The Evil Thoughts of Hogwarts and the Genie

Chapter 98 Christmas Eve at the Black House

Kreacher carefully polished the twenty-sixth gilded candlestick, reverently bringing out the serpentine pattern on its base.

Someone chuckled softly, as if finding his wide-eyed stare, bigger than the Golden Snitch's, quite comical. Kreacher quickly turned around; a boy stood behind him, shaking his head.

"Oh, Master Regulus—"

Before Kreacher could finish speaking, Regulus Black quickly made a "shh" gesture. The ten-year-old boy, clutching a dark, unidentified book, mouthed to the house-elf: What's for dinner tonight?

Kreacher nervously touched his ears; he still wanted to punish himself for not disappearing before his master appeared.

A good house-elf shouldn't be discovered by the wizard he serves, but it's not really his fault. It was the patriarch who ordered him to adjust all the wooden staircases at number 12 Grimmauld Place. Orion Black was a quiet man; he hated any unusual noises.

However, Kreacher resisted the urge to smash his head with the candlestick and instead gave his young master a fawning smile. He also mouthed to Regulus that he had prepared Regulus's favorite creamy lobster for the Black family's Christmas Eve dinner.

Regulus smirked and nodded at him. Before they could exchange any more words, the matriarch of the Black family raised her voice and told her youngest son to come to her side quickly.

Regulus clutched the book tightly and ran upstairs as fast as he could. He passed through the foyer and the dining room, and as he passed the row of dry house-elves' heads against the wall, he instinctively moved aside.

"Regulus Regulus! Come and meet your uncle." Volbuga leaned back lazily in a dark green egg-shaped chair. She possessed the Black family's signature beauty, with sharp black eyes and a dignified demeanor.

Only upon seeing her son did Volbuga's lips twitch, revealing a faint, ambiguous smile. She shifted slightly to the side, as if hoping her son would sit beside her. Regulus hesitated for a moment, but ultimately granted his mother's wish.

Walbuga then smiled, which relieved Alfard Black on the other side of the two-way mirror.

Alphad had a good relationship with both of his nephews, and as he listened to his sister's complaints, he winked at Regulus.

"Is Signas a fool? Why does he think Bella would want to marry Lestrange? Just because that kid is head over heels for her? Their family is going to be in trouble, you just wait and see."

Walbuga snorted coldly. Alfard didn't like hearing such strange talk, but he didn't dare to offend his domineering older sister.

"Look on the bright side, maybe he just wants the Lestrange family fortune," Alphad advised Black. "He's not stupid enough to arrange a marriage between Bella and Malfoy—I don't mean anything by it, I admire Bella too—but it would be a disaster, just imagine that, sister."

Upon hearing this, it was unclear whether she was amused or annoyed. She shook her head, then sat up straighter as if remembering something.

"So, Alphad, you received an invitation from the Soman family?" Volbuga's tone had turned considerably colder.

There was a hint of disdain in his voice.

Alfard's eyes darted around, and he said as if coaxing his sister, "That German? You know I suspected I burned his invitation, dear Wolbuga. I'm not as wealthy as you; I can't even afford firewood!"

This was pure nonsense, but Walbuga still found it amusing.

"Something that's beneath contempt—" She shook her head slightly. "He married a Dumbledore, didn't he? It's disgusting."

Seeing her evasive answers, Alphad sensed something was wrong.

"Orion accepted the invitation?" he asked, taken aback. "But... but I heard the Soman family even sent an invitation to the Avery family—that's not like Orion at all!"

Upon hearing this, Volbuga's face darkened. Alfard also fell silent, and a few seconds of silence ensued on both sides of the two-way mirror.

"—Okay, okay." Alphad tried to change the subject. "I heard his children are also studying in England,"

It's no wonder he was so eager to cultivate connections with British people.

"Although the timing of the banquet was not very respectable, he is currently in power, so it's normal for him to be a bit arrogant."

The more he tried to justify it, the more unhappy Walbuga became. The reason was simple: her husband, and also her cousin, Orion Black, was practically eccentric. It wasn't until he was seven that his family confirmed he wasn't mute. Undoubtedly, Orion's personality, no matter how talented, made him incompatible with politics. Therefore, although Orion was the current head of the Black family, he gradually lost his voice in the power arena, becoming less prominent than Signas, who had three daughters.

This naturally displeased Volbuga greatly, but what followed was even more unpleasant.

Alphad, who had no wife or children, took a spontaneous trip during Christmas, which was undoubtedly cool. When he spread out his hands to show Regulus the several oddly shaped seashells in his hands, even the introverted little Blake smiled.

Alphad doted on his sister's two sons, and looking at Regulus, he naturally thought of another little guy:

"Speaking of which, what about our rebellious king, little Sirius?" He chuckled dejectedly. "Has he realized his mistake?"

no respond.

To be precise, the two-way mirror suddenly went black, and the "magic call" was disconnected.

Alfard was almost completely bewildered by his sister's reaction. Even he hadn't expected that, to this day, Volbuga was still going strong...

Well, that's a rather conservative estimate. If it weren't for the need to maintain appearances even in front of her own brother, Volbuga would have smashed that expensive, broken mirror right away. Even Regulus, who was leaning against her, froze the moment he heard his brother's name.

Little Black glanced cautiously at his mother, Walbuga, whose face was filled with hatred, as if Sirius was not her beloved eldest son, but her most hated enemy.

So Regulus dared not say anything more.

Everyone knows that his older brother Sirius is the pride of the family. He has outstanding talent, handsome appearance, and aloof personality—he's practically a carbon copy of Volbuga. Just six months ago, Sirius was Volbuga's precious treasure, cherished like a precious gem.

Six months later, however, she hated him. She locked her eldest son in the bedroom because "I really don't want to see your dirty, stupid face roll back in, and you're not allowed to leave the house without permission." Even on Christmas Eve, when the family was together, Walbuga did not back down and was determined to give Sirius a lesson he would never forget.

This gave Regulus a very bad feeling.

Early this morning, before going downstairs, he tiptoed to Sirius's door and listened intently. Regulus wasn't sure what he wanted to hear—perhaps he wanted to say good morning to his brother to convey his concern, but because his mother strictly forbade family members from speaking to Sirius, Regulus moved his lips but didn't dare say anything.

Sirius's room was quiet; perhaps he hadn't gotten up yet? — Ten-year-old Black began his new day with a complex mix of emotions he himself couldn't understand.

If he had been a little braver, he might have spoken up for his brother to persuade his mother to compromise; but to be honest, although Orion was the head of the Black family, it was only in name.

In the family, big and small matters were always decided by the extremely domineering Walbuga. Regulus simply didn't have the courage, or even the thought, to oppose his mother's decisions.

Even though he greatly admired and even respected Sirius, all Regulus could do was secretly keep an eye on what his brother, who was in solitary confinement, was doing and whether he was crying in regret. That was all.

The somber atmosphere continued into the evening at the dinner table. Kreacher always managed everything in the Black household perfectly; the gilded candlesticks symbolizing the other twenty-seven sacred families floated in mid-air, making the serpentine candlestick in the center of the long table, engraved with the Black family crest, appear even more menacing.

Orion Black finally left his loyal study. The head of the Black family was also a handsome man, with a neatly groomed mustache and extremely cold gray eyes.

"Father, Dad," Regulus said respectfully. Orion glanced at him and nodded.

Sometimes, Regulus would doubt that his father actually had no feelings.

He himself didn't know why he thought that way, because he wasn't complaining or feeling that his father treated him badly or wasn't affectionate enough. To be honest, Regulus almost felt that a "not affectionate father" was normal. He had no memory of playing with his father at all, so why would he feel that something was wrong?

However, even a child Regulus's age could vaguely sense that his father wasn't interested in him. The fact that his father didn't spend time with them didn't mean he didn't love them; their mother always told him and Sirius, "Don't bother your father!" Kreacher also insisted, "Lord Orion has important things to do! He's very busy!" but those things had nothing to do with them.

Although Regulus sometimes couldn't help feeling that his father paid more attention to Sirius, he couldn't say he was jealous. Even Regulus preferred Sirius, perhaps even more than his mother—so it was perfectly normal for anyone to prefer Sirius over him.

Just as he was lost in thought, Walbuga smiled and tapped his wine glass lightly with his silver fork, the crisp sound making both father and son look up.

"Come, let us toast to family, love, purity, and Christmas!" she said, downing her drink in one gulp. Walburga loved fine wine, but couldn't hold her liquor. After that glass, her cheeks were flushed. "To the great Slytherin, to Merlin!"

Both wizards, one big and one small, obediently raised their glasses. Orion drank it all in one gulp, while Regulus took a small sip of the juice in his glass.

This glass of wine seemed to open up Walbuga's floodgates. Her mood improved considerably, and with her husband beside her, she no longer maintained the same aloofness she had when speaking to her brother. Walbuga softly chattered about various things, from Mrs. Nott's rather unfashionable new attire to the Mooresebers' growing impatience with their bunch of erratic Squibs; she then marveled at the Carrolls' good fortune in having befriended such a brilliant pure-blood wizard.

Orion listened quietly to whatever she was saying. He would occasionally cut a piece of venison and put it in his mouth, but most of the time he just watched his cousin and wife intently, his face showing no tenderness, but also great focus.

Regulus was already quite used to this kind of dining table. He bit into the tender lobster ball, a childlike joy welling up inside him, and glanced approvingly at Kreacher, who was trying to avoid the hosts' sight.

Therefore, little Blake did not notice when the conversation drifted to tomorrow's Christmas dinner.

Walbuga's expression was no longer as carefree as before. If the Black family were still at its peak, with the patriarch and brothers at the center of power, her pride would be more self-consistent, and she could freely mock Xinqian's trousers for still having mud spots on them;

But the Black family is now in a state of decline, if not exactly gone.

If Orion's inability to work for the Ministry of Magic was due to his eccentric personality, then the fact that her eldest son, on whom she had placed so much hope, had entered Gryffindor was, in Walburga's eyes, a resounding slap that could break her down—something that was neither easy to explain nor easy to resolve!

That was her eldest son!

He was her eldest son, similar in temperament and exceptionally talented! The more she had loved Sirius in the past, the more furious she was now. In a sense, Sirius's rebellion wasn't just "ruining" his own future; in Volbuga's eyes, it was tantamount to betraying the entire Black family!

What? Does having a high GRE score mean you can't have a bright future?

Imperfection is impure, and impurity is not Black.

Without a doubt, Walbuga was a rather extreme Blake. She was beginning to waver in her belief that her no longer-perfect eldest son was still worthy of inheriting the position of family head she and her cousin had maintained.

Fortunately, the current topic only reminded her of her current predicament and hadn't directly targeted Sirius. Volbuga coldly discussed tomorrow's arrangements, specifically giving Regulus a few pointers, urging him to perform well:

"That boy from the Soman family also studies at Hogwarts. Come to think of it, I remember he's a Slytherin too." Walbugar's tone softened considerably as he said this.

"From this perspective, his family isn't entirely depraved. Although he has Dumbledore's blood, he's a Slytherin, so it shouldn't be too outrageous."

"Regulus, next year you might want to observe young Soman and see what kind of person he is and what his stance is—"

Walbuga looked at her youngest son, Regulus, who, upon hearing his mother's call, turned his gaze away and obediently nodded.

However, this also led Walbuga to discover his interactions with Kreacher. Mrs. Black was somewhat displeased, or rather, she had always been displeased and did not understand why her youngest son was so fond of being close to such a lowly servant, which troubled Walbuga.

The witch sighed; she knew Regulus was far less fiercely independent than Sirius, a result of her doting affection.

There's really nothing I can do about it.

"Alright, alright, get back to normal. Xiao Lei, you'll be of school age next year. You don't need to hang out with this kind of thing anymore."

Walbuga shook his head and comforted her:

"Besides, Kreacher is loyal enough to deserve being hung in the first-floor hallway."

"So, which type of trim do you think suits him best? You can choose it yourself, okay?"