After a brief moment of grief, Sirius Black raised his head again and looked at Kreacher was curled up on the ground crying.
"Where is that locket... the locket that Regulus risked his life for?"
Kreacher was sobbing uncontrollably, and only a few words could be barely audible, "In... in the living room... in the cupboard..."
Sirius Black clenched his fist again. "Keep an eye on Regulus."
Then he turned to the three of them and said, "Let's go, let's destroy that damn thing!"
On the other side of the serpentine-decorated porch is the restaurant. At the end of the porch, you'll see a staircase leading upstairs, with a row of wrinkled House-elf heads stuck to the wall panels in a particularly creepy way.
Startled, Harry took a closer look and discovered that they all had pig noses just as ugly as Kreacher's.
"Hiss—" He gasped sharply, realizing what he was thinking.
Sirius Black turned around and saw Vincent also looking curiously at the panel.
He explained to the two men with a look of disgust, "The Kreacher family has served the Black Family for generations. We cut off the heads of dead House-elf and glue them on; it's a great honor for them."
Harry shuddered. "Do Pure-blood Wizard families all have such... such cruel rules?"
Sirius Black's disgust deepened. "They're long gone. Only our family still keeps a lot of these ridiculous rules."
Harry could see that he genuinely loathed the Black Family and everything about them.
"The living room is upstairs, let's go over there quickly."
Ascending the dimly lit stairs, the four arrived at a magnificent and exquisite living room.
The living room has a particularly large window that faces the Muggle street outside the house.
On either side of the prominent fireplace stood an ornate cabinet, and the wall to the right was covered with a long tapestry densely covered with portraits and names in a tree-like pattern, but many of them bore charred marks as if they had been burned.
"This is our family tree," Sirius Black said, then walked to the cabinet on the left and started looking through it.
Vincent looked at the top French sentence on the tapestry.
"ToujoursPur..."
Harry asked curiously, "What language is this?"
"In French, this phrase means 'forever pure'."
"You can speak French?"
Vincent smiled. "My teacher is France, and I also have a few friends in France."
Harry looked slightly sad. "I really envy you being able to travel all over the world. You must have a lot of friends abroad, right?"
Rinne and Kenny, along with the Delacour sisters, and if you add Sam and his group from the Magical Congress of the United States of America, that's certainly not a small number.
"It's alright," Vincent said reassuringly. "Harry, you'll definitely make more and more new friends in the future, just like I have."
This Quidditch World Cup was Harry's first time going abroad since he was a child, and then the Dark Mark and the Death Eaters resurfaced.
The British Ministry of Magic has not issued any explicit restrictions, but it will likely be much more difficult to travel abroad again than before.
Harry thanked him expectantly, then looked at the cupboard under the tapestry.
He felt a chill run down his spine at just one glance.
The cabinet was filled with strange and mysterious Dark Magic items.
A Scabbers dagger, animal claws, coiled snakeskin, a crystal bottle filled with blood, a silver snuffbox, a multi-legged tweezer-like instrument...
These things reminded Harry of Borgin Burke's shop.
The same eeriness, the same chilling feeling.
Vincent didn't seem to feel much when he looked at them.
Every year he receives many more bizarre Alchemical Item, so he's long been used to it.
"Found it!" Sirius Black on the left shouted excitedly.
Dumbledore was studying the family tree tapestry, strode over.
On the third shelf of the cabinet, there was a locket exactly like the one in my memory, placed between a wine glass made of withered fingers and spine.
"Yes, that's it." Dumbledore turned to Vincent beside him. "Be careful, it might have a curse against wizards."
Vincent nodded solemnly, then approached the cabinet.
Compared to Regulus's counterfeit, the genuine Slytherin Locket is undoubtedly much more exquisite.
Beneath the glittering golden gemstone lies an S-shaped emerald, resembling a snake, with intricate patterns engraved beside it that seem to be some kind of profound magical script.
Vincent opened the glass door of the cabinet, and countless unique auras belonging to Dark Magic items instantly surged out.
The cold and evil aura did not make him feel uncomfortable; on the contrary, he sensed a very unique magical power within it.
This feeling is wonderful, indescribably wonderful.
He reached for the source of the magic, the Slytherin Locket.
Sirius Black and Harry held their breath, while Dumbledore gripped the Elder Wand tightly.
Vincent's fingertips lightly touched the locket, and something unexpected happened: the unique magic completely disappeared, leaving only the cool touch of the metal and gemstones.
He picked up the locket, but still felt nothing.
"It seems there are no curses targeting wizards."
Sirius Black and Harry breathed a sigh of relief, while Dumbledore looked thoughtful.
Vincent held the locket up to his eyes and examined it closely.
I must say, the workmanship is truly beautiful.
In medieval Europe, gold and silver jewelry was a symbol of status and prestige for royalty, nobility, and the church. They monopolized a range of precious materials and prohibited commoners from wearing or even owning gold and silver jewelry.
The Four Founders of Hogwarts are clearly unrestrained, but the Slytherin Locket and the Sword of Gryffindor have a similar texture, so they should be made of similar materials, which is the result of the Goblin's exquisite craftsmanship.
Vincent looked at the Flamel Ring on his hand.
There seems to be a subtle connection between the three, most likely because they are all products of Goblin.
"Vincent? Are you alright?"
"Sorry, I was a little distracted." He moved the locket away from his eyes.
"Kreacher said that to destroy it, you have to open it first. Salazar Slytherin is too focused on bloodlines. Perhaps only Parseltongue can open it successfully."
The Chamber of Secrets, the Basilisk, and the Serpent Staff all require the Parseltongue to activate, and the locket should be the same.
But since I've already got it, there's no reason not to give it a try.
Under the watchful eyes of three pairs of unblinking eyes, Vincent gently pushed the small gap on the edge of the locket with his thumb, trying to open it.
Surprisingly, the locket was opened successfully.
All four, including Dumbledore, were stunned, as if petrified.
After a while, the Silencing Charm living room was suddenly filled with the sound of someone swallowing saliva.
Vincent stiffly turned his neck, shifting his gaze away from the exquisitely textured green velvet inside the locket.
"Perhaps... I guessed wrong?"
Sirius Black and Harry nodded subconsciously, while Dumbledore stared at Vincent with a strange look in his eyes.