### Chapter 107: Your Taste!
"Mr. Black, please be patient. Our boss will be here soon!"
Pucci trembled slightly. The man sitting in front of her was a vicious criminal with a wanted poster bearing his face!
"Why should we wait for your boss? Back when Gringotts was still operating, anyone could open their vault as long as they had the right key and could prove their identity. Nobody cared what kind of person they were!"
"But, sir, Gringotts no longer exists. This is the Heaven and Earth Bank now…"
Extremely irritated, Sirius drained his tea in one gulp.
The tea was good, but it did nothing to improve his mood.
Last night, he had broken into the Gryffindor dormitory and nearly killed that traitor. Unfortunately, he'd been discovered, and the whole plan had fallen apart!
Now Peter Pettigrew would undoubtedly be on his guard, making him much harder to catch!
Sirius slammed his teacup onto the table with a loud thud.
The sudden movement startled Pucci.
"Boss, hurry up! This man is terrifying!"
The door swung open, and someone walked in.
"Pucci, leave this to me!"
Pucci felt as though she'd just been granted a pardon. She hurriedly bowed to the newcomer.
"Yes, boss!"
Then she hurried out.
Sirius looked at the newcomer in surprise.
"You're the owner of the Heaven and Earth Bank?"
"Is that a problem?"
"I never imagined that the owner of the Heaven and Earth Bank would be a famous singer!"
Audrey laughed. "There are plenty of things you wouldn't expect!"
She sat down comfortably opposite Sirius.
"Mr. Black, what brings you to our Heaven and Earth Bank?"
"I need to withdraw some money."
Audrey smiled. "This isn't Gringotts anymore, so the rules are different. You understand that, don't you, Mr. Black?"
Sirius frowned impatiently. "Stop beating around the bush. Just say what you mean!"
"Our Heaven and Earth Bank is newly established and doesn't have a particularly solid foundation yet. We need to maintain a good relationship with the Ministry of Magic."
Audrey had just made that up on the spot.
"Consequently, we're much more law-abiding than Gringotts ever was. And you, Sirius Black, are a notorious fugitive. If you were in my position, what do you think you would do?"
As she spoke, Audrey pulled out Sirius's wanted poster and waved it in front of him.
The face on the poster was twisted into all sorts of grotesque expressions, constantly striking poses that made him look like a roaring lion. But no matter how she looked at it, Hydras's own wanted poster from back then had been much cuter!
Sirius immediately stood up, his entire body tense and his eyes narrowing.
"Are you planning to capture me and hand me over to the Ministry of Magic?"
"No, no, no! You're one of our most important customers. Why would we do anything that might damage our reputation?"
Audrey beamed at him, looking like a kitten that had just stolen a fish.
"What I mean is that opening your vault under pressure from the Ministry of Magic would put our bank at considerable risk. And to me, the Ministry of Magic is my dearest friend, my brother, my provider!"
She gave him a crooked smile.
"So we'll have to charge you a little extra."
Sirius was dumbfounded.
After all that build-up, he'd thought something terrible was about to happen.
That was it?
Did he really need to worry about losing a little money?
"Fine. How much do you want?"
Audrey leaned back against the sofa and stroked her chin. To be honest, she hadn't decided on an amount yet.
Her threat to charge him extra had merely been a joke inspired by memories of her past life.
After thinking for a moment, she finally spoke.
"I have a friend named Nymphadora Tonks. Her mother…"
"Andromeda," Sirius supplied, his expression turning pained. "Yes, she's my cousin. Like me, she was disowned by the family."
"Good. At least you remember her."
Audrey smiled at him.
"I wonder if you'd be willing to return the portion of the House of Black's assets that rightfully belongs to Mrs. Tonks. After all, it's outrageous that she was disowned simply because she married a wizard with Muggle blood."
"Yes, I agree. The House of Black's rules are completely wrong."
Sirius nodded emphatically.
"But I've been disowned myself. I have no right to inherit the House of Black's assets. I can only use my own private property. So what right do I have to distribute the family's wealth?"
"No." Audrey shook her head. "According to the Ministry of Magic's records, you've always been the designated heir of the House of Black. Your parents never formally disowned you."
Sirius stared at her, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Then his expression suddenly changed.
"Wait a minute. That doesn't make sense!"
Audrey tilted her head.
What? The Gryffindor brute, the madman of the House of Black, was actually starting to talk about logic?
She was curious to hear what sort of reasoning he could come up with!
"Even if Nymphadora Tonks is your friend, you don't need to go this far for her! You're risking having your brand-new bank seized by the Ministry of Magic in exchange!"
Sirius took two steps forward.
"Ever since I started talking to you, I've felt that your scent was familiar. I'm certain I've smelled it somewhere before! But when I went to prison, you were still very young. We shouldn't have had any connection at all! So…"
Who exactly are you?
Audrey blinked. This was an unexpected turn of events.
It wasn't surprising that a brute could think. Even someone as straightforward as Guo Jing occasionally tried to deceive people.
But being able to recognize her by scent?
That was going too far! Did he have a dog's nose?
…Oh, right. He really was a dog. In that case, perhaps it made sense.
"I'm someone who values friendship," Audrey explained. "Dora is a very, very good friend of mine, and money is just a number to me. I don't really care about it."
(Author's note: Ha! Women…)
"She might not accept a gift out of the blue, but accepting it as part of the redistribution of the family's assets is perfectly reasonable."
"No, no, no…" Sirius shook his head repeatedly. "Even though it's a huge sum of money, it still doesn't justify the risk you're taking. Nobody would go to such lengths for a friend…"
Audrey interrupted him.
"Not even you and James Potter?"
Sirius froze. His face twisted with pain, and he covered it with his hands before sinking back onto the sofa, utterly drained.
He would have given up everything he owned to save his best friend's family.
Audrey hadn't expected Sirius to be so perceptive. She quickly changed the subject, deliberately bringing James Potter into the conversation to distract him from his suspicions about her identity.
Sirius sat in silence for a moment. Then he suddenly lowered his hands and stared straight at Audrey.
His gaze sent a chill down her spine.
"I remember now! You're Hydras Lestrange! I smelled your scent in Azkaban!"
Damn it!
"You're Bella's daughter, so it makes perfect sense for you to help Andromeda!"
Sirius, who had been on edge just moments earlier, suddenly relaxed.
Audrey had asked him to transfer his assets to Andromeda. That meant the girl in front of him placed great importance on family ties.
I'm her uncle!
She'd never hurt me!
Audrey certainly had no intention of hurting Sirius. She had made this special trip for one simple reason: to warn him not to cause any more trouble at Hogwarts.
His antics were interfering with her sleep!
Audrey's appearance shifted rapidly, returning to that of Hydras.
"Your dog-like nose is disgusting. Smelling a young girl's body odor and then making a big deal out of it is not only extremely rude, but downright perverted. Understand?"
Sirius was being scolded by his own niece, but he couldn't argue back. Not only was she right, but he also needed her help…
After all, his Galleons were still sitting in the vault!
But what he really wanted to know now was how his niece had become the owner of the Heaven and Earth Bank.
If he remembered correctly, less than a year ago, she had gone to Azkaban to find Bellatrix and gain access to the Lestrange family vault.
There was no way the Lestrange family had enough resources to buy out all of Gringotts!
He was dying of curiosity, but he didn't dare ask.
For some reason, Sirius couldn't bring himself to feel like an elder when he was around his niece.
"Hydras, um… what about my vault?"
"The vault can be opened for you, but there are a few conditions."
"First, remember to give the money to Aunt Andromeda.
"Second, I'll keep your identity a secret.
"Third, no more reckless break-ins or causing chaos at Hogwarts!"
Sirius shook his head repeatedly, his determination unwavering.
"No! I have to get my revenge!"
"On Peter Pettigrew?"
Sirius's eyes widened. His face, weathered by the hardships of life in Azkaban, filled with astonishment.
"How do you know that?"
"How I know has nothing to do with you. I just hope you'll stop causing trouble at Hogwarts. It's only Peter Pettigrew! You could have gone to the Weasleys' house and caught him during the holidays. Why risk sneaking into Hogwarts?"
"All right, I promise I won't cause any more trouble. But you can't stop me from keeping an eye on Peter. I'm afraid he'll escape!"
"That's up to you. But if your actions destabilize Hogwarts, I'll freeze your vault immediately!"
Sirius nodded hastily.
Hydras tossed a wand to him.
"Here. Oak wood, with a phoenix feather core."
Sirius caught the wand, warmth welling up inside him.
My own niece actually remembers what kind of wand I use! Whoever says she doesn't value family ties, I'll be the first to argue with them!
Indeed, Hydras was exceptionally kind to her relatives. Even Lucius Malfoy had benefited enormously from Aunt Narcissa.
And Sirius was her cousin, after all.
However, her wish to experience the kind of warm family atmosphere the Weasleys enjoyed was probably going to be a long and arduous journey.
Her biological father was a mad terrorist. Her biological mother was even more insane. Her adoptive father, Lestrange, was a cuckold who hated her mother, and Aunt Narcissa had become a Malfoy through and through…
That left Aunt Andromeda and Sirius as the only relatives she could really focus on!
Wait a minute. Had she forgotten something?
Oh, no!
Isolde!