Remus and Sirius didn't mind Bryan's silence and hesitation. They thought he was just trying to figure out the origin of the golden Locket that he had found, so they gave him some time to think. But when they heard him say the value of the Locket in a strange tone, as if he had seen something shocking, they both looked incredulous.
"You can't just make things up to beat me, Bryan."
Remus joked, and also looked at the locket with curiosity.
To be fair, it was indeed a very beautiful piece of art.
The delicately shaped Locket still emitted a mysterious golden glow in the dim candlelight, even after being eroded by time. It was surrounded by many pure and transparent gems, each one sparkling like a star. The edge of the locket was engraved with many ancient runes, most of which Remus couldn't recognize. Of course, the most eye-catching thing was the snake-shaped S in the middle of the box, made of glittering green emerald.
"If this thing is worth eight thousand galleons, Bryan–" Sirius also thought Bryan was bluffing, and he said with disbelief, "Then I'll go break Kreacher's legs right now."
'How interesting, to encounter this here?' Bryan's playful smile became thicker. 'What was this, a special fate?'
"Let me ask you this," Bryan stood up with his hand on his knee, holding the chain of the Locket tightly, and showed the locket to the bewildered Sirius, "Do you know where this thing came from?"
'Did Bryan mean that this thing was very dangerous?'
Remus leaned in, his expression becoming more serious. He stared at the S on the box for a long time, and then said uncertainly, "I'm not sure, Bryan, is this pattern Slytherin's crest?"
"Oh!" Sirius blinked speechlessly, "Are you trying to scare us with some old rubbish?"
He didn't believe that his family would own something that belonged to Slytherin, the ancestor of many pure-blood fanatics.
From Sirius's reaction, he seemed to really not know where this thing came from. Well, that made sense, Sirius was not like Lucius Malfoy, a 'loyal' follower of Voldemort.
"Then let me ask you another question, Sirius." Bryan shook his head and said, "Has anyone in your family ever worked for Voldemort?"
As soon as the name Voldemort appeared, the kitchen became colder by a few degrees. Remus and Sirius's expressions turned solemn at once. They realized that Bryan might have accidentally found something incredible and dangerous.
"What do you mean, Bryan?" Remus asked solemnly, "Are you saying that this Locket came from Voldemort's hands? What did you see, is there any dark magic from Voldemort on it?"
Bryan didn't answer, he just waited quietly for Sirius's reply.
And his question obviously touched Sirius's bad memories. His face became gloomy and unstable, and he radiated a gloomy aura that made the air heavier.
"I had a brother, his name was Regulus, he was once a Death Eater."
This was not something to be proud of. Sirius said this briefly, and then closed his mouth.
Remus obviously knew about this, he didn't show any shock, he just turned his gaze to Bryan, waiting for his explanation.
"Had?"
Bryan narrowed his eyes, and continued to ask with curiosity and suspicion.
"He was killed by Voldemort."
Seeing that Sirius didn't seem to want to talk about his brother, and also knowing some of the situation, Remus answered this question,
"It happened before Sirius got into trouble. Sirius told us some things. After Regulus died, he tried to find out why his brother was killed. Can I say it, Sirius?"
Remus asked.
"I don't know why you care about this, Bryan," Sirius stared at the Locket expressionlessly, "But it seems like you are very interested, so I'll tell you about my naïve… and stupid brother."
The three of them sat down at the table that had not been cleaned up. Sirius told Bryan about his brother's past and some of the information he had investiagated.
"From various signs, that foolish boy probably got scared of what Voldemort was doing. He wanted to quit, but being a Death Eater was not like working at the Ministry of Magic. You couldn't just hand in a resignation letter. It was either serve for life or die."
As Sirius spoke, Bryan pinched the two corners of the Locket with two fingers, and looked at it with admiration. When Sirius finished his story, and waited for his explanation, Bryan said calmly,
"I think, this matter is not that simple–"
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked impatiently, "What do you know, Bryan, just say it!"
He was anxious to know the truth about his brother's death.
"If the truth is really as you said, that your brother was killed because he wanted to escape from Voldemort–"
Bryan let go of his fingers, and let the Locket fall into his palm. He smiled and said,
"You wouldn't be alive today, Sirius. You don't know the significance of this thing to Voldemort. He would slaughter every descendant of the Black family, just to get this thing back."
The kitchen fell into a long silence. Sirius and Remus both stared at the Locket, especially Remus, who knew Bryan better. He knew that he wouldn't make a bad joke about something so crucial to Voldemort.
"Who knows your brother better than you?"
Remus looked at Sirius and tried to comfort him, and also to encourage him to think of anyone who might have more information about Regulus.
"Someone who knows Regulus better than me, if you count the people who are no longer in this world–"
Sirius frowned heavily.
This was of course a joke. A bitter and sarcastic joke. They couldn't dig out any secrets from the dead.
"Kreacher might know more about Regulus. You know, in Kreacher's eyes, I'm a good-for-nothing bastard, who only makes the family angry. But Regulus was the pride of my parents, Kreacher also preferred to treat Regulus as the young master–"
"I'll go get him."
Anything related to Voldemort was worth treating with the utmost seriousness. Remus got up immediately, ready to go upstairs.
"There's no need for that."
Bryan said lightly. Under the puzzled eyes of the other two, he closed his eyes and sensed for a few seconds. He felt the presence of Kreacher in the attic, hiding among the piles of junk. Then, he waved his wand a few times, and a gray smoke flickered with electricity gathered in front of the three of them. Bryan suddenly reached out his hand and disappeared into the smoke. After groping for a while, he pulled out the screaming Kreacher from the fog.
"How did you do that?"
Sirius was shocked. He had never seen such a spell before.
"Just a little magic–" Bryan threw Kreacher on the ground, "It only works at close range."
Kreacher jumped up as soon as he fell to the ground, with the agility that didn't match his old age.
He was furious and frightened by Bryan's intrusion. He first saw the mess on the ground, and then, his watery and gray eyes immediately fixed on Sirius, ready to say something. He wanted to scold him for bringing strangers into the house, and for disrespecting the family heirlooms. But halfway through, he saw the Locket in Bryan's hand.
In the quiet kitchen, a blood-curdling scream suddenly erupted. Kreacher gasped, his shriveled chest rising and falling rapidly. He recognized the Locket at once. He ignored everything and jumped into the air, rushing towards Bryan.
"–Locket, Master Regulus's Locket, Kreacher failed to complete the order, but Kreacher won't let anyone take the Locket away!"
A faint light flashed, and Kreacher was bounced back to the ground by Bryan's magic. But before anyone could stop him, Kreacher jumped up again, and this time, he didn't try to attack Bryan, but ran straight to the red-hot furnace, pulled out the fire poker, and started to beat himself.
The red-hot poker hit the sobbing Kreacher's body, and his gray skin immediately appeared with shocking black burns. At the same time, there was also a foul smell of scorching.
Bryan was unmoved, but he realized that Kreacher probably knew something about the Locket.
"What are you doing!"
Remus quickly drew his wand, waved it violently, and snatched the fire poker from Kreacher's hand. He couldn't bear to see the house-elf hurt himself so brutally. Sirius, who came to his senses, also roared and rushed forward. He grabbed Kreacher and pressed him on the table.
"Stop, I order you to stop, don't hurt yourself anymore!"
He commanded him with a stern voice, using his authority as the master of the house.
Kreacher immediately stiffened, lying straight on the table, staring at the Locket in Bryan's hand, tears gushing out of his sunken eyes.
Sirius had seen Kreacher go crazy before, but he had never seen this loyal house-elf go crazy like this. He glared at Kreacher, his rough hand still gripping Kreacher's neck, not because of his offense to them, but because of what Kreacher had just screamed.
"My brother's Locket, huh, you know something, don't you, Kreacher, I order you to tell me everything!"
He demanded with a furious voice, hoping to get some answers from the only witness of his brother's last moments.
"Let him go first, Sirius–"
Remus held Sirius's wrist, and tried to calm him down. He knew that Sirius was emotional, and that he might hurt Kreacher in his rage. He then said to Kreacher, who sat up,
"Don't misunderstand, Kreacher, we don't want to take away Regulus's…relic, we just want to know how he got this Locket, we think you might know some truth, right?"
He spoke with a gentle and persuasive tone, hoping to win Kreacher's trust.
Kreacher backed away on the table, instinctively avoiding Remus's hand that wanted to help him. He ignored Sirius's angry stare, and his eyes were fixed on the Locket in Bryan's hand. He didn't want to say anything, but the direct order from Sirius made him unable to resist. He felt a compulsion to obey his master, even if it pained him to do so. So, he curled up into a ball, put his wet face between his knees, and started to rock back and forth.
When he started to speak, his voice was low and muffled, but it carried clearly in the quiet and echoing kitchen.
"Irresponsible young master Sirius ran away–"
Kreacher spat out the first sentence, making Sirius's face darken. Bryan and Remus held him back with their eyes.
"–He broke the mistress's heart, he did. But young master Regulus, he had his pride. He knew what it meant to be a Black, to have pure blood. He followed the Dark Lord, the Dark Lord who would let the wizards stop hiding and rule over the Muggles and their filth. Young master Regulus joined the Dark Lord's organization when he was sixteen. He was so proud, so happy to serve the Dark Lord–"
Hmph!
Sirius snorted with contempt, but his eyes betrayed his sadness.
"Get to the point."
Bryan interrupted Kreacher's rambling with a sharp tone.
"Tell us what happened, Kreacher. And make it quick."
Kreacher shivered with fear. As a magical creature, he had a keen 'magic sense'. He could feel something different about Bryan, something powerful and dangerous. And this young man had the authority to command him.
"One day, after that year, young master Regulus came to the kitchen to see me, Kreacher. Young master Regulus was kind to Kreacher."
He said this with a hint of pride, and also of grief.
He shook his head, remembering Bryan's order, and tears filled his eyes.
"The Dark Lord needed a house-elf, and young master Regulus volunteered Kreacher."
He said this with a tremble in his voice, reliving the horror of that night.
"What did Voldemort want a house-elf for?" Remus asked, puzzled. "He had plenty of supporters among the dark creatures. Werewolves, giants, vampires, Death Eaters… Why would he need a house-elf?"
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