"Your ideals have come into serious conflict with your family's traditions, to the point where you even believe that if your family continues to follow those traditions, they will inevitably face destruction."
"That kind of thing is actually quite normal. After all, not everyone is going to be assimilated into the collective will of their family. Once you've gone through some outside education, it's not strange for your way of thinking to drift."
Link spoke slowly to Sirius, saying, "But the key point is, when you realized that the Black family was already walking down the road to ruin, not only did you make no effort to make amends or to correct it, you instead abandoned them without hesitation and joined the Potters. That is shameless betrayal."
"How do you know I didn't try? During that time, I was trying to persuade them every single moment! But the result? They all went insane! They were just..."
Sirius's pupils widened as he spoke in agitation.
But before he could finish, Link cut him off, "Does that make any difference in the end? Just because you couldn't change them, you thought you could just run away? You should know your surname is Black."
"It was the Black family that gave you life, the Black family that raised you and gave you the best care and education when you were young."
"Even when the family was on the verge of destruction, your relatives still left you a generous inheritance, so that even now, when you can barely make a living, you can still live comfortably. And how did you repay them?"
"With a light 'I tried, I really did,' and you think that's enough?"
"Faced with such grace and kindness, shouldn't you have gone to join those of the Black family who have passed away?"
Sirius's eyes were bloodshot, his breath ragged, and his whole body trembling violently.
Link's words were like sharp blades stabbing straight into his heart, making him ache to the core.
To say that Sirius didn't love his family at all would be a lie.
When he ran away from home back then, it was mostly just youthful defiance. He was only sixteen, how mature could he have been?
If one of his family members had called him back at that time, he probably would have gone home, just like most ordinary young people.
Unfortunately, things changed too quickly afterward because of Voldemort's rise, and they never got the chance.
Later, the reason Sirius valued his bond with James Potter so much was most likely because he felt abandoned by his own family, so he poured all the affection that should have gone to his family into James instead.
"That's enough, Link. Don't say another word."
From the doorway, Moody, who had escorted Sirius there, suddenly spoke up.
He could clearly feel that Sirius was right on the edge of an emotional breakdown.
If this went on, Sirius might revert to the state he'd been in when he first escaped from Azkaban, or worse, go completely mad.
However, Link ignored Moody.
He turned and pressed his hand on the portrait of a handsome young man hanging on the wall. Below it, the name was clearly written.
[Regulus Black]
[23/8/1961—blacked out/blacked out/1979]
"Compared to you, I actually admire your brother Regulus Black much more," Link said softly, caressing the portrait.
"Although he followed the orders of his parents and family, joined Voldemort, and became a Death Eater, dying young in the process, at least he repaid his family through his actions, instead of running away like some coward."
"Regulus was a truly noble person."
"That's how my father described him in his diary, they used to be friends."
"Ha! Two vile Death Eaters, they must've had a lot to talk about!"
Moody mocked mercilessly, pulling out his wand and standing behind Sirius.
He disliked Link's behavior, but the situation forced him to play along for now.
What surprised Moody, though, was that Sirius didn't explode as expected. Instead, he fell silent.
"Yeah… Regulus was the real Black. He was always stronger than me, more loved than me. And as for me… I'm just trash. I don't deserve the name Black. I don't even deserve to live here."
After a long pause, Sirius muttered hoarsely, then walked out of the room, looking utterly dejected, heading downstairs.
The muscles on Moody's face twitched.
From Sirius's words, he sensed that Sirius might be thinking of giving up the Black family inheritance.
That couldn't happen. The Black family's wealth was crucial to the Order of the Phoenix right now.
He shot Link a fierce glare, then quickly went after Sirius.
Their departure didn't bother Link. He was watching Kreacher out of the corner of his eye.
The poor house-elf was already sobbing uncontrollably, nearly crying himself to death.
"Kreacher, what's wrong?"
Link pretended to ask with concern. At his words, Kreacher hurried to wipe his tears, but no matter how much he wiped, they wouldn't stop. His huge, disproportionate eyes made his tears look even more exaggerated. For a house-elf, wiping tears was basically impossible.
"Oh!~ Honored guest, Kreacher is just… just too moved. Since Mistress left, no one has spoken so kindly of young master. Young master, he… he…"
Halfway through, Kreacher's voice broke into sobs again.
Emily, standing nearby, seemed both sympathetic and a little disgusted by Kreacher's crying. She spoke softly, "Don't be sad, Kreacher. If we can, we'll come visit you often. That way, you won't feel so lonely anymore."
"What a kind lady you are! Kreacher is so grateful to you. Please, do come often and visit Mistress, she's being driven mad by that disgraceful boy and this house full of thieves and robbers."
"Of course, we'll come visit," Link said cheerfully, smiling with just a hint of mischief. "And I hope you'll be the one to open the door for us next time, Kreacher."
He had a bright, polite smile on his face, but the expression carried a trace of cunning.
The reason he had come to see the Black family's genealogy wasn't to check any blood relations with the Blacks.
And those things he said to Sirius earlier weren't his true thoughts either.
In truth, Link personally agreed more with the saying, 'If the father is unkind, the son has every right to leave.'
Everything he'd said before was pure sophistry, even harsh rhetoric, meant only to anger Sirius while winning over Kreacher.
As a transmigrator, Link knew perfectly well that the cave Dumbledore and the others planned to raid didn't actually contain Voldemort's real Horcrux.
No, more precisely, it contained only a fake.
The real Horcrux had already been taken by the very person they'd just mentioned, Regulus Black.
Though Link had forgotten the detailed plot involving Regulus due to time, he was certain of one thing, Voldemort's Horcrux, the Slytherin locket, was now in Kreacher's possession.
That Horcrux, or rather, that "golden skill point", was something Link did not want Dumbledore and the others getting involved with, since that could introduce too many unpredictable factors.
But since he couldn't take it right away, the best move was to use his advantage and get on Kreacher's good side.
After all, in the original story, Kreacher had no loyalty whatsoever toward Sirius.
If he could leak information about the Order of the Phoenix to that lunatic Bellatrix Lestrange, then he could certainly give Link a chance to get the Horcrux himself.
Thinking this, Link kept smiling outwardly, but his gaze toward Kreacher grew increasingly predatory.
Half an hour later, Link happily returned to Flamel Castle with Emily.
Snape, on the other hand, went straight home, saying he had an "important potion" to prepare.
Having seen Snape's private life before, Link suspected that the "potion" was probably just an extra-strong cup of black tea, Snape's favorite indulgence.
"Link, you're finally back! Mr. Crouch has been waiting quite some time for you."
As soon as they entered the door, Mrs. Flamel greeted him with a warm smile. While speaking, she gestured to the man behind her, old Barty Crouch, who came forward as well.
This was the spy Link had planted inside the Ministry of Magic.
Over the past few months, Link had fully delivered on his promise to Crouch. Under Mrs. Flamel's management, the Flamel family's wealth and influence had been used to smooth Crouch's career path.
Given the Ministry's corrupt and clumsy system, this wasn't hard, bribery, coercion, and a generous stream of "charitable" donations worked wonders.
Now, amid the growing chaos of the times, the once-prominent Barty Crouch had quickly rebuilt his network of connections.
Though he was still officially stuck in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, he now wielded considerable influence. All he needed was the right opportunity to soar again, and challenge Fudge for the position of Minister for Magic.
After some polite small talk in the hall, Mrs. Flamel dragged Emily off to her room. She'd just returned from Paris with a batch of new Muggle fashions and was eager to show them off.
That left Link and Crouch alone in the study.
Having already tasted the benefits, Crouch was extremely deferential. He knew that the opportunity he needed still depended on the Flamel family's help. His humble, fawning demeanor now was completely different from when he and Link had first met.
His physical condition had changed drastically too.
Back during the Triwizard Tournament, years of being overworked and tormented by both Fudge's exploitation and his family's tragedy had left him near collapse.
But now, only a few months later, Crouch looked vibrant and healthy, his once-thin frame was sturdier, his pale skin glowing, and even his white hair had regained its original gray tone.
Link studied him carefully and confirmed that it wasn't dyed, it had genuinely grown back that way. He smiled.
"Looks like you've been doing quite well lately."
"Power is the best medicine for a man. That Muggle saying couldn't be more accurate," Crouch said with a faint smile. "Of course, it's all thanks to you, Mr. Flamel."
Link didn't respond to the compliment. He simply smiled and sat down in his chair.
"You've heard about the Harry Potter situation, I assume?"
"He's being charged under the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery Decree and the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy for performing magic in front of Muggles without authorization," Crouch said calmly.
Clearly, he already knew why Link had called him. "But of course, we both know this is just Fudge's attempt to strike back at Dumbledore. Those so-called charges are nothing but splitting hairs."
Link smiled faintly. "Fudge's motives don't matter. What matters is, this is your opportunity."
Crouch blinked. "You mean…?"
"You're smart enough to understand," Link said.
"Harry Potter must not be harmed, that's Dumbledore's absolute stance. Which means the one who will get hurt must be Fudge. Dumbledore will coordinate with us this time, Fudge is doomed."
"What you need to do is prepare your people and make sure you get as much benefit as possible from this 'war.'"
"If all goes well, this could be your chance to return to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."
At those words, Crouch's face flushed red. The color spread from his cheeks down to his neck before he finally steadied himself with two deep breaths.
"I understand, Mr. Flamel."
He stood, bowed slightly, and hurried toward the door, his footsteps quick and firm.
He had to hurry.
There were only a few days left before Harry Potter's trial. Though he'd already made some early preparations, he needed to make further adjustments in light of Link's plan.
His heart was burning with ambition.
Yes, he and Link had sworn an Unbreakable Vow as allies, but in truth, that vow bound Link far less strictly than it bound him. Link could have easily done the bare minimum.
But instead, Link had gone all in, supporting him with overwhelming force.
At this rate, within a year, he'd be standing shoulder to shoulder with Fudge himself.
Crouch was an adult, and a seasoned politician.
He didn't feel "grateful," not really. He was certain Link had his own secret motives. But even so, he couldn't help but be impressed by Link's audacity and generosity.
"Oh, by the way,"
Just as Crouch's hand touched the doorknob, Link's calm voice sounded again from behind him.
Crouch turned back, wearing his polite, respectful smile.
"I need a permit for Apparition. It should be ready before Harry Potter's trial, right?"
In the dimly lit study, Link spoke with his eyes closed, his tone slow and deliberate.
Crouch bowed slightly.
"No problem, Mr. Flamel."
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