Hogwarts: What are the four great masters doing?

"Kreacher..."

Sirius' voice was a little hoarse at this moment.

The way he addressed Kreacher and his tone were no longer full of hostility and hatred. Instead, he spoke more like a relative who had lost their common family and had a bad relationship with him in the past.

"Tell me...Regulus...and what happened to you."

he said softly.

"I would like to know."

He wanted to know how his brother had pulled himself out of the darkness, he wanted to know everything that had happened.

"..."

At this moment, Kreacher raised his tearful eyes.

He looked at Sirius, and seemed to be able to see the look of his most respected master on that face that he used to hate so much.

He stopped speaking harshly to Sirius.

Instead, he began to tell the story of the long-forgotten past with trembling hands.

"The Dark Lord... he took Kreacher to that horrible cave..."

Kreacher's voice was like sandpaper scraping against the ground. "He made Kreacher drink that horrible potion... Oh, the pain - Kreacher almost thought he was going to die..."

Harry held his breath involuntarily. He could imagine the horrific scene - Voldemort standing grimly by, watching the house-elf struggle in agony.

"But Kreacher is not dead! Kreacher will not die!" Kreacher's voice suddenly became firm: "When Master Regulus asked Kreacher to follow the Dark Lord to the cave, he ordered Kreacher - he told Kreacher that he must come back alive!"

"Kreacher is an obedient house-elf, working for the glorious Black family...Kreacher must return alive!"

When he said this.

Even Ryan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

to be frank.

In fact, he had always been curious about how Kreacher survived from that cave.

After all, he saw clearly in the memory in Filch's mind that Kreacher had almost lost his mind after drinking the potion.

It was hard for him to imagine how the elf in that state could escape from the huge number of corpses.

But now, Kreacher undoubtedly gave him an incredible explanation.

No help from others, no special magic.

He was just following the orders of his most respected master - Regulus wanted him to stay alive, so Kreacher escaped from the cave with his battered body.

This is the power of the house-elf's magical contract, and also... the bond between Kreacher and Regulus.

At this moment, Kreacher continued to narrate.

"Master Regulus asked Kreacher what had happened - and when he learned what the Dark Lord had done, he became furious..."

His eyes widened and his tone became excited again.

It seemed as if the scene of that day was still replaying before his eyes until today.

"Master Regulus, the noble and gentle master... He actually got angry because of Kreacher... For a lowly house-elf..."

"He healed Kreacher's injuries himself, and he told Kreacher - he said 'this is not the leader we follow'."

Kreacher continued, "He said the Dark Lord didn't truly embody the ideals of pure-bloods, that he was just a pathetic thug, he said... he said he had to stop the Dark Lord..."

Ryan listened quietly, he could feel Regulus's awakening at that moment.

A young man who was brainwashed by the pure-blood ideology, had aspirations for greatness, and had gone astray, was shocked and awakened after seeing the true face of Voldemort.

"Then what?"

And at this moment, Harry couldn't help but ask.

"Master Regulus...he asked Kreacher to take him to the cave..."

Kreacher's voice began to tremble. "He... he drank all the potions... allowing Kreacher to take the real Horcrux and destroy it."

Sirius' body swayed slightly, and he held on to the table beside him to steady himself.

He could imagine the scene - his brother, alone in the dark cave, drinking the deadly potion...

He would wail in agony, then be dragged under by the Inferi, with the cold water surrounding him.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

Sirius's teeth were clicking.

But at this moment, Harry noticed Kreacher's choice of words.

"Horcrux!?"

He exclaimed the name, which made Ryan's expression freeze.

"Yes, a Horcrux—that's what Master Regulus called the locket..."

Kreacher didn't seem to care about Harry's identity as a Muggle wizard at this moment, he spoke softly.

At this moment, Sirius seemed to suddenly wake up: "Wait, I remember... There seems to be relevant records in a magic book at home. James and I secretly came back to find the magic book for Lily... I remember..."

He tried hard to remember.

Apparently, there are records about Horcruxes in the ancient Black family's collection of books.

"..."

At this moment, Ryan was really speechless.

He naturally didn't expect it.

He had been hesitant and evasive for so long before he finally managed to hide the word Horcrux.

But now, the trap has been missed.

Facing Harry's puzzled gaze, Ryan remained calm: "Yes, Horcrux - that is the name of Voldemort's secret of immortality... but Dumbledore hopes that you will not study it, absolutely not..."

He warned Harry and Sirius.

But obviously... judging from the flickering expressions on Harry and Sirius' faces, Ryan didn't think the godfather and godson duo had really taken his warning to heart.

"I have to tell Dumbledore about this when I get back, but the good thing is... the existence of living Horcruxes is beyond our knowledge. Even if they look up information about Horcruxes, it will probably be difficult for them to guess."

Ryan muttered in his heart.

The room fell silent, with only the sound of Kreacher's suppressed sobs.

Sirius walked over to the crystal coffin and gently stroked the cold surface.

"I wronged you, brother..."

He whispered, his voice more gentle than ever before: "You are much braver than I thought."

"Get some sleep, boy."

He spoke softly as water drops fell on the crystal coffin.

"The next battle belongs to us."

Chapter 199 Funeral and Fox!

After Sirius asked about his brother's tortuous but brave ending.

He also made a decision immediately.

"He deserves a funeral!"

Sirius said flatly, "A hero's funeral—grand enough to wash away his shame and restore his honor!"

obviously.

After realizing his brother's heroic deeds, Sirius certainly could not tolerate him dying quietly - even as a Death Eater.

The shame of his brother, the heroic Regulus Black, must be washed away.

"That's right! That's exactly it!"

And Kreacher also stood on the same side with Sirius at this moment, which was rare.

At this moment, the last two members of this ancient family - a fugitive and a house-elf - share a common destiny.

"but..."

But at this moment, Harry hesitated: "Will this alert the enemy..."

It was the first time he heard of the existence of Horcruxes, but he already understood that Voldemort must attach great importance to this thing.

And if Voldemort knew that his locket had been discovered and destroyed, he would certainly be wary.

Harry didn't think that was a good thing.

After hearing his words, Ryan looked at Harry approvingly.

It must be said that Harry's growth in the past year is truly visible to the naked eye.

On the contrary, Sirius looked hesitant after hearing what his godson said.

It was obvious that he knew what Harry said was right.

But he found it hard to bear that his brother had made such a great sacrifice but remained unknown to the public, and even had to go to the other side of the veil with the reputation of a Death Eater.

"We can compromise."

At this moment, Ryan said softly: "We shouldn't mention the Horcrux - Dumbledore also thinks so... That kind of magic is too evil and tempting, we shouldn't make its existence public."

"But... I think Dumbledore would be willing to give Regulus a funeral and personally recognize his contribution in the fight against Voldemort."

"As for Voldemort... he would surely have guessed from this that something might be wrong with his locket, but—that's beside the point."

Ryan said softly.

"In fact, I think he should already know that we are looking for his Horcruxes. He may even know that we have found several of his Horcruxes."

Ryan was certain of this.

Let’s not talk about who the owner of the memory in Filch’s mind is, what his relationship with Voldemort is, and whether Voldemort was behind this matter.