Author's Note:

Something I've been wanting to add since the moment I decided that Sirius wasn't going to be raising Harry in Grimmauld Place.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the tale of Kreacher, that belongs to the lovely JKR from chapter ten of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Reviews and Comments: To Claire Fraser: Thank you! I'm glad to know it was a surprise to see the locket coming in so early. I love Sirius covering Harry's eyes when he realizes he's looking at boobies, haha. Thanks for the review!

Thank you very much for reading and please, please review!

Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you!

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR:

The One With the Locket

Sirius Disapparated back to Number Twelve and made his way through the kitchen and into the boiler room. He grabbed the locket and the flashback slammed into his mind like slow motion moving images. He was standing in the boiler room, chained to the wall as his mother performed the Cruciatus Curse on him. The memory was so strong that he stumbled and just as quickly, it was gone. He was left with an intense feeling of unease, of unhappiness, and of uncertainty.

He locked eyes with his house elf's gaze. "Follow me."

Sirius took a seat at the kitchen table, dropping the locket onto it and examining it more closely.

It was on a long silver chain, rectangular, and definitely a few centuries old from what he could tell. The S was definitely imprinted with emeralds and the front looked like bronze. He tried to open it and found it was completely sealed shut.

"Kreacher, where did Reg get this?" he demanded, his eyes still on the locket that he was now holding.

"Kreacher is forbidden to tell."

Sirius took a slow and deep breath. He knew that house elf magic was very strong and that if his brother had forbidden him to tell him that he would have to word it very carefully if he was going to get the truth out of the elf. "What did Regulus forbid you to do, Kreacher?"

Kreacher shook his head, his ears twitching. "Master Regulus forbid Kreacher to tell his master and mistress what I did, what he did."

Sirius nodded, his mind thinking about the elf's words. What Kreacher did, what Regulus did, okay that was focused on a task. But he needed to know about the locket and technically at the time Kreacher had made the promise, Sirius hadn't been his master.

"Kreacher, did Regulus forbid you to tell me about the locket or just your master and mistress at the time?"

Kreacher stared at him before he blinked. "Not you. Not by name."

Sirius bit his lip as he inwardly cheered. "Kreacher, I demand that you tell me every single thing about this locket including where you got it and how you obtained it."

Kreacher hesitated, but seemed to accept Sirius' words. "From the cave that the Dark Lord put it in," he said and then he began to cry, huge sobs that wracked his little body, shocking Sirius as he let out a loud half sob, half scream. "Kreacher did wrong! Kreacher failed to do what his master ordered of him!"

"What orders, Kreacher?"

"You were a bad boy, Master Sirius! You broke my Mistress's heart with your lawless ways. But Master Regulus had proper order; he knew what was due to the name of Black and the dignity of his pure blood. For years he talked of the Dark Lord, who was going to bring the wizards out of hiding to rule the Muggles and the Muggleborns… and when he was sixteen years old, Master Regulus joined the Dark Lord. So proud, so happy to serve…"

"Yeah, and it got him killed, didn't it?" Sirius replied bitterly, his eyes flashing and his heart hurting.

He wished that he had done right by his brother. If he had made more of an effort with him maybe he would still be alive. Maybe he wouldn't have been a Death Eater in his fifth year at school, at only sixteen years old.

He stared at Kreacher. "What happened after Reg joined the Death Eaters, Kreacher?"

Kreacher began to rock back and forth now as he spoke. "A year after he joined, Master Regulus came down to the kitchen to see Kreacher. Master Regulus always liked Kreacher. And Master Regulus said… he said… he said that the Dark Lord required an elf. And Master Regulus had volunteered Kreacher. It was an honour, said Master Regulus, an honour for him and for Kreacher, who must be sure to do whatever the Dark Lord ordered him to do… and then to c-come home."

Kreacher rocked still faster, his breath coming in sobs. "So Kreacher went to the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord did not tell Kreacher what they were to do, but took Kreacher with him to a cave beside the sea. And beyond the cave was a cavern, and in the cavern was a great black lake… 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. And then the Dark Lord sailed away, leaving Kreacher on the island… Kreacher needed water, he crawled to the island's edge and he drank from the black lake… and hands, dead hands, came out of the water and dragged Kreacher under the surface…"

Sirius stared at him for a moment. Dead hands in a lake… that sounded like Inferi.

"How did you get home, Kreacher?" Sirius asked, his voice kind.

He couldn't imagine the horrors that elf had gone through all because his stupid brother had decided to give him over to Voldemort.

Kreacher raised his ugly head and looked at Sirius with his great, bloodshot eyes. "Master Regulus told Kreacher to come back," he said.

Sirius nodded in understanding. Voldemort wouldn't have considered the magic of the house elf at all. He had expected the house elf to die in the cave, but Regulus had ordered Kreacher to return home after his task, so he had.

"What happened when you returned to Grimmauld Place, Kreacher? What did Reg say when you told him what happened?"

"Master Regulus was very worried, very worried," croaked Kreacher. "Master Regulus told Kreacher to stay hidden and not to leave the house. And then… it was a little while later… Master Regulus came to find Kreacher in his cupboard one night, and Master Regulus was strange, not as he usually was, disturbed in his mind, Kreacher could tell… and he asked Kreacher to take him to the cave, the cave where Kreacher had gone with the Dark Lord… "

Sirius felt his blood go cold. But for the first time in years, he realized that Regulus hadn't entirely followed his parents' beliefs. He had questioned something that Voldemort was doing and he knew immediately that it was this that had gotten his brother killed.

"Did you take him to the cave, Kreacher?" he asked carefully, already dreading knowing the answer.

Kreacher nodded. "Kreacher knew how to open the concealed entrance to the underground cavern, knew how to raise the tiny boat: This time it was his beloved Regulus who sailed with him to the island with its basin of poison. M-Master Regulus took from his pocket a locket like the one that the Dark Lord had," said Kreacher, tears pouring down either side of his snout-like nose. "And he told Kreacher to take it and, when the basin was empty, to switch the lockets…" Kreacher's sobs came in great rasps now. "And he ordered — Kreacher to leave — without him. And he told Kreacher — to go home — and never to tell my Mistress – what he had done – but to destroy – the first locket. And he drank – all the potion – and Kreacher swapped the lockets – and watched… as Master Regulus… was dragged beneath the water… and…"

Sirius paled, standing up now. His brother had been pulled beneath the water and killed by Inferi. He hadn't been murdered by Death Eaters. He dragged his hands through his hair, his eyes on the sobbing house elf. His brother had betrayed his brethren; he had been trying to do something good.

What the hell was this locket?

He spun around to stare at Kreacher. "So, you brought the locket home and you tried to destroy it like Regulus asked of you?"

"Nothing Kreacher did made any mark upon it," moaned the elf. "Kreacher tried everything, everything he knew, but nothing, nothing would work! So many powerful spells upon the casing, Kreacher was sure that the way to destroy it was to get inside it, but it would not open… Kreacher punished himself, he tried again, he punished himself, he tried again. Kreacher failed to obey orders, Kreacher could not destroy the locket! And his mistress was mad with grief, because Master Regulus had disappeared and Kreacher could not tell her what had happened, no, because Master Regulus had f-f-forbidden him to tell his mistress what happened in the c-cave…" Kreacher began to sob so hard that there were no more coherent words.

Sirius simply stared at him. He didn't know what to say. He had a sudden urge to comfort the elf who had been kind to him when he had been a child, but he didn't know how. Instead he closed his eyes as he spoke.

"Kreacher, you did not fail Regulus."

Kreacher's bloodshot eyes met Sirius'. "I failed to destroy it! Those were his last orders to Kreacher and Kreacher did not succeed!"

Sirius stared at the locket on the table. "You did not fail him. You are instead passing on this task to me. Do you understand?"

Kreacher merely nodded, sniffling. "Yes, Master Sirius."

Sirius' eyes found the locket again. "Kreacher, do you know what is inside of this locket?"

Kreacher shook his head. "Kreacher does not know. Master Regulus did not tell him and Kreacher could not open it no matter how hard Kreacher tried."

Sirius nodded and offered a small smile for the house elf. Kreacher had been kind to him when he had been a child but the moment that he had decided to defy his parents, he had turned on him. He had been the one to tell Walburga and Orion when he had done something he shouldn't have: Playing with the Muggles in the street, corresponding with Muggleborns, telling Regulus about his blood traitor friends… But Kreacher had adored Regulus and Regulus had always been nice to him. He knew that not being able to fulfill the dying wish of his brother must have been eating Kreacher alive for years.

"Kreacher, you did good telling me of this. Giving me the locket was the right decision. Regulus would have been very proud of you."

Kreacher's lip trembled as he sobbed. "Thank you, Master Sirius! Thank you!"

Sirius nodded, still unsure of his thoughts on the elf. "Go on now and get back to work to clean this place up. I want it spotless and I want it completely free of all dark magic and any household creatures that have may have made themselves comfortable here. Understood?"

"Yes, Master Sirius."

Kreacher hurried off and Sirius picked up the locket, sliding it into his pocket. He felt queer almost instantly; sad and melancholic. Memories of his time being punished by his parents seemed to just be floating across the surface of his mind, but they didn't overcome him like they had when he had first touched it.

He threw Floo powder into the kitchen fire and appeared a few moments later in McGonagall's office.

He smiled at Bill Weasley who was sitting in front of McGonagall's desk.

"Sirius," he said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I could say the same thing. Not in detention, are you?"

Bill smiled, his quill tapping on the parchment in front of him. "Professor McGonagall is helping me with some extra credit work. I asked her to give me some extra challenges as I've decided that I want to be a curse breaker."

"That's brilliant, good for you!" Sirius told him honestly. "A job full of adventure, I'm sure."

Bill grinned widely. "That's what I'm hoping. Anyway, she just stepped out for a minute."

Sirius nodded just as McGonagall stepped back into her office. "Minnie!"

"Sirius, what are you doing here?" she asked in surprise.

"Bill and I were just discussing his curse-breaking ambitions," he told her with a grin. "Actually, ironic — as I have found a cursed object that I can't seem to figure out." He tugged the locket from his pocket. "Is Albus around?"

McGonagall nodded, her eyes looking at the locket in curiosity. "Yes, he should be in his office. Go on up, the password is orange fizzy."

Sirius smiled, said goodbye to her and Bill, and made his way up to the West Tower and to Dumbledore's office. He headed up the moving staircase, the locket back in his pocket and he knocked on Dumbledore's door.

"Come in," Dumbledore said and Sirius stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

Dumbledore's quill moved briskly across the desk and he held a finger up as he finished what he was writing. Then he looked up and smiled at Sirius.

"Sirius, what a nice surprise, please have a seat."

Sirius sat down across from him and smiled. "Sorry to bother you, but you were the only person that I could think of coming to with this."

Dumbledore smiled warmly, his kind eyes looking over his half-moon spectacles. "Well, then I am quite honoured and hope that I can be of help to you."

"What do you know about scars left over by dark magic?"

Dumbledore's eyebrow rose slightly. "Well, they never fade; they are quite permanent as I'm sure you already know."

"Do they ever hurt?"

Dumbledore tilted his head slightly. "Are you telling me that young Harry's scar is hurting him?"

Sirius nodded and reached into his pocket to pull out the locket. "My mother died last year and I was informed that as Head of the Black Family - I had inherited the Black Family Estate. I took Harry there today to see it and to try to figure out what I want to do with it, something that I've been putting off. Our house elf, Kreacher, had this locket in his bed. My first thought was why would an elf be hoarding a necklace as my mother would never have allowed him to have it in his possession in the first place. When I stepped towards it, Harry started crying out in pain and clutching at his scar. When I touched the necklace, the pain seemed to get worse for him. And… he said he saw green light and he heard a woman screaming."

Dumbledore looked slightly alarmed now as Sirius placed the locket on the desk in front of him. "Did you feel anything yourself when you touched it?"

Sirius nodded. "A little off; like my emotions were being taken over. I was angry and sad, remembering some of my worst moments of being in that house. But… Harry seemed terrified, Albus."

"I have never heard of anyone having a cursed scar that hurt them in anyway, but Harry is quite unique. No one else has ever survived the killing curse before," Dumbledore said simply and almost to himself. "But since this necklace gave you a bad feeling as well, I think maybe it just affected Harry differently; forced him to relive the memory of how he was given the scar and the brutal nature of it made it seem like his scar was hurting when in reality, it was just the memory of it."

Sirius paled a little. "You mean — fuck! Excuse my French, Albus, but I didn't even put two and two together, I was just focusing on making sure that Harry was all right, but… he was fucking remembering when his parents were killed and the green light… Merlin!"

Dumbledore smiled sympathetically. "I think so, yes."

Sirius was quiet for a moment. "I tried to open it, but I couldn't. It belonged to Voldemort, Albus."

"What did you just say?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes hardening.

Sirius quickly relayed the story about how he found the locket and how Kreacher had told him about Regulus' role in obtaining it. "I don't know what it is, Albus, but if Voldemort felt the need to hide it in a cave with all of these dark spells and Inferi surrounding it… nothing it contains within it can be good."

"And Kreacher tried to destroy it?" Dumbledore asked, thinking deeply.

Sirius nodded, his eyes on Dumbledore. He could see his old professor's mind working hard behind his eyes and he wondered if he had any ideas at all about what the locket could possibly contain.

"He said that he tried everything that he could think of and house elves are very powerful beings If he couldn't even get it open then maybe it really is for the best that it stays closed."

Dumbledore stood up then and walked across the room to the fireplace, throwing in Floo powder. "Severus, please come to my office immediately."

A moment later, Snape stepped out of the fire and made his way over to them. He sneered at the sight of Sirius. "Is Black here to make a complaint about the potion I so kindly brewed for him?"

"No, the potion was great. It worked wonders. Thank you," Sirius said sincerely, surprising Snape into silence.

"No, Severus, it is about this locket he found. It belonged to Voldemort."

Snape's eyes widened slightly and he stepped over to the desk to examine it. "I have never seen this before."

"Why would you have ever —" Sirius trailed off, his eyes going wide. "You did join him, didn't you?" He swore under his breath. "You bloody prick — and you! How can you allow a former Death Eater to work here? To teach the students here!"

"Former is the right word, Sirius," Dumbledore said calmly. "Severus became a spy for me almost two years before Voldemort's downfall, at great personal risk to himself. I would trust him with my life."

Sirius only stared at Snape in suspicion. "A spy? Why? What on earth would make you suddenly decide to stop supporting your precious Dark Lord?"

"Your brother's Dark Lord and your friend Pettigrew's too — don't you forget!"

Sirius glared at him. "Reg knew that he made a mistake! He's the one who stole this from Voldemort and tried to destroy it! He got himself killed for it!"

Snape's eyes widened slightly and he looked back at the locket. "But you don't know what it is?"

Sirius shook his head. "No, and it can't be opened."

Snape was quiet for a moment as he silently examined the locket. "It must have had some form of great personal meaning to the Dark Lord. I do not know what. But I do know that the Dark Lord asked us for a house elf and Regulus offered his own. After that day, Regulus seemed quite different, not as devoted and not as… interested in what the Dark Lord had to say or wanted to do. When the Dark Lord started working more intensely on his experiments, Regulus became even more withdrawn from him. When he disappeared, we all had assumed that the Dark Lord had killed him or disposed of him in some way for his insubordination and disloyalty."

"What experiments?" Sirius asked, his eyes on Snape.

Snape shrugged. "I never knew. He didn't tell us. But he mentioned more than once that mortality was fickle and stupid and that to truly be the greatest wizard of all time, achieving immortality would be an amazing feat. I remember a few of us laughed and told him that he already was the greatest wizard of all time. He never said anything more on the subject."

Dumbledore nodded. "Immortality… Tom always did have an interest in it, even when he was in school here."

"Albus, do you know what it is?" Sirius asked.

Dumbledore shook his head, his eyes on the locket. "I do not." He stared at the locket for a moment seemingly lost in thought.

Sirius met Snape's gaze, but he looked as bewildered as Sirius felt. Finally Dumbledore spoke up.

"Sirius, do you mind if I keep it here, locked away somewhere safe of course, until we can decide exactly what this is?"

"Yes, please keep it here. I don't want it anywhere near Harry or myself. Do you think that we can figure out how to destroy it?"

"I don't know. At the moment, I think leaving it locked away is the safest bet until we have any idea of what might be inside of it," Dumbledore explained. "Dark magic is unpredictable and if just the influence of it being around you is causing these memories and to influence your very emotions, I don't think it's merely a simple curse inside of it."

"Do you have any idea what could be inside of it?" Snape asked, his eyes on the locket as Dumbledore locked it in a small Chinese ornamental box, locking it again in a second box and then placing it in a small vault behind one of the many portraits in his office.

"Each thought is more unbelievable than the last," Dumbledore told them honestly, locking the vault and sealing the portrait behind it. "I think leaving it locked up is the best course of action for now."

Sirius nodded, standing up. "I think that's a good idea. Let me know if you figure it out."

"I will. Thank you, Severus, I'd like a moment with Sirius before he goes."

Snape nodded and headed out, closing the office door behind him.

"You really trust him after he was a Death Eater, honestly?" Sirius asked, his eyes watching Dumbledore closely.

Dumbledore didn't speak until the staircase had reached the bottom and Snape was gone. Then he turned around, holding his hands in front of him. "I know that you did not get along well with Severus when you were at school here, but I do trust him, and it would do good for you to trust him as well. He was a loyal member of the Order of the Phoenix for almost two years before James and Lily Potter were killed. He gave us valuable information. I won't tell you why he turned spy, only that he has his own regrets to live with."

Sirius simply nodded. He understood that, but it didn't mean that he had to like Snape any more than he already did. "All right."

"Sirius, I want you to keep me informed if Harry's scar ever hurts him again."

Sirius' eyebrow rose. "So, you do think it's suspicious?"

Dumbledore hesitated before he spoke. "I do not understand it therefore I am always slightly suspicious. Harry is the only known survivor of the killing curse, Sirius, and what we know about what happened that night is only speculation as Harry was too young to tell us. But cursed scars can sometimes leave traces of magic in them and maybe that is affecting Harry in some way. I do not know, this is random conjecture as I have no definitive proof of what I am saying. Maybe Harry only psychologically felt the pain when being in proximity of the locket and it brought back the memory of how he obtained it. I do not know. But just in case, I think it's important that we pay attention to any pain he may feel in it again if he even ever does at all."

Sirius nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Agreed. Thanks for taking that thing off my hands. I didn't know what to do with it, but I thought that if house elf magic hadn't been able to open it and destroy it, that it might not be something I should be messing around with. If you do figure out what it is and have an idea on how to destroy it, Albus, call me first, yeah? I want to help."

"I will. But I can tell you right now, I have no plans of attempting to open it in the near future," Dumbledore said.

"Wise choice." Sirius grabbed a handful of Floo powder from the jar next to the fireplace. "See you later."

Dumbledore stared at the empty fire for a moment, his eyes drifting to the locked vault and his mind deep in thought. There was a lot of questions there and he planned on finding out the answers, even if it took years for him to do so.