These words left Vivi astonished.
Wait, which side are you on exactly?
No wonder Cassandra calls her a fool; if I had known earlier, I should have personally...
"No, I've got a bit of a headache."
Harry changed the topic, afraid to delve deeper; what if Vivi decided to use her magic wand and turn murderous?
While saying this, Harry reached up and touched the scar on his forehead.
"A headache?"
Vivi straightened up and asked cautiously, "Is it where your scar is?"
"Yes." Harry nodded, "It feels like a recurring stabbing pain since dinner, and I have an ominous feeling..."
An ominous feeling?
Cassandra turned around, looked at Harry skeptically, then at Vivi.
"Could it be Tom Riddle?" Vivi asked with a furrowed brow, "You should know, Harry, whenever your scar hurts, it means Riddle must be nearby... Think about it: ever since you met Quirrell in your first year, and then the diary in your second year... anything related to him makes your scar hurt..."
At this point, Vivi felt like she had grasped something only for it to slip away.
"That's right." Pabi nodded, "It might be worth considering what the cause would be for his scar's pain."
"Let's start with elimination." Vivi stood and paced a few steps, "First, eliminate those always around Hogwarts, such as Professor Lupin and Mr. Black—you've been in contact with them without headaches, so they're absolutely safe."
"And Hermione, Ron," Vivi continued, "They couldn't possibly be Riddle's host... Cassandra and Pabi are impossible too..."
"And you." Cassandra leisurely remarked, "Think about it, Grindelwald—since you arrived at the Black Family Mansion, Harry's head started aching..."
Hearing Cassandra's words, Vivi suddenly broke into a smile.
"Really?"
She asked, walking to Harry's side, bending down to give a gentle kiss on Harry's forehead.
"Do you feel anything, Harry?" she asked softly.
The scent of her hair cascaded around, and Harry hurriedly crossed his legs, repeatedly denying, "No, no—"
"See, he didn't react." Vivi displayed a triumphant smile.
Cassandra squinted her eyes, teasingly said, "This isn't the time for you two to flirt—don't you realize Potter's nemesis is in this house..."
"As I've said," Vivi surveyed the dining room, "There are only two suspects: this kitchen and Kreacher—think about it, why does Harry feel fine in the entrance or Mr. Black's room, but not here in the kitchen?"
Cassandra drew out her magic wand, pointing it mid-air.
"Revelio!"
The spherical magic quickly spread to every corner of the room.
"Did you find anything?" Pabi asked concernedly.
"There's a red figure." Cassandra pointed behind Vivi, "It's the size of a House-Elf holding a cleaver, heading towards Grindelwald."
With that said, a crisp clanging sound rang out in the room.
"Looks like my Iron Armor spell arrived just in time." Vivi smiled at Cassandra, "But this poor House-Elf seems under the Soul-snatching Curse."
"Don't hurt him!" Harry quickly said, "Leave him alive; we need to know what happened."
Vivi waved a finger, and the old Kreacher floated from behind her.
He held a menacing, gleaming cleaver, evidently very sharp.
"Kreacher...must obey... master's orders!"
Kreacher growled.
"Master's orders?"
The three, plus a ghost, exchanged glances and asked, "Which master are you referring to?"
"Kreacher's master has...only one..." Kreacher's eyes were red, growling, "The esteemed Regulus Black!"
Regulus?
"But isn't Regulus dead?" Harry frowned, "I heard Phineas say that the Black family now only has my godfather left as the male heir."
Yet Kreacher struggled to say, "Master Regulus is alive! He ordered Kreacher to cleanse the Black Family Mansion at all costs—"
At that moment, Sirius and Lupin, hearing the commotion, rushed back from outside.
"Regulus?" Sirius strode forward, gripping Kreacher's sheet-like garment and shouted, "You saying Regulus is alive?! Where is he?"
"Kreacher cannot say!" Kreacher displayed a blissful expression of dying for a noble cause, "To die for the last heir of the Black clan is Kreacher's greatest honor—"
Upon hearing this, Sirius's face turned as dark as a pot's bottom.
Kreacher, what the heck?
I'm alive! Very much alive! I am the last heir of the Black family—even if I've been disowned by the Black clan, blood doesn't lie!
But Kreacher was obviously not in a proper state, clearly under the influence of a Soul-snatching Curse.
"Alright then." After some contemplation, Harry said, "I'll go to school to ask Professor Snape for some Truth Serum..."
"Ask?" Sirius responded fiercely, "Using Snot Spirit's Truth Serum is honoring him..."
"Godfather." Harry coughed awkwardly, "We've promised Dumbledore not to antagonize Professor Snape anymore."
"Fine—" Sirius drawled, "But, I still have reservations; we don't need to ask Snot Spirit for it..."
"I believe Professor Snape would be willing to help, and so would Professor Dumbledore." Harry told Sirius, his mischievous plan silently brewing.
It's Christmas, time to let the headmaster and Professor Snape work overtime.
Don't think you can relax at school; Voldemort's in Grimmauld Square No. 12, and you still eat and sleep soundly—isn't that just too much?
"We'll keep an eye on Kreacher." Vivi said to Harry, "Don't worry, we won't harm him—besides, a House-Elf can't pose any threat to us."
"I suggest not letting your guard down," Harry cautioned, "Kreacher has been at Black Family Mansion for a long time; we don't know when Voldemort began controlling him, but we know he had ample time to turn this mansion into a trap."
After Harry's words, the room suddenly dimmed as if the sun abruptly set.
"I never realized you had a knack for jinxing." Cassandra commented casually as if none of this concerned her.
"Lumos!"
Harry took out his magic wand, illuminating the entire room.
He produced several balls of Ancient Burei Immortal Fire, suspended around the room for lighting.
Being eternally burning, advanced flame requiring no fuel, Ancient Burei Immortal Fire was ideal for lighting.
Just then, Kreacher's figure abruptly vanished from Sirius's grasp.
"Careful!" Sirius and Lupin both drew their magic wands, ready for battle!
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