"This wretched house has been vacant for ten years. When I first came back, I could barely find a decent bowl or plate."
Sirius shook his head with self-deprecating laughter, his gaze was sweeping over Sherlock, Hermione, and the Weasley siblings as he said sincerely.
"Thank you all for standing firmly by Harry's side when he needed companionship most."
Over the past week, Sirius, who had forcefully returned from Azkaban, had Harry tell him everything about his experiences over the years in detail.
When he heard about Harry's treatment before entering the wizarding world, he had planned to go to Privet Drive and teach the entire Dursley family a harsh lesson.
However, Harry managed to dissuade him.
This made Harry somewhat relieved.
Having spent so much time with Sherlock, he had unconsciously begun applying some deductive reasoning methods to daily life.
Of course, he couldn't compare to Sherlock's ability to look at someone once and clearly explain everything they had done.
However, based on Sirius's personality, predicting his reaction after hearing about his childhood wasn't difficult.
So, although Sirius had him explain everything in detail, Harry held something back and didn't tell him everything the Dursleys had done to him over the years.
Otherwise, judging by how angry Sirius was just hearing the general outline, there would have been no way to dissuade him.
As Harry grew older, he gradually began to understand the Dursleys' mindset back then.
The most important reason was that with Sherlock's help, Aunt Petunia had finally spoken the words she had buried in her heart for years.
As Sherlock had once said, the most direct reason for the vast majority of misunderstandings in this world was lack of communication.
Once people opened their hearts and spoke openly, problems often resolved themselves without developing to an irreparable point.
Unfortunately, some people had mouths but were like mutes who couldn't speak.
In any case, after Aunt Petunia expressed her feelings over the years and apologized for them, the kind-hearted Harry forgave her.
If he hadn't been so busy lately, he would have actually wanted to visit the Dursleys.
So, since both parties had completely repaired their relationship, Harry felt there was really no need to make things tense again.
Otherwise, he would first and foremost be letting down Sherlock, who had helped him.
After informing Sirius that he had already reconciled with the Dursleys and using euphemistic language to describe his childhood, Harry decisively shifted the focus to his life at Hogwarts.
This time, it truly was detailed as Sirius had requested.
Harry Potter, a wizard who had been learning magic for two and a half years, enjoyed boxing, fencing, and Quidditch.
But in Sirius's view, although Harry had only been exposed to magic for two and a half years, his experiences in this world were far more exciting than in the Muggle world.
Though Sirius was only 35 years old, his life had been full of ups and downs and quite spectacular.
As a descendant of the Black family, the oldest and most prestigious pure-blood family in the wizarding world, that birth alone put him above many others though he was unwilling to admit it.
Shortly after entering Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he became best friends with James Potter, another descendant of an ancient pure blood wizarding family, and they quickly became the school's most prominent figures.
During his seven years at school, he befriended a werewolf, established the Marauders, and while maintaining excellent grades, routinely bullied classmates he didn't like.
It wasn't until his good friend reformed in the upper years and won a girl's heart that he gave them his blessing.
After graduation, he joined the Order of the Phoenix and participated in the wizarding war alongside his brothers, firmly standing on the front line against the Dark Lord.
Just when the war was won and it was time for rewards, he was wrongly accused and sent to Azkaban, the world's most terrible prison, where he stayed for twelve years.
Then twelve years later, in a dramatic reversal, he became the first person in history to successfully escape from Azkaban.
With such a resume, even as a standalone novel, Sirius Black would absolutely be qualified to serve as the protagonist.
Yet even so, Harry's experiences at school still surprised him.
At age 11, in his first year, he had already come face to face with Voldemort and his minions.
Fortunately, with the help of his intelligent friends and the ancient magic his mother Lily had left behind, he didn't meet an early demise.
Just one year later, he encountered another Voldemort again.
However, from Harry's description, Sirius felt that this younger Voldemort, Tom Riddle actually gave an even greater sense of oppression than he did after becoming the Dark Lord.
You must know that during Sirius's school days; the Chamber of Secrets legend was purely just a legend.
Who would have thought that by the time Harry was at school, Voldemort could use just a fifty-year-old diary and a fragment of memory to manipulate others into opening the legendary secret, releasing a basilisk to attack students and cause such a commotion.
Fortunately, this time they had more experience responding, and under the planning of their intelligent friend, they not only successfully found the Chamber's location but also arranged for backup in advance, smoothly resolving the crisis.
And third year went without saying.
Even Sirius himself, desperate as he was to catch Peter and take revenge, had planned to wait until the holiday ended and students returned to school before acting.
Who would have thought that before the holiday even ended, the culprit would be directly exposed.
Add to that the Ministry of Magic's flattering attitude, and things had gone incredibly smoothly.
Thinking about what he had been doing at Harry's age: accompanying his best friend in teasing girls and bullying Snivellus, the gap between them was truly quite large.
In Harry's account, one name appeared with extremely high frequency.
Sherlock Holmes.
Through Harry's description, Sirius clearly understood that without Sherlock, he definitely wouldn't be in such a favorable position now.
Ultimately, he had been too derelict as a godfather.
Back then, he had selfishly thought only of atonement and stayed in Azkaban for twelve years, such thinking was truly too self-centered!
These memories flashed through Sirius's mind in an instant. He collected his thoughts, looked deeply at Sherlock, then broke into an easygoing smile while raising his glass high.
"Welcome everyone to this unpleasant but barely livable old mansion!
The house is wretched, but the food is genuine care from three wonderful ladies!
Don't be shy, dig in, and—
As long as you don't tear down the ceiling, do whatever you want!"
"Cheers!"
Sirius's indulgence delighted the young people immensely.
With the Weasley twins present, things could never be dull.
Now that the host had given such permission, the kitchen immediately became lively.
Sirius had provided the finest ingredients, and the three ladies had contributed exquisite cooking skills.
The combination made today's meal exceptionally delicious.
Everyone began to feast heartily, and Ron once again displayed his signature skill: dual-wielding chicken legs.
"Sirius, I've been meaning to tell you something."
During the meal, Mrs. Weasley couldn't help but say, "When I came the other day, I noticed that the writing desk in the second-floor parlor seems to have something locked inside.
It keeps shaking and making rattling sounds—it might just be a Boggart.
But I think it would be best to have Moody come look at it before letting it out."
"Of course." Sirius had no objection.
"Also, the curtains there are full of Doxies," Mrs. Weasley continued after Sirius agreed. "I think we'll need to find a way to deal with them tomorrow."
"I'm so grateful, I couldn't ask for more," Sirius said sincerely. "Harry and I are both hopeless at dealing with these things."
Hearing this, Harry smiled wryly.
On the first day of vacation, he had confidently believed that with his years of experience at the Dursleys', dealing with this old Manor wouldn't be a problem.
He never expected that a wizard's home and a Muggle's home were two completely different things.
Looking back now, he had been far too confident.
"Who is Moody?"
Sherlock suddenly asked.
Mrs. Weasley quickly exchanged a glance with her husband, then said. "Alastor Moody, he's—"
"I know, Mum—are you talking about Mad-Eye Moody?"
George interrupted while spreading orange marmalade on his bread. "That crazy guy—"
"Your father has a very high opinion of Alastor."
Mrs. Weasley said sternly, clearly displeased with George's way of referring to Moody.
"Yeah, and Dad collects plugs too, right?"
Fred whispered to Sherlock, "Actually, I think they're the same type of person—"
"Don't think I can't hear what you're saying!"
Mrs. Weasley's voice grew louder.
The twins immediately fell silent.
"Don't listen to their nonsense, Sherlock."
Mrs. Weasley turned to Sherlock and said seriously. "Alastor Moody was a remarkable wizard in his day and still is. He's also an old friend of Dumbledore's.
He used to work at the Ministry of Magic as a specialist in catching Dark wizards and the best Auror there was. Half the cells in Azkaban were filled by him."
Sherlock nodded, becoming somewhat interested in this former Auror.
Anyone who could single-handedly fill half of Azkaban was clearly different from the useless lot at the Ministry.
Mrs. Weasley sighed before continuing.
"But because of this, he also made many enemies for himself.
I'm sure you understand, mainly relatives of the people he caught.
Originally, this wouldn't have been much of a problem, but unfortunately, as he got older, he became increasingly paranoid and trusted no one."
"Meaning he thought everyone looked like a Death Eater," George supplemented, then quickly lowered his head to eat after Mrs. Weasley glared at him fiercely.
"Because of these reasons, plus those people's conspiracies, he simply retired.
But I think this was actually a good thing for him, it was time for him to enjoy some peace and have the quiet life he never had before."
"But I still trust him," Mr. Weasley interjected. "Just checking whether there's a Boggart in the house or not shouldn't be a problem."
Sherlock nodded slightly.
If even Mrs. Weasley thought they needed a professional to assess things before cleaning the rooms, this old Manor was clearly more difficult to deal with than imagined.
"Excuse me, what are Boggarts and Doxies?"
This time it was Mrs. Holmes asking.
She was finding conversations among wizards increasingly interesting.
"Boggarts and Doxies are both magical creatures unique to the wizarding world.
A Boggart is a creature that can transform into whatever a person fears most.
Doxies, sometimes called Biting Fairies, are small humanoid creatures covered in hair with two pairs of wings. They breed rapidly and often infest curtains or upholstery."
After Hermione explained, Mrs. Weasley nodded in agreement. "It's a pity I didn't bring that book with me, otherwise we could have started today."
"What book, Mum?"
Ginny asked curiously.
"'Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests'—that's truly an excellent book!"
Mrs. Weasley's face showed a nostalgic expression. "Of course, Professor Lockhart is also quite remarkable. Such a pity he's still in a coma."
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