Chapter 45

The rest of the summer passed for Silver relatively uneventfully. She had written to Vincent to ensure he was safe after the Quidditch Cup. It took a couple of days, but she got a response stating that all was well. She kept in touch with her other friends as well, but spent most of her remaining time that summer with Sirius. Remus, as Professor Lupin insisted she called him, was in and out of Sirius's apartment. Silver rarely saw him, but when she did he always had a kind word and a smile for her.

"Sirius? Shouldn't we go work on the Manor today? You've been avoiding it for a couple days now." Sirius sighed heavily, before nodding. He offered his hand to her, which she took. Silver felt the now familiar feeling of apparation, before they appeared inside Grimmuld Place. They had travelled via apparation several times during the summer without the Ministry giving her notice.

"Where did we leave off again? Top floor, east wing?" Silver asked quietly.

"Yes. Do you have the list of things left to do?" Silver nodded, pulling it out and handing it to him. He went up the stairs to the designated room. Silver heard a crash a moment later, which caused the portrait of Mrs. Black to start shrieking. Sirius cursed, but didn't come down right away.

"Mrs. Black?" Silver asked. She was sure to wave her hand in front of the portrait to grab her attention.

"What do you want, you blood traitor?" Mrs. Black spat. She had ceased shrieking, seemingly intrigued by Silver.

"Oh, I suppose Kreacher had told you about me, then? That was considerate of him," Silver replied.

"What do you want?"

"Why do you shriek anytime there's noise?"

"Because that foul excuse for a son insists on besmirching the Black name by being in this house and bringing blood traitors into it."

"Shouldn't you be happy that we're trying to make this place presentable? It has been neglected for years, and is no where near the beauty that it once was."

"This place has gone to the dogs, and Sirius doesn't actually care about it. Hasn't for a long time."

"Perhaps not. But I care about it, and I've been trying to ensure this place looks its best."

"Isn't the goal of this all to sell the place? He's made it clear that he'd rather burn it to the ground."

"It will be sold, yes, once everything is cleaned up and it is made presentable once more. The safeguards around the place will make it valuable for other reasons soon enough."

"There will be more people traipsing in and out of here?" Mrs. Black asked in horror.

"Yes, most of which you would not approve of." Silver held up her hand to stop Mrs. Black from shrieking once more, since her face showed her outrage at Silver's statement. Baffled, Mrs. Black glared at the girl with narrowed eyes.

"There is only one other person who has ever dared silencing me in that way, and she disappeared thirteen years ago."

"My apologies, Madame Black. I did not mean to show disrespect. I just didn't want my eardrums to be blasted out of my head with your lecture. Though the people that will come in and out of here will be those you do not respect yourself, keep in mind that it would only be temporary."

"Temporary? Any amount of time with blood traitors, mudbloods, or half-breeds in my house would be too long," Mrs. Black scoffed in response.

"Perhaps. After thirteen years of no one for company except Kreacher, this place will be lived in again. You probably prefer your solitude, but how about I make you a deal?"

"A deal? What kind of deal?" Mrs. Black eyed Silver critically.

"If you permit the likes of blood traitors, muggle-borns, half-breeds or half-bloods here with minimal shrieking at every noise in this house, I will ensure that the house will go to a respectable family by your standards. I will also spend a bit of time with you any time I am here, though be aware that I don't do well with those who patronize others. I would most likely not be able to spend much time before becoming enraged. You've been surprisingly civil towards me thus far today."

"How would you ensure the sale?"

"I am resourceful; I'd find a way."

"I need more than that."

"A few of my house-mates parents would likely be interested in buying this place, if I present it properly. The first person who comes to mind is Narcissa Malfoy, since she is the only...respectable Black who is not incarcerated. Then Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini."

"You are a Slytherin?"

"Of course I am. Do you think I would be negotiating with you if I was not? I wouldn't want to insult you even more than my mere existence apparently does. Do we have a deal?" Mrs. Black eyed her shrewdly for a few moments.

"We have a deal, Miss Sullivan. Kreacher!" There was a pop as the old house-elf appeared.

"Yes, Mistress?" Kreacher asked, eyeing Silver in distaste.

"You are to do whatever Miss Sullivan here asks you to do in regards to the house. Her goal is to make the house presentable for company. Do not sabotage her as you have been for Sirius."

"As you wish, Mistress," Kreacher replied.

"Have a pleasant day, Lady Black," Silver told the portrait, bowing slightly before going up the stairs.

"It's about bloody time! I thought you'd never come up here," Sirius complained. He had not succeeded much on his own. Kreacher followed Silver into the room, much to Sirius's annoyance. He was about to reprimand Kreacher, but Silver turned to the house-elf.

"Kreacher, could you please search all the rooms for any sort of creatures and report back to me? I have a feeling they may have changed in the time that we've been away from the house." Kreacher bowed before scurrying out of the room. Sirius looked at Silver incredulously.

"He's not supposed to take orders from you. Why is he listening to you?"

"Your mother's portrait told him to do as I ask in regards to the house. Now, have you made any progress in sorting through all of the boxes?"

"I've made a few piles. Junk and sell-able junk." Sirius pointed to the two piles in question. Silver rolled her eyes, before taking a couple of empty boxes and sorting through the items herself.

"Check the curtains for any Doxies. There's a few scorch marks along the wall, so be careful." Sirius did as she instructed; sure enough, there was a nest of Doxies around the curtain rod. They snipped at him angrily, before Sirius hit them all with a Freezing Charm. He then placed them into a bag, before taking down the curtains in their entirety and placing them in the center of the room. When Sirius was not looking, Silver nicked a couple of the Doxies and placed them into her own bag, being sure to spray them with paralyzer.

The two of them worked diligently throughout the rest of the day. Silver would periodically give Kreacher tasks to do, which he did without complaint. Sirius made sandwiches for them both, before running off to the living room for reasons unknown to Silver. She figured he was talking to Dumbledore or Remus, though by the time he returned she had finished another room. Every room had a collection of boxes labeled according to their usefulness. Silver returned home for dinner, before deciding with Margie that she'd stay at Grimmuld Place for the remainder of the summer in order to work on the house.