Sirius Black looked at his mother falling in the portrait with a complicated expression.
He ran away from home at the age of 16, was removed from the Black Family genealogy, and should have been disqualified from inheriting the family business long ago.
He had thought that he was able to enter and leave the family's vault in Gringotts because of the bloodline he was inseparable from, but now it seemed that it was because his right to inherit the family business had always been there.
"That stubborn old witch..."
Sirius Black turned and walked back, with Kreacher following somewhat reluctantly behind.
When it saw Regulus's corpse, its bloodshot eyes widened as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.
With a "thump," it knelt heavily on the worn-out carpet.
"Young Master Regulus..."
Tears welled up under Kreacher's relaxed eyelids.
He crawled over, tears streaming down his face.
Sirius Black kicked it away with disgust, yelling, "Get out of here, you useless thing!"
Vincent and Harry's facial muscles twitched wildly as they both looked at Dumbledore shrugged helplessly at them.
The Black family has a pretty wild family style.
The hostess was yelling and swearing, the House-elf was disrespectful to the family's sole heir, and the young master's temper became unusually volatile after he entered the house.
After being kicked down, Kreacher got up and continued to cry and crawl toward Regulus.
Sirius Black hesitated for a moment, then put his foot back down.
"Stop!"
Kreacher seemed not to hear him and crawled past him without a care.
Sirius Black raised his wand and then put it down, quickly walking over.
"Young Master Regulus ..." Kreacher reached out his hand in front of him, as if he wanted to touch him.
"Kreacher thought he would never see you again in this lifetime... in this lifetime..."
Its hand hovered in mid-air, never touching Regulus.
Sirius Black stopped behind it with particular impatience.
Judging from his hand, which was gripping the wand tightly and seemed ready to pounce, he looked like he might do something drastic at any moment.
Suddenly, Kreacher stopped crying and stared intently at the locket Regulus wore on his chest with his bloodshot eyes.
"This is impossible...impossible..." it trembled as it reached for the locket.
"Enough!" Sirius Black kicked it to the ground. "You have no right to touch him!"
This time, Kreacher did not get up immediately, but curled up on the ground with a look of terror on his face.
"Yes... Kreacher is not qualified... Kreacher failed to complete what Master Regulus entrusted to him... How could Kreacher possibly be qualified..."
It kept repeating these two sentences, and its already dull, gray eyes became even more lifeless.
Sirius Black saw that it had stopped going crazy and didn't bother with it anymore.
He turned to the three of them apologetically, "I'm sorry, you've made a fool of yourselves."
It's not so bad, really. After all, the Gaunt Family are a bunch of complete lunatics among the Pure-blood, and the Black Family is nothing compared to them.
"Come with me, Regulus and I are both on the fifth floor of the top floor."
Suddenly, Kreacher went berserk and clung tightly to Sirius Black's leg.
"Sirius Black, how did you find Young Master Regulus?"
Sirius Black shook him several times but couldn't shake him off. He looked impatient. "In a Black Lake in a cave. Let me go now."
Kreacher still clung tightly to his leg, "The locket... the locket that Master Regulus wore..."
Sirius Black grabbed it by the neck and lifted it up. "You know about the locket?"
Harry tried to stop him, but Vincent put his hand on his shoulder and gently shook his head at him.
"Kreacher... Kreacher can't be told..."
Sirius Black pulled it forcefully in front of him. "I am your master! I command you to tell me what happened!"
Kreacher, looking pained, stopped struggling.
The House-elf is bound by Ancient Magic Contract, preventing it from rebelling against its master, the sole heir of the Black Family.
Sirius Black threw it heavily to the ground. "Speak!"
Kreacher lay flat on his back, hot tears soaking the worn-out carpet.
"The locket...the locket was made by young master Regulus himself, based on...based on the one Kreacher saw...the one the Dark Lord had."
Sirius Black's eyes were bloodshot as he screamed hysterically, "You've seen the real locket? Tell me! I order you to tell me everything!"
Kreacher groaned, "Yes, Sirius Black."
It slowly sat up, tears streaming down its withered face and onto its gray teeth.
"Young Master Regulus joined the Dark Lord's group at the age of 16, and he was proud, honored, happy, and—"
"Get to the point!" Sirius Black was extremely impatient. "I need to know why he made a fake locket!"
Kreacher curled up into a ball, resting his wet face between his knees.
"A year after young Master Regulus joined the Dark Lord's group, one day he came downstairs to the kitchen to see Kreacher, and he said... he said..."
Before Sirius Black's patience ran out, Kreacher finally spoke up, "He said the Dark Lord needs a House-elf."
It paused, "Young Master Regulus recommended Kreacher, saying it was an honor, an honor that belonged to him and Kreacher. Kreacher must do whatever the Dark Lord commands... and then go... home."
Its breathing became rapid. "So Kreacher went to the Dark Lord, who didn't tell Kreacher what to do, but just took Kreacher to a cave by the sea, where there was a large Black Lake..."
The four people who had just returned from the cave were completely bewildered.
"The Dark Lord and Kreacher sailed to a small island where there was a stone basin filled with liquid. The Dark Lord made Kreacher... made Kreacher drink it..."
It seems the liquid in the stone basin isn't highly poisonous; at least it wouldn't kill House-elf.
Kreacher trembled all over. "Kreacher drank it, and while drinking it, he saw something terrible... Kreacher's body felt like it was on fire, and he was extremely thirsty... Kreacher cried out for Master Regulus to save him, he cried out for his mistress, but the Dark Lord just laughed..."
The Dark Lord made Kreacher drink all the liquid... He put a locket in an empty bowl... and then filled it with more liquid.
Then the Dark Lord... the Dark Lord rowed the ship away, leaving Kreacher alone on the island.
What happened next was obvious: Kreacher was very thirsty after drinking the liquid, and there just happened to be an inexhaustible supply of water in the Black Lake.
The Inferi at the bottom of the lake would drag it into the water, but due to Voldemort's arrogance, he overlooked the magic of House-elf, and those restrictions against wizards were completely ineffective against it.