Facing Death with Composure

Belvina dragged her weary steps slowly upstairs.

Everything in 1979 began with Regulus's disappearance; she was going to check on Regulus's room.

Belvina walked in front, with the house-elf Kreacher trailing behind like a little tail.

The top floor of number 12 Grimmauld Place has only two doors: one for Sirius before he turned 16, and the other for Regulus.

A rather imposing little sign hung on the door, written in neat handwriting: "No entry without the express permission of Regulus Arcturus Black."

Pushing open the door and stepping over the threshold, Belvina looked around. The room was lavishly decorated and spotless, just as it had been when its owner was still there.

The room was filled with Slytherin silver and green, covering the bed, walls and windows. The family crest and "Forever Pure" were engraved on the headboard, along with some old, yellowed briefings, irregularly pasted collages, and a few photographs.

One of the photos is a group photo of the Slytherin Quidditch team, with Regulus, the Seeker, sitting in the middle, smiling and waving.

"It seems you've been keeping a close eye on things, Kreacher," Belvina said softly.

Kreacher didn't speak. The house-elf stood in the bedroom doorway, its tennis ball-sized eyes fixed on Belvina, moving with her every step.

Belvina continued searching, looking in the wardrobe, under the desk, under the bed—she searched every possible hiding place, but found nothing except an old quill pen and textbooks.

"Aren't you going to tell me anything, Kreacher?" Belvina said. "Regulus loved you the most when he was still around. Did he really not say anything to you?"

House-elves have almost no status, and they are used to being treated roughly by their owners. But Regulus is different. He not only never beats or punishes Kreacher, but he also treats the house-elves very well.

"No, Miss Belvina, Master Regulus didn't say anything."

“Is that so? But I don’t think so,” Belvina said. “Would you rather I treat you like Regulus, or like Bella?”

The house-elf Kreacher was clearly frightened at the mention of Bellatrix's name. This young lady was no ordinary person; she was ruthless to both herself and others, and could be considered the most ruthless person in the Black family.

"You stayed behind while I was talking to Mom, which is unusual for you, and seemed very interested in our conversation," Belvina continued. "Your unusual behavior tells me that you know something."

Belvina turned and sat on the bed, then said, "I don't want to give you a hard order; I just want to know what happened to Regulus."

After a long silence, a sudden sob broke the silence. The small, thin house-elf, only half a person's height, knelt on the ground, slamming his large head against the floor. Kreacher was punishing himself.

"Stop, Kreacher."

The house-elf stopped self-harming and stood frozen in place. Kreacher wanted to continue punishing himself, but he couldn't disobey his master's orders.

"Kreacher, tell me what happened to Regulus."

After a while, Kreacher said in a hoarse, bullfrog-like voice, "Young Master Regulus is dead."

"The locket, Master Regulus's locket! Kreacher made a mistake! Kreacher failed to carry out the master's orders!" Kreacher went berserk again, leaning against the wall and banging his large head against it repeatedly.

"Enough, Kreacher, tell me everything you know."

Tears welled up instantly, streaming down the house-elf's long nose and into his gaping mouth. Between sobs, he cried, "Master Regulus is dead! Dead in the Dark Lord's cave!"

"Back then, the Dark Lord needed a house-elf, and Lord Regulus recommended Kreacher," the house-elf said, his voice choked with emotion. "Lord Regulus always liked Kreacher very much, and he bestowed this honor upon him!"

Kreacher's sobs grew louder as he tearfully recounted what had happened.

The Dark Lord took Kreacher to a large cave with a black lake inside. Kreacher was forced to drink a bowl of poison. The Dark Lord placed a locket into the bowl and left, leaving Kreacher calling for help behind him.

Voldemort planned for the house-elf Kreacher to die there, and no one would know his secret, but he underestimated the elf's magic.

For example, Hogwarts is protected against Apparition; no wizard can Apparate there, but house-elves can.

With the help of the fairy's magic, Kreacher escaped back to Grimmauld Place, because Master Regulus had told Kreacher to come home.

After that, Regulus asked Kreacher to hide, while he presumably began investigating to find out what Voldemort had placed in the cave locket.

"One night, young Master Regulus came to the cupboard and found Kreacher. Young Master Regulus seemed strange, unlike his usual self, and Kreacher could tell he was very troubled... The young master asked Kreacher to take him to the cave, the same cave that Kreacher and the Dark Lord had been to..."

Unlike Voldemort, Regulus did not order Kreacher to drink the potion; he drank it himself and was then dragged into the water by the Inferi.

"Regulus, didn't he ask you to save him?" Belvina asked. "If he ordered you, you could have taken him home."

Kreacher cried even louder, sobbing, "No—Master Regulus ordered—ordered Kreacher to leave. He told Kreacher—to go home—and not to tell the mistress—what he did—but to destroy—the locket."

"Master Regulus—the master has been dragged into this—Master Regulus is dead!"

Belvina got up and went to the house-elf, patting Kreacher's big head.

Why did Regulus insist on dying when he could have left the cave with the help of house-elves' magic? What was his reason for doing so?

Belvina sat back down on the edge of the bed, picked up the yellowed old photograph, and saw Regulus in the frame with his dark hair and slightly arrogant expression, just like she remembered him.

The house-elf Kreacher continued to cry, saying intermittently, "Kreacher couldn't destroy it—couldn't even leave a trace—Kreacher tried everything, everything, but none of them worked..."

Destroying the locket that was extremely important to the Dark Lord—shouldn't that be something a wizard should handle himself? Why was it given to Kreacher?

Belvina thought and thought, and finally came up with a slightly plausible explanation—Regrus could find no reason to continue living.

From childhood, Regulus was taught the supremacy of pure blood, and later he began to worship Voldemort and take pride in becoming a Death Eater.

But when Regulus joined the Death Eaters, he discovered that what he had given everything for was so bloody and cruel. His beliefs began to crumble, and Voldemort's atrocities against Kreacher were the last straw that broke the camel's back.

With his worldview shattered, Regulus headed to the cave with a death wish. He never intended to return alive. His broken beliefs robbed him of the will to live, and his actions regarding the locket were unlikely to escape Voldemort's notice. For the safety of his family, Regulus had no choice but to die.

Regulus, who was always called a coward by Sirius, did the bravest thing: he calmly faced death with the vision of defeating Voldemort.

"Kreacher, what about the locket?" Belvina asked, almost certain that Voldemort's locket was the only possible connection between her and Voldemort.

"The locket—Kreacher failed to destroy the locket—and then, Miss Belvina, you took the locket—you said you liked it very much and wanted to keep it close to you."

Belvina recalled that nightmare again, realizing that she had been influenced by the locket, which was why she harbored resentment towards her parents and siblings, felt that life was tragic, and lost hope in life.

"One day—one afternoon, Miss Belvina, you fainted, and the locket was right next to you—Kreacher called the mistress and took the locket before she arrived."

The cause and effect of the matter became clearer. It is very likely that the former Belvina died from the bewitching of the locket, thus giving the time traveler the opportunity to take over.

For some unknown reason, Belvina became connected to the locket, a connection that only came to light when she met Voldemort. The tremor that struck her soul shattered Belvina's will, leaving her with immense shame.

"Where is the locket now? Give it to me," Belvina commanded. She had to get the locket to confirm that the source was there and find a way to destroy it.

Kreacher, who had been rolling on the floor, got up, wiped away his tears, and walked out of the bedroom. When he returned to the bedroom, he was holding an exquisite locket.

The locket is about the size of an egg, with a gorgeous letter S made of many small emeralds that shimmer with a dim light.

Before she could even take the locket from Kreacher's hand, that familiar sense of danger emanated from her, as if the locket was beckoning Belvina to wear it and keep it close to her body.

We've found the source of everything.

As she thought about it, Belvina gripped the locket tightly.

Now, Belvina needs to find a way to destroy the locket and sever her connection with it and Voldemort.