Adrian raised his eyebrows with amusement at these words.
"I remember you telling me last time I visited that appreciating their furious expressions and listening to their rants every single day was one of your great pleasures of coming home to this miserable house. You seemed quite entertained by their outrage."
"Even the best pleasures eventually grow tiresome and lose their appeal," Sirius shrugged with dramatic resignation, pulling a wittily exaggerated face.
He descended the stairs in just a few strides. "Besides, during the holidays especially, I don't want any guests—certainly not friends I like to be immediately greeted upon entry by my dear, departed mother screaming the word 'mudblood' at them repeatedly, even if she's just trapped in a portrait and can't actually do anything."
He shook his head with disgust. "That woman is genuinely insane, you know. Always was, even when she was alive. Death hasn't improved her character."
It had to be said, with heavy irony, that Sirius was truly the most devoted and respectful son a mother could ask for.
The two of them walked together through the entrance hall toward the dining room. The dining room like the entrance, had also been simply decorated for the holiday.
The table in the center of the room was now covered with a brand new white tablecloth. The table was filled with various foods arranged appealingly: roasted meats, fresh bread, winter vegetables, pies, and desserts.
In addition to the feast, numerous candles had been set up throughout the room, their soft, flickering light were casting a warm and welcoming atmosphere in this traditionally gloomy house.
"Molly and Tonks have been working busily all morning to prepare everything," Sirius said, gesturing broadly toward the abundant food on the table. His expression showed gratitude for their efforts. "Though I'll admit, it can't really compare to what the house-elves manage at Hogwarts."
"Actually, if we're being completely honest, Tonks was more of a hindrance than a help," Mrs. Weasley said straightforwardly as she emerged from the kitchen. She wore a flour-dusted apron and carried a large plate of steaming roasted potatoes carefully in both hands, the aroma was coming temptingly.
She had clearly overheard Adrian and Sirius's conversation from the adjacent room.
"I've said all along that I'm absolutely rubbish at household magic," Tonks protested defensively, following behind Mrs. Weasley with a slightly upset expression. "It's not my specialty. But at least I didn't completely mess things up or set anything on fire, did I? That has to count for something."
Her hair had shifted to an indignant shade of orange.
"Ah, yes, yes, that's true enough," Mrs. Weasley acknowledged with a patient, slightly long-suffering look at her. Her expression showed she'd been dealing with Tonks's kitchen 'incompetence' all morning. "You didn't cause any disasters, dear."
Then her face softened with something like relief and motherly hope.
Household magic was very important indeed for young women to learn, she believed.
Perhaps the child was finally beginning to understand and appreciate that truth.
Adrian glanced around the dining room, noting its relative emptiness despite the preparations. He asked with curiosity, "Why is it just you three here? Where is everyone else?"
"Some people haven't arrived yet—they're still on their way or finishing up other business, and then... the rest of our party are currently on the second floor " Sirius explained, his eyes were suddenly flashing with an unmistakable glimmer of excitement. "You might not believe this, Adrian, but we have some extraordinarily good news to share."
Adrian remembered clearly that the second floor of Number 12 Grimmauld Place contained only bedrooms and a single study, not meeting rooms.
He looked at Sirius expectantly, waiting patiently for further explanation and details. But Sirius merely stood there wearing an infuriatingly smug expression that clearly said "go on, ask me what happened, I'm dying to tell you but I want you to ask first."
Classic Sirius, always melodramatic.
But Adrian just continued staring at him calmly, refusing to play along with the game. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
Two equally stubborn, boring fellows engaged in a silent battle of wills...
Finally, unable to bear the suspense any longer, Tonks burst out with excitement, "We caught Bellatrix Lestrange!"
Her hair spontaneously became several shades brighter with her enthusiasm and she continued speaking at a rapid, breathless pace. "Just this morning at dawn, actually. Remus led the team that successfully captured her!"
"Hey, what happened to building a little mystery and suspense?" Sirius complained good-naturedly, throwing up his hands in mock frustration. "You completely ruined my dramatic reveal, Tonks."
"Oh, sorry," Tonks said without any real remorse, grinning.
Mrs. Weasley set down the plate of potatoes and wiped her hands on her apron, her kind face was showing a comforted smile of relief. "Now we can all rest easier knowing she's contained. That woman is absolutely vicious—she's caused so much suffering over the years."
She continued, "Kingsley and Alastor are upstairs right now guarding her, waiting to transfer her securely to Azkaban... Oh, you probably didn't know yet, Adrian, but Moody was finally discharged from St. Mungo's about two months ago. He's been recovering well, all things considered."
Adrian nodded slightly, processing this information. He indeed hadn't known about Moody's discharge from the hospital.
However, given that Moody had apparently taken such a long time to be discharged and return to active duty, it seemed his injuries and condition had been quite serious indeed. More severe than Adrian had initially understood.
And then there was the matter of Bellatrix Lestrange being captured... This was unexpectedly good news, quite a positive development.
After all, Bellatrix could legitimately be considered one of the strongest, most capable Death Eaters under Voldemort's command.
But despite the apparent good fortune, Adrian felt something wasn't quite right about this situation. An instinctive unease was beginning to form.
"Where exactly did you capture her?" he asked carefully.
"The dock district in Southampton," Tonks explained readily, gesturing as she spoke. "That's a mostly working area where Muggles live—lots of warehouses, shipping facilities, that sort of thing. The Ministry of Magic also issued an official warrant for Bellatrix's arrest in the Muggle world, and then apparently someone spotted her lurking around and reported it."
The explanation seemed straightforward enough.
Adrian pursued the line of questioning more thoughtfully, his expression becoming serious. "She deliberately went into Muggle territory? That seems very unusual for someone of her background and beliefs. Why would a pure-blood supremacist hide among Muggles?"
"Who knows what goes through that deranged woman's mind?" Tonks shrugged casually, looking unconcerned.
"Maybe she genuinely thought it was the safest place to hide? After all, by conventional thinking and standard search patterns, we really wouldn't conduct a large-scale, organized search in that kind of densely populated Muggle area. There is too much risk of exposure."
She paused, observing Adrian's expression, then asked with concern, "Wait... are you thinking this might be a trap of some kind? Professor Westeros?"
Perhaps she was beginning to sense the hint of unease and suspicion in Adrian's careful words and furrowed eyebrows.
Tonks casually reached over and patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. "That lunatic probably just thought the Muggle world provided good concealment. She's paranoid but not extremely clever. Don't worry so much."
Adrian shifted his gaze toward Sirius.
Sirius waved his hand at Adrian dismissively, his tone was also confident and relaxed. "Relax, Adrian. You're being overly cautious. Right now, at this moment, this Death Eater is firmly in our hands. She can't possibly do anything to threaten us."
He added with satisfaction, "Besides, we've already administered significant doses of Veritaserum to her and conducted preliminary interrogation. We're taking proper precautions."
"Veritaserum isn't omnipotent," Adrian replied calmly.
For some reason, he had an uneasy feeling in his heart.
Sirius tilted his head meaningfully toward the staircase, inviting verification. "You can go upstairs and see for yourself if you're so concerned. We converted one of the spare bedrooms into a temporary secure cell. She absolutely can't escape."
"Alright, then," Tonks said, straightening her robes and adjusting her wand holster. She looked somewhat eager to return to duty. "It should be my turn to take the next watch shift anyway."
Adrian decided to follow the group upstairs to assess the situation himself. Better to be overly cautious than dangerously complacent.
They climbed the wooden stairs to the second floor, and walked down the corridor to the very end, finally stopping before what appeared to be an ordinary, unremarkable door.
Sirius pushed it open, and Adrian discovered that quite a few people were already crowded inside the converted room, which was clearly being used as both a cell and a guard station.
Remus and Mr. Weasley were leaning against the opposite wall engaged in conversation. Moody stood conspicuously in the center of the room like a guard, both his natural eye and his magical eye were constantly moving and scanning. Kingsley guarded the room's only window with vigilance with arms crossed over his broad chest.
The one thing they all had in common, Adrian noted immediately, was that everyone held their wands at the ready.
And the Bellatrix that Sirius had mentioned was firmly bound to a wooden chair beside Moody.
Her dark curly hair hung in tangle around her face. Her eyes were tightly closed, her head was hanging forward limply on her chest, clearly in a deeply unconscious state.
When Adrian and the others entered the cramped room, everyone immediately stopped their conversations and gathered around.
"We gave her quite substantial doses of Veritaserum before bringing her here," Moody explained in his gravelly voice, stumping forward on his wooden leg. He walked directly up to Adrian and stared at him intensely for several seconds with both eyes.
"Plenty of sedatives and calming draughts too," He added. "She's not going anywhere or doing anything for hours."
Adrian knew from experience that Moody scrutinized everyone this way—it was simply his nature, born from years of constant vigilance and paranoia. So, he paid little attention to that unsettling, sharp gaze, and just nodded in acknowledgment.
He stepped forward slowly, moving closer to examine the unconscious Bellatrix Lestrange with attention.
"It really is her," Adrian said, his gaze falling on the Dark Mark on her arm.
Adrian was certain the Dark Mark was genuine. Voldemort probably hadn't even thought about creating any concealment or disguise for this mark when he originally designed it.
The traces and residue of dark magic on and around the Dark Mark were nearly impossible to completely erase or replicate convincingly. They left a distinctive magical signature.
Adrian could clearly sense that ominous, corrupt power radiating from the mark even in Bellatrix's unconscious state. Even the Devil's Snare living beneath his own skin began to stir restlessly in response, responding to the proximity of dark magic with instinctive wariness.
"Did you manage to extract any valuable intelligence from her?" Adrian turned away from his examination to address Remus. "Anything useful about Voldemort's location or plans?"
Remus shook his head slowly, his face was showing slight fatigue and disappointment. Dark circles under his eyes showed he'd been up all night with this operation.
"Just some insignificant, largely useless information and admissions. She readily admitted to participating in several attacks. But regarding Voldemort's current hideout location and his next plans, she was extremely evasive and incoherent."
He sighed. "We couldn't get anything solid."
'As expected,' Adrian nodded in understanding.
Powerful wizards with strong willpower and mental fortitude could generally resist the effects of Veritaserum to some degree, especially regarding information they desperately wanted to protect. It was a known limitation of the potion.
So, it was entirely normal that they couldn't successfully extract much genuinely useful intelligence from someone like Bellatrix.
Especially someone with her profile of being fanatically loyal, mentally unstable, and experienced with Dark Arts. Though she was clearly quite insane, one could easily predict her willpower was absolutely extraordinary and unbreakable.
After all, she was someone who had remained loyally at Voldemort's side for decades, and had endured years in Azkaban without breaking. That required tremendous mental strength.
However, despite the frustrating lack of immediately important news or actionable intelligence, everyone gathered in the room didn't seem too disappointed or discouraged by this initial failure.
Sirius smiled slightly, his tone was relaxed but carrying an edge. "Now that we finally have her firmly in our hands, we'll eventually dig out some useful intelligence from her. Even if she's incredibly stubborn and resistant, we have plenty of time to work on her slowly."
His gray eyes glinted dangerously.
"Remus, we should still have quite a substantial supply of Veritaserum remaining in stores, right? We can keep trying."
Adrian thought Sirius's smile looked somewhat chilling and cruel.
At this moment, Moody turned his magical eye toward Sirius and asked in his gruff manner, "By the way, has Dumbledore arrived yet?"
"He said he'll come by later this afternoon," Sirius answered.
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