Several months had passed since our conversation with the Headmaster about the night the Potters died, and Christmas was fast approaching. Interestingly, he hadn't brought up the subject again, though he continued to give us personal lessons just as regularly as before—lessons which, to our surprise, were now not only about Occlumency. Even his attitude had changed in a rather odd way: it was as if he had decided to take on the role of our kindly grandfather who spoils his grandchildren with treats. After every visit, he'd for some reason made a habit of giving each of us a bag of sweets, which—judging by the reactions of Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown—were not only expensive but undoubtedly delicious.
So what else had he started teaching us besides Occlumency? He taught us rituals, and also helped us further develop that ice magic we found so intriguing. At one point, together, we even managed to reproduce—albeit on a much smaller scale—the cocoon of water Dumbledore trapped Voldemort in during the movie. All in all, if we were Harry Potter, we might've been upset that he never brought up horcruxes again. But, luckily, we weren't him, and we were perfectly satisfied with the Headmaster's new attitude.
Incidentally, we almost turned Malfoy into an icicle again recently. That arrogant little snake. After Hufflepuff played Ravenclaw, he realized that, because he'd caught the Snitch, Ravenclaw was now ahead of us by 40 points, which brought him a new wave of popularity among Slytherins and—apparently—completely restored his self-esteem. So much so, in fact, that in Potions class, he dared to make jokes about orphans and how no one is waiting for them at home—which, of course, included us. The only thing that saved him at that moment was Snape's nearby presence; he quickly appeared beside the jokers and stared at us intently, as if to say he was watching.
In the end, Malfoy left for the holidays before we could exact our terrible revenge. Hermione, like most Gryffindors, also went home for the holidays, so only we, Harry, and the Weasleys were left in the tower, since this year their parents had decided to visit one of the older sons for Christmas.
On one of those winter days, as we were enjoying the quiet and reading in the Gryffindor common room, we had an unexpected visitor.
"Master Regulus, Kreacher has very important news," Kreacher announced with a pop as he appeared beside Regulus, managing to startle us quite thoroughly with his sudden arrival.
"Bloody hell, what's happened now?" we asked grumpily.
"Kreacher has found another disgraceful child of the House."
"What?" we said, staring stupidly at the elf who had brought such shocking news, before we finally processed what he had said.
"Did he manage to shag half of England before he landed in prison or what?!"
"Kreacher does not think such behav—"
"Oh, forget it. Just tell us—who did you find and what's the situation?" we interrupted, no longer bothering to restrain ourselves.
"Her name is Caroline West. She is ten years old. She was raised by a Muggle, who was left alone after being shunned by her own family due to infidelity. When Kreacher felt the call, the child was lying half-dead on the floor next to the woman who had hanged herself. As Master Regulus ordered, Kreacher saved her."
"Bloody hell, so what do we do?" we wondered.
We could give her to Sirius now, on the principle of "not our problem," but he needs a therapist himself at the moment, and if he neglects her for Harry's sake, that could only further damage the child's psyche—not that it was in a good state to begin with, judging by what happened.
"Although… this could be a good test for our beloved Headmaster," we suddenly realized. Based on how he reacts, we could really get a sense of his true attitude. And if it turns out we can fully trust him, dealing with Voldemort and the horcruxes will become incredibly easy, and in very little time.
"Kreacher, prepare the amulet our father ordered destroyed. We'll deal with it today," we commanded through Regulus as we stood up from the sofa.
"As you command, master," Kreacher said and then vanished with a pop as we made our way to the Headmaster's office.
We walked quickly through the castle corridors until we reached the gargoyle guarding the entrance to the office.
"Andromeda and Regulus Black? What are you doing here?" suddenly came Professor Minerva McGonagall's voice from our right.
"Good afternoon, Professor McGonagall, we've come to the Headmaster for a personal matter," we made the effort to explain before stating the password to the statue.
"I'm afraid you won't find him there," the woman said unexpectedly as the statue slid aside, revealing the staircase.
"Why's that?" we asked in surprise.
"Professor Dumbledore left about ten minutes ago."
"Do you happen to know, Professor, did he go by phoenix or some other method?"
"He left via the fireplace, but I assure you, you can settle any business with me instead. I suggest we go to my office," the Deputy Headmistress invited us.
"Sorry, Professor, but only the Headmaster can handle this matter," we politely refused.
"And what exactly is this matter, may I ask?" she asked, not hiding her annoyance.
"Sorry, we can't say. The only thing we can tell you is that it's important enough that if we send our letter by his phoenix, he'll likely come right back."
…You could tell from McGonagall's face and the thin line of her lips that she was deeply displeased by our distrust.
"Are you coming in, or not?" grumbled the statue, tired of holding the entrance open.
"Let's go," Professor McGonagall said resignedly, entering the office first.
There really was no headmaster inside—only Fawkes was in his place. We approached our customary area… Yes, as odd as it sounded, the Headmaster had set aside a small corner for us, which also explained why the statue had let us in even when Dumbledore wasn't there. From the desk there, we grabbed a sheet of parchment and quickly scribbled a note. Then we approached the phoenix, who was watching us with interest.
"Fawkes, please deliver this to the Headmaster as soon as possible," Andromeda said, handing over the parchment. Fawkes first gave Andromeda a strange look, then, as if considering, nodded, seized the parchment in his beak, and vanished in a flash of fire.
"It seems you feel quite at home here in the Headmaster's office," McGonagall remarked with a faint note of reproach, watching as we settled into the familiar chairs.
"Well, the Headmaster said we could," we shrugged.
"He spoils them far too much," grumbled the portrait of Armando Dippet.
Meanwhile, on Dumbledore's side.
From the day he received confirmation that Tom Riddle had actually made horcruxes, Albus had begun an active search for any clues that might lead him to what he sought — and so, he had come upon the Gaunt shack, which was so shrouded in curses that it left no doubt something important was hidden there. Layer by layer, he untangled the enchantments, which, though extremely dangerous—and, truth be told, unnoticeable to most wizards—were glaringly obvious to him, which was just a little unsettling. That is, until he opened the casket. Inside was something that pulled the strings of his heart, making him recall days long past: a ring with the Resurrection Stone encrusted within. The artifact he and an old friend had once searched for but never found. Unconsciously, as if under a spell, heedless of caution, he reached out to touch the ring—just as, suddenly, a phoenix appeared before his very nose in a burst of flame, making him jump back in shock. The jolt was enough to snap him out of his trance; with a wave of his wand, he forced the box shut and let out a sigh of relief.
"Once again you save me, old friend," Albus said warmly, turning to the phoenix, until he noticed the parchment the bird held in its beak, its edges still glowing.
"And what's this?" he wondered, accepting the note and reading it. With every word, his surprise grew. "Imagine that. How strange it is that it may be the new generation of Blacks that will bring the light to dispel the darkness threatening us all."
"Come, Fawkes, let's not delay this any further," Dumbledore said, earning an insistent look from the phoenix.
"Alright, alright. I owe you a big bag of dates. Happy now?" Dumbledore huffed, internally grumbling about how his friend had become a bribe-taker since meeting the Black twins.
Fawkes, satisfied with the promised reward, perched on the old man's shoulder, and together they vanished in a blaze of fire, reappearing in the very next instant right in the middle of the Headmaster's office.