The sudden appearance of the note in the "fake Horcrux" left Alaric and his companions deep in thought.
At that moment, the cave was silent, save for the occasional sound of waves and the groaning of the still unmoving undead creature echoing through the empty cavern.
Suddenly, Hermione broke the silence.
"I have a theory about the identity of R.A.B.," Hermione said abruptly, drawing Alaric and Fleur's attention.
Under the watchful eyes of the two—perhaps even a cat—Hermione began her analysis.
"Clearly, R.A.B. stands for the initials of a wizard's name…"
"That's quite obvious. Besides initials, what else could R.A.B. be?"
Hermione's statement was cut off by Fleur, who seemed somewhat disappointed.
"I wasn't finished," Hermione said, rolling her eyes at Fleur.
"Could you wait until I'm done before interrupting?"
"Hmph! I'm curious to hear what you have to say," Fleur muttered, but she fell silent.
Thus, Hermione continued.
"Based on how R.A.B. addressed the Dark Lord, it's clear that he knew Voldemort well and had a significant level of familiarity with him.
He was dissatisfied with Voldemort and sought to end his reign, which is why he stole the Horcrux.
This means that the event occurred before Voldemort's death.
This person's death or disappearance must have happened before Voldemort's death."
"Given his familiarity with Voldemort, we can deduce that he was either a notable enemy of Voldemort or a high-ranking Death Eater.
After all, many Death Eaters have turned against Voldemort, and they would have had more opportunities to establish a connection with him."
"We can use these criteria to search for names with the initials R.A.B., which should significantly narrow down the results."
Hermione's reasoning was sound, and even Fleur, who occasionally clashed with her, had to admit that Hermione was much more adept in this regard.
After leaving the cave, the three went back to the Ministry of Magic and began searching through records of wizards who had died or disappeared.
They were looking for a wizard whose initials were R.A.B., who had died or disappeared in 1980 or earlier, and had significant connections to Voldemort.
However, among the more well-known wizards who could have been Voldemort's enemies, they found nothing.
There were, however, two notable wizards whose names started with those letters—Rosalind Antigone Bangs and Rupert Axbane Brooks-Tanton.
But they didn't match up. There was no evidence connecting Bangs or Axbane with Voldemort.
In the end, they concluded that the wizard known as R.A.B. might not have been a major enemy of Voldemort.
The three then shifted their focus.
They started to look into records of Death Eaters.
Given that Death Eaters would be more aware of Voldemort's Horcrux plans than his enemies—after all, not everyone was Dumbledore.
This direction was likely to be more fruitful, given that the number of Death Eaters was far fewer than the number of good wizards, and most of those standing by Voldemort were from pure-blood families.
The letter "B" in R.A.B.'s surname suggested a pure-blood family with a surname starting with B.
According to Cantankerous Note's "Pure-Blood Directory," the Sacred Twenty-Eight referred to the twenty-eight British wizarding families still considered "truly pure-blood" as of the 1930s.
Among these, the families with names starting with B were Black, Burkes, and Bock.
It's worth noting that the Potter family was also a pure-blood family, but the name Potter was quite common in the Muggle world, and the Potters' positive views on Muggles meant they were not included.
Ultimately, in the archives, Fleur was the first to find the answer.
"Alaric, Hermione," she said, trying to suppress her excitement, "Come quickly!"
"What's wrong?"
The two moved towards Fleur, looking at the file in her hands.
"I think I've found him."
The two peered at the file in Fleur's hands.
"Regulus Arcturus Black, indeed R.A.B.," Hermione read excitedly.
"He became a Death Eater due to his family's rebellion and his own pure-blood inclinations.
He died in 1980, the same year as Voldemort's death. And he's… Sirius's brother!"
"Maybe the real pendant is hidden in Sirius's home," Fleur said, also excited—she knew Sirius from the Triwizard Tournament's final night when he visited Hogwarts as Harry's guardian.
"We can go ask him."
"However, should we really reveal the Horcrux information to him?" Hermione expressed concern.
"It's fine for him to know, right? After all, he is Harry's godfather."
"Sirius owes me a favor," Alaric concluded. "So even if I don't tell him, he should be willing to help."
Sirius's home was at Number 12, Grimmauld Place, London, a house protected by the Fidelius Charm.
Now, with Voldemort resurrected and to protect Harry, a resistance against Voldemort had formed the Order of the Phoenix, and this place had become the headquarters of the Order.
After contacting them, Remus Lupin was sent to fetch Alaric and the others.
Under Lupin's guidance, they Apparated to Grimmauld Place.
The square was a scene of disarray and desolation.
The surrounding houses looked ominous and unwelcoming, some with broken windows flashing a dim light under the street lamps, paint peeling from many doors, and garbage piling up on the front steps of several homes.
Lupin led them to the buildings numbered 11 and 13, but there was no Number 12 between them.
Lupin took out a note, showed it to the three, and then immediately burned it.
The note read: The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is located at Number 12, Grimmauld Place, London.
"Think about what you just remembered," Lupin said softly.
The three focused, and as soon as they thought of Number 12, a shabby door appeared between 11 and 13, followed by dirty walls and eerie windows.
It looked as though an extra house had suddenly expanded, pushing aside everything around it.
Hermione and Fleur stared in astonishment; they had never seen such a magical sight.
Guided by Lupin, the three climbed the dilapidated stone steps and faced the newly appeared door.
The door's black paint was peeling, and it was marked with scratches.
The silver door knocker was shaped like a coiled snake. There was no keyhole or mailbox on the door.
Lupin drew his wand and tapped the door.
Immediately, there was a loud clanging sound of metal and a rattling noise from chains.
The door creaked open.
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