Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Harry Potter/Wizarding World. They were all created by the genius that is J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who's reading you all give me all kinds of warm fuzzy feelings. To Ceo55 after thinking about it I really don't think a shotgun would work. After all Harry did try 'reducto' which I would think is the equivalent of shooting something with a sawed off shotgun and that didn't work. Voldemort kind of reminds me of a cockroach I think if you dropped a tactical nuke on the guy he'd still be alive and kicking when the mushroom cloud and radiation cleared. It might cause him to sprout a tail though so that might be interesting. To TheUnforgiven135 I defiantly have some things up my sleeve that is very different from the book. As far as the core timeline it does stick close to cannon because I think some events are very important for the development of the characters but they won't be exactly the same as they book. Finally to mishi gohiku you are correct there is a third branch of this story but it won't come into effect for a few more chapters. I think you'll be surprised where it's gonna go too. And as for it being like a soap…nobody has died only to come back later and divulge a deep dark family secret…yet anyway. Now….onto our story…..

Chapter 35: Be Kind to House-Elves You Never Know When They Might Surprise You

Harry woke up early, knowing that Hermione hadn't been resting much; he slid from her embrace, dressed, and slipped from the room. Since they'd arrived back at Grimmauld Place, he hadn't really allowed himself to fully explore it. When they'd stayed here the summer after Voldemort returned, it had been not only the Head Quarters for the Order of the Phoenix but also infested with all kinds of pests not including Kreature. It was the first time he'd given any thought to the House-Elf that had come under his charge when he was left Sirius's sole heir. He wondered what exactly Kreature was up to, if he was still at Hogwarts serving in the kitchens or if he was off having another tete-a-tete with Bellatrix. He was getting ready to summoning the lecherous little devil when something caught his attention. There on the plaque hanging on the door directly across from the room he and Hermione had been sharing since they'd arrived back at Grimmauld Place. "Hermione! Ron!" Harry called out of excitement as he pulled R.A.B.'s note from his mole skin bag.

"Blimey 'Arry what is it?" Ron yawned as he tripped over his own oversized feet as he came up the stairs.

"What's the matter?" Hermione asked coming out of their room.

"All this time R.A.B. has been right across the hall." Harry said showing her the note and the plaque on the door.

"Regulus Arcturus Black." Hermione read running her fingertips over the words. "R.A.B."

"Sirius' brother?" Ron asked a little skeptical.

"It makes sense, Sirius told me that he'd been a Death Eater. He was really young when he joined up and got cold feet about a mission. Sirius said they killed him because of it." Harry explained. "And the hand writing matches."

"I agree it fits, I mean if he became a Death Eater and became disenchanted he would have wanted to bring Voldemort down!" Hermione gasped.

"Alright then should we start searching after breakfast?" Ron asked. Doing a full scale search on an empty stomach wasn't exactly his idea of fun.

"I swear your brain is located in your stomach." Hermione said as she and Harry went into the bedroom.

"I don't really think this will take long." Harry said to Ron, "Then we can have breakfast." He silently added a triumphant one but didn't want to jinx anything yet.

It was clear that the room was exactly the way Regulus had left before his death. There was a pair of boots haphazardly tossed over in the corner, a simple black robe hanging from a rack, and trivial items littering the top of a chest of drawers. It was decorated in emerald and silver, the Slytherin colors. Much like the rest of the Black family, Sirius exclude, it was the perfect display of love of blood status and Black Family pride. As Hermione looked around the room it made her almost feel sorry for Mrs. Black. The woman might have been a Purebloodist, but she loved her sons even if she didn't really know how to express it. Both Regulus and Sirius' bed rooms had been left exactly as they had been the last time they'd stepped foot in them. "Are you alright?" Harry looked over at his girlfriend.

"Just thinking is all." She said walking across the room to look at the cork board covered in newspaper clippings. "Harry you should have a look at this."

"Looks like he was a fan of You Know Who's work before he joined the Death Eaters," Ron said.

"Makes sense," Harry said looking at a picture beside of the board of the Slytherin Quidditch team. "He played Seeker."

"How do you know?" Hermione asked.

"He's sitting in the middle of the front roll that's where the Seeker sits." Harry said. "Does he remind you of anyone else?" Ron shook his head and Hermione gave him a confused look. "Draco Malfoy."

"How do you figure?" Ron asked.

"Well let's see they were both taught Dark-Arts and Purebloodism from the cradle. They both admired Voldemort from a young age, they both hated Muggles and Muggle-Borns." Harry said.

"They were both very young when they became Death-Eaters." Hermione threw in.

"They both got cold feet." Harry said. "You'd think Voldemort would have learned his lesson the first time."

"I don't think he ever expected Draco to go through with it." Hermione said sitting down on the dust covered bed. "I mean if you think about it, it does make sense. I think he was trying to punish Lucius Malfoy for failing him."

"That's true, Draco was lowering his wand and when Snape killed Dumbledore…he was terrified." Harry said.

Hermione slid her hand into Harry's and squeezed it gently. It was rare that Harry spoke of that night on the Astronomy Tower she knew that it still hurt. "Why don't we finish up here?"

Unfortunately, the luck they had the day before had run out. They started with Regulus's bedroom and then expanded the search to the top two floors and the attic. By that point it was early afternoon and they were all starting to think with their stomachs. They were all sitting around the kitchen table when Hermione dropped her spoon into her soup and her face paled. "Hermione…what's wrong?" Harry asked turning her to face him.

"….there was a locket." She said barely above a whisper.

"Huh?" Ron asked his mouth full of food, "Where I didn't see one."

Hermione shook her head, "There was a locket, in the cabinet, in the drawing room. Nobody could open it and we…..we….tossed in a rubbish bin."

"We tossed it out when we were cleaning the place for the Order." Ron said.

"Maybe….maybe it didn't get tossed out. Kreacher nicked loads of stuff back from us remember." Harry said with a glimmer of hope. "He had loads of stuff stashed in his cupboard."

Harry, Hermione, and Ron quickly abandoned their meal and walked over to the cabinet where Kreatcher's nest of dirty old blankets was. Hermione couldn't help but smile a little when she saw the blanket she'd made him, Christmas a few years back, neatly folded on top. What she couldn't help but noticed that the cabinet no longer glimmered with Kreature's prize possessions. In fact the only other thing besides the blanket was an old copy of Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy. "This isn't over yet." Harry said when he saw the looks of defeat on Ron's face. He raised his voice and called for his elf.

Several minutes later there was a loud crack and the elderly house-elf appeared. "Master." He croaked. "Back in my mistress's old house with the Blood Traitor Weasley and the Mudblood-"

Harry narrowed his eyes at the elf, "I forbid you to call anyone 'blood traitor' or 'mudblood.'" He snapped. "I have a question for you and I order you to answer it with the truth, alright?

"Yes Master." Kreacher said bowing so low that his nose touched the dirty kitchen floor.

"Two years ago, there was a big gold locket in the drawing room upstairs and we threw it out. Did you steal it back?" he asked.

Kreacher didn't answer for a long time. Harry knew that he was trying to think up a way to keep from answering him but the end he finally said, "Yes."

He sighed in relief, "Where is it now?" he asked looking at Ron and Hermione who was also beaming at their good fortune.

It was when Harry answered that simple question that Kreacher looked at the floor in shame. "Gone." He croaked simply.

He frowned, "What do you mean it's gone?" his voice slightly raised. Kreacher's bottom lip trembled and he shook visibly but didn't say anything. "Kreacher I order-"

"The thief Mundungus Fletcher took it." Kreacher croaked his eyes tightly closed. "Mundungus Fletcher stole it all: Miss Bella's and Missy Cissy's picture, my Mistress's gloves, the Order of Merlin: First Class, the goblets with the family crests and-and-" he wasn't able to finish he was breathing so hard. After a few seconds he opened his eyes and he shrieked. "-and Master Regulus's locket, Kreacher did wrong, Kreacher failed in his orders!"

Harry had seen too many times, Dobby punishing himself. He knew exactly what Kreacher was getting ready to do. As the house elf lunged for the fire place poker Harry tackled him. "Kreacher, I order you to stay still." It was only when he felt the elf freeze that he let him go but Kreature didn't move he stayed on the floor sobbing hard.

"Harry let him up." Hermione whispered with tears in her eyes.

"So he can beat himself with the bloody poker? I don't think so." Harry then looked down at the elf. "Kreacher I need you to tell me the truth. How do you know Mundungus Fletcher took the locket?"

"Kreacher saw him!" he gasped sitting up and rocking back and forth. "Kreacher saw him coming out of Kreachers' cupboard with his hands full of Kreachers' treasures. Kreacher told the sneak thief to stop, but Mundungus Fletcher laughed and r-ran…"

"You called the locket 'Master Regulus'" Harry said. "Why? Where did it come from?"

It was then that the house elf launched into a tale about the last hours of Regulus Black's life. How Regulus had volunteered for Voldemort to use Kreacher for something very special. How Voldemort then took him deep into a cave by the sea that was filled with dark magic. That he made Kreacher drink a potion that made him see the most horrible things, Voldemort only laughed and then left him there. When the Dark Lord was done he'd left Kreacher alone in that cave and Master Regulus was worried when Kreacher didn't come back right away. Master had told Kreacher to come back and so Kreacher did. He went on to tell them that his Master made Kreacher take him back to that same cave and he made Kreacher take the evil locket and leave without him with the promise that he would make sure to destroy the locket. By the time he had finished his tale Hermione was in tears and Ron and Harry weren't far from it. "Oh Kreacher!" Hermione sobbed kneeling down in front of the elf and tried to pull him into her arms to comfort him.

Kreacher wouldn't allow Hermione to, "The Mudblood touched Kreacher, he won't allow it! What would his Mistress say?" he sobbed.

Harry looked murderous, "I told you not to call her a Mudblood." Harry snarled but Kreacher was already punishing himself which only distressed Hermione more.

"Harry, stop him-make him stop." Hermione cried, "Don't you see now how sick it is the way they have to obey?"

"Kreacher stop." Harry said. Kreacher was lying breathless on the floor still sobbing silently. Harry looked over at Hermione he was starting to understand where she was coming from. While he understood that some elves, like the elves at Hogwarts, enjoyed their enslavement there were elves like Dobby, Winkie, and Kreacher who had truly been mistreated by their masters. He set down beside Hermione on the floor and ran his hand over the elves' head. "What happened next?" he asked after a few moments. "Did you destroy the locket?"

Kreacher's eyes welled up with tears again. "I tried and tried but nothing Kreacher could do would harm the locket. Then I would punish myself and try again. I d-disobeyed m-my Master Regulus. I couldn't tell anyone what happened in the cave because Master had for-forbidden him to tell any of the fa-family. Oh my Mistress's heart was b-broken." Kreacher sobbed harder.

"Kreacher, you didn't fail Master Regulus. I'm sure that he would have been proud of you for taking care of it. In fact" Harry said after a few minutes then pulled the fake Horcruxe from his pocket and handed it to the elf. "I think he would have wanted you to have this."

Kreacher looked up at Harry with complete wonder, "You would present Kreacher with a Black Family Treasure?"

Harry looked at the grubby locket and then a Kreacher, "Um….yes." he said as the elf burst in to tears.

"Harry I think you broke him." Ron said. He'd been so quiet that both Harry and Hermione had almost forgotten he was in the room.

"Kreacher when you're…done…I'd like you to track down Mundungus Fletcher and bring him back here can you do that?" he asked. The elf didn't say anything as he Disapperated from the room.

Harry sighed and looked at Ron and Hermione. "I don't understand it, after Voldemort tried to kill him in that cave. Then Regulus died trying to bring Voldemort down, that Kreacher willingly went to Narcissa and Bellatrix to pass information to them. Then betrayed Sirius to Voldemort I don't understand it."

Hermione wiped her eyes and looked over at him. "I don't think he thinks like that. He's a slave and House-Elves are used to being mistreated. What Voldemort did to Kreacher wasn't that far from ordinary for Kreacher. What do wizard wars mean to House-Elves? He's loyal to people who are kind to him. Mrs. Black must have been and Regulus definatly was. So he served them faithfully and parroted their beliefs about pureblood lines, they probably found it cute. He'd have been like a pet to them." She said then stopped Harry before he could interrupt her. "I know what you're going to say, Regulus changed his mind. He hadn't explained that to Kreacher he probably figured that they would be safer if they didn't know. That's why he swore Kreacher to secrecy about the cave as well, he was trying to protect all of his family."

"Sirius-" Harry started.

"Was horrible to Kreacher," Ron said then turned to Harry, "You know he was mate."

"Kreacher wasn't exactly kind to him." Harry protested.

"Harry we all loved Sirius too, he wasn't kind to Kreacher, you know it's true. Think about it, Kreacher had been alone for a long time after Mrs. Black died. When Sirius came to live here, he was probably starving for a bit of affection. I'm sure when he took his leave during Christmas Holiday, Bellatrix and Narcissa were pleasant to him and in return he done a favor for them. I've said all along that wizards would pay for how they treated House-Elves."