Harry Potter, #7
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
by J.K. Rowling
Contents
CHAPTER TEN
Overview
Harry explores Grimmauld Place, finds a fragment of Lily’s letter and photo, and fixates on Dumbledore’s secrets and Godric’s Hollow. Discovering R.A.B. is Regulus Black, the trio searches for the locket Horcrux. Kreacher reveals Regulus’s sacrificial retrieval of the cave locket, that it was later stolen by Mundungus, and departs to bring Mundungus back, newly loyal after Harry gifts him the fake locket.
Summary
Before dawn at Grimmauld Place, Harry lies awake, troubled by doubts about Dumbledore sparked at the wedding. Seeking distraction, he explores the house, noting evidence of prior searches. In Sirius’s room, Harry finds a stuck photo of the Marauders and a handwritten letter from Lily describing Harry’s first birthday, Bathilda Bagshot’s visits, and that Dumbledore had James’s Invisibility Cloak. He recovers the matching photo fragment of baby Harry on a toy broom but not the second page.
Hermione and Ron join Harry. Discussion of Bathilda and Godric’s Hollow reveals Harry’s desire for answers about Dumbledore. On the landing, Harry notices Regulus Arcturus Black’s nameplate and realizes R.A.B. is Sirius’s brother. In Regulus’s Slytherin-themed room they search unsuccessfully for the locket Horcrux and recall an unopened locket they once discarded during the house clear-out.
Rushing to the kitchen, they discover Kreacher’s stash is gone. Harry summons Kreacher, who admits Mundungus Fletcher stole items from the house, including the locket. Pressed for the locket’s history, Kreacher recounts how the young Death Eater Regulus sent him to assist Voldemort in a seaside cave. Voldemort forced Kreacher to drink the potion in the basin, tested the protections, left the locket, and abandoned Kreacher, who escaped via elf magic.
Kreacher explains that a changed and anxious Regulus later returned with him to the cave, ordered Kreacher to switch Voldemort’s locket with a duplicate, and drank the potion himself. Regulus was dragged to his death by Inferi as Kreacher obeyed orders to take the Horcrux home and attempt to destroy it, failing despite repeated efforts and self-punishment.
Hermione reframes Kreacher’s loyalties as shaped by treatment from the Blacks. Harry, acknowledging this, gently orders Kreacher to find Mundungus and bring him to Grimmauld Place. He gifts Kreacher the fake locket containing Regulus’s note, which overwhelms the elf and secures his renewed devotion before he Disapparates on the mission.
Who Appears
- Harry PotterExplores Grimmauld Place, finds Lily’s letter and photo, identifies R.A.B. as Regulus, questions Dumbledore, interrogates Kreacher, and sends him to find Mundungus.
- KreacherReveals Regulus’s mission in Voldemort’s cave, failure to destroy the locket, reports Mundungus’s theft, and pledges loyalty after receiving the fake locket.
- Hermione GrangerBalances Harry’s impulses, recalls the discarded locket, analyzes house-elf loyalty, and supports a kinder approach to Kreacher.
- Ron WeasleyHelps search rooms, deduces elf Apparition, recalls the drawing-room locket, and backs Harry’s plan to use Kreacher.
- Regulus Arcturus BlackSirius’s brother; former Death Eater who repented, returned to the cave, switched lockets, and died to undermine Voldemort.
- Mundungus FletcherThief who stole valuables from Grimmauld Place, including the locket; target of Kreacher’s retrieval mission.
- VoldemortIn Kreacher’s tale, forces the elf to drink the cave potion and unwittingly leaves a loophole in protections.