Slytherin House, home of Tom Riddle aka Voldemort and lair of characters with very dark designs, however, hides a hero in the shadows, whose actions were crucial in the downfall of Lord Voldemort. Hint: it’s not Severus Snape.
Slytherin heroes
The illustrious Professor Snape played by the late Alan Rickman is one of the great architects of the downfall of the Dark Lord. Remember, by operating as a double agent for Dumbledore’s pay, he allows, at the cost of his life, to reveal to Harry the keys to final victory. Going from hated character to hero, Rogue has somewhat restored the image of his house through his heroic deeds.
However, JK Rowling’s books dwell on the fate of another member of the Slytherin house, at the heart of an intrigue in the search for the famous horcruxes.
A spell sent to the screen
This is the younger brother of Sirius Black, Regulus Arcturus Black, also known as RAB in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Princethen in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. His story intersects with that of the young wizard with glasses at the end of the events of Half-Blood Princewhile Harry and Dumbledore think of recovering one of the Horcruxes, Slytherin’s locket, in the cave. However, it is a replica which contains a note signed under the name RAB therefore.
In feature films, the narrative arc around Sirius’ younger brother is quickly dispatched. In The Deathly Hallows Part 1, Harry, Ron and Hermione go to the Black family home at 12 Grimmauld Square and find that the initials RAB stand for Regulus Arcturus Black. The man is depicted as a Death Eater and relatively young dead. In this brief scene, Harry, Ron and Hermione discuss Regulus and discover that Kreacher is spying on them. He reveals to them that the real medallion was once in the possession of his master, and that it has since been stolen., in these places, by Mundungus Fletcher. Harry then tasks the house-elf with finding him, and the story around Regulus Black ends.
Kreacher’s story
However, in the 7th volume of the adventures of the young wizard, this part of history is exploited more. In Chapter 10, titled Kreacher’s storyThe Black Family house-elf reveals that Lord Voldemort asked Regulus to take him to the cave, and force him to drink the potion that protected the Horcruxto make sure the enchantments were working. Once the potion was drunk, Voldemort placed the Horcrux and left it for dead. But thanks to his elf magic, he was finally able to extricate himself from the scene and return home to report to his master.
We learn later that, shocked at the treatment meted out to his elf, Regulus turned his back on the dark lord and decided to steal the horcrux, then destroy it. But, weakened after drinking the potion, Regulus was caught by the Inferi, who dragged him down to the depths of the lake. Before dying, Black ordered Kreacher to take the Horcrux, escape the Cavern, and destroy it. A task that, however, fails to achieve the elf on his return to Grimmauld Square. The rest, we know, Mundungus Fletcher stole the original medallion.
Obviously, those who have not read the books are not aware of all these details, the scene being dispatched in three minutes in the David Yates film released in 2010. If Regulus’ story isn’t fully needed as a sequel to the film, it’s a shame such an omission comes at the expense of a mysterious and interesting character. An oversight that brings with it several questions about the plot: How Regulus knew about Voldemort’s medallion? How did he get it back? And why did he want to destroy it?
The cinematographic medium obviously does not make it possible to integrate all the scenes depicted in the novel, on the other hand, in view of some chosen ones, we can only regret the absence of a scene which would have brought more depth to the film.
On your side, did you know the details around the story of Regulus Black? And what do you think ? Feel free to share your impressions in the comments.