Kreacher presented the Slytherin locket to Dana with both hands.
He looked at Dana expectantly, hesitant to speak.
Dana smiled and opened his mouth—
Having stayed at Hogwarts for so long, his body was practically soaked in magic, which gave him even greater control over himself. He could now change individual body parts at will.
His two canine teeth suddenly lengthened, and scales appeared along his lower jaw, transforming it into the shape of a snake's mouth. Dana took a deep breath and, with a look of distaste, bit into the locket.
A soul-piercing scream immediately rang out. Kreacher desperately covered his ears but still stared intently at the locket in Dana's hand.
Black gas filled the air, and black liquid splattered out. Under the effect of Basilisk venom, the Horcrux was utterly vulnerable.
Dana had already retracted his teeth. With a gentle wave of his right hand, the foul-smelling black liquid floated in mid-air.
"All right, Kreacher. The locket is destroyed."
"Wah—"
Kreacher turned into a house-elf fountain, tears streaming nonstop.
Dana smiled, used a Vanishing Spell to remove the black liquid, and then said,
"Don't cry yet, Kreacher. I think you'd very much like to see Regulus laid to rest, wouldn't you?"
Kreacher froze.
He seemed to have been paused, his entire body stiff, with only his tear ducts still working frantically.
After a full twenty seconds, Kreacher exclaimed,
"Oh… my merciful, all-knowing master! You… you even know about that?"
"Take me there, Kreacher. Let us bury Regulus in the Black family's graveyard. Afterwards, I want you to come with me to the castle on the Hebridean Islands and help manage it for me."
"Yes, Master!"
"Master, this is it!"
Kreacher brought Dana to the cave, skipping the blood-letting step entirely.
Inside the cave was a large lake, with a small patch of land in the center.
"Master, you need to pull that chain, and a boat will come up…"
Perhaps thinking of how Regulus had gone through the same ordeal, Kreacher's tears began to flow uncontrollably again.
"No, Kreacher. The locket is already destroyed. What would I do on that island? It's not like you can only see your young master by drinking poison."
Dana directly cast a Blasting Curse, causing the lake to erupt.
This spell completely awakened the Inferi in the lake.
Those pale-skinned, emaciated bodies surged from the bottom of the lake toward the shore.
"Kreacher, find Regulus."
"Yes, Master!"
Kreacher vigorously wiped away his tears to see more clearly, but the Inferi here were so densely packed that it was not easy to find him.
Fortunately, Dana was there to back him up. He waved his wand, and ropes emerged from the ground, entangling the Inferi's legs—the Inferi, ignorant and mindless, still tried to move forward despite being bound, causing them to stumble and fall.
In the original story, Dumbledore was temporarily trapped by the Inferi, not because he was weak, but because the old man had drunk all the poison prepared by Voldemort at the time. Even so, he still managed to burn them to ashes in the end.
If that version of Dumbledore stood before him, Dana was confident he could defeat him.
Therefore, the fact that he could easily deal with the Inferi did not mean he was already stronger than Dumbledore.
Of course, in some areas, Dana was already ahead of Dumbledore.
"Young Master!"
Kreacher suddenly screamed. Dana followed Kreacher's finger and looked over.
"Is that Regulus, Kreacher?"
"Yes, yes!"
Kreacher cried excitedly. Dana pointed his wand at Regulus's Inferius—
"Olivessa!"
Regulus suddenly flew up, nearly reaching the cave's ceiling.
Dana took a deep breath. By now, the lower half of his face was entirely covered in dark scales—
"Roar—"
Scorching dragon breath spewed out, and the swarm of corpses instantly turned to ash.
Kreacher looked at Dana with adoration—
His new master was too strong! If young master Regulus had been this powerful back then, how amazing would that have been!
Regulus's Inferius floated mid-air, wailing. It covered its face with its hands—Inferi feared fire and light, and the raging flames terrified it.
After the cave returned to darkness, Dana pulled Regulus in front of him.
Regulus had a similar appearance to Sirius Black. His clothes were already tattered, and his hair had fallen out. At this time, he bared his teeth at Dana and Kreacher.
"Oh, young master Regulus…"
Kreacher cried more today than he had in the past ten years.
"Master, what should we do now?"
Inferi had no souls, only shells manipulated by dark magic. Burning them would solve everything, but Dana still wanted to give Regulus a complete corpse.
"Let's go back. We'll add Dementor-proof metal plates to Regulus's coffin. As long as the magic is isolated, he can rest in peace."
"Dementor-proof metal! That's too expensive!"
Dana shrugged.
"It's just a little money. Heroes should not be forgotten. Let's bury Regulus properly. He's been here long enough—it's time to go home.
Gilderoy Lockhart, wearing his flamboyant purple starlight pajamas, was carefully polishing his pearly white teeth in front of the mirror.
An owl flew in through the window.
He had to put down the small tool in his hand and get up to receive the letter.
"Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart:
Hogwarts sincerely invites you to join the Hogwarts faculty and become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for the next school year.
If you are interested, please reply to us.
Wishing you a pleasant life.
Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"This is really good news. It can raise my status a bit," he said as he returned to the mirror, placing the letter on the table and continuing to polish his teeth.
"But I heard that the Defense Against the Dark Arts position is cursed. No professor lasts a full year… Should I decline?"
Lockhart nodded, deciding to write a reply later—he lived a simple life, like a Muggle.
Though a wizard, he couldn't even use a self-writing quill—shockingly, the famous wizarding author wrote all his works by hand!
Even Rita Skeeter, that notorious woman, had stunning magical writing skills!
Another owl flew in.
Lockhart hesitated a little—could this be a love letter from a crazed fan?
But that would've been sent to his studio, not his personal residence.
There were two ways to send letters in the wizarding world—one without an address, where owls relied on magic to find you, and one with a specific location. This one had clearly used the former.
Taking the letter, Lockhart was surprised.
It was from Lucius Malfoy, head of the Sacred Twenty-Eight Malfoy family:
"Mr. Lockhart:
On behalf of Count Darke Dentis, I invite you to his castle on the Isle of Colonsay in the Hebridean Islands on July 1st for a banquet.
Many prominent figures from the British wizarding world and senior Ministry officials will attend. I hope you will arrive on time.
Lucius Malfoy."
The tone of the letter was condescending, but Lockhart was even happier than when he received the Hogwarts job offer!
Darke Dentis!
He knew that name—it was the man who had bought countless assets in one go and was rumored to be a billionaire!
Gilderoy Lockhart clenched his fist.
Whether it was to connect with Count Darke Dentis or to befriend the wizarding elite, this banquet was not to be missed.
He would go. Absolutely!
End of the Chapter
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