Kreacher opened the door and I followed him inside. The house was nothing like the horror shown in the film; it was clean, but you could feel that every inch was steeped in history. It was immediately clear that although the house was magical, it belonged to aristocrats. We walked down the hallway and turned into the living room, where Lady Walpurga was sitting in an armchair. She looked terrible, of course, and it was clear that she didn't have long to live. The loss of her sons had broken her, but her gaze was sharp, sending shivers down my spine.
Name: Valpurga Black
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Class: Mage
Age: 59
Life: 75
Mana: 295
Strength: 20
Dexterity: 40
Stamina: 15
Intelligence: 100
Wisdom: 59
"And what does the boy who survived need from me? Who sent you? And are you really who you say you are?" she said, staring intently at me.
"It's nice to meet you, Lady Walpurga. I am indeed Harry Potter, and I have come to you for help.
"Ha, and how can I help you? And more importantly, what can you offer me in return?" - As expected, she wasn't going to let this slip.
"Let's lay all our cards on the table. Due to certain events in my life, I have obtained a lot of useful information, so I'll get straight to the point. At the moment, I can offer you several things, but first, answer me this question. How do you feel about our mutual acquaintance?" I asked the white-bearded eccentric whose name began with the letter M.
"Hmm, you're an interesting young man," she said very calmly, but I could see the sneer on her face. "I have nothing to lose, so I'll tell you as it is. That old schemer should have been feeding the worms long ago," she spat out.
"Excellent. So we're on the same side. In that case, I suggest we join forces, but first, what do you usually do there? It seems like you take a solemn vow that no one will find out about our conversation." There was no reaction, except for her pupils dilating for a second.
"Don't you think you're taking on too much, young man? You're a 4-year-old boy, even if you talk like an adult.
"Well, I can afford to be so bold, for starters, because even if you wanted to, you couldn't do anything to me, and besides, who else is going to help you get Sirius out of Azkaban?" At that, she jumped up and pointed her wand at me.
"INCARCERATO!" Ropes shot towards me, and I reflexively covered myself with my hands, but as soon as they touched me, they shattered as if made of glass.
"Go ahead and try to hit me, it won't hurt me," I said, pretending to brush dust off my shoulder.
"I wonder who you are?
"I told you, I'm Harry Potter, just with some new abilities.
"Well..." She sat down in a chair, sighed, and said, "I, Walpurgis Black, swear not to disclose the information I have received from the boy sitting opposite me who calls himself Harry Potter without his permission. So be it." The wands lit up and then went out again.
"Well, that's better. I see you've already figured out that I'm not just a child.
"It wasn't hard to figure out, but I don't know yet if someone is after you or if you really have knowledge beyond your years.
"All right, let's get down to business. Unfortunately, I can't help you with Regulus, but I can carry out his last wish." Valpurga's eyebrows shot up. "Kricher!"
As always, there was a pop, and the house-elf appeared before me. Once again, the lady of the house's reaction amused me. How could this be? Her house-elf was obeying a stranger in her own home.
"Yes, sir?" Now there was no coldness in Walpurgis' eyes, only shock.
"Bring me the medallion that Regulus gave you.
He disappeared, but a minute later he reappeared holding a box in his hands. I took it, opened it, and pulled it out by the chain.
"You're probably wondering what this is?" Two synchronised nods. "It's the locket of our mutual acquaintance, how do you call him, Voldemort?"
"Drop it, it's very dangerous," Valpurga shouted again and jumped up.
"Yes, why are you so upset? We'll fix it right now.
I took it in my hand and activated the Soul Eater.
...Soul fragment absorbed...
...5% of characteristics absorbed (total 10)...
Well, not much, but at least it's something.
...Don't worry, it's free anyway...
"Thanks for the support, Jarvis."
"Well, there's no crucible, and you were worried.
I handed the medallion to the lady of the house, she took it carefully by the chain, waved it around with a stick, and after waiting 30 seconds said:
"I agree, it's just a regular medallion. But what did you do?
"Nothing special, I absorbed the fragment of soul it contained and made myself a little stronger." -Ooooh, that slack jaw again.
"But, Harry, that's very dark magic. Where did you learn such things?
"Well, I could refer to the legacy of my necromancer ancestors, but in fact it's my own personal power. Maybe someday I'll tell you everything. Now, about Sirius, but first tell me what you know about the night my parents died and Sirius was captured.
Based on what you've told me, I've ended up in the real canon. Nothing unusual, the same story as in the book, and that's good, because knowledge is power.
"Do you think you can break into Azkaban?" she asked after my story.
"Why? We'll just use the witness, and with your help, they'll release him. But we have to be careful and discreet. You understand whose clutches he's fallen into.
She sat there thinking for a while, then looked at me.
"This has to be done as soon as possible!
"All right, all right, I'll tell you who the witness is. Your job will be to get him out and do everything quickly and efficiently. I assume you have money for lawyers. We don't just need to get him out, we need to clear his name.
"So who is this witness?
"Peter Pettigrew.
"Very funny, I'm sure I can find a necromancer, but no one will listen to the testimony of a dead man raised with knowledge that is forbidden in England.
"You don't need to raise anyone, this traitor is living peacefully in his animagus form as a rat in the Weasley family home. So find a way to steal him quietly, and then it's up to your lawyers.
Are you sure about that?
"Well, 95 per cent sure. If he's not there now, he'll show up soon. You need an old, mangy rat with one finger missing.
"All right, I'll take care of it.
"Excellent. I would also like to ask you to let me stay in this house and help me with some issues that I cannot resolve due to my age.
"You can stay here, but if it turns out that you've deceived me, I'll find a way to get back at you.
"Yes, I know it's best not to mess with the Blacks. Now I think I'd better go back to my Muggle relatives and sort out the move. I'll come back in a week, and I hope that by then you'll be convinced that I wasn't lying.
***
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