Call Me Yours
▔▔▔▔▔
Fifty-Five: Kreacher's Side
Seconds later Y/n's lungs expanded gratefully, and she opened her eyes: They were now standing in the middle of a familiar small and shabby square. Tall, dilapidated houses looked down on them from every side.
Number twelve was visible to them, for they had been told of its existence by Dumbledore, its Secret-Keeper, and they rushed toward it, checking every few yards that they were not being followed or observed.
They raced up the stone steps, and Harry tapped the front door once with his wand. They heard a series of metallic clicks and the clatter of a chain, then the door swung open with a creak and they hurried over the threshold. As Harry closed the door behind them, the old-fashioned gas lamps sprang into life, casting flickering light along the length of the hallway.
It looked just as Harry remembered it: eerie, cobwebbed, the outlines of the house-elf heads on the wall throwing odd shadows up the staircase. "Do you think Sirius and Remus are here?" Y/n muttered to her friends.
Harry shook his head, holding onto the girls' hand. "They are most likely still at the burrow," Said Hermione.
The gas lamps spring to life, illuminating a narrow cobwebbed hallway. The quartet glance about, then Harry takes a step forward. "Severus Snape?" Moody's voice echoed throughout the apartment.
Harry muttered, "Mad-Eye...?" A gust of cold weather swept through the hallway, making the trio's tongues curl back in their mouths. The shadows at the end of the hall shift, tall, dust-coloured and terrible-looking things rise from the carpet, then rush toward them. There is Dumbledore, but he's become a ghost: worm-eaten and with empty eyes, a corpse come to life.
It raises its wand and then explodes in a great cloud of dust, swirling like mist in the corridor, drifting back to the carpet. "What was that about?"
"Mad-eye's doing, I'd guess. In case Snape decided to come snooping." Hermione pointed out. Just then, a floorboard creaks. The quartet stiffen.
Slowly, Y/n draws her wand, peers into the shadows. "Homenum revelio." Nothing. Y/n lowers her wand. "It's empty...not even Sirius is here..."
Ron and Harry both exchanged looks before Hermione turned to them, "It's a spell to reveal human presence." She extends her hand, watches the settling dust stream through her fingers. Y/n walked more forward then everyone.
Hermione waved her wand to ignite the old gas lamps, then, shivering slightly in the drafty room, she perched on the sofa, her arms wrapped tightly around her. Ron crossed to the window and moved the heavy velvet curtains aside an inch.
"Can't see anyone out there," he reported.
She joined him out the window, looking over his shoulder. "I see nothing else but your reflection..." She commented with a grin while staring at Ron's reflection. The trace shouldn't be on Harry anymore...he turned 17 already."
As Harry stood there, she turned to her boyfriend who had given a cry of pain. He had seen something that had flashed across his mind, like a bright light into water. His body was pounded violently and briefly by an electric shock as he saw an immense shadow.
"What did you see?" Ron asked, advancing on Harry. "Did you see him at my place?"
"No, I just felt anger – he's really angry –"
"But that could be at the Burrow," said Ron loudly. "What else? Didn't you see anything? Was he cursing someone?"
"No, I just felt anger...I couldn't tell..."
Harry felt badgered, confused, and Hermione did not help as she said in a frightened voice, Y/n looked studying Harry for a second. "Your scar, again? But what's going on? I thought that connection had closed!" Hermione exclaimed.
The scar hurt for a while, which made it hard for Harry to concentrate. "I...I think it's started opening again whenever he loses control. That's how it used to work..." He explained.
"But then you've got to close your mind!" said Hermione shrilly. "Harry, Dumbledore didn't want you to use that connection, he wanted you to shut it down, that's why you were supposed to use Occlumency! Otherwise, Voldemort can plant false images in your mind, remember.."
"Yeah, I do remember, thanks," said Harry through gritted teeth; He turned his back on Y/n, Ron and Hermione, pretending to examine the old tapestry of the Black family tree on the wall. Then Hermione shrieked: Harry drew his wand again and spun around to see a silver Patronus soar through the drawing-room window and land upon the floor in front of them, where it solidified into the weasel that spoke with the voice of Ron's father.
"Family safe, do not reply, we are being watched." Eventually, the Patronus dissolved into nothingness. Then Ron whimpered and groaned, and fell onto the couch. Hermione joined him, holding his arm.
Y/n sighed looking away from the fireplace worried about Luna, Her mind drifted off to New York, was her mother safe? Was she okay?.... "They're all right, they're all right!" she whispered, and Ron half laughed and hugged her.
"Harry," he said over Hermione's shoulder, "I –"
"It's not a problem," said Harry, sickened by the pain in his head. "It's your family, 'course you were worried. I'd feel the same way."
"I don't want to be on my own. Could we use the sleeping bags I've brought and camp in here tonight?" He heard Ron agree. He could not fight the pain much longer. He had to succumb.
"Bathroom," he muttered, and he left the room as fast as he could without running. He barely made it: Bolting the door behind him with trembling hands, he grasped his pounding head and fell to the floor, then in an explosion of agony, he felt the rage that did not belong to him possess his soul, saw a long room lit only by firelight, and the giant blond Death Eater on the floor, screaming and writhing, and a slighter figure standing over him, wand outstretched.
Y/n gets off of the couch without saying anything, rushing after her boyfriend calmly. Hermione and Ron exchanged glances after Y/n gets up from the couch. "More, Rowle, or should we end it and feed you to Nagini?" Voldemort is not sure he will forgive this time...Are you calling me back to tell me Harry Potter is hiding somewhere? Do it anyway, or feel my wrath!"
As a log fell into the fire, flames erupted, their light darting across Harry's terrified, pointed white face, as if he had emerged from the depths of the ocean for the first time. He opened his eyes, heaving in a breath.
A silver serpent tail supported the large bathtub, and his nose was inches from it as he lay spread-eagled on the black marble floor. The man sat up. The inside of Malfoy's eyes appeared to be burnt due to his gaunt, petrified face. As Harry watched, he felt sickened by what he had seen, and by what Voldemort was now doing to Draco.
There was a sharp rap on the door, and Harry jumped at Y/n's voice. "Har..." She said softly looking down at him. Harry sat on the bathroom floor, "I can't sleep...without you at least..." He stood up from the floor with a nod acting like everything was normal, "What happened?"
Harry shook his head looking at Y/n, "Nothing...M'love...let's go to bed...." He muttered grabbing her head. Y/n followed Harry being lead to his room, Ron was sleeping downstairs with Hermione and the couple was in Harry's new room.
Studying Harry, Y/n observing differences, but not pushing him. Y/n changed from their t-shirts and shorts into a tee-shirt in the bathroom after going to their room. Once again entering the room, Harry sat in bed just staring out to the side. "Har..."
Eventually, she walked alongside him and embraced him, walking over and cuddling up to him. It was impossible for Harry to leave her, so he tightly wrapped his arms around her. "There are so many things that are happening..." Harry said, "It's all my fault."
"Don't say that..." Y/n said, getting up and straddling the boy facing him, "It's not your fault...it's never been your fault..." Harry placed his hands on her hips looking her in the eyes, "Stop trying to convince yourself that....please..."
Harry hummed as he stared at the girl and lost himself in her eyes, "I love you..." Harry murmured, staring at her. The three words caused Y/n's heart to skip five thousand minutes per hour.
"I love you too..." Y/n said with a grin looking at her boyfriend.
Despite being surprised to hear her say it back, Harry loved hearing those words. Y/n put her arms around Harry's shoulders, as Harry was cursing under his breath. Harry then connected their lips. After grabbing her hips, he flipped her over onto her back not breaking their lips. "
After seeing Ron and her being so close at the wedding, Harry pressed his lips into hers more aggressively, causing the girl to gasp. His mouth trailed down her neck as he murmured, "You're mine...."
Harry and Y/n aggressively were snogging for a while, after Y/n just placed her head on Harry's chest. He had marked her up good, with about four marks on her neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her closer to him. "I love you" He muttered with her already half-asleep.
⁂
Y/n woke up early the next morning, with Harry not beside's her. But she was under the covers. She kind of wished Harry would have stayed in bed with her. Y/n got up from the bed walking out of the room to go and find Harry and see if Ron and Hermione were both up yet.
But she walked right back into the room to grab a jumper and put it over her shirt trying to cover the marks Harry had made on her neck. "There you are," Hermione said looking at Y/n who walked into the living room, "I thought you and Harry were sleeping down here?"
Y/n shook her head sitting next to Ron, "Sorry...Harry wanted to sleep in his room" She quickly said coming up with an excuse, "I don't know where he is though..."
"He wasn't with you when you woke up?" Ron asked turning to Y/n.
She shook her head looking at the redhead, "No...usually, he is the one who wants to be laying in with me..."
"Should we go looking for him?" Y/n and Ron both nodded standing up, Hermione went upstairs to look for Harry before Y/n saw something out of the window.
"Ron...come here, you see him..?" She asked. Ron walked over to Y/n standing behind her and looking out the window to see a man looking at the house, the two didn't want him to see her so just tried to stay hidden. "He seems to be checking the place out..."
"You don't think he's a death eater?" Ron replied, "Do You?"
After looking at Ron, she grinned and turned back to the person standing outside and looking into the window, telling her, "You cannot tell by looking at them.".
They stood there watching a person who did not move. "Should we keep looking for Harry?" Ron asked, Y/n nodded as she followed him up the stairs and the two walked around the opposite side of the house searching for Harry. "Wait..." Ron stopped walking looking at a black door with words mounted on it.
"R....A...B....oh yeah, he was Sirius's brother..." Y/n muttered turning and looking at Ron with a small smile on her face, "But Harry couldn't get anything from Sirius..."
"Maybe there is someone else who could give Harry the information that he needs" Ron mentioned looking over at Y/n, Both of them made their way down the steps in a rush as Y/n skipped down the stairs and into the living room.
While waiting for Hermione to find Harry, the two looked out the window keeping an eye on the guy sitting on the bench. "Ron! Y/n! I found him!" Hermione shouted causing both of them to turn to the entrance.
"Good! Tell him he's a git!" Ron shouted back to her.
"Not really!" Y/n's calmer voice said causing the two to laugh turning back to the man, Harry heard the two together lightly clenching his jaw. "We have some information..."
After more time of waiting, the man grew more suspicious to Y/n and Ron. "Hey! I think you two better come down here." Ron shouted up the steps.
Ron and Y/n peers out a curtain as Hermione and Harry join him. In the courtyard outside, two dark figures stand near a tree. Another sits on a bench. Harry kissed Y/n on the head. "morning," He muttered.
"Good morning," She said looking up and looking at him before pecking his lips, "Love you"
"I love you more"
Before Hermione had time to react Ron looked out the window longer, "The two clinging to the tree are Death Eaters for sure. Dunno 'bout the bloke on the bench." Ron said dropping the curtain.
Y/n got out of her gaze at Harry, "Oh...there is something you both want to see..." Harry and Hermione trail Y/n and Ron to a narrow doorway. Beyond is a cramped bedroom, walls covered with eerie scrawlings and symbols of Dark Magic.
"Lovely," Hermione muttered looking at the door, Y/n and Ron both exchanged looks before Ron turned to the door, he pulled the door shut showing the sign, hand-lettered in a spidery crawl: 'Do Not Enter Without the Express Permission of Regulus Arcturus Black' Harry forgot to try and get Sirius to tell him about Regulus. "I forgot to ask..."
"I and Ron were thinking..." Y/n mentioned looking at her boyfriend, "Kreacher has to be somewhere in the house...and Sirius said he has been here since the house was made..."
⁂
Harry appears seconds later pulling Kreacher the house-elf by his ear and shouting, "Stop! I ordered you!". Using foul language, Kreacher swears. "Have you been spying on us?" Harry asked looking at the house-elf.
"Kreacher has been... watching...Kreacher always watches." The house-elf muttered looking at Harry, who stood next to Harry.
"Maybe he knows," Hermione muttered, Harry glances at her, realizes what she means, takes the locket and dangles it before Kreacher's massive eyes like a hypnotist. Kreacher watches it sway back and forth.
"Ever seen this before?" Kreacher grumbles incoherently. "Kreacher, I own this place. I live here with Sirius, Which means I own you too." Kreacher grimaces mightily, then gives in.
"That was Master Regulus' locket." The elf sat up, curled into a ball, placed his wet face between his knees, and began to rock backwards and forward. When he spoke, his voice was muffled but quite distinct in the silent, echoing kitchen.
Y/n felt for the house-elf looking at him, In an effort to calm Y/n, Harry lowered his hand into hers and exchanged a look with her. "You called that locket Master Regulus' locket," said Harry. What's the reason? What is its origin? What was Regulus' role in all of this? Come on Kreacher, tell me all you know about that locket, and what Regulus had to do with it!"
"Good riddance to Master Sirius, for he had caused my Mistress to lose faith in her because of his lawless ways. As Kreacher explained, "For years, Master Regulus spoke of the Dark Lord, who was going to empower the Wizards to rule over the Muggles and the Muggle-born and he joined this dark cause when he turned sixteen years old...So proud, so proud, so happy to serve ...And one day, a year after he joined, Master Regulus came down to the kitchen to see Kreacher. Master Regulus always liked Kreacher. And Master Regulus said... he said..."
The old elf rocked faster than ever. "...he said that the Dark Lord required an elf."
"Voldemort needed an elf?" Harry repeated, looking around at Y/n, Ron and Hermione, who looked just as puzzled as he did.
"Oh yes," moaned Kreacher. "And Master Regulus had volunteered Kreacher. It was an honour, said Master Regulus, an honour for him and for Kreacher, who must be sure to do whatever the Dark Lord ordered him to do ... and then to c-come home." Kreacher rocked still faster, his breath coming in sobs.
Y/n looked at Harry who was about to yell at the house-elf, She slowly walked over to him. "Where is it now? Did someone take it, Kreacher?" She asked softly. The house-elf slowly nodded looking at her.
"He came in the night. He took many things, including the locket."
Y/n bowed her head and looked down at the house-elf. "Mind asking me...who took it..." She said calmly.
"Mundungus. Mundungus Fletcher." The four glances at each other, then Harry turns back to Kreacher, looking him in the eye.
"Find him." Harry commanded looking at Kreacher, Y/n cleared her throat, "Please..."
In response to Kreacher's nod and his sudden rise, Harry had an idea. He pulled out Hagrid's purse and took out the fake Horcrux, the substitute locket in which Regulus had placed the note to Voldemort.
"Kreacher, I'd, er, like you to have this," he said, pressing the locket into the elf's hand. "This belonged to Regulus and I'm sure he'd want you to have it as a token of gratitude for what you..."
"Overkill, mate," said Ron as the elf took one look at the locket, let out a howl of shock and misery, and threw himself back onto the ground.
Harry ignored Ron, watching Kreacher going to find Mandungus, "thanks..." Harry muttered turning to his girlfriend who looked away from where Kreacher was. "Maybe, I should cut him a break"
She nodded agreeing with him, "He has been through a lot, you know how Sirius described how his mother was..." said Y/n. "Just cut him some slack" She continued kissing Harry's cheek before walking over and sitting on the couch grabbing the Herbology book and opening it.
⁂
Ron fiddles with the piano, with Hermione next to him trying to help him figure out how to play, Harry sits up on the couch with the snitch on his palm, Y/n was laying between his legs reading the herbology book.
She glanced up at Harry looking at the snitch, "Flash memories, Maybe..." She mentioned sitting up cuddling against him. "I read about them when I was trying to understand Quidditch"
Harry chuckled looking over at her kissing her head softly, "What did you read about it, darling?"
"Snitches. They're never touched by bare skin until the Seeker captures it. Even the wizard who fabricates it wears gloves. That way, if there's a dispute, the Snitch can identify who first touched it."
Harry looked back down at her, "You mean... it remembers me?"
Y/n hummed looking at his hand moving around the snitch, "When Scrimgeour first gave it to you, I thought it might open at your touch -- that Dumbledore had hidden something in it." Harry ponders this, eyeing the wings flapping slowly, leaning in and leaving a soft kiss on her neck.
"Sorry, about your neck" Harry murmured looking over at her, with a small grin on his face. She moved his head away from her with a grin. "What, I am..."
"Sure....M'love..."
There was a crash from the kitchen, Y/n and Harry race into the kitchen. crazy shadows, spill from a far door and pots crash. Suddenly, a tiny figure, wet and ragged, tumbles and bangs into the wall opposite and scrambles up. As he starts back for the kitchen, he stops. Sees Harry. Smiles. Dobby, "Harry Potter! So long it's been --"
Just then, a hand, Kreacher's reaches out, grabs Dobby by the neck and pulls him away. Kreacher, Dobby and Mundungus Fletcher tumble from one side of the kitchen to the other. As they fly apart, Mundungus rolls to his feet, dripping wet, wand flashing. "Expelliarmus" Y/n softly said, pointing her wand at Mundungus.
Mundungus' wand soars into the air into Y/n's hand. "As requested, Kreacher has returned with the thief Mundungus Fletcher!"
"Master Sterling! Harry Potter's griefen" Dobby shouted, running over and hugging Y/n's arm. "Did Y/n, enjoy...Dobby's sweater? Dobby stabbed himself making them"
Y/n smiled looking at the house-elf, "Thank you, sir, I liked the sweater it was cute" Said Y/n looking at the elf with a smile.
"Dobby has also returned with the thief Mundungus Fletcher!" Dobby announced letting go of Y/n.
Mundungus looked at Y/n, who was now next to Harry and apart from Dobby, "What are you playing at -- setting a pair of bleedin' 'ouse-elves on me!"
"Dobby was only trying to help! Dobby saw Kreacher in Diagon Alley, which Dobby thought was curious. And then Dobby heard Kreacher mention Harry Potter's name, which Dobby thought was very curious. And then Dobby saw that Kreacher was talking to the thief Mundungus Fletcher, which Dobby thought was very, very --"
"I'm no thief, you foul little git. I'm a purveyer of rare and wondrous objects --"
"You're a thief, Dung. Everyone knows it." Ron says Everyone turns. Ron stands in the doorway followed by Hermione. Dobby smiles.
"Master Weasley! So good to see you again!" Ron nods eyes the bright red shoes on Dobby's feet.
"Wicked trainers."
"Listen, I panicked that night, all right? I never volunteered to die for you, mate. Can I help it if Mad-Eye fell off his broom --" Mundungus panicked looking at the four, adults standing in front of him.
"Stop lying!" Hermione shouted,
Hermione begins to move toward Mundungus. Ron reaches out, takes her by the shoulders, eyes Mundungus warningly. "Piece of advice. Let's not rehash old times. Got it... mate?" Ron explained.
"When you turned this place over don't deny it! -- you found a locket, am I right?"
Mundungus looked up, furrowing his eyebrows at the men. "Why? Was it valuable?"
"You've still got it..." Y/n muttered crossing her arms, furrowing her eyebrows.
"No. He's worried he should have got more money for it."
Mundungus shook his head, "Wouldn't be difficult, would it? Bleedin' gave it away, din' I? There I was, pitching my wares in Diagon Alley when some ministry hag comes up and asks to see my license. Says she's of a mind to lock me up and would've, too, she hadn' taken a fancy to that locket."
Ron raised his eyebrows, looking at the others. He asked, "Who was she? This witch?".
"Well, she's right there, isn't she? Bleedin' bow an' all"
He points to a yellowed Prophet on top of a nearby stack, where a squat woman with the face of a toad blinks from the front page: Umbridge. "Not her again..." Ron muttered under his breath.