After parting with the assassins Rodolphus had hired, Severus returned home. Then, taking Nagini with him, they moved to their new house. The roof was already finished, and only the windows remained. They would arrive tomorrow, and then the construction would finally be complete.
He came for one purpose: to check that everything was in order. During the week he had learned to trust the goblins' skill, but their greed was hard to ignore. Yet no matter how thoroughly he searched, he found no flaws that deviated from the blueprint. Everything was done as if by a ruler, which pleasantly surprised him. The goblins themselves were even a little offended by his distrust, but after Severus removed five penalties, their spirits rose so much that they forgot their annoyance.
The house itself did not look particularly special, though it had a slightly provocative appearance for a magical world stuck in the eighteenth century. Still, Muggles probably would not be surprised.
It was small, only three floors and a basement, but it looked pleasant to the eye, especially in winter. The walls were painted in light colors, particularly the central part. One could say the house was made in the best traditions of perfectionism connoisseurs. It was divided into three parts: the central section with three floors, a small two-story addition on the left, and another two-story addition on the right adjoining the main one, all of them regular rectangular shapes.
In fact, Severus had seen this style in a Muggle magazine that had accidentally caught his eye. Huge old mansions brought up unpleasant feelings in him, something very close to melancholy, so he chose a style that looked more modern and brighter. Nagini liked it too. Having grown up in the Muggle world, she preferred this look to the old houses of various aristocrats.
After saying goodbye to the goblins, who looked very pleased, they returned home. After dinner Nagini went to sleep, and Severus, sitting by the window, continued working on the glasses, laying silence charms around himself so he would not accidentally wake her.
As he studied the lens, he felt familiar magic moving quickly toward him, but he did not pay attention and kept working, even when it slipped into the room.
Exactly ten minutes later he set the lens into a plain frame and put on his creation. Then he looked at the shadow and could not hold back a satisfied smile, because he could clearly see the silhouette of a man within it, as well as magic streaming from the shadow like flame.
"Not bad. They are more or less almost ready. I just need to reduce the strain on the eyes and brain, and that will be it." With that, he set the glasses on the table and turned to the shadow, extending his palm. A few seconds later a crystal appeared there. He fed a little magic into it, and an image rose above it: a naked man tied upside down to a branch, being used like a punching bag, while the one delivering the blows was especially cruel, almost without restraint. Then, after fast-forwarding two hours, they had already taken him down and moved to Diagon Alley, where they dumped the body, not forgetting to cast warming charms so he would not die of frostbite. "Not bad. I am satisfied." Severus smiled at the shadow and slipped the crystal into his wallet.
"Thank you for leaving my team alive," a calm male voice said in the room.
"You are welcome. If that is all, you can go."
The shadow was silent for a few moments, until he finally decided to ask:
"Excuse me, may I know what kind of artifact recorded all this, and is it possible to buy several dozen such crystals?"
"They are not ready." Severus answered indifferently, turning his back and examining the glasses again. "Sound was not recorded, the recording time is limited to two hours, and there is also a chance it will not record anything at all."
"I see."
"But when they are ready, I will, so be it, sell them to you first, in exchange for your services."
A completely ordinary sheet of paper appeared on the desk by the window.
"As soon as you tear it, we will know about it and immediately head to you."
"Good. You are free, and from now on you had better gather information about your target. I do not want you not to come when I tear this sheet." Without touching the paper, Severus continued working on the artifact. Behind him he felt a flicker of displeasure. One of the best assassin teams was being lectured by some schoolboy. Still, Severus was completely right. Only because of their lack of information had they gotten into this mess and nearly lost their lives.
"Yes. Until we meet, Mr. Prince," the shadow said, and disappeared, Apparating back to the rest of the group far from Diagon Alley.
A smile appeared on Severus's face.
"How cautious." Then he glanced at Nagini, who was actively pretending to be asleep, though she had woken the very moment she felt someone sneak into the room.
Finally getting up from the chair, Severus went to the bed and lay down beside her.
"Go to sleep. Nothing serious happened." Nagini snorted in displeasure, then slithered closer and pressed against him. "I love you too." He gently ran a hand over her smooth scales and closed his eyes. A few minutes later, besides their even breathing, there were no other sounds in the room.
By noon the construction was completed. Honestly, Severus had never seen goblins so happy as when he paid each of them the promised Galleons, and their praise made his ears almost curl into tubes.
Still, one of the main goblin rules was "Time is money," so they did not linger. As soon as they collected their things, the workers left the property. Only the chief remained to sign some additional documents, and then he disappeared as well.
Severus could not restrain a sad smile as he looked at the building. For some reason old memories of family surfaced again. After more than thirty years, he had a place he could return to at any time, his home.
"Severus, are you okay?" Nagini asked with concern when she noticed the change on his face.
"Just remembered something from the past. Do not worry." He smiled warmly at her and looked back at the building. "I just need to work a little more and everything will be ready. We can move into our own house."
"I cannot wait for it."
"Me too. All right, Tobby, Nelly."
At that moment two house-elves appeared in front of him. One wore glasses with round lenses and a white robe, and the second wore trousers and a shirt. Even with the change in their appearance, their personalities barely shifted, except for the adoration in their eyes, which climbed to a new level and threatened to turn into worship soon. Severus would not have been surprised if one morning he found them praying to his portrait.
House-elves were strange creatures. Treat them well and they became the most devoted beings. Severus liked that, but sometimes they overdid it. No matter how much he fought it, nothing worked, so he gave up. The main thing was that they were completely loyal to him, and the rest no longer worried him.
Bowing, they lifted their adoring gazes to him.
"Clean up around the house and inside."
"Yes, Master!" the house-elves answered in chorus and vanished to begin work.
Severus took out a bucket of red liquid, which Nagini recognised as blood, then another bucket and a large cauldron. He began drawing a magic circle around them. Nagini did not interfere, only watched with interest.
A few minutes later, when he finished, the blood in both buckets flared. It flew out, merged, and above them appeared images of a snake and a dragon, roaring furiously at Severus. In the next moment the images dispersed and the mixture sank into the cauldron.
Thoughtfully stroking his chin, he covered the cauldron with a steel plate and looked at the house.
"I think this will be enough." Using wind magic to lift it, he headed toward the building.
"And what is that?" Nagini asked.
"Dragon and Basilisk blood. For the rune system it is the most suitable material. Only it can withstand magical flows for the full functioning of the house. In the future I will find something better, but until then I will use this. I will have to renew it every year, but it will not be as hard as applying it the first time." Severus opened the door and stepped into the building, its walls bare and its rooms empty. Everything was spotless, not a speck of dust on the floor. "Well done." A brush appeared in his hand, and he dipped it into the blood. "Time to work."
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