"Sirius?" asked Harry curiously. "Hmm, I didn't think to open it. What's inside?"
"See for yourself."
To the Dark Lord
I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more.
R.A.B
"Regulus Arcturus Black," explained Sirius quietly as he closed his eyes. "My little brother stole the real Horcrux."
"But where could it be?" said Harry urgently. "Did he destroy it?"
"That, I'm not sure," Sirius whispered, tears welling in his eyes. "I never had much contact with him after I ran away when I was sixteen. We used to be very close when we were kids, inseparable even, but as the years rolled on, Mother's poisonous claws latched onto him. He was the only one in my family that I ever truly loved. The last I knew, he had succumbed to Mother's threats and had joined the Death Eaters and was killed on Voldemort's orders for backing away just a few months later. Oh, Reggie, why didn't you come to me?"
Harry sighed, rubbing his temples. This only complicated matters. How in Merlin's name did Regulus find out about the Horcrux in the first place? Voldemort had never told anyone. He had used a house-elf while placing the locket in the cave, but the elf had died after Voldemort left. There was no way Regulus could have read Voldemort's mind, which meant he must have known about Horcruxes and might have recognised it when the Dark Lord had once said 'I have guarded myself against mortal death.' Yes, that must be it. But how did he find the cave in the first place? So many questions…
"Do you have any information on the ring?" asked Sirius, wiping the tears away.
"Yes," said Harry. "But we need to create a replica of the ring and put the protections back in place. If Voldemort were to find out that something is wrong…"
"I don't know what the ring looks like," Sirius frowned.
"Leave that to me. The curse on the ring is called the Bothrops Curse. It is named after a snake. The curse's effects are very similar to the snake bite of a Bothrops asper. Anyone who comes into contact with the curse suffers a very painful, instant death. The limb turns black and shrivelled, causing severe necrosis and death of the muscle tissue throughout the body. If the person puts on the ring or even touches it, the curse is activated. Once the cell damage reaches the heart, there is no stopping it. In fact, there is no counter-curse at all. It is a very old curse that hasn't been seen for a long time."
"Talk about overkill," muttered Sirius. "All right. Do what you can. But you are not going this time without me, is that clear?"
"Understood," said Harry with a small smile. He went over and gave his godfather a tight hug. "I didn't mean to disobey you or make you worry about me, but I thought I was doing the right thing. I'm really sorry, Sirius."
Sirius sighed. He remembered his own teenage years. Running around with a werewolf every full moon night was not something any sane wizard would do.
"I know how you feel."
....
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