Chapter 313: Chapter 313
Lynn’s gaze fell back onto the display cabinet, and he began rummaging through it once more.
Snuffboxes that emitted poisonous gas, glass bottles oozing pus, notebooks that grew tentacles—compared to that mirror which would open its mouth to curse people, these were simply child’s play.
At least the mirror provided some emotional value; these things were purely meant to disgust people.
Lynn could deal with them with a wave of his wand without even needing to move his mouth, which was much less trouble than arguing with that mirror.
He moved quickly, and before long, he had sifted through almost everything on the first shelf of the cabinet.
Most were strange little trinkets; some he could understand at a glance, others required a couple of seconds of thought, but none were particularly serious items.
Just as he was about to look at the second shelf, his hand suddenly stopped on something.
The object was tucked away in a corner of the cabinet, covered in a layer of dust so thick it was almost impossible to tell its original color.
Lynn frowned and reached out to pull it from the corner.
"What is this? It’s so dirty."
He subconsciously brushed off the dust.
Sirius Black stood nearby, his eyelids twitching as he watched.
"Be careful," he couldn’t help but warn. "That thing might be some bizarre Dark Arts object. If it carries a curse—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Lynn had already wiped the object clean.
It was a small box about the size of a chicken egg, heavy to the touch, and he could feel the coldness of the metal in his palm.
The front of the box featured an ornate ’S’ inlaid with several small emeralds. The quality of the gems was excellent; even in the dim light, they emitted a faint green glow, and their facets were cut so neatly that it was clear great effort had been put into them.
Lynn flipped it over to look at the back, but there were no markings.
"This isn’t something from the House of Black," Sirius leaned in for a look, his tone certain. "I’ve never seen it before."
He paused as if recalling something. "It’s probably some junk they bought from somewhere. Just throw it away."
As soon as he finished speaking, a sharp, piercing voice exploded from behind him.
"This is not junk!"
Sirius was startled, leaping half a step to the side with his hand already reaching for his wand.
He whipped his head around to see Kreacher standing less than two steps behind him, those large, cloudy eyes staring straight at the Locket in Lynn’s hand, his eyeballs nearly bulging out.
Sirius’s face instantly darkened. He opened his mouth to scold him, but Kreacher gave him no chance.
"This is Master Regulus’s Locket!" Kreacher’s voice was sharp and frantic. "He made Kreacher bring it back! It belongs to Master Regulus!"
Lynn held the Locket up to his eyes, looked at Kreacher’s agitated state as if the elf were about to jump, and then turned to Sirius.
"Regulus? Who’s that?"
Sirius’s expression shifted, and a flicker of extremely complex emotion flashed across his face.
"My brother," his voice was very low. "Regulus Black."
Remus Lupin walked over from the side and took up the conversation. "I remember him. When we were in school, he and Sirius couldn’t stand each other and argued frequently."
Sirius snorted with a hint of reluctance.
"Yeah," he said, every word sounding as if it were squeezed through his teeth. "My weak-willed brother easily believed my parents’ pure-blood theories and even became a Death Eater."
He stared at the Locket in Lynn’s hand, his expression turning even colder.
"Throw it away. It’s likely just something Death Eaters used to harm people."
"No!"
Kreacher’s scream was so loud it almost lifted the roof.
He jumped up, lunging for the Locket in Lynn’s hand.
Lynn gave his wand a flick.
Kreacher’s movement froze in mid-air, and he was held in place as if someone had pressed the pause button.
His mouth remained open, his fingers outstretched, and his eyes bulging, but he couldn’t move an inch.
"What’s the rush?" Lynn brought the Locket back in front of him, turning it over and over. "Since it’s a Death Eater’s item, I have even more reason to open it and take a look."
He found the seam of the lid, hooked his finger in, and tried to pry it open with force.
It didn’t budge.
He applied more strength until his knuckles turned white, but the lid remained motionless as if it were welded shut.
"Whoa! It’s quite sturdy!"
Lynn placed the Locket in his palm and used both hands, pressing his thumbs against the edge of the lid and prying outward with all his might.
His face turned red from the effort, but the box still didn’t move, not even a crack appeared.
He let go and stared at the box for a couple of seconds.
"Damn it!"
His wand slid out from his sleeve; with a flick of his wrist, he pointed the tip at the Locket.
"Sectumsempra!"
An invisible blade shot from the wand’s tip, precisely hitting the seam on the front of the Locket.
A sharp cutting sound rang out in the air, and sparks flew from the point of impact, flashing in the dim room.
And then—still nothing happened.
Lynn: "..."
Sirius: "..."
Lupin: "..."
The three of them stared at the box for several seconds; no one spoke.
Lynn turned the Locket over twice more, confirming that there were indeed no marks of it having been cut.
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
"Fine." He handed the box to Sirius. "It’s your brother’s thing. You try."
Sirius took the Locket and weighed it in his hand. He also tried to pry it open a couple of times, but to no avail.
He tried several Unlocking Charms with his wand, but still nothing worked.
A final Blasting Curse nearly blew up the nearby cabinet, yet the Locket remained completely unmoved.
He threw the box back to Lynn. "Can’t open it."
Lynn caught the box and turned to look at Kreacher, who was still frozen in place.
"How do you open this thing?"
Kreacher’s mouth was still open, but he couldn’t make a sound. Lynn waved his wand, releasing the seal on the elf’s mouth.
"Kreacher doesn’t know," Kreacher said in a high-pitched, thin voice, sobbing. "Kreacher is useless, Kreacher cannot destroy that box, failed to carry out Master Regulus’s orders!"
Sirius’s brow furrowed; he stared at Kreacher for a couple of seconds, clearly not believing him.
"Kreacher! How do you open this!"
"Kreacher doesn’t know—"
"Then why did Regulus want you to destroy this?" Lynn interrupted his wailing.
Kreacher’s mouth snapped shut. He lowered his head, tears still falling, but he remained silent.
"Speak," Lynn’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was heavy.
Kreacher still wouldn’t talk.
Sirius grew impatient, stepping in front of Kreacher and glaring down at him. "Why did Regulus have you destroy this? Answer me!"
Kreacher’s body trembled.
"Kreacher doesn’t know," his voice grew even smaller. "Only knows it was Master Regulus’s order. Master told Kreacher to bring it back, told Kreacher to destroy it. Kreacher couldn’t do it, Kreacher is useless..."
He spoke quieter and quieter until the last few words were almost inaudible.
Sirius’s expression became even grimmer. He stared at Kreacher for several seconds, his chest heaving and his fists clenching until they cracked.
"Then why did this thing end up in your hands!" His voice was practically squeezed out from between his teeth.
This time, Kreacher finally didn’t claim ignorance to everything.
But his reaction was even more intense than before.
His body began to shake, starting from his fingertips and traveling up to his shoulders until his entire being was trembling.
"One day..." His voice was intermittent, as if he were desperately trying to recall something terrifying. "One day, Master Regulus came to the kitchen to visit Kreacher. He said... he said the Dark Lord needed an elf..."
Lynn’s attempt to pry the box paused for a moment.
Kreacher’s voice grew smaller and smaller.
"The Dark Lord took Kreacher to a place... a cave... the Dark Lord made Kreacher drink water from a stone basin... the water was green, very bitter... Kreacher drank it, Kreacher felt terrible, so thirsty... the Dark Lord made Kreacher drink more, and Kreacher drank..."
His voice choked up, and tears smeared his face.
"Kreacher was so thirsty, Kreacher drank that water... the water was gone, the stone basin was dry... the Dark Lord put the Locket in the basin... then filled it with water again... and then the Dark Lord left, leaving Kreacher there..."
He paused. "Kreacher returned home. Kreacher told Master Regulus about this."
He looked up at Sirius.
"Master told Kreacher to take him to the cave. He took a Locket from his pocket, just like the Dark Lord’s... he told Kreacher to hold it, and when the stone basin was dry, to swap the Lockets."
He lowered his head, his voice starting to tremble again.
"He ordered Kreacher to go home and that I must find a way to destroy the Locket we took... then he drank all the Potion... Master Regulus was dragged under the water..."
Thud!
A dull sound rang out.
Sirius’s fist landed squarely on Kreacher’s face.
Kreacher was frozen in place, unable to dodge or block, and his head was knocked to the side by the punch.
"Why didn’t you save him!" Sirius’s voice was hoarse, his eyes bloodshot. "Why didn’t you save him! You were right there! You watched! You watched him just—"
"Padfoot!" Lupin grabbed Sirius by the waist, dragging him back. "Calm down! Calm down! Let him finish!"
"What else is there for him to say!" Sirius struggled desperately, his eyes fixed on Kreacher. "He watched my brother die there! He did nothing! He just watched!"
"Kreacher couldn’t!" Kreacher’s voice suddenly rose. "Master Regulus ordered Kreacher not to move! Kreacher cannot disobey orders! Kreacher is a bad elf! Kreacher is useless! Kreacher watched Master Regulus die! Kreacher—"
Sirius’s struggling stopped.
He stood there, held by Lupin, his fist still raised in the air, but he looked as if he had been hollowed out.
The room fell silent, save for Kreacher’s intermittent sobbing.
Lynn looked down at the Locket in his hand, a bold idea surfacing in his mind.
"A Horcrux."
---
Enjoying the story?
Receive extra updates and read up to 50+ Chapters ahead on Patreon.
Patreon: patreon.com/mrfanfiction140
Happy Reading. Be sure to leave a review!!!
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter