Can You Tell Me Your Name?

Seeing Sirius's expression, Ivan knew what he was thinking and said, "I'm supposed to be dealing with Dark Wizards, so don't tell me you've never killed one…"

As a former member of the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius had certainly killed Dark Wizards, and he had killed many Death Eaters in the last Wizarding War.

However, this did not mean that he would help Ivan kill at will, and Sirius stared at Ivan for a while before asking.

"Can you tell me your name?"

"Ivan Hals!" said Ivan, deciding there was no point in hiding anything.

HALS?! Sirius felt a vague sense of familiarity, then had a thought. Could it be that HALS?

However, Sirius glanced at Dobby and was puzzled. If he remembered correctly, they did not have any house-elves.

Gulp…

As they sat in silence, they heard a noise.

Ivan turned to look at Sirius. The noise was coming from him.

Sirius was embarrassed, as he had not eaten well since his escape from Azkaban, and he had used up a lot of energy, so of course he was starving.

"Get him some food, Dobby!" said Ivan.

Dobby shot Sirius a look of displeasure. After all, Sirius had just attempted to attack his new master twice.

Dobby, however, obeyed, snapping his fingers and disappearing.

A moment later, it returned with a plate of steak, cream pudding, cornflakes, and other food.

As for the source of the food…

It was from Hogwarts, of course… Dobby happened to see it on his way to the kitchen.

Perhaps this was dinner for one of the white-bearded headmasters?

'Who knows?'

Sirius helped himself, grabbing a piece of steak and stuffing it into his mouth.

Ivan opened a thick tome of potion ingredients and turned back to his research, preparing to brew a potion.

After all, he did not know how to perform Dementory. In order to ensure that he would be able to get accurate information from those in the know, he naturally had to make some preparations.

Fortunately, he had read about the recipe for Veritaserum in The Most Powerful Potion in the Restricted Section.

It was just that it was a difficult potion to brew, and he had never used it before, so this was Ivan's first time brewing one.

On the other side of the room, Sirius studied Ivan as he filled his stomach.

When he had eaten his fill and felt the stiffness leave his body, Sirius put down his plate and wiped the grease from his mouth.

"Hales, can you tell me who your parents are?"

"That's not for you to ask!" Yvonne shot him a look.

'I wouldn't be so sure of that. If nothing else, I might know your father!' Sirius said tentatively, raising his eyebrows.

'I take it you're from a single parent?'

Ivan paused in the act of dispensing truth serum, but did not reply.

Sirius was sharp enough to notice this, and, understanding, continued.

"That's right. Your father and I worked together. We were very good friends. We fought the Death Eaters together…"

"He was a brave man, a worthy hero, always on the front lines, and together we foiled many of the Dark Lord's schemes…"

Sirius rambled on about what had happened thirteen years ago, trying to get closer to Ivan, who interrupted him impatiently.

"But he died in the end, didn't he?"

Sirius's face froze, and he tried to correct Ivan's statement, because he thought Ivan's father was, to be precise, heroically sacrificed and great!

Ivan, however, did not give him the opportunity to do so, and continued speaking with a heavy tone before Sirius could speak.

"If I'm not mistaken, Dumbledore had something to do with his death?"

Sirius was completely taken aback. He stared at Ivan blankly, then spoke angrily.

"Is that what your mother taught you? I knew she was selfish and bitter! A Dark Wizard through and through! Your father must have been blind to fall for her…"

"More than ten years ago, she tried to stop your father from joining the Order of the Phoenix. She constantly instigated him to abandon everyone and flee to the Americas when he was in danger. She even secretly plotted against him. None of your father's friends, including me, thought highly of her!"

Sirius's tone was sharp, and he was about to curse again when a blinding red light brushed past his cheek, interrupting him.

A moment later, there was a loud explosion and a circular crater appeared in the back wall.

"Shut up!" Ivan snapped, glaring at Sirius.

Ivan trusted Alicia more than his masked "hero" father, and was willing to side with her.

Ivan's overreaction was far beyond Sirius's expectations. He looked back at the huge crater in the ground and broke out in a cold sweat.

If this spell hit him directly, he would most likely be seriously injured…

Sirius was silent for a while, but did not get angry again.

He could tell from Ivan's reaction that something was wrong, and seeing Ivan alone in the ruined house in the middle of the night, Sirius lowered his voice and whispered a question.

"Where is your mother?"

"She's fine… you should be more concerned about yourself when you have time," Yvonne replied stiffly.

He kept a lid on Isiah's death, partly to confuse the Mastermind into using Polyjuice Potion, and partly to avoid causing a social death.

Ivan didn't know much about the temporal paradox, but he did know that if many people knew that Alicia was dead, it would be bad for him to go back in time and save her!

After some thought, Ivan turned to Dobby.

"Dobby, keep an eye on Black. If he says one more word, use the Stunning Charm to silence him."

"Yes, sir!"

Excited, Dobby's right index finger glowed with magical fluorescence, and his bell-sized eyes watched Sirius's every move, the Stunning Spell at the ready.

Under Dobby's watchful eye, Sirius was forced to keep his mouth shut, though he sighed to himself as he had a few guesses…