Hogwarts Slytherin

Chapter 168 The Nightmare Before Christmas

Lestrange Manor.

After the wedding, the arrival of the two most powerful black wizards and white wizards made the wedding even more grand and lively.

Even after they left, the atmosphere remained high.

According to the plan, all the guests present today will spend the night at Lestrange Manor - of course, the reporter friends are not counted.

The Blacks originally planned this, but something happened soon that forced them to change their plans——

After the furious Bellatrix returned to her manor with Signus, Rodolphus showed no reaction, as if tonight was not his wedding night.

He just raised the glass indifferently and returned to the bedroom where the two of them were supposed to be. He looked at the roses in the corner of the manor indifferently, but what he was thinking about was the daisy-like girl hiding in Hogsmeade.

When the Black family urgently triggered the portkey and returned to the manor, Regulus felt very complicated.

He was startled when he saw his mother's surprisingly angry expression.

He suddenly realized that it was already dark outside and he had just spent a relaxing and enjoyable afternoon.

I even met the Dark Lord...

But with everything he was going to face next, he felt as if his stomach was filled with lead and kept sinking...

******

Cornwall.

"We're almost there. This place looks familiar to me," Sirius encouraged. "One more mile to the east."

Reggie sighed helplessly and said, "I really doubt whether you are related to each other. Have you never been to your uncle's house?"

"That's a good question." Sirius said, "It's not easy for me to figure out her home address from my vague memory. Most of the time, they come to my house. When we go, we use floo powder or followers to appear. , I have to say that this is much more comfortable than showing up with an entourage.”

He looked at Reggie's time turner with some excitement.

This is simply awesome.

After passing three more houses, they finally found their target - the big Black sign on the door.

"Are you sure no one will come back tonight?" Reggie and Sirius crouched in the bushes, making sure that people in the room would not see them when they looked out on a whim.

"Of course, they are busy celebrating Bella's wedding night." Sirius replied with a sneer, "You should really come over and take a look today, even the mysterious man is here! Of course, Dumbledore is here too, I'm very happy I'm surprised they didn't fight."

"Oh? What happened?"

"Oh, it's just those clichés. Dumbledore is too gentle! You must not believe it. He actually tried to use love to influence that crazy woman Bella." Speaking of this, Sirius thought about what happened during the day. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the scene at the wedding.

"Haha, Dumbledore has always believed that love is the most powerful magic in the world." Reggie was noncommittal.

"Yes, sometimes I have to admit what my crazy old mother said - Dumbledore is a little confused... He left without doing anything, oh! And there is magic Those hypocritical people at the Ministry, you know, this is almost a Death Eater party, and there are a lot of people who are responsible for the incident that they can't find."

The Death Eaters have become more and more arrogant in the past two years, causing "accidents" one after another, and the Ministry of Magic, which has lost the Dementors, no longer has a deterrent effect on them.

Even the Aurors have gradually slackened on their arrest operations. Since Azkaban can no longer punish prisoners, what is the point of arresting those dark wizards?

Moreover, many people in the Ministry of Magic have already chosen to pretend to turn a blind eye to all the bizarre disappearances and deaths happening outside, under the influence of large sums of Galleons or threats.

Sirius was even more angry because of this. Maybe Reggie didn't feel too much, but there were many students in Gryffindor from the Muggle world. Not long after the school started this year, many people were notified that "accidents" had occurred in their families. ".

The faces of his classmates who broke down and cried and turned pale would appear in Sirius's mind from time to time, which also made him hate and loathe him even more for being a Black.

"Do you know which room Andromeda is in?" Reggie observed the dark manor for a while. Perhaps some magic had been cast, but the entire manor looked completely devoid of light from the outside.

Sirius nodded and raised his feet to walk inside.

Reggie stretched out his hand to stop him, and Sirius turned his head to look at him in confusion.

He finally confirmed: "Let's make sure. Are you really going to rush directly into her room and help her escape? Maybe things aren't that bad yet."

Sirius stared at Reggie for a while, and Reggie felt an idiotic look in his eyes.

"I think I have said it clearly enough, Reggie, it doesn't matter, if you want to quit now..." Sirius pursed his lips, "I can understand, and it will be fine for me to be alone next time. "

Reggie sighed, "Okay, if you're sure."

Sirius patted Regis on the shoulder gratefully.

"Don't worry, I've already found out all the questions you asked... At least, Regulus told me that Andromeda's wand was hidden in that crazy woman Bella's room. Wait. You will go in, you are responsible for taking away cousin Andromeda, and leave the rest to me."

The ban on the manor was not triggered because Sirius was a Black.

After entering the manor, they found that it was very luxurious and bright inside. It was indeed disturbed by the curse and it was not as dark as they saw outside.

In this luxurious and ancient manor, Andromeda seemed like a princess waiting to be rescued, while Reggie and Sirius were young men with swords who broke into the thorns.

At this moment, Andromeda didn't know that the two teenagers were on their way to rescue her. She sat in front of the makeup mirror, looking at her pale and haggard self in the mirror, thinking about what Bellatrix said to her during the day... ..

******

"Regulus told you everything?" Bellatrix stood behind Andromeda with her arms folded.

Andromeda was sitting in front of the dressing mirror, combing her hair mechanically. If you look carefully, you can see that her hands are shaking slightly.

She looked pale, with cyan shadows under her eyes, as if she could cry at any time.

At this moment, she looked very unlike Black. Her former classmates at school would have been shocked if they saw her, because she was completely different from the dazzling Andromeda in Hogwarts.

Andromeda looked at Bellatrix behind her in the mirror. Her voice was a little hoarse, but she spoke in a very firm tone, as if she was making an oath or praying, "I don't agree."

Regulus secretly told her that the wedding originally scheduled for a week later would be moved forward to tomorrow under the leadership of his father, Signus.

For Merlin's sake, she, the bride, was still in the dark!

Perhaps, they didn't care about her happiness at all. Selwyn actually agreed to such a request. They didn't care who the bride was or when she got married.

All they need is one Blake.

It's like, her parents don't care who she marries, as long as it's a pureblood!As long as it's not a Muggle!

Andromeda finally gave up on Black, but she felt a sense of relief in her heart...

Hearing her refusal, Bellatrix let out a sarcastic snort as if she heard something funny: "I'm not here to ask for your opinion, I'm just here to inform you on behalf of my parents. The Erwin family hasn’t heard of these scandals of yours, so if you still think of yourself as a Black, it’s best not to embarrass our Black family anymore.”

"I don't agree, I won't marry him." Andromeda repeated in a hoarse voice. Her tone became light and her eyes were indifferent. She did not break down and cry, nor was she hysterical.

Bellatrix seemed to have lost her patience and stopped trying to persuade her. Instead, she suddenly closed the distance between the two of them, her face almost touching the sister's face, with a vicious expression. He said with a smile: "You'd better be honest and stop thinking about that mudblood. Even if you are trash, you should still make some contributions to the family before being thrown away."

Andromeda didn't reply, she just stared at Bellatrix coldly.

Stimulated by her eyes, Bellatrix flicked her robe angrily, turned around and said, "Don't stare at me! Leave the family if you can, but what can you do if you leave? Think about it carefully and don't hold on anymore. My good sister, I will ask you again tomorrow."

After hearing Bellatrix locking the door again behind her and the footsteps walking away, Andromeda buried her head in her arms and started crying.

After crying, there was endless fear and despair.

Her wand had been taken away, her letters intercepted, today was Bellatrix's wedding, and although the castle was empty, she still couldn't leave.

Andromeda just kept looking at the mirror blankly...

In the silence, she vaguely heard other sounds, like someone calling her name.

She stood up suspiciously, but was a little weak from not eating for a long time. She held the table until the dizziness subsided. She followed the sound and looked behind her. Sirius was lying by the window and smiling comfortingly at her.

"My--" she whispered and quickly covered her mouth.

He stood up hurriedly and pulled him in, closed the window and drew the curtains tightly, "Sirius, are you serious? How did you get here?"

"We are here to help you. You need to calm down first and listen to me." Sirius helped her sit on the bed soothingly, dragged the stool over and sat in front of her, "Where is your wand?"

"It was taken away by Bella, it should be in her bedroom." Andromeda looked around the room, "You? Who else? Ted?"

Reggie lifted the invisibility cloak and appeared in the room, "Hello."

"Are you Regis Lester - Duke? I heard Sirius talking about you." Andromeda looked at them in surprise: "Why are you here?"

"It's not important." Sirius snapped his fingers to attract her attention back, "Today is Bella and Lestrange's wedding. All of them have gone there and they probably won't be back tonight— —But to be cautious, we'd better move quickly. Reggie will take you away first, and I'll go to Bella's room to steal your wand back..."

"No, they'd be mad if they knew!"

"Listen -" Sirius hurriedly interrupted Andromeda, "Rigi will take you out of here. Ted is already waiting for you at the place we agreed in advance, Andromeda! I just want you to be happy! This This is your last chance, do you understand?"

Andromeda's eyes turned red and she nodded to show that she understood.

"Very good, look at what else you want to take away now - by the way, do you still have any money on you?" Sirius asked.

Only then did Reggie say his second sentence after coming in, "Are you ready to leave Black completely? Andromeda?"

"Yes." Andromeda said seriously.

"No matter what happens after you leave, you won't regret it, and won't you resent us for taking you away?"

"What are you talking about? Who doesn't want to get out of here?" Sirius nudged him reproachfully.

Andromeda stared at Reggie and Sirius seriously and said: "Although I never thought you would come, I have thought about it seriously today. I will no longer have illusions about them, I want to leave! No matter what No matter what happens, I will not regret this decision, and if you want to blame me, you will only blame myself."

Reggie smiled at her: "What are your plans?"

Andromeda felt a little relaxed now. Her originally hazy thoughts were now clearly before her eyes: "I still got a few N.EW.Ts certificates. I plan to meet Ted first, and then find a job." Work."

"If there was no Ted, would you stay here, marry Selwyn, and live your life according to the life path arranged by your family?" Reggie continued to ask her, looking a little reluctant.

"That way you may not be happy, just like your parents, or Sirius's parents. Although I hate them too, I have to admit that they seem to get along pretty well. Do you want to take another look? Weigh the pros and cons again.”

Hearing his question, Andromeda understood something in her heart. She raised her head proudly and said without even a second's hesitation: "No need, everything will go according to your plan."

Sirius patted the back of Andromeda's hand comfortingly and said, "I'm glad that I can help you, and I'm glad that you can escape from the sea of ​​suffering, Andromeda."

"To tell you the truth, I've been thinking about this day since I got together with Ted." Andromeda tiredly ruffled her newly combed hair, "It's just that I never dared to think about it seriously, but Now, like you said, this is my only chance, and I don’t want to be like my mother.”

That being the case, there is nothing to say.

They also confirmed the process of escaping later. It was actually very simple. Sirius waited for an opportunity to go to Bellatrix to get back Andromeda's wand. Reggie secretly wore an invisibility cloak and took Andromeda outside the manor. Take her away - as there is an anti-Apparition spell on the property. "

They all felt that this plan was almost foolproof, even if Sirius failed to find Andromeda's wand in the end, as long as she could escape and buy a new one.