days at Hogwarts

Chapter 732: Traces Left in Spider's Tail Alley
The Apparition's landing point is Cokeworth.

This is an industrial town on the outskirts of London, but it has been abandoned in recent years. It lacks supporting living facilities and has serious chemical pollution. The air is filled with unpleasant chemical smells. It has been a gathering place for poor residents for a long time. The young people in the town can't find any reason to stay here, and the old people have left one after another, and the town has gradually become vacant.

There is a dirty river outside the town. The black water flows gently, but there is no sign of life. No fish can be seen in the water. Only various plastic garbage floats by. The rocks on the shore are covered with gray-green moss, weeds are overgrown, and there are piles of garbage.

Gray smoke lingered in the air, and the sunlight could not penetrate. On that summer morning in July, Loren and others walked on the deserted road and actually felt a little eerie.

"Spider's Tail Alley..."

Loren looked around, searching for a route map that might appear in the streets and alleys.

Although he had never been here before, Loren was able to find the direction accurately. In the desolate Muggle town, only the magical light was very conspicuous, and the Felicity Potion was also playing a subtle guiding role.

Walking along a row of old railings, we entered a narrow cobblestone alley and passed through the maze-like alleys. There was no sound around. Only the sound of the river flowing gradually disappeared, and the rustling footsteps became clearer.

On the other side of the alley were rows of dilapidated brick houses. Most of the glass windows on the houses were broken. Some were nailed shut with wooden boards, while others were left with dark holes. There was no light and no life at all.

The house at the end of the street was their target.

"Snape..."

Loren stared at the copper doorplate at the door. The words on it were already blurred and could only be barely recognized. "I told Professor Snape about the current situation. He just replied that he knew. That should mean tacit consent, right?"

This question was difficult to answer. The others looked at each other and remained silent rationally.

Walking in and arriving at the door, the old black lacquered wooden door was half open, the door lock had been broken, and there were footprints left by hard-soled leather boots on the door.

"It looks like it was left by the Death Eaters. It should have been after Easter..." Loren lowered his head to analyze the remaining traces and check for possible dark magic traps. "There's no need to use the unlocking spell now. If the Ministry of Magic sues us for breaking into a private house, we still have room for defense."

Hermione glanced at him.

Pushing the door open, there is no foyer, but a living room directly inside. It is dark and cramped, the vision is blurry, and the smell of damp and moldy wood lingers at the tip of the nose, making people frown subconsciously.

Loren tried pressing the dusty light switch on the wall, but there was no response. He didn't know whether there was a power outage or the circuit was damaged.

Hermione waved her wand and the silver light of the Illuminating Charm came on.

The room was like a dim, soft-walled prison cell. The bookshelves against the wall had been overturned and the books were scattered all over the floor. Most of them were old, thick volumes with old black or brown cowhide covers. In the middle of the room was a worn and fuzzy sofa, an old armchair and an old table, all covered in dust.

It's a mess, desolate and deserted place.

Loren sniffed, smelling the obscure smell in the air, and said to everyone, "Don't touch those books. They are coated with poison."

"..."

The others moved back, and Hermione quietly grabbed the corner of his clothes, looking at the books with some regret.

"What we are looking for should be upstairs. Come with me."

Loren stepped forward cautiously, leaving footprints on the dusty floor, and the others followed carefully, avoiding the poisoned books.

Due to the limited floor space, the structure of the entire house is not complicated. After going up the stairs and turning right, the doors of the rooms upstairs are open, and the footprints on them are still clear.

Ignoring the inconspicuous bedrooms, the first thing you see is the workshop. Bottles and jars are broken into pieces on the ground, and the liquid spilled on the ground is divided into two parts. Only color traces are left on the dried part, and the part that has not completely dried is sticky on the ground, and the smell is a bit pungent.

"..."

Considering the nature of Professor Snape's work, Loren and his friends did not rush in.

Going along the corridor, the room at the end is the study, which is similar to the living room. The tables, chairs and bookshelves are overturned, and the books are scattered all over the floor. However, there is no poison on them. I don't know if it's because the Death Eaters are not patient enough or the poison dosage is limited. "Hiss..."

As soon as he walked into the study, Harry took a deep breath and covered the scar on his forehead.

"Harry!"

"Don't worry, I'm fine, hiss..."

Harry reached out to stop Ginny and Hagrid, and while crying out in pain, he staggered into the study, threw away the messy potion books, and pulled out a plastic-covered notebook.

When I opened it, I found that the ink inside was very new. The handwriting was not neat, but it was very beautiful, exuding a luxurious temperament.

But the above title made several people feel cold in their hearts -

《Detailed Explanation of Horcrux Making》

"hiss……"

When Harry saw the notes, the pain in the scar on his forehead became more intense.

This sign also made others understand the author of the notes, and their breathing subconsciously slowed down.

"..."

Loren frowned slightly, making a vague guess about the source of the notes.

It should be left by Voldemort during his stay at Spinner's End to guide Professor Snape in making Horcruxes. I just don't understand why such an important thing was left here. Was it left by Professor Snape or Voldemort...

"I think this is what the Felicis Felix brought us here for." Harry rubbed his forehead, and the pain in the scar gradually faded until it disappeared completely.

Hermione walked around the room and looked outside. "It should be right. This is the room at the end of the corridor."

In the next few minutes, the group explored the other rooms, found nothing further, and prepared to leave.

Before leaving, Loren looked at the messy old house, pondered for a moment, waved his wand and began to tidy it up.

A small tornado suddenly rolled up in the room. The pages of the book were gently lifted, and wisps of dust rolled towards the eye of the storm like smoke. Tiny stains fell from the floor and walls, and finally gathered together, turning into a dust storm that rushed out of the window and fell into the river outside the town.

The overturned furniture and chairs were turned over and moved around the room one by one, while the intact furniture returned to their original positions and sat down. The tables and chairs with missing legs searched around, found the wooden sticks of the table legs, shoved them into the original holes with a creaking sound, and sat back in their original positions with satisfaction.

For some of the broken limbs that could not be found, Loren used Transfiguration to repair them. The process was a bit hasty and the style was not very uniform, but at least they looked new, so they had to make do with it for now. The rest could be repaired by Professor Snape himself when he came back.

The bottles and jars in the workshop are restored if they can be restored, and those that cannot be restored are all disposed of in a pollution-free manner. No chemicals are allowed to come into contact with them, nor are they discharged into the river outside. They can only be burned with a high fire. This leaves no residue, no waste gas or waste residue, which can be considered a contribution to green environmental protection.

The original order in which the books were arranged is unclear, so we can only simply classify them according to the color of the covers. At least it looks neat.

The books coated with poison in the living room were a bit difficult to deal with. In the end, I had to burn the covers and stuff the bare pages back into the books. It looked a bit confusing.

"Click!"

He cast an anti-locking spell and used magic to wipe away the footprints on the door, and Snape's house was restored to its original state.

Loren turned and looked at everyone: "Let's go to the next place."

(End of this chapter)