But Sirius's voice thundered even louder:
"You simply watchedRegulus drink that poison and get dragged into the lake?! You witnessed his death with your own eyes and did nothing?!"
He seized Kreacher by the throat, hurling the elf violently to the stone floor. Kreacher crumpled there—trembling, gasping desperately for breath, emerald mucus clinging to his bulbous nose. Purple bruises bloomed across his pallid forehead while his swollen, bloodshot eyes overflowed with tears. Hermione knelt helplessly beside him, desperate to comfort yet not daring to touch.
Only Lupin's iron grip prevented Sirius from crushing Kreacher beneath his boots.
"Kreacher, tell us what happened afterward!" Lupin demanded, his arms straining to restrain Sirius's murderous fury. "Did you return to that cave? What became of the locket Regulus entrusted to you?"
"Kreacher attempted destruction of the locket... but no method could mar its surface..." the elf moaned through his anguish. "Kreacher employed every technique, every spell within his knowledge, yet none... none proved effective... Too many powerful enchantments protected the accursed thing... Kreacher punished himself repeatedly, attempted forced entry... but nothing succeeded... Kreacher failed his sacred duty, Kreacher could not destroy the locket!"
Kreacher's sobs rendered his words nearly incomprehensible.
"Where is that locket now?" Harry pressed urgently.
Kreacher squeezed his eyes shut as if confessing an unbearable truth.
"Gone."
"Gone?" Sirius repeated with mechanical disbelief. "What do you mean it's 'gone'?"
Kreacher began his tormented rocking once more, trembling with increasing violence.
"Kreacher," Sirius roared, "I command you to—"
"Thieves!" Kreacher shrieked hoarsely, eyes clenched in anguish. "Filthy thieves invaded this noble house! Scavengers, vermin, mongrel half-breeds... Kreacher failed utterly, Kreacher betrayed Master Regulus's final command!"
Before anyone could react, Kreacher lunged desperately toward the iron poker beside the fireplace. Harry and Ron threw themselves forward, wrestling the elf to the ground as Hermione's horrified screams mingled with Kreacher's wails of self-hatred. Sirius's bellow drowned them all:
"Kreacher, I order you to remain perfectly still!"
The house-elf froze instantly, massive tears streaming into his mouth lined with rotting gray teeth.
"Mundungus!" Ron exclaimed with sudden realization. "Could it have been him?!"
"Ron, we cannot make accusations without evidence..." Lupin began cautiously.
"Forgive me for interrupting," Orli interjected with pointed exasperation, "but hasn't anyone considered retrieving Regulus's remains? If we continue this discussion much longer, you'll all be charging off to hunt for that locket."
"Orli speaks wisdom, Sirius," Lupin said, finally discovering something that could penetrate his friend's rage. "We must have Kreacher guide us to that cavern. Regulus deserves proper burial—we cannot abandon him to rot at the lake's bottom, becoming another of those cursed Inferi..."
"Then we depart immediately," Sirius declared, reason slowly returning to his voice.
"No—we must inform Dumbledore first," Lupin insisted firmly. "Perhaps he can assist us. He's been mysteriously occupied all summer..."
Lupin drew Sirius into a shadowed corner, their urgent whispers inaudible to the others.
"Enough! Children! Return to your rooms this instant!" Mrs. Weasley commanded, finally recovering from her shock. Like a shepherd herding wayward sheep, she bustled everyone from the staircase and drawing room toward the upper floors.
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