Ivan didn't think that Dobby's meeting with Kreacher would lead to such a huge argument, and he wondered if he had made the right choice in summoning Dobby.
Kreacher surprised Ivan by stressing that house-elves did not turn their backs on their masters.
If he recalled correctly, Ricklicher had betrayed Sirius, indirectly leading to Sirius's death, which apparently did not match the words it had spoken.
Unless, of course, Kreachery did not approve of Sirius as his master!
After all, Sirius was removed from the Black family tree by his mother decades ago, and was not the rightful heir, unless members of the Black family had either died or been locked up, and it would not have been Sirius's place to take over…
Kreacher must have been bound by the rules to have been forced to do Sirius's bidding, and most likely did not approve of the relationship.
Fortunately, the situation was different now. If they could successfully fish Regulus's body out of the lake and fulfill Kreacher's wish, such a tragedy would not happen in the future…
With that in mind, Ivan did not forget to rein in the two house-elves, Dobby and Kreacher, and order them not to get into any more trouble during this operation, lest they get in the way of proper business.
Dobby, of course, would not go against Ivan's orders.
Kreacher, in consideration of Regulus's involvement in the operation, fell silent, looking at Dobby as if he were a pest, but at least he was not cursing behind his back.
"Sirius, it's getting late. We'd better hurry if we don't want to sneak around in the dark!" Lupin warned him, glancing at the sky.
"Right, let's go!" Sirius didn't want to waste another moment, so he told Kreacher to teleport them to their destination.
Only Kreacher had been to the cave, and they had to be carried by him to get to the exact location.
In an effort to conserve magic, the teleportation was split into two, Kreacher taking Sirius and Lupin with him, and returning with beads of sweat on his forehead.
"Do you need a break?" Ivan asked worriedly.
"House-elves don't need to rest, sir!" Kreacher said humbly, shaking his head.
It was only then that Ivan noticed Kreacher's change in attitude towards him after the destruction of the Horcrux. Kreacher no longer looked as disgusted as he had in the beginning, and his words were filled with gratitude.
Ivan smiled and reached over to shake Kreacher's hand.
Dobby joined them, his hand outstretched.
Kreacher's face contorted in disgust, and he screamed, "Go away, don't touch me, you nasty worm!"
Ears drooping and hands outstretched, Dobby seemed at a loss for what to do, forcing Ivan to step forward and grab him, then order Kreacher to Disapparate.
The world spun, and when Ivan came to his senses again, he was standing in an unfamiliar place, seemingly on the edge of a cliff, facing the endless sea.
The salty sea breeze blew slowly, bringing with it a slight chill. The sound of waves crashing against rocks echoed in their ears.
Sirius and Lupin were nearby, discussing something.
"Why didn't you just lead us into the cave?" Ivan asked, looking at Kreacher strangely. He had expected Kreacher to teleport them to where Regulus had been dragged down by the Inferi.
"Kreacher can't sense it directly, sir!" the elderly house-elf gasped in frustration.
Ivan nodded, presumably because Voldemort had placed some sort of shielding spell there.
"Where do we go now, Kreacher?" Sirius asked, interrupting their conversation.
"Just go in there and swim for a while!" Kreacher replied, turning his head and pointing to the narrow crack at the bottom of the cliff on the right.
"Then what are we waiting for? I'm going to scout ahead and you're all coming with me!" Sirius put his wand in his mouth and jumped into the sea, swimming towards the dark crack.
Ivan tapped his head with his wand, cast a Bubble-Head Charm on himself, and jumped into the water.
They went straight through the dark gap, following the narrow passages on either side. It got darker and darker, and only a faint light shone through the gaps behind them.
They swam for a few minutes before reaching the end, and Ivan climbed the steps with difficulty. He was wet and miserable.
"Lumos ~ (flickering light)" Sirius's voice rang out nearby, and a brilliant white light spread out from the wand, illuminating everything around it.
It was only then that they realised that they were in an enclosed cave. The walls of the cave were covered in mud and green moss.
"Are you sure this is it, Kreacher?" Lupin asked, looking around the cave. There was nothing but rocks.