The Triwizard Tournament was the moment Voldemort captured Harry Potter and used the blood of his enemy to resurrect himself. After that, things would only grow more perilous. Regulus Black had no reason to simply sit back and let events unfold.
Outside the old Gaunt residence, Voldemort's father and the members of his mother's lineage were buried together in a small graveyard.
With a flash of silver light, Regulus Black appeared there. Just like in the movie, one of the tombstones bore a statue of the Grim Reaper wielding a large scythe. Worshipping darkness and death—only the Gaunt family, who considered themselves pure-blooded and ancient, would do such a thing.
After briefly inspecting the surrounding epitaphs, Regulus Black easily located Voldemort's father's grave.
In the Gaunt family graveyard, there was only one person named Riddle. It was hard to miss.
He opened the coffin. The skeleton inside was largely intact. Victims of the Killing Curse bore no physical wounds.
The curse killed the soul, not the body.
Strictly speaking, all three Unforgivable Curses involved the soul. The Killing Curse severs the soul, the Imperius Curse manipulates it, and the Cruciatus Curse torments it.
Fascinating, isn't it? Sever, control, torment! Ohayo! Did the original author know Chinese and Japanese?
Regulus Black was just rambling nonsense—he didn't actually know Japanese.
He collected all the remains from the Riddle grave, then replaced them with bones from another unknown member of the Riddle family. Since the Riddles were a prominent local family, it wasn't difficult to find a grave. The only challenge was doing it all without alerting Voldemort in the Gaunt house.
After all, the power of the Second Dark Lord was nothing to scoff at.
Once everything was done, Regulus didn't leave immediately. According to the timeline, Voldemort's beloved pet Nagini had already become a new Horcrux, since Voldemort had murdered the Muggle caretaker of the old house.
Regulus made his way to the caretaker's residence. The layer of dust inside was at least several months thick.
He backed away further and summoned his protective charm: the Black Lotus Sacred Flame Three-Legged Golden Toad.
According to the theory of mutual toxins, frogs and snakes are natural enemies. Voldemort couldn't sense Regulus from this distance, but Nagini's instincts could. A magical amphibian had appeared in the distance. If she could devour it, it would greatly benefit her growth.
So, when Nagini told the now-infantile Voldemort that she was heading out to eat a frog, Voldemort never imagined it would be the last time he saw her.
"Oh, Master, I'm going out to find something to eat. I sense a feast waiting for me in the distance. That toad's magical aura smells so delicious—I can feel my magic will improve if I eat it."
"Go, my beloved Nagini. Enjoy your meal, but remember to come back. I can't live without your companionship. Once you evolve into a human, I shall marry you. I'll be the only man in the world to dominate another version of himself. Just thinking about it excites me."
Regulus Black performed both sides of the conversation on his own. It was incredibly stupid—and incredibly cringe.
"Ribbit ribbit ribbit ribbit!"
The Black Lotus Sacred Flame Three-Legged Golden Toad let out a series of unintelligible croaks. Maybe it was mocking him?
"Croak all you want! Like hell I care!"
Naturally, Regulus wouldn't get mad at his own protective charm. He just cursed at it casually.
In the distance, a giant serpent slowly slithered closer. Even with his invisibility activated, Regulus wasn't reassured. He retreated further, hiding behind a wall.
The Three-Legged Golden Toad acted completely unaware of the impending danger, occasionally puffing up and letting out a casual "ribbit."
Nagini was quite pleased with her prey. As a Horcrux, she had gained a measure of intelligence. Frogs react to movement, but they are slow to respond to still or slow-moving objects.
Nagini cautiously halted, curling a part of her tail forward, then flicked her tongue to test the air. She slowly moved to the downwind side, which would prevent her scent from carrying and also placed her behind the prey—out of its field of vision.
Unfortunately for her, that also put her squarely between Regulus and the Three-Legged Golden Toad.
Still, it wasn't time to act yet—or rather, there was no need for Regulus to intervene.
Nagini was extremely patient. The higher the prey's magical power, the harder it was to hunt—but the satisfaction afterward was just as great.
She waited silently. Her target's eyes were shifting—she just needed the right moment.
Frogs tend to have dry eyes after long periods of vigilance, and at such times, they use their tongues to lick their eyes.
The Three-Legged Golden Toad licked its left eye, then its right. While doing so, it blinked its left eye as well—effectively making both eyes blind at the same moment.
Nagini pounced, biting into the only leg the toad had behind it. At the same time, her body twisted and coiled around her prey.
Regulus Black withdrew his protective amulet, along with Nagini, whom he stored in his portable space.
With a flash of silver flame, Regulus Black vanished from the scene and returned to the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts.
Looking at the separated Nagini inside his portable space, Regulus Black couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Nagini had utterly failed in her attempt to steal the clam and instead ended up captured herself. Naturally, she could no longer escape her fate as a mere piece of equipment.
All the treasures Regulus Black had acquired from the protagonist, Harry Potter, were now designated as his gear.
Voldemort's six Horcruxes, the Deathly Hallows, Gryffindor's sword, and Regulus Black's own belt filled out his equipment slots perfectly.
However, for now, he was still missing the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's possession, leaving one slot unoccupied.
As long as he obtained the Elder Wand, Regulus Black felt his life would be complete.
He placed Nagini into the reserved equipment slot.
Shield: Voldemort's Beloved Pet, Nagini [Horcrux]
Required Level: 7+7 Noble Bloodline+7 Charisma Boost+7 Spider Hunting Grounds Effect [3-piece set]+7 Basilisk Breeding Effect [5-piece set]+7 Monster Resurrection Effect [7-piece set]+77% Additional Gold from Monsters+77% Better Chance to Acquire Magical GearGrants Parseltongue and Druid ClassGrants Slytherin Legacy and Authority
Curled up in the shield slot, Nagini occasionally lifted her head to glance around.
Regulus Black wondered if Voldemort would go mad from being unable to summon Nagini for so long.
In fact, Voldemort was already on the brink of madness. He could sense an impending doom—a terrifying feeling of something missing from his soul. Voldemort knew that most of his Horcruxes had likely been discovered and perhaps even destroyed.
From inside the dilapidated Gaunt shack came a shrill roar. Peter Pettigrew shrank into a ball in fear and pain.
Though Pettigrew was a rather incompetent wizard, he could follow Voldemort's orders. With his help, Voldemort had created a potion using unicorn blood and snake venom, which had given rise to a weak physical form—a monstrous infant whose terrifying cries now echoed through the room.
This gave Voldemort a form that was vaguely human, but hideously deformed and horrifying in appearance.
Still, it was a foundation he could build on to carry out another plan: using an "ancient dark magic" to restore his original body and power. All he needed now was to isolate Harry Potter during the Triwizard Tournament.
"Peter! Are all the potion ingredients ready?"
Lying on the couch, Voldemort asked weakly. It was perhaps the tenth time he'd asked that same question today—he'd lost count.
But the waiting was endless, and doing nothing made him feel worse. Tormenting his servant—at least mentally—was a way to pass the time. He still needed Pettigrew alive to serve him.
"They're all ready, my Lord. Every potion and ingredient is in place—nothing will go wrong," Peter replied, trembling. He had answered this same question numerous times, but the ever-suspicious Voldemort still refused to let him off the hook.
"Do you remember the entire resurrection ritual? Leave nothing out. Recite it to me again."
Like a strict parent forcing a child to study, Voldemort gave the command once more.
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