The Bug Collector | marauders

Nine of Swords

Within the following weeks Rose spent a tremendous amount of time in the greenhouses, trying to further impress Professor Sprout, no doubt. 

She'd wake up early, even before Odette, and head straight to the greenhouses to prepare for the day. The dedication was respectable really.

The only downside was that by the time Regulus would wake she'd already be gone. Wisps of her scent were left behind, but the silk sheets were cold and barren in comparison to when they held the both of them.

Regulus tried to make up for the lost time after classes concluded each day, but he had his own work to keep up with.

This...work of his had started because of a chance encounter with the Dark Lord, not his own encounter, but his family's house-elf's, Kreacher. In order to make sense of that encounter, you must first consider Regulus' relationship with Kreacher.

Under the right circumstances a house-elf can be a useful commodity. For most upper-class wizarding family's the house-elf practically raises the children, cooking and cleaning for them, tending to their every need.

This very fact is why at a rather young age Regulus Black grew attached to their family's house-elf. The servant's appearance could be unsettling to some wizards, but Regulus held no fear for Kreacher. The young wizard had seen far prettier faces commit far worse deeds than the elf ever had.

Regulus was gentler to Kreacher than the rest of his family, even Sirius seemed to hold a certain distaste for him.

Kreacher had been Regulus' only companion when his brother left for Hogwarts, the young boy had even secretly taught the house-elf how to read during that school year. This earned Regulus an unwavering loyalty from Kreacher, they trusted one another as equals.

And so, one day, within the heat of early summer, the Dark Lord requested a house-elf, and Regulus immediately entrusted Kreacher with the job.

At first Regulus was unaware of why the leader of the Death Eaters needed the help of his house-elf, but once the ordeal was over, Kreacher told Regulus everything.

The Dark Lord had required a test subject, he'd created a artifact of sorts, a horcrux, and needed to protect it. Kreacher's objective was to follow the Dark Lord to a cave along the sea, and go through a series of trails that lead to this horcrux to ensure it's safety.

A horcrux was, in short, an object in which a piece of someone's soul is trapped inside, this could grant that person a significantly prolonged life due to the soul being elsewhere from the body in case of harm.

To create a horcrux, however, one must commit murder. In order to create this specific horcrux the Dark Lord had murdered a muggle-born girl, and quite literally lost a part of his soul. The only other wizard to ever make a horcrux was Herpo the Foul. A lovely bunch.

The trails to get to the horcrux, which took the shape of Salazar Slytherin's locket, started with the intruder having to present the cave entrance with their own blood, weakening the individual from the very start.

Then, as you continue through the aquatic cave, you enter a large open space with tall cliffs, the stone is dark and seems to consume the light around it. The water within the cavern is just as black, taking the term "Black Lake" to a whole new level.

A boat awaited Kreacher and the Dark Lord there. It took the pair to a small island in the caves centre. On that island stood a large crystalline basin, it's aperture filled with poison.

There, the Dark Lord made Kreacher drink the poison, every last drop of it. Kreacher told his master that the liquid gave him horrifying visions, convulsions, and caused him tremendous amounts of pain.