Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 195 Revisiting the Black Manor

"This is... Blake's old house?"

Harry stared at the building in front of him, unable to hide his surprise, his heart filled with indescribable complex emotions.

"Kid, you recognize this place?"

Moody suddenly became alert, and the magic eye spun even faster.

“Don’t do that, Mad-Eye,” Lupin stopped Mad-Eye from going any further. “Harry and I have been here before.”

Moody thought for a moment, then said dismissively, "Back when that little brat was still around?"

Harry, standing nearby, was instantly jolted by these words, his blood seemingly freezing again.

“Mad-Eye!” Lupin’s face darkened.

"Humph!"

Moody gave a heavy snort, but didn't continue arguing at the door.

"Come on! Hurry up, we didn't pick you up from your aunt's house so you could just stand here and do nothing!"

Moody roared and poked Harry in the back with his wand.

Harry walked up the broken stone steps, staring wide-eyed at the newly conjured door—it was even more dilapidated than the one he had seen last time.

Lupin drew his wand and knocked on the door. Harry heard a series of loud metallic clanging sounds, like the rattling of chains, and the door opened.

“Go inside, Harry,” Lupin whispered.

Harry stepped across the threshold and into the almost completely dark foyer.

He also turned his head to look at the people behind him, and saw them filing in one after another.

"Don't go in yet, let me turn on the light first."

As Lupin spoke, he pointed his wand at the wall, and the next second, the room was brightly lit.

Harry then saw the entire first floor of the old house: all the lights on the walls were turned on, illuminating the thick and luxurious carpet beneath their feet.

The group continued walking forward. The several flower-shaped candlesticks at the corner were not much different from the ones Harry had seen last time. The huge chandelier was only half lit, which Harry guessed was to avoid disturbing others. However, the light still illuminated the huge glass display case in the living room, where snuff bottles, porcelain vases, music boxes, exquisite seals, and other items were neatly arranged.

The leather sofa is decorated in silver and green, and there is even a vase of blooming flowers and a pot of steaming tea on the table.

Overall, apart from the silver-green velvet curtains and other green accessories, it's hard to tell that this is a Slytherin house.

With a series of hurried footsteps, Ron's mother, Mrs. Weasley, emerged from a door at the other end of the hall. She looked excited and quickly reached Harry and the others, her face beaming with a warm smile.

“Oh, Harry, it’s so good to see you!” she whispered, then pulled Harry into a tight hug that nearly broke his ribs. She looked him over carefully. “You look thin. You need to eat more, but you’ll probably have to wait a while before you can have dinner.”

"It's okay, I'm not hungry yet." Harry forced a smile.

Lupin and the others greeted Mrs. Weasley and then headed toward another door. Harry wanted to go too, but Mrs. Weasley stopped him.

“No, Harry, only members of the Order of the Phoenix are allowed to attend the meeting, but Ron and Hermione are upstairs, you can go up and say hello to them!” Mrs. Weasley whispered.

Seeing Mrs. Weasley's slightly apologetic expression, Harry didn't insist on asking anything. He obediently followed her upstairs, his gaze lingering on the wall for a moment until they arrived at a door.

After Mrs. Weasley came downstairs, he reached out his hand toward the doorknob.

As soon as he pushed open the door, a clump of fluffy hair blocked his view—Hermione pounced on him, nearly knocking him over, while Ron's owl excitedly circled around his head.

“Harry, you’re finally here! Is everything alright? Are you angry with us? You must be angry, I know what we said was all useless nonsense—but I’m still sorry, Dumbledore told us to promise not to say anything. But I have something very important to tell you. I’ve checked carefully, and they have no right to expel you. Under no circumstances should a young wizard use magic when their life is threatened—”

Hermione launched into a torrent of words at Harry, until Ron stepped in to interrupt, closing the door behind him. Harry noticed that Ron had grown a few inches taller.

“What organization has this place become now…?” he asked Ron and Hermione.

“The Order of the Phoenix,” Ron Howe answered without hesitation.

“It’s a secret society,” Hermione added. “It’s run by Dumbledore, and it’s the society he created. It’s a group of people who fight against the Void.”

Harry nodded, his expression somewhat hesitant...

"...Have you received any...information?" Harry mumbled the name, and judging from Mad-Eye's tone just now, her background...

Seeing Harry's conflicted expression, Ron and Hermione immediately realized what was going on.

Hermione's face turned deathly pale, and Ron had no choice but to step forward, "...almost the entire Order of the Phoenix knows...Dumbledore couldn't possibly have kept this from them..."

"...Sirius was furious... He wanted to take down the tapestry that very day—the tapestry that recorded the names of his family members, he didn't want that name... to appear in the old house... But he didn't succeed, he could only cover it with a cloth."

"My parents were also surprised... They actually liked it after all..."

The more Harry listened, the more he felt like a huge wad of cotton was stuffed into his heart, making him increasingly irritable.

“I just went upstairs and found that all the photos had been taken down…” Harry thought he was stating the obvious, but Ron answered anyway.

“It was Kreacher who kept those photos… He stuffed them all into the basement.”

"What have you been doing these past few days? Could you possibly be attending meetings?"

"No, no, no!" Hermione finally came to her senses. "We're not qualified to attend the meeting. We've been busy tidying up this house these days."

"tidy?"

Harry was a little surprised; the house didn't seem to need any tidying up.

"...We've stayed here before. Although Dumbledore didn't find anything, they still need to set up a silencing spell for their meeting...so we still need to check it carefully again..."

Harry nodded silently.