Kreacher's sobs were like a broken bellows, tearing back and forth in the warm air of the Room of Requirement.
Amidst it all, there was a decade of pent-up grievance, self-blame, and loyalty, the smell of sadness, and tears from those who heard it—except…
Even though Regulus had already offered words of comfort, Kreacher still kept banging his forehead on the floor repeatedly, producing a dull "thump thump" sound, as if only through such self-destructive means could he vent the immense guilt in his heart.
"Kreacher is useless…Kreacher did not keep his promise to the young master! Bad Kreacher! Dirty Kreacher! Not worthy of Regulus' trust…"
Regulus' ghost couldn't touch him, he could only helplessly float around his old servant, his young yet pale face filled with complex emotions. Finally, he couldn't help but sigh—
"Stop, Kreacher! That's an order!"
These words seemed to switch on a lever.
Kreacher's actions suddenly halted, he lay on the floor, his small shoulders still trembling, his sobs turning into repressed, intermittent sniffles, yet he finally stopped his self-harming behavior.
Sirius sat on the sofa, his brows tightly furrowed.
Looking at this house-elf whom he had loathed since he could remember, considering it a representation of the Black Family's decayed will, his heart was filled with conflicting emotions at this moment. The past he had hated formed a stark contrast with the moving scene of master and servant affection before him, making him feel as though something was stuck in his throat.
Finally, William broke the silence, his voice calm yet piercing, directly cutting to the core, "Kreacher, look into my eyes."
Thus, the house-elf involuntarily raised his head, those tennis ball-sized, slightly protruding, bloodshot eyes met William's gaze.
"Regulus Black gave you a final order to destroy Slytherin's locket, right?"
William's voice seemed to carry magic power that could control the heart. Even Regulus almost couldn't help but speak upon hearing these words, let alone the house-elf.
Kreacher nodded vigorously, his voice hoarse, "Yes, yes, sir… but Kreacher tried… used many methods… fire, knife, even found dangerous magic potion… But that vile thing… it won't be destroyed! It mocks Kreacher! It hurts Kreacher!"
As he spoke, the elf extended his left, withered arm, on which some twisted, old scars could be faintly seen.
"So—"
Seeing that the magic was effective and Kreacher's emotions gradually calmed under his soothing, William directly cut to the chase, "On that night—when Sirius returned to the house, after I accidentally (not accidentally) chopped off the door of the Black Mansion, what happened?"
Kreacher's gaze became bewildered and terrified, he vigorously scratched his bat-like large ears—
"After… that worthless, lowly owner's wastrel (Sirius, who had been scolded head-on, smirked, the emotions that had just risen instantly disappeared) was taken away by that dreadful person (having only met once briefly, it clearly didn't recognize William)…
"After that, the house's magic failed, Kreacher attempted to repair the door… But Kreacher couldn't do it, it's all that rubbish, traitor, owner's wastrel's fault…"
"Hey, enough of that…"
Sirius felt something harden inside him, his fists hardening.
"Continue with what happened afterwards, no need to bring up Sirius unnecessarily—"
William raised his hand, directly pressing Sirius back into his seat, and after he introduced this restriction, Kreacher's previously stuttering recount began to unfold in a more orderly manner. In short, it tried to repair the door that William had cut open with a long sword, but it was ultimately in vain—
Then, roughly a week later, the surrounding Muggles began to notice the house that they had never paid attention to before; at first, its eerie, haunted atmosphere deterred most people, with only a few scattered young people or students coming over to test their courage, ultimately being scared away by Kreacher's ghostly antics.
Simultaneously, however, news of a "real" haunted house appearing on Grimmauld Place spread rapidly, prompting wizards to come knocking—
It was probably a well-trained wizard theft ring, they almost emptied the whole house in less than half an hour from entering; naturally, Kreacher, who attempted to protect the safety of the house, was unable to prevail against a team of adult wizards, being conveniently packed up and taken away—
Then, Kreacher's narration once again became chaotic, constantly intermingling curses towards the intruders and curses towards himself.
"So, aside from Voldemort's soul artifact locket, did anything important go missing from that old mansion?"
"…Why are you looking at me?"
"Because it's your house."
"…Even though it's my house, I don't know, I haven't returned there for over ten years, the last time I went back I only… stayed half a night."
Sirius' tone was somewhat resentful, to be honest, the psychological shadow William gave him that time was indeed quite significant, that guy just couldn't be shaken off, the first-time Apparition splitting pain combined with having a "ghost" of unknown origin following him—Sirius guessed he'd never forget that night for the rest of his life.
"…I don't know either, but most of the valuable things from the Black Family are in Gringotts' vault."
Seeing both of them turn their eyes towards him, Regulus also shook his head, "But, I want to find them—Kreacher has been tortured into this state…" He lowered his head, looking at the little elf who was still trembling slightly despite William's emotional magic soothing him.
"...Do you know? He looks more like a Gryffindor than you."
William folded his arms, "However, I do agree on that point, plus, given your family has quite a collection of books, retrieving them would hold some value."
"Where did you get that conclusion from?"
Sirius complained irritably, closing his eyes to rub his brow, "Of course I want to find those bastards who brought us so much trouble, but… this guy can't say anything specific, even if I wanted to look, there's no way to start, right?"
"Who said that?"
William shook his head and reminded, "Didn't they empty your house completely?"
"…So?"
"I know someone… of course, you all should know him too."
Saying that, William stood up, and after instructing Dobby to take good care of Kreacher, he led the bewildered person and ghost out the door.