Hogwarts: A little lion in the skin of the Eagle School

During this time, Dumbledore was actually researching documents and clues about Horcruxes.

When Harry was in his second year of high school, he got his hands on the diary and realized that it was some kind of evil dark magic artifact.

But at the time he couldn't be sure.

Because that Horcrux had already been destroyed by Harry.

Until recently, he went to see an old friend, a potions professor who had taught Voldemort, and confirmed from his memory that Voldemort had indeed made Horcruxes.

But there's something wrong with that memory.

There are signs of tampering, and some crucial clues have been deliberately hidden.

However, he currently has no way of knowing, nor can he force his old friend to reveal the truth.

Dumbledore plans to bring him back to Hogwarts as Potions Professor next year, and then have Harry and John, the two most famous figures, become his students.

This was a temptation he absolutely could not resist.

Back to the present.

Harry continued to ask Dumbledore all sorts of questions about Horcruxes.

Professor Lu Ping listened without intervening.

Even though John was still young, Dumbledore was willing to tell him some dangerous information.

Because Dumbledore believed that John would definitely become Harry's asset in the future.

"So, Headmaster, the reason I feel uncomfortable when I encounter this Horcrux is because it contains Voldemort's soul."

"Did his soul frighten my other soul?"

Dumbledore nodded slightly, his fingertips slowly stroking his beard.

"That's roughly it. To be honest, the situation inside your body is even rarer than a Horcrux..."

"Soul Weapons can at least be found in some ancient books, but your situation is unheard of."

Looking at John, Dumbledore made a rare, albeit sarcastic, comment.

"Doesn't that prove my preciousness and rarity?"

John laughed with particular pride.

Dumbledore was taken aback by what he heard, then burst out laughing.

Professor Lupin, who was standing to the side, was unaware of John's soul and listened in a daze.

But before he could ask, Sirius returned.

"Dumbledore, you were looking for me? Hmm? What's John doing here? Shouldn't you be at school?"

"Hey, the principal personally led me to skip class, who can you complain to about this treatment?"

John responded to Sirius's question with a smile.

"It's Saturday today, you can't possibly skip any class."

Sirius Black wasn't going to let it slide and reached out to ruffle John's hair, retorting.

Dumbledore watched this scene with a smile, but still spoke slowly.

"Sirius, now that you're back, it's time to get down to business."

Dumbledore slowly pushed the locket on the table in front of Sirius and asked him a question.

"Sirius, do you know where this locket came from?"

Sirius was taken aback. He had gone to great lengths to have Fox deliver a letter to him, all for this locket?

He picked up the locket, tilted his head curiously, and said, "No, I don't recognize this. What is it?"

Dumbledore had anticipated Sirius's reaction and showed no emotion, continuing to give instructions.

"Then please call Mr. Kreacher over; we have some questions to ask him."

Although he was puzzled by the lack of a response, Sirius, trusting Dumbledore, turned around and shouted upstairs.

"Kreacher! Get here right now!"

With Sirius's order given, no matter how much Kreacher rebelled against the heavens, the elf's instincts led him to obey.

Despite his master's command, Kreacher still looked unwilling.

Upon seeing Kreacher arrive, Dumbledore finally stood up, took the locket, and slowly walked to Kreacher before crouching down.

It showed a level of respect and equality rarely seen in a house-elf.

"Mr. Kreacher, could you tell me about the origin of this locket?"

"And who is this young master you mentioned?"

Kreacher's cloudy eyes darted left and right, and he retreated hesitantly.

But Sirius Black, standing nearby, understood that Dumbledore had sent him mainly to get the old man to talk.

"Answer Dumbledore's question, Kreacher."

Sirius gave the cold command.

Kreacher's ears twitched, and a dry, hoarse sound finally escaped his throat.

"This is...this is the mysterious man's locket...Young Master Regulus asked me to bring it back..."

The mysterious man's locket, Young Master Regulus.

When these two terms were mentioned simultaneously, the expressions of all three—Dumbledore, John, and the others—changed to varying degrees.

First, it was confirmed that this thing was indeed Voldemort's.

Secondly, he knew Regulus; the room where he had stayed previously had Regulus's name on the doorplate.

He later learned from a wall in the Order of the Phoenix, which depicted a family tree, that Regulus Black was Sirius Black's brother.

Professor Lupin said that Regulus was once a Death Eater who followed Voldemort.

This locket was brought back by Regulus, a Death Eater.

"Can you tell me what happened back then?"

Dumbledore pressed on with more questions.

Kreacher's nails dug deeply into his palms; he seemed to resist recalling that memory, and his body trembled slightly.

"That...that's a black lake—" Kreacher finally spoke slowly.

"Sixteen years ago, Master Regulus sent Kreacher with a mysterious man to a cave, inside which was a black lake..."

"The mysterious man led Kreacher across the lake by boat to a small island in the middle of the lake..."

"There was a stone basin filled with poison... The mysterious man ordered Kreacher to drink all the poison in the basin..."

"Young Master Regulus instructed Kreacher to obey the mysterious man's orders, and Kreacher did so..."

As Kreacher recounted his story, his expression grew increasingly pained, and he eventually squatted down against the wall, hugging his knees.

Just like when Master Regulus told him to hide, he curled up into a ball.

"And then what happened?"

This time, without Dumbledore having to speak, Sirius Black couldn't help but ask.

Although he hadn't yet figured out the whole story, he had already realized that this matter was very important.

It's not just about Voldemort, but also about his brother whom he didn't know.

"The poison caused Kreacher excruciating pain... and many undead crawled out of the lake, intending to drag Kreacher to the bottom..."

"The mysterious man ignored Kreacher's fate, placed the locket in the food bowl, refilled it with poison, and left Kreacher behind..."

"But... Master Regulus requires Kreacher to return home after completing the mission..."

"So Kreacher is back..."

This section describes the entire process of Voldemort hiding the Horcruxes.

Just from the description, it's easy to imagine that it was a dangerous place, and that Voldemort might have left behind other methods after he left, which Kreacher just didn't witness.

However, there should be a second half of this history that hasn't been told yet.

Why is that locket that was placed in the stone basin here?

And what became of the story's protagonist, Regulus?