The Search Is Over,
Chapter 131, Not Good Enough For Heaven, or Bad Enough For Hell
For the next several weeks, Kreacher was frequently occupied with the task of training his new elves. At first Regulus was disgruntled when at least half of Kreacher's waking time wasn't spent in his company, and instead was taken up with the rigorous training of four elves, who, to Regulus's mind already seemed quite competent.
When asked about this, Kreacher was more than willing to expound upon the fact that simply because they were trained, did not at all mean they were trained to his standards. He wanted very much for the elves to perform all tasks precisely as he would. Regulus had no idea that there was more than one way to clean a floor or dust portraits, but apparently he had much to learn if he cared to do so, which in all honesty he didn't.
In the end it was simply easier to leave Kreacher to it and hope he had the elves trained to his satisfaction soon. Then he and Regulus could live as they'd always wanted, free to pursue anything from private alone time to book shopping together without Kreacher having to bestir himself over the upkeep of the manor.
While he waited, Regulus busied himself with his music. He practiced old songs and learned new ones. There was one in particular that he discovered when browsing through a music shop with Kreacher in Knockturn Alley after an evening hunt. It was by a witch named Heather Alexander, and it moved him like no other he'd ever heard.
It gave him chills, because it felt as if it were written just for him. As she had no idea of his true situation, that was impossible, but it just showed how magically subjective music was. A song could very clearly mean one thing to someone and something else to another person and both were as true as it got.
The song was called Fallen Angel and every word resonated with Regulus's feelings on what he had gone through with Voldemort as well as the long aftermath before reuniting with Kreacher and the Lestranges again. It even had a line about three souls being the cost of his remaining in the hell of his situation,and how if he walked away their lives forever were lost. When in hiding there in the beginning, he was afraid to return in part, for fear of putting the Lestranges more at risk.
The song was raw and full of suffering, torn emotions and a need for mercy to be bestowed on the fallen angel who was doing the suffering. Of course Kreacher disliked it very much. He tried to be polite, claiming to love anything Master Regulus performed, but the set expression on his face whenever Regulus played the song told another story.
Though Regulus loved the song for how thoroughly he related to it, he began to delve into those songs to which he didn't personally relate as well. Mag said as long as he liked a song, not relating to it, yet still producing the feeling it portrayed to others was just as necessary. Music, for a bard, was all about feeling, and if he only projected the feelings of songs he had experienced personally, he was more limited.
A true bard could play the heart strings of the audience with any song he actually connected to even if he did not relate to it personally. He started with a song from one of the most magical times in music as he saw it, the nineteen-eighties.
It was by a group called, Cinderella, though they were all men. The song was about recovering from a bad break up, which of course he had never done, but the power and the magic in it made him feel alive and invigorated, as if he could do anything.
Customizing it and making it his own was an enjoyable process, and solidified the magic he could project when playing it. Kreacher actually seemed to appreciate that one, which was nice. They both decided it could be a very fitting song from Dora to Marius.
Then there were those other songs that he didn't fully relate to on their own, but with a little creative interpretation, they could mean something else. He could take songs like that and channel his own feelings into them easily.
One of his favorites along those lines was a song called We're Not Gonna Take It, by a group named Twisted Sister. Yet another band that was all men, with no sisters in sight, so the why of the name, though mildly amusing, was unclear.
Perhaps it was simply an eighties fad that only Muggles understood. The song was, for Regulus, an anthem for Purebloods to stand up against the tyranny enforced by the Ministry's of the world which allowed the Muggles to unwittingly keep their fear-filled boots on the necks of wizards. In actuality, the song appeared to be about the right to play rock and roll, but freedom was freedom in the end.
One evening, Regulus was practicing another eighties song called Live To Tell, by a very strange Muggle named Madonna. It put him in mind of how Gellert may have felt in prison, so he wanted to try performing it for him just to randomly test out his bardic skills. He'd played it through about four times when the howler arrived.
It was from Millicent, and it said that she'd finally tracked down some information for he and Kreacher about fairies. Regulus hastily wrote to ask if she could bring it over now, and promised drinks and snacks if she and Wolfgang had time for a visit.
Serving guests would provide the elves with yet another opportunity to show Kreacher that they knew how to perform basic tasks. Of course Kreacher was already quite aware, or truly should be, but he didn't seem satisfied yet with their performance, mostly because they had their own ways of doing things that weren't his. Regulus found it a bit ridiculous, but would continue to patiently wait it out as long as it ended relatively soon
Mortis kindly took his reply to Millicent and she and Wolfgang arrived fifteen minutes later. Regulus had had time to tell Kreacher and the elves that he'd invited her and Wolfgang over so the snacks were ready when the couple arrived.
"Let me tell you, Kreacher," Millicent grumbled, giving a disgruntled shake of her head.
"There was so much bullshit to weed through on the Muggle Internet thingy that my brain felt melted daily! I finally came across something that seems legit, though."
Kreacher gave Millicent a warm smile.
"Kreacher and Master Regulus appreciate Millicent very much. She is a brilliant witch, and if anyone could find anything useful on the Muggle Net, it is her."
Millicent smiled modestly, shrugging.
"Hey, it gives me something to do when I get bored from stealing money or online shopping."
Kreacher led the way into the library, Piper and Jazz following. Jazz carried a tray holding two glasses of wine, and Piper's was filled with a variety of small sandwiches and cakes.
"I see you finally got your elves," Millicent said.
"Congratulations."
,"Yes," Kreacher murmured, looking pleased.
"Hi, Kreacher's elves," Millicent greeted Piper and Jazz, who both gave her bemused nods.
At Kreacher's dismissive nod, the two rushed out before Regulus could introduce them.
"So here's what I found," Millicent said, extracting a sheet of white paper from her shoulder bag. A few printed lines filled the top of the page and the rest was blank. Millicent read the few lines aloud before passing the sheet of paper to Kreacher.
"The origin of fairies dates to ancient Greek documentation, where fairies were referred to as Nymphs. These nymphs protected the face of Mother Earth. ... They believed that fairies weren't bad enough for hell but not good enough for heaven, so they were sent to Earth.
Note that some translations have it the other way around that, fairies weren't bad enough for heaven or good enough for hell, but that appears to be a translation error. Fairies have long had the image of slender, beautiful females."
Murmuring his thanks, Kreacher studied the page with a distracted expression.
"So elves could be related to Nymphs," Regulus said thoughtfully.
"Elves are also slender, and at least this particular one is very sensual."
He gave Kreacher a wink, and Kreacher grinned, though his round blue eyes were still distracted as they stared at the page he held without seeming to truly focus on it.
"If Nymphs protect the earth, this could tie in with elves protecting the plot of earth on which a family's home is placed," Regulus speculated.
"Yes but then why only certain families," Millicent asked and Regulus nodded.
"Once I knew you two were researching this, I asked my parents elf if he had any idea why elves had to serve certain families and he looked at me as if I'd gone bloody mad," she said with a chuckle.
"Sorry, guys."
"That's alright," Kreacher murmured, lowering the page to his lap.
"Protecting the earth does resonate with Kreacher somehow," he told Regulus.
"Kobolds are also creatures of the earth, so that is interesting," Wolfgang mused, speaking up for the first time save for a greeting when he and Millicent had arrived.
Kobolds were the equivalent to house elves in Germany, but the kobold had to agree to serve the wizard through a bargain of exchange of goods or services, and such creatures were not ones to tolerate mistreatment, so the bonds were a bit different, and to Regulus's mind, more healthy.
"That is interesting," he said, nodding to Wolfgang as Kreacher suddenly sprang up from his chair and hurried over to the tall corner book shelf which held all the tomes on mythology. After scanning the shelf intently for several seconds, he snatched out a book and was already flipping through it nearly feverishly as he returned to his seat.
"Kreacher knows he saw something about her in this book," he murmured.
"About who," Regulus asked.
"The goddess," Kreacher replied.
"Wait. Kreacher will find it."
Millicent, Wolfgang and Regulus remained still and silent as Kreacher scoured the pages for whatever it was he was looking for. Nearly three minutes past with the elf murmuring to himself as he quickly turned pages.
"Here it is," he said at last.
Straightening triumphantly in his chair, he began to read.
"Themis, (Greek: "Order") in Greek religion
, personification of justice, goddess of wisdom and good counsel, and the interpreter of the gods' will. Earlier writings have her as an earth goddess, and precursor of Diana before the maiden, mother and crone were written of. In this incarnation, she was served by the serpent maiden, Echidna, who lived in a cave deep within the earth."
Regulus recalled Kreacher calling out to a goddess more than once during their more intense moments of love-making, and wondered if he'd had Themis or Echidna in mind.
"Hey, nice. Echidna is perfect for Slytherin," Millicent said.
"Do you think she has something to do with the elves because of the earth thing, Kreacher?"
"Kreacher doesn't know, but he thought of using the name Echidna when pretending to be a girl when he and Master Regulus went on a date with Severus and Mag."
"You what?"
Kreacher chuckled, shrugging.
"It was nothing. Just a little joke. We were finally telling Severus and Mag that we are a couple, so decided to have a bit of creative fun with it and Kreacher thought it was fitting to use the name Echidna. He supposes he also thought it was fitting for Slytherin and for him, but now he is wondering if there may not be more to it. He doesn't know."
"I have amassed many fascinating books on earth magic from when I was studying to find a kobold," Wolfgang said.
"If you like, I can bring them over for you to borrow, Kreacher."
Kreacher nodded.
"Yes, Kreacher would like that. He and Master Regulus can study them together."
"Do we even know what we're searching for," Regulus asked and Kreacher slowly shook his head.
"Likely not, but Kreacher believes we may recognize it when we find it."