Chapter 31

Harry was gathering books from the Potter library for school when he heard sobbing.

"Hello?" he asked cautiously.

The sobbing stopped, and a house-elf came into view.

"Master Black's brat called?" the elf asked hoarsely.

He was a bit bigger than Dobby, and much older. Unlike the younger house-elf, this one had no hair, was wrinkled, and had a permanent scowl on his face. His eyes were also red, as if he'd been crying for some time.

"My name is Harry," Harry said, in a surprisingly gentle tone. He crouched so he was at the same level as the elf. "What's your name?"

"Kreacher's name is Kreacher."

"Why are you crying?" Harry asked softly.

Kreacher scowled. "None of Master Black's brat's business, it is."

Harry raised an eyebrow, then pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. The elf froze.

"You don't belong to me, Kreacher, so I can't free you," Harry pointed out, wiping the tears from the elf's face. "And I wasn't going to give you this handkerchief anyway. It belonged to my mother." The cloth magically cleaned itself and Harry put it back in his pocket. "What's wrong?" he asked again.

The elf's face screwed up in pain. After a long pause, he whispered, "It is the date Kreacher lost his master."

Harry was silent for a moment, then said, "You mean Regulus?"

Kreacher nodded, another sob escaping him.

"Can I ask what happened?" Harry said gently.

The elf stared at Harry for a long moment, then sat down with a plop.

"Fifteen years and three weeks ago," Kreacher croaked, "Master Regulus came down to the kitchen to see Kreacher. Master Regulus said... he said..." He began to rock back and forth, and Harry reached out and gripped the elf's hand. Kreacher blinked, then continued.

"...he said that the Dark Lord required an elf."

Harry frowned. If Marvolo was the cause of this elf's pain, he was going to hex the idiot into oblivion.

"Master Regulus had volunteered Kreacher," Kreacher whispered. "It was an honor, said Master Regulus, an honor for him and for Kreacher, who must be sure to do whatever the Dark Lord ordered him to do... and then to c-come home.

"So Kreacher went to the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord did not tell Kreacher what they were to do, but took Kreacher with him to cave beside the sea."

Harry's eyes widened. "By any chance did this cave have a lake full of Inferi?" he asked cautiously.

Kreacher's eyes widened. "Yes, Master Harry."

"Marvolo," Harry grumbled under his breath. "Sorry, Kreacher, you can continue," he added at a normal volume.

"The Dark Lord took Kreacher to a little island..."

"He tested the potion on you," Harry guessed in irritation. Kreacher stared at him again, then nodded. Harry groaned. "For Merlin's sake. He could have used ⎯ I swear, I'm going to hex him."

"Does Master Harry serve the Dark Lord?" Kreacher frowned.

Harry snorted derisively. "No, Kreacher. I don't serve anyone. Did he hurt you?"

Kreacher shivered. "Kreacher was not hurt."

"Continue with the story, then," Harry sighed.

"After Kreacher drank the potion, the Dark Lord put a locket in the basin and refilled it with more potion. And then the Dark Lord sailed away, leaving Kreacher on the island."

"What?" Harry demanded. "He left you on the island? Surrounded by Inferi?" He made a noise of extreme irritation, and the elf let out a short blast of hysterical laughter. Harry, surprising himself and the elf, pulled the little creature into a hug.

Kreacher froze for a moment, then relaxed, shivering.

"Do you think you can finish the story?" Harry asked. "Or do you need a Calming Draught?"

"Kreacher is fine," the elf whispered.

"Kreacher was told to come home, so Kreacher came home. A few weeks later, Master Regulus came home, and he was different. He asked Kreacher to take him to the cave, the cave where Kreacher had gone with the Dark Lord...."

Harry frowned. Sirius' brother had clearly cared for Kreacher, so he wouldn't have made the elf drink the potion....

"He drank the potion," Harry breathed. "And... he was the one to replace Slytherin's locket with fake...."

"Kreacher replaced the locket," Kreacher choked. "He ordered Kreacher to leave without him. And he told Kreacher ⎯ to go home ⎯ and never to tell my Mistress ⎯ what he had done ⎯ but to destroy ⎯ the first locket. And he drank ⎯ all the potion ⎯ and Kreacher swapped the lockets ⎯ and watched... as Master Regulus..." Kreacher suddenly burst into sobs, shaking violently.

Harry pulled him closer, realizing what had happened: Regulus had become an Inferi.

"Kreacher," Harry asked absentmindedly after a few minutes, once the elf's cries had died down to sniffles, "do you know if a Necromancer can turn an Inferi back into a human?"

Kreacher gasped and was silent for a moment. Then he rasped, "Only very powerful Necromancers can do so, Master Harry.... Is Master Harry a Necromancer?"

"Yes," Harry said slowly. He began rubbing circles into the elf's back. Finally he said, "Great-Aunt Scarlett."

A ghost of a red-headed girl floated out from the shelves. "What?" she asked snarkily.

"Do we have any books on Necromancy?"

Scarlett Potter stared at him. "Do you have a brain?" she asked incredulously. "The Potters are descended from the most powerful of Necromancers! Of course we have books on Necromancy!"

Harry stood, Kreacher still frozen in his arms, and placed the little elf on the couch. "Where are they?"

The girl spun around and floated back into the shelves. Harry quickly followed.

She led him through the maze of books until they reached a shelf near the back, which was covered in black books. Unfortunately, they were chained onto the shelf. Harry scowled. These books were off-limits.

To his surprise, the chain in front of him glowed and disappeared. Harry blinked.

His great-times-ten aunt gasped. "They are only supposed to do that for a powerful Necromancer!"

Harry rolled his eyes, then scanned the shelf. Finally he pulled a small volume labelled The Forgotten Arts of Necromancy and opened it. "Kreacher!"

The elf popped into existence right beside him. Harry noticed that Kreacher had an expression of faint hope on his face. "Yes, Master Harry?"

"One second, Kreacher..." Harry glanced down the table of contents.

An introduction to necromancy...I

Dementors and how to control them...5

Runes in the art of Necromancy...9

The language of Death...13

The lost arts of Inferi...300

Harry turned to page 300 and scanned the page. After a pause, he said, "Kreacher, could you take me to the cave?"

Kreacher nodded eagerly. "Is Master Harry going with an adult?"

Harry scowled and sighed. "That's probably a good idea."

"Can Master Kreacher suggest Master Snape?"

Harry blinked down at the creature. "May I ask why?"

Kreacher grinned. "Master Snape is Master Regulus' lover."

There was a long pause. Then Harry cackled. "Fred owes me ten galleons. I knew Severus was gay!"

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(Warning: Cheesy Sevulus ⎯ Severus x Regulus ⎯ moment)

"Harry, what on earth are we doing here?" Severus demanded, scowling around the cave. "And why is Kreacher-?"

"Shut up and let me concentrate," Harry ordered, pulling the book out again. He crouched down.

A face of a man appeared in the water, and Severus let out a yelp of horror.

Harry stared down at the Inferi and concentrated.

When he spoke, what came out was the sound of a Dementor's breathing. "Bring me Regulus Arcturus Black."

The man nodded and disappeared.

"Harry James Potter," Severus demanded, "what the he- heck is going on?"

"It's a surprise ⎯ and I said to shut up and let me concentrate," Harry growled, opening the book. "Turn around."

Severus huffed in irritation but did as told. Not a moment too soon; another Inferi, one that looked incredibly similar to Sirius, appeared just below the surface.

"The Fledgeling Necromancer called?" the Inferi asked, the sound slightly distorted because of the water.

Harry looked down at the book and then began to chant.

"Vorbesc limba Morții. Îmi spun magia. Aduceți acest om înapoi la viață. Așa să fie."

The Inferi floated out of the water and hovered in midair. Then it to glow with an eerie green light. Harry squeezed his eyes shut when the light became too bright.

The light disappeared, and Harry opened his eyes.

Standing in front of him was a man nearly identical to Sirius, except he was shorter, his skin was paler and his eyes were caramel instead of dark brown.

Regulus blinked and looked down. His clothes were ripped in places and also soaking wet.

"Hello, Uncle Regulus," Harry said calmly.

Severus froze beside him.

The man looked up and blinked at Harry. "You don't look like Remus or Siri," Regulus noted.

"Adopted godson," Harry explained.

Severus slowly turned around. Both men gave sharp intakes of breath at the same time, and they stared at each other.

There was a long pause. Then-

"Reg?" Severus whispered.

Regulus launched himself into Severus' arms, sobbing and laughing in equal parts. "I thought I was never going to see you again," he croaked.

Severus squeezed him as if he was never going to let him go. "I thought you were dead," he rasped.

"Ahem, child present," Harry coughed.

Both men broke apart, extremely red in the face. "Sorry," Regulus said in embarrassment.

"Master Regulus!" Kreacher squeaked.

Regulus beamed and let go of Severus, who sighed before doing the same. "Kreacher, it's good to see you," Regulus said warmly before pulling the elf into a hug. "I hope you didn't actually destroy that locket," he added quickly, releasing the elf.

"Kreacher couldn't," the elf said worriedly.

"Reg? What are you talking about?" Severus frowned.

Regulus stood up. "Well," he said in a faintly sarcastic tone, "apparently, becoming an Inferi removes Imperious Curses."

"You were Imperioused to steal Voldemort's Horcrux?" Harry demanded. Both men flinched. "Sorry."

"Yes," Regulus replied darkly. "By Dumbledore."

"I am going to kill him," Harry said a deathly calm voice. "Kreacher, can you take us back to Potter Manor? I'm sure Regulus is hungry, and he'd probably like to reunite with Papa ⎯ Sirius," he added at Regulus' confused look.

Regulus grinned. "I'm starved. And I want to get back at Siri for that prank."

Harry groaned. "I have enough mischief from Papa! No more!"

"Says the boy who told Sirius, 'I was just wondering how you manage to fit through doorways, given your head is swollen to the size of the moon,'" Severus said dryly.

Regulus burst out laughing. Harry stuck his tongue out at Severus. "You're no fun, Sev."

("I speak the language of Death. I call on my magic. Bring this man back to life. So be it." 'So be it' was the closest I could get to 'so mote it be,' because 'so mote it be' translated to 'so get motivated.')