Valentina never prepared herself for so much loss in one lifetime.
Let alone in a lifetime she has barely grown old in.
But with loss comes love.
Now the question is: how far will that love go?
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My body jolts awake at the sound of a banging, and I open my eyes to see it's daylight outside and that Harry is awake whereas Monie and Ron aren't.
"Did you hear that?" I ask Harry as I stand up from the couch.
He nods his head and I head toward the stairs with him behind me, following the banging up the stairs with my wand as light for the dark corridor. The banging gets louder, and I stop outside a door with my father's name on it.
"Stay behind me," I whisper, and he nods.
I slowly turn the door handle and push open the door to see my father's dusty, messy room. The both of us look around, being careful not to break anything.
"Tina," Harry said, and I look over at him at my father's desk. "I think this is you."
"What?" I walk over to him, and he hands me a photo of a baby that I've seen before. It's a photo my mother had gotten of me a few days after I was born. I turn it over to read the back, 'Valentina Regulus Black, my first daughter and the key to my heart.' I smile and wipe away a single tear as Harry places a comforting hand on my shoulder.
"Harry? Tina?" I hear Ron's voice in the distance. "Hermione, where are you? I think I've found something."
I slip the photo into my back pocket and walk out of my father's room with Harry and follow Ron's voice till we find him and Hermione standing outside of another room. I step in with her and notice the whole room is trashed.
Ron shows us the door and I read it out loud. "Regulus Arcturus Black," they all look at me and then that's when I remember. "R.A.B. He's, my uncle. I was named after him."
Harry turns around and heads for the stairs and I quickly catch up to him as he grabs the Horcrux and we all walk into the kitchen, listening to him read the note my uncle left again.
"R.A.B. is Sirius' brother," Ron states as we sit down.
"No shit," I said and look at him like he's dumb.
"Question is, did he actually destroy the real Horcrux?" Monie asks.
I lean forward and shake my head. "I don't think he did."
They give me questionable looks and then a crash sounds from the other room and I stand up, following the sound to a door. I throw open the door to see Kreacher and Harry grabs him as he starts yelling and Harry pushes him away.
"You've been spying on us, have you?" Harry questions him.
"Kreacher has been watching," Kreacher croons and I take a few steps toward him.
"Maybe he knows where the real locket is," Hermione suggests.
Harry snatches the fake locket off the table and shows it to Kreacher. "You ever seen this before? Kreacher?"
"Uh, uh," he stutters. "It's Master Regulus' locket."
"But there were two, weren't there?" Harry pushes. "Where's the other one?"
"You are not my master," Kreacher sneers at Harry.
I cross my arms over my chest and step into his view. "But I am, so answer us."
Kreacher groans and then sighs. "Kreacher doesn't know where the other locket is."
"Yes," Monie cuts in. "But did you ever see it? Was it in this house?"
"You filthy mudblood!" He shouts at her. "Death Eaters are coming—" Ron picks up a pan to hit Kreacher and I jump in the way as Hermione grabs his arm. "Ah, blood traitor, Weasley."
"Answer her," Harry demands as he walks toward Kreacher with the locket.
"Yes," he answers Harry. "It was here, in this house. A most evil object."
"How do you mean?"
"Before Master Regulus died, he ordered Kreacher to destroy it, but no matter how hard Kreacher tried, he could not do it," Kreacher explains to us.
"Well, where is it now?" Harry asks. "Did someone take it?"
"He came in the night. He took many things, including the locket."
"Who did?" I ask and step closer to him and Harry. "Who was it, Kreacher?"
"Mundungus. Mundungus Fletcher."
"Find him," Harry orders.
Kreacher doesn't listen to him and turns to me. "Regulus said you would return. Our last hope," and then he teleports.
"' To finish what I never got to,'" I whisper to myself while staring at where Kreacher just was. "' To save you all with Harry Potter'."
"What?" Monie asks as she steps toward me. "What are you saying?"
I look up to see her, Ron, and Harry staring at me. "Regulus, he-he visited me somehow and told me to stay with Harry. To save everyone with Harry."
"How is that possible?" Harry asks as I sit at the table.
"I have no idea, I even asked him, but he never told me," I admit and look at Harry. "We're the last hope."
