bacchusnovels Chapter 521 Number 12, Grimmauld Place
Chapter 521 Number 12, Grimmauld Place
Chapter 518 Number 12, Grimmauld Place
12 Grimmauld Place, located in northwest London, just a ten-minute walk from King's Cross Station, was once a beautiful Muggle townhouse and is now the ancestral home of the Black family and a gathering place for members of the Order of the Phoenix.
The process of this transformation was not exactly glamorous.
Many years ago, a member of the Black family took a liking to this place and managed to "persuade" the original Muggle inhabitants to leave, and cast the Faithful Charm on the place.
It was outright robbery, consistent with the Black family's usual style.
"This place has been used as a meeting room for the Order of the Phoenix?"
"Um.
"My foolish cousin, if my aunt knew about this, she would be so angry that she would jump out of the portrait and then stuff him back into her belly."
Bella didn't hold back in her criticism.
As a former member of the Black family, this place was all too familiar to her.
even-
There is still a room in the house that has been reserved for her.
"Perhaps your aunt has already done so. But she can't reach Sirius."
As the two were talking, they arrived at 11 Grimmauld Place.
A dilapidated door suddenly appeared between numbers 11 and 13, followed by walls and windows.
If I had to describe this scene, it would be more like an inflatable castle in a children's playground, which expands from a two-dimensional object to a three-dimensional one in a short time, pushing everything on both sides aside in the process.
It's somewhat like a "blessed land" in Chinese mythology. Perhaps the wizards of the Dragon Kingdom have other means to achieve such an effect.
"Have you had it?"
"What? A reward from Master? I could have just finished every last drop!"
Bella licked her slightly dry lips, her pink tongue curling gently. Thinking about what happened in the office that morning, Sean even had a sudden urge to have sex with Bella again right there.
It is said that women in their thirties are like wolves and in their forties like tigers, and parched land needs rain even more.
"I said, compound decoction."
Sean restrained himself from acting impulsively; business was more important.
"Of course," Bella replied matter-of-factly. "I drank quite a bit."
The two walked up the stone steps. The black paint on the door had peeled off and was covered with scratches.
The silver door knocker was cast in the shape of a coiled snake, cold and silent, lying on the door panel. There was no keyhole or mailbox on the door.
Sean raised his wand and tapped it lightly.
In an instant, a series of crisp metallic clanging sounds came from inside, mixed with the rattling sound of heavy chains sliding.
Immediately afterwards, the door creaked open with a sharp sound that was particularly jarring in the silence.
"The fireflies are twinkling."
As the incantation ended, a row of old-fashioned gas lamps on the wall lit up, their dim yellow light illuminating the peeling wallpaper and worn carpet in the foyer. The chandelier overhead, covered in cobwebs, flickered faintly. Several blackened portraits hung crookedly on the wall, their indistinct eyes silently watching them.
"You've arrived? Phillips, Jorgins, welcome!"
With a series of hurried footsteps, Arthur emerged from a door at the other end of the hallway with Molly, beaming with joy and looking extremely happy.
boom-
Molly was still wearing an apron, as if she had just come out of the kitchen, and she was holding a hand towel in her hand.
"Why aren't the lights on?"
"We've only been here a short time, and... we don't want to wake anyone."
The two arrived almost one after the other.
Prior to this, the two left the Ministry of Magic at the same time. Arthur went home to pick up Molly, which delayed him a little, and Sean spent some time cleaning up the mess in the office.
Upon hearing "anything," Sean immediately understood.
This likely refers to...
"Director, Chief."
Footsteps sounded again from behind the door. Looking closer, I saw it was Moody.
Since the last incident, Sean granted Moody a month's leave to allow him to recover physically, and especially mentally. For an Auror as righteous and proud as Moody, the events of the previous semester were nothing short of a blatant humiliation.
It's only natural that it takes some time to adjust one's mindset.
"Moody, you're here. How's your recovery going?" Sean asked with concern.
Moody nodded, his expression still solemn, his magic eyes quickly sweeping over the group as if to confirm that everyone present was "himself".
Based on his current style and his behavior just now—
Everyone should have their identity verified, no matter who they are. But... the people in front of him are his two bosses who are also his "saviors".
Surely there isn't a mole among them?
"I haven't fully recovered yet," Moody said, his voice low and dry, "but we can't keep hiding. The rat is still crawling outside; it's better to take action than to hide."
Bella nudged Sean with her elbow, and Sean understood what she wanted to say:
It sounds nice, but when it really came down to it, it was still packed in a box for a whole year.
Sean was about to say something to comfort Moody when he heard hurried footsteps outside the door again—a large group had arrived.
Leading the group were Sirius Black, who had just finished his round-the-world trip, and Lupin, who had recently returned from a job trip to South America arranged by Sean—the three little ones whom Sean hadn't seen for a summer.
The three little ones gathered here because of the Dementor incident a while ago.
Although Sean had tried his best to avoid using Dementors to replace humans, due to manpower shortages, some Dementors were still deployed as auxiliary guards. Like the gears of fate, the convergence of timelines, these Dementors encountered Harry, and some things happened.
However, unlike in the original story, Sean, as the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, would naturally not prosecute Harry.
But Fudge didn't think so.
He saw this as a good opportunity to threaten Harry into not revealing what happened last semester.
Therefore, Sean had reason to suspect that Fudge had deliberately sent these Dementors to the vicinity of Privet Drive where Harry lived.
Due to their unique nature, Dementors are not under the jurisdiction of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and are directly commanded by Fudge.
Two of the three children looked around the gloomy room, while Hermione's gaze seemed fixed on Sean, unable to look away.
This summer vacation really showed her what it means to be—
No see in one day, like every three autumns.
"Harry, it's so good to see you."
Molly excitedly hugged Harry and looked him over carefully.
"You look like you've lost weight again. You need to eat more. But we have a meeting later, so dinner won't be ready for a long time."
"A meeting? What kind of meeting?"
Harry is still a bit confused; he doesn't yet know why Sirius brought him here.
"Oh—" Ron then realized he'd been so busy asking Harry about his encounter with the Dementors that he hadn't had a chance to explain, "This is the Order of the Phoenix's headquarters..."
Sean, who was standing on the other side, had already come to Hermione's side. Before she could say anything, he reached out and ruffled her hair roughly.
"Are you alright, Hermione? How was your summer?"
Hermione frowned slightly, complaining, but her expression revealed her enjoyment.
"Professor, I just fixed my hair."
While Sean and Hermione were chatting, Sirius came down from the second floor and approached Sean to indicate that a meeting was about to begin.
Sean led Bella and the others through two long, worm-eaten curtains and into a nearby conference room.
The three children, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, were led upstairs by Lupin after he whispered some instructions to them at the door. As they left, Harry looked back reluctantly.
The meeting room door closed gently behind them.
The room was already full of people.
Moody, Kingsley, Thomas, Emmeline Vance, Doug Chilwell—almost all the core members of the Order of the Phoenix were present.
In the very center of the round table, Dumbledore sat in a high-backed chair, his robes still slightly dusted with soot, as if he had just arrived via the fireplace.
Sean nodded slightly in acknowledgment, while Bella stood quietly beside him without saying a word.
"Let me introduce you," Dumbledore said. "These two are probably familiar to you—Sean Phillips, the current Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; and Bertha Jorkins, currently the Head of the Auror Office."
He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, and his tone shifted slightly.
"They will officially join us as members of the Order of the Phoenix."
Snap snap snap—
The applause was thunderous.
Looking down from the audience, one could see a large group of Order of the Phoenix members, all of whom were also members of the Ministry of Magic.
Sean finally understood Fudge.
Anyone would be nervous in this situation.
They're called the Society of the Phoenix, but to put it bluntly, they're the "One Heart Society," and launching a coup would be a piece of cake for them.
(PS: Il-shin Society, Il-shin Association, reference to Seoul Spring)
Amid applause, Sean and Bella slowly rose, bowed slightly to express their gratitude to those around them, and then slowly sat down.
Upstairs, the three little ones are having a discussion.
"What is the Order of the Phoenix?" Harry asked.
"It's a secret organization," Hermione explained immediately. "It was founded by Dumbledore. Most of its members are those who fought against Voldemort in the last Wizarding War."
"Who's in there?" Harry stopped, put his hands in his pockets, and stared intently at Ron.
"There are quite a few people," Hermione hesitated for a moment.
“We’ve seen about twenty,” Ron added, “but there are definitely more than that.”
Harry whirled around. "And then?"
"Uh—" Ron was a little confused, "And then what?"
"Voldemort!" Harry said matter-of-factly. "What is he doing? What does he want to do? What should we do? Is someone stopping him?"
Hermione said, "We've already told you that the Order of the Phoenix doesn't allow us to participate in meetings—so we don't know a lot of the specifics. However, we did overhear a little bit."
Seeing Harry's increasingly grim expression, she quickly added, "Really, we listened as much as we could."
"Fred and George invented something called a telescopic ear," you know," Ron interjected, "and it really works."
"Extend—?" Harry frowned.
“Yeah, extendable ears.” Ron nodded. “It’s a string that you stick one end into your ear and the other end against the crack in the door where you want to eavesdrop. But they don’t work anymore. Mom found out and was furious. Fred and George have to hide them to avoid them ending up in the trash.”
"But we did hear quite a bit before she found out," Hermione said. "The Order of the Phoenix is keeping a close eye on those Death Eaters whose identities have been exposed, closely monitoring their movements."
"Some of them are recruiting new members into the Order of the Phoenix—" Hermione continued, "For example, Professor Phillips and Director Jorgins came here as new members."
“And some people have been sent on guard duty,” Ron said. “They keep talking about guard duty—but we still don’t know exactly what they’re guarding. It’s different from the Ministry of Magic’s guard duty. You don’t know what’s been happening at the Ministry of Magic this past month without a radio. Just go to Diagon Alley and you’ll see. At least five out of every customer are spies posing as customers. You need to verify your identity to get into many places.”
Harry nodded, indicating that he understood.
"So what have you two been up to lately, since you couldn't attend the meeting?" He paused. "Didn't you say you were always busy?"
"It's been really busy," Hermione explained. "We've been giving this house a thorough cleaning. It's been empty for years, and it's accumulated a lot of—well, stuff. We've finally gotten the kitchen and most of the bedrooms clean."
I think I can deal with the living room tomorrow!
Before she could finish speaking, two crisp "snap! snap!" sounds rang out, and the air jolted violently.
Fred and George suddenly appeared, showing up in the center of the room without warning.
"Hello, Harry," George greeted with a grin. "Long time no see."
"You passed the Apparition test?" Harry asked, somewhat surprised.
"Excellent grades," Fred said proudly, holding something in his hand that looked like a long, flesh-colored rope.
"It only takes thirty seconds to walk down the stairs," Ron muttered.
“Time is Galleon,” Fred said matter-of-factly. Then he looked at Harry. “Anyway, Harry, you’re interfering with the reception.” He shook the string in his hand. “Extendable ear.” Seeing Harry raise his eyebrows, he explained, “We’re listening to what’s going on downstairs.”
It was only then that Harry noticed that the flesh-colored line extended all the way to the stair landing outside the door.
"You guys need to be careful," Ron said, staring at the retractable ear. "What if Mom sees it again?"
"It's worth the risk," Fred said nonchalantly. "They're having an important meeting."
As soon as she finished speaking, the door opened, and Ginny peeked in from behind it with long, fiery red hair.
She stepped into the room and turned to Fred and George to complain, "The extendable ear isn't working anymore. I was just listening to Professor Phillips's speech, and before he could finish, the sound cut off completely. I bet that room has been put under an anti-interference spell."
She spoke rapidly, her eyes sparkling, "Do you have any other ideas? I just heard Professor Phillips say something about 'assembling'..." but then it stopped.
"Listen less to Professor Phillips," George waved his hand dismissively. "Haven't you been sleeping with Phillips' column in the Daily Prophet every night this summer enough?"
Ginny's face flushed bright red, as vibrant as her hair.