Chapter 189: Brothers' Conversation (Part 3)
The Gaunt family ring had slowly faded from the collective memory of the wizarding world. Only a handful of families with complete archives—and elders old enough to remember—still retained knowledge of it.
The Black family, with its extensive records and many long-lived members, was one such family. Naturally, both Phineas and Sirius knew of the ring's significance.
It was precisely because of that knowledge that Sirius had reacted with such shock. After all, if the ring's true identity as the Resurrection Stone had been widely known back then, it would have ignited a storm of bloodshed across the magical world.
But that storm never came. The Gaunt family had been eradicated by its own descendants. The mother of the Dark Lord himself had been one of the last Gaunts—a pure-blood witch from one of the most ancient families—who fell in love with a Muggle who never loved her in return.
Though her son was born under magical influence, he endured a tragic childhood. That suffering, in turn, brought about the end of the Gaunt bloodline.
When news first broke of the Gaunt family's extinction, many of the old families—those who still remembered the ring—searched frantically for it. They hoped to claim it for themselves, thinking the Dark Lord might never have understood its full power. But they found no trace, not even among the Dark Lord's belongings.
Eventually, the ring was declared lost for good, and the feared chaos it might have sparked was quietly averted.
Sirius exhaled heavily.
"It seems the ring was hidden in a place no one would have thought to look."
Phineas nodded.
"The Dark Lord altered it. Following the principle that the most dangerous place is often the safest, he left it in the old Gaunt house. It's been there ever since."
Sirius gave a bitter smile.
"I remember when the Gaunts were wiped out. So many pure-blood families turned the world upside down trying to find that ring. They thought the Dark Lord might not have realized its value. But it turns out he took it—this symbol of the Gaunts' authority—for himself."
Phineas gave a wry smile of his own.
"Of course he valued it. Just look at what he turned into Horcruxes—Slytherin's locket, Ravenclaw's diadem, Hufflepuff's cup… If not for Gryffindor's sword being in Dumbledore's possession, he might have tampered with that too."
Sirius's expression turned serious.
"Then… what kind of enchantments did he place on them? And is Regulus's disappearance related to those enchantments?"
Phineas blinked, momentarily caught off guard. He hadn't expected Sirius to connect the dots so quickly, especially with no hints given.
"How did you figure that out?"
Sirius sighed.
"You mentioned those items were tampered with. But in the last decade, only Slytherin's locket has had any traceable history. The rest vanished. You also said you made a deal with Dumbledore to cast the Fidelius Charm on this house."
"You just mentioned Dumbledore went after the ring—that means he sees these items as vital. So I thought, what did you have that Dumbledore needed that badly? It had to be one of those items."
"I also know for a fact that these things weren't in the Black family before. You were only two or three at the time, so you couldn't have gotten them yourself. That leaves Regulus as the only possibility—he must've retrieved something from the Dark Lord, and then he vanished. The connection is obvious."
Phineas let out a long breath.
"You're right. The first item I ever traded to Dumbledore was brought back by Regulus. In truth, he gave his life for it. It was Slytherin's locket—the only one the Dark Lord went to great lengths to protect."
And it was true. Of all the Horcruxes the Dark Lord had created, the locket was the only one he had hidden behind elaborate protections.
The diary had been handed off to Lucius Malfoy. The cup was stored in Bellatrix's vault. The diadem was hidden in the Room of Requirement. The ring had been left in the ruins of the old Gaunt home. As for Nagini and the accidental Horcrux made from Harry—those were different matters altogether.
But the locket… that had been hidden in a place only the Dark Lord knew from childhood. He'd surrounded it with enchantments, Inferi, and even brewed a potion that would cripple anyone who tried to retrieve it.
Phineas had long suspected the reason: the locket had belonged to his mother, and might have been the only object in his life tied to warmth, however twisted. That cave, filled with terrible memories for others, may have been the only place of joy in his youth—even if that joy came from dominating other orphans.
"At the time," Phineas continued, "the Dark Lord needed a house-elf to help conceal the Horcrux. Regulus offered Kreacher as a show of loyalty."
"But Kreacher survived and returned. He told Regulus everything. Later, with Kreacher's help, Regulus retrieved the locket. But he never made it out. Kreacher had to return alone, bound by magical command. When I found out, I used the locket to make the deal with Dumbledore."
Sirius went quiet, his face heavy with memory. He had always cared for his younger brother. Regulus had eventually been swept up in their family's pure-blood ideology, but Sirius still remembered him as a child—before all that. He had long suspected that "disappearance" meant death, but part of him had held onto hope.
Now, that hope was gone.
Phineas noticed Sirius's grief. He stood, walked behind him, and laid a firm hand on his shoulder.
"What happened to Regulus… it was all the doing of the Dark Lord. And even now, we can't be certain he's truly gone. But if he returns, we'll make him answer for everything. For the Potters, for Regulus… for everyone. Even Muggles will see justice served."