Journey to the Cave

"We'll bring Regulus back," Harry suddenly said.

The cave where Voldemort Locket might indeed be difficult to enter, even dangerous. But for them, it was different; with Kreacher, who had been there before, they didn't need to face any traps ahead.

The only thing we need to face is the Inferi.

The Inferi are afraid of fire, and they don't need to drink the Potions in the stone basin. Since their magical abilities haven't been weakened, they have nothing to worry about.

Kreacher's crying stopped abruptly, and he abruptly raised his head. "Find Master Ray-Gules?"

"Yes, we must find young master Regulus!"

"Kreacher is willing to do anything if it's possible!"

"Should we cut off Kreacher's head?" Kreacher asked obsequiously.

"No need for that, you just need to take us to the cave." Harry was exasperated.

"That's right, we don't even need your help to go inside the cave."

"You know, just last month, the three of us single-handedly navigated all the magical traps set by the Hogwarts professors and Dumbledore," Ron said to Kreacher, half proud and half reassured.

Something unexpected happened: Kreacher actually nodded in agreement with Ron's words!

Harry and Draco, standing nearby, both instinctively covered their foreheads, making faces as if they had headaches.

They were all a little regretful, regretting that they hadn't told Ron the truth about the traps the other professors had set—they were all very simple.

"We might not even have a chance to go yet."

"If we tell Sirius, they might just abandon us," Draco said, pouring cold water on the idea.

"Don't tell Sirius! He's a bad boy!"

"Kreacher promised Master Regulus that he wouldn't tell his family what happened in the cave," Kreacher suddenly said, rubbing his eyes with his fist like a child.

"Regulus is just forbidding you from telling your family."

"We'll tell Sirius about this; it doesn't conflict with Regulus's orders," Harry said gently, in a coaxing tone. Then Harry raised his own question, "Besides, didn't Sirius run away from the Black House back then? He's not even on the family tree."

"He's not family, so why don't you tell Sirius about this?"

"He was in the Order of the Phoenix at the time, and he was clearly at odds with Voldemort." Harry was actually a little confused. Kreacher was obviously a House-elf house-elf, and he could have easily misinterpreted Regulus's meaning.

Even when Regulus ordered him to leave him alone, he completely misinterpreted his meaning and took Regulus and the Locket with him.

But Harry didn't dare say these words aloud, fearing that Kreacher would go mad again.

"The highest law for House-elf is their master's command. Kreacher loves Master Regulus, and we cannot—we cannot misinterpret his meaning!" Kreacher said painfully.

He suddenly collapsed to the ground and burst into tears.

Harry suddenly felt sorry for Kreacher, if he were like Dobby, possessing House-elf version of flexible moral boundaries—the ability to arbitrarily misinterpret his master's commands.

This way, Regulus could survive and be taken away by Kreacher along with the Locket.

Regulus might even throw the Locket at Dumbledore.

Their mother wouldn't have gone insane.

Sirius will also be able to return to the Black House and stay with them.

Furthermore, the Black House's defection might even lead to the downfall of Voldemort's forces.

This led to Voldemort's premature defeat.

This way, Harry's family could also be spared.

When Harry goes to school eleven years later, he'll probably still have his parents with him.

He might have known Ron and Draco for a long time.

Even if history remains unchanged, Harry's family will still be targeted by Voldemort.

But the outcome of Sirius's case back then was probably different.

Perhaps, through his younger brother's machinations, the case will be reopened, and he will be forcibly given Veritaserum.

This could even lead to Harry being adopted by Sirius.

Even if Dumbledore rejected him, Sirius would probably just buy a house on Privet Drive and stay with Harry as he grew up.

Harry shook his head, jolting him out of his pleasant reverie.

He understood that he could not dwell on the past; history cannot be changed.

With the Resurrection Stone, once his knowledge is truly excellent enough, he will ask Ryan to take him to the place where the Resurrection Stone is hidden.

In this way, his parents, including Sirius's brother, can also be resurrected!

After about ten minutes, Kreacher calmed down again, climbed onto his now very clean little bed, and hiccuped from time to time.

"Should we keep our own cave?"

"I just thought about it, and we could totally take Kreacher there without telling Sirius."

"What are we afraid of about Inferi?"

"Light and warmth are their nemesis."

"Furthermore, even considering Regulus's body, we cannot use spells like Incendio, and the power of Lumos might not be enough."

"But we can use Lumos Maxima (Enhanced Lighting Charm)," Ron suddenly said.

Judging from how much he said in one breath, he must have been holding it in for a long time.

"Yes, how come I didn't think of that?"

"Those Inferi are only used to deal with people who have lost their magical abilities after drinking the potion."

"The reason Voldemort wasn't worried about multiple people working together, with one person drinking while another dealt with the Inferi."

"At the earlier checkpoints, like that ship, it might only be able to carry one person at a time."

"But we are different; we can go directly to the island via Kreacher."

"We can even use Lumos Solem (a variant of the Lighting Charm) to conjure a beam of sunlight."

"What's there to be afraid of about Inferi?" Draco said.

Ron's words were like a key, unlocking the blind spots in his thinking.

What are they afraid of, Inferi?

"Kreacher still remembers that place."

"Kreacher can take Prince Potter and his friends over!"

"Young Master Regulus has been there for so long, and the water is so cold, he needs Kreacher!" Kreacher said excitedly.

The three of them stared at Harry with excited eyes.

"If it's really that simple, I wouldn't mind making the trip."

"Kreacher, if there's danger, can you bring us back?" Harry said.

He was so tormented by the stares from Kreacher and his men that he couldn't help but speak up.

"No problem. Kreacher went there later to try and find Master Regulus."

"But Kreacher couldn't do it."

"Kreacher will bring Master Potter and their friends back—if there is any danger!"

"Alright, let's go back to our rooms first, gather the necessary items, and then meet here again."

"We'd better bring some flammable materials, wood, rags, or something."

"Put it in the bag Draco's dad gave me," Harry said.

However, neither Draco nor Ron, nor even Kreacher, made a move.

They all looked at Kreacher's den, that tattered rag.