"I think we still need to find a way to look into this matter more thoroughly," Adrian suggested, his tone was thoughtful and serious. "What if there's valuable news about Voldemort's movements hidden in those records? We can't afford to leave any stone unturned."
"You're absolutely right about that," Sirius agreed readily, scratching his head. His dark hair stood up at odd angles from the gesture. "But this won't be easy work at all. Finding information that's been deliberately concealed rarely is. Looks like we'll have our work thoroughly cut out for us in the coming days and weeks."
"Don't forget we still have a shop to run," Remus reminded him with a sharp look, though his tone had more resignation than real reproach. "We do technically have our business tasks too."
Sirius waved his hand dismissively, as if brushing away the concern. "It's practically gone under and bankrupt anyway. We haven't had a real customer in weeks."
Remus opened his mouth, clearly wanting to argue the point and defend their struggling business, but found himself genuinely at a loss for convincing words.
During this chaotic period, they had invested almost all their available energy and time into actively hunting Death Eaters and gathering intelligence for the Order.
The shop had long been left completely unattended. Perhaps the inside was already thoroughly covered in thick spiderwebs by now, dust coating every surface. Calling it bankrupt or abandoned was not far from the truth.
Sirius stood up decisively and brushed the accumulated breadcrumbs off his rumpled robes with quick movements. "I'll go find Mundungus immediately for help. Maybe he has a way to track down information about that orphanage through his various questionable contacts. I know for a fact he has some useful connections in the Muggle world."
Remus looked up in genuine surprise, his eyebrows rose sharply. "Didn't you always find that fellow thoroughly disagreeable? You've complained about him dozens of times."
"I do find him disagreeable," Sirius admitted freely with a wolfish grin, "but I have useful dirt on him from his various illegal activities, so he'll help properly this time whether he wants to or not."
His smile became cunning.
"Last time when he was trafficking those ill-gotten goods, if I remember correctly, I caught him absolutely red-handed in the act. Ha! Now's the perfect time to make him return the favor and work off his debt."
"Ah, that fellow..." Remus sighed helplessly, shaking his head with weary acceptance. "He's going to complain bitterly about this."
Clearly, he was quite familiar with Mundungus's character as well from their years working together in the Order.
Adrian only thought privately that Mundungus had brought this situation entirely upon himself through his own poor choices.
He didn't really understand why Dumbledore would allow someone with such obviously questionable ethics to join the Order of the Phoenix in the first place. Unless this fellow actually possessed some genuinely real skills that outweighed his character flaws. Since his personal character was so thoroughly unreliable, his practical abilities must be truly extraordinary to compensate.
Afterward, Sirius and Remus left once again on their investigative mission, disappearing through the fireplace with flashes of green flame.
Adrian stayed temporarily at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place for the night, taking one of the newly repaired guest rooms.
The next day arrived with pale winter sunlight, and the Christmas holiday officially ended. Hogwarts was about to welcome students back for the new term, and Adrian had to return to the school to resume his teaching duties.
In the early morning, he first used Apparition to travel directly to Hogsmeade to check on Amy's condition and ensure she'd settled in properly overnight.
The previously dilapidated room had been completely transformed by Tonks's enthusiastic cleaning efforts and Dumbledore's promised supplies. Amy was lying peacefully on a bed with clean white sheets that smelled faintly of lavender, her small body was curled up in a protective ball and sleeping soundly.
Her breathing was steady and calm, undisturbed by nightmares for once.
Adrian didn't want to disturb her fragile rest but stood quietly in the doorway for a moment, watching to ensure she truly seemed comfortable. Then he carefully, silently left, closing the door with barely a whisper of sound.
After briefly greeting Aberforth downstairs and receiving a gruff nod in return, he walked out of the Hog's Head into the morning air.
Looking at the time displayed on his silver pocket watch, Adrian calculated that even if he walked at a leisurely pace from here to Hogwarts through the village, he could still easily make it in time for breakfast in the Great Hall. He certainly wouldn't be late for the first Care of Magical Creatures class of the new term.
Therefore, with time to spare, Adrian decided to take a small detour through Hogsmeade's quieter residential streets.
He stopped in front of an ordinary-looking house tucked at a corner, half-hidden by snow-covered hedges, and raised his hand to knock firmly on the door.
Before long, the door swung open with a creak, and a familiar figure appeared before him in the doorway.
"Good morning, Professor Kettleburn," Adrian greeted warmly with a smile. "I hope I'm not disturbing you too early or interrupting anything important."
Professor Kettleburn now wore a pair of wire-rimmed reading glasses perched on his nose. His eyes behind the thick lenses squinted slightly as he stared at Adrian, examining his visitor carefully for a moment as if trying to place the face.
Suddenly, he slapped his forehead dramatically in realization.
"Oh, it's you, young Ed!" His booming voice had a distinct hint of genuine delight that warmed Adrian's heart. "Please come in, child! Don't stand out there in the cold! I was just about to brew myself a fresh pot of hot tea!"
Adrian followed Professor Kettleburn inside the cozy cottage, ducking slightly through the low doorway. The warm air from the fireplace immediately dispelled the biting chill from his body, enveloping him in comfortable heat.
The interior was still simply but comfortably furnished, much as he remembered from his last visit. The fire in the stone hearth crackled and popped cheerfully, sending shadows across the walls. Several detailed sketches of dragons in various poses hung prominently on the walls in simple wooden frames, it was clearly his professor's own artwork from his years of study.
On a table sat the remains of breakfast: half a slice of buttered bread with jam, and a bowl of creamy pumpkin porridge that had gone cold and solid slightly. In the corner near the window were several colorful ribbons and a small stack of opened cards, probably leftovers from Christmas celebrations.
Professor Kettleburn gestured for Adrian to sit comfortably by the table, then bustled about with surprising agility despite his prosthetic leg. He brought over a ceramic pot of steaming hot tea and two matching cups.
"What brings you here today, my boy?" he asked while carefully pouring tea for Adrian. A faint, pleasant minty aroma wafted up from the teapot, mixing with the scent of wood smoke.
"I happened to be passing through Hogsmeade on other business, so I thought I'd stop by to visit," Adrian accepted the warm cup gratefully and asked with interest, "It seems you're doing quite well here in retirement?"
"Retirement life is far too boring and quiet for someone like me!" Professor Kettleburn said, pouring himself a fresh cup of tea and settling into his chair with a sigh. He shrugged his shoulders in a gesture of helpless acceptance.
"I really want to find something useful and engaging to do for myself, to occupy my time productively, but..." He paused, his tone shifting to carry a touch of melancholy and frustration.
"As you can see, I'm willing in spirit but unable in body now. Lately, even my eyes are failing me, everything's getting blurrier."
"How's your overall health been?" Adrian asked with concern, leaning forward slightly.
No wonder the professor had reading glasses on his face now. Adrian nodded in understanding, though his concern deepened.
When he had last visited, Professor Kettleburn's body had already been showing signs of age and weakness, though his spirit remained strong.
"That's no serious problem to worry about," Professor Kettleburn smiled reassuringly and patted his prosthetic leg with affection, as one might pat an old friend.
"I know my own body quite well after all these years. Although it's certainly not what it was in my youth as those days are long gone; at least I can still move around independently without being a burden to anyone."
Hearing this typically positive assessment, Adrian felt somewhat reassured about his condition.
From his observation, the professor's physical condition was indeed relatively stable overall. Although he looked a bit older on the outside, his face was more wrinkled and his hair looked completely white now, he didn't seem to lack vitality or alertness.
In fact, his color seemed even better than during the last visit, perhaps the holiday cheer had done him good.
For an ordinary elderly person who had survived as many dangerous magical creature encounters as Professor Kettleburn had, this was already quite good, even fortunate.
"Keep me company for a proper chat," Professor Kettleburn requested, leaning back comfortably against his cushioned chair and holding his tea. "Has anything interesting happened lately? I've heard through the grapevine that it's not very peaceful outside these days, with dark wizards appearing everywhere."
"It's not quite that exaggerated," Adrian replied tactfully, though he couldn't entirely dismiss the concern.
He then proceeded to tell Professor Kettleburn about recent significant events, including the confrontation at Grimmauld Place and Amy's difficult situation as an Obscurial, without holding anything back or softening the details.
There was no need to conceal such things from his old professor and mentor. With Professor Kettleburn's experience dealing with dangerous magical creatures and dark situations throughout his career, although this particular matter was certainly somewhat frightening and unusual, it wouldn't cause him to panic unnecessarily or lose his composure.
"An Obscurial?"
As expected, after hearing everything Adrian had to tell, Professor Kettleburn only responded with deep emotion rather than fear, his face was thoughtful. "Poor child. Such terrible suffering for one so young. I sincerely hope she can come through this trauma soon and find some peace."
"That child is remarkably strong despite everything," Adrian said softly.
Professor Kettleburn nodded thoughtfully, his expression becoming gentle. "When I have some time, I'll go see the child myself. Amy is her name, right? What's her surname?"
"On that particular point, we're still investigating," Adrian set down his teacup carefully and answered honestly. "Actually, we're not yet clear about the child's specific background or family history. We only know with certainty that she's an orphan, taken from a Muggle orphanage."
Of course, this wasn't particularly important to Amy's immediate wellbeing either.
Even if they successfully tracked down the orphanage where Amy had previously lived before her abduction, it probably wouldn't be of much practical use to Amy herself at this point. They were investigating this trail mainly to find the recent activity patterns of the Death Eaters and possibly Voldemort's whereabouts.
The current Death Eaters were no longer just a problem limited to the wizarding world—they were even directly affecting and infiltrating the Muggle world now through kidnapping and violence.
This was not a good omen for the future.
After all, Muggles today were vastly different from those who had lived several hundred years ago in simpler times. In this modern era of rapid technological development with computers, weapons, communications, if magic didn't somehow keep pace and evolve in time, it wouldn't take many more years before Muggle technological capabilities would surpass wizards in every way.
Of course, this had nothing directly to do with what they were discussing now.
They chatted pleasantly about everyday matters for a while longer.
Finally, Adrian stood up. "I should be going now, Professor. I might not make it to Hogwarts in time for breakfast, but I should at least arrive for the first Care of Magical Creatures class of the term."
He winked playfully. "I wouldn't want to be late to my own class like a certain someone."
Professor Kettleburn laughed heartily and slapped the table. "Don't think I can't tell you're mocking me!"
He stood up nimbly and walked Adrian to the door, opening it to let in a gust of cold air. "Come visit again when you have time, Ed. It does an old man good to have company."
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