Black’s old mansion.
Sirius, Felix, and Dumbledore were sitting in three separate seats, and the atmosphere in the house is very heavy.
“He needs a funeral.” Sirius said insistently.
“I completely agree, Regulus was a hero – he also saved an innocent life and has a heart of gold … fully deserves the honour.” Dumbledore said softly, “However, we cannot reveal the existence of the Horcrux, that would cause a lot of trouble.”
His eyes shone through the half-moon lens, falling on the long sofa, next to Sirius, a young man quietly slumped back, his arms folded across his chest, his black curly hair draped as if he is asleep.
Regulus looked a lot like his brother, especially the side profile, like a young Sirius who did not endure twelve years in prison, his age forever fixed at eighteen, but he accomplished what many people could not do in a lifetime.
“Why – I don’t understand!”
Sirius felt that the honour that belonged to his brother had been stolen from him and that he deserved more, like a grand funeral. White marble coffin, a place full of flowers and green grass as his resting place, and in front of the crowd, reciting the life and glory of Regulus Arcturus Black as the crowd praises him in unison for his outstanding contribution …
The fact that he defied Voldemort and sacrificed his life to retrieve the Horcrux was an important part of his merit, and he hated the idea of everyone not being aware of it.
“Sirius,” Dumbledore said quietly: “I have been trying to avoid the circulation of this evil magic as much as possible, even if it is just a name. Imagine what a bargain it is when people know that there is such a magic that requires only a few simple murders – pardon my wording, for some people it really is a simple thing – so they can touch immortality! ”
“I don’t think-”
“That’s you, Sirius, no one will deny your courage and conviction, and if Voldemort returns one day, will you pick up your wand again?”
“Of course! I will fight to the end!” Sirius said without thinking.
“That’s it,” Dumbledore said: “But can you face your death with an open hand?”
“I’m not going to split my soul, Dumbledore!”
“Of course you won’t,” Dumbledore said soothingly: “But what if an extreme situation occurs, where someone you value is dying or is bound to die, and you desperately want to keep him … that time, when you hear a magic that can bring back that person from dead bed, will you care if it is evil or not?”
Sirius hesitated, in this instant, several faces flashed before his eyes, he had already lost too much, and really did not want the same thing to happen again.
“People will flock to uncover the secrets of the Horcrux by any means possible – selfish dark wizards for themselves, decent people for their families and friends, brave Aurors for their brothers-in-arms, and vile ambitious people for eternal power … Think about it, Sirius, what a terrible scene that would be!”
Sirius gasped, thinking of that terrible picture, he had been convinced by the reason, but his heart still remained upset.
After a long while, he said in a hoarse voice: “Then, then–”
Felix, who has been quiet for the past 30 minutes, interjected, “We can arrange for Regulus to become a member of the Order of the Phoenix, in the name of an undercover agent, and thereby you can restore his reputation …”
“No, Felix, I don’t want to do that.” Sirius refused, “Regulus was a lone wolf, and I want people to understand what incredible courage he showed when he made the difficult decision to fight Voldemort.” He looked at Dumbledore, “Then don’t mention the Horcrux, but at least don’t ignore his fight against Voldemort, can you?”
Dumbledore nodded and said, “I’d be happy to announce that at the funeral.”
“Thank you …” Sirius said, in the absence of witnesses, the funeral will turn into a self-described joke, there must be a person of sufficient prestige to personally affirm Regulus’ contribution, and Dumbledore is the best person to do so.
He will put his reputation on one end of the scale, for the former Death Eaters, and then quietly disappeared Black family descendants to serve as testimony, raising him high …
As for Sirius himself, many people still don’t know about his return until now, and if he suddenly appeared in Diagon Alley, he would definitely provoke a scream of fear.
“So, I’ll, uh,” Sirius said slowly, “I’ll determine the process, I’ll do it myself, and also determine the invitation list for the funeral–” He suddenly gave a disgusted expression and muttered, “Those relatives of mine, there aren’t many good people.”
“I can invite some friends, Sirius.” Felix said.
“Thank you, thank you.” Sirius said, “Although I’m not quite qualified, As the person who was imprisoned for more than ten years no one would consider my invitation, but the family name Black would be worth the trip for them.”
” This is where the influence of a pureblood family comes into play.” He said without emotion, making it impossible to tell if it is pride or mockery, and he whispered, “Just this once …”
Dumbledore offered his farewell as the fire in the fireplace blazed up.
“Wait, Headmaster Dumbledore, let’s go together,” Felix said as he got up and stood. “By the way–”
Felix pulled a locket out of his pocket, and he held up the gold chain as the locket twitched.
“This is that fake Horcrux I took out of the stone basin, I took a look at it, there is no other magic attached to it, there is only a note left by Regulus inside.”
Sirius reached out and took it. The forged locket was built by Regulus based on Kreacher’s description, and since Kreacher had only glanced at it, the replica was not up to par – not only the size is wrong, but even the “S” symbol of Salazar Slytherin is not there.
He mechanically opened the lid of the locket, there is only a small piece of folded parchment inside, he opened and looked at it, his eyes instantly moistened, he trembled and read out the words on it –
“To the Dark Lord
I know I will be dead long before you read this, but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can.
I Face the death with the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more.
R.A.B.”
Kreacher let out a sad cry and flopped to the ground.
Dumbledore sighed and turned to walk into the fireplace, and Felix followed along. In the ancient runes’ professor’s office, the two had a brief conversation.
“Do you feel that some of my actions are unsympathetic, Felix?” Dumbledore gave a weary expression.
“You simply need to consider too many things, weigh the pros and cons, and plan the whole picture … Albus.”
Dumbledore looked at him in surprise, he showed a relaxed smile: “Let’s talk about something pleasant, well, I need to express my gratitude, in fact, in addition to the Hokey line, I have also been investigating Voldemort’s childhood life in the Wool’s Orphanage, only it has been demolished due to the age.
But I have not given it up, if not for you guys, maybe I would have come across that cave.”
Felix smiled: “With your magic power, you can certainly crack his secret … but there is something worth noting, I found that Voldemort is very good at curses, and he also used to people’s desires very well as he implemented both together in that cave.”
Dumbledore nodded slightly: “Indeed, it is worth noting that he may take advantage of the weaknesses of people and set up traps.”
Finally, Dumbledore told Felix to not reveal the existence of the Horcruxes again unless he had to, for the same reason he used when he convinced Sirius, Felix did not feel it is alarming.
“Then Harry …”
“I have talked to him,” Dumbledore showed a distressed expression, “he and his friends tried to find out more secrets of the Horcrux. For this reason, they also wanted to ask Irma, but fortunately, I found it in advance.”
Felix also felt it is dangerous, he is not interested in the Horcrux himself, also did not consider the possible consequences that Dumbledore pointed out, plus Harry is destined to go against Voldemort, so at that time he revealed this part of information with no psychological burden.
I guess Harry didn’t consider this either, which is why he planned to ask the librarian, Madam Irma Pince.
…
The rest of the month flew by, and at the beginning of the new month, Felix finished invigilating the final exams for the third, fourth, and sixth years, and then observed the wizarding exams for this year – the O.W.L’s and the N.E.W.T’s.
The examiner assigned by the Wizarding Examinations Authority is still the same as last year’s group, and by the time the exams are over, the fifth and seventh graders are spreading their wings and having fun, celebrating their release from a year of purgatory.
The week before the end of the school year, Felix held the last Magic Rune Club assembly for the semester.
All the members of the club were excited because there is an open secret that has been circulating among them for a long time, Professor Hap is planning to teach them ancient magic!
———-
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