Sirius's fierce gaze swept over everyone in the office, as if trying to find any trace of a joke on their faces. His chest heaved violently, clearly indicating that this news had completely ignited the years of resentment he had accumulated toward his brother and the Black Clan—
"Sirius, calm down."
Lupin stepped forward, attempting to soothe the emotions of his longtime friend.
"Calm down? How can you expect me to be calm, Remus! He—"
Sirius pointed at the Inferi on the ground, his voice gradually becoming hoarse, "You know he represents everything I despise! That family, hypocritical! Cowardly! How could he—"
"Quiet down, Black, if you still want to know the truth."
William interjected calmly, his voice not loud, yet clearly overpowering Sirius's roar.
"The truth? I already know—"
"Sometimes, our subjective opinions might lead us to... make some not-so-correct judgments, which might cause us lifelong regret."
Dumbledore also spoke, his tone sounding much more gentle.
"...Even you, Professor?"
"Yes, even I am the same."
"...Then I'll listen."
Seeing Sirius finally calm down, Lupin breathed a sigh of relief and began to narrate the whole story. Of course, he and William's reason for going to that cave was merely glossed over as following up on some intelligence, as Lucius's identity still needed to remain strictly confidential.
"You mean, he really is a..."
Sirius sat in the chair, appearing as if numerous scenes from his memories flashed before his eyes, "a... good person?"
"The truth might not be quite what we previously understood."
Dumbledore nodded, "Defining good and bad people is challenging, but your brother was indeed a lost child who found his way back. He simply didn't seek help from others but bore everything alone. As it stands, he did well; at least the Pendant Box wasn't found by Voldemort—"
"They didn't even find this note, so even if they search, they'd be like headless chickens—"
William nodded, the note's true form indeed turned to dust along with the fake Pendant Box, "Of course, it doesn't rule out that Soul Artifacts might find some way to resonate with each other to confirm their locations—we don't even know why Voldemort is still haunting us, I thought he hid those Soul Artifacts well—"
"..."
After a long silence, Sirius finally spoke again, "He..." The man's voice was broken, each syllable trembling, "He switched Voldemort's Soul Artifact... and then, before being dragged into the Black Lake by those..." His gaze slowly moved to Regulus's shriveled and twisted face; he opened his mouth but couldn't make a sound.
"... I called him a coward."
Sirius looked much calmer, "When I knew he joined the Death Eaters, I wrote him a letter—that was the first time I contacted him after cutting ties with the Black Clan—I mercilessly humiliated him in the letter, although until now, I still think I was right—our relationship wasn't deep."
"...Why didn't you say so earlier?"
William suddenly blurted out, and only then did Sirius notice the magic wand in the latter's hand—and the light shining around.
"What have you done?!"
Sirius's emotions were still buried in the earlier atmosphere, and he didn't immediately react.
"...Seeing you're upset, I thought of reuniting you brothers for a bit."
William scratched his neck, "Who knew—you added at the end that your relationship wasn't deep, and my Array was already activated..."
"...?"
The world returned to twenty seconds earlier—
"Buzz—!"
The tip of William's magic wand suddenly emitted a strong blue light beam—a triple-interwoven Rune Language circle appeared around the Inferi, and Dumbledore's Meditation Basin "rushed" out from the cabinet, stopping beside William. He reached out and tapped it, causing those star-like memory substances in the basin to boil intensely—
Thus, in the query-filled mind of Sirius, the air flickered slightly, light and shadow twisted and changed, slowly forming a young figure emitting a silver-white glow in the air—
"This guy clearly hasn't moved on to the afterlife, wanting to become a ghost, yet because of his Inferi state, unable to appear in the world—"
The young man looked about five-tenths like Sirius, both having a head of jet-black curly hair, but Regulus appeared far more emaciated, not to mention the expression on his face was equally pale and weary, clad in a dark robe that was meticulously styled yet not vibrant—
The young man's gaze swept around, stopping for two seconds longer on Dumbledore than anyone else, but he looked most at Sirius—after all, there still was brotherly affection there...
"How are you, still alive?"
In the end, it was Regulus who spoke first, his tone not exactly harmonious, and his attitude toward Sirius was definitely not reminiscent of a brother toward his elder sibling.
As if there's any deep brotherhood...
Even though Regulus realized Voldemort's problem, he clearly didn't think much of his brother—in his eyes, Sirius was a traitor who betrayed the family and the Black surname (and even wrote insulting letters)—
So naturally, his attitude wasn't great.
"You're dead, aren't you, really... Even now, you insist on arguing with me?"
Sirius retorted instinctively but quickly stopped his sarcastic words, knowing that the dead deserved respect, especially when he had just begun to see his brother in a new light today.
"That's true."
Regulus curled his lips, turning his head disdainfully. He looked toward Dumbledore, "Professor." "…Sorry, I didn't realize." Dumbledore stood up, sighing heavily again, shifting his gaze from his Meditation Basin, seemingly pondering what to say.
"Did I succeed? The Dark Lord didn't succeed—"
"Yes, your opportunity was very..."
"Very unsuccessful, Mr. Black."
William interrupted Dumbledore's attempt to comfort a soul, outrightly stating, "You clearly misjudged Voldemort's strength and didn't understand the construction of Soul Artifacts. Voldemort has far more than one. If you had made the choice back then, like Snape, to inform Dumbledore in advance, perhaps a turning point would've come sooner..."
"..."
"However, your spirit is commendable." Finally, William added a remark.
"... Thanks?"