Bang!
The crisp bang sound woke up the gas lights hanging on the walls of the narrow entrance hall of the old house, fresh air flowed into the room, making the slightly stuffy old house regain some vitality. Then there were some more crisps sounds. The butler of Black House, an old pet small creature named Cliched, appeared in front of several people.
"Welcome back, Master Brian, Master Sirius, Mr. Lupin. And this one."
Cliched's ears, covered with creamy white hairs, wrinkled. His fat nose sniffs, and then, as if smelling something unpleasant, his shoulders shrugged. But at the scrutinizing looks of Amorta and Sirius Black, he spoke in muffled voice.
"Cliched doesn't know the name of this young lady, but Cliched welcomes her to the esteemed, timeless manor of the Black family."
"Oh, thank you!"
Amelia was a little surprised to see such an old pet elf here, she nodded to Cliched.
"I am Amelia Detter, you can call me Amelia, Cliched."
Some deeply ingrained views exist in Cliched's head. A pet elf he has never seen addressing his name made him feel uneasy, but eventually, it suppressed some of his bad habits.
"The meal will be ready in a while, Master Brian, Master Sirius."
"No hurry, we need to chat before the meal. Go about your own business, Cliched."
Amorta said.
Bowed slightly, Cliched disappeared in front of them.
"Did it almost lose its life just now, Amorta?"
Sirius Black shrugged his shoulder, and joked.
"Don't be too hard on him, Sirius--"
"Ron, "
"I think Cliched has improved a lot. I haven't heard it call me a worthless wolf cub for quite a long time."
Master Brian and Master Sirius.
These two titles are quite ordinary, but put together they seem strange. Amelia blinked her eyes and looked at this old but extraordinary in taste and luxury style mansion, full of doubts in her heart.
Since the pet elf calls Amorta as the owner, it means that it and the ownership of this house belong to Amorta. But isn't he not born from Muggles? And Cliched just welcomed with words that this mansion belonged to Black.
"Let's go..."
Amorta glanced at Amelia sideways.
"We'll go to the dining room, and talk about your affairs."
As he spoke, Amorta walked ahead, but his gloomy expression and low aura made Amelia feel scared.
"Don't worry..."
Sirius Black smiled slightly.
"As far as I know Amorta, although he doesn't look pleased, he's not angry enough to be."
Sirius Black had experienced the scene where Amorta and Amelia met at a hotel in the World Trade Center. At that time, they said in a vague manner, and Sirius didn't pursue it later, but through what he heard, as well as his in-depth discussion with Remus later on, they roughly grasped the relationship between Amelia and Amorta.
"You've been in the company of Amorta, Amelia--" Ron also cast a warm smile towards Amelia.
"You know, he's actually a very easy-going person."
Amelia nodded stiffly and followed Sirius Black and Remus.
They stopped at the door that Amorta had just gone through, leading to the basement. Suddenly, Ron said, "Sirius, if you don't mind, could you help me pack up my things?"
"Oh--"
Sirius was startled for a moment. Reacting, he looked at Amelia subtly and said lightly, "Sure."
"Of course, no problem. So, Amelia, the dining room is downstairs. Just follow the stairs down. The stairs are low, so be careful not to bump your head."
Amelia naturally knew that they wanted to create an opportunity for her and Amorta to talk alone, she bit her lip and nodded, watching the two people go up the stairs before her. She took a deep breath, pushed open the half-closed wooden door.
The hanging crystal chandelier, cleaned up, emits a steady light, illuminating the deep cave-like room. The farthest corner of the room was a rough stone fireplace. They saw the pet elf they met in the hallway busying himself with dinner preparation. Amorta sat in the middle of a long wooden table near the entrance, gently massaging his temples.
Amelia bit her lips again and descended the narrow stone staircase to the basement, walking up to the wooden table.
Tap-tap...
Amorta snapped his fingers, and the jingling noise from the fireplace suddenly disappeared. He took a breath, looked at Amelia who was a bit nervous, and felt sorry for her. His expression and voice became softer.
"Sit down, Amelia--"
Upon hearing this, Amelia pulled out a chair and sat down carefully.
They looked at each other without a word. The strange atmosphere in the silence made Amorta want to laugh.
Although Amelia was of a higher rank in terms of age, she sat there like a child about to be scolded, waiting nervously for Amorta's anger.
"How did you come here?"
He massaged his temples again and sighed, "How did you come here?"
"The Ministry sent word that Cornelius Fudge has ordered a ban on any Dementors from the American Wizarding Congress entering Britain. How did you bypass this obstacle?"
Amelia secretly breathed a sigh of relief, pretending to be calm and said, "It wasn't what I expected you to become angry at me."
"I quit."
"Resigned?"
Amorta was inevitably surprised.
"Isn't it your dream to become an Auror? According to what I know, the Wizarding Congress only accepts the most outstanding young wizards. It's destiny that you have such an opportunity. At the same time, you've also participated in the battle against vampires. It would be a great help to your career in the Ministry of Magic. But you've abandoned it and run into trouble in the British magical world?"
With the tone of a concerned parent worrying about their child's future, Amorta's voice contained a hint of scolding.
"Joining the Ministry of Magic and becoming an Auror was indeed my dream once."
Suddenly, when Amorta expressed his true dissatisfaction, Amelia discovered that the faint fear in her heart disappeared. Instead, a warm feeling began to fill her. It was like the warm current that rushed into her body when Amorta touched her wand.
This warmth gave Amelia courage, and she straightened her chest, speaking without any fear.
"But after what happened with Trelawney, I have witnessed the Chairman Coram orchestrating the manipulation of the truth for the sake of so-called greater benefits for politicians, I have realized that perhaps I may not be suitable for the work of the Ministry of Magic."
"If you feel that you cannot adapt to the dirty politics, you can seek another job in the American Wizarding Congress. If you like, I can let Remus recruit you as the business manager of our workshop in America, leading the gnomes there and promoting the establishment of a technical support service network."
Amorta, furrowing his brow, said,
"You're very smart, Amelia, you should know that if our relationship is exposed, Voldemort wouldn't send his Death Eaters."
"I know the risks involved."
For a long time, no one had dared to interrupt Amorta while he was speaking, but Amelia stared at Amorta fiercely with a burning gaze, breaking from her usual calmness, and spoke loudly.
"I know the dangers and harm of a black witch in this country whose name cannot even be mentioned. I came here as your family, so I can't let you fight alone, right?"
"I'm not fighting alone, Amelia--"
Amorta said.
"Beside Dumbledore, there is a group of people who share the same cause as me, such as Sirius and Remus. Oh, that's not the point. Amelia, you need to go back to New York. Your home is there, and your parents are getting older. They also need you."
"They understand everything."
Amelia once again interrupted Amorta's monologue, with a firm gaze and speaking with a stiff neck, "I won't go back to New York, I won't leave you here to fight alone. I will stay with you and be your partner."
"It was them who begged me to come here and take care of you!"
(End of Chapter)
