Chapter 12
Kreacher had large tears running down his face. His lips were quivering and she could see his entire body was shaking. There was a dark energy radiating from him and Emily's eyes were drawn to a locket Kreacher was wearing around his neck. A large golden locket the size of a chicken egg, the front decorated with glittering green stones arranged in the shape of an 'S' that reminded her of a snake.
"Master Regulus told me to come to you if anything..." he sobbed and fell to his knees.
Emily kneeled beside him. "What happened?" she choked, fear building up in her chest. "Tell me everything."
"Kreacher took Master Regulus to the island in the cave... Master Regulus drank the horrible green potion and suffered great pain, but Master Regulus did not stop and gave Kreacher this," he took off the locket and handed it to Emily. "And told him to give this to Miss Emily. That Miss Emily would help Kreacher destroy the locket."
As soon as she touched the locket all of her shock and anxieties increased tenfold. The locket pulsed in her hand as if the object had a heartbeat. A ball of fear formed in her chest when she realised what she was holding.
The Horcrux.
She dropped the locket as if burned and it hit the floor with a heavy 'thud'.
"Master Regulus told Kreacher to leave... Then Master Regulus fell in the water," Kreacher sobbed, covering his face with his hands, clawing at his own cheeks, leaving scratches. "Kreacher had to go...Kreacher was ordered to leave Master Regulus to die!" he wailed and fell to the floor in a heap, beating himself, his body convulsing.
"Stop!" Emily yelled, unable to watch him torture himself, feeling more on edge.
He stopped moving and stayed laying on the ground, panting, his face full of anguish, tears and snot covering his face. She cleaned him up with a wave of her wand.
"Kreacher, look at me," she said. " You are not to blame, this was Regulus's choice. Do not punish yourself over his death."
Her shock was not wearing off and her hands would not stop shaking. She couldn't believe what Kreacher was saying. Regulus put her to sleep and had Kreacher take him to the cave alone. He left her out of the most important part of his plan.
Her shock soon melted into anger and then boiled into fury, her entire body began to shake and she wanted to pull her hair out.
"Why?! Why did he do this alone?" she asked herself, her heart pounding, and her breaths coming out in short bursts. Tears brimmed in her eyes. "Why did he leave me here? I could have helped him!"
"Master Regulus loved Miss Emily more than anyone else," Kreacher answered as if ordered. "Master Regulus knew Miss Emily would have sacrificed herself and couldn't let her."
"He was wrong, I would have asked you to bring us all home!" she screamed.
Kreacher flinched, curling up into a ball, his body shaking as he resisted his instincts to punish himself for displeasing her and leaving Regulus behind.
"No, Kreacher, I'm sorry," she said, but instantly regretted apologizing as he threw himself at her feet with another desperate wail. She cursed herself for forgetting how to treat him. Her family never trained their house elves to punish themselves. They were a part of the Potter family.
"Kreacher has made Miss Emily apologize to this worthless elf!" he screamed, covering his ears as if her words burned them. "Kreacher has brought shame to the Black family!"
"Pull yourself together, you are forgetting your place Kreacher," she said coldly. "I am not releasing you from your duties. You are still a servant of this noble house, and you will present yourself as such, now."
Kreacher sniffed loudly and wiped his face before standing up, his back as straight as a board. She could see a hint of pride in his expression as he reverted to his usual self. They were eye to eye as she stayed kneeling in front of him.
"The Dark Lord killed Regulus," she said to Kreacher and to herself. He flinched but she ignored him and picked up the locket. "There was nothing either of us could do."
Liar, a dark voice whispered in her head. If you told him the truth he might not have left you. You're the reason he's dead. You killed him. Did you even love him if you never trusted him?
Emily shook her head and pushed the thoughts away. "We will avenge Regulus by destroying this locket."
Her resolution seemed to bring life back into the house elf and Emily felt a brief moment of pride. Helping Kreacher was the only thing she could do right it seemed.
"Kreacher will do anything Miss Emily asks," he said, placing his hand to his chest and giving her a deep bow.
"Good, Regulus would be happy to hear that," she said and stood. "He trusted us with this task, and I'll need your help Kreacher. Can you help me?"
"Of course, Miss Emily."
"Then hide this in Grimmauld Place until I summon you," she handed him the locket and he shuddered taking it back, but nodded.
"Do not tell your Mistress anything," she continued. "For all she knows, Regulus and I are still on our honeymoon and will be gone for a while. I will tell her once I have a plan. Only come to me unannounced if you destroy the locket, but do not do anything that will harm yourself to achieve that. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Miss Emily."
"You may leave, Kreacher."
He bowed and disappeared with the locket.
As soon as he was gone Emily grabbed and threw the nearest object to her, a vase on her bedside table, with an anguished filled scream, watching with little satisfaction as glass shattered everywhere. She reached for the lamp next, but froze when she saw a letter in Regulus's handwriting on the table.
Her hand was shaking uncontrollably as she grabbed the parchment and she needed to sit down to read the letter.
Dearest Emily,
You will no doubt be upset by my decision,
"You're bloody right I'm upset," she hissed, holding the letter so tightly the edges ripped.
but I am doing this alone. My beautiful wife. Every moment with you has enhanced my life and this may be selfish, but I need to know you are safe. This is the only way I can protect you. When I return, please forgive me for leaving you behind. You are the strongest witch I know and I could not let you put yourself in harm's way for me... If I do not survive, all I can ask is that you live and finish the work we started. You are the only one I trust with this secret.
Now and Forever,
Your Husband
"NO!" she screamed, ripping the letter.
"Reparo!" The letter put itself back together and she ripped the paper again.
"Reparo!" She threw the letter into her trunk, slamming the lid shut.
"What do you expect me to do now, Regulus? Bombarda!" she yelled and pointed her wand at her bed, blowing the mattress up, goose feathers flying everywhere like snow.
"Bombarda!" The nightstand exploded.
"Bombarda!" The door exploded.
"Bombarda! Bombarda! Bombarda!" The room was destroyed in under 5 minutes. Only the packed trunks were left undamaged.
She felt the hair on her body standing on end, her long locks waving around her as all of the emotions she kept bottled up escaped her. There was no one left to pretend for or protect. She had no escape plan. Running was only just proposed and now she was expected to live on for him. That only meant that he expected her to run alone and take on all of the responsibility for finishing what he started.
"Look at me, left holding the baby..." she placed a hand over her stomach and started to laugh as hysteria set in, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably, but then she was crying and hugging herself. "I should have told him... I could have saved him. He deserved to know and maybe...he wouldn't have left. Now look at me...all alone...defenseless."
She knew she couldn't waste anymore time destroying things or feeling sorry for herself. A million possible scenarios of what could happen next ran through her head that made her heart race, bringing her back to reality.
"Tempus." The time of 5:58am wrote itself in the air in front of her and disappeared after a few moments.
She probably had only a few hours to find somewhere to hide. If the Dark Lord believed Kreacher was dead, then Regulus would most likely be summoned alone in the morning or afternoon to be told. The Dark Lord loved giving bad news and watching how people reacted. If Regulus didn't show up, a search party would be sent after him at once.
Bellatrix's crazed face flashed through her mind. Panicked and terrified, Emily ran to her closet and pulled out a leather satchel, placing the bag on the bed so she could wave her wand in a stream of complicated motions.
"Capacious extremis." she said, enchanting the bag to fit in more than designed to.
"Engorgio." The bag got bigger and she levitated both Regulus's and her trunks inside.
"Reducio." The satchel returned to a normal size and weight.
She put the satchel strap over her shoulder and ran to the kitchen, putting as much non-perishable food into the bag as possible. Next she went to the cloak closet and grabbed as many as she could and threw them into the bag, keeping a thicker black cloak out to put on. Finally she went to the living room and opened her secret hiding spot behind the bottom shelf of the bookcase and pulled out her family's Invisibility Cloak.
Throwing on the Cloak she made a split second decision and stepped to the middle of the front room, her wand protruding from the front of the Cloak.
"Incendio," she whispered and a jet of flames shot from her wand and down the hallways, setting everything ablaze. If Death Eaters were coming for her, then she would leave nothing for them to find. Her entire life was hanging from her shoulder in her satchel.
The flames consumed everything and she stayed to watch even as the heat became unbearable. She placed a protection spell on the walls around the house to prevent other homes from getting caught up in her arson and then Apparated to the sidewalk in front to take one last look at her and Regulus's home.
Smoke was pooling at the windows, but she knew they wouldn't burst, the fire was contained by her magic. As she watched, hidden beneath the Cloak, she thought through places she could go to send a message. There weren't many, but there was one location that stuck in her mind long enough for her to Apparate there without a second thought.
She reappeared in a field leading to a cliff overlooking an ocean bay. This was a place her parents took her and James as children when the weather was warmer. A place that reminded her of a time when all she knew was happiness and love. When she could do no wrong. She needed as much help as possible to conjure a happy enough memory to perform her next spell.
"Nuntius Patronum." she said softly as she thought of the message she wanted to send. A silver fox appeared in front of her briefly before shooting off like a star.
Unable to stand being hidden, she pulled off the Cloak and stared at the horizon as the sunrise began to peek through.
Sirius was in bed, but was not asleep. It was only an hour ago he had woken up on his sofa and dragged himself to his bed, but he was unable to fall back asleep. As he stared at his ceiling his vision blurred and his mind wandered as he tried to remember what day it was, but came up with nothing. Dumbledore requested he stay hidden. That was days ago. He was not to go on patrol anymore and his former headmaster added personal protection spells on his apartment. Only Sirius or someone with Sirius could enter the flat.
Even Remus and Peter were unaware of his location now, which gave him an excuse to avoid Remus. Sirius's memory of the night they visited was choppy, but he remembered when Remus grabbed him and screamed at him about Emily, James, and Lily. And then Sirius said something not so nice to his werewolf friend.
Groaning, Sirius turned over and closed his eyes. With a spy on the loose in the Order he had to be careful about what he said about Emily. At least now he was alone and could drink without worrying about what any noisy friends had to say.
A sudden light radiated in front of his face and he opened his eyes, coming face to face with a silver fox Patronus.
"Help me," the Patronus said in Emily's voice. The sound filled his room and forced him to sit up. "Come to Ravenscar."
The fox then disappeared, casting him in darkness. He knew the location, the Potter had so many photos of family trips there that he could picture the fields and cliffs easily. Checking his clock on his bedside table he saw it was 6:30am. Without hesitating he got up and dressed in black jeans and a blue sweater, grabbing his wand before leaving the room.
He put on his leather jacket that he left on the sofa and ran out the flat, nearly stumbling down the stairs, and taking a deep breath as he stepped outside into the crisp morning air. The sunrise was going to begin soon, giving him less cover. Worst case he would turn into a dog to hide and he hoped Emily still had the Cloak.
He disappeared and appeared at the base of a hill leading to the cliffs in Ravenscar.
"Appare Vestigium," he said, a large cloud of golden dust surrounding him and lighting up recent footprints heading up the hill. He followed the tracks as quickly as possible. He wasn't walking long before he reached the top of the hill saw Emily in the distance standing at the edge of the cliffs, her cloak billowing around her.
When she heard him approaching, she turned to face him, her wand raised. Her face was puffy and red from crying. Her hair was loose and flying around her in an uncontrollable mess.
Sirius smiled and put his wand away. "Easy, love, it's me."
If anything she became more downcast at the sight of him, but she put her wand away and walked towards him.
"Emily," he said once he was in front of her, relieved as he looked her over didn't see any injuries. Then saw the satchel over her shoulder and his eyebrows furrowed. "Where's Regulus?"
"He's..." her voice trembled as she spoke and she looked at her feet in shame. "He's dead."
Sirius felt the air leave his lungs in surprise, like something grabbed him and shook him too hard.
"The Dark Lord will be searching for me," she continued, sounding pained and afraid. She pulled the Invisibility Cloak from the satchel. "We need to get somewhere safe. If they find me, they'll-"
"I know where to go," he said, cutting her off. "Side-along Apparate with me."
She nodded, stepping closer to him and throwing the Invisibility Cloak over them. Their faces were inches apart as he took her hand and placed his other hand around her waist, like they were about to dance. They disappeared with a soft 'pop'.
They reappeared in front of his building and he stared at her. Emily's lips were trembling, her eyes were closed, and her shoulders were shaking. Not waiting another moment he led her inside and into his flat. As soon as the door closed after them he stepped out of the Cloak and added more protection spells. Emily took off the Cloak and watched him silently.
"Follow me," he said and they walked down the hall to his living room. "Have a seat. I'll make some tea."
Emily took a seat on the sofa, hugging her satchel to her chest for protection, staring blankly ahead at the wall. He hesitated, staring at her, but then went to the kitchen to put the kettle on.
When he came back with a full tray Emily hadn't moved. He placed the tray on the coffee table and sat down beside her with enough space between them for her to be comfortable. She didn't look at the tea or him.
"Emily," he said softly. "What happened?"