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The house smelled of mildew thriving on old rotting parchment. From the moment he had crossed the threshold of the front door, he had wanted to leave. Dread and despair seemed to be written in the very foundation of this house. Everything about the air inside the building smelled of hopelessness. So much so that even Molly Weasley couldn't get rid of the undesirable smell. Not even with all her extensive cleaning.
The only thing about Number Twelve Grimmauld Place that made Ophiuchus hate it more than anything,was having to clean everything by hand. He simply didn't see the point of wasting hours on scrubbing and dusting when most of it could be accomplished with a flick of a wand. Having to clean a decade worth of dirt and dust, and tackling the resident plethora of pests, was hardly anyone's favourite hobby. Except for the Weasley twins, maybe. They found themselves a cheaper way of obtaining ingredients for their pranks, or the whole joke shop thing.
Moreover it just made him despise Mrs Weasley more than he already did. Sometimes the way the Weasley matriarch talked to Andy and her obsession with secrecy gave him a weird urge to say something like, "We are not as naive as you happen to think,you know." But Andy would surely not be particularly pleased about him sparking a quarrel.
But Ophiuchus Black being himself lost patience far earlier than the rest of the children in the house. And of course did not even try to restrain himself from starting an argument with Molly Weasley.
"Why do we have to clean everything by hand?" he asked the older witch, who chose not to acknowledge the statement. "I understand the we being unable to use magic for the trace, but you know, you adults could finish off most of it in a couple of simple spells. And the furniture is trying to kill us."
Thanks to Andromeda, Sirius who was about to add something to that quickly shut his mouth. She was glaring at him so intensely with her signature do-not-dare-to-even-think-about-it look. Ophiuchus having annoyed her more than once was unsurprisingly familiar with what followed
"Are there any spells for the Doxys, Dear?" Mrs Weasley asked. She should've mentioned that it was mainly to keep the children preoccupied and made sure that they did not spy on the Order members.
"Well the doxicide is quite effective. But that cloak there tried to strangle Ron. And the pointy spider like thing, attacked Harry. And my father in here, is trying to throw away stuff worth several thousand galleons," said Greer incredulously.
"You're right about that one Eddie," Andromeda shook her head.
"Don't tell me you actually wanted to keep that junk," Sirius retorted.
While she was completely fine with Sirius throwing away anything which was violent and lethal, she was not particularly impressed about the gold, or the old silks and satins, which even after lacking a decade of maintenance ,were in perfect condition, going into the trash. Walburga Black seemed to have charmed her extensive collection of gowns, just like her insufferable portrait.
