Chapter 276: Sirius Black's Blind Date
Snape's speculation made a lot of sense.
However, the real world often doesn't operate according to logic; it's full of all sorts of accidents.
The reason for this is that half a month later, Sirius Black was still on a blind date. As for how Lockhart knew, well, he happened to run into him today.
The Six Dwarves Restaurant, London
"I didn't expect you to invite me to a Muggle restaurant like this." Lockhart turned his head, surveying the lavishly decorated restaurant. He watched the figure playing the piano under the dance floor lights with interest for a moment, then turned back to the slightly awkward couple in front of him.
"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy."
Lucius followed Lockhart's gaze and felt somewhat embarrassed. "I didn't know my wife's brother would be here. It's just a coincidence."
A coincidence? Wife's brother. Was he acknowledging Sirius as his wife's brother now?
If Sirius saw him accepting an invitation from the Malfoys, who knew what he would say to Dumbledore. However, Lockhart didn't care about such small gestures and smiled, ushering them to sit down.
"I believe many people who have read my autobiography know that although I was born into a pure-blood half-blood family, I wasn't wealthy when I was young, and I know very little about traditional wizarding family life." Lockhart was curious. "Do ancient wizarding families teach their children piano? Learning Muggle music?"
He didn't know much about music, but he could tell that Sirius, who was showing off at the piano, really had some skill. It sounded genuinely good.
Lucius exchanged a look with his wife, Narcissa, and replied with a smile, "In fact, the period of strict implementation of the Statute of Secrecy is only a short time in the long history of magic. From the dimension of time, wizards and Muggles have always lived together."
He stroked the snakehead of his cane and sighed with emotion, "Music is not just Muggle music; it is also wizard music."
"An interesting way to put it." Lockhart chuckled. "I find that many people suddenly became smarter after Voldemort was captured."
Hearing him say the name directly, Lucius and Narcissa's faces tightened, and they subconsciously shuddered. The name of the Dark Lord was terrifying. If anyone else dared to commit such an act of seeking death in front of them, they would surely face Lucius's wrath and a sudden falling out. But the person in front of them was Professor Lockhart, a magical master comparable to the Dark Lord. The Malfoys dared not say anything.
In fact, their invitation to Lockhart this time was essentially an attempt to pledge allegiance. Although they didn't say it directly, that's what it was.
When Grindelwald was chatting with Lockhart, Snape, and others before, he had talked about the so-called "pure-blood theory," analyzing it thoroughly. That is—when you think you are more noble than certain people, you will subconsciously accept that someone else is more noble than you.
Grindelwald had said, "They need a master, a master to provide order for their world. I think this is the greatest value of the 'pure-blood theory,' allowing those of us who are firmly on the magical path to easily find a group of exceptionally useful servants. Oh, my mistake, we don't have to look; they will come to us themselves."
The significance of pure-blood families to Grindelwald was like the significance of house-elves to pure-blood families. Whether or not old Gellert's words were biased, the principle remained.
Look, Mr. Malfoy came to them. They longed to maintain the glory of their family and their pure-blood pride, but they had to face the reality that this world was not ranked by bloodline but by magical ability.
Unique bloodline inheritance certainly provided them with a more advantageous foundation for improving their magical abilities than other wizards, and the long glorious history of their family also provided them with sufficient heritage, but ultimately everything depended on the individual.
Lucius's ability was decent, and Narcissa herself, as well as her siblings, also had good abilities. But it had been a very long time since a magical master had appeared in their family.
"This restaurant was actually owned by the Black family before." Lucius tried to find something to say to diffuse the awkward atmosphere.
Lockhart also came with good intentions and smiled, following up on his words. "It's not anymore?"
Lucius nodded. "When an ancient family can no longer maintain its glory, it has to submit to the rules of the world. The Black family had to sell this restaurant to a Muggle aristocrat to avoid the Ministry of Magic's accusation of the Black family violating the Statute of Secrecy."
Everyone was breaking the rules. That wasn't the crime. The crime was not having the ability to defend one's actions, so one had to obediently follow the rules. This was an unprincipled truth, but it was reality. For example, Hagrid illegally bred magical creatures and openly brought them out to show the young wizards as teaching materials, simply because Hogwarts' influence was enough to provide protection.
Family decline was an extremely painful thing.
Lucius's expression became serious, trying his best to appear sincere, even with a hint of flattery. "I actually considered letting Draco attend Durmstrang Institute before, but my wife objected. Now it seems this was an extremely correct decision, allowing him the opportunity to meet such a wonderful professor as you."
Lockhart's expression shifted. "What kind of school is Durmstrang?"
Lucius was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at his wife, Narcissa. This question was obviously clearer to Narcissa than to Lucius, as the Malfoy family, as one of the Governors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, generally leaned towards choosing Hogwarts for their descendants' education.
"My mother graduated from Durmstrang Institute. She often told us about the school." Narcissa's voice had an indescribable elegance. This sense of elegance and nobility had almost permeated the very bones of every member of the Black family, and it was a state that she couldn't change even after marrying into the Malfoy family and taking the Malfoy surname.
"The biggest difference between Durmstrang Institute and Hogwarts is that it recruits globally and only pure-blood family members." Narcissa hesitated for a moment and added, "But because the student source is becoming increasingly scarce, they also loosen some restrictions. They now also accept half-bloods with excellent pure-blood family backgrounds."
Lockhart understood. Not every half-blood was accepted. They wouldn't take someone like him, but they would take a half-blood like Hannah Abbott, who came from one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight pure-blood families. How interesting. Grindelwald had chosen this school to be his headmaster.
"There are many untrue rumors that this is a school dedicated to teaching the Dark Arts, but that's not the case." Narcissa explained. "They are just willing to face the powerful force of ancient magic. Although there are Dark Arts courses, they always teach students to learn them with greater restraint."
Lucius added, "In fact, pure-blood family wizards think much more carefully than ordinary wizards. They are aware of the dangers of the Dark Arts. They send their children to a magical school hoping they will grow and inherit the glory, not become a Dark wizard who is difficult to establish in the mainstream social narrative."
That made sense. If they knew they were sending their children to a Dark wizard school where they could only roam Knockturn Alley, these pure-blood families, who considered themselves "nobles," weren't fools. Lockhart understood. At least he knew that Grindelwald was expelled from Durmstrang, a school that claimed to be dedicated to the Dark Arts, precisely because he was researching dangerous Dark Arts. This was a problem that one didn't need to think about to see.
Lucius added, "Durmstrang's alumni and student associations have always been a very powerful force internationally." He deliberately lowered his voice and whispered, "At their peak, they even openly declared themselves to be the 'true International Confederation of Wizards.' Of course, as you know, then Grindelwald and Dumbledore appeared..."
He got it. Lockhart now had a clearer idea of the power that Grindelwald was about to wield.
He stroked his chin and thought for a while, then asked, "What about Beauxbatons Academy of Magic? Do you know anything about it?"
Lucius nodded. "The Malfoy family is also one of the Governors of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic." He said with a bit of embarrassment, "But our influence there is actually not very big."
Lockhart was surprised. "The Malfoy family?"
Lucius nodded. "Just as I said, the period maintained by the Statute of Secrecy is only a short time in the long history of magic. In the era when the wizarding world was not partitioned into jurisdictions by the Ministries of Magic of various countries using the Statute of Secrecy, the European wizarding world, and even the global wizarding world, was actually an integrated whole."
"Moreover, our Malfoy family, as well as the Lestrange family, both came from France."
"In addition, there is the Rosier family, which has family branches in France, and the Black family has intermarried with many pure-blood families in France." Lucius carefully elaborated on the influence of these four families in France, which included more than just the magical school.
Just then, Narcissa suddenly said, "The Black family is also one of the Governors of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, and its influence has always been considerable."
"This influence remained strong even when I married into the Malfoy family and my sister married into the Lestrange family." This right was naturally inherited by the descendants of the "Black" surname and could not be divided as dowry. Now that Sirius's brother, the official heir, was gone, this right naturally passed to Sirius.
A starving camel is still bigger than a horse. Not to mention the Black family, which was known as the most ancient and noble pure-blood family. Even the dilapidated inheritance that Sirius currently possessed was an extremely terrifying fortune. Lockhart sighed with emotion.
He was finally sure that Snape was wrong. Sirius didn't need to marry a witch from France who was related to Beauxbatons Academy of Magic; he was one of the Governors of the school himself.
Although there might be a gap right now, with Sirius backed by Dumbledore's influence, it was likely that Beauxbatons Academy of Magic would seek to establish a connection with Sirius themselves.
Of course, this was not a flaw. How could he and Snape, who came from humble half-blood backgrounds, possibly understand the intricate complexity behind these ancient pure-blood families?
It was precisely these insights that made Lockhart see Lucius's value. He saw the waiter finally pushing the cart towards them and decided to end the conversation. He simply said, "I know you care about your child. Draco is performing well in the 'Quidditch Dueling Club.' If you want him to be more popular among the students, perhaps you can help provide the brooms for the children to use."
This was not a small amount of money. For both competitions and daily training, Lockhart required the young wizards to use the most advanced Firebolt brooms, which were very expensive—expensive to buy and expensive to maintain.
Although they were both brooms, the Firebolt and the Shooting Star series had completely different meanings in reality. The latter was a tool for living. The former was—a weapon of war!
Asking Lucius to cover the cost of this "military equipment" without offering any returns was an outrageous demand.
However, Lucius was so excited that he immediately agreed. He exchanged a glance with his wife, Narcissa, and the tension they had been feeling finally eased. As long as they had utility, as long as they were needed, and as long as they were beginning to be needed, the glory of the Malfoy family could continue.
Because, from then on, they were backed by the powerful magical master, Gilderoy Lockhart! Even if Dumbledore planned to settle accounts with their family, he would have to consider this point. Corban Yaxley was still alive, and everyone was watching. Although Corban was now taking the Yaxley family to the Americas to work for Lockhart, investing money, people, and resources without expecting anything in return, who could say this wasn't an investment? The titles and rights of "Governors" held by the Malfoy, Black, and other families were also built up step by step through investments like this.
At once, the host and guests were all happy.
In contrast to the increasingly harmonious atmosphere between Lockhart and the Malfoys, Sirius on the other side of the stage was having a difficult time.
Sirius was extremely awkward. He wasn't like this before. He used to be a charming young man, full of boundless charisma. Then he was involved in the war, caused the death of his best friend, and went to prison for over a decade. The food in Azkaban was not at all nourishing.
No one knew the kind of inner torment a Black, who was considered ill-omened, went through when he entered the darkness of Azkaban. People often spoke of using emotions to cast spells, but few considered that if this path worked, the reverse was also true. As a continuous influx of external dark magic washed over him, his heart began to breed emotions that were not his own. These emotions, in turn, stimulated his soul, unleashing the magic of the ill-omened.
The reason he didn't go crazy like everyone else wasn't because of the Animagus transformation or some nonsense about inner love and strong will. It was actually quite simple. Dementors genuinely didn't like to eat the ill-omened nature that emanated from a Black's soul. In the Dementors' eyes, he was probably just a stinking latrine, plain and simple.
But this still couldn't change his inherent inner pain and the discomfort of having his mind doubly devoured by the Dementors' darkness and the Black family's ill-omen. He—wasn't exactly uncrazy. Sirius felt that he had long turned into a mad dog. He was now trying his best to act like a person, a normal person.
Perhaps this was his path to redemption: he had to be like a person, to act like a person. But when he actually tried to do this, he realized he didn't know how a normal person should act. Sometimes he would wake up in a cold sweat from a nightmare, walk to the full-length mirror next to his bed, and see only a dog's face. Yes, he had unconsciously performed the Animagus transformation in his sleep!
His inner pride made him not want anyone to know about this, so he instinctively resisted the idea of finding a life partner. But Kreacher had warned him. Sirius actually knew that Kreacher was concerned about him, which was why he made this arrangement. That hateful house-elf was just like that; once he recognized someone as family, he would take it for granted that he should care for and look after them wholeheartedly.
Treat me with sincerity, and I'll repay it a hundredfold. That's the kind of person Sirius was.
Unlike the thoughts of those who were secretly laughing and speculating about him, he didn't treat the blind date passively. He even tried his best to market himself. Kreacher needed a mistress, and the Black family needed a mistress. He had inherited the Black family, and he had become Kreacher's master. He didn't want to let anyone down, so he worked hard to do well.
No one knew how proactive he was on his blind dates. For example, right now, he was proactively showing off the piano skills he learned in his youth and his melancholic temperament, trying to charm the woman in front of him.
The woman was clearly moved, looking infatuated, completely mesmerized.
But the woman asked a question. "Sirius, this is our second meeting. I have only one question—" As she spoke, she leaned down, looking down at Sirius, who was somewhat constrained sitting at the piano. She said, "Tell me, what is my name?"
It was a very simple question. If he answered it, everything would be settled. Sirius knew that. But he didn't know the answer. He tried hard to recall what Kreacher had told him, but the names in the long list of women that Kreacher had mentioned were jumbled into a mess in his mind, preventing him from distinguishing the answer in the mist.
He felt as helpless as a child who had done something wrong.
The woman sighed, looking deeply at Sirius. "I'm willing to marry you only because I, a Muggle, am so desperately obsessed with the magical world. Maybe I can't be a witch, but at least my child will be a wizard."
"And you at least look decent."
"Not to mention the Black family is definitely the best choice I can find, isn't it? My sister's house-elf mentioned how rare people like you are."
"But, Sirius, can you truly give me happiness?"
Yes!Yes!
Sirius opened his mouth, but for some reason, no sound could come out. It was as if a stone was stuck in his throat, choking him, making him feel so miserable that he wanted to run away.
The woman didn't get an answer in the end. She left. Sirius didn't know how she left.
He just sat alone at the piano, staring silently at the keys and his slightly trembling hands on them. The light overhead shone on him, making him the most conspicuous person in the restaurant, but all he wanted was to hide in a dark corner and turn into a big black dog.
Could a person like him—really have a future?
"Severus once thought his life had no future," a voice suddenly rang out next to him.
Sirius looked up abruptly and saw Lockhart, who was leaning against the piano with his arms crossed, smiling at him.
"He said his life was only left with pain and hatred." Lockhart shrugged. "People think that pain and hatred bring powerful magical force, but that's not true. Only pain and hatred with vitality and life force can have magical power, like Harry's, not the stagnant water of Severus's."
"So Severus was full of helplessness because his pain and hatred didn't help him end the pain and hatred; instead, they pulled him into the abyss. The only thing he could do was sink."
"He didn't know what to do, but he's out of it now."
Sirius pursed his lips and simply said, "I don't care if he's out of it or not!"
"Severus knows the answer." Lockhart smiled at him. "Severus can give you the answer. I can feel his sincerity now. I think you can go to him. He'll be willing to tell you the answer."
"Me?" Sirius looked at Lockhart in disbelief. "Go to him?"
"Why not?" Lockhart smiled and straightened up. "Of course, we can cherish the past and treasure it so dearly, but that doesn't help the present. It's not an either/or option. The past and the present existing simultaneously create a powerful life force. But, the present is always the beginning of everything."
"Sirius, aren't you planning to start your life too?"
Start—life—
Sirius was speechless. His hands slammed heavily onto the piano keys, creating a dull, powerful resonance that echoed in his heart. He suddenly stood up, quickly straightening his collar.
"You seem to have the answer yourself?" Lockhart felt the emotional state emanating from him with some curiosity.
"No." Sirius shook his head and laughed. His laugh was still melancholic, still a little dark, but somehow it contained something different. He said, "I don't think I need the answer. I'm going to catch up with that woman, personally ask her name, and remember it carefully in my heart."
Oh-ho. Lockhart found this truly interesting. Sirius was so different; he was a fascinating person. He gave a thumbs-up. "Go for it, man!"
Sirius proudly tossed his somewhat shaggy hair. "I think I'm still quite charming, don't you think?"
With that, he strode out. As he approached a table, he smiled politely at them, then casually pulled the flowers out of the vase on their table.
Run! He ran out with long strides! Amidst the surprised gasps of others, he ran outside, and then, amidst another wave of surprised gasps, he ran back, sincerely and personally thanked Lockhart, and then left again in a whirlwind.
His life was like a gust of wind in the wilderness, perhaps always without a place to settle. But sometimes, just as Lockhart said, when he moved, when he moved with vitality, he would always be the most dashing gust of wind, howling and surging, capable of reaching an unknown future.
..........
I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to those who support me on this journey. Your contribution make a real difference!
As a patron, you unlock:
Exclusive Access: Get advanced +90 chapters ahead of everyone else.
👉 Join now: P-a-treon/Chaos_God
(Just remove the- hyphen to access normally)
Thank You so much For your Support and for Reading!