"Yeah, it’s more vehan living in the Muggle world where I ’t use magic," Alex expined.

  Sirius fell silent for a moment, gng at Alex with a more serious expression. He’d fotten that Alex was an orphan. Spending Christmas alo a pub seemed awfully sad.

  After a pause, he said, "Well, how about you e stay with me instead? I live alone, so it’d be o have some pany. What do you think?"

  Alex sidered the offer for a moment and then nodded. "Sure, why not? As long as I’m not imposing."

  Sirius ughed. "You? Impose? Don’t worry about it. I’m not afraid of being disturbed. Just don’t expect the pce to be too tidy!" He revved the engine, and the motorcycle took off with a roar.

  Soon, they were flying above London, the motorcycle pletely invisible to the people below.

  The freezing wind stung Alex's face, and after a few minutes of enduring it, he cast a transparent barrier to block the icy gusts. Sirius noticed but didn’t say anything, keeping his focus on the ride.

  They nded in a quiet Muggle neighborhood. Sirius drove through the streets until they arrived at a small vil with a garage. He parked the motorcycle inside, and they stepped into the house.

  "Wele to my humble abode," Sirius said, spreading his arms wide. "I’ve been living here since I ran away from home at sixteen. It’s not much, but it’s fortable."

  The house had a small living room with a firepce, a cluttered kit, and a couple of bedrooms upstairs. The backyard was rowing Alex know it hadn’t been teo in a while. Inside, however, the smell hit him first—a musty odor mixed with stale air. The floor was covered in dust, and the kit sink was filled with dirty dishes, some of which had started growing mold.

  Alex sneezed as soon as they entered. "Merlin, Sirius! Do you ever this pce? You could at least use Scify on a while!"

  Sirius waved him off, pletely unbothered. "What’s wrong with it? I live fortably. Don’t tell me you’re one of those freaks?"

  Alex sighed. "fortable is ohing, but this is a disaster. How do you live like this?"

  Ign Sirius’ protest, Alex carried his things upstairs to one of the guest rooms. It wasn’t as bad as the rest of the house, mostly just dusty. He set down his luggage and opehe window, letting in some fresh air. With a wave of his wand, a gust of wind swept through the room, gathering the dust into a pile before he sent it out the window.

  "Much better," Alex muttered to himself, satisfied with his quick ing job. He gnced around the now livable room, unpacked his things, and then headed back downstairs.

  Sirius was lounging on the couch, lookiirely too fortable in the messy living room. "There’s food i if you’re hungry, but don’t expect me to cook for you. Help yourself."

  Alex chuckled, shaking his head. "Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered. Just don’t be surprised if I up while I’m at it."

  Sirius ughed. "Do what you want, kid. Just don’t mess with my system—I kly where everything is in this mess."

  Alex rolled his eyes and headed into the kit. As much as he liked Sirius’ carefree attitude, there was no way he was going to survive in such chaos. A little ing wouldn’t hurt anyone.

  Alex took out his wand and cast several ing spells on the house, starting with Scify and moving onto Aguamenti to thhly rihe walls, floor, and ceiling. He even draihe water outside and followed it up with drying charms. Once everything otless, he finally felt some satisfa with the state of the house.

  Just as Alex finished his ing spree, Sirius’ voice echoed from downstairs. "Hey, I’ve got to head out to meet some friends. Don’t worry, I’ll bring back dier. If you get hungry, there are some det Muggle restaurants arouhere’s a good Italiahat does pizza. Just be careful not to let the Muggles see you casting any spells."

  With a whoosh, Sirius Disapparated, leaving Alex alone in the now immacute house. "Meeting some friends? More like heading to a meeting with the Order of the Phoenix," Alex muttered to himself but didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he ied his ing efforts again.

  Although the kit was now sparkling, the rest of the house was still a disaster zone. Alex sighed and rolled up his sleeves. There was no way he was going to stay in this mess. "How Sirius fight dark wizards but 't fight dirt?"

  Alex grumbled as he started ing again, this time fog on the living room. He waved his wand ahe pots and pans in the sink to themselves. They flew one by one uhe faucet, scrubbing themselves with sponges, rinsing, and then drying in a line. Alex wasn’t satisfied until they had been ed three times over.

  After the kit otless, Alex turned his attention to the living room, where the sofa was covered with grime. He tried several ing spells, but the stains were stubborn, refusing to budge. Frowning in thought, he suddenly had an idea. Pointing his wand at the sofa, he cast the Evanesco spell but modified it to act as ara spell.

  Slowly, the stains on the sofa were pulled out, like dirt being sucked through a straw. "hought I'd be using this spell for housekeeping," Alex chuckled to himself.

  It worked so well that he tinued using the spell on the carpet, the table, and the floor. Within mihe entire first floor was as as new. He even rearrahe furniture so everything was aligned perfectly.

  , Alex tackled the fridge. When he ope, a foul stench greeted him, and he recoiled. "How does he live like this?" he muttered, tossing out all the moldy, uifiable food.