Chapter 446: Regulus

Kyle instinctively reached for the locket, his fingers brushing off the dust as he held it up.

"Careful," Sirius warned. "It might be some strange dark magic artifact."

"You're probably right," Kyle agreed, though he still inspected the locket closely. It was egg-sized, heavy, and on its front, a grand letter "S" made of small, dark green gemstones glowed faintly in the dim light.

"This isn't a Black family heirloom. I've never seen it before," Sirius murmured as he leaned in. "My guess is someone in the family picked it up as junk and then threw it aside, just in case it was cursed or dark-magic-infused."

"It's not junk!" shrieked a voice behind them.

They turned to see Kreacher, panting, his face twisted in rage. His gaze locked on Sirius, and he let out a piercing wail.

"This is Master Regulus's locket! He told Kreacher to bring it back!"

"Regulus?" Lupin asked. "Your younger brother, wasn't he? I remember you two didn't exactly get along in school."

"Yes," Sirius said, his voice quieter, head bowed. "My brother… with his feeble character, always blindly believed in our parents' Pure-blood ideals, convinced that the Black family was born superior. We fought about it constantly. Every conversation ended in a row."

"Master Regulus was no fool!" Kreacher shrieked. "He was the mistress's favorite son, far superior to Master Sirius!"

"I don't need you to remind me!" Sirius snapped, his voice thick with irritation. "Everyone always says that, but in the end, where did it lead him? He died—he joined the Death Eaters like an idiot!"

Sirius's breathing grew heavy, his eyes flashing with anger. "Throw it away. It's probably tainted with dark magic, some cursed Death Eater trinket meant to cause harm."

"Never!" Kreacher screamed, leaping toward Kyle to snatch the locket.

It was the first time Kreacher had dared to try and take something while Sirius was present. But Kyle sidestepped smoothly, holding the locket just out of Kreacher's reach.

"You can't have this," Kyle said firmly.

Kreacher lunged again, only to be stopped by Sirius's command.

"Stand still. Don't move!" Sirius ordered.

Kreacher froze, though the look he shot Sirius was one of seething hatred.

At this moment, Lupin, who had been silent until now, asked, "Kyle, do you know what this locket really is?"

"Yes," Kyle replied, no longer concealing his knowledge. "You've likely heard of it… the Slytherin Locket."

"What?"

A stunned silence fell over the room.

Lupin, wide-eyed, drew in a sharp breath, his face registering disbelief. "Wait… you don't mean the Slytherin…"

"Yes, Salazar Slytherin," Kyle confirmed, his thumb tracing the locket's emerald-studded "S." "It's like the legendary Gryffindor Sword."

"Hold on…" Sirius was still processing. "Let me get this straight—the Slytherin locket… in Regulus's possession… and somehow, it ends up here, in the Black family house? Kyle, you must be joking, or maybe it's a fake. I left home at sixteen, but even then, I'm sure there's no connection between the Blacks and Slytherin."

Lupin seemed to agree. "More likely, it's a replica. Maybe Regulus admired Slytherin and wanted to own a piece of his legacy."

"I can't confirm if it's genuine," Kyle replied. "But I do know what it's called by another name."

"Another name?" Sirius asked. "What does that mean?"

"Mr. Lupin," Kyle said, "you've heard of the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts, right?"

"Of course, but I don't know much about it," Lupin replied. "The professors rarely discussed it when we were in school. It's rumored to be tied to You-Know-Who…"

"That's correct. It was a diary he left behind from his student days that caused havoc at Hogwarts. It nearly got the school shut down."

Kyle held up the locket, examining it in the dim light. "This locket gives me the same feeling as that diary did."

...

The room fell into a deep, heavy silence as Lupin and Sirius absorbed the implications of his words. Both of them wanted to believe Kyle had misunderstood, but they also knew Kyle wasn't the type to make careless accusations.

"But why," Sirius's voice was rough, almost hoarse, "would his things end up with Regulus? He was never as trusted as Malfoy or Bellatrix."

"You'll have to ask him," Kyle replied, his gaze shifting to Kreacher, who was trembling visibly.

Sirius turned to Kreacher, voice low and steady. "Tell me, why is this locket here? What did Regulus have to do with it?"

The House-elf seemed to shrink, huddling into himself as if recalling something terrifying. His voice came out in a ragged whisper.

"Master Sirius ran away, and good riddance, because he was a bad boy. But Master Regulus had pride, he knew what the Black name meant, what pure blood meant… He wanted wizards to stop hiding. He joined the Dark Lord's organization when he was sixteen, full of pride…" Kreacher's voice cracked as he continued, detailing how Regulus had once come to him, saying that the Dark Lord needed House-elves.

Kreacher's face twisted with both pride and horror as he went on. "Master Regulus offered Kreacher to him. It was an honor for Kreacher, and an honor for him…" Kreacher's voice broke entirely as he recounted Voldemort's dark ritual, where he had forced Kreacher to drink a vile potion in a cave.

"The Dark Lord… he threw a locket into the empty basin and filled it again with potion… then sailed away in his boat, leaving Kreacher on the island…" Kreacher choked out, "Kreacher was sick, needed water… tried to drink from the lake, but hands… they reached out from the water, tried to pull Kreacher under…"

"And how did you escape?" Sirius asked, a note of impatience mixing with horror.

Kreacher lifted his tear-streaked face. "Master Regulus had commanded Kreacher to return home. Kreacher always obeys…"

Sirius's voice softened slightly. "And then? Why is this locket here?"

"Kreacher told Master Regulus what happened… he hoped for praise, but none came. Master Regulus was troubled, and he ordered Kreacher to stay hidden… and then, a while later, he told Kreacher to take him to the cave, the same cave Kreacher had visited with the Dark Lord…"

Sirius grimaced, realizing what had likely happened. "He made you drink the potion again, didn't he?"

Kreacher shook his head, tears streaming down his long, lined face. Sirius's heart twisted with a grim realization.

"Master Regulus brought another locket, just like the Dark Lord's… he told Kreacher to keep it safe… to switch the lockets when the basin was empty… to take the Dark Lord's locket and… destroy it…"

Kreacher's sobs grew louder, each word torn from him. "Master Regulus told Kreacher to go home… not to tell anyone… and to destroy the locket… then he drank, drank the potion dry… and Kreacher watched… as Master Regulus… he was dragged under the water… pulled away…"

BANG!

With a furious roar, Sirius drove his fist into the glass cabinet, shattering it. He whirled and seized Kreacher by the neck, his eyes blazing with grief and rage. "You just watched? Why didn't you save him? You could have brought him back!"

Lupin quickly stepped forward, grabbing Sirius's shoulder. "Padfoot, calm down! Let him finish!"

But Sirius's grip remained iron-tight, his face wild with pain.

"Kreacher couldn't… Master Regulus ordered Kreacher not to interfere… He commanded Kreacher not to move…" Kreacher sobbed harder, gasping as he pounded his own head with his fists. "Kreacher failed… failed to destroy the box… failed Master Regulus's orders…"