The House-Whisperer

Waifs and Strays, pt. 2

'You do realise I was already lying on this sofa?'

'Yes. You looked really comfortable.'

'I was.'

'I just wanted to be comfortable with you. Are you going to carry on?'

'If you insist?'

'I do. What did you do next then? After this room?'

'I guess I was on a roll because I didn't stop with my decorating until I'd finished the whole house. I got someone in to do the bathrooms and, next, I did my bedroom. Then the first spare room and Teddy's room for when he and Andy come to stay, then the other bedrooms. Then I did the dining room. My only deliberation was Sirius's room. I'd always loved his room, so I decided to keep it as it was. I cleaned it thoroughly and this time I used magic to freshen the paint and brighten the faded wallpaper. I did replace the curtains because of doxie larvae but I tried to find ones as close as possible to those I'd thrown away. As you've seen, I also removed all the bedroom furniture and replaced it with that beautiful oak desk I found and I lined that wall with the bookshelves so I could use it as a proper study.

'And you know what? The house suddenly felt alive once more, like it's heart was beating. And it seemed to love me back. It was starting to feel like my home, yet somehow it still wasn't enough.

'There were two final spaces left: the kitchen and the hallway. I eventually cornered Kreacher one evening to discuss the kitchen. I could tell Kreacher was sort of happy, but he didn't want to show it. Then something struck me, you see, his name had always bothered me. Why would a mother call her child a creature even if spelt otherwise? It seemed to me that perhaps it was more likely down to Walburga Black. So, I asked him straight.'

'I insist on the fact that you don't do straight...'

'Shut up! This is actually quite moving you know. He stared at me. And I swear his large eyes looked rather wet as he blinked a few times. It turns out his mother actually named him Krestur. Sure enough, Old Mrs Black decided she didn't like it and insisted on calling him Kreacher and, of course, Regulus and Sirius had to follow suit until it became accepted and everyone else called him Kreacher too.'

'That's actually quite sad.'

'I told you. Anyway, I asked if I could call him Krestur once more and he broke into a large smile, I think it was the first time I'd ever seen him smile in five years. He said that sometimes Regulus called him Krestur too and it made him happy. You know what? I'm sure that the old elf's face softened a touch as a bit of years of monstrous bitterness broke away.

'And I felt the house relax a little bit more.

'So, then there was hallway which I'd been putting off because of the cursed portrait of Old Mrs Walburga Black. If Dumbledore, Remus, Kingsley, and Molly combined had failed to remove that portrait, surely I wouldn't succeed. Not long after finding out about poor Krestur, I sat on the stairs facing her and I actually said to her "It's time for you to leave, Mrs Black." Of course, I'd had to cast a muffliato spell to prevent her screaming at me and shouting obscenities. Ha! She turned her back on me but she kept watching me, slyly over her shoulder. She couldn't not. She knew her time was coming. I had thought briefly about taking down the wall her portrait was cursed onto but I didn't know enough about house structures to even attempt it. She kept watching me out of the corner of her eye. I asked if "please" would work but she just scowled at me. So, I told her, I said, "You know the house is no longer yours? It's mine now. Perhaps I should ask the house what it thinks?" By this point I had an inkling about what was going on between me and the house. The old house seemed to pause. It must have agreed with me because suddenly her portrait seemed to pop off the wall. Her own house had rejected her, it had switched allegiances, just like a wand, I guess I offered the house more than her portrait ever could. I unceremoniously put it on the bonfire and went to The Burrow for lunch.