Author's Note: I did say that Jeannie's ordeal isn't quite over yet, and here it is. She does get a break after this, though.
Thanks, Worthfull1
P.S. I own nothing, anything recognizable belongs to the lovely Ms. Rowling
Chapter 26: A Gift From Kreacher
It wasn't until the next day that Jeannie felt good enough to brave the stairs and, even then, she held onto Sirius the whole way down. He lead her into the sitting room slowly, as her body was still stiff and sore. She also tired easily, so the trip down the stairs was enough for now. Sitting her down on one of the sofas, Sirius grabbed the blanket off the back and covered her with it. This was not missed by the occupants of the room, which included Max. Jeannie had all but confirmed some kind of relationship the day before, but this was the first time he'd seen it in action. Sirius seemed gentle with her, but that didn't mean Max wasn't going to threaten castration like any good brother would do.
"Feeling a bit better, Jeannie?" asked Hermione, who was sitting on the floor with Ginny, going through the latest copy of Witch Weekly.
"A bit," she answered, "but I really came down because I couldn't stand to look at those sluts on Sirius' wall any longer." The girls laughed at that and Sirius pouted. They'd caught a glimpse of the 'artwork' dotting Sirius' bedroom walls the night they were in there helping to heal Jeannie.
"What sluts?" asked Fred and George, earning a look from Remus about their language. They'd never been in Sirius' bedroom.
"When I was a teenager, I used a permanent sticking charm on the walls of my bedroom for pictures of scantily clad Muggle girls posing with motorbikes," Sirius said unabashedly. "Pissed my mother off to no end."
Once Sirius got her settled on the sofa, Molly appeared with another bowl of chicken soup. One of the reasons that Jeannie and Arthur got along so well was the fact that they both found it amusing how many things Muggles and Magical people shared without even knowing it, and chicken soup was one of them. A nice, hot bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup was a proven cure-all for everyone, and nobody knew this better than a woman who'd raised seven children. It did not matter if the children were magic or Muggle, chicken soup was the answer.
Between the warmth of the soup and the warmth of the blanket Sirius covered her in, Jeannie was starting to feel pretty good, considering. She stayed downstairs for a while, watching the kids play chess or exploding snap and do their holiday homework. Moody dropped by with a bar of Honeyduke's finest dark chocolate for her and told her she'd made him proud, staying strong and surviving like she had. This was high praise, indeed, from a man who'd lost limbs fighting the very people she'd mingled with at the party. Thanking him, she set the chocolate aside for later and snuggled deeper into the sofa.
By the early afternoon, though, Jeannie was ready for another nap. Sirius offered to apparate her up to the bedroom, but she refused, saying that she needed to move a little. She hadn't been able to do any stretching for two days and her muscles needed to work, if only for a few stairs. Sirius relented and walked beside her, ready to step in if she needed help. They made it out of the sitting room just fine, but as Jeannie approached the stairs, she stubbed her toe and swore loudly, forgetting momentarily where she was and waking up Mrs. Black.
The curtains flew open like usual but this time, instead of seeking out Sirius, the hideous old hag fixed her gaze on Jeannie.
"You!" she sneered. "Merlin only knows what whore's blood runs through your veins! How dare you touch any progeny of mine!"
"Oi!," Sirius shouted. "You leave her out of it!"
The old woman ignored her son, keeping her eyes on Jeannie. "How dare you befoul the house of my fathers by fornicating under this roof! My eldest son, shame that he is to me, is still the heir of this family! I will not have you sullying my blood-line!" she finished in a screech.
Jeannie was shocked. She'd never heard Mrs. Black pick on any individual that wasn't Sirius, except for vague insults about the 'freaks' and 'half-breeds' that were inhabiting her house. Now, it seemed that not only did she know who Jeannie was (at least she knew enough to single her out), but she also thought that Jeannie and Sirius had been intimate. Which technically wasn't true. Sure, they'd fooled around some, but they hadn't actually had sex. At least, not any kind of sex that could result in a pregnancy.
She was broken out of her thoughts by Sirius marching up to his mother's painting and slamming his fist against it.
"You foul old bitch!" he shouted, ignoring Remus and Molly, who'd arrived on the scene. "What I do and with whom is none of your damn business and if you call her a whore again, I'll use fiend-fyre on you!"
"Sirius," Jeannie called, having had a rather deviant idea. "Please help me upstairs; all this drama isn't good for my condition." She placed a hand on her stomach as if protecting an unborn child and pouted at him, hoping he'd catch on. Sirius blinked, confused, but then his lips curled into a grin.
"Right you are, love," he said, playing along and turning away from his mother's portrait. He walked back up to Jeannie, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her up the stairs, leaving Remus and Molly to wrestle the curtains closed on his mother, all three of them having been rendered speechless. Temporarily, that is. As they got to the top of the stairs, Jeannie and Sirius heard one more blood-curdling shriek before the sound was abruptly cut off, signalling the close of the curtains.
"I'm sorry," Jeannie said as she climbed back into Sirius' bed for a nap. "I just couldn't help myself, the opportunity was too good."
"No harm done, love," Sirius said, chuckling. "I'll let Moony and Molly know it's not true; everything will be fine."
"Alright," she replied with a yawn. "Just watch out for Molly's wand." Sirius made a face at her as he closed the door partially, like he'd done before, so he could hear her if she called for him.
In all the ruckus, however, none of them noticed a small shadow in the corner of the front hall with tennis-ball sized eyes watching the scene play out. Kreacher let out a gasp at the filthy whore's insinuation that she was pregnant, but nobody heard it mainly because of the red-headed mother of the blood traitors' gasp. Once the master and his whore were safely upstairs and the woman and the half-breed had gotten the curtains closed, Kreacher crept quietly up to his beloved mistress' portrait and whispered to her.
"My poor Mistress," the elf lamented.
"I want you to do something for me, Kreacher," the old woman whispered to her faithful servant.
"Yes, Mistress. Kreacher lives to serve the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black," Kreacher replied.
"You must kill it, Kreacher. Use your magic - it is harder to trace. Kill the whelp growing inside her," Walburga hissed.
"Yes, Mistress. Kreacher will kill it. It will not live to shame the House of Black," the elf promised.
"Good Kreacher," Walburga cooed. "Do it today when she is asleep."
"Yes, Mistress," Kreacher rasped, lovingly caressing the frame of the portrait before turning away and creeping silently up the stairs. He waited in the shadows until the master left his bedroom and Kreacher knew that the whore was alone, then crept towards the room, peeking around the door to see if she was asleep yet. He watched her fluff the master's pillows and lay her unworthy head upon them, then he heard her breathing even out. Moving silently further into the room, he watched her, wanting her to be deep in sleep before making his move.
Kreacher moved closer to the bed when he was sure she wouldn't wake and began his curse. Using ancient elf-magic, he said the words that would cause her to miscarry. Creating a small, blue ball of light in his hands, he worked the ball until he it felt right to him. He sent the ball over to the whore and waited until he had a good view of her stomach. When she rolled onto her side, he sent the ball of magic into her belly. Her mid-section glowed blue for a few seconds, then the light was gone. His job done, Kreacher quickly left the room and waited.
It hadn't taken much to calm Molly down, surprisingly. Although, that may have been simply because it was a conversation she was unwilling to have in a room full of her teenage children. Sirius assured her that Jeannie had only said that to get a rise out of his mother, and that seemed to do the trick. It also helped to have two werewolves confirming the fact that she wasn't pregnant. Breathing a sigh of relief, he went back to his chair and got comfortable. Closing his eyes briefly, he wondered what exactly had happened at Malfoy Manor. She obviously hadn't wanted to discuss it and he hadn't pushed the issue, figuring that if she didn't fill him in, then Dumbledore would. Or, perhaps she was simply waiting until the next Order meeting.
With his eyes closed, he didn't see Max and Remus stiffen, then cock their heads towards the ceiling. He did, however, hear Max snap at everyone to be quiet. Sirius' eyes snapped opened and he looked at Remus, whose stance immediately put Sirius on alert. Remus' whole body was rigid, head cocked slightly to the side, clearly waiting to hear something. Max had assumed the exact same position, and then they heard it again.
"Sirius!" came a weak voice from above them. All three men flew out of their seats and up the stairs, the two wizards drawing their wands and ignoring the renewed shouts from Walburga as her curtains flew open once again. Rushing into Sirius' bedroom, they saw that the bed was empty, but there was noise coming from the bathroom. It sounded like someone was puking up their socks.
Sirius rushed in and gathered Jeannie's hair so she wouldn't get vomit all over it. The poor young woman was hunched over the toilet bowl, throwing up what looked to be everything she'd ever eaten in her life. In between gasps for air, she tried to tell him something was not right.
"I feel like something's trying to crawl out of me... retch... but there's nothing left... retch... something's very wrong... retch... " Tears were streaming down her face and she'd lost all the colour she'd gained that morning. Sirius turned to Max and Remus.
"Get Dumbledore, get Snape - I don't care who, get Poppy Pomfrey if you can. This is not right," he said urgently, watching them rush back out the room. "Alright, baby," he said soothingly, turning back to Jeannie. "I'm going to get someone here, okay? I'll make this right." He spoke softly to her, holding her hair back and stroking her head. Waving his wand, he cleaned up the vomit that hadn't made it into the bowl. Apparently, Jeannie hadn't gotten there fast enough the first time. Sirius also conjured a cold cloth, gently wiping her mouth and, after cleaning it, dabbing at her forehead.
Within minutes, Sirius' bathroom was filled with men. Dumbledore had come at once, bringing Snape with him, and Remus and Max had decided to stay as well. For what, exactly, was a mystery, but Jeannie was important to them, so they stayed. Snape ran tests on the vomiting woman, but couldn't come up with anything conclusive. He stepped out of the bathroom, motioning for Dumbledore to follow.
"I don't know what's wrong with her," Snape said to the old wizard. "If I had to guess, it looks like a curse to end a pregnancy, but there is no pregnancy to terminate. On top of that, this is not wizard's magic. It's older and harder to trace."
Dumbledore thought for a minute while Jeannie continued to retch, though now it was just dry heaves as there was literally nothing left in her stomach.
"It's not wizard's magic?" Dumbledore asked. "What sort of magic is it, then?"
"I don't know, but I do know that I got all of Bella's curse last night. I made absolutely sure of it, and this is not a side-effect of Black giving her blood."
"Hmm," Dumbledore said. "Do you think it could be elf magic?"
"Elf magic?" Snape repeated. "As in 'house-elf' magic? Do you think Kreacher cursed her? Why would he try to terminate a pregnancy that doesn't exist? There are easier ways to kill her."
The headmaster moved back to the doorway of the bathroom. "Sirius, we believe this may be an abortion curse. Would there be any reason for Kreacher to have tried to harm Jeannie in this way?"
Sirius froze. "Abortion curse?" he repeated, his voice deadly quiet. "I'm going to kill him."
"First, please tell us exactly what has happened today," Dumbledore asked calmly.
"My mother decided to put her two cents in about my relationship with Jeannie," Sirius answered with a snarl. "Jeannie insinuated that she was carrying my child to shut my mother up. It wasn't true, but it succeeded. Kreacher must have overheard it, or my mother called for him because she believed it."
Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. "Remus, would you ask Harry to come up here, please?"
If Remus found this confusing, he didn't show it, nodding and swiftly leaving the room, only to return moments later with not only Harry, but Ron and Hermione as well. Dumbledore kept his eyes on Jeannie as he spoke to Harry.
"Harry, we have reason to believe that Miss Jones has been cursed by Kreacher. We cannot undo house-elf magic, but another elf can. Would you mind calling for Dobby? I believe you and he are friends and I think it would be beneficial for you to be around if he comes here. He trusts you, and he will no doubt be frightened to return to a pureblood house," Dumbledore explained, still not looking at the teenager.
Harry felt his heart sink as Dumbledore avoided looking at him. He understood, of course, after what had almost happened in the headmaster's office just before flooing to Grimmauld the night of Arthur's attack, but he couldn't help but want to catch Dumbledore's eye. Just to see if it would happen again. Harry needed to know if he was the monster or if he was being possessed by the monster, but the old wizard was not cooperating.
"Dobby?" Sirius repeated. He looked at Harry. "You've mentioned him before, haven't you?"
"Yes," he said, turning to his godfather and nodding. "I'll tell you all about him when this is over."
"Can he be trusted?" Sirius asked.
"Absolutely," said all three kids together. A ghost of a smile flickered over Dumbledore's face as Sirius's eyebrows went up. Sirius trusted Harry more than anyone except Remus, and if he said this 'Dobby' was alright, then he was alright.
"How exactly do I call a house-elf?" Harry asked, unsure.
"Just say his name," Sirius said. "As if he were in the room and you were trying to get his attention." Harry nodded and moved back into the bedroom so that the first thing Dobby saw was him and not Sirius.
"Dobby?" he called. A loud crack was heard and a small elf with huge ears and large green eyes suddenly stood in front of Harry, trembling at his surroundings and clearly recognizing the house for what it was - a pureblood's dwelling.
"Harry Potter called for Dobby?" the elf said, quivering from head to toe. Harry smiled at him, trying to reassure him.
"Yes, Dobby - I need your help," Harry said, causing the elf to stand up straight and proud, though still obviously nervous.
"Harry Potter asks for Dobby's help?" he said in his squeaky voice.
"Dobby, I think you're the only one who can help me," Harry said, both truthfully and because he knew that it was exactly what Dobby loved to hear.
"What can Dobby do for Harry Potter?" the elf asked, suddenly serious.
Harry knelt down in front of Dobby and ignored Ron's snort of amusement. "Dobby, do you see that woman in the bathroom?"
Sirius wisely turned his head to the side to hide his face as Dobby looked into the bathroom and nodded.
"She's my friend. I think that a house-elf has cursed her and I need you to try to heal her. Please try, she's important to me." This wasn't strictly true - to Harry, Jeannie was just another member of the Order, but the teenager hadn't missed the looks that passed between the young woman and his godfather, and Harry had no doubt that Sirius would take it badly if anything happened to her. And, by extension, anything that affected Sirius, affected Harry.
"Dobby will do his best, Harry Potter" Dobby swore, drawing himself up to his full height and puffing out his chest. He moved toward the bathroom, but Harry stopped him.
"There's one more thing I need to tell you, Dobby," he said, sharing a look with Hermione and Ron. "There's someone else in that bathroom. He's someone I trust, completely, but the rest of our world doesn't. He's my friend, too, and I don't want you to be afraid of him."
"Dobby is not sure he understands, Harry Potter," he replied slowly.
"Dobby, you trust Professor Dumbledore, right?" The elf nodded. "And you trust Hermione and Ron?" Another nod. "I'm going to ask you to trust me, too, Dobby."
"Dobby trusts Harry Potter! He does!" said Dobby, nodding so hard that his ears flapped back and forth, and Harry worried briefly that he might hurt himself.
"Alright, Dobby. The man in the bathroom is Sirius Black," Harry said, watching as the elf immediately began trembling again. Dobby's green eyes got even larger and his ears drooped.
"Nothing they ever said about him is true, Dobby," said Hermione, kneeling beside Harry. "He was innocent the entire time and he's never tried to hurt Harry. I promise, Dobby."
"I promise, too, Dobby," said Ron, noticing how Dobby calmed ever so slightly at those words.
Dobby looked at Harry. "Harry Potter promises Dobby?" he squeaked quietly.
Harry nodded firmly, looking Dobby in the eye as he would any person. "I promise, Dobby. Sirius is innocent and he's my friend. He's good to me. I would not lie to you," he added, in as serious a tone as he could muster.
The elf visibly relaxed at that. Pulling himself together, he turned to head into the bathroom. Pausing slightly at the door, he overcame his hesitation, squared his little shoulders, and walked up to Jeannie who was still heaving intermittently.
Now, being a pureblood, Sirius had been raised with house-elves. He'd met several of the little creatures and he'd even known a few rather eccentric ones, but the elf standing in his bathroom at that particular moment took the cake. Standing no more than three feet tall, Dobby's ears made up at least eight inches of that, his eyes were three times the size of any snitch Sirius had ever seen and greener that even Harry's, and that was just his physical appearance. His clothes were even stranger.
Clothes! Real clothes! On a house-elf! Dobby was wearing what looked to Sirius to be one of Molly's sweaters (though how he had acquired that, Sirius couldn't fathom) and on his feet were two different socks; one was dark blue with twinkling stars on it and the other was red and white stripes, like a candy-cane. Sharing a look with Remus, Sirius shook his head, deciding to trust the kids and Dumbledore and ask questions later. He could feel Jeannie getting weaker and if this strange elf could help, he needed to do it quickly.
Author's Note: Did you like how Harry handled Dobby? More elves in the next chapter.
Thanks, Worthfull1