Raven | 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 81

That night, after the Dark Lord had requested something of Regulus, he returned back to his own home at Grimmauld Place, his mind racing and his heart throbbing in his chest.

   "Regulus? Is that you?" he heard his mother calling him from the parlor the moment he stepped inside the house and closed the door behind him.

      "Yes, Mother," he called back, walking inside.

      Unlike how his parents were with Sirius, they barely inquired Regulus whenever he wanted to go out, which was a matter of relief to him.

      "I'm — I'm kinda hungry," Regulus told his mother as he peered his head into the parlor, where Wulberga was reading a book and Orion Black was reading a copy of the Daily Prophet without bothering to even raise his head. "I'll be going down to the kitchen to get something to eat."

     "Very well." His mother nodded at him and so Regulus went downstairs, entering the kitchen and quietly closing its door behind him.

     He was nervously pacing around in the kitchen, rubbing his hands together anxiously until he finally called out quietly, "Kreacher?"

     The next moment, the house elf appeared inside the kitchen with a crack, bowing down his head deeply.

     "What can Kreacher do for Master Regulus?" said the house elf.

      Regulus didn't know how he could word it, because even the Dark Lord hadn't specifically told him what it was that he really wanted.

     "Kreacher," he finally started after a long pause, "the Dark Lord has requested for your service. It — it should be an honor to do as he asks, for both of us."

      Even the words were said with effort, though Regulus had no other choice than to say these to Kreacher, because it was for his own good. He didn't want the house elf to be too afraid in the Dark Lord's presence.

      "You will now go to the Malfoy Manor, where he awaits you," Regulus went on. "And you must be sure to do whatever the Dark Lord orders you to do, and then I want you to come back to me."

      "Of course, Master," said Kreacher.

      "Thank you, Kreacher." Regulus offered him a warm smile. "You may go now."

     And so, with one last deep bow, Kreacher disappeared out of the kitchen, leaving for the Malfoy Manor to serve the Dark Lord and adjourn him away for the night.

***

Regulus waited a few hours until his parents had gone to sleep that night before sneaking out of his room, tiptoeing out of the house before Disapparating away to Alexandra's house.

      As he looked up at their mansion, Regulus sighed in relief when he saw that the lights in her room were till on even though it was way past midnight, which meant that she was still awake.

      So with that, he entered the house and quietly went upstairs, gently knocking at her door. Regulus then pushed the door open when he heard a faint 'come on'. But he had barely stepped into the room when suddenly Alexandra leaped forward and brought him into a tight hug.

     "Oh, thank Merlin you're all right," she breath out, pulling away quickly just to make sure that he was fine. "What — what did he want from you?"

     She asked him worriedly as he walked inside and closed the bedroom door behind him, so they wouldn't wake Edna up. Although she briskly casted silencing charms around the room to keep their conversation private.

      "He needed an elf," said Regulus, looking distressed as he kept pacing around the room, running a hand through his black hair. "I volunteered Kreacher for the job."

     "Kreacher!?" Alexandra repeated in disbelief. "But —"

     "Look, Alex," Regulus started sharply, "when the Dark Lord asks you something, you either do as he orders, or — or you must deal with the consequences."

     "Then... what did he want with Kreacher?" she mused, her eyebrows knitting together.

      "He didn't say..." Regulus sat down at the edge of her bed, letting the silence reign the walls of the room.

     But they both suddenly jumped out of their skins in shock when with a loud crack, a house elf appeared inside the room, whipping.

      "Kreacher!" Regulus exclaimed, moving toward the crying elf hurriedly and getting down to his knees. "Kreacher, what happened!? Are you all right!?"

      "K-kreacher went to the Dark Lord as M-master Regulus had asked," Kreacher was sobbing uncontrollably, falling to the ground.

      "What did he want?" Regulus asked urgently, extremely concerned for the well-being of the elf.

      "The Dark Lord did not tell Kreacher what they were to do, b-but took Kreacher with him to a c-cave beside the sea. And beyond the cave there was a cavern, and in the cavern was a great black lake..."

     Alexandra and Regulus were listening to the poor house elf in horror as he went on, having a hard time to believe that this was the reason the Dark Lord needed him tonight.

      "There was a boat... There was a b-basin full of potion on the island. The D-Dark Lord made Kreacher drink it..." The elf quaked from head to foot. "Kreacher drank, and as he drank, he saw terrible things... Kreacher's insides burned... Kreacher cried for Master Regulus to save him, he cried for his Mistress Black, but the Dark Lord only laughed... He made Kreacher drink all the potion... He dropped a locket into the empty basin... He filled it with more potion."

      "Oh, Kreacher..." Regulus frowned, bringing the house elf gently into a hug to comfort him, before pulling away so he could go on. "What happened then?"

     "And then the Dark Lord sailed away, leaving Kreacher on the island... but Master Regulus had ordered Kreacher to come back to him... so Kreacher did... Kreacher Disapparated and came here..." The house elf was now crying more than ever.

      Without thinking, Regulus got up and looked around the room, seeing a glass on Alexandra's nightstand. He quickly picked it up and conjured some water into it, handing it to Kreacher, who drank it all in a heartbeat.

      With that, the house elf looked slightly better, though he was still weak and sick, windswept after the events of that night. Alexandra stood still on her spot, watching the poor elf in agony.

      "What was it that the Dark Lord hid in the basin, Kreacher?" Regulus asked him softly after he was sure that the elf was feeling slightly better.

      "A locket, Master. A locket with a snake drawn on it," Kreacher answered feebly, trembling on the floor.

     "A locket?" Regulus repeated in confusion. "What can be so important about a locket to go to such extent to keep it safe?"

      But at that exact moment, the realization suddenly hit Alexandra and her heart sank at the thought, her whole body going numb.

      "A Horcrux..." she muttered under her breath. "The locket had to be a Horcrux."