The Return to Hogwarts

Amosta picked up a gold chain with great interest; on the chain was a matching gold pendant box.

"I can provide that."

On the candlestick at the dining table, a candle had finally reached the end of its life, which made the kitchen suddenly much dimmer.

Amosta stared at the locket, and gradually, the dazed look in his eyes disappeared, and the flush on his face caused by drinking also faded rapidly. His pale purple eyes had become incredibly deep without him even realizing it.

"I can provide that."

For some inexplicable reason, Amosta's lips curled into a wicked smile.

"Eight thousand."

Chapter 264 The Story of Regulus (Part 1)

Remus and Sirius didn't take Amostella's silence and hesitation to heart. They thought Amostella was just unsure of the origin of the golden locket and needed some time to think. But when they heard Amostella mention the locket's value in a strange tone, Sirius and Remus both showed expressions of disbelief.

“You can’t just spout nonsense because you want to beat me, Amosta.”

Remus said jokingly, his gaze also falling on the locket.

To be fair, it is indeed a very beautiful work of art.

Even after the passage of time, the exquisitely crafted locket still exudes a mysterious golden luster under the dim candlelight. It is surrounded by many crystal-clear pure gemstones, and the edges of the box are engraved with many ancient runic symbols. Of course, the most eye-catching feature is the serpentine S-shaped design in the center of the box, adorned with sparkling emeralds.

"If this thing is worth eight thousand Galleons, Amosta—"

Sirius also thought Amosta was talking nonsense, and he said with a disbelieving look,

"Then I'll go and break Kreacher's legs."

How interesting, to actually run into this here?

Amosta's amused smile deepened.

What is this, some kind of special fate?

"Let me ask you a question,"

Amostella, supporting himself on his knees, stood up, his hands gripping the locket's chain tightly. He showed the box to a bewildered Sirius.

Do you know where this thing comes from?

Does Amosta mean that this thing is particularly dangerous?

Remus leaned closer, his expression becoming more serious. He stared at the 'S' on it for a long time before saying uncertainly,

“I’m not so sure, Amosta. This design seems to be the Slytherin sigil?”

"Oh!"

Sirius blinked speechlessly, "Are you trying to scare me?"

Judging from Sirius's reaction, he seemed genuinely unaware of the thing's origin. This made sense, as Sirius wasn't like Lucius Malfoy, a follower of Voldemort.

"Then let me ask you another way, Sirius."

Amosta shook his head and said...

"Has anyone in this household ever worked for Voldemort?"

The moment the name Voldemort appeared, the kitchen grew even colder. Remus and Sirius's expressions turned solemn in an instant. They immediately realized that Amostall had probably really stumbled upon something extraordinary.

"What do you mean, Amosta?"

Remus said solemnly

"You said this locket came from Voldemort's possession. Did you see anything on it? Is there Voldemort's dark magic on it?"

Amosta remained silent, simply waiting for Sirius's reply.

His question clearly touched on Sirius's unpleasant memories, and his expression became unpredictable, radiating a gloomy aura.

“I used to have a younger brother named Regulus, who was a Death Eater.”

This is really nothing to brag about, Sirius said succinctly before falling silent.

Remus was clearly aware of this, and he showed no surprise, simply turning his gaze to Amosta, awaiting his explanation.

"before?"

Amosta squinted and continued to ask.

"He was killed by Voldemort."

Seeing that Sirius seemed reluctant to discuss his younger brother, Remus, who also knew some of the details, answered the question.

"This happened before Sirius's incident. Sirius told us some things about it. After Regulus died, he investigated why his brother was murdered. May I tell you, Sirius?"

"Remus asked."

“I don’t know why you care about this, Amosta,”

Sirius Black stared expressionlessly at the locket and said...

“But you seem to care a lot, so let me tell you about my naive and foolish younger brother.”

The three of them sat down at the still-unclear dining table, and Sirius told Amosta about his brother's past and some information he had uncovered.

"Judging from all the signs, that silly boy is probably scared by what Voldemort did. He wants to quit, but being a Death Eater is not like working for the Ministry of Magic. It's not something that can be done with a resignation letter. It's either a lifelong commitment or a dead end."

While Sirius was speaking, Amosta held the locket between two fingers, examining it with an admiring gaze, until Sirius had said everything he thought needed to say. After waiting for his explanation, Amosta calmly began to speak.

"I think this matter is probably not that simple--"

"What do you mean?"

Sirius asked, a little impatiently,

"What exactly do you know, Amosta? Just tell me!"

"If what you say is true, and your brother was killed because he was trying to escape from Voldemort—"

Amosta loosened his fingers, letting the locket rest in his palm, and said with a smile.

"You won't live to see this day, Sirius. You don't know what this thing means to Voldemort. He will definitely slaughter every descendant of the Black family just to take this thing back."

A long silence fell over the kitchen. Sirius and Remus were both staring at the locket. Remus, in particular, knew Amostella better and knew that he wouldn't make a bad joke about something as crucial as Voldemort.

"Is there anyone who knows your brother better than you?"

Remus turned his gaze to Sirius.

"Those who know Regulus better than I do, if we include those who are no longer alive—"

Sirius's brow was furrowed deeply.

That's obviously a joke; they can't possibly extract any secrets from a dead person.

“Kreacher probably knows Regulus a little better. You know, in Kreacher's eyes I'm a good-for-nothing bastard who only knows how to make the family angry, but Regulus is my parents' pride and joy, and Kreacher prefers to treat Regulus as his little master—”

"I'll go get it."

Anything related to Voldemort deserves to be treated with the utmost seriousness, Remus immediately got up and prepared to go upstairs.

"No need to go to so much trouble."

Amosta spoke calmly. Under the bewildered gazes of the other two, he closed his eyes and sensed for a few seconds. Then, he waved his wand in his right hand a few times, and a cloud of gray smoke crackling with electricity gathered in front of the three of them. Amosta's outstretched hand disappeared into the smoke. After groping around for a while, he pulled the screaming Kreacher out of the fog.

"How did you do it?"

Sirius looked shocked.

"Just a little magic trick—"

Amosta threw Kreacher to the ground.

"It's only useful at close range."

As soon as Kreacher landed, he sprang up with a nimble leap, showing a level of agility that belied his advanced age as a house-elf.

It first saw the puddle on the ground, and its watery, hazy eyes immediately turned to Sirius, ready to say something, but halfway there, it saw the locket in Amostella's hand—

In the quiet kitchen, a blood-curdling scream suddenly erupted. Kreacher gasped for breath, its shrunken chest heaving, and it leaped into the air, charging towards Amosta.

"--The locket, Master Regulus's locket. Kreacher failed to complete the mission, but Kreacher will not allow anyone to take the locket away!"

Chapter 265 The Story of Regulus (Part 2)

With a flash of light, Kreacher was thrown back to the ground by Amostella's magic. But before anyone could stop him, Kreacher jumped up again. This time, instead of attacking Amostella, he rushed to the red-hot furnace, pulled out a fire poker, and began to whip himself.

The red-hot stick struck Kreacher himself as he wept bitterly, leaving shocking black scorch marks on his pale skin, accompanied by the foul stench of burns.

Amosta remained unmoved, but he immediately realized that Kreacher probably knew something about the locket.

"What the hell are you doing!"

Remus swiftly drew his wand, swung it sharply, and snatched the fire poker from Kreacher's hand. Sirius, regaining his senses, roared and charged forward, grabbing Kreacher and slamming him onto the table.

"Stop! I order you to stop! You are not allowed to hurt yourself anymore!"