"We need you to be prepared, I need to remove the protective flames."
After Harry finished speaking, the surrounding flames suddenly licked outwards.
The Inferi were naturally terrified of the flames; when startled, they quickly retreated, with some even falling backward into the lake.
"Don't worry, Harry," said Vivi.
Hearing Vivi's response, Harry raised his other hand that wasn't holding the magic wand.
"Get ready—"
As soon as the words were spoken, the surrounding flames suddenly disappeared, as if they had never burned.
The Inferi were momentarily dazed, completely unprepared for the flames to mysteriously vanish.
"Now's the time!"
Vivi shouted, and with surging magic power, her robes rustled fiercely under the chaotic magic.
The purple magic, like a solidified whip, lashed out, driving the stunned Inferi back into the lake.
Harry raised his magic wand high and shouted, "Regulus Acutus Black's clothes come!"
As soon as he finished chanting the spell, a strong white light burst from the tip of the wand.
Simultaneously, the lake water churned violently, and soon a thin figure flew out from the lake, swiftly drawn to Harry's hand.
"It's Regulus!" Little Sirius exclaimed.
That was his youngest brother; how could he ever forget?
He was very curious how Harry could use a Summoning Charm to pull Regulus out of the lake, considering that the charm typically doesn't work on people.
But this was clearly not the right time to ask questions, so Little Sirius could only suppress his curiosity.
"Let's go," said Harry, "Use Apparition Displacement to return—"
With a loud crack, Harry pulled Regulus back to the Black Family Mansion.
Apparently, his return was not well-timed, as Regulus landed right between Hermione and Ron.
It seemed Hermione was tutoring Ron on his homework.
At the sight of Regulus, Hermione let out a piercing scream.
Ron promptly pulled Hermione back, and then, without thinking, he drew his magic wand and aimed a Flaming Bear at Regulus.
Harry cast a spell, blocking the Flame Magic, saving Regulus from being burned to ashes.
To be fair, Ron was quite reliable—as long as what suddenly appeared in front of him wasn't a spider.
An Inferius couldn't scare Ron, who was used to small pranks by the Weasley Twins.
But if a giant spider appeared, then now accompanying Hermione in crying out like an air raid siren would probably be Ron as well.
"What's going on here?" Vivi, even stepping into the Black Family Mansion, had the mood to joke, "Oh, I really wonder if we traveled through time during our Apparition Displacement; is this indeed Coventry in 1940?"
The reference to Coventry concerns a historical event where the British authorities sacrificed specific interests for the greater good. Led by Alan Turing, a team cracked Germany's code system and learned about the Moonlight Sonata plan for a devastating bombing on Coventry. Britain, to prevent revealing its code-breaking system to Germany, chose not to warn residents or take unconventional defensive measures, leading to the city's destruction.
One could say Hermione's scream was indeed reminiscent of an air raid siren.
Seeing Vivi arrive, Hermione finally stopped screaming, her face alternating between red and white, both embarrassed and a little unsettled.
"What on earth is going on?" Hermione hysterically asked.
"This is Little Sirius's brother, whom we rescued from the cave," Vivi glanced at Regulus clawing at Ron, his tone indifferent, "His condition seems a bit off, but that's no problem."
"You call that a bit off?!" Hermione demanded, scratching her head, "He's already turned into an Inferius—we learned in class that these are obvious signs of Inferius transformation—"
"It's no big deal," Vivi maintained a nonchalant attitude, "Don't worry, he doesn't bite."
Hermione felt she had heard this line somewhere before... Oh, she remembered; it was during a visit to her aunt's house when she was in first grade, a holiday guest, her aunt described their dog similarly.
"See, he doesn't bite, don't worry, dear."
No sooner had those words been spoken than the dog bit her cousin.
While Hermione was still lost in her recollections, Little Sirius and Dumbledore returned.
"I believe our urgent matter now is to clear Regulus's name!" Little Sirius's first words upon returning were, "He's a hero against Voldemort, not a follower—a villain. This must be made known to the entire Magic World—look, the two males of the Black family, both stand on the frontline against Voldemort!"
"That's indeed what we should do," Dumbledore said weakly.
Harry noticed Dumbledore's poor state, and stepped forward to help him sit on the sofa.
"You really shouldn't be so arrogant, Dumbledore," Vivi sighed and said, "We all understand the meaning of self-sacrifice... whether it's me, Harry, or Uncle Black, we embrace the spirit of sacrificing everything..."