their attention towards them.
Alaric noticed several familiar faces—Alastor Moody was sitting by the door, his large, round, magically-enhanced eye glowing with an electric blue light, staring at them.
He also spotted Mrs. Weasley and Professor Snape.
Among the unfamiliar faces, Alaric recognized the youngest witch, who had a pale, heart-shaped face, sparkling black eyes, and striking violet hair cut in a spiky style.
Seeing Alaric, the witch shuddered involuntarily and took several steps back.
"Tonks, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Lupin asked with concern as he moved towards the witch.
"W-Why is he here?" the witch, named Tonks, asked in a low voice, her tone trembling despite her efforts to remain calm.
"Who?"
"That boy."
"You mean Alaric? He's here to see Black. Did something happen between you two?"
"No, nothing."
The witch silently moved to another corner of the room, as far from Alaric as possible.
At that moment, Alaric also recalled who she was.
She was a half-blood witch named Nymphadora Tonks, quite young, and a member of the Aurors.
Her special ability was that she was a Metamorphmagus, able to change her appearance at will, though not as freely as Merlin could alter his size, gender, or age.
Recalling her background, Alaric understood why she was so frightened of him.
It was something that happened during their third year.
Back then, Alaric had wanted to study Metamorphmagi.
After learning about Tonks from the original texts, he sought her out at the Ministry of Magic, conducting numerous experiments on her and even drawing several vials of her blood.
Although Alaric had compensated Tonks with a sum of Galleons afterwards, it didn't erase her fear.
Since then, she had been terrified of him, avoiding him whenever they crossed paths.
Meanwhile, Moody was loudly arguing with Sirius.
"Black, you can't bring outsiders in here," Moody bellowed.
"If they're followers of the Dark Lord, we could be in serious danger!"
"Alaric can't possibly be one of Voldemort's followers," Black explained impatiently.
"He has power comparable to Dumbledore's and is certainly not one to be subservient to Voldemort—something I believe I understand."
"Comparable to Dumbledore? How is that possible? He's just a child!"
Moody exclaimed, widening his one normal eye in shock.
"What Black says is true; I can attest to it," a dark-skinned, bald wizard standing next to Moody said in a deep, slow voice.
Alaric recognized him as Kingsley Shacklebolt.
"Just last year, he was summoned to the Ministry of Magic.
During that time, he single-handedly defeated dozens of Aurors in the Ministry lobby.
Fortunately, I wasn't among them…"
"And he also saved Harry from Voldemort," Mrs. Weasley added.
"Furthermore, you owe your escape from Barty Crouch to him," Snape added in his usual dark tone.
"If I were you, I wouldn't doubt Alaric so readily."
"But, but…" Moody stuttered, still reluctant, but he persisted.
"Can you be sure it's really him? If a Death Eater is impersonating him, it would cause a lot of trouble!"
"No one would impersonate Alaric, just as no one would impersonate Dumbledore," Kingsley said with a wry smile.
"That's right, and he is even more… decisive than Dumbledore.
If a Death Eater dared to impersonate him, his house might turn to flames the next day," Tonks added.
"Is that… how terrifying you're to them?"
Hermione whispered in Alaric's ear, unable to believe that these adult wizards were so afraid of him, even though he was kind and gentle.
Fleur, upon hearing this, gave Hermione a complex look.
"This guy is only gentle around you."
"And you too!" Hermione reminded.
"Yes, and me," Fleur said, casting Alaric a sidelong glance with a smile before continuing.
"In reality, his attitude towards anyone who dares to provoke him is quite different."
She had heard about the events at the British Ministry of Magic—her parents worked at the French Ministry, and the incident had spread as a joke among the French Ministry, given the strained Anglo-French relations.
It wasn't until later that she learned the boy beside her was the cause of the chaos.
Moreover, on the night of the Quidditch World Cup, after her sister went missing, Alaric had returned her to her side.
Gabrielle's description also mentioned how Alaric dealt with the Death Eaters' parade.
Although Gabrielle had her eyes closed at the time, she still picked up on some details.
Combined with her presence at the scene, she soon realized the cause of the Death Eaters' high casualties that night.
Yet, bound by her emotions, she chose to conceal the truth, and even Gabrielle was unaware of the full story.
But Fleur had indeed come to understand another side of Alaric.
In certain situations, he was truly capable of killing.
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