Chapter 799 (1/2)

Harry walked up the old steps, his eyes fixed on the new gate.

Its black paint was tattered and scratched. The silver door handle has been twisted into a snake. There is no keyhole or mailbox on the gate.

Lu Ping took out his wand and knocked at the door once. Harry heard a loud, metallic click from the door, which sounded like the sound of a metal chain. The door creaked open.

”Come in, Harry,” lupin whispered, ”but don't go too deep and don't touch anything.”

Harry went into the almost completely dark hall. He could smell a damp, dusty, sweet mixture that felt like an abandoned building.

He looked back from his shoulders, and the others followed him neatly. Lupin and Tonks held his suitcase and Hedwig's cage in their hands. Moody was standing on the top step and was using the lighter to restore the extinguished streetlights outside. The light flew back into the bulb. Before moody limped in and closed the door, the square was covered in orange light again. Moody had closed the door, so the hall was completely dark.

”Here --”

moody patted Harry on the head with his wand again. This time, Harry felt as if another heat was flowing on his back. He knew that the so-called invisible magic, namely the phantom spell, had been lifted.

”Everybody, listen, when I give you a little light, everybody stand still.” Moody whispered. The silence of the others gave Harry a strange foreboding that they had entered a dying man's room. He heard a soft hiss, and then all the old-fashioned lamps on the walls lit up, casting a flickering, unstable light on the dappled wallpaper, and illuminating a long, dark corridor covered with worn-out carpets. At the top of the corridor, a tree shaped decorative lamp full of spider webs was flashing, as well as a long, dark portrait The painting hung on the crooked wall.

Harry heard some kind of valve opening at the skirting behind him. Whether it's the tree shaped decorative lamp or the candlestick on a rickety table nearby, it's shaped like a serpent.

In the distance came a rush of footsteps, and Ron's mother, Mrs. Weasley, appeared from behind a door at the end of the hall. Her face was full of welcome and rushed to Harry, but Harry found that she was thinner and paler than the last time she saw her.

”Oh, Harry, nice to meet you!” She whispered and gave Harry a hug that almost broke his ribs, then grabbed his arm and examined it critically. ”You look thinner. You need more nutrition, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait for dinner.”

She turned to the Wizards behind Harry and whispered eagerly, ”he's just arrived. The meeting has begun.” The Wizards behind Harry made a noise of interest and excitement, and lined up to walk past the door where Mrs. Weasley had just appeared. Harry wanted to keep up with lupin, but Mrs. Weasley pulled him back.

”No, Harry, this meeting is open only to members of the order. Ron and Hermione are upstairs. You can wait for them until the meeting is over, and then we'll have dinner. Try to keep your voice down in the hall, ”she added, finally, in an eager whisper.

”Why?”

”I don't want to wake anything up.”

”What do you wake up --”