"Voldemort wanted a house-elf?" Sirius Black asked, bewildered. "Didn't he always despise house-elves? I remember his views clearly—he thought their status was even lower than livestock. Why would he need a house-elf?"
"Kreacher does not know," Kreacher replied, closing his eyes and clutching his face in anguish. "But Kreacher knows Master Sirius shirked his responsibilities." His voice broke as he continued, "Master Regulus offered Kreacher, and it was an honor. Master Regulus said it was his and Kreacher's honor. Kreacher had to do everything the Dark Lord commanded… and then return home."
Kreacher began to sob.
"And so, Kreacher went to the Dark Lord," he continued, his voice trembling. "The Dark Lord did not tell Kreacher what to do but took him to a cave by the sea. It was a vast cavern with a great black lake inside…"
"…and a boat," Kreacher went on, his voice faltering. "On an island, there was a stone… a stone basin filled with potion. The Dark—Dark Lord made Kreacher drink it…"
The house-elf shuddered, clearly recalling something horrific.
"Kreacher drank it," he whispered, "and as he drank, he saw terrible visions… Kreacher's insides burned like fire… Kreacher screamed for Master Regulus to save him, screamed for Mistress, but the Dark Lord only laughed… He forced Kreacher to drink every drop… Then he threw a locket into the empty basin… and filled it with potion again."
"Then the Dark Lord took the boat and left, leaving Kreacher on the island…"
Kreacher knelt on the bed, burying his face in the sheets, his voice muffled as he continued, "Kreacher needed water, so he crawled to the edge of the island to drink from the black lake… Hands, dead hands, rose from the water and dragged Kreacher down…"
"Inferi?!" Ron blurted out, aghast.
After a year of useful Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons, Ron had learned a thing or two—at least he knew these were Inferi and how to deal with them.
Even as a third-year student, he had nine spells to combat Inferi. Nine!
"How did you escape?" Hermione asked, clutching her collar, her voice hoarse with empathy.
She could already imagine the horrifying scene, and despite Kreacher's earlier harsh words, she felt deep concern for his ordeal.
Sirius, worried Kreacher might snap at Hermione again, repeated, "Yeah, how did you escape?"
Kreacher raised his ugly head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Sirius.
"Master Regulus told Kreacher to come home," he said simply.
At the mention of Regulus's name, Sirius paused.
"I know," Sirius pressed, "but how did you get away from the Inferi?"
Kreacher shook his head mechanically.
"Master Regulus told Kreacher to come home," he repeated.
"But how did you escape?" Sirius asked, frowning. "You have to understand, that cave was secure enough for Voldemort to trust. If he sent you there, he must have been certain you couldn't escape, right?"
"You should know, Sirius," Hermione said with a sigh. "Voldemort despised house-elves, thinking them lowly, inferior creatures, just as most wizards do. But I've read that house-elves possess magic that even wizards can't master. For instance, Hogwarts house-elves can Apparate within the school, something even Professor Dumbledore can't do, right, Professor?"
She turned to Dumbledore for confirmation.
"Indeed," Dumbledore nodded gravely, affirming her point.
"So Kreacher followed Regulus's orders, didn't he?" Hermione asked Kreacher again.
"The highest law for a house-elf is the master's command," Kreacher said, his voice rising with a sing-song pride at the mention of Regulus's orders. "Master told Kreacher to come home, and Kreacher came home."
"So you did exactly as you were commanded, didn't you?" Hermione asked gently. "You didn't disobey at all?"
Kreacher nodded.
"What happened when you returned?" Dumbledore asked. "When you told your master what happened, what did Regulus say?"
"Master Regulus was very worried, very worried," Kreacher wailed. "Master Regulus told Kreacher to hide, to never leave the house." His voice dropped. "Then… some time later… one night, Master Regulus came to the cupboard to find Kreacher. Master Regulus was acting strange, not like himself. Kreacher could see his mind was troubled… He told Kreacher to take him to the cave, the same cave Kreacher had gone to with the Dark Lord…"
Sirius froze.
His brow furrowed as he asked coldly, "So, he made you drink the potion?"
Kreacher shook his head, sobbing uncontrollably.
Sirius shot to his feet, a terrible realization dawning on him—he had already guessed Regulus's fate.
"Master Reg—Regulus took a locket from his pocket, one just like the Dark Lord's," Kreacher said, tears streaming down his long nose. "He told Kreacher to take it and, when the basin was empty, to switch the lockets…"
Kreacher's sobs grew harsh and guttural, and Harry had to focus to understand him.
"He ordered—Kreacher to leave—without him. He told Kreacher to go home—not to tell Mistress—what he had done—but to destroy—the first locket. Then he drank—he drank all the potion—Kreacher switched the lockets—and watched… Master Regulus… dragged into the water…"
At Kreacher's words, Sirius understood everything.
He staggered back two steps, the weight of his brother's fate crashing over him.
Lupin, quick to react, steadied Sirius before he could collapse.
"Oh, Kreacher!" Hermione cried, tears in her eyes as she knelt beside the elf, wanting to comfort him with a hug.
Kreacher leapt to his feet, backing away with clear disgust. "Mudblood touched Kreacher! Stay away from Kreacher!"
Hermione froze, her hands outstretched, unsure of what to do next.
Despite her repeated attempts to show kindness, Kreacher's cruel rejections and insults were wearing even her saintly patience thin.
"I told you not to call her that!" Sirius roared, snapping out of his daze.
"Kreacher failed Master Regulus! Failed Mistress!" Kreacher wailed, collapsing onto the bed, gasping heavily, his body trembling, green mucus glistening around his nose.
Sirius sighed, pacing restlessly and tugging at his hair in grief. "That boy… he should have come to me… should have asked for my help. Why was he so foolish, taking it all on himself? Merlin…"
"Because Master Sirius didn't believe in him," Kreacher said, his voice laced with mockery. "Master Regulus told Kreacher that Master Sirius thought he was a loyal Death Eater, that he didn't trust him…"
Sirius's heart sank further at Kreacher's words.
"You're right, you're right…" Sirius muttered, slamming his fist against the bed. "If only I'd paid more attention to him—I'm such a fool, such a fool. Why didn't I care for my own brother?"
Learning that his brother hadn't been a blindly loyal Death Eater filled Sirius with both regret and pride.
"It's not your fault," Lupin said, stepping forward to comfort him. "Padfoot, no one could have known Regulus would defy Voldemort… We've never seen anyone betray the Dark Lord."
Snape cleared his throat, as if to remind Lupin that he wasn't the only one in the room who had turned against Voldemort.
"Now I'm not the only one in this house who opposed the Dark Lord!" Sirius said, sniffing as pride swelled in his chest. "Look at that—Regulus, my brother, he couldn't stand Voldemort's ways either. I knew it, I knew my brother wasn't the type to be fooled by him!"
He held his head high, tears streaming freely down his face, his expression one of fierce pride.
"So you brought that Slytherin locket back home," Veratia said, lowering her gaze, determined to understand the full story. "Did you try to destroy it?"
"Kreacher couldn't leave a single mark on it," the elf said mournfully. "Kreacher tried every method, every spell, but none—none worked… The locket was protected by powerful magic. Kreacher believes it can only be destroyed from within, but it wouldn't open… Kreacher punished himself, tried again, punished himself, tried again. Kreacher failed to obey the command. Kreacher couldn't destroy the locket! Mistress went mad with grief when Master Regulus disappeared, and Kreacher couldn't tell her what happened, couldn't, because Master Regulus forbade—forbade him from telling the family about the cave…"
"Forgive me for disobeying your orders, Master Regulus…" Kreacher whimpered, banging his head against the wall until Veratia's spell bound him in place.
"But Kreacher truly wanted you to come back safely!" Kreacher sobbed. "Later, Mistress passed away. Then, last year… the locket suddenly emitted a cloud of black mist. Kreacher knew nothing after that until you came and saved Kreacher."
"Last year?" Harry pondered, then said to Kreacher, "Was it before Christmas?"
"Yes, honorable Master Potter," Kreacher replied politely.
Despite his constant sarcasm toward Sirius, Kreacher showed Harry nothing but utmost respect, as both his old master and mistress had held Harry in high regard, and Kreacher followed suit.
"That fits!" Harry exclaimed, smacking his palm. "Last Christmas, Pansy was controlled by that diary and went to the Slytherin Chamber to awaken the Basilisk… but I stopped her."
"Stopped her?" Dumbledore's half-moon glasses glinted.
"Oh, just a minor disagreement," Harry said casually. "Anyway, the diary was destroyed, so maybe Voldemort's consciousness transferred to the Slytherin locket…"
"But Horcruxes have their own consciousness, don't they?" Hermione asked, frowning, her sharp mind quick to catch inconsistencies.
"We don't know much about Horcruxes," Cassandra interjected suddenly. "But it's not impossible. Otherwise, none of this makes sense. At the very least, we can confirm that Regulus Black is in that cave. If we act quickly, we might still find his body."
"Then let's go now!" Harry said, leaping to his feet.
"No!" Cassandra snapped. "If we let a reckless Potter like you charge in, I'm afraid you'd burn all the Inferi in that cave to ashes with one spell. Then how would we identify which one is Regulus Black?"
She was referring to the time Harry had set fire to the Quidditch pitch. If he unleashed a blaze like that in the cave, as Cassandra feared, the Inferi would likely be reduced to nothing.
"Besides, as Kreacher said," Dumbledore added gravely, "to enter that cave, you need a sacrifice. Without drinking the potion, you can't retrieve the fake locket…"
"Why do we need to retrieve the fake locket?" Veratia asked curiously. "Since we know it's fake, there's no point in taking it. And Voldemort isn't foolish enough to leave the real locket there again."
"She's right," Poppy Sweating chimed in, as usual, echoing Veratia without much input of her own.
"If all goes as expected, Regulus is likely among those Inferi," Lupin said regretfully. "He was truly a brave man."
"I have to go," Sirius said, sitting up resolutely. "I need to bring him back myself. He can't stay in that cold, wretched cave… Merlin, the thought of my brother as a mindless Inferius in that place…"
He pounded his chest, his voice breaking with grief.
Snape's lips twitched, but he said nothing.
He was genuinely intimidated by Cassandra. That Malfoy girl's sharp tongue was… formidable, even for someone as caustic as Snape.
"Even if we don't need to drink the potion," Dumbledore said softly, "we must be fully prepared. You know that cave is where Voldemort hid his Horcrux. He wouldn't leave it unguarded by other dark curses. I suspect, beyond the Inferi and the potion, there are many unknown enchantments protecting that locket."
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