"When I was very young, I hated everything around me. My parents were obsessed with pure-blood supremacy; they believed that being a Black meant we were born noble by default… Regulus, my younger brother, was a muddle-headed fool. That's what I always thought of him."
On a sunny morning, Sirius Black stood in an open clearing surrounded by lush green grass, addressing several dozen guests who had come for the funeral.
Oddly enough, Hodge recognized most of them; this was probably because Sirius hadn't invited the usual swarm of pure-blood relatives. There were Order of the Phoenix members: Kingsley, Mad-Eye Moody, Tonks and her family, Remus Lupin; the entire Weasley clan sat together, their flaming red hair drawing plenty of glances; the Hogwarts staff led by Dumbledore: McGonagall, Flitwick, Hagrid, and a short, stout, bald man with a walrus-like silver moustache—Horace Slughorn, Dumbledore's warmly invited former colleague and the new professor. Then there were people from the Ministry: Fudge, Bones, Crouch, Ludo Bagman, Scrimgeour…
Ron, sitting beside Harry and one seat away from Hodge, muttered under his breath, "If Voldemort decided to wipe out all these big shots in one go, the whole Ministry would grind to a halt."
"Shut up, Ron. Pay attention," Hermione snapped.
Ludo Bagman, who had been about to turn around and crack a joke, instantly straightened up.
"…He was too soft-hearted, but the occasional kindness he showed made me believe for a long time that he was the only person in that house worth saving. The secret war between us lasted right through our school years. I broke family tradition, got sorted into Gryffindor, found my own friends, my own beliefs, and gradually drifted away from Regulus."
"Regulus cared more about family honour. He was always our parents' pride and joy, loyal to the family and obedient to its rules. These past few days I've often wondered—if there had been no wizarding war, if Regulus had simply grown up and taken the family mantle from our parents' hands, everything might have been completely different."
"At sixteen, he secretly joined the Death Eaters."
The word "Death Eaters" sent a ripple through the crowd. Ludo Bagman jerked his head up in alarm, looking left and right. Mad-Eye Moody pursed his lips and growled to Kingsley beside him, "If Dumbledore hadn't tipped me off about certain things, I'd have turned on my heel and walked out. Attending a Death Eater's funeral? I must be off my rocker…"
"What do you know, Alastor?" Crouch Sr. twitched an ear and asked in a low voice.
"Not much," Moody grunted. "Word is the kid left the Death Eaters later on."
"So… he betrayed the Dark Lord?"
"Now that's a surprise, isn't it?"
Sirius ignored the whispers below and continued.
"…From a very young age, Regulus idolised Voldemort and dreamed of one day becoming a Death Eater himself. For years he talked constantly about the Dark Lord—how the Dark Lord would let wizards stop hiding and rule openly over Muggles and their offspring… I think his young mind never pictured the bloody massacres, the conspiracies, the reign of terror. That's not surprising; Voldemort didn't show his true colours at the beginning. At first he kept his bloodlust in check and won over a lot of people—mostly pure-bloods. He even gave interviews to the Daily Prophet. The clippings were pasted all over Regulus's bedroom wall."
"Naturally, our relationship grew worse and worse."
"After graduating, I joined the Order of the Phoenix and cut ties with the family completely—we became strangers. Two years later, the moment Regulus left school he joined the Death Eaters. I couldn't help thinking that one day in battle my curse might strike him without mercy, and if he ever got the chance he would kill me just as readily… Yet I never saw him on the battlefield. Almost another year passed before I heard vague rumours of his death."
"From what I learned after he died, he had grown terrified of the things he was being asked to do. But you can't just hand Voldemort a resignation letter and call it quits. For a long time I sighed over Regulus's weakness and naïveté, and I thought his end was inevitable."
"But the truth was utterly different from what I had imagined."
"Regulus showed courage far beyond anything I thought him capable of. After seeing the real world, after seeing Voldemort's true face… he discovered the secret of Voldemort's immortality. He could not bear the thought of the wizarding world—and even the Muggle world—being ruled by Voldemort forever. So he resolved to strike back."
Sirius unfolded a small piece of paper.
"This is Regulus's last testament—the final words he left for Voldemort."
"To the Dark Lord By the time you read this I will long be dead, but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I gladly give my life in the hope that when you meet your match you will be mortal once more. R.A.B."
The crowd erupted into louder commotion than before. Hodge glanced at Dumbledore and knew the old man had already retrieved the fake locket from the cave. A few rows behind Dumbledore, old Mr Crouch was trembling so violently Hodge half-expected him to suffer a stroke—or suddenly leap up and fire a curse at Dumbledore's back. But Crouch restrained himself. His loss of composure went largely unnoticed among the mourners. Beside him, Fudge was so flustered his hat fell off and two buttons popped from his dress robes; he ignored them and hurriedly turned to question Dumbledore.
No one present made the connection to Horcruxes—that was an exceedingly ancient and evil branch of magic; most had never even heard the name. Apart from Horcruxes there were other magics that could prolong life, the most famous being the Philosopher's Stone. Dumbledore, it seemed, had attributed Voldemort's abnormality to sinister bodily modifications—which was, admittedly, quite convincing. After all, even fifteen years ago Voldemort had stopped looking human.
But Hodge knew that Voldemort would soon learn exactly what had happened.
His faithful servants would report every detail of the funeral; that was inevitable when it touched on the Dark Lord's greatest secret. And then—would Voldemort fly into a towering rage, or would shock and disbelief overwhelm him? Either way, he would personally check on the Horcruxes…
Tom Riddle's diary—brought into the school by Ginny, now destroyed; Marvolo Gaunt's ring—recovered by Hodge and Dumbledore from the Gaunt shack; Salazar Slytherin's locket—hidden by the house-elf Kreacher in the Black family home, now destroyed; Helga Hufflepuff's cup—found and destroyed by Dumbledore in the Lestrange vault; Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem—currently kept in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts; Nagini—always at Voldemort's side; whether she was a Horcrux remained unknown; And finally, Harry Potter—sitting right beside Hodge.
BOOM!
A summer thunderclap tore across the clear sky.