Chapter 202: Cleaning the Old House, Part 2
Everyone quickly cast spells, then watched as the messy kitchen visibly cleaned itself before their eyes.
Heavy iron pots and pans gradually became spotless and gleaming, while years of accumulated grease on the stone walls and floor rapidly dissolved and vanished. Wooden tables transformed from bottom to top, turning into a bright champagne color.
The grimy, dark furniture passed through the hands of several small human-like figures. They were sprayed with cleaner, scrubbed, rinsed, and wiped in succession. By the time the last figure returned them to the cabinets, they were all pristine.
Even Neville and the Weasleys, who came from traditional wizarding families, had to admit that nothing was more "magical" than the scene unfolding before them.
Michael said tearfully, "Wade... you should have come to help earlier. I had no idea you had so many things prepared..."
"It wasn't all my preparation—Mr. Marchioni lent me a new batch of products to test," Wade said. "It's also a way to test their performance."
Neville said enviously, "I've always wanted to buy one... but Magic Golem pets are too expensive, and Grandma won't agree to buy me one."
"Aslan's Magic Workshop is constantly trying to reduce costs and increase production, so Magic Golem pets will definitely become cheaper and cheaper in the future."
Wade said, "I haven't been able to decide what to get everyone for Christmas, but this works out perfectly. It saves me the headache..."
"How can you do that?" Neville's face flushed, and he hastily waved his hands in refusal. "That's too valuable! I can't accept it."
"They sell for a lot in stores, but for me, they're always just cost price, about two Galleons," Wade said.
Neville breathed a sigh of relief.
If it was only two Galleons at cost, he knew how he could reciprocate.
The boy was both excited and embarrassed, muttering a thank you.
"No need to be so polite," Wade said with a smile. "As long as you don't mind, everyone will receive the same gift."
Everyone chuckled, remembering how last Christmas, Wade had given everyone the Book of Friends.
Of course, no one thought he was being perfunctory or measured the gift's value by its cost. Amidst their amusement, there was also a hint of envy.
Who wouldn't want to be like that? Simple little things made by hand, both useful and fun, capable of bringing immense surprise to others.
...
Once the house's magic stopped resisting, the Cleaning Crabs and little human-like figures worked with extreme efficiency. The wizards primarily served as assistants and handled tasks the creatures couldn't accomplish.
For example, dealing with Fairies hidden behind curtains or Boggarts inside writing desks.
The two adult wizards took the opportunity to give the younger ones a lesson. If it hadn't been so late, Lupin would have had each of them practice facing a Boggart.
"It will peer into your heart and transform into your greatest fear," Lupin said. "The spell to defeat it is simple, but don't underestimate this creature. I know some wizards are so terrified when facing a Boggart that they forget how to use magic."
As he spoke, he herded the floating full moon into a box, seemingly intending to keep this Boggart.
There were also some seemingly ordinary implements, like snuff boxes or tweezers, that would suddenly move during cleaning, clearly under the influence of powerful Dark Magic.
One small human-like figure was unexpectedly snapped at the neck, and two others were damaged beyond repair, much to the young wizards' dismay.
These figures weren't mere tools like brooms or dustpans; they had human-like appearances, were diligent and capable, and would let out realistic screams when harmed.
Therefore, their "deaths" felt like losing real companions. Hermione even shed a few tears. Embarrassed to be seen, she turned away and secretly wiped her eyes.
Everyone pretended not to notice.
Ginny was very reserved when she first arrived, like a shy, ordinary young girl. But soon, she displayed fighting prowess far beyond her age when driving out Fairies, earning everyone's admiration.
What surprised Wade even more was Percy.
This Weasley, whose character wasn't particularly well-regarded in the original story, now showed remarkable ability.
After overcoming the initial adjustment period, he quickly began directing everyone's work, assigning tasks, transforming their haphazard efforts into coordinated teamwork.
Although Wade felt there was nothing wrong with working while having fun, this approach was clearly more efficient. After tidying the bedrooms, they even had time to move on to the garden.
Percy's shortcomings were also obvious: he mentioned his Prefect status every three sentences and constantly maintained a Prefect's air, only to be exasperated to breaking point by the twins shortly after.
Dinner was prepared by Kreacher.
The House-elf easily prepared a feast for everyone. Its cooking was excellent, and its French onion soup received unanimous praise.
Unfortunately, their joy turned to sorrow—their boisterous laughter was too loud and accidentally woke Mrs. Walburga Black.
The portrait shrieked, "Scoundrels! Harlots! Filthy Mudbloods! You rotting vampires! How dare you enter our house! Traitors! Kreacher! You've betrayed me too! Betrayed the Black Family!"
The other portraits also began to shriek.
Kreacher's face instantly turned pale, his frail body swaying. He said tearfully, "Kreacher... Kreacher has been loyal to the great Black Family for generations!"
He suddenly rushed to the fireplace, picked up a red-hot poker, and began poking himself.
"Wait, stop!"
Harry threw himself forward, pinning Kreacher to the ground, trying to grab his arm to prevent him from hurting himself. But Kreacher had already branded his stomach, filling the room with the smell of burning flesh.
The girls were stunned, then watched as several boys ran over and jointly restrained Kreacher, finally stopping his cruel act.
Lupin hastened to pull the curtains, but this time it proved very difficult. Meanwhile, Sirius sat blankly in his seat, head bowed, unmoving.
Wade covered his ears with one hand, then pulled out the Book of Friends and quickly wrote a sentence on one of its pages.
Then, he pulled Lupin back, shaking his head, signaling for everyone not to close the curtains yet.
Not long after, a figure appeared in a blank portrait in a third-floor bedroom. He swiftly moved through several paintings, and soon arrived in the entrance hall.
As the figure passed each portrait, the person depicted within quickly quieted down. Soon, he arrived at the portrait of Sirius's mother, Walburga Black.
"Walburga!" the person said.
The old woman's screams abruptly ceased, and her wildly rolling eyes fixed on the newcomer. Her expression was no longer manic, but instead filled with pride and defiance.
After a long moment, she finally spoke in a hoarse voice, "Phineas, what are you doing here?"
Lupin was startled; it was the first time he'd heard this portrait speak normally, rather than just screaming and cursing.
The figure who had entered the painting sighed and said, "Walburga, you should be calling me Great-Grandfather."
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