[61] A Father's Debt[61] A Father's Debt

They had no choice but to continue. The front door led to a long foyer, a row of old-fashioned gas lamps illuminating the way. The furniture, though worn, was well-maintained. Despite the bright sunshine outside, the warmth seemed unable to penetrate the ancient house. Similarly, it couldn't dispel the chill inside. Ron rubbed his arms — they were both wearing short sleeves in the middle of summer.

The first thing they saw was a huge portrait of the house's former mistress: Walburga Black. Even as a portrait, it was clear she had once been a woman with a bad temper. She stared wide-eyed at the newcomers, her mouth slightly open, as if about to speak.

"Hall! Ron!" Harry came rushing down the stairs.

Accompanying him were screams and curses from the portrait. Her insults were too vulgar.

"Let's go upstairs," Harry said, embarrassed.

"Shut up!" Sirius followed behind Harry and covered the portrait with a black cloth. "That blasted Kreacher must have secretly removed the cloth! If I could remove this portrait, I would have thrown it away already!"

Sirius turned and saw Hall and Ron. "Hi, Ron! Welcome! Harry has been looking forward to this!" He warmly hugged Ron.

Harry looked helplessly at Sirius's childish behaviour. Before leaving school, Hall had ripped Sirius off, and Sirius had held a grudge. Whenever Harry corresponded with Hall, he'd be stared at by Sirius's resentful eyes for a long time. Harry had started only corresponding with Ron, occasionally asking about Hall. That finally put Sirius, who was three years old mentally, at ease.

Harry led them to his bedroom. The entire Black mansion was decorated in typical Slytherin style — silver-green and snake-themed decorations everywhere. Harry's bedroom, however, was completely Gryffindor-style — warmly decorated in fiery red, creating two completely different atmospheres just a door away.

"Sirius decorated this for me," Harry said shyly, clearly happy.

The room had a comfortable carpet. Ron immediately pounced on it, rolling around and making satisfied sounds. "Harry, let's go play Quidditch in the yard later!" He couldn't wait to show off the moves he'd learned from Cedric.

Harry nodded excitedly. Although Sirius could play with him, Sirius always let him win.

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Hall surveyed the room, watching Harry and Ron chatter. The miniature figures Harry had made earlier had been given to his aunt's family in exchange — as long as his aunt wore them daily, Harry wouldn't appear before them. His aunt was more than happy to oblige. Magic always brought back bad memories for her. Meanwhile, although Harry was protected by a protective charm, Dumbledore had advised him not to leave Black's old manor during the holidays. It possessed every secrecy measure known to the wizarding world — it couldn't even be marked on a map. This was why, even though Sirius could buy a larger, more luxurious manor, he still brought Harry back to this place he had once tried so hard to escape.

"Hall — Hall?" Harry called several times. "What are you looking at?"

Hall kept staring out the window. Everything felt gloomy and dark. "Where is that?" He pointed at an upstairs window.

From the moment Hall had stepped into the old house, he'd vaguely sensed a magical energy. At first, he thought it was the Fidelius Charm or some protective spell. But the longer he stayed, the clearer it became that the fluctuation came from somewhere specific — a room upstairs.

"Huh? Where?" Harry looked. "That's Sirius's brother's room — Regulus Black's room."

Hall's hand clenched. He immediately realised what it was. The locket.

His eyes lowered, revealing nothing of what he was thinking.

"What's wrong, Hall?" Harry asked worriedly.

Hall looked up and smiled. "Nothing. Just wondering if your garden is suitable for Quidditch." He pointed playfully at the messy yard.

Harry smiled wryly. "Sirius and I tried to clean it, but Kreacher — the Black family's house-elf — he's incredibly stubborn. Every time we try to clean the yard, he shows up and throws a tantrum."

"Yes!" Sirius, carrying a tray of food, pushed open the door. "Harry, come help!"

Harry and Ron quickly took the pile of food and drinks and placed them on the table.

"Blasted Kreacher! I finally managed to steal some food from the kitchen." Sirius wiped his sweat and plopped down, as if he'd just fought a major battle.

"So fierce?" Hall felt a surge of curiosity. It was the first time he'd seen a house-elf with such destructive power.

Sirius rolled his eyes at Hall. "Go try it yourself. You'd be lucky to get a loaf of bread past Kreacher's defences."

"What are we betting?" Hall asked lazily.

"Heh..." Sirius had no idea Hall would win. His success was only due to his familiarity with the old mansion, while this Hall Weasley... "One thousand Galleons!"

Sirius remembered the Galleons he'd lost before. He was going to win them all back.

"Deal." Hall smiled slightly.

Harry and Ron couldn't bear to watch and covered their faces.

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