Chapter 260 - 260: Greatest Regret

Words : 1874 Updated : Oct 13th, 2025

In an instant, the green glow from the potion in the basin visibly dimmed. Before Edward could even reach for the locket, Sirius exclaimed in shock, "What did you just do?!" "I just disabled the magic in this area." As he spoke, Edward reached into the potion. At the same time, he used [Distortion] to push the liquid aside in reverse, retrieving the locket from the bottom of the stone basin. He then lifted the restriction on magic and flipped the locket over. As expected, there was a folded piece of parchment where a portrait was usually kept. He opened it, glanced at the contents, and handed it to Sirius. --- To the Dark Lord, I am dead by the time you read this, but I want you to know: it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I am willing to die in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more. R.A.B. --- Sirius silently read his brother's final words over and over again. His grip on the parchment grew tighter and tighter until, after a long pause, he murmured, "Good job…Regulus…well done." He thought for a moment, then passed the parchment to Kreacher, who had been staring with wide eyes. "Here, take a look. Don't smudge or tear it!" Kreacher hurriedly tried to wipe his hands clean on the filthy rags he wore, only making them dirtier. Audrey summoned a stream of clear water that poured directly over his hands. Kreacher glanced at her and muttered, "…Thank you." Then he took the parchment, reading while tears streamed freely down his wrinkled face. Sirius patiently waited for a few minutes before retrieving the parchment, carefully folding it back up and slipping it inside the locket. He held it tightly in his hand. "Thank you, Edward. If it weren't for you, I might've spent the rest of my life misunderstanding Regulus." Edward replied earnestly, "A hero like your brother shouldn't be forgotten or misjudged. Once things stabilise at the Ministry, Professor Dumbledore should apply to award him the Order of Merlin." Sirius nodded quietly. Titles meant little to him now that his brother was gone—but Regulus would have been happy. His gaze drifted back to the inky lake. What he now cared about most was…whether it was possible to recover Regulus' remains. Just then, a rustling sound began to rise from all directions. "Fiendfyre." Edward swiftly raised his wand and cast a massive blaze of fire, illuminating the entire cave. All around the island, the lake surface began to bubble as if boiling. From the black depths, countless corpses began to rise—heads, arms, lifeless eyes…men, women, even children—all floating toward the island with hollow, sightless gazes. Soon, they started crawling ashore, stumbling closer with stiff, jerking movements. Kreacher screamed, "Run! We must run!" Maybe it was because he had helped retrieve Regulus' relic, but he didn't flee immediately. Instead, he reached for Sirius, trying to Apparate them all away. "You all go back first." Edward refused Sirius' offered hand. Under his stunned gaze, Edward said calmly, "These Inferi…most of them were innocent victims murdered by Voldemort. If no one does anything, they'll remain trapped here forever, unable to rest." He took a step forward. "It's time to set them free." "You plan to burn them all with Fiendfyre? I'll help you!" Sirius drew his wand. "No. I'm going to purify them." With that, Edward leaned back, arms spread wide as if embracing the sun. In the next moment, a massive, pure, and blazing pillar of light descended from the heavens, slamming into the mass of Inferi. Light of Holiness! The nemesis of filth, darkness, and the undead. "Magnify." Edward followed up with multiple casts of [Magnify], pouring more holy light into the cave. The radiance turned the cavern as bright as midday, instantly desiccating any Inferi it touched. Those struck directly by the beam disintegrated on the spot. "Expecto Patronum!" Audrey raised her wand, and a massive silver dragon Patronus erupted from it, filling the cave. With a thunderous roar, it charged into the ranks of Inferi, cutting them down like wheat under a scythe. Sirius and Kreacher both stood dumbfounded, their eyes nearly popping out of their heads. They stared at the blazing beams of light and the enormous dragon, then looked down at their own wands with a strange sense of helplessness. So that dragon who annihilated the Dementors attacking Hogwarts the other day…that was Audrey's Patronus? Merlin's beard, I want to file a complaint! This is cheating! No one knew how long it lasted, but eventually, the silver dragon dissolved into a flurry of light, vanishing into the air. Edward finally lowered his arms. After the onslaught, the black lake had grown still again, the Inferi all but annihilated. Sirius gazed silently at the lake surface. It even felt like the water level had gone down from evaporation. "Whew—" Edward exhaled. That nearly drained my spirituality. He turned to Sirius. "Sorry…Regulus' remains might have been…" Kreacher immediately burst into sobs, but after witnessing Edward's overwhelming power, he dared not complain—only cried and wailed in grief. Sirius shook his head. "It couldn't be helped. We can't dig through thousands of Inferi, one by one, looking for him." He put away his wand, then slipped the locket safely into his pocket. "Shut it, Kreacher. Do you want Regulus to remain here forever, a damned corpse?" Kreacher's cries paused, tears still welling in his eyes. "But…but didn't you just say…you were going to bury Master Regulus…in the Black family graveyard…" "Uh…" Edward paused, then transformed his wand into a divining rod. "Maybe I'll try dowsing for it…Who knows, maybe Regulus wasn't among those corpses just now…" Clack. Clack. Clack. Before he could finish, a series of crisp footsteps echoed from the darkness. Edward instantly pulled Audrey close, casting a magnified Protego Totalum that enveloped them all. Clack. Clack. Clack. Ripples began to form on the previously still surface of the Black Lake, drawing closer from the distance, yet nothing could be seen with the naked eye. Edward and Audrey exchanged a look and simultaneously activated Spirit Vision. There, lightly treading upon the surface of the lake, was a greyish-black creature. It had a pair of gently curved horns and a noticeably prominent nose. It was… A Crumple-Horned Snorkack? It stopped about seven or eight meters away. With a graceful swish of its long tail, a black hole-like vortex opened up behind it. The next moment, translucent human figures began to rise from the lake—these were the souls of the Inferi! Each of them wore a peaceful, relieved smile as they surged toward the dark vortex. Some paused briefly, bowing toward Edward and Audrey in silent thanks before moving on. Both Edward and Audrey stood there in awe: Was this Crumple-Horned Snorkack truly a psychopomp—an escort of the dead? Could that black vortex behind it…be the realm of the dead—the Underworld? "You…what are you two seeing?" Sirius couldn't see anything, but as a wizard, his intuition told him something supernatural was happening. "It seems…a messenger of the Underworld is guiding the souls of the departed…" "A messenger of the Underworld? A Reaper?" Edward shook his head. "I don't know. But I don't think…the Grim Reaper looks like this." Soon, fewer and fewer souls emerged from the lake—only two or three every few seconds. Then the Crumple-Horned Snorkack turned its gaze to the three people on the island, its eyes lingering longest on Audrey. Those intelligent eyes shimmered faintly with light. Just then, a young man with black hair emerged from the lake. He appeared slightly frail but wore a radiant smile on his face. He flew directly toward the vortex—but then suddenly stopped mid-air. His eyes swept past Edward and Audrey before landing on Sirius and Kreacher. There was a flicker of astonishment in his gaze. Then, he turned to the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. After seeing it give a gentle nod, he drifted toward the island and landed silently, weightless. Sirius was frowning deeply at the air in front of him when he noticed Edward and Audrey both turning to look behind him. "What is it now?" he asked, puzzled. "I think…" "Regulus is here." "What?!" Kreacher stumbled forward. "I—I feel him! I feel Master Regulus—he's right here!" He gingerly reached out, trying to touch the invisible Regulus, but found only empty air. "Master Regulus…" Audrey hesitated, then softly asked the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, "Could you…let them see him?" Clack. Clack. Clack. The Crumple-Horned Snorkack stepped forward onto the water. As it approached, a gleam flashed in its eyes. Regulus's spirit was immediately enveloped in a soft, faint glow. And at that moment, in the eyes of Sirius and Kreacher, the long-dead—long-lost—young master and brother began to take form before them. "Master Regulus!!" Kreacher burst into tears and rushed forward. "You've done well, Kreacher. You didn't let me down." "Wuuu…" Regulus reached out with his translucent hand, trying to pat Kreacher on the head, but it merely passed through him. Then he turned to Sirius. "Has Voldemort been defeated?" "Mhm! He was taken down by James's son—my godson—when he was only a year old." Regulus blinked, then chuckled. "How ironic. But he made multiple Horcruxes—that means he had multiple lives." "Don't worry. They were all found and destroyed." "Good." Regulus smiled. "That's good." Sirius's eyes reddened slightly. The man before him was his only blood relative in the world. They had once been close, inseparable brothers—until diverging beliefs drove them apart. And now, their reunion happened only in death. "I didn't disappoint you, did I, Sirius?" "Of course not. It's me…who disappointed you." Sirius clenched his fists tightly. "If…if I had been there for you, we could've found another way. You wouldn't have had to…" Regulus quietly listened to his brother. "I know. I've always known." Watching the two brothers, Edward felt a deep pang in his heart. He suddenly remembered a question he'd once seen on Reddit back in his past life: What is the greatest regret in Harry Potter? Answer: "Not knowing." Lily and James didn't know their child would survive the Killing Curse. Sirius didn't know that the brother he once called a coward was actually a hero. Aberforth nearly hated his brother for a century, not knowing Albus had spent the rest of his life repenting for their sister's accidental death. Snape didn't know that Voldemort would soon fall, and that the boy he silently protected all those years would one day let go of his disdain and vindicate his name. Dumbledore didn't know that Grindelwald—imprisoned in the tower—would, in his final act, protect his tomb from Voldemort's desecration. —— And now, with his presence here, Edward seemed to be slowly mending those regrets. Perhaps this is the true meaning of my arrival in this world. ——— [Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.

Chapter 260 - 260: Greatest Regret

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