Chapter 11

Sirius was just sitting down to lunch with Alice, Augusta, Neville, and Harry when Sprite came in. "Sorry to disturb, mistresses, sir, but Professor Dumbledore is floo-calling Mr. Sirius."

Sirius frowned. He was starving, and the french onion soup smelled like a special kind of heaven, but he didn't want to keep Dumbledore waiting. "Thank you, Sprite."

He walked over to the fireplace in the living room and asked, "What's up?"

"Sirius, Severus and I have a rather urgent matter to discuss with you. Would you mind popping over for a bit?"

Sirius' stomach growled, but if Dumbledore said it was urgent, then he would be foolish not to go. "Of course. Let me just make sure Alice and Augusta can watch Harry."

"Excellent. Floo directly to my office. We'll have lunch and discuss some...matters."

Alice and Augusta were only too happy to watch Harry for him, so he kissed Harry and Neville on their foreheads and left straightaway. When he arrived in Dumbledore's office, the older wizard was pacing again and Severus wore an anxious expression. They greeted him in a distracted manner and Dumbledore called for a house elf to bring them lunch. A few seconds later, roast chicken, mashed potatoes, hot bread dripping with butter, and various vegetables filled their plates.

"Want to fill me in on whatever you two have been up to?" Sirius asked before digging into the delicious lunch.

"Albus, you should eat and recover your strength," Severus advised. "I'll catch him up, and you can interject when needed."

"Excellent plan," agreed Dumbledore.

Sirius noted that the headmaster moved a bit more slowly and stiffly than usual, and also that he was paler than normal. He wondered what had happened to rob Dumbledore of his strength, and he thought that both he and Severus seemed decidedly out of sorts. He decided not to ask questions and hear them out, though, and he anxiously awaited their tale.

Severus sighed and shifted in his chair. "Albus and I have been viewing memories in the pensieve in the hopes of tracking down horcruxes, and yesterday we managed to find and destroy one."

"Brilliant!" Sirius was overjoyed that they had already killed off one of the horcruxes. "That's fantastic news!"

"Yes, it is." Severus spoke slowly and deliberately, as if he were trying to choose his words very carefully. "Today, we went looking for another horcrux." He told Sirius all about the cave, the inferii, the basin with the vile potion inside, and the trip to St. Mungo's. Then he hesitated, took a deep breath, and let it out very slowly. "When we finally had a chance to examine the locket, though, we discovered that it was a fake."

"A fake? How is that possible? Who would go through all that trouble for a fake?"

Severus and Dumbledore looked at each other for a long time, then Dumbledore finally spoke. "Sirius, this will come as a shock, but we believe we know how your brother died."

"What? What does any of this have to do with Regulus?"

Severus handed him the locket and the note. Sirius read it over quickly. And again slowly. And again. He felt his breathing get shallow as he fought back tears. He thought he had finished mourning his brother, thought that Regulus had made some stupid mistake and Voldemort had killed him for it, but it seemed now that he had been wrong. He'd been wrong about the depth of his grief for his poor, misguided brother, and wrong about how he died. The other two men sat silently, allowing Sirius time to process what he had learned. He sensed that they wouldn't speak until he did, so he stood up from the table, wiped his eyes with his handkerchief, and attempted to pull himself together.

"So, where's the real horcrux?" Sirius asked finally.

"We aren't sure," Dumbledore said. "Grimmauld Place seems like the best place to start looking."

"Very well." Sirius detested the idea of asking his mother if he could look around his former home. No, that wouldn't work at all. She'd try to deny him access, and he'd have to force his way in. Too messy. Another idea came to mind, though. "Kreacher!"

There was a pop, and an old house elf in a dirty tea towel stood before him. Sirius had never thought he would see him again, which would have been more than fine. Kreacher bowed stiffly and sneered, "M-m-master Sirius."

"Kreacher, I need for you to search the house and see if you can find a locket." Sirius noted that the elf flinched when he had said the word locket. He held up the locket for Kreacher to see. "It most likely looks a lot like this."

Kreacher began to cry and wail and scream, "Not yours! It was Master Regulus' locket! You can't have it! Kreacher WON'T!" Then he threw himself into the wall head first and began banging his head against it.

"Kreacher, I command you to stop!" Sirius shouted.

The elf gave him such a look of hatred and disgust that it made Sirius shudder. "NOT KREACHER'S MASTER! Mistress chucked you out, and good riddance, too!"

Sirius tried to remain calm. It was obvious that Kreacher knew about the locket, and if he commanded the elf to bring it to him, he'd have no choice but to obey. He took a deep breath. "I am your master, Kreacher. My mother can disown me all she wants, but I am my father's heir, whether any of us like it or not."

"Not. Kreacher does not like it, no, he does not. Kreacher will not listen." The elf folded down his bat-like ears and covered them with his hands. He began ramming himself into the wall again.

Sirius placed himself between the elf and the wall. He took hold of Kreacher's hands and pried them down from his ears. "Stop! Kreacher, I command you to bring me the locket immediately."

Kreacher looked at him with murder in his eyes, then turned away and began talking to himself. "Evil, yes, it is evil. Master Sirius always was a bad boy, breaking my poor mistress' heart. Now he wants to use the evil locket. Master Regulus wanted the evil destroyed, and now poor Kreacher has to give it to his brother. What will my mistress say?"

"Kreacher, you are not allowed to discuss the locket with my mother. I command you not to tell her you have seen or spoken to me!"

"Kreacher will obey because he has to, but Kreacher does not like it, no he does not." He popped away, but he was only gone for a minute, and when he returned, he had the locket gripped tightly in his hand.

Sirius held out his hand, but Kreacher only held it closer to his body. He let out an ear-piercing wail. "Noooooooo!"

The small bit of patience Sirius had evaporated. "Bloody hell, Kreacher, you will give me that locket immediately!" His voice cracked beneath the weight of his anger and grief, and tears began to flow down his cheeks again. He reached to grab the elf, to forcibly take the locket away, but Kreacher ran and hid behind an armchair.

Dumbledore gently took Sirius by the shoulders. "My dear boy, you've had quite a shock, and I do understand your frustration. Will you allow me to talk to Kreacher?" Sirius nodded, and Dumbledore patted him on the back. "Now, then, Kreacher, you seem to be under the impression that Sirius wants to use the locket in some way. I can assure you that nothing could be further from the truth."

Kreacher peeked his head out from behind the armchair. "M-master Sirius will not use it?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, none of us here want to use the locket. In fact, we want to destroy it. Would you like to help us do so?"

"Kreacher cannot destroy it, no, Kreacher has tried and tried. Kreacher is a bad elf! He disobeyed Master Regulus' orders!" Kreacher began swinging the locket and hitting himself over the head with it.

Dumbledore winced. "Kreacher, please stop and listen to what I have to say." His voice was calm, but the tone of command was unmistakable. The elf paused and eyed Dumbledore critically, as if he were trying to decide if the wizard was trying to trick him. "You're quite right that the locket is evil, so evil that it is very difficult to destroy. But we do have a way to destroy it, and you can help us do so."

"How?"

"We have a substance that can destroy it. If you would come with us to one of my classrooms, I will let you see it. It is a very dangerous substance, so we have to use extreme caution. Will you do that?"

Kreacher eased out from behind the armchair. "You will not take the locket away and use it?"

"No. I give you my word. We will go to the classroom, and you may place the locket in a stone basin so that we can pour the substance on it and destroy it. Before we go, though, will you allow me to examine the locket? I promise that I will give it right back."

Kreacher reluctantly handed the locket to Dumbledore, who began turning it over in his hands and examining it from every angle. After a few moments, he gave it back.

"Shall we go, then?" asked Dumbledore, and Sirius led the way out of the door. Kreacher followed, and Severus started toward the door as well. Dumbledore placed a hand on his arm to stop him. "Severus, I need you to get Horace and meet us in the potions lab."

"Slughorn? Why?"

"Because, unless I am very much mistaken, the locket needs to be opened in order for it to be destroyed. And I feel sure that the command for it to open must be given in parseltongue."

"Slughorn's a parselmouth? I never knew!"

"Yes, well, he stopped bragging about it around the time Voldemort began gathering followers. But he is a parselmouth, so we need him. Unless you have some hidden talent in that area?"

Severus glared at him. "Sadly, no," he said drily. "I'll be there as quickly as possible." Severus hurried from the room.

Dumbledore followed him out and led the others to the potions lab that he and Severus had used the day before. He began setting up—bringing out the stone basin, getting the basilisk venom from its locked cabinet, and getting the protective gear.

"Now, then Kreacher, if you would please place the locket in the stone basin, then I can help you put on the dragon hide gloves and apron, and—" Dumbledore was saying.

"Oh, no! Kreacher will not be tricked into taking clothes, not from you, and not from M-master Sirius! Kreacher is too smart for that, yes! Kreacher is not going to get tricked into getting the sack!"

"I'm terribly sorry, Kreacher, but you misunderstand!" Dumbledore said. "I'm not going to give you the gloves and apron. I just want to loan them to you so you don't get hurt when you pour the destructive substance onto the locket. If it splashed, it could burn you. I've an idea that will make it quite clear that the gloves and apron are mine, and you are only borrowing them. I'll write my name on them." Dumbledore waved his wand, and the words "Property of Albus Dumbledore" appeared on both the gloves and the apron.

This seemed to mollify Kreacher, and he allowed Dumbledore to help him don the apron and gloves. He apparated onto a stool so that he could see inside the basin and placed the locket within. He looked expectantly at Dumbledore.

"In just a few minutes, my friend Horace is going to arrive with Severus," Dumbledore explained. "Horace is going to help us destroy the locket by commanding it to open. Once it is opened, you will pour the destructive substance onto the locket. Please be careful not to splash any of it on yourself, because it is very dangerous. If you would prefer I perform that task, I am willing to do so."

"No, Kreacher will do it. Kreacher wants to do it."

"Excellent!" Dumbledore said. "After you pour it on, apparate away as quickly as possible. I want to be certain that you are not harmed."

"What in Merlin's name is going on here, Dumbledore?" Slughorn huffed as he entered the potions lab.

"Ah, Horace, so good of you to come! Thank you! I need a bit of a favor, my old friend!" Dumbledore clasped him on the arm in greeting, and Slughorn looked confused.

"I did explain the situation on the way, Albus," Severus said with a shrug.

"S-s-so you've really found one, Dumbledore, a horc-"

"A locket, with an evil in it," Dumbledore interrupted. He was fairly certain that Kreacher wouldn't know what a horcrux was, but he wasn't taking any chances. The elf had been owned by the Black family for years, after all.

"Yes, yes, of course!" Slughorn saw Kreacher, and nodded. "Hello!"

"Forgive my rudeness," Dumbledore said. "Horace, this is Kreacher. Kreacher, meet my very dear friend, Horace Slughorn."

Kreacher bowed slightly and made a facial expression that may have been a smile. Horace smiled back at him. Dumbledore clapped his hands and said, "All right, then! I suppose we can get started. Kreacher, are you ready?" Kreacher nodded. Dumbledore handed him the vial of basilisk venom. "Everyone else, please stand as far away as possible. When everyone's ready, Horace will command the locket to open. After the locket opens, Kreacher will pour out the contents of the vial onto the locket and then come over to stand by us as quickly as possible. Everyone ready?" They all indicated that they were. "Now!"

Slughorn made a strange hissing sound which must've opened the locket. Kreacher poured on the venom, then apparated away. Less than a second later, an ear-piercing shriek erupted from the locket, and everyone covered their ears. The painful noise seemed to last a terribly long time, but finally it stopped. Kreacher had been crouched low with his head tucked between his legs and his arms over his head. He stood up, looked around, and apparated onto the stool next to the basin.

"Be careful!" Dumbledore warned, but there was no need.

"It's dead! The evil thing is destroyed!" Kreacher leapt from the stool and began dancing around the room with glee, throwing off the apron and gloves as he frolicked across the floor. "Kreacher is a good elf, oh yes! Kreacher obeyed Master Regulus! He can hold his head high with pride again! Kreacher is so happy!" He danced around a bit more, then came to stand in front of the four wizards. "Thank you!" he said as he bowed deeply to Dumbledore. "Thank you!" he said as he bowed to Horace, who returned the gesture with a quick bow back. "Thank you!" he said to Severus, who had a wry grin on his face. "Thank you, Master Sirius!" He bowed so low that his head touched the floor in front of Sirius' feet.

Sirius had never seen Kreacher happy before, and he was surprised at how much it moved him. "Thank you, Kreacher. Regulus would have been proud, and I am too."

"Can I go home now?" Kreacher asked.

"Yes, of course!" Sirius told him. "But, please, don't tell my mother anything about this, okay?"

"No, Kreacher would not do that. Kreacher is a good elf and always obeys!" He gave an awkward wave and disapparated away.

"How about a lovely glass of brandy to celebrate? I have a bottle in my office just waiting to be enjoyed!" Dumbledore offered as he collected the ruined locket and returned the supplies to their proper places.

Everyone agreed that brandy was just the thing, and they left for Dumbledore's office. Soon they were seated comfortably in front of the fireplace with brandy snifters in their hands. Sirius could hardly believe their progress. Two horcruxes destroyed in as many days!

"I have questions, Albus," Slughorn said.

"Fire away, my dear Horace! Fire away!"

"Right. How did you manage to find the horcrux? And what has this to do with Regulus? Your brother, right, Mr. Black?" Sirius nodded.

"I've been collecting memories having to do with Tom Riddle ever since I met him. The earliest memories are my own, of course, but I've also spoken to others who knew him, and I persuaded them to allow me their memories as well. Severus and I have been examining them with the pensieve. Why, do you wish to join the horcrux hunt?"

"Me?! Oh, Merlin, no! My curiosity is purely academic!" Slughorn looked aghast at the mere suggestion that he should help track down those evil objects. "What about Regulus?"

"I'm not entirely sure of the whole story. As I'm certain you know, Regulus Black joined Riddle and became one of his Death Eaters. But what none of us knew until quite recently is that he must have had a change of heart. He somehow acquired the locket and gave it to his house elf with the order that he destroy the object. Poor Kreacher has been terribly distraught that he was, until today, unable to carry out his master's last wish."

"Ah, I see. So that's why he was so overjoyed at the horcrux's demise!" Slughorn said.

"I wonder, Sirius," Severus began, "why didn't you have the elf stay and tell you the whole story of how he came to be in possession of the horcrux?"

Sirius shrugged. "I didn't have the heart. He'd been through so much today, and he was happier than I'd ever seen him. I couldn't ask him to tell me something that would distress him so much." Tears shone in Sirius' eyes, and he added, "Another time, maybe."

Later on, after Slughorn had left, Severus asked, "Albus, why didn't the horcrux have the same effect on Kreacher that it had on me? Why didn't it fight him?"

Dumbledore stroked his beard as he pondered the question. "Although I'm not sure, I'd have to say that it is because the house elf's highest law is to fulfill his master's orders. He'd been trying to do away with the thing for quite a long time, and, once he had the means to do so, there was no stopping him."

Severus raised his eyebrows and nodded. "I suppose that makes sense."

"What do you mean about the horcrux fighting him?" Sirius asked.

Dumbledore peered over his spectacles at Severus, who shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "When I began attempting to destroy the first horcrux, I…saw…things. It resisted me, on a physical and psychological level. At one point, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to complete the task. I even doubted that I wanted to."

Sirius considered what Severus had said, but he didn't pry. He was obviously uncomfortable with what he had seen, and if he didn't want to share the information, that was fine. "I want you to know how much I appreciate what you're doing."

"We're all working toward a common goal," Severus said.

"Yes, well, I'm glad you're on our side." Sirius said quietly.