Chapter 88: The Grand Tour

At last Regulus and Kreacher were to embark on the travels they'd begun to plan nearly twenty years ago! Regulus decided to make a conscious effort not to focus on any thoughts that didn't strictly involve the present moment. He didn't want to risk falling into any depressions during this trip, even momentary ones. He owed Kreacher that much and far more. There was a letter from Severus waiting when Regulus woke at sunset. Mortis was poised outside his coffin holding the scroll in his claws and presented it as soon as Regulus rose. He took the parchment with a murmur of thanks and began to read. Mortis trilled in greeting, conveying with mental imagery that Kreacher had slept most of the day with Regulus and was now downstairs eating. Regulus smiled. "Good. Did you eat yet?" Another trill was accompanied by the image of Kreacher giving Mortis some fruit and nuts which the phoenix had devoured. "You shall have the opportunity to enjoy some international food as well," Regulus told him and Mortis gave an elegant bob of his head in way of assent. Regulus had just finished reading Severus's reply when Kreacher entered the room. He was already dressed for the day in a fresh tunic. "Severus says whenever we're in the area, we can feel free to show up," Regulus reported, giving Kreacher a pleased smile.

"Good," Kreacher said. "Dora says she is ready to depart when we are. Does Master Regulus wish to hunt first?"

Regulus nodded. "May as well get that out of the way." Hastily he dressed in green robes that nearly matched Kreacher's tunic. While he readied himself, Kreacher idly tidied up the bedroom. "Kreacher doesn't like leaving it rumpled," the elf complained at Regulus's frown. "Until we hire someone else, Kreacher will look after his home!"

Regulus sighed and shrugged, bending to tuck his comb into one of their trunks. "Have it your way for now. You always do." He gave Kreacher a fond if exasperated smile before kissing him swiftly. He drew away before things could grow heated. They had a lot to do today, after all. "I'll see if Dora wishes to hunt with me. Do you wish to come along?"

Kreacher nodded. "Kreacher will."

Mortis flew to Regulus's shoulder as they left the room. They made short work of hunting, ready to have the evening free for travel. Rather than hunting someone down via scanning minds for evil doers as was his usual way, Regulus allowed Dora to send out her mental call, seeking out those who wanted to die instead. After that was done, they popped into Knockturn alley to grab a guide for wizarding travel that listed all the best hotels in each major city. They were back at Grimmauld in under half an hour to collect their luggage. First they apparated with Dora to her home in Rome before heading to their own first destination, which was Greece. Regulus thought that separating from Dora would pain him more, as it was a thing he'd never done before. In light of the fact he and Kreacher were finally living their travel dream, his focus was on that instead, as it should be. Dora had embraced them both fondly, promising to meet up again soon. He knew she would be glad of her alone time yet just as glad to see them again as well, which also made it easier. Greece was pleasantly warm, and after they got settled into their hotel, Regulus and Kreacher went for a walk on the beach. They'd chosen a hotel on the beach so they could enjoy the ocean. As it happened, elves seemed to be more of a novelty in Greece. The desk witch at the hotel cooed about how adorable Kreacher was when they signed in, and Kreacher had practically preened. Regulus was pleased that his friend got the attention he deserved, and it made the place seem all the more welcoming, as if being there was right. Not that they needed it, but it did serve to confirm even more that they'd done the right thing taking this trip. The hotel was even perfect for Slytherins, its motif consisting of snakes and eyes, being Medusa themed. It was called Poseidon's Wife and there was even a charming weather vane on the roof in the shape of a trident with a glaring eye. As they walked along the beach hand in hand, Regulus sighed in utter contentment. He and Kreacher had left their shoes outside the hotel and the smooth sand between his toes was enjoyable as was the warm salt water swirling around his ankles as the tide came in. The salty breeze blew back his hair and smelled wonderful. It smelled of sea life and freedom and wild nature. It spoke to his soul. Not in an 'I want to live like this all the time' way, but definitely in a 'I need to be here occasionally' sort of way. He'd read once that the ocean was excellent for healing and cleansing magic, partly due to its high salt content as salt was also used for cleansing and purification. Just breathing the air seemed to soothe his soul. As he watched the gulls, he envied them their flight on the strong sea breeze. He imagined how wild and free they must feel and longed to join them at least for a time. As if agreeing with his thoughts, Mortis lifted off from Regulus's shoulder. The black phoenix soared higher than the gulls to keep his distance as was his way when it involved other birds. "That looks pleasant, doesn't it," Regulus asked, turning his face toward Kreacher, who was staring at the crashing waves with a rapt expression. At Regulus's words, the elf raised his blue gaze to regard the birds. "Yes it does. Kreacher thinks he may enjoy flying. Does Master Regulus think it will take us long to fly like Dora does? When Kreacher becomes a vampire, perhaps we can all fly together."

"If we incorporate magic, we should be able to manage it, but Dora said the gift of flight took over a thousand years to develop," Regulus said. "I see no reason why we can't be proper Slytherins and find a way around it, though. I would love to fly with you." The time he'd flown with Dora had been rather dream like, but not in a good way. She'd just dragged him from the lake of Inferi and he had been rather unaware to say the least. He'd actually thought Dora may be Kreacher at the time. Recalling his promise to himself not to dwell on unpleasant thoughts, Regulus firmly redirected his attention to the ocean before his emotions could do anything stupid. The sun had set a few hours ago, but the sky was not fully dark yet and the beach was truly stunning. "Should we collect some shells to remember our first trip together," Regulus asked, feeling one peaking through the sand under his foot. Kreacher smiled. "That is a brilliant idea! We could select items from each place we visit and make a memory shelf for the parlor."

Regulus nodded eagerly. "Perfect." He'd encouraged Kreacher to redecorate any part of Grimmauld he felt needed it, and it seemed this could be their first addition in that direction. Bending, Regulus dug the shell out of the sand that his foot had found, rinsing it off in the salt water before slipping it into his robe pocket. Kreacher released his hand to begin fishing around in the sand for his own shells and had three in under half a minute. As his tunic had no pockets, Regulus added it to the one he'd found before returning to his own search. He passed up several tiny shells, at last settling on a large shell shard that had obviously belonged to something quite substantial. Enjoying the uniqueness of the find, he showed it to Kreacher before pocketing it with the others in their collection. They spent a few lighthearted half serious moments speculating about what sort of sea creature it had once belonged to. They spent another half hour walking the beach before returning to their hotel room. They spent several passionate hours on the bed with the eye shaped window open, blowing the sea air into the room. It added somehow to the experience in a way Regulus couldn't quite put into words, but some experiences needed none. They spent two glorious weeks in Greece, each day as enjoyable as the last. The place had a constant air of soothing laid back relaxation mixed with fascinating magical sights left behind by the ancients. Kreacher's palate took a few meals to adapt to the Mediterranean cuisine, but in the end, he developed quite the liking for it. This made Regulus glad he'd insisted on holding off on the vampiric change so that his friend might experience more to the mortal fullest. While vampirism definitely had its perks, there were some things one couldn't replace including flavors of food or drink. When they left Greece, they were already making plans to return in a few years at the latest. Both had very much enjoyed their stay and were eager to come back. Their next stop was Haiti. Their hotel had a voodoo theme which both enjoyed thoroughly. It was even run by a witch doctor who invited them personally to a zombie rising ceremony on the first day. It began at nine in the evening in a grave yard not far from the hotel. As they weren't participating, Kreacher and Regulus paid the wizarding tourist fee which was surprisingly modest, and watched on the fringes of the small cemetery. Several tall pillar candles dotted the ground, casting a surprising amount of light in all directions. They were held by large planters, presumably to keep the wax from pooling on the ground as well as making them easier to transport. Other than just providing light, the candles also gave off an incense like fragrance. Regulus whispered to Kreacher that the smell was probably to cover the rotten odor of rising zombie for the tourists. Kreacher shuddered and made a face even as he nodded in agreement. Due to the graveyard's small size they still had a good view while remaining out of the way. This night there were four voodoo priests and one witch doctor. The priests used long wands made of bone, one in each hand while the witch doctor had a maraca like shaker made from a human skull. The bone wands were used nearly like drumsticks at first, clacking a steady rhythm while the shaker took an aggressive lead. The beats along with the resurrection spells cast seemed to call the zombies to wake. Before the music had started, one of the priests sprinkled the ground around all fresh graves with chicken blood. The beats pounded for nearly three minutes before the ground in spots all over the cemetery began to heave. At this point, the four priests began to use the bone wands nearly like batons to literally conduct the zombies from their graves. Regulus and Kreacher clutched one another's hands, watching in fascination. When the bodies came into view they were mildly decomposed for the most part and moving sluggishly. There was no life in their eyes or slack expressions. They followed the wand conductions of the voodoo priests, shambling to where the sweeping wands pointed. They ended up standing in a row on the far right of the graveyard where one of the priests apparated away with them. The rest chanted something rhythmic in Haitian for nearly half a minute that seemed to shut the ceremony down. Though they knew nothing of Voodoo, Regulus and Kreacher understood that some rituals could not just be ended. The magic had been called up so it likewise had to be gently let down, released back into the ether or lowered down into the earth. When this was done, the group of four broke up, scattering and going their own ways. The three remaining priests blew out the candles and apparated away with them while the witch doctor who owned the Voodoo Doll hotel where Kreacher and Regulus were staying joined them. "How did you like it," he asked, white teeth gleaming like a lantern from the dark skin of his face as he grinned.

"It was fascinating," Regulus said and Kreacher nodded fervently. ""I wonder though," Regulus asked. "What would've happened to us if you lot weren't present."

The witch doctor chuckled, tucking the skull maraca under his arm as he led them from the graveyard. "Oh they would have only torn you both limb from limb if you had not used a fire spell to burn dem up," he said cheerfully.

Regulus and Kreacher exchanged a look of mutual discomfort. Hopefully neither would have nightmares about that later, Regulus thought dryly. They spent a week in Haiti, and while there avoided being attacked by any zombies. Their next stop was Guatemala, where Kreacher insisted on hunting down a Ceuyatl. He professed to very much wanting to have a look at one up close. To accomplish this, they had to take a magical creatures of Guatemala tour led by a very animated zoologist named Qitarah. She wasn't much taller than Kreacher and she had vast amounts of curly hair that she built into a chaotic tower atop her head. Being native to Guatemala, her English was sparse, but when she understood that Kreacher very much wished to see a Ceuyatl, she assured him that she could find one. She actually found several. A group of five was reported to raid three of the surrounding villages of late and they weren't bothering to hide themselves overly well. "You put out lots of food, they come runnin'," she explained in her thickly accented English. They bought lots of fresh produce at a nearby outdoor market and placed it near the last place the creatures were spotted. It didn't take them long to show up. The five giant frog like creatures hopped on their hind legs, and two even carried small blades while a third hefted a club. Eagerly they descended on the heaps of produce. "Kreacher is going to capture one and take it home to guard the manor," the elf proclaimed excitedly. "Here Ceuyatl," he called out, waving at the group of overly intelligent frogs. "Nice Ceuyatl. Now come to Kreacher. He has lots of food for you, you will see."

So that was it. That was why Kreacher had wanted to see Guatemala. Kreacher had taken it into his head to acquire himself a new and quite troublesome pet. Regulus scowled. "I have read that those are quite aggressive," he told Kreacher, not bothering to hide his displeasure and dismay at the idea. "Can't we just stick to your Boggarts? Please?"

"Very aggressive," Qitarah agreed, nodding emphatically. "They turn on each other and kill...eat...maybe they eat you when you sleep," she speculated. "You should listen to your friend," she advised Kreacher, who actually went so far as to pout.

"Kreacher will at least go and pet one," he proclaimed mutinously. "Here Ceuyatl! Nice Ceuyatl." He approached the group of five, gruff voice speaking in a soft croon as he extended a hand. He placed it on the head of the nearest, and it actually allowed him to pet it, probably out of shock,for a moment before easing away. "And we live another day," Regulus proclaimed as Kreacher rejoined he and Qitarah.