The Necromancer

Chapter 20

“Harry.” The look Sirius gave Harry was painfully pleading. “Is that true? Is Reggie still alive?”

“It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Harry offered his godfather with an uncertain smile. “But I have no idea what happened or where he is.”

Sirius frowned heavily, his whole forehead creased as he glanced down in concentration. “I only ever heard from Andromeda that Reggie had been killed by Voldemort, and she’d heard it from some second cousin who was still occasionally in contact with the bad side of the family.” Sirius’ lips quivered while he swallowed hard. “And now there’s no one left alive who might know what really happened.”

Just as Harry thought that perhaps topping up Sirius’ glass with some more fire-whiskey to help drink away his sorrows might be a good idea, Sirius suddenly sat up, his face a mask of rock-hard determination.

“There is someone left who would know. Kreacher!”

With a soft pop, a very old, very wrinkly house-elf appeared who looked at Sirius as if he was seeing a steaming pile of fresh erumpent dung. “No-good Master is calling Kreacher?”

“What happened to Reggie!” Sirius demanded while he leaned over to glare at the old house-elf. “You know something, Kreacher, I know you do. So tell me. That’s an order!”

Much to everyone’s surprise the cranky house-elf burst into loud, wailing tears, pulling hard on his own ears as he bent double at the waist. “Master Regulus is making Kreacher swear not to tell anyone.”

Sirius’ face softened a little, and when he spoke next his voice had lost all anger. “Please, Kreacher. If Reggie is still alive, I want to know. What happened to him?”

Kreacher inhaled several deep, hiccupping breaths and his voice had a distinct wet rattle to it when he spoke. “The Dark Lord needed a house-elf and Master Regulus volunteered Kreacher.” In between sobs and wails the whole story came out, of how Voldemort had taken Kreacher with him to a cave, only to abandon him there. How Regulus had wanted to know everything that had happened there and eventually decided to visit the cave himself to collect the artifact Voldemort had hidden there. And how hundreds of inferi had swarmed the small island while Regulus ordered Kreacher to leave with the artifact.

“But Master Regulus only ordered Kreacher to leave, which Kreacher did,” Kreacher said while rubbing his runny nose on the pillowcase he was wearing. “Master Regulus never said Kreacher couldn’t be coming back, which Kreacher did to save his beloved Master.”

“Wait…you saved Reggie? How?” Sirius asked breathlessly, sitting on the edge of his seat as he listened to the story.

“Master Regulus had been pulled into the water. Kreacher is pulling him out again and taking him home. But Master Regulus is not breathing, so Kreacher is using magic to get the water out of his lungs and to make his heart beat again.”

“He died,” Harry said. “And you resuscitated him.”

“That explains why his status changed to deceased on the tapestry,” Sirius said, understanding dawning on his face. “That’s why his vault closed at Gringotts.”

“Master Regulus is telling Kreacher not to be saying to anyone he is still being alive,” Kreacher said while he was still sniffling. “Master Regulus is being determined to destroying the Dark Lord’s artifact. He is taking it and going abroad.”