A/N: This came out longer than I expected. But yeah. Hope it's enjoyed!

Declarations of Loyalty

Chapter 2: The Horcruxes

Regulus sat stiffly in the chair, he wondered if it was intentionally uncomfortable. Finally, the door to the headmaster's office opened and Dumbledore walked in, he sat in his high-backed chair on the other side of the desk.

"So what does a young Death Eater want with me? Walking straight into my school at that," Dumbledore said, putting the tips of his fingers together and surveying Regulus with interest and mingled contempt.

"I've abandoned the Death Eaters," he started, "I've come to ask you about this," he said, reaching under his robes and pulling the locket out. He took it off and placed it on the desk. "It's a Horcrux," he said confidently.

Dumbledore looked pleasantly surprised, he picked up the locket, turning it over in his hands and then he finally put it back down. "Indeed it is."

"How do I destroy it?"

"Explain to me how you acquired this fascinating piece of history, and I shall tell you anything you wish to know."

Dumbledore was a trusting man, not that he had any kind of ill-intent, but it would be easy for someone who did to trick him. Then again, Dumbledore was the greatest wizard of their time. "Days ago, the Dark Lord asked for the assistance of my house elf," he started, gripping the locket in his hands. "I told Kreacher to go," he added. "I told him to go, and to come right back home when he was done."

"Yes?"

"He came back, and he was ill or something, he was shaking and muttering to himself and seemed very wrong. He was soaked to the bone too," Regulus continued, shutting his eyes. "He was very distressed, and if you can imagine, it's upsetting. I asked him what the Dark Lord had made him do, told him to tell me everything. The Dark Lord had taken him to a cave, and made him drink a horrible potion so he could put this locket in a basin. He then left Kreacher there, Kreacher said he needed water and went to the edge of a lake where the basin was, and things pulled him down into the water. But the Dark Lord didn't protect his cave against elf-magic and Kreacher Apparated back home."

"Again, Voldemort underestimates…" Dumbledore muttered to himself. "But this does not explain how you came to possess the locket."

"Two days ago I told Kreacher to take me to the cave, after I had realized just what this locket was. The Dark Lord made snide hints and remarks, alluded to his Horcrux many times," he said. "Most of the Death Eaters ignore these hints and continue to kiss his robes. I picked up on it, I researched. I realized after Kreacher had come back that it did, indeed, exist."

"You Blacks are too intelligent for your own good sometimes," Dumbledore said, amused. "But you are wrong on one count, Regulus," he added, looking grave. "There is not just one Horcrux. But we will come to that later, continue explaining your story."

"Kreacher took me to the cave. I ordered him to take the real locket and put a fake in its place after I drank the potion," he said. "I had every intention to die at the hands of the Inferi that day. But Kreacher found a loophole in my orders. When I told him to go home, I had not told him not to come back. I had not forbidden him from telling anyone where I was."

"And you were saved?"

Regulus nodded. "Someone had found out what I planned to do, or at least that I had disappeared, and was waiting for Kreacher when he returned with the locket. Kreacher had enough respect for this person to instantly take him to the cave. He saved me."

"Might I ask who? I have my own ideas, but of course, I could be woefully wrong…" Dumbledore said, his light blue eyes piercing Regulus.

"Barty Crouch," Regulus said, sounding bitter.

"And when young Bartemius returns to the Death Eaters?" the old man asked.

"He will tell them I was killed, the Dark Lord will not care to search me out. He will tell them he killed me. They will believe it; the Dark Lord has no time for friendships."

"You have a better understanding of how Voldemort works than anyone I have met in a long time," Dumbledore told him. "Tom Riddle sorely underestimates the power of friendship and love. Underestimating a house elf's loyalty to his master, a friend's loyalty to a friend, may be his greatest downfall," he started. "Let me tell you about the Horcruxes. As you seem intent on destroying this one, you should very well know the others."

Regulus nodded, leaning forward.

"I know for a fact he asked Horace Slughorn about the process of making a Horcrux at the age of fifteen, what Horace told him, he will not reveal to me. But I think shortly after that he made a Horcrux after the death of a girl when the Chamber of Secrets opened," he started. "An item that would reveal him as the Heir of Slytherin, and open the Chamber again. I have no idea where this item is," he added.

"Something like a diary?" Regulus asked. "A little black book," he added. "He gave one to Lucius Malfoy and told him it would open the Chamber of Secrets. Could that be it?"

"I think it may be," Dumbledore replied. "You are a sharp young man."

Regulus smirked, self-satisfied.

"I also know that the summer before his final year at Hogwarts, forty years ago, he visited the old shack of the Gaunt family, the Slytherin line, his mother's childhood home. He had never known his mother, the only thing he knew of the Gaunts was his middle name 'Marvolo', for his grandfather. He went there, to find Marvolo was dead. No one but Marvolo's precious son Morfin remained at the old hovel . Morfin told him he looked 'right like that Muggle' that his sister had taken a liking to. His Muggle father-"

"Wait," Regulus interrupted, looking haughty. "Are you telling me that the Dark Lord is a half-blood?" he said, laughter in his voice.

"He hasn't mentioned this before?" Dumbledore chided. "Yes. Tom Riddle Sr., Voldemort's father, was a Muggle that was put under a love potion by a young witch named Merope Gaunt. She stopped administering the love potion to her husband after she became pregnant and he left her. She died giving birth to Tom Marvolo Riddle, Voldemort, in other words."

Regulus looked at the floor, still smirking.

"As I was saying, Morfin told him about the existence of his father in the 'big house across the way', how he had left his mother and returned to his parents' home. Morfin's memory goes blank after this," he said. "But I believe that Voldemort took a Gaunt family heirloom from the shack, after Stunning Morfin and taking his wand. Using the stolen wand, he killed his Muggle father and Muggle grandparents. He implanted a false memory on Morfin so that he would confess to the murders, and Morfin was carted off to Azkaban, lamenting the loss of his father's precious heirloom."

"But- wait- what was the heirloom?"

"A ring," Dumbledore said simply. "A ring inscribed with the Peverell coat of arms."

"If you know all of this why haven't you tracked down all of these things and destroyed them?" Regulus asked insistently.

"Voldemort is very good at hiding and defending his Horcruxes," Dumbledore said calmly. "He has no desire to wear the ring as he has made it a Horcrux, but I only have vague hunches as to where it could be."

"Tell me the significance of the cave," Regulus said suddenly.

"The orphanage Voldemort lived in as a child took the children to a small village close to it in the days of his youth, he took two Muggle children into the cave for the intents of tormenting them."

"And he hid the locket there, because he assumed no one would make the connection?" Regulus asked.

"I suppose so."

"Then have you checked the Gaunt shack or whatever you called it? I mean, it's abandoned and everything, he could've just…put the ring back where he found it."

Dumbledore nodded. "That has been my thought since I began working on the Horcrux theory. But allow me to continue, and I can ask you my own questions." Regulus nodded, and the headmaster continued. "The key to opening the Chamber of Secrets, which you say is in the form of a diary, the locket which you have risked life and limb to attain and the ring of his grandfather's, but I believe there are two more, and he has every intention of making another one."

Regulus made a noise of revulsion and started to speak, but Dumbledore silenced him.

"His mother sold Slytherin's locket that now sits here between us to Borgin and Burkes when she was pregnant and in desperate need of money, years later, an old woman by the name of Hepzibah Smith bought the locket. Voldemort worked at Borgin and Burkes after he was denied a teaching job at Hogwarts, and was unusually talented at convincing people to give up their treasures to the shop. Hepzibah Smith was taken with the handsome young man, and risked showing him her two most valuable treasures. The locket she had purchased from Borgin, who had bought it for a pittance from Voldemort's dying mother, and a cup. A cup that had belonged to Helga Hufflepuff…days after she had shown him this, her old house elf Hokey was convicted of accidentally poisoning her mistress' cocoa. They did not even bother looking into the matter more, but I was curious. Before the Ministry declared Hokey innocent, as it had happened with Morfin Gaunt, she died. But I had what I needed. So I believe he went after objects connected to the founders of Hogwarts."

"So the last Horcrux is probably something of Ravenclaw's? And the one he'll make after that would be Gryffindor's?" Regulus interrupted.

"I do not believe he will obtain anything of Gryffindor's, as I have the only true artifact of Gryffindor's in my possession," Dumbledore said, nodding to the case that held a magnificent sword. "But I would believe he would hunt out something of Ravenclaw's. The founders had a very strong pull on Voldemort as a youth. If he ever found an item, I do not know."

"But what about the one he hasn't made yet?"

"I have no idea. But it might occur to him to use his pet snake," he said. "He tends to keep her close, if you noticed."

Regulus nodded.

"So tell me. Do you intend to hunt these Horcruxes down and destroy the Dark Lord?" Dumbledore asked.

"I was just going to start with this one," he said, nodding to the locket. "But now that you've told me all of this, I might."

"You'd be risking a lot."

"That's nothing new. Besides, the Death Eaters think I'm dead, they won't expect me," Regulus said.

"We'd have to hide you," Dumbledore added, more to himself. He pulled out his wand, and muttered an incantation, and silvery phoenix shot from his wand and out of the window.

"A patronus?"

"I'm sending a message to your brother," he said calmly. "He will be happy to hide you."

Regulus blanched. "No he wouldn't! Are you insane?" he cried. "Sirius doesn't want anything to do with me! Not after I joined the Death Eaters."

"You are no longer a Death Eater, and you are family. Sirius will take you."

"How am I going to destroy these Horcruxes if I'm locked up in London?" Regulus asked.

"I will contact you sooner than later," Dumbledore said cryptically. "Keeping a low profile is prudent in these times, especially for a supposedly dead wizard."

"But this one, I should destroy it right?" he said, gesturing to the locket.

"Ah, yes, I had nearly forgotten!" Dumbledore said brightly. He looked around. "Ah!" He opened the case containing Gryffindor's sword. "It's goblin made, magically indestructible, it should do the trick," he said, handing the sword to Regulus.

"Should we open it?"

Dumbledore frowned, and then nodded. "I know what will open this," he said. He walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a large stone basin. He set the basin down on his desk and put his wand to his temple, pulling out a silvery substance and placing it in the basin. A strange hissing noise came out of it nearly the instant the silvery strand had hit the surface, and the locket open. "Stab it, if you would," he said calmly.

But Regulus watched in horror as a dark shape rose out of the locket. It was a hauntingly familiar shape…

"Regulus, stab it."

Regulus' arms were shaking as he raised the sword, watching the shapes become more and more human, more and more familiar. Before the locket-figures could speak, he stabbed down into the window of the locket. After minutes, maybe hours, of stabbing into the locket, it gave a scream and the window shattered.

"What was that?"

"The soul was feeding off your insecurities, I believe. And trying to keep you from destroying it."

Regulus winced. "Oh." His next thought was interrupted by the arrival of a large Patronus.

"Yeah, I will," Sirius voice said. Regulus had never heard a Patronus talk…

The Patronus disappeared and Dumbledore smiled. "Well then," he said, looking around. He grabbed an empty teacup. "This will do, Portus," he said, tapping the teacup. It glowed blue and he handed it to Regulus. "That will take you to your brother's house. Do not leave or contact anybody from there," he added. "Don't tell anyone about the conversation we just had. Or the Horcruxes, not even Sirius or his friends."

Regulus nodded, and felt the jerking sensation he associated with a portkey, and in a rush of sounds he found himself flat on his back in an unfamiliar house. He opened his eyes and saw Sirius staring down at him.

"Well, what is all this about?" he said, kneeling down and jerking Regulus up by his collar. "You little idiot! How long do you think the Order can hide you before the Death Eaters hunt you down? You can't betray the Death Eaters!"

"They think I'm dead," Regulus said.

"Why do you say that?"

"Barty, I told Barty to tell them I was dead."

"And you think your little buddy is going to risk lying to Voldemort for you? Don't be so naïve!"

Regulus glared at him. "I trust him."

"Yeah, well he's a Death Eater. You don't trust Death Eaters," Sirius retorted coldly.

Regulus didn't retort, but scoffed and sat down in a large red armchair.

"So what were you doing with Dumbledore?" Sirius asked him.

"I was…asking him to find me a place to hide out," he said. "I was never cut out to be a Death Eater."

Sirius' dark eyes softened a little. "You're just a kid, anyway, Regulus. What were you thinking?"

"Mum was proud," he said.

"Who gives a damn? Did you not realize what you were getting into?" he snapped. "It was reckless and irresponsible and-"

"Well look who I'm related to and tell me why 'reckless' and 'irresponsible' come to mind," Regulus spat. "Because it's not like you were ever reckless or irresponsible or just an all around git."

"You were the good one, you idiot," Sirius retorted. "You were Mummy's little angel and now you've gone and faked your death so you could get out of being a Death Eater because you can't handle it. I'm sure your mother would be so proud."