The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 636 Regulus Black

The tapestry with names written on it is very old and dull in color. Through the family tree on the tapestry, the history of the Black family can be traced back to the Middle Ages.

Hearing footsteps, Sirius turned his head to look at Ada who was approaching.

He said disdainfully, "Want to take a tour? 'Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, Ever Pure'. Disgusting."

This sentence was embroidered on the top of the tapestry. It was the self-proclaimed slogan of the Black family. However, when it came out of Sirius' mouth, it felt very incongruous.

Ada looked at the tapestry, starting from the top and looking downwards. Many of the people on the tapestry had left their mark in the history of magic.

For example, Phineas Nigellus Black, the most unpopular headmaster in Hogwarts history, was Sirius' great-great-grandfather, and Araminta Merryflan, a ruthless person who wanted to make Muggle hunting legal.

This tapestry also shows the Black family's huge in-laws, which cover almost most of the pure-blood families.

There are twenty-eight pure-blood families including Burke, Crouch, Flint, Crabbe, Longbottom, Malfoy, Weasley, Macmillan, Yaxley, Bulstrode, as well as famous wizarding families such as Gamp, Prewett, and Potter.

There is nothing that the Black family is not related to, except what you can't imagine. It can be said that they have relatives all over the world.

As time goes by, Sirius is the only one left on the paternal line of the Black family, and he is still a bachelor.

Ada also found an interesting point, that is, Sirius' parents, Orion and Walburga, are actually cousins, a typical close relative marriage.

No wonder Walburga Black always used the words "defile my ancestral home, my fathers' house" when he cursed people.

"Ah, you've discovered it too, haven't you, my lovely parents?" Sirius said, "Forever pure, their union is to ensure that the Black bloodline is not tainted."

Pure-blood families, especially the Sacred Twenty-Eight, all boast of pure blood, but in fact there are no such families in the wizarding world. The Black family also has mixed-blood relatives or people who married Muggles. Those who betrayed their bloodline were expelled from the family and would never be recognized.

Sirius pointed to his own name, which was burned black. There were many people in the family tree whose names were burned like Sirius.

People like Isla, Cedrella, Andromeda who are married to Muggle people, Phineas Jr. who support Muggle rights, and a Squib like Marius who could even be removed from the list if he married a Weasley.

Sirius mocked his own family, saying that Alphard was expelled from the family just because he funded him when he ran away from home.

Staring at the tapestry, Ada didn't really listen to Sirius's complaints. They went in one ear and out the other without any thought. Ada kept staring at a name, Regulus Black, Sirius's younger brother.

After reading the note left by RAB, Ada tried to find him.

After some effort, she found Rosalin Antigon Bangs and Rupert Axbank Brookstanton. However, although these two names met the abbreviation of RAB, they did not match at all in other aspects.

Today, when visiting the Black family tree, Ada didn't pay much attention to "Regulus Black" at first, as there were several people with this name on the tapestry. It wasn't until Ada saw the date of death of Sirius's brother that she seemed to grasp something.

"Your brother Regulus is a Death Eater, right?" Ada asked. She heard it from Lucius Malfoy.

Lucius used to have a high status among the Death Eaters, and he knew most of them. Regulus could be considered his brother-in-law, so he naturally knew that his brother-in-law had also joined the Death Eaters.

"Yes, he died at the hands of their own people." Sirius said, "He was the pride of my parents, a brave little hero."

Ida then asked, "Can I ask his full name?"

"Regulus Arcturus Black, what's wrong?" Ada's sudden seriousness confused Sirius.

Without answering Sirius' question, Ada walked straight to the glass cabinets on either side of the fireplace. If Regulus was really RAB, the locket would probably be in the cabinets, where many old items in the house were piled.

However, there was no Slytherin locket in the cupboard!
The cupboard contained only Black's belongings, with the family crest engraved on it, and some dangerous dark magic items, but the locket was missing. Although he didn't know what Ada was looking for, it must be related to Regulus, so Sirius suggested, "Why don't we go to his room and see, maybe that's where what you're looking for is."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sirius was dragged out of the living room by the decisive Ada.

Sirius and Regulus' bedrooms were both on the top floor of the house, along with another that belonged to their parents.

After pushing the door open, before Sirius could recall his brother, Ada had already turned the place upside down, but still found nothing. The room was filled with briefings about Voldemort, faded silver and green decorations, and an old photo.

"What exactly are you looking for?" Sirius asked, "I can help you think of a solution, but you can't just look blindly like this."

"Regulus, your brother may have stolen the Dark Lord's locket." Ada said anxiously, "That is the Dark Lord's greatest secret."

After hearing what Ada said, Sirius was stunned.

In Sirius's opinion, Regulus was Voldemort's number one fanboy. He joined the Death Eaters hopelessly at a young age. He stole Voldemort's things. Are you kidding me?

"You mean...his death might not be because he was a coward and wanted to quit the Death Eaters," Sirius asked, "but because he took Voldemort's most important thing?"

"Yes, it is possible. Regulus meets all the requirements."

Regulus' full name matches the abbreviation of RAB. He died about seventeen years ago, and the time of his death also fits the sentence "I am willing to risk my life in the hope that you will be killed when you meet your opponent."

"Kreacher!" Sirius shouted.

He had barely finished calling the house-elf's name when the bedroom door flew open and a thin, old Kreacher stepped across the threshold, cursing.

Familiar taste, familiar fragrance. The house-elf was very dissatisfied with today's wedding. In his eyes, Lupin was a dirty wolf cub, and Tonks was a bastard who tarnished Black's reputation.

"Master." Kreacher bowed, his bald head almost touching the ground. The elf said loudly while facing the ground: "Master is a despicable murderer and a filthy bastard, not even one ten-thousandth of Master Regulus."

Fortunately, Sirius knew the importance of the matter and remembered Dumbledore's instructions, so he did not kick Kreacher and sent him to see his mother Walburga.

Sirius said, "I am going to talk to you about Regulus today. Did you hide his locket? Give it to me."

Sirius Black, the rebellious son of the Black family, is committed to clearing out the old house and throwing away everything related to Black.

Kreacher spared no effort to protect everything here. Many of the things that were thrown away were picked up by him, and things that were not thrown away in time were also secretly collected by him.

"Kreacher doesn't understand what the master is saying." Kreacher's head was still lowered, close to the ground, maintaining his respect.

Then, Kreacher continued in a voice that everyone could hear: "You degenerate prodigal son, do not try to take anything that belongs to Master Regulus. Nothing."

"I KNEW IT WAS THERE WITH YOU! I ORDERED YOU TO GIVE IT TO ME!" Sirius roared. "YOU IDIOT!"

House elves must obey their masters' orders unconditionally, and so does Kreacher, who is from the Black family. Kreacher's lifelong wish is to cut off his head like his mother and stick it on the plaque of the Black family.

However, when Sirius asked him for Regulus's things, Kreacher resisted the order very much. Because of disobeying the master's order, the house-elf banged his head against the ground frantically, as if he wanted to kill himself.

"Enough. I say enough, stop it, you old fool!" Sirius cursed as he picked up Kreacher from the ground to prevent the house-elf from continuing to hurt himself.

(End of this chapter)