Lost- A Harry Potter Fanfiction

Chapter 7

Before I knew it, I was curled in a warm ball under my bedclothes, and George's (or maybe it was Fred's) loud voice was filling the room.

"Mum says get up, your breakfast is in the kitchen and then she needs you in the drawing room, there are more doxies than she thought and she's found a nest of dead puffskeins under the sofa."

Half an hour later I joined Harry and Ron, who had dressed and breakfasted quickly, on our conquest of the drawing room, a long, high-ceilinged room on the first floor with olive green walls covered in dirty tapestries. The carpet exhaled little clouds of dust every time someone put their foot on it and the long, moss-green velvet curtains were buzzing as though swarming with invisible bees. Lovely. Here stood Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, Ginny, Fred and George, all looking rather odd, as they had tied cloths over their noses and mouths. Each of them was also holding a large bottle of black liquid with a nozzle at the end.

"Cover your faces and take a spray," Mrs. Weasley said to Ron, Harry, and I the minute she saw us, pointing to three bottles of black liquid I recognized as Doxycide standing in a spindle legged table. "It's Doxycide," she explained to Harry who has that damn questioning face on again. "I've never seen an infestation this bad—what that house-elf's been doing for the last ten years—"

Hermione's face was half concealed by a tea towel but everyone very clearly saw the reproachful look she threw at Mrs. Weasley at these words. Hermione (and Ron) had already explained to me passionately (and warningly) about SPEW. I believed that house-elves deserved rights, but they weren't going to get them by shoving it in their faces. We simply needed to treat out house-elves kindly. Peachy wasn't really a house-elf to me, she was my family and my friend. In fact, I set her free long ago, but she stayed by my side.

"Kreacher's really old, he probably couldn't manage—"

"You'd be surprised what Kreature can and can't do Hermione," Sirius said, tossing a wink my way.

"Yo yo wut up Pads my main man?" I high-fived Sirius.

"Nothing much. I was feeding Buckbeack," he said in response ti Harry's questioning look. "When is Snivellus picking you up?" Everyone's head shot his way.

"You're leaving today?" Harry asked. "I barely know you!"

"Sirius he didn't tell me what time he was picking me up," I replied exasperatedly. "And Harry, I'll be back for meetings and maybe I'll be able to stay for dinner one night. I do have my own method of transportation."

We cleaned all day long, and I didn't even have a Voldemort vision. A rather successful day, in my opinion. Harry spoke quietly with Sirius in the corner, and I sneakily snuck into his mind to see what they were talking about. It was Sirius' family. I did have to stop though, because Hermione though I had died when I was all spaced out. It was a rushed and quiet lunch, with some sandwiches and a very flustered looking Mrs. Weasley (we heard her yelling at Mundungus Fletcher earlier) making idle chit chat. After lunch, we received Sirius' help with cleaning out the cabinets, which were full of dark things that Kreature snuck in to steal back. He sobbed several times when things were wrenched from his wrinkly elf hands. Sirius hated the house, it was clear.

Dinner came around, and it was a soup, that was very good. For the past year, I had been transfiguring things into food, with sad success, or accioing things from the market (that I only recently discovered). I hadn't had real good since Peachy was alive.

I sat next to Remus at dinner again, and we talked. But the conversation quickly turned to the dead house-elf that I felt was my fault.

"Was she a good elf?" He asked, sadness in his eyes. Mine watered a little but I didn't cry.

"She wasn't even an elf to me. She was my family, and she cared for me even when I set her free," I said, a little chocked up.

"You set her free?" Remus asked in surprise.

"I wanted to see... If she really cared about me. And she did, she never left me alone for more than an hour until the day she died."

"Wait, Violet, you had a house-elf?" Hermione's sharp tone cut across my lament.

"Yes, but she wasn't really a house elf to me. She was my family."

"Was she paid?" Hermione quirked her brows.

"No, would you pay your mother to teach you? No, Peachy wasn't enslaved. I set her free when I was eleven. She stayed for two years and then... She died," I bit back a sob.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Hermione seemed more apt to comfort me now that she knew how I treated my family.

"It's okay. It's been a year, I'm recovering. Plus now I have Professor Snape."

"Speaking of the old dungeon bat," Sirius said from the doorway, cutting through the other conversations. "He's here for you, Violet. Waiting outside. He says he doesn't want another excuse to see these sorry dunderheads." I chuckled.

"Alright. I'll go get my stuff," I stood up and apparated to my reclusive room. Dang it. I forgot that Remus said I can't apparate in the house.

"VIOLET ELOISE SNAPE WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT APPARATING IN THE HOUSE!" Remus yelled.

I apparated next to him. "Sorry Remus, I forgot," I said putting on my most innocent smile.

"Violet..." Remus said impatiently.

"Oh, don't be such a toerag," I rolled my eyes at him. "You won't keel over at a bit of fun." I winked at the others, who were all looking at me dumbfound. I guess I look innocent most of time. "Toodels, my loves!" I apparated next to Sev and gave a chuckle. I could see Remus shaking his head.

"Shall we?"

"We shall."

And thus, my summer truly began.