The Final Year, Harry Potter Year 7

10. Kreacher's Tale

Lilly's POV
Ron insisted Hermione and I take a sofa each. I was on the love seat and Hermione on the three seat sofa. I dreamed and I saw Harry get up early. He saw Ron and Hermione's hands just centimeters apart. They were holding hands.
Harry's thoughts drifted to the past twenty-four hours and he thought of Dumbledore. He didn't want to feel bitter, instead, he roamed the house. Harry saw the room him and Ron slept in when he was there. He saw on the wall a portrait where Phineas Nigellus was supposed to be, but instead he was at his other Portrait whish was in the headmaster's study at Hogwarts. He looked in Sirius's room and noticed a picture of him and his friends. His room was decorated in Gryffindor pride and Harry looked around his room. Harry saw books thrown all over the place and he saw a letter that was crumpled. He smoothed it out.
Dear Padfooot,
Thank you, thank you, for Harry's birthday present! It was is favorite by far. One year old already zooming along a toy broomstick, he looked so pleased with himself, I'm enclosing a picture see you can see. You know it rises about two feet off the ground, but he really killed the cat and smashed a horrible vase Petunia sent for Christmas  (no complaints there). Of course, James thought it was so funny, says he's going to be a great Quidditch player, but we've tried to pack away all ornaments and make sure we don't take our eyes off him when he gets going.
We had a very quiet birthday tea, just us and old Bathilda, who has always been so sweet to us and who does on Harry. We were so sorry Lilly and you couldn't come, but the Order's got to come first, and Harry's not old enough to know it's his birthday anyway! James is getting a bit frustrated shut up here, he tries not to show it but I can tell - also Dumbledore's still got his Invisibility Cloak, so no chance of little excursions. If you could visit, it would cheer him up so much.Wormy was here last weekend, I thought he seemed down, but that was probably the news about the McKinnons; I cried all evening when I heard.
Bathilda drops in most days, she's a fascinating old thing with the most amazing stories about Dumbledore, I'm not sure he'd be pleased if he knew! I don't know how much to believe, actually, because it seems incredible that Dumbledore
The letter ended. Harry read the letter again and saw how similar his writing style was to his own mother. Then he read it again to finger the meaning. He wondered why Dumbledore had his dad's cloak.
He searched for the rest of the letter, but he found a picture of himself that his mother sent. After a few minutes, He gave up. Hermione found him and they discussed Muriel a bit, Harry shouldn't believe what Muriel says, she's quite good at being rude.
Harry paused at a door and saw a sign Percy Weasley might have had in his door.

Do Not Enter
Without the Express Permission of
Regulus Arcturus Black

Harry called Hermione back up to see the door and she called Ron and I up to see it. I said, "Uncle Reg was a Death Eater, but chickened out and when he tried to leave, they killed them."
We searched the room and when we came up empty, we searched Kreacher's cupboard.
Harry called for Kreacher and ordered him tell the truth. Kreacher told Harry how he stole the locket in the drawing room upstairs and how Mundungus came and took a lot of things from the Black family house. It was on Regulus's orders that Kreacher go with Voldemort to a cavern with a great black lake. They went in a boat and Voldemort made Kreacher drink the basin full of a potion. Voldemort put the locket in the basin and left him. Regulus called for him and Kreacher disappeared and went to his master.
Later, one night Regulus returned to get Kreacher and he brought them back to the same place Kreacher almost died. Regulus drank the potion and Kreacher swapped the lockets.
Kreacher was in tears by then...
He was then ordered by Regulus to destroy the locket, but he couldn't.
Harry was confused with Kreacher. He said, "I don't understand you, Kreacher, Voldemort tried to kill you, Regulus had died trying to bring Voldemort down, but you were still happy to betray Sirius to Voldemort? You were happy to go to Narcissa and Bellatrix, and pass information to Voldemort through them..."
I said, "Harry, Kreacher doesn't think like that..."
I turned away from the scene with tears in my eyes... I leaned against the counter and said, "He's a slave; house-elves are used to bad, even brutal treatmwnt; what Voldemort did to Kreacher wasn't that far out of the common way. What do wizard wars mean to an elf like Kreacher? He's loyal to the people who are kind to him, and Mrs. Black must have been, and Regulus certainly was, so he served them willingly and parroted their beliefs. I know what you're going to say... Regulus changed his mind, but he doesn't seem to have explained that to Kreacher, does he? Kreacher and Regulus's family were all safer if they kept to the old pure-blood line. Regulus was trying to protect them all.
"Sirius was horrible to Kreacher, Harry, and it's no good looking like that, you know it's true. Kreacher's has been alone for a long time when Sirius came to live here, and he was starving for a bit of affection. I'm pretty sure 'Miss Cissy' and 'Miss Bella' were perfectly lovely to Kreacher when he turned up, so he did them a favor and told them everything they wanted to know. Hermione has said all along that wizards would pay for how they treat house-elves... Well, Voldemort did... a-and so did S-Sirius..." I wiped my eyes and tried to keep from sobbing...
After a while, Harry said, "Kreacher, when you feel up to it, er, please sit up...
After several minutes Harry sent Kreacher to find Mundungus so they can get the locket and finish what Regulus started...
Before he left, Harry gave Kreacher the fake locket which took Kreacher half an hour to walk right. Kreacher bowed to Ron and Harry and gave a sort of respectful salute to Hermione and I. His Disapparated with the usual loud crack.

Thanks for reading! Vote please! :)
                                                    -Lilly :)