Hogwarts Lion Girl

The restaurant was filled with the sweet aroma of delicious food, but Salina felt as if her throat was blocked by something and she couldn't make any sound. She blinked hard, trying to dispel the lingering dizziness in her mind. The cold touch of the locket seemed to still linger on her fingertips, making her shudder.

"What's wrong, Salina?" Sirius keenly noticed that something was wrong with her. "Why do you look so bad? Did Kreacher scare you again? I'm going to teach that old guy a lesson!"

At this moment, the kitchen door was pushed open. Lupin was holding a pot of steaming stew. The aroma and warmth wafted over him. Harry followed behind him with some golden and crispy bread in his hand. The air was filled with the tempting aroma of butter.

When the two saw Salina's pale face, they stopped what they were doing. Lupin put down the stew in his hand worriedly, walked quickly to Salina, and asked with concern: "Salina, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?" Harry also put down the bread and looked at her worriedly.

Salina shook her head, took a deep breath, and tried to calm down. The warm fire and the aroma of food in the restaurant made her feel a little at ease.

She reached out and picked up a glass of butterbeer on the table, took a sip, and the cool liquid slid down her throat, dispelling some of the heat caused by the discomfort.

She calmed herself down and told Sirius and Remus the news about Regulus she had heard from Kreacher and her own processed guesses. Her eyes moved back and forth between their faces, carefully observing the changes in their expressions.

She described the details of the locket in particular with great care, even down to the intricate patterns and cold touch of the box.

"Merlin's stinky socks!" Sirius stood up suddenly, his eyes widened with anger, and his heavy breathing made his chest heave violently.

He grabbed the butterbeer in front of him and took a big gulp, but was choked and started coughing violently. The beer flowed down the corners of his mouth, leaving a trail of water on the table.

He wiped his mouth and swung the empty glass away with a loud bang. The glass flashed dangerously in the flames of the fireplace. "That madman Voldemort, he actually wanted to use the Horcrux..."

"Shh!" Remus stood up suddenly, covered Sirius' mouth with his hand, looked around vigilantly, and said in a low voice, "Speak softly..."

Sirius then realized that he had lost his composure. He blinked and tried to calm himself. The crackling flames in the fireplace were reflected in his pupils, dancing with an uneasy light.

He lowered his voice and paced back and forth in the room anxiously, "So what should we do now? Where is the locket now? We have to find a way to destroy it!"

Salina rubbed her temples, trying to soothe the aching nerves in her mind, "At Kreacher's place."

She paused, took a deep breath, raised her head, met Sirius's anxious eyes, and said word by word, "Sirius, I think your brother Regulus may... have known the secret of the Horcrux."

"What?" Sirius stared at Serena blankly, as if he couldn't believe his ears.

"Regulus...he knows?" Remus stood up suddenly, and the chair was pushed back, making a harsh friction sound. "Selina, are you telling the truth? Are you sure?"

Salina nodded slightly, and said firmly, "I guess he brought the locket with the intention of destroying it."

Salina's voice was soft, but it was like a bombshell, exploding in Sirius and Remus' hearts.

"How is this possible?" Sirius stood up suddenly, and the chair fell to the ground with a dull sound.

He widened his eyes in disbelief, his pupils filled with shock and panic, as if Salina's words were a terrible curse that made him lose the ability to think in an instant.

He stared ahead with empty eyes. The dancing firelight in the fireplace reflected on his face, but it could not dispel the confusion and helplessness in his eyes.

"Regulus...he is not..." He subconsciously repeated Serena's words, his voice was dry, as if stuck in his throat, with a slight tremor that he himself did not even notice.

"He's not a Death Eater." Salina calmly took over his words, walked to his side, and gently patted his shoulder, trying to calm him down in this way. "At least, I don't think he really wants to be a Death Eater."

Serena took a deep breath and slowly expressed her speculation, from Regulus' care and respect for the house-elf Kreacher, to his resistance to some of the Dark Lord's cruel orders, to his final act of risking his life to take the locket away. Serena used clear tones to try to piece together the scattered fragments and outline the trajectory of Regulus' inner transformation.

"He's braver than we thought," Remus whispered, his tone full of admiration.

He turned his eyes away from Serena and looked at Sirius who was leaning against the door frame.

The room was filled with the malty aroma of butterbeer, and the fire in the fireplace crackled, illuminating Sirius' pale face.

He leaned against the door frame weakly, his hands hanging limply at his sides. His face was pale, his eyes were red, and tears were rolling in his eyes, but they never fell.

Lupin took the heavy locket from the trembling hands of the elf Kreacher, then quickly walked to a secluded place and informed Dumbledore by emergency contact. He felt mixed emotions, moved by Regulus's bravery and worried about the truth Sirius was about to face.

He hurried to the top floor, and along the way, the heavy footsteps echoed in his ears. Finally, he found Sirius in a room full of old things and smelling of mold. He was sitting alone in the shadows, as if isolated from the world.

"He always has been." Sirius' voice was hoarse and low, as if it had been polished by sandpaper, and the sadness contained in it almost drowned people.

Remus frowned in confusion, leaned forward unconsciously, and asked, "What?"

Sirius didn't look up. He sat in the shadow as stiff as a statue. Only the parchment tightly clenched in his hand revealed his pain.

He used so much force that his fingertips turned an abnormally bluish-white color, and veins bulged on the backs of his bony hands, as if they were about to tear apart his pale skin.

"What's this?" Remus asked, his eyes drawn to the yellowed parchment in Sirius's hand.

Sirius' fingers trembled slightly, casting a shadow on the parchment. He took a deep breath, as if trying to calm himself, but his hoarse voice still revealed his sadness.

"It was left by Regulus."

He slowly handed the parchment to Remus, his fingertips gently touching the paper, as if it was his brother's last warmth.

"He left a note in the room asking me not to go look for him."