149: Chapter 149 Loot Vault

"Second Year, inventory check."

After the door to the study of Potter Manor closed, Allen placed the empty box on the edge of the table and opened the entrance to the Portable Space directly.

The family crest lit up above the fireplace, and a voice emerged from the silver patterns. "Welcome home, Master Allen. No Wizard has entered within three steps of the iron gate, and there was a trace of residual magic at the street corner, which has been recorded."

Allen took off his outer robe. "We'll talk later."

He stepped into the Portable Space.

The two hundred and fifteen square meter space was already stable, and the boundary mist was pressed into an arc by twelve knut anchors. The golden patterns on the north side were sealed back to the edge by seven layers of anchors, with only thin light moving slowly within the patterns. The ebony box was placed north of the center, the cracked pocket watch was isolated by three layers of spatial thin walls, and the blue light was steady.

The Void coiled beside the ebony box, its silver vertical pupils looking at Allen, and its tail tip tapped the ground.

In the corner of the cage, Peter curled into a ball, shivering after hearing footsteps.

Allen didn't look at him, first placing the scrapbook brought back from the station onto the new shelf.

"First item, Chamber of Secrets coordinate map."

The Void's tail tip hooked, and a scroll of parchment slid out from the pile of archives. On the paper, the underground structure reflected by the northern golden patterns was visible, with the Second Floor Girls Lavatory main shaft, old drainage interlayer, the Chamber of Secrets main hall, and the hidden pipe behind the snake statue all marked with knut imprints.

Allen unfolded it and looked it over. "Three anchors in the main hall are dormant, do not activate. Girls Lavatory entrance recorded, incomplete Parseltongue and mechanical anomalies. Potter key position verified, archived."

The family crest's voice came. "Synchronized with the manor archives. Suggest adding defensive patterns to the outer layer of the Chamber of Secrets."

"Will do in the second half of the summer vacation."

He rolled up the map and placed it next to the Black stone tube.

"Second item, Basilisk materials."

The Void's tail tip pushed over a slender stone tube. Inside were three fang fragments, one scale, and a small amount of dried venom traces, separated by spatial thin walls.

Allen opened the outer layer to check; the fang fragments still reacted to the diary scrap. The Black gas outside the scrap was pressed within the thin walls, shrinking whenever it touched the direction of the fangs.

"Horcrux bane." Allen resealed the stone tube. "Keep two fragments; test the container before grinding the third one."

Peter made a muffled sound in the cage.

Allen raised his hand, giving him three seconds of speaking permission.

Peter immediately shrieked: "Don't put that thing too close, the things Master made will be contaminated, and the Basilisk venom will backfire; you'll turn this place into a graveyard!"

Permission retracted.

Peter's mouth was sealed again.

Allen wrote down the record. "Peter's suggestion, increase toxicity isolation by one layer. Adopted."

The Void's tail tip flicked, as if expressing reluctant approval of Peter's value.

"Third item, diary scrap and Unicorn silver blood."

The diary scrap was sealed within three thin walls, and the silver-green "M" on the inside of the scrap was still there. Beside it, in a glass bottle, the Unicorn silver blood had been purified, its luster stable, while the gray-Black residue stripped from the curse was sealed separately in another small bottle.

Allen crouched to check. "The scrap is for Horcrux structure research, the silver blood is for life magic stabilization. Do not touch the gray-Black curse residue unless needed to simulate Lord Voldemort's life-extension contamination."

The family crest reminded: "The remaining amount of pure silver blood is insufficient for seven experiments."

"That's enough." Allen closed the box lid. "Body first, no wasteful tests."

He walked to the cage.

Peter moved backward, his back pressing against the space wall. The Void raised its head, its tail tip lying across the cage door.

"Fourth item, Peter Pettigrew."

Allen pulled over a piece of parchment, on which Peter's uses were written: witness, bait, core of old cases, Black's operation target, key to the old Death Eater circle.

Peter saw the word "bait", and his eyes nearly popped out.

Allen gave him ten seconds.

"I'm useful!" Peter's voice was shrill with urgency. "Black will kill me when he gets out; he thinks I'm still at the Weasley Family. He can't find me, he'll go find Harry, he'll go to Hogwarts, he'll drag everyone into it!"

"Continue."

Peter swallowed. "Dementors will follow him. Those things can smell fear, they can smell sin, they can smell old magic. Hiding me is useless; they will surround the school."

"Can they smell the space?"

Peter froze. "I... I don't know."

"Deducted three days for nonsense."

The seal fell back, and Peter desperately covered his mouth.

Allen added a line to the archives: Dementor perception of the Portable Space is unknown, needs testing, avoid contact.

The Void's tail tip pressed on the word "testing", then looked at the ebony box. The cracked pocket watch was quiet in the box, as if it hadn't heard the words "Dementor".

"Fifth item, Lucius's leverage."

Allen unfolded the rubbing of the diary scrap. The half "M" was copied into three copies by Spatial Displacement, two of which were blurry, and one was clear enough to see the sealing lines of the Malfoy Family.

"Can't use it now." He seemed to be speaking to the Void, and also to himself. "The evidence chain is insufficient. Using it too early will only force the Malfoy Family and the old circle to band together."

The family crest replied: "Suggest saving it as a deterrent archive."

"Save it."

He pressed the rubbing into the Second Year archives.

On the bookshelf, a new archive shelf automatically floated up a level, and the label changed from blank to "Third Year".

Allen picked up a new piece of parchment and dipped the quill in ink.

First item: Confirm Black's prison break timeline.

Second item: Peter's usage, witness or bait.

Third item: Dementor risk, soul-level attack test.

Fourth item: Nott's father's old letter.

Fifth item: time-turner.

When he wrote the fifth item, the cracked pocket watch rang once.

The Void immediately raised its head, its tail tip pressing on the ebony box. The northern golden patterns also lit up for a moment, then were pressed back by the seven layers of anchors.

The family crest's voice lowered. "Time-side relic response."

Allen looked at the words "time-turner", his fingertips stopping at the edge of the paper.

"It's not time yet."

The pocket watch quieted down.

Peter watched that paper from the corner of the cage, his eyes more fearful than when looking at the Basilisk fangs.

Allen let the parchment dry and placed it in the first slot of the Third Year archives. "Summer vacation tasks: stabilize the space, write the Snape report, handle the manor surveillance, wait for news of Black."

The family crest suddenly lit up in a ring. "Outside the manor street, there is magic residue near the Muggle lamppost. Time, thirty-seven minutes after returning from the station. The visitor did not enter the iron gate."

Allen looked up. "Related to the station sight?"

"Cannot confirm. The residue has flame affinity similar to a Phoenix tail feather."

The Void's tail tip stopped.

Allen closed the Third Year archives. "Dumbledore's people."

Peter heard Dumbledore, and his whole body shrank into the corner again.

Allen walked out of the Portable Space, the sky outside the study window already dark. The Muggle street lights outside the manor were on, looking very ordinary.

Ordinary is best for hiding eyes.

He returned to the desk and picked up the quill again.

Outside the Third Year archives, he added another line.

Order of the Phoenix, to be confirmed.