Chapter 188: The Lost Pendent

    Barty Jr. had been working all night.

    During that time, he encountered Kreacher a few times. Each time, the house-elf would mutter unpleasant things under his breath, but as soon as Barty Jr. attempted to approach and talk to him, Kreacher would vanish instantly.

    After a night of hard work, Barty Jr. and Sirius took a break in the kitchen. The kitchen was noticeably cleaner, but compared to the entire house, it was just a small part of the job.

    "Damn Kreacher. If he were willing to help, it would make things a lot easier," Sirius said in frustration.

    "What''s wrong with him? I''ve never seen a house-elf so unwilling to obey orders," Barty Jr. asked curiously.

    "This all started with my brother, Regulus," Sirius began, then recounted the story Cyrus had told him in Azkaban, word for word, to his friend Lupin - Barty Jr.

    Barty Jr. initially listened to the story as a mere distraction, but the more he heard, the more serious he became. He straightened up, and as the warm expression faded from his face, the scars on his skin seemed to stand out even more, making him look particularly menacing.

    "Is everything you said true? Regulus really stole something vital to the Dark Lord?!" Barty Jr.''s breathing grew heavy.

    He hadn''t expected that Sirius would invite him over for some menial work, only for him to stumble upon such crucial information.

    "According to Cyrus, that thing is possibly the Dark Lord''s greatest weakness!" Sirius corrected. "I meant to tell Dumbledore, but with everything that''s been happening, I completely forgot."

    Sirius also grew serious, shouting into the kitchen, "Kreacher!"

    "Kreacher!"

    A house-elf suddenly appeared in the kitchen, nearly naked except for a dirty, tattered cloth around his waist.

    He looked very old, with skin that seemed to have more folds than his frail body required.

    Although his head was bald like most house-elves, his large, bat-like ears were filled with tufts of white hair.

    His eyes were bloodshot, watery, and clouded, while his plump nose resembled that of a pig.

    "...Smells like the stench of sewers and criminals," Kreacher muttered, his bulging eyes glancing briefly at Barty Jr. before his voice, reminiscent of a croaking bullfrog, resumed its grumbling. "Filthy werewolf... If the mistress knew that worthless son brought someone like that into the house, what would she say to Kreacher?"

    "Shut up, Kreacher!"

    "Ah, Kreacher didn''t see Master just now..." Kreacher said, feigning terror, though he couldn''t help but immediately turn his head and continue to curse loudly enough for everyone to hear, "Shameful, disgraceful scoundrel!"

    "Enough, Kreacher! I''m asking you, where''s the locket?!" Sirius ignored Kreacher''s insolent words, getting straight to the crucial point.

    Kreacher suddenly snapped out of his deranged state, his large eyes staring at Sirius in disbelief.

    "How do you know about that?"

    "I just know! Hand it over!" Sirius barked impatiently. "I command you!"

    To his surprise, Kreacher defied his command.

    "No! You wretched scum, don''t you dare! That belonged to Master Regulus!"

    The only thought remaining in Kreacher''s mind was "fulfill Regulus''s command."

    Will he be really able to fulfill that..?!

    He vanished from the spot, and the next moment, reappeared in front of Barty, holding the ornate Slytherin locket in his hands.

    Is this the Dark Lord''s weakness? Barty was stunned for a second, but before he could react, Sirius had already grabbed the locket and slammed it onto the ground. Without hesitation, he drew his wand and shouted:

    "Reducto!"

    "Bang!"

    The force of the spell made Barty involuntarily flinch, and the explosive sound of the spell nearly pierced his eardrums.

    He watched as the locket shot out like a bullet, smashing through the kitchen cupboard.

    "It''s unscathed!"

    Barty''s heart raced.

    "This kind of magic won''t destroy the locket!" Kreacher said sorrowfully.

    Sirius, who was unwilling to believe it, cast several more destructive spells, but as Kreacher had said, none of them had any effect.

    "Maybe Dumbledore will have a solution?" Sirius suggested helplessly.

    Hand it over to Dumbledore? Barty''s eyes flickered darkly.

    "I think that might not be the best idea."

    "What?" Sirius looked at him in confusion.

    He hadn''t expected Lupin to say something like that. Based on what he knew of Lupin, the man trusted Dumbledore implicitly.

    Little Barty could only bite the bullet and make a far-fetched assumption: "I think we can study it before handing it over to Dumbledore. I''m worried that if we destroy it directly, it will have some impact on Cyrus."

    "Cyrus?"

    "After all, Cyrus is also a part of the Dark Lord—"

    "Hmm.. What you said makes sense."

    Sirius nodded, agreeing with this statement.

    With that, Barty, breathing heavily, slipped the Slytherin locket into his pocket.

    _____

    Read 12 Chaps ahead at my Patreon