Chapter Eleven – Destruction

Sirius slipped into Gringotts just before it closed and headed up to Bill's office. He found Bill engaged in an intense discussion with a stunningly beautiful blond-haired woman. They both looked up as he walked in, and Bill, with an inscrutable look, said, "I would like to you meet my friend, Fleur Delacour, the Charms expert I mentioned to you."

Fleur looked slightly offended as he uttered the word "friend" but didn't say anything.

"Enchanté, mademoiselle," said Sirius, bowing low and kissing her hand.

Fleur flashed him a brilliant smile and replied, "Mon plaisir, Lord Black."

Sirius jerked his head up in surprise and turned a dark look upon Bill, who held his hands up defensively. "I didn't tell her anything. Somehow she figured it out all on her own."

"Please, Lord Black, do not blame him," Fleur spoke up. "He was very careful to protect your identity, but when he sought out my advice regarding his sister it became apparent to me who you were." She flashed him an impudent smile. "After all, it is no secret that you are godfather to Harry Potter. Who else would be arranging for his future in this way?"

"We'll discuss this later," replied Sirius giving her an odd look. "Right now, I have someone waiting for us outside." He motioned for them both to follow him. He made his way rapidly through Gringotts and didn't stop until he spotted Tonks. He turned to Bill, "Have you been to Grimmauld Place yet?" Bill shook his head, and Sirius replied, "All right, this is how we are going to do it. Bill, I will side-along with you first. Then we will return and side-along with the ladies. Tonks is an Auror, so they should be fine here until we get back." He grabbed Bill's arm, and they disappeared with a crack.

Landing, Bill looked around and got his bearings. He stopped Sirius just before he was about to apparate back. "Look, Sirius, about yesterday. I'm sorry I reacted that way. Fleur helped me put things into perspective last night." He smiled fondly in recollection and then looked directly at Sirius and took a deep breath. "I'm ready to discuss the contract with you, and I promise not to hex you."

Sirius threw him a speculative look. Bill's way of thinking had obviously radically changed. He couldn't wait to sit down with him again and find out exactly what had happened, but that was a discussion for another day. Tonight, they had a Dark Artifact to destroy. He gave Bill a slight bow. "It gives me great pleasure to hear you say that. Come, let us go collect the ladies, perhaps later we can make plans to finish this conversation another day."

Leading everyone in, Sirius apologized for the slight air of menace that hung over the house. He explained that it was his ancestral home, and that much of his family had Dark tendencies. He mentioned that he and Kreacher were working on remedying the situation, but that it was slow going. Both Bill and Fleur offered to come help, and Bill seemed especially excited at the possibility of encountering Dark objects. Sirius just shook his head in amusement.

Remus made his appearance shortly thereafter. Sirius was in the process of introducing everyone when Bill interrupted him. Looking intently at Tonks, he asked, "You were in the same class as my brother Charlie, weren't you? Tonks, wasn't it?"

"Wotcher, Bill. I can't believe you remember me. I always thought you were too busy fending off girls to notice one of your lowly brother's friends," replied Tonks, sticking out her tongue at him.

Bill flushed and glanced nervously at his companion. Fleur just giggled and rolled her eyes at Tonks, enjoying Bill's discomfiture.

"Oh, my! Have I rendered the great Bill Weasley speechless?" taunted Tonks.

Bill just glared at her. "How could I forget you? You were the only one at school who sported a new hair color on a daily basis. Rather hard to overlook."

Sirius cleared his throat to regain their attention. "Pardon me. If you two are done, I can finish introducing everyone, and then we can all partake of the excellent supper Kreacher has concocted for us."

Looking slightly abashed, the two indicated to Sirius that he could continue without further interruption.

During the course of the meal, the various members of the company discreetly sounded each other out. Conversation ranged from what people did for a living, to where their interests lay, and finally to where they were all educated. It was at this point that Sirius finally put all the pieces together.

As Kreacher served them their pudding, Sirius turned to Fleur inquisitively. "You were one of the Tri-Wizard champions along with Harry, were you not? If you don't mind my asking, how is it that you are working at Gringotts? I thought you were in your final year at Beauxbatons. I was under the distinct impression that both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons were still at Hogwarts."

"Mais, oui. They are still there," replied Fleur prettily. "Although I have not officially finished my last term, I had already applied for a position with Gringotts. The Goblins offered me an internship with them, and, since I have already finished my coursework for the term, Madame Maxime has permitted me to come to London and begin my apprenticeship." She flashed Bill a brilliant smile. "I have been working at Gringotts since the end of the Tournament and will return to Hogwarts only to say adieu to my friends and attend the memorial service for pauvre Cedric." As Fleur finished speaking, tears gathered in her eyes, as she was once again reminded of the disastrous turn the Tournament had taken.

Bill surreptitiously handed her a handkerchief, and she wiped her eyes discreetly and gave him a grateful smile. The conversation lagged somewhat for the rest of the meal.

After the table was cleared, Sirius cleared his throat and everyone turned their attention to him. "Let me give you a bit of background to the situation I find myself in," he began. "My brother Regulus," he closed his eyes in shame and regret, "was a Death Eater. I have since discovered that shortly before his death, an extremely Dark Object came into his possession. I have spoken with our house-elf Kreacher and have discovered that Regulus charged him with its destruction. Kreacher has indicated to me that somehow this object, Regulus' death, and his leaving Voldemort's service are all connected."

Sirius paused a moment. He had not realised how difficult it would be to tell this story. He deeply regretted the way he had treated his brother the last few years of his life. It was obvious to him that Regulus had not been as entrenched in the Pureblood ideology as Sirius had originally believed. His brother may have lacked a certain backbone, but he was not truly an evil person.

"Apparently, Regulus also bade Kreacher keep the existence of the object and his task relating to it a secret." Sirius looked around the table and took another deep breath. "It is with great difficulty that I persuaded Kreacher to consent to allow me to share this information with you and show you the object in question. In return, we need to help fulfil his mandate by destroying the object."

Bill looked at him steadily and said, "Well, the sooner we take a look at it, the sooner we can get to work on destroying it. Anything that hinders You-Know-Who must be worthwhile."

Sirius looked at evil smile on the curse-breaker's face and reminded himself that it would be unwise to get on the wrong side of Bill. He called Kreacher and requested that he bring in the locket. As Kreacher set the locket on the table, everyone in the room recoiled from the malice it exuded. "This is the reason I have invited you all here tonight. From your reactions, I can see that I am not the only one who can sense the darkness that permeates this locket. What I need is your help in eradicating this permanently."

"Do you know what this contains?" Remus asked Sirius.

Sirius turned to Kreacher. "According to Kreacher, Regulus believed the locket was full of Dark Magic and was incredibly evil. Is that not correct, Kreacher?"

Kreacher nodded his head emphatically.

"Kreacher, can you tell us anything about how Master Regulus found this? Were you with him when he found it? Do you know who it belonged to?" questioned Sirius intently.

A myriad of emotions crossed Kreacher's face. Everyone in the room could tell that the small elf was torn between conflicting commands. On the one hand, Regulus had told him to keep their adventure secret. On the other, he had told him to see to it that the locket was destroyed.

Finally, Kreacher spoke. "Master Regulus took Kreacher to a cave near the water. He cut himself and used blood to enter. A big lake filled the cave. Master Regulus found a boat which took Master Regulus to the centre of the lake with Kreacher. Master Regulus commanded Kreacher to make Master drink from a basin. When the basin was empty, Master Regulus took out the locket. Master Regulus put in another locket. Kreacher rowed Master Regulus back to shore. Master Regulus was dying. Kreacher brought Master back to Grimmauld Place. Master Regulus told Kreacher the locket was the Dark Lord's and was filled with Dark Magic. Master Regulus told Kreacher to destroy the locket. If the locket were not destroyed, the Dark Lord would not die. Kreacher tried and tried but could not destroy the locket. Master Regulus died from the nasty potion, and Kreacher could not even do what Master Regulus asked. Kreacher is sorry for failing. Kreacher knows it is Kreacher's fault the Dark Lord did not die," and with those words, the elf fell to the floor sobbing.

"Kreacher, it is not your fault Voldemort did not die. You did your best to follow Master Regulus's instructions, but Voldemort is a very powerful wizard. You took good care of your Master. And thank you for telling me about Regulus. He was a noble man." Sirius did his best to reassure the elf. When Kreacher heard Sirius call Regulus noble, he regained some of his composure and retreated to the other end of the kitchen.

The others stared at the locket with increasing feelings of apprehension. Whatever it was, it was most foul. Remus cocked his head and left for the library. Bill started testing it for curses, and Fleur tried to decipher what Charms may have been cast upon it. Tonks began to ward the room. Sirius followed Remus to the library, an idea floating around in the back of his mind.

When Sirius arrived in the library, Remus was already sitting in an easy chair surrounded by several stacks of books. Sirius quickly glanced at the titles and headed towards the shelves. He located a rather unprepossessing book, entitled Preserving the Soul, A Guide to the Darkest Magic and sat down on the couch. Quickly flipping through the book, he came upon a section he remembered vaguely from his youth. He skimmed the contents of the chapter and turned to Remus. "I think I've found it. Have you ever heard of Horcruxes?"

Remus's eyes widened in consternation. "I've only heard vague rumours about them. There are passing references to them in books I've read dealing with the darkest arts. I'm not sure exactly what they are, though. I take it you've found a bit more information than I have."

Sirius passed him the book. Remus scanned through the material and lifted his head to look at Sirius in abject horror. "You think that…that thing in the kitchen is one? I can't believe that even Voldemort would do something so heinous."

"Yes, unfortunately, I think that is precisely what we are dealing with. It all fits. Why Voldemort didn't die, why Regulus sacrificed his life trying to eliminate it, why it is so heavily protected, and why it feels like pure evil. Now our only problem is destroying it. I have another idea about that, but it is Dark Magic and very risky."

"And what bloody stupid stunt are you thinking of pulling this time?" questioned Remus.

Sirius's answer was only one word. "Fiendfyre."

Remus could only stare at him, all the while opening and closing his mouth several times. "I think we'd better go talk to the others," he finally managed to get out. "What do you want to tell them? Everything? Or just your damn fool idea of how to get rid of it?"

"Let me think about it on the way to the kitchen," Sirius replied.

By the time they had reached the kitchen, Sirius had made his decision. "Before we go any further, I need an oath from each of you. The information I need to share will require the utmost confidentiality. Word of what I am about to tell you cannot get out. It is imperative that Voldemort not learn about any of this. I am not asking you to follow my banner, or blindly put your trust in me. I don't believe in keeping secrets from the people I work with, but I need to know that the confidences I share remain within the group. I've seen first hand how damaging having a traitor on the inside can be." The last was said with a bitter twisted grimace.

A silence fell over the room. They were all familiar with Sirius' story. Finally Bill spoke up, "I will take your oath. If this has to do with defeating Voldemort, I'm willing to do anything I can."

Fleur quickly added, "Moi aussi. I, too, will take the oath."

Remus said, "I have no problem taking the oath. I already know part of what Sirius has to tell you. I agree that that knowledge needs to be protected."

Fidgeting a bit, Tonks stated, "It's not that I don't want to take the oath, it's just that I'm worried about it conflicting with my job at the Ministry."

Sirius looked at her. "I don't want you to do this, if you're at all uncertain. This is strictly voluntary. You don't even have to decide right away. However, by the time we've finished with the vows, you must make a choice."

Glancing around at the group, Bill suggested the Oath of Fidelity. It would not allow them to speak to others about the subject of the vow, and the information would be located in a hidden compartment of their minds so that, if someone were to perform Legilimency on them, it would not be accessible. If they decided to share the information with someone else, that person would also need to take the Oath.

Sirius turned to Tonks awaiting her decision. Tonks grabbed her wand and joined the group. She did not want to be left out, and she certainly did not want Voldemort to win. Everyone touched their wands together and vowed to not reveal the knowledge that they learned this night. As they spoke their vows a bright white light wound its way down their wands and encircled their wrists.

Sirius then told them about Horcruxes. He passed the book around and everyone quickly read through the information. Gasps of horror were emitted as they realised the abomination that sat so innocuously before them. Sirius then suggested using Fiendfyre to eliminate the Horcrux. At first, everyone looked at him like he was off his trolley, however, during the ensuing discussion, no other viable alternatives could be found. The vilest of magic would require the vilest tools of destruction.

It was decided that Bill, Remus, and Fleur would work on setting up wards around the locket to aid in the containment of the Fiendfyre. Sirius returned to the library and read up on Fiendfyre and how to cast it. There was no room for mistakes, if they were all to survive. Tonks drifted back and forth between the two groups, adding her power to the wards and acting as sounding board for Sirius about the nature of Fiendfyre.

Finally everything was ready. The locket lay on the kitchen table and the wards surrounded it, protecting those standing outside the perimeter. Sirius was the only one standing within the confines of the wards. He drew in a deep breath and cast the Fiendfyre spell. He clenched his teeth and directed the Fyre towards the table. The Fiendfyre devoured the table and the locket. When it reached the locket, the interaction between the Horcrux and the Fiendfyre caused a small explosion knocking Sirius back against the wards and threatening to engulf him. Flames licked the bottom of his robes and sweat poured down his face as he struggled to regain control and rein in the Fyre. His hands were shaking, his wand was wavering, and the heat and fumes were overwhelming. Those outside the wards were just about to despair of Sirius escaping alive his battle against the Fyre, when Tonks crashed through the wards and added her strength to his. Together, they worked to extinguish the last vestiges of the Fiendfyre. Once they were completely successful, Bill, Remus, and Fleur worked on taking down the wards.

Sirius stumbled as the wards came down, and landed on his knees on the stone floor. He struggled to regain his breath, and his face shone white in the dim light of the room. With trembling hands, he motioned for a glass of water. Fleur hastened to get one for him, and Sirius shot her a grateful look as he took the glass from her. He took several large gulps and closed his eyes in relief as the cool water ran down his throat. He turned to Tonks who was sitting on the floor next to him and pulled her in to a tight hug.

"Thanks, cuz. Without you, I couldn't have contained it. I owe you my life. I guess my mother was right when she warned me not to play with fire."

Tonks just stared at him disbelief and then let out a loud snort of laughter. "Mum was right about you. You are quite a character. Are you ever serious?"

Everyone groaned, and Sirius was about to reply when Kreacher rushed over to him and grabbed his knees, sobbing in happiness. "Master Sirius did it! The evil locket is destroyed! Master Regulus can rest in peace. Thank you Master Sirius. Now Kreacher has not failed noble Master Regulus. Now the evil Dark Lord can die!"

Looks were exchanged at these words. Sirius didn't have the heart to tell the small elf what he suspected – this was not Voldemort's only Horcrux. He knew that Voldemort did not do anything by halves. He also remembered Harry telling him about the diary that had possessed Ginny Weasley her first year at Hogwarts. Now that he knew that Voldemort had used a Horcrux in an attempt to stave off death, it wasn't hard to make a connection between that and the diary. He was aware that at least Bill and Remus were familiar with the properties of the diary. Both were bright men. He realised it wouldn't take them long to reach similar conclusions, if they hadn't already.

Once things started to settle down, a new table was conjured up, several bottles of Firewhiskey were produced, and those assembled toasted their success long into the night. Near-death experiences tended to require some type of release, this was theirs. The real world could wait. They simply wanted to celebrate the fact that they had survived. Any further discussion was relegated to another day, when their brains were not so clouded by strong spirits.