"Stop... stop..."
The voice echoed in Sean's mind. Sean frowned, and it vanished.
"I see your heart. It is mine... I see your dreams. I see your desires, and of course... heh heh, I see your fears..."
The voice returned, lingering by Sean's ear, whispering its hypnotic temptations.
"Fears?" Sean paused for a second, mildly confused.
"You fear me. You fear your own powerlessness. Admit it—you fear the future you foresaw..."
The voice kept murmuring. Sean simply focused his mind, and the presence evaporated. He stared straight ahead, as calm as ever, his eyes deep and unreadable.
Fear tomorrow? Sean thought. Tomorrow was the very last thing he feared.
"Why..."
The voice seemed genuinely bewildered. But soon, it coiled itself around Sirius and the others instead.
"You killed your brother. You stripped the couple who treated you like a son of everything they had," it hissed to Sirius.
"You killed your master, you stupid creature. You failed his dying wish right to the very end," it whispered into Kreacher's ear.
Sirius's breathing turned ragged. Kreacher looked ready to smash his head directly into the wall.
"You don't deserve your position, Pukwudgie. You are completely unfit to be his assistant," the voice murmured gleefully into Will's ear.
"Mr. Green said that?" The Pukwudgie butler looked utterly baffled.
"You foolish thing. A lowly goblin relative—how could you ever compare to a wizard? You're just... useful," the voice mocked.
"Mr. Green said that?" Will repeated, still thoroughly confused.
"Who else? I'm sure he's thought it all along..." the voice sneered.
"I don't believe it. Mr. Green never said that, and besides..." Will stiffened his neck. "You're the stupid one, wizard. Mr. Green says I'm the smartest butler there is."
The voice choked. It seemed completely stunned that a sentient creature without a functioning brain could actually exist in this world.
It had failed twice in this room today. The first time, it couldn't comprehend the young wizard's mind. The second time, it ran into something completely brainless.
At that exact moment, the blade flashed by the curtains. The sword thrust forward—a sharp metallic CLANG rang out, followed by a long, piercing scream.
Sean had shattered the glass of both tiny windows. Riddle's eyes vanished, and wisps of pale smoke drifted from the locket's colorful silk lining.
The entity living inside the Horcrux was gone. Torturing the others had been its final act.
---
Whoosh. Sirius, now drenched in cold sweat, let out a massive sigh of relief. His eyes locked onto Kreacher, who had been sprinting toward the wall but suddenly skidded to a halt.
"You did it."
Sirius turned his head, staring at the fragmented Horcrux and the fading black smoke. A profound sense of vindication and release washed over him from the bottom of his heart.
A piece of You-Know-Who had been destroyed! They had won a small victory in this war!
If they could just keep fighting like this... Sirius's eyes brightened. A beautiful vision called hope took root in his chest.
"Master Regulus—!"
The house-elf let out an agonizing, heart-wrenching wail. He stared at the ruined locket, tears soaking his filthy rags.
"Why are you so sad?" Sirius asked, genuinely confused.
Sirius was naturally baffled. Sean knew that, like many wizards, Sirius wasn't willing to understand that Kreacher was a sensitive, emotional being, just like them.
"Mr. Kreacher."
Sean crouched down slightly, handing the elf a tissue. He knew Kreacher was overwhelmed by massive, staggering relief. The sorrow was just joy melting into warm rain against his cheeks.
"This belongs to you. Since you have inherited Master Regulus's final wish, his legacy should belong to you as well."
Sean placed the shattered remains of the locket into Kreacher's hands.
It took them nearly half an hour to calm Kreacher down. He, Kreacher, had actually been given a true Black family heirloom—and a relic of Master Regulus's ultimate sacrifice, no less!
The elf was so hysterical his knees gave out; he couldn't even stand.
When he finally managed to hobble a few steps, they walked him to his cupboard. They watched him carefully swaddle the fake locket in his dirty blankets, swearing to Sean that he would guard it with his life once he left.
The little elf bowed low to Sean and even gave a comical, jerky twitch toward the Pukwudgie butler—perhaps an attempt at a curtsy.
"Master Regulus, do you see? Your sacrifice wasn't for nothing. Kreacher sees it now. Someone came... not just a person, maybe an angel," Kreacher said, his lips trembling. "But it isn't over yet. Kreacher still needs to fight... fight! Fight for my master, the defender of house-elves! In the name of brave Regulus, resist the Dark Lord! Fight!"
Kreacher cast one last, subtle glance at the young wizard standing in the moonlight, clutching the white tissue he had been given.
Kreacher had realized more than once that he probably wasn't the only one carrying on his master's legacy...
The heavens must have been moved by Master Regulus to send a wizard like this.
Kreacher saw his true master now. It wasn't the late Master Regulus anymore, nor was it the escaped convict Sirius. It was Green. Yes, he would forever champion the great Green, fighting for the shared faith and courage he held with Master Regulus.
---
"You're leaving already?" Sirius asked, lowering his voice.
They were standing in Sirius's old bedroom.
The room was spacious and must have been quite magnificent once. It featured a massive bed with a carved headboard, tall windows draped in long velvet curtains, and a chandelier caked in thick dust. Candle stubs still sat in their sockets, their wax frozen in icy drips.
A thin layer of dust covered the pictures on the walls and the headboard. A large spiderweb stretched from the chandelier all the way to the top of a heavy wooden wardrobe.
"Yes, Mr. Black. Please don't forget what we just discussed," Sean said politely.
"I will never forget," Sirius said solemnly.
Sean had just asked him to track down a witch he had once known—a woman named Nagini.
"I leave it in your hands, then."
Sean nodded, vanishing into the night alongside Will.
The stars were exceptionally bright tonight. Hogwarts Castle was as quiet as ever.
Only the mist, rolling in out of nowhere, veiled the moon and blurred the horizon. But then again, fog was a constant in the Scottish Highlands.
Down in the gloomy dungeons, a wizard lay on a modest bed, looking rather unwell.
He had sunk back into the hazy dreamscape.
Lost souls always loved to dream.
---