Regulus Arcturus Black: Character Analysis

[TWZRD]

Cool thread -- wish I'd found it sooner. Reg gets mentioned in my unfinished fic, so I have given him a bit of thought. My two cents:
1. How did Regulus figure out what the horcrux was, and where?

He certainly got the information from Kreacher, as the elf would have obeyed his master when questioned. So one might ask -- did Voldy forbid Kreacher to talk, or just assume he'd die in the lake? If yes, it may have cost Kreacher something to tell, but to assume Kreacher would not be able to talk is the sort of oversight Voldy often committed.

2. Did he think there was only one?

Perhaps. It would be hard for anyone to imagine him making two, much less seven.

3. Did he and Sirius fight, get along, or not care about the other?

I'm convinced Sirius was jealous of the special treatment his parents gave his brother, but that's not unusual in many real families.

4. Why didn't he make Kreacher drink the potion again?

<<Reg sent Kreacher home to destroy the locket, but Kreacher didn't know how.>> This is interesting -- could be. However, in my mind I agree with those of you who think Reg loved his house elf. How would this be in a home where the inferiority of non-wizard beings was preached? Here's my theory from my fic:
Mrs. Black, being the sort of woman she was, had Kreacher raise her children, much in the way a slave might be expected to nurse her master's baby. The old school, high class British parent (like perhaps a wealthy American parent in the 1800's) wasn't supposed to be involved with children too much. The servants were supposed to clean up the kids and present them to their parents at appropriate moments.
I'll postulate that their parents spent more time with Sirius when he was first born. After there were two babies, Kreacher got primary care of both and that to a greater degree than when Sirius was alone and the Blacks were a few years younger and possibly more enthralled with parenthood.

So, perhaps Sirius remembered being an only child and perhaps had more of his parents' attention before Regulus came along. This made Sirius hate Kreacher, as the symbol of his deprivation of parental love. Regulus on the other hand, had less time to bond with his mother before he was mostly in the care of Kreacher. He had attached to Kreacher more than his real mother, and had a natural affection for the elf much like a child's love for his mother.

5. How did he get Kreacher on his side?
Obviously Kreacher has no choice, however some extra effort on K's part could be attributed to his connection to his "good baby" that he had mostly raised himself.

6. Did he die of the potion?

Indirectly, as he was pulled into the lake by the Inferi. The main effects of the potion seem to be madness and insufferable thirst. Surrounded by a lake of Inferi, this is enough to insure drowning -- unless you are a subservient house elf who must obey a command to return home and has the unexplored magical ability to apparate where wizards cannot.

7. Is he now one of the inferi in the cave?

Maybe, or perhaps just a dead body somewhere in the lake. I won't speculate.

8. Did he truly believe the Slytherin mentality?

I think so in much the way a child is raised in his family's religion. After he had experience of what that could lead to, I believe he questioned those beliefs, as most young folks do question their parents' teaching at some stage.

9. Do you think that his change of mind was affected by Sirius being a Gryffindor?

Not impossible, but it wouldn't be the deciding factor. In the end, I think he realized he had a choice to continue in Voldy's service, or rebel and almost certainly die an unpleasant death. I think he wanted to control his way of death so that it would do some good, and so chose to die in the attempt to destroy the horcrux.

[asdfasdf17]

Originally Posted by TWZRD

6. Did he die of the potion?

Indirectly, as he was pulled into the lake by the Inferi. The main effects of the potion seem to be madness and insufferable thirst. Surrounded by a lake of Inferi, this is enough to insure drowning -- unless you are a subservient house elf who must obey a command to return home and has the unexplored magical ability to apparate where wizards cannot.

Yeah, I don't think the potion was meant to kill because Kreacher is still alive years later. But it doesn't really make sense, since the lake will kill you anyway, why the potion doesn't. It's like an extra step that doesn't really need to be there I think.