Chapter 2:

Kreacher's Misses

Harry felt pulled in a million different directions – the strongest of which was Ginny. He knew he couldn't see her yet, but Merlin did he want to! So many things to do, he'd see her eventually, and she'd forgive him, because under that frustrating, fierce, fiery haired woman was the most compassionate and loving woman he'd ever met. Harry sat up slowly, the blood flowing to his brain in agonizing drips. After several minutes of yawning, blinking, and rubbing his eyes he looked around, trying to figure out where his body had rested. Blinking a few more times, he realized quickly that he didn't recognize the beautiful beach below his hammock. A small, feeble table was beside him with several vials of potions, all distinctly labeled with what it cured. Behind them a fresh robe and knickers lay folded with a plate of sandwiches on top. He slowly slipped from the hammock, quickly changing and sitting down on the white sandy beach to eat. After feebly accomplishing that task, he looked through the potions.

"who labels potions like this?" he asked in to the abandoned beach..

"Headache..yup" he downed it quickly.

"Calming..Yup,

Pain.. Merlin yes..

Common poisons..Sure,why not?..

PepperUp.. Definitely..

The last potion Harry read was almost labeled accurately, "Blood replenishing" it was then that it occurred to him that, even though he had already downed the pain potion, he didn't hurt too much when he awoke. Gently checking under his fresh robes, he noticed that the cuts and gashes that he knew were present when he staggered through the castle last night were gone. Huh, might as well be safe. Downing the last potion, he lay back on the beach fully dressed, his robes quickly becoming dirty.

"Master! I have just cleaned those! Up! Up you get!"

The POP! had made Harry shoot up straight, looking for the source.

"Kreacher.." he breathed.

The little elf's ears were hanging unusually low, and amazingly, large tears were slipping from the elf's eyes. Harry was taken by surprise, never had he seen Kreacher look so.. Human. "Kreacher, it's okay.. everything's going to be okay now. Why are you crying?" For a split second, Harry saw the flash of a familiar face standing before him, for a second he could almost make out Dobby's face in Kreachers, the same face Dobby put on when he went on his, "Harry Potter is the best wizard in the world" spiel, and just like that it was gone.

"Kreacher has healed Master.. Kreacher has healed many with potions and balms from the battle, but Kreacher cannot heal her, Kreacher cannot perform the magic and Kreacher needs her healed Master!" as he spoke, Kreacher continually smashed the empty potion vials on his head as he told his Master he "needed" something from him.

"KREACHER!" Harry yelled angrily. "I.. I command you to never harm yourself in any way, and if you ever need anything from me, you need only ask!" Kreachers words finally sank in, his heart rapidly splitting in to pieces. "Kreacher, who is "her"? he gasped.

"Kreacher will take you to his Misses.. Harry Potter will help, she doesn't think you wills, but you wills, Harry Potter is a great wizard."

His Misses? Who's Misses? Ginny…Merlin does the pain ever stop?

"Take me Kreacher, now!"

Unexpectedly Kreacher flew himself at Harry, tangling his arms around his head, planting a sloppy kiss in his hair followed by a loud "POP!"

They landed, even more unexpectedly, in Grimaulld Place, more specifically in Regulus's room. Harry looked around, expecting to see Ginny, broken and bleeding somewhere..but all he saw was a bed. A bed with a small shivering bundle wrapped in bloody covers. What lay there was the prettiest elf he had ever seen. She wasn't young, that was obvious, but her face was actually pretty. Peeling back the covers, he grimaced at the black burns that marred her body, tears filled his eyes at the deep gash from her neck to her stomach. "Kreacher.. I don't know h.. I can't.." At his words, Kreacher let out a curtail scream that pierced Harrys ears. "Master must! Master defeated the dark one, fix her! PLEASE HARRY POTTER!" Harry gently lifted the bundle of elf in his arms, calling to Kreacher to come hold on to him. Turning on his heel, they left, one hero, one distraught elf, one broken.

"Harry Potter! Smile for the camera!"

"Harry look this way!"

"Harry can I get a quote?"

"MOVE! I need a healer, NOW! Someone.. healer.." Harry ran through the halls of , screaming as loud as Kreacher, who was following closely behind. The bundle in his arms breathed in slow rasps at being jostled so much, tears slipping from her large green eyes.

"Mr. Potter! What's wrong? My name is Healer Estel, stop shaking this instant! Follow me please." He followed as the healer opened several rooms, looking for a bed. Finally turning in to a room with only two other occupants. "Sit down here Mr. Potter, now what's happened to you?"

"Me? Not me you dense woman!" he exclaimed as he lay the little elf on the bed she had conjured. Startled, Healer Estel stooped down to look at the bloody bundle, she had assumed she'd be working on Harry, that it was his blood. Pulling back the bloody sheets, she saw a little elf, struggling to hang on to life.

"Mr. Potter.. That is an elf."

"Can you fix her?"

"This is a Wizarding hospital, not a creatures hospital!"

At this point, Kreacher released the scream he'd been holding in "Master!" Harry looked in to Kreachers helpless eyes, recognizing the affection and love for the bleeding elf. He thought of Ginny, and what he'd give for someone to save her, what he HAD given to save her.

"Estel, can you fix her? I don't give a damn what kind of hospital this is!"

Coming from her reverie, Estel seemed to think clearly, "Yes of course, I'll need to work on her, go get a team for me, scream in the halls again or something I need two more wizards, or witches." She watched bemused as, before she ended her sentence he'd run from the room screaming loudly about the "Bloody hero Harry Potter can't even get a healer!" This man really is as good as they say.

"Kreacher, is that your name?" she asked the other elf as she started undressing the petite female elf and assessing the damage.

"Yes Misses, will she be ok? Kreacher needs her to be ok"

"Kreacher, are you bound?" she watched as he averted his eyes from the undressed elf, blushing slightly.

"No..Master has been very busy in case you hadn't heard. I did not ask.. No time."

"Kreacher, do you want to be bound? Does she?" Healer Estel asked giving a pointed look at the female elf.

"Yes" Kreacher sobbed, still blushing. "We were going to ask..when Master had won."

Harry strode through the door with at least 15 healers tailing him, a soft twinkle in his eyes. She had to laugh, why was this elf so important to him? Estel started barking orders to the team, going to talk quietly with Harry.

"Mr. Potter.. Our magic can only do so much for her, and I don't believe it will be enough. We need a different kind of magic."

Harry wracked his brain for what she was talking about.. Surely not Dark Magic?"

"W..What kind of magic?"

"The most powerful magic in the world." Estel said matter of factly.

"Love. You need love."

"Precisely."

"Wh, How?"

"Kreacher, you're sure you want to be bound?" Estel called to him.

Harry watched as his head bobbed up and down.

"Harry, you have to bind them. Traditionally, the female elf's male Master would do the binding, or "give her away" if you will. However, she is a Hogwarts elf, so she hasn't a male Master, which means the job falls to you. If you bind them, Kreacher's life will be tied to hers, and hers to his. The magic we perform on her will help, but if you bind them, Kreachers' love will hold her stable until she can recover, or better yet.. She will stay alive through Kreacher's life, until she recovers. A light bulb turned on in Harrys brain, "You want me to marry them? What will happen to Kreacher?" She understood what he meant, "They will both become your elf's, and not marry, no. Binding is a much more selfless ritual than a few words by wizards and witches. They will, forever be each others. It is the combing of souls, hearts, minds and bodies. Kreacher has told me she wants this; however, if she does not truly want it, the bindng ritual will not work. We need to do this now, we can talk more later if you'd like."

"Okay, and thank you Estel. What do I do?"

"I don't know..Kreacher, can you instruct us?"

Kreacher nodded almost happily, walked over to the female elf and intricately wound their hands together. "Master, please touch your wand to our bound hands." Harry did so. Kreacher spoke in a loving tone, in what Harry presumed to be the Elfish language. Their bodies began to dimly glow as Kreacher spoke, and ever so often a blood red string would shoot out of Harry's wand and bind around the elf's hands. All the healers had stopped what they were doing to watch. Finally, after every spare part of the skin of their hands had been covered with blood red string, the string seemed to disappear under their own skin. They were bound. Kreacher smiled ruefully, "she'll be okay" he said softly, "I can feel it." Harry let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and sighed. Estel spoke up, "Mr. Potter, we've done all we can for her, and it seems Kreacher is right, you can move her if you'd like.. we kind of do need the space, but if you'd prefer she stay here that will be fine." Harry looked to Kreacher in question. "We take her home Master, I will look after her." For the second time that day, Kreacher was overwhelmed with emotions and flung himself at Harry, wrapping his arms around his neck and sobbing in to his chest "You are as good as my Regulus, Harry Potter." Coming from Kreacher, this was likely the greatest compliment he could ever receive. He patted his back awkwardly, "Thank you, Kreacher. Come on, let's all go home."

Kreacher insisted upon being the one to carry his lady. Harry didn't object, but the healers did. In an impersonation that would have made Ron proud, Kreacher turned to them and yelled, "SOD OFF!" turning red in anger and embarrassment at what he'd said. Harry quickly fumbled for words, "Love, the most powerful magic in the world, do we really want to tempt him?" Estel, smiling, led them through the halls to a fireplace so they could floo (You are NOT apparating with her in that state!")

Once home, Kreacher settled his misses in Regulus's room, after checking with Harry that he could. Harry had replied, "Kreacher, how about you two move in to that room permanently? You deserve that room." Harry sat on the couch thinking to himself, he didn't even know Kreacher's, now "wife's" name. He'd asked Kreacher to come back down once she was settled so they could talk. It'd been an hour. Slipping back in to his reverie, he didn't hear Kreacher come down the stairs, only brought back when Kreacher stood in front of him, smiling. "Kreacher, I have a lot to do..and probably won't be back here for awhile. At least two weeks. Will you two be okay?"

"Kreacher will be fine, so will his misses."

"Okay, good. Well, I noticed there is nothing in the kitchen, can you have the automatic restocking charms placed again, and stock them? Take what you need from Gringotts. Also.. If your misses happens to recover before I'm back, can you ask if she can make this place… more homey? It's so dreary you know. Have her spend whatever she needs to get it done, and make sure she doesn't work too hard.. I know how you elf's get. Tell her she may decorate your room however you two want it, but I insist you get a larger bed than that old rotted cot. You two cannot sleep on that thing, not comfortably. Do what you can.. don't worry, I don't expect a miracle." Kreacher had nodded along to what he was saying, his ears perked up when it came to the bed, did his master really just tell him he can buy him and his misses a brand new bed? A large one? He's gone nuts, the elf thought sadly.

"Thank you, for everything Master..We will do our best to turn this in to a home. It's always been like this, dark and gloomy. Me and misses would like it to be a home, a happy home. Kreacher is sorry the way he treated you before..before the locket. Thank you for the locket..Kreacher is happy again, though he still misses his Regulus."

The little elf hugged his Master and shooed him to do his business so he could return to his misses' side. Harry obliged and turned on the spot.