Penny sat in the lounge of Moonstone Crescent, playing chess with Andromeda on a battered board. Juno lay curled up on one of the armchairs, watching the game with a bored disinterest, occasionally sighing dramatically. Penny's packed trunk was laying on the floor next to her, ready to go when Dumbledore showed up. Andromeda gently moved a chipped bishop across the board, taking Penny's knight.
"Grimmauld Place is a grand townhouse, though it's been many years since I have visited." Andromeda commented as Penny slid her castle along the board. "Aunt Walburga and Uncle Orion took great pride in their home and their possessions." Penny grunted in response. Although pleased the Tonks would be in less danger without her there, she did not relish the thought of relocating for the fourth time in just over a year. A firm knock at the door signalled Dumbledore's arrival, Andromeda went to greet him before leading him back into the room.
"Persephone." He acknowledged as Andromeda lowered herself gracefully back onto her seat and took her turn.
"Professor Dumbledore." Penny replied glancing up at him.
"Are you ready?" Dumbledore asked, his bright eyes travelling over the board as Penny made her move.
"Yes, sir." She responded politely. "Check Mate." She said, flashing her aunt a smirk, who smiled. Standing, the two of them shared a brief hug before Penny lifted her trunk, offering the travel tube to Juno who spat at it.
"How many times must one travel in that wretched device?" She demanded.
"Until I learn to Apparate well enough to take you with me." Penny replied curtly before grasping under the serpent's white chest firmly.
"Mistress cannot even Apparate herself!" Juno retorted, struggling against Penny's attempt to push her into the tube.
"Fine, I will look into it. Now get in the damn tube!" Penny chastised her snake as Juno's white tail flipped round to smack the back of Penny's head with an audible thud. Swearing Penny rubbed the back of her head as Juno finally relented and slithered into the tube, muttering profanities herself. Penny exchanged a glare with her pet before popping the top on. Looking up at Dumbledore she saw he wore a bemused expression. "What?" She asked sulkily.
"Is your pet reaching puberty in serpent years per chance?" He enquired, his eyes twinkling.
"Something like that." Penny replied gritting her teeth as she sensed where he was going with this.
"Teenage-hood often promotes independence, and if I may be so bold, a somewhat enhanced sense of defiance." Dumbledore stated as Penny scowled. Chuckling slightly, he led her outside, stepping beyond the boundary before offering his arm to Penny. Taking it with a haughty expression, the two of them turned on the spot.
Blinking a few times, Penny found herself in a sheltered tree clearing with the Professor, out of sight of the passers-by she could hear moving beyond the treeline. Parting the branches for her Dumbledore ushered her through. Peering around her Penny spotted a main road at one end, Dumbledore led her along the opposite path through the grassed park.
"You know the place?" Dumbledore enquired, Penny feeling his piercing blue eyes watching her.
"I know the main road leads to Kings Cross." She said gesturing dismissively over her shoulder, meeting his eyes coolly. "It's part of the road route from the orphanage." She clarified shrugging, pushing the thought of her Nana away.
"I would have thought the underground would have been more efficient." Dumbledore replied as they exited the park, his eyes still on her.
"Mostly. I have lived in London a long time." She said evasively, looking away from her Headmaster's piercing gaze. There was a pang in her gut as her mind travelled barely a mile across the maze of roads, to the terraced house she had lived in with her Nana. She had a sneaking feeling the elderly wizard was fully aware of this, though he didn't say anything more.
"The Order of the Phoenix headquarters is located at 12 Grimmauld Place, Claremont Square, Islington." Dumbledore said briskly to Penny who stared at the Headmaster inquisitively before noticing the houses in front began to divide at his words. Number 11 and Number 13 parted to reveal a large battered townhouse in the middle. "Fidelius Charm. Are you familiar with it?" Dumbledore asked, as Penny's jaw went slack.
"Heard of it. Never actually seen it." Penny replied as Dumbledore led her up the stairs. "Dudey!" She said in awe as the corner of Dumbledore's lip twitched. Tapping the door with his wand, it swung open to reveal a large gloomy hallway, with many moth-eaten curtains covering what Penny could only guess were portraits. Penny coughed slightly as the dusty air hit her throat.
"You expect me to live here?" She said wrinkling her nose in disgust, surprised as Dumbledore put a thin finger to his lips. Sweeping along the hallway, he gestured Penny to follow as he descended the steps into the basement. Penny barely reached the bottom step when she was engulfed by red hair.
"Merlin, its only been a week Gin." She said, her laugh muffled. When Ginny released her, she saw a sea of other red heads scattered across a large room, all hard at work. The twins flashed a matching grin, Hermione waved in greeting and Ron just scowled into the skirting board he was scrubbing. Although gloomy and with a sense of decay, Penny was sure the room had once given the Hogwarts' kitchens a run for its' money. Looking up Penny could see many different sized pots and pans hanging from the ceiling, along with an elegant chandelier decorated with serpents. A violent wiggle in her robe pocket made Penny dig out the travel tube, Juno uncoiling the second the lid was removed.
"This abode reeks of decay." She said, flicking her tongue in disgust. She quickly made her way up the staircase.
"Don't go too far." Penny warned pointlessly as Juno's tail disappeared from sight. Looking back along the room, two other figures appeared from the pantry, Sirius and Mrs Weasley coming to stand in front of Penny and Dumbledore.
"Oh Penny, good to see you! I take it Andromeda has been making sure you are eating well?" She fussed, Ginny rolling her eyes behind her mother's back.
"Hiya Penny." Sirius said, his voice bored. "Welcome to my humble abode." He said sarcastically.
"Abode suggests its habitable." Penny replied, getting a bitter laugh in response.
"Yes, it is certainly in need of some TLC." Mrs Weasley agreed. "George stop that!" She snapped as a large chunk of slimy mould soared across the room to land on Ron's forehead.
"The Weasley's have been working hard to restore the house to a functional state." Dumbledore explained. "I believe one of the bedrooms and bathrooms has been cleared over the past week, and hopefully by the end of the day, the kitchen as well. For now, it will suffice as a safe house for you."
"Do I have a choice?" Penny muttered, seeing a grin form on Sirius' face. Meeting his grey eyes, Penny felt a flicker of understanding flit between them.
"Will you not stay for lunch Professor?" Mrs Weasley asked.
"Thank you, Molly, but I must be going." Dumbledore replied.
"At least take a sandwich for the road." Mrs Weasley insisted, fetching a sandwich and pressing it into the old wizard's hand. "Corned beef." She said. Penny could have sworn she saw Dumbledore's face drop but a second later he heartily thanked Mrs Weasley before climbing the stairs. A few moments later they heard the front door click gently shut. "Here you are Penny." Mrs Weasley said abruptly, forcing some rubber gloves, a cloth and some spray into the young witch's hands.
"More cleaning." Penny said with a dismayed sigh. With a dreary sense of resignation, she joined Ginny in scrubbing some of the work tops. A couple hours later she followed Mrs Weasley up the staircase, again being indicated to creep back past the portraits and up the next flight. Penny's eyebrow raised as she past several house elf heads stuck on the walls. Mrs Weasley showed Penny the decorated bathroom before leading her to a fairly large bedroom. Three single beds had been made up, along with a large wardrobe.
"Hermione and Ginny will be sleeping here with you soon, most of our family will join you once we have more of the bedrooms cleared out. Sirius' is on the top floor, surprisingly little had infested his room." Mrs Weasley remarked. A couple seconds later Hermione appeared looking panicked.
"Penny! Come quick! Juno is trying to eat Kreacher!" She rasped hurriedly.
"She is trying to eat who?" Penny inquired, following Hermione along the hallway, into what looked like had been a drawing room. Penny could hear much cursing coming from a small struggling figure encased in Juno's coiled body. The figure's wails became little more than desperate rasps as he flailed around, vainly hitting Juno with a long stick.
"Juno! Drop it!" Penny ordered.
"But Mistress…" Juno whined in protest, hissing angrily as Penny shot her a look. Scooping up the wheezing bundle Penny pulled him away from Juno, who still watched him like a hawk, ready to grab him at any moment. The second he had caught his breath, Kreacher grabbed his stick, raising it above his head to cast a blow. Penny quickly grabbed hold of the stick, lifting both it and the elf off the floor.
"Touch my snake again and you will regret it." Penny snarled, glowering at the wriggling elf. His snout like face opened and began to spew insults, his large eyes swirling to Penny's face. On meeting her eyes, he froze like a statue, his head remained fixed in place as his body continued to spin gently in mid-air. In an instant he released the stick, falling to Penny's feet, grovelling up at her.
"Mistress Bella! Mistress Bella! Kreacher begs forgiveness!" He wailed, placing loud kisses on the floor at her feet. Penny stepped back in disgust as he reached forward to lovingly touch her robes.
"Get off me!" Penny snapped, with Hermione berating her tone. Kreacher made a snarling noise before leaping at Hermione, Penny grabbing his tiny waist.
"Filthy Mudblood dares breathe the same air as my beloved Mistress Bella! You are not worthy, scum!" He bellowed as Penny dragged him backwards. The noise seemed to wake the portraits downstairs, a horrendous shriek echoing the halls.
"MUD-BLOODS IN MY HOME! BLOOD TRAITORS AND SCUM!" The shrieking voice hollered.
"What the fuck is that?" Penny exclaimed, hearing Mrs Weasley go running down the stairs. The elf in her arms stared up at her, pushing himself against her lovingly. A few seconds later the screams downstairs became muffled as curtains were pulled across.
"Walburga Black, Sirius' mother. Her portrait isn't exactly happy we are here." Hermione explained as footsteps came up the stairs.
"Silence Mudblood! Do not dirty Mistress' Bella's ears with your filth!" Kreacher yelled glaring at Hermione. The Weasley children all appeared in the doorway, curious about the source of the commotion.
"I am not Bellatrix!" Penny snapped, flinging the elf away from her, Hermione tutting at her. "And don't call her a Mudblood." She said. Kreacher peered up at her, his expression confused, studying her face.
"Kreacher does not understand." Kreacher said, his voice childlike. Penny let out a reluctant sign.
"Bellatrix is my mother." She admitted, as Kreacher's eyes went wide.
"Not just her looks she has inherited either." Ron muttered from behind the twins. Penny shot him a filthy look before looking back down at the wide-eyed elf.
"Beautiful Mistress, please tell Kreacher her name so Kreacher can address her correctly." He said his voice full of awe.
"Persephone." Ginny chimed in with a smirk.
"Don't call me Persephone. It's Penny." Penny corrected as the house elf stood, the top of his head barely at her waist.
"Mistress Penny, Kreacher is honoured to meet you." Kreacher gushed, bowing so low his forehead touched the floor. Penny heard George whisper something to Fred and Ron, making the two of them snort. Whatever it was, it earned them a fierce look from Hermione. Glancing between themselves, they returned downstairs, Ginny in tow, their careful footsteps dying away.
"Can I eat him yet?" Juno hissed, her eyes glinting menacingly as they stared at Kreacher.
"No." Penny answered sharply.
Kreacher looked rapidly from Penny to Juno, his eyes bulging out of his face, his tiny jaw open wide.
"Mistress Penny, able to commune with serpents?" Kreacher whispered to himself. "Mistress Penny, child of the Dark Lord?" He muttered on in an astonished tone, Penny's lip curling slightly. "What did Mistress' serpent desire?" He asked in a louder voice.
"She still wants to eat you." Penny clarified.
"Of course, we won't let her eat you Kreacher." Hermione said quickly with a reassuring smile at the house elf, who looked revolted.
"Mudblood still addresses Kreacher, my dear old Mistress would be horrified." Kreacher muttered to himself.
"I told you not to call her a Mudblood." Penny snapped, Kreacher looking startled before lunging for his stick and began hitting himself brutally with it.
"Penny stop him!" Hermione squealed as Penny grabbed the stick again. Releasing his hold on the stick, Kreacher landed gracelessly on all fours.
"Kreacher would be honoured to be fed to Mistress' pet, but Kreacher would beg his head be saved to be stuffed and hung on the wall like his ancestors." Kreacher requested as Penny and Hermione shared a glance, Penny raising her eyebrow.
"That...won't be necessary Kreacher." Penny responded. "But no more attacking my snake, or my friends for that matter." Penny added briskly as she looked at Hermione. "Come on, lets go unpack." Penny said to Hermione, walking back along the hallway. Both of them unclicked their trunks and began pulling stuff out. A loud snap of fingers sounded, the contents of Penny's trunk launching from inside, making Penny jump backwards in surprise. Her possessions swirled in the air before her clothes hung themselves up neatly in the wardrobe, her books formed a tidy row along the shelf in the top, her other items neatly landing on her bed. Turning she saw Kreacher stood there, his hand poised in snapping position, watching her reaction closely, clearly trying to decipher is she was pleased by his actions.
"How did you do that?" Penny asked incredulously, eyeing him with fascination. Although the Malfoys once had Dobby as their elf, since his departure they had yet to find an elf replacement and had employed a small handful of human servants.
"I'm a house elf Mistress." He answered simply, puzzled by her surprise.
"You forget elf magic is different to human magic. Doesn't require a wand." Hermione reminded her as she continued pulling things from her own trunk. "You should say thank you." She added pointedly.
"Mudb…" Kreacher began crossly before he stopped himself. "Mistress does not need to thank Kreacher." He disputed sulkily.
"I don't always need a wand but my magic is rarely so precise. It's very impressive Kreacher, thank you." Penny said before glancing towards Hermione who nodded approvingly. "Could you do the same for Hermione's things please?" Penny requested as Kreacher stared at her.
"You want me to serve a…." He started, chewing his lip in agitation. "Mistress Penny treats a Mudblood as her friend, my dear old Mistress would brand her a blood traitor like the brat Sirius, but she is Mistress' Bella's daughter...daughter of the great Dark Lord…" He muttered rapidly, clearly torn. "But she speaks so kindly to old Kreacher…." He said rubbing his hands distractedly. "If Mistress Penny insists" He spoke finally in a louder voice. "I will serve the …. Muggle born." He said bowing to Penny.
"Yes please Kreacher, Hermione is my friend and my guest. Treat her as such." Penny ordered. Kreacher snapped his fingers once more and Hermione's clothes and books joined Penny's in the wardrobe.
"Thank you Kreacher." Hermione said brightly. Kreacher pulled a pained face but resisted spitting an insult.
"Kreacher apologises for the state of Mistress Penny's room, Kreacher will work day and night until his hands bleed to make it fit for Mistress' habitation." He said with a low bow.
"Erm…thanks Kreacher, I would appreciate that." Penny replied apprehensively. "No need to be so extreme though. Take care of yourself too, no good having a clean house if the house elf looks a state." Penny told him.
"Yes Mistress. Kreacher will do his best to honour you." Kreacher promised. "Is there anything Mistress' would like Kreacher to do first?" Kreacher asked. Penny paused for a moment.
"How is your Mac and Cheese?"