Chapter 57: Infiltration
The next day, Russell made a trip to Diagon Alley.
He was finally going to buy himself an owl—sending letters without one was far too troublesome.
By chance, he ran into Senior Louise there. Standing rigidly beside her was Professor Snape, who looked as though he'd wandered into a nightmare in human form.
After Louise greeted Russell, Snape immediately grabbed her and marched off at top speed, clearly uncomfortable in a place like this.
Since it was already late after he finished shopping, Russell stayed the night at Tom's Leaky Cauldron.
For all its grimy appearance, the room was surprisingly comfortable.
When he returned the next day, however, he froze in place.
The gates of the Addams estate were locked tight.
A seal had been slapped across the doors.
A sign was nailed beneath it:
"THE ADDAMS FAMILY IS FORBIDDEN ENTRY."
He had only been gone half a day.
What on earth had happened?
Russell peeked through the crack in the gate—and locked eyes with Dr. Schloss, who was standing at a third-floor window inside.
She smiled at him like a conqueror, then yanked the curtains shut.
Russell's face darkened.
Then, as if struck by lightning, he turned and sprinted home.
Sure enough—
An envelope had been pinned to the front door with an arrow.
It had to be Pugsley's work.
But the handwriting was Wednesday's.
Inside, there was nothing but an address and a phone number.
Russell checked the map. The place wasn't too far.
He immediately took the Knight Bus there.
By now, he was so used to the violent swaying that he no longer felt nauseous at all.
The location turned out to be a motel.
From a distance, he could see Wednesday and Pugsley had set up a little stall outside the entrance.
A banner hung overhead:
LEMONADE – £5 PER CUP
On the small wooden table before them were rows of brightly colored bottles.
The labels hadn't even been torn off.
Each read something different:
Arsenic
Cyanide
Hemlock
Rat Poison
And beside them—
A single, lonely yellow lemon.
Business, unsurprisingly, was nonexistent.
At last, a blonde little girl wandered over.
She was completely green.
Green shirt.
Green skirt.
Green shoes.
A perfectly round green hat.
After Wednesday confirmed that the drink was, indeed, made from real lemons, the girl frowned critically.
"I only like all-natural fruit and beverages. Organic. No preservatives."
She paused.
"You're sure it's real lemon?"
"Obviously," Pugsley replied impatiently.
"In that case," the girl clapped her hands, "I'll buy one cup—if you buy a box of my Girl Scout cookies."
She held up the box proudly.
Wednesday stared at it without blinking.
"…Were these made with real Girl Scouts?"
The blonde girl fell silent and had no idea how to respond. She turned around and left without another word.
"One more deal lost," Wednesday sighed as she watched her walk away.
"I'll take a cup of lemonade."
Wednesday raised her head without much hope—and then immediately smiled.
"Russell. You're back."
"Uncle Gomez, what on earth happened?" Russell asked, frowning at the exhausted-looking Gomez.
"I'll explain," Morticia said gently, casting a worried glance at her husband before beginning the story.
It turned out that sometime the day before, Tully had learned that the Addams estate was legally supposed to belong to the eldest son—Fester.
He had teamed up with Dr. Schloss, and together with a judge, they legally evicted the entire family.
"A Muggle judge?" Russell asked in disbelief.
Morticia nodded.
"They broke no laws," Esmeralda added quietly. "Everything was… legitimate."
Russell nearly asked why a family of wizards would let Muggle inheritance law decide their fate—but then stopped.
The Addams family was ancient.
Back then, they had lived as nobility among Muggles.
That was probably how today's disaster had been allowed to happen.
He also didn't ask why they didn't simply overpower the judge.
To the Addams, Muggles and wizards weren't all that different.
"Then what are you going to do now?"
The question fell into silence.
They exchanged helpless looks. No one answered.
"Come stay at my place," Russell finally said. "My house is big. There's plenty of room for all of you. We'll figure something out together."
Everyone agreed—except Gomez.
Pride kept him resisting… at first.
In the end, he got dragged into the car anyway.
---
Meanwhile, back at the Addams estate…
Fester stood in front of the iron gates, staring into the distance.
Longing.
Remembering.
Dr. Schloss called his name, but he never turned around.
---
That night, Morticia watched her devastated husband in silence.
When he finally fell asleep, she remained seated by his bed, gazing at his face for a long time.
At last, she made her decision.
She would go confront Fester alone.
---
But Russell didn't wait.
He prepared his equipment and headed straight for the Addams estate.
He was going to take it back himself.
According to what he had observed, Dr. Schloss and Tully were both Muggles.
The only possible wizard was Fester—and he didn't seem capable of magic at all.
His strengths lay elsewhere.
Muggle weapons.
Three versus one.
The odds were in Russell's favor.
Inside the estate, he would be able to use magic freely.
He scaled the wall, cast an Invisibility Charm on himself, and crept toward a window.
Then he looked inside.
And froze.
They had captured Morticia.
A witch… caught by three Muggles.
Absurd.
Impossible.
Until Russell spotted the handgun lying on the table.
Then it made sense.
Even he would have no chance against a firearm—if his wand wasn't in his hand.
Morticia was strapped to a circular board in the center of the room.
The only good news—
Dr. Schloss clearly wanted information from her first.
She wasn't in immediate danger.
Fester stood nearby in silence, completely lost.
"Mrs. Addams," Dr. Schloss said calmly, locking eyes with her.
"Tell us where the vault is."
Russell slipped inside the mansion, moving soundlessly toward the room.
"I understand how you feel, Fester," Morticia said softly, trying to reach him.
But she was cut off instantly.
"I just had an idea," Dr. Schloss said with sudden excitement, as if struck by inspiration.
She took a rapier from the wall and pressed it into Fester's hands.
"Gordon… since you're so close to Mrs. Addams…"
"Why don't you do it yourself?"
Her smile was sharp and cruel.
Russell knew he couldn't wait another second.
He raised his wand and whispered hoarsely at the door:
"Depulso."