black coffee | remus lupin [2]

9. history repeats itself

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"SO, YOU'RE TELLING ME that you stole a book?" Regulus asked Claudia in a bewildered tone after she had returned from the day she had spent with Jo with three books in her hands; one that she wanted to read, one that was annotated by none other than Remus, and one that she wasn't allowed to take but took anyway due to the crucial information that it contained.

"Well," Claudia said with a small grimace and a shrug. "I didn't technically steal it. I'm going to return it as soon as possible."

"But until then it's still theft."

"Merlin, Regulus," Claudia sighed. "Don't act like you're a complete saint yourself. And it's just a small little loan. She won't even know that it's gone."

"But you still stole-"

"It wouldn't be the first time," she said, not even attempting to hide the small little grin that formed on her lips. "And, besides, I really don't think you should try to question me here since you are the reason Kreacher nearly died."

"I thought you weren't going to hold that against me?"

"I am really sure that I never said that."

"How sure?"

"Like...eighty percent?" She said unsurely. "But don't even try to get me distracted now! You've got to check this out, Reg!"

Regulus nodded yet rolled his eyes as the girl sat down on the couch and opened the special book called Secrets of the Darkest Art. He followed suit, of course, and sat down right next to her with the expectation of reading about anything but what he eventually found himself reading just moments later.

You see, Regulus read about Horcruxes.

There was a strange and nervous silence as Regulus read and Claudia watched him do so. She could see the way his eyes flickered and how he then seemed to fall into a deep worry, so she knew that he was thinking just what she was.

Eventually, Regulus looked up at her - slowly and carefully.

"Do you think...?"

"Yeah," Claudia nodded as she spoke in a whisper. "I haven't found a single reason to why he needed to hide the locket. Not one. This is the only one that makes sense. He has placed a part of his soul in that locket, Reg. He's trying to make himself immortal in some ways. No one can kill him as long as that object is intact."

"But it's incredibly difficult to even create a Horcrux," said Regulus. "I mean, just by reading this...he would have had to killed someone in order to do it. Not that that's unlike him, but...And then...this is the darkest and most evil magic there is, Claudia. I've heard of it before, but..."

"But?"

"Nothing," he said as he shook his head and looked down on the book again. "It seems likely that the Dark Lord would try something like this."