[62] The Measure of a Man

Harry and Ron's certainty that Sirius would lose wasn't blind trust in Hall. It was based on their year-long experience as classmates.

The house-elves at Hogwarts were incredibly attentive to Hall, seemingly worried he wasn't eating or dressed warmly enough. When Harry went out at night and wanted something from the kitchen without Ron or Hall's company, he got dry bread. With Ron, he could get something hot. With Hall, it was a feast.

Once, they'd even set up a huge pot in the kitchen — Hall called it a hot pot. They ate with great gusto. Because of Hall, Harry, Hermione, Draco, Blaise, and the others were all adept at using chopsticks. Hall even had his own special bowl and utensils in the kitchen. While they ate, the house-elves would stand guard on the path leading to the kitchen.

Harry had experienced this treatment more than once. He silently swallowed his midnight snack, mixed with tears. On the bright side, Draco Malfoy's treatment was similar, which gave Harry some solace.

Although they didn't know how Hall had managed it, with the Hogwarts house-elves as precedent, Harry and Ron believed Hall taming a house-elf would be a piece of cake.

Sirius grinned smugly as they hid at the bottom of the stairs, waiting to see Hall make a fool of himself.

"Thank you, Kreacher."

"It is Kreacher's honour to serve the great gentleman!"

Sirius blinked. What had he just heard? Kreacher spoke like that only to his parents. He must have misheard.

Kreacher — a loyal pure-blood supporter, influenced by Walburga, exceptionally radical and rigid. Sirius nodded, sure he'd see Hall make a fool of himself.

Hall walked calmly up the stairs. His hands were empty.

Sirius's smile widened. He knew it!

Then Kreacher followed behind Hall. Sirius's smile froze.

"Impossible, impossible, impossible..." Kreacher, who hadn't given Sirius a kind look since he returned. He cursed him daily. If Sirius weren't the sole heir of the Black family, he was sure Kreacher wouldn't even bake him bread.

When Sirius saw the plate in Kreacher's hand overflowing with delicacies, he swallowed hard.

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"Merlin's beard! The discrimination is too obvious!"

Hall stood before the three, arms crossed, raising an eyebrow. Kreacher placed a large tray on Harry's table. As for the snacks Sirius had brought earlier, Kreacher conjured them away with a look of disgust.

"How could you let your esteemed gentleman eat this!" he said, giving Sirius a disdainful glance.

Sirius pointed at himself, incoherent with rage.

Kreacher teleported away. Sirius looked down to find comfort on Harry's face — but Harry was gone. He and Ron were already seated, holding drinks, sandwiches, and roast meat, eating heartily.

"Sirius, come and eat! There's so much bacon! It smells amazing!"

"Hall, try this, it's delicious." Ron handed Hall a drink.

Hall took a sip. Sweet and sour — quite good. He waved the drink at Sirius.

Sirius snorted, then plopped down and began to eat voraciously. Kreacher's culinary skills were undeniable. Hall sat to the side, smiling, watching the three devour the entire plate.

"Sirius, can you stop looking like a starving ghost!" Ron complained.

"I'm eating my own food, what's wrong with that!" A large piece of steak dangled from Sirius's mouth.

After lunch, Hall asked Kreacher to clean Harry's room. Kreacher was moved to tears. "Your Excellency, to actually trouble Kreacher! It's an honour!"

"Typical cunning Slytherin." Sirius rolled his eyes and led everyone to the broom shed.

Hall patted his coin purse. A thousand Galleons wasn't much for Hall, but seeing Sirius so angry made him feel like he'd hit the jackpot. He didn't truly dislike Sirius — he just found it amusing to tease a grown man.

Hall had used a private meeting with Kreacher to inquire about Regulus's room. Unfortunately, Kreacher refused to reveal a single detail.

The fragment, inside the Split Doll, was left in the Burrow's garden, keeping company with the gnomes. Hall hadn't originally intended to concern himself with the locket's affairs. But he remembered that everything his brothers and family had suffered stemmed from Voldemort. Voldemort's existence would disrupt the entire market economy. Even his treasury — Malfoy — would be seized.

Since that was the case, better to eliminate Voldemort completely before anything began.

Hall rubbed his temples. The problem now was that Kreacher's loyalty was good for secrecy but a headache for gathering information. Perhaps he could start with Walburga Black?

He glanced at Sirius, playing with Harry and Ron. Given Sirius's relationship with the Black family, he probably knew nothing.

"The sun is too strong. I'm going inside to rest."

"Weakling," Sirius scoffed, finally finding a reason to criticise Hall. "Harry, we probably can't be like that Hall. Come on, let's go play Quidditch. That's the sport of the brave."

Harry pursed his lips. "Hall won the last Quidditch match for Slytherin."

"What?! He's that weak?! I could knock him over with one finger!"

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