Chapter 249: The Inheritance of the Black Family
Lupin agreed with Lockhart's suggestion.
So, they all returned to the fireplace to settle down.
The house-elf Kreacher, who seemed to have been non-existent in the corner, scurried over to tidy the messy drawing-room, offering drinks. He also brought Harry a drink Harry had never had before. As a steward of an ancient wizarding family, he knew exactly what young wizards liked to drink.
Compared to Sirius, he preferred Harry.
This was not hard to understand. Harry was the Savior who "killed" Voldemort, the one who avenged his master, young Master Regulus. He couldn't respect him enough.
Kreacher quietly introduced Harry to over a dozen drinks, all passed down through the Black family for young wizards to enjoy at banquets, as well as thirty more for daily consumption, and hundreds of snacks to go with them...
Harry was dumbfounded.
This was the meaning of "the most ancient pure-blood family." Perhaps it wasn't visible in Sirius, but it was absolutely present in Kreacher.
Sirius clearly disliked this kind of so-called "noble posture" and had once been deeply repulsed by it, but seeing Harry's look of awe and longing, he said nothing in the end.
He thought for a moment, then went upstairs to a room and brought down a thick book. He handed it to Lockhart.
"For me?" Lockhart asked, curious.
"Mhm." Sirius was very sincere. "I read your book, Voldemort: A Pure-Blood Supremacist with a Muggle Father? I benefited a lot. It not only contains a lot of profound magical knowledge explained in simple terms, but it also helps us understand the Dark Lord better, giving us more ideas and methods to deal with him in the future!"
"This one—"
He lowered his head to look at the book, sighed, and handed it to Lockhart.
"I recorded this from memory. It's the content the Black family uses to teach their young wizards. I hope you'll read it and then help me donate it to Hogwarts so more young wizards can benefit."
"It can also be a contribution to the so-called 'glory' of the Black family—"
Lockhart nodded, lowering his head to look at it with curiosity.
On the cover, it read—The Inheritance of the Black Family.
He opened it, and inside were records of one magic after another, unsystematically. Some had a lot of introductions and precautions, while others had only a short line of an incantation.
It was clear that Sirius had written down whatever came to mind. And he probably didn't have the patience to study properly as a child, so for some, he only remembered the incantation, without even a detailed description.
Lockhart flipped through it and suddenly saw the potion-detecting spell Sirius had mentioned earlier.
This seemed to be a spell evolved from the tribal era. The incantation itself was simple, "Potions Detect!"—just one line.
But the accompanying casting gestures were extremely demanding, even requiring twisting one's body. Twisting the body was a characteristic of wizards from the tribal era; of course, back then, it wasn't called magic but witchcraft.
The greatest use of this spell was not to detect the properties of a potion, but to detect everything beyond the potion, especially emotions.
Its use was immense.
For example, it could detect the magical emotions the potion master had transferred to the potion while brewing it. It could also check if someone had poisoned your food or if a house-elf or servant who hated you had spit in your cup...
With a more in-depth and advanced grasp, it could even detect if a wizard had been influenced by the Imperius Curse.
In essence, it was a spell to detect something "extra" beyond an object's true existence.
Lockhart stared at the magical notebook and gasped.
Good heavens, all of this was not recorded in Hogwarts' classrooms or even in the vast Hogwarts library!
What was meant by "the most ancient and noble house of Black"?
This was it!
Holding the most precious knowledge from the long history of wizards tightly in their hands was simply terrifying.
It was only then that Lockhart began to understand why Sirius was so proud when he faced Snape in their school days.
Just think about it, a fellow student in school who was so brilliant and had already started inventing various powerful spells by his third year, all of them highly practical. And yet, this person was still ostracized and tested by the Slytherins, and Sirius still looked down on him.
Because, just in this incomplete magical notebook that Sirius had recalled, there were too many powerful offensive spells similar to the "Sectumsempra."
And each one was equipped with a specific counter-curse.
Most importantly, offensive spells did not make up much of the content here. Lockhart guessed that most of the Black family's spells of this type were Dark Arts, which Sirius didn't like and hadn't learned.
"Sirius!" Kreacher, who had been talking with Harry, turned his head to look at the magical notebook in Lockhart's hand and immediately became frantic. "How could you pass on this knowledge! How dare you!"
Sirius simply held his wine glass and swirled it calmly. "Times have changed, Kreacher. This is a new era, a new era for wizards and Muggles. Muggles' satellites, internet, telephones, missiles, everything is developing, while the most precious wealth of wizards is completely disappearing from the world as one pure-blood family after another dies out. You wouldn't understand..."
Kreacher was so anxious he rushed over, snatching the magical notebook from Lockhart's hand and holding it tightly to his chest. His small body trembled with anger, and his eyes filled with tears. "The precious knowledge of the Black family! This is the foundation of the Black family! Sirius, you are a traitor to the Black family, a traitor!!!"
"I said you wouldn't understand!"
Sirius was annoyed and looked at him coldly. "Give it to me, Kreacher, I command you!"
Kreacher cried, punishing himself by repeatedly hitting a nearby pillar, but he held the book even tighter. "You are a sinner of the Black family, a sinner! You were clearly required to swear an oath to protect the family's honor—"
As he spoke, he froze for a moment, then looked up at Sirius, a little disbelieving. "Impossible! How were you not punished by the Oath Charm for passing on family knowledge?"
Sirius's lips curled into a slight smile. "Because of my mother, right? She was the one who disowned me, wasn't she? Or was it my father? It doesn't matter. At that time, I was no longer subject to the family's Oath Charm."
Kreacher screamed. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! People who are disowned, people who marry out of the family, they are all still affected by the Oath Charm! They can't possibly pass on family magic!"
"Then I don't understand." Sirius sneered. "Why don't you go to Azkaban and sit in a cell for a dozen years, enduring the Dementors' torture for a dozen years? Maybe then you can figure out what's wrong with me?"
Kreacher was stunned.
Neither of them noticed that Harry, on the side, was looking at Professor Lockhart across the table with a look of astonishment.
Because...
Professor Lockhart was currently flipping through the magical notebook that Sirius had given him, The Inheritance of the Black Family!
Harry blinked, turned his head to look at Kreacher, and found that Kreacher was indeed holding that magical notebook in his arms.
This...
How did he do it?
Lockhart looked up, smiled, and winked at him, then continued to look down at the notebook. He was reading very quickly, page after page, as if he were scanning it.
In fact, he only needed his eyes to scan and record. His deep exploration of the field of memory allowed him to easily open up past memories and view the contents. He would remember it first, and then he could ponder it slowly later.
Soon, Sirius also noticed this amazing scene. He raised an eyebrow and looked at the house-elf Kreacher with a mischievous and teasing expression. "Fine, put it away. Are you happy now?"
"Really?" Kreacher was instantly excited.
"Yes, take it and get back to your cupboard! Don't be an eyesore here!" Sirius grumbled.
Kreacher, eager, even used his ability to Apparate with the book, instantly disappearing from everyone's sight.
At that moment, Lockhart had finally finished reading the entire magical notebook. He gently released his fingers, and the magical book in his hand quickly flew out, heading in the direction Kreacher had gone. It vanished along with Kreacher at the spot where the house-elf had Apparated.
"How did you do that?" Lupin asked, curious.
"By casting a spell with the mindset of a counter-curse," Lockhart explained. "This might be a little difficult, requiring a deeper understanding of fields like memory, existence, time, and will."
The technique wasn't difficult; what was difficult was the research accumulated before one could use this technique. If he were to truly explain it, it might take until dawn.
To be honest, Lockhart had been a little greedy by pulling this stunt. He thought for a moment, then looked at Sirius earnestly and promised, "All this magical knowledge is very precious. As compensation, no matter what happens, I will teach this knowledge to your son or daughter without reservation, and I'll repay you twofold! As a guarantee for the Black family's inheritance!"
Sirius shook his head. "No, there's no need for that. I hope you can teach this knowledge to every student at Hogwarts. This should be a precious knowledge for all wizards, not just for the Black family to selfishly guard for their own gain!"
This was Sirius. He always did what he believed was right, even if it hurt those closest to him.
Lockhart laughed. "In that case, I'd be more inclined to suggest you teach it yourself!"
"Me?" Sirius was a little dumbfounded.
"Yes." Lockhart looked at Lupin. "I'm not sure if Voldemort's curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts position at Hogwarts will still take effect. I personally tend to think it will. It's a curse that even Dumbledore couldn't break. Lupin might not be able to teach next year's class."
"At that time, you can apply to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. You teach the children these spells!"
Sirius was moved.
"Is that curse really that terrifying?" Harry asked, a little worried, looking at Lupin.
Lockhart nodded, stroking his chin, deep in thought. "The content of the curse is that the professor will have various accidents that prevent them from continuing to serve. Based on the current situation, there might be two directions that would make the curse take effect."
"First, something goes wrong at the Order of the Phoenix headquarters!"
"Second, something goes wrong with Lupin going to the werewolf community!"
"Then—" Harry gasped, looking at Lupin anxiously, wanting to say that since he knew what the problem was, he shouldn't get involved. But before he could say it, he realized himself that it seemed impossible.
"Hehe~~" Sirius laughed. "Curses are always that terrifying, aren't they? You know there's a pit ahead, but you still have to step into it!"
"Harry!" Sirius's expression became serious. "I don't want you to be as hot-headed and reckless as me, but I want you to know that when we face something unavoidable, we must be brave and face everything head-on!"
"When you feel timid and want to escape, remember that disaster will chase after you, and it will be more terrifying and frightening than what you face when you bravely confront it!"
Harry was a little lost, but he nodded firmly.