Why I love Regulus Black

Anyone who has read and lived the adventures and nightmares of Harry Potter must know Sirius Black, the swaggering godfather of the protagonist. In the movies,veteran actor Gary Oldman played him brilliantly. James Potter's best friend, a rebel bestowed with the charms of a rockstar, we all know Sirius's story. The pureblood who resisted and protested the fanaticism of his family, Sirius Black was a talented wizard, loyal to the core(His animagus form was a great black dog.Nice symbolism,eh?).

Regulus Arcturus Black , the youngest member of the famous Black family, was made of a different mettle. The shy, timid Regulus followed his forefathers into the great house of Salazar Slytherin, spending his hogwarts days amidst the green luminescence of slytherin common room, rather than its bright red gryffindor counterpart. Where Sirius left his home in his teens after he was disowned, (His name was blasted off the family tapestry in 12,Grimmauld Place) Regulus remained ever faithful to his family, sharing and upholding their values. When Lord Voldemort first started to make a name for himself, Regulus, like many other pureblood young wizards and witches, joined his cause.The falsehood of the dark lord's activities was turned a blind eye. Kreacher's story would open Regulus's eyes,however. The dark lord took the black family house-elf to a cave, forced him to drink a deadly potion, then stranded him there.Little did Tom Marvolo Riddle know, house-elves had their own kind of magic, which sometimes surpassed that of the wizards'. Regulus told Kreacher to come back,so he did.

Regulus heard Kreacher's tale and told him to take him to that cave. He created a duplicate of the locket and placed a note inside for Voldemort to find, expecting him to check on the horcrux in the future. Regulus placed the fake locket in the basin, drank the potion and ordered Kreacher to destroy the real locket. While trying to quench his thirst from the lake, he was dragged to his death by the inferi.

Kreacher tried his best, but couldn’t destroy the horcrux. The grief of losing Regulus took its toll on his parents. They didn’t know the real reasons behind Regulus's sacrifice, as Regulus had forbade Kreacher to tell his parents of the events which took place in the cave. His heroism was only discovered when Harry heard Kreacher's tale in the kitchen of 12, Grimmauld Place. And Voldemort did meet his match, just as Regulus hoped.

Regulus Arcturus Black was an underrated slytherin. Every qualities that a good slytherin should possess was present in him. Loyalty,ambition,shrewdness,cleverness;he had it all. He didn’t defect even when he had his doubts about Voldemort, but the understanding that Voldemort had created a horcrux was the last straw. He fiercely followed his family traditions and uphold their values. He had a very good relationship with Kreacher, a house elf, which can't be said for many characters in the wizarding world. He sacrificed himself to rob Lord Voldemort of the tool for his desired immortality. He looked death upon its eyes and accepted it.

Regulus Arcturus Black was one of the best slytherins. And he was a hero.