To Be Loyal

Chapter Seventeen

Disclaimer: I swear, JKR probably just put the magical transportation toilets (which don't belong to me, none of it does) in as a way to get into the Ministry because she thought the idea of forcing government employees to use them was hilarious. I can't blame her.

"Kreacher is what he has been made by wizards, Harry. Yes, he is to be pitied. His existence has been as miserable as your friend Dobby's. He was forced to do Sirius's bidding, because Sirius was the last of the family to which he was enslaved, but he felt no true loyalty to him. And whatever Kreacher's faults, it must be admitted that Sirius did nothing to make Kreacher's lot easier." Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

"Sirius betrayed you, Regulus. He betrayed all of us. One day, you will understand, and you will hate him for it as much as I do. If he does not return with due penitence, you will destroy him." —Orion Black to Regulus Black, December 1976

A/N: So, I made a small change to Chapter 15. Before, I followed the canon model for the Quidditch season, in which Gryffindor plays Slytherin first and then Hufflepuff in March. I've since flip-flopped it. This isn't even AU because who knows if the schedule was the same during James' parents time. So you all have a Gryffindor-Slytherin Quidditch game to look forward to in March! Remember that James, Alice, and Oscar Brown are the Gryffindor Chasers, and Frank is the Keeper.

I thought I'd let you all know that, as of now, the plan is for this story to be a trilogy called To Be Loyal. Each installment will have a different name, but the trilogy will be called To Be Loyal. Once we reach a certain point in the story, I plan to finish this part (which will have its own individual title by then) and start the sequel. Let me know if you have any thoughts/suggestions about this.

January 24, 1976

James's fingers were interlaced with Lily's on the rim of the fountain they were sitting on, and Sirius had to stifle a smile every time one of them stole a glance at the other. Since Transfiguration was his best subject, James was taking the lead as the trio studied for their upcoming exam on Conjuration. He and Sirius had quickly perfected the Bird-Conjuring Spell, but Lily was struggling.

Three wingless seagulls burst out of the end of Lily's wand and fell to the pavement, squawking loudly, and she huffed and rolled her eyes. "Why do you two always get this so easily?"

"Don't worry, Lily, you'll school us when we study Charms," Sirius assured her.

"Thanks, Sirius," Lily said, looking slightly embarrassed."Sorry, it's not such a big deal."

"You'll get it," James encouraged her, and she tried again, her brow furrowing intently as she concentrated on the spell.

"It's all about your visualization," James said earnestly after Lily's fourth attempt produced a flock of featherless birds. Sirius saw him squeeze her hand. "Close your eyes, picture the object in your mind, and imagine looking at it from all angles. What sounds does it make? Where have you seen it before?"

An impressed look came over Lily's face as she closed her eyes and presumably followed James's instructions, and James grinned when Sirius gave him a thumbs up.

He was happy for them. At first, he had been a little worried that James would distance him in the wake of his new relationship-I can't believe they're not officially together yet-but instead, he had found himself growing closer to Lily. It was like he had gained a responsible, caring older sister, and he liked it.

Just the past week, James and Sirius had brewed up a large batch of Fungiface Potion and slipped it into the pitcher of pumpkin juice that they knew would appear near the spot where Snape, Mulciber, and their goons sat at dinner. The covert trip to the kitchens, made all too easy by James's Cloak, had been loads of fun, and watching everyone's reactions at dinner had been even better. Even Lily had cracked a smile when red and gold mushrooms had begun growing on Mulciber's face. She had burst out laughing after James had, with a straight face, told McGonagall that he "refused to incriminate himself" when she questioned them.

Lily let out a loud yawn, then shook her head to clear it and concentrated on visualizing the seagulls she was trying to conjure. She mouthed the incantation several times to herself, then muttered, "Avis!"

"Got it!" Lily crowed triumphantly as a trio of perfectly formed seagulls flew out of the end of her wand. She turned to James with a satisfied smile. The conjured seagulls landed nearby, and Sirius grinned as Padfoot's canine instincts ordered him to chase them. He thought this would be a fun way to introduce Lily to Padfoot.

He leapt at the group of birds, transforming into Padfoot in midair. They scattered, one narrowly avoiding a halfhearted snap of his jaws. He barked loudly after the birds as they sought a safer altitude, and Lily stared at him.

"Goodness, Sirius, your teeth are huge," Lily remarked, taking the surprise reveal in stride. "So I suppose this is why they call you Padfoot. I figured you'd be a dog given James's hint during the Monopoly game. It suits you," she said, adding, "you know, because dogs are loyal."

Padfoot ducked his head modestly as she turned to James. "What's your form, then?"

"A stag," James answered as he cast a Bird-Conjuring Charm in Padfoot's direction. As he must have expected, Padfoot chased the new group of seagulls across the courtyard.

One of the seagulls let out a loud squawk! and Padfoot lunged, just missing one bird's tail feathers before it ascended out of his reach. James and Lily's laughter washed over him as he lowered his head in shame at his failure to catch his quarry.

I'll go for a run and give them some time to themselves, Padfoot decided, and he dashed through a stone entryway that led out onto the grounds. He sniffed the air, taking in the familiar scents of the grounds as he loped across the grass.

Padfoot accelerated into a sprint, enjoying the feeling of the wind against his fur. He loved being able to shed his worries along with his human form. He focused on digging his paws into the dirt below him and launching himself forward at a pace that he never could have reached as a human. The dog raced past Hagrid's hut and rapidly approached the Black Lake, which was almost completely obscured by a thick fog. Padfoot barked loudly as he reached the shore of the Lake and began a long, curving loop around the shoreline.

Suddenly, the calm surface of the lake erupted, pierced by a long purple tentacle that slapped the ground ahead of Padfoot. Padfoot barked in excitement as he leapt over the obstacle and kept running, maintaining a meter of space between himself and the bank as he rounded the northernmost tip of the Black Lake. Padfoot dodged and weaved through the Giant Squid's tentacles as they thrashed at the ground around him. His legs locked momentarily as his paws skidded once on a patch of frozen mud, but he allowed himself to fall and roll under a sweeping tentacle before scrambling to his paws. Generally, he tried not to be too reckless with his maneuvers; while Padfoot and the squid had played this game many times, he had learned the hard way that the creature didn't know its own strength. Those tentacles are thicker than my body is wide.

The Giant Squid followed the dog along the shore until Padfoot had run over half the length of the lake and could see Hogsmeade in the distance. Panting heavily, he peeled off and trotted away from the shoreline until he was well out of the squid's reach.

The blobby head of the huge creature surfaced briefly and fixed one of its enormous eyes on the comparatively small and well-defined form of the canine it had been pursuing. Padfoot took a moment to admire the creature. Its deep purple, glossy skin and many-suckered tentacles were truly impressive, although Padfoot's knowledge of the Squid's playful nature staved off any feelings of intimidation. It was famous in Hogwarts for its intelligence and friendly nature.

The Squid lashed two of its tentacles against the water in a petulant display of frustration. Padfoot howled a farewell, and the creature raised another tentacle and swept it across the water in response. Spray from the lake doused Padfoot, and he shook his fur to try to relieve the sudden chill as the Squid sank beneath the water.

Padfoot shook himself again before transforming back into Sirius. A laugh bubbled in his throat, and he let it out, slapping his hands against his thighs in pure enjoyment of the moment Thrill had always been an escape for Sirius. He'd avoided Quidditch to escape the stress that came with it, but he loved the exhilaration of flying nearly as much as James.

He began walking slowly back around the lake, taking his time to appreciate the crisp and clear January morning. He was halfway back to the castle when he heard a familiar ear-piercing crack!

The tip of Sirius's wand was inches from Kreacher's bulbous eyes before the house-elf could move or speak. "You!" Sirius spat.

The Black house-elf immediately began muttering abuse, but a cautious step away from Sirius betrayed his apprehension. "The treacherous heir, the runaway, he dares point his wand at a possession of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black," Kreacher muttered contemptuously. "Already broke Mistress's heart with his blood-traitor ways, but that's not enough, oh no, he has to kill her house-elf too, doesn't he?"

Sirius wrestled Padfoot's canine instincts down to keep himself from baring his teeth at the elf. "Why are you here?" he snapped. He hated Kreacher; the elf had turned on him when his parents had, and Kreacher had been responsible for guarding the pantry when Sirius had his "food privileges" revoked. "You're here to take me back to them, aren't you?" He tightened his grip on his wand and struggled to keep his arm from shaking. I won't let him take me, I won't, he thought, his previous good mood drowned under a surge of almost hysterical panic. They'll break me down, they'll use me against my friends, they'll own me-

I wish James was here, he thought. He'd rather have any of them, even Peter, at his side than face this alone.

"No," Kreacher said firmly, and Sirius startled in surprise, his frantic train of thought suddenly derailed. "Kreacher is here of his own account, as much as he hates going to the blood-traitor once-master for help. Master and Mistress do not want the traitor in the House of Black, not unless he changes his ways."

Sirius gritted his teeth. He'd already known that, but hearing it from Kreacher still made some stupid part of him hurt. "Not going to happen. Now, what do you want?" A house-elf leaving the home without an order from their master was nearly unheard of, especially among old pureblood families.

Kreacher wrung his bony hands in anxiety. "Master and Mistress are most wise, Kreacher knows this, he knows they know best, but Kreacher… Kreacher is very worried about Master Regulus."

Sirius cocked his head questioningly at the elf. They'd never hurt Regulus, he thought with certainty. What is this about? He took a slow step back and lowered his wand. "Explain."

Kreacher stared at his own feet as he spoke; it seemed that this mitigated the guilt he felt at going behind his masters' backs. "After the blood-traitor left, Mistress said that she needs to make sure one of her children turn out right, but it's not her fault, with a Squib and a blood-traitor-"

"Get to the point, Kreacher," Sirius snarled as he suppressed the urge to hex the elf. "What did they do to Regulus?"

Kreacher's ears drooped, and he looked sorrowful for the first time. "Master and Mistress train him every day so that Master Regulus will be a perfect weapon for the Dark Lord. A training of mind, body, and the Darkest of magic." The elf fixed Sirius with a dark glare.

Sirius took a step back in horror. "You don't mean-"

"The blood-traitor knows exactly what Kreacher means!" the house-elf hissed, shaking a bony fist at Sirius. "Because the coward left, Master and Mistress are doing everything they can so the Dark Lord will be impressed by Master Regulus. In the depths of the House of Black, they push the new heir beyond his limits each day with spells that will make him stronger and…" Kreacher closed his eyes and grabbed his ears in apparent anguish. "And better able to deal with pain," he croaked.

"No," Sirius snapped, "they'd never hurt him. You're lying!" They'd never-Reg was supposed to be safe-

He knew that Grimmauld Place had hidden rooms filled with books of ancient magic that Sirius would rather not think about. But they wouldn't use them on Regulus.

Kreacher didn't bother to contradict him. "Kreacher has a message from Master Regulus," he croaked. The elf held one thin arm as high as he could and snapped his fingers, and a small glass vial appeared, floating in the air above his palm. It was filled with a silvery substance that was an odd cross between a liquid and a gas.

A gesture from Kreacher sent the vial floating toward Sirius, who examined it closely before snatching it out of the air. A memory… His parents had taught him about Pensieves before. This will contain the truth, he knew. Regulus wouldn't make up lies to get me to come home.

"Kreacher took it from Master Regulus's mind, at his request," Kreacher said. "Now Kreacher must return, before Master and Mistress begin to… to suspect." Kreacher lowered his head in shame, but not before Sirius caught sight of a weary expression on his wrinkled face. He felt an unexpected surge of sympathy and gratitude for the elf. "Kreacher will punish himself most grievously for this."

"Kreacher," Sirius said before the elf could Disapparate. "Thank you."

Kreacher gave him a long, inscrutable look. Sirius wasn't sure, but if pressed, he would have described it as thoughtful. Some kind of emotion flickered on the house elf's face, and then he nodded slowly. "I live to serve the House of Black," Kreacher said quietly, then disappeared with another piercing crack! like the sound produced by a whip before it strikes.

Sirius stared into the swirling depths of Regulus's memory for a long moment before stuffing the vial into the pocket of his robes and striding purposefully toward the castle.

He needed to find a way to access Dumbledore's Pensieve.

A/N: So, I might really go for a once-a-week schedule from now on. Yes, I know you're skeptical, but I am on break from college now.

I hope you enjoyed this. Please let me know what you think in a review! Hope you're all doing well.