"...Kreacher needed water, so he crawled to the edge of the island and drank from the black lake. Many dead hands reached out from the water and pulled Kreacher under." Kreacher's expression was one of extreme terror.
"I suspect those were Inferi." Dumbledore's brow furrowed deeply, and he asked in an almost whispered voice, "How did you escape?"
Kreacher raised his ugly head, staring intently at Dumbledore with bloodshot eyes, muttering something under his breath.
"Answer him!" Sirius said.
"Young Master Regulus sent Kreacher back," Kreacher said, drawing out his words, his cloudy eyes blinking uneasily. "The young master told Kreacher to come home, so Kreacher came home."
Draco guessed that being able to Disapparate out of that place, away from those reaching dead hands, must have required every last bit of Kreacher's house-elf magic.
"What exactly happened after you came back?" Sirius finally abandoned his reserve and stared intently at the house-elf as he asked, "Did you tell Regulus? What did he say?"
"Master Regulus was very worried," Kreacher said in a hoarse, drawn-out voice like an old, rotten bellows. "He told Kreacher to stay in the house and not go out. One night, Master Regulus went to find Kreacher. He wanted Kreacher to take him to the cave... to the cave that Kreacher had been to with the Dark Lord..."
Draco could roughly imagine the elderly house-elf and the eighteen-year-old Regulus trembling as they returned to the cave filled with the aura of death, following the same route.
The Dark Lord would never have imagined that his supposedly safe cave would be exposed by the house-elf he looked down upon, and that his secrets, which he thought were known to no one, would be completely exposed.
Kreacher knew how to access the hidden entrance to the cave and how to summon the small boat. Under the loyal guidance of Kreacher, Regulus rowed back to the island where the stone basin filled with poison was located.
But why did Regulus go to such lengths to get to that cave?
"He made you drink the poison again?" Sirius asked with disgust.
Upon hearing this, Kreacher let out a mournful cry. The old house-elf shook his head frantically, making a cracking sound as he swung his large, wrinkled ears, his voice choked with sobs.
"Young Master Regulus took out a locket from his pocket that resembled the Dark Lord's," Kreacher said, tears streaming down his face. "He instructed Kreacher to carry it with him and replace the locket once the stone basin was empty..."
The house-elf wailed shrilly, and Draco had to concentrate to discern the words within the cries.
Upon hearing this, he suddenly had an idea... a doubt... a possibility he had never considered in his previous life.
Regulus betrayed the Dark Lord.
He risked having Kreacher take him back to the cave in order to retrieve the locket.
He might have sensed something.
He might have guessed something.
He might have known it was a Horcrux.
"He also ordered Kreacher to leave him. He told Kreacher to go home, not to tell the mistress what he had done, and to destroy the first locket. He drank all the poison, Kreacher switched the lockets, and watched as Master Regulus was dragged beneath the water..." Kreacher said mournfully.
The unsolved mystery of the Black family... how Regulus died and where he was buried... had finally been revealed today.
"Oh, Merlin! That idiot!" Sirius sighed.
Draco caught a hint of pain in Sirius's tone. He himself was also deeply shocked and unable to calm down for a long time.
Who would have thought that there was such a hidden story behind the death of Regulus Black?
There are several theories within the Black family regarding Regulus's death: some believe that Regulus was secretly executed by the Dark Lord for doing something wrong; others believe that he was afraid and wanted to leave, but was refused and murdered by Voldemort; still others believe that he escaped or encountered some unforeseen accident...
In any case, his final fate was certain... death... as the dull gold thread on the Black family tapestry foreshadowed the end of his life.
Who would have thought that he was willing to die to betray the Dark Lord? Draco remained silent, his mind in turmoil.
Regulus Arcturus Black, behind everyone's back, had done such a tremendous thing, bearing such a dark and heavy secret on the shoulders of his young life... a life that carried the bright expectations of his family... and he finally fell silently into the cold, desolate lake filled with corpses.
He was only eighteen years old. Just one year older than Draco in his previous life. He was merely a newly adult wizard.
What kind of determination did he have, to do something that was bound to result in death?
In one of the portraits in the Headmaster's office, Phineas Nigellus Black, a former Headmaster of Hogwarts, was depicted covering his face, large tears streaming from between his fingers. His mournful voice echoed in the office, "My poor great-grandson..."
"You took the locket home, did you not?" Dumbledore was the only calm person in the Headmaster's office. He continued questioning Kreacher, determined to get to the bottom of the story. "Did you destroy it?"
"No matter what Kreacher does, he cannot leave a mark on it," the house-elf gasped, his voice filled with layers of despair. "Kreacher has tried everything... but nothing works! There are too many powerful spells upon the casing. Kreacher is certain that the way to destroy it is to break it from the inside, but Kreacher has never been able to open it. Kreacher failed to carry out the command! Kreacher could not destroy that locket!"
Kreacher's words were saturated with grief, and the sound of weeping was incessant.
Dumbledore frowned slightly.
Kreacher wept even more bitterly, "The mistress has gone mad with grief because Master Regulus has disappeared, and Kreacher cannot tell her what happened in the cave. He cannot! Master Regulus forbade him to tell anyone in the family anything that happened in the cave..."
Suddenly, Kreacher's eyes widened.
"Kreacher is wrong! Kreacher told Master Sirius! Master Sirius was expelled from the Black family long ago... he should not be considered a family member! But..." Kreacher said fearfully, "Master Sirius is now the head of the family, which means..."
The old house-elf, whose mind had long since unravelled, suddenly let out a chilling scream.
"No!" he cried out, struggling. "Young Master Sirius is still a member of the family! Kreacher has disobeyed Young Master Regulus's orders!"
Kreacher rushed towards the fire poker standing in front of the fireplace, intending to punish himself for disobeying his master's orders.
Draco had anticipated this move from the house-elf. He swiftly pounced on him, pinning him down firmly. Kreacher, however, seemed insulted; he wailed and wailed, muttering silent curses, and struggled even more fiercely.
Draco was utterly revolted by the little house-elf; it was so filthy it was unbearable, and its muttering was so appalling. But he had to keep pressing it down, because the secret it held was too important... even more so than his deep loathing for Kreacher.
Sirius roared, "Kreacher, I command you not to move, and not to cry out!" Kreacher stopped moving.
Draco released him and saw him lying forlornly on the cold stone floor, tears streaming down his drooping eyelids.
"Tell me, Kreacher... where is that locket?" Draco asked urgently.
Kreacher ignored Draco and continued to sob in place.
"Stand up and answer him as he demands!" Sirius said, his eyes red.
"It is you! The Malfoy brat! You took it!" Kreacher jumped up, spat on the carpet, and glared at the platinum-blonde boy in front of him with bloodshot eyes.
Now all eyes in the room were on Draco.