After cleaning it out, he made a trip to a nearby Muggle supermarket to restock the fridge with fresh groceries.
When he returned, the house was almost unrecognizable—it was orderly, fresh, and spotless.
By the time he finished, it was around eight in the evening. Outside, the quiet street was lit by glowing streetlights, with the first signs of Christmas decorations hanging from houses. Sirius strolled down the road carrying a box of pizza, whistling a tune. When he opened the door and stepped inside, he froze in his tracks, looking around with wide eyes.
He backed out of the house, checking the number on the door, thinking he had walked into the wrong place. Everything was clean—the furniture looked new, the air was fresh, and even the lights seemed brighter.
But the thing that surprised him the most was the Christmas tree by the fireplace. Decorated with small ornaments shaped like lions, snakes, eagles, and badgers, the tree sparkled with a golden star on top.
"Alex?" Sirius called out, unsure if this was some kind of elaborate prank.
Alex appeared from the kitchen, casually carrying a plate of roast lamb chops, wearing an apron. He set the lamb down on the dining table and said in his usual deadpan tone, "Ah, you're back. Your oven works fine, by the way. It's actually pretty good."
Sirius stared, still trying to process what had happened. "What... what did you do to my house? I've only been gone for a few hours! And what's with the Christmas tree?"
Alex blinked, confused by Sirius' reaction.
"Your house was a mess, so I cleaned it up a bit. As for the tree, I saw an old man selling it at the supermarket. I figured you didn't have any Christmas spirit, so I got one. I made the decorations using Transfiguration. Not bad, huh?"
Sirius was speechless. He rubbed his eyes as if trying to wake himself from a dream.
"A little cleaning? You redecorated the whole house! This is... this is..." He trailed off, still in shock.
"Are you going to eat or not?" Alex asked, taking off his apron and sitting down at the table, clearly unbothered.
"Yeah, yeah, let's eat," Sirius replied, shaking his head. He sat down, eyeing the lamb chops before stuffing one into his mouth.
"This is really good, but I still need to know—how did you manage all this?"
"It's simple," Alex explained nonchalantly.
"I broke the pistachios into small pieces, pan-fried the lamb chops in butter and rosemary until they were golden brown, coated them with the pistachios, and roasted them in the oven. I went for medium rare—though, if you prefer raw, I can adjust for next time."
Sirius raised his hands in mock surrender.
"No, no, medium rare is perfect. But seriously, thanks for doing all this. I wasn't expecting it, but it's nice."
Alex shrugged, clearly unbothered by the praise.
"Just figured if I'm staying here, might as well make it livable."
As they ate, the house felt much more like a home—warm, clean, and with the faint scent of Christmas in the air.
"But still…. How did it get this spotless in just a few hours? My God, it's cleaner than when I first bought the place!"
"We're wizards, remember? Isn't cleaning just a flick of a wand?"
"Sure, sure," Sirius said, shaking his head in disbelief. "But this isn't like any cleaning spell I've seen. The carpet stains—completely gone. It's like the house was rebuilt!"
"That's because I have my own special cleaning spell," Alex said with a playful grin, keeping his secret technique mysterious.
Sirius, still not fully recovered from his shock, wandered from the living room to the kitchen, touching every surface as if to confirm it was real. It was clear he hadn't seen his home so clean in years.
After Alex cleaned the table from dinner, he hesitated for a moment before speaking again.
"Sirius, I need to talk to you about something serious."
Sirius turned from admiring his newly cleaned kitchen and, with his usual cheerful tone, said, "What is it? You've already mastered housework and cooking, so what's left? You're practically a housewife—what more can you do?"
Alex, rolling his eyes, retorted, "I'm not here to talk about my cleaning skills. It's something important. I overheard some chatter about the Death Eaters planning an attack on members of the Order of the Phoenix around Christmas."
Sirius's face instantly shifted from playful to serious. "Are you sure? How do you know all this while at Hogwarts?"
Alex, smirking a little, replied, "Remember, I'm a Slytherin, Sirius. You pick up on things in that house."
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "So, what exactly did you hear?"
Alex gestured toward the fireplace and took a seat on the sofa. He waited for Sirius to join him before continuing. "I overheard a senior in Slytherin, Quick Wilkes. He said his family was talking about an attack, something to do with the Death Eaters. Do you know a Wilkes?"
Sirius frowned. "Wilkes, huh? He was always hanging around with Snape, Avery, Mulciber, and the rest of that crowd. I've suspected him for a long time. But the Ministry of Magic never moves unless there's concrete proof. They all wear those blasted masks during their attacks, so without catching them in the act, it's hard to pin anything on them."
Alex couldn't hide his disbelief. "So, you're telling me you can know who these Death Eaters are, but unless they're caught in the act, they just walk free? Even if they're right in front of your face?"
Sirius gave a bitter nod. "Exactly. But things have been changing since Millison Barnold became Minister of Magic. His administration, along with Dumbledore's constant lobbying, has made it harder for these Death Eaters to operate in the shadows. Still, the Ministry's hands are tied unless they have solid evidence."
"Why can't you detain them under the guise of assisting in an investigation?" Alex asked, surprised at how slow and bureaucratic the Ministry seemed to be.
Sirius sighed. "It's not that simple. Many Death Eaters are from influential pure-blood families. They have connections in the Ministry and on the Wizengamot. Even with Barnold's improvements, there's still a lot of fear and corruption."
Alex thought for a moment, then suggested, "You should alert the Order of the Phoenix as soon as possible. Even if it's just a rumor, being prepared might give you the upper hand."