Hello again my fan-fiction friends, once again the illness bird has shat on myself and my dear editor, but we have managed between us to get this out, I hope you like it and the updates should go back to the usual weekends and larger chapter…
Ps I do not own harry potter, because if I did I would of replaced my blood with cider by now.
Once again I hope you enjoy this chapter..
Nickp41…signing off for now…
Chapter 12
Thiefs and stories
"STUPEFY!" boomed a voice and the room was lit with a red flash.
That's what Harry saw and heard as he landed out of the fireplace, in an instant he rolled and brought up his wand, while searching for a target.
"Hold your fire Harry, it is just I" said the headmaster, then holding his hands up said "Lumos" making the room they were in come alive with light.
Harry lowered his wand and gazed at the Professor,
"is everything ok sir? Is there someone here?" he asked scanning the room.
Dumbledore gave a weak smile and with a wave of his wand he turned on all the lamps in the house.
"That's better. Well Harry, when I arrived I bumped into an old friend who seemed to be treating your inheritance with a light-fingered manner" he said pointing down to a prone body.
All Harry saw was a heap of old rags.
"Who is it Sir?" Harry asked.
"Mundungus Fletcher. He decided to put up a bit of a fight but not to worry, and what do we have here?" Dumbledore said, lifting up a suitcase and when he opened it "oh my,i believe he has tried to take the Black family silver!".
Suddenly they heard a pitter patter of tiny feet,
"Bastard! Try to steal my Mistresses silver and my Masters locket" shouted a very bloody and angry Kreacher, who started to hit the unconscious man with a frying pan.
"Kreacher,what are you doing here" Harry asked, trying to stifle his laughter at the beating the man was getting. "You're meant to be at Hogwarts".
Kreacher's big eyes narrowed in on Harry and he started muttering,
"Ah the Potter boy is back and the blood traitor headmaster. My mistress will be displeased" and he gave Mundungus another smack.
Harry stood over Kreacher with his hands on his hips,
"Kreacher, by magic I am you Master and you will answer me. What are you doing here?" he ordered making the Elf shake with fear.
"I was summoned by the Black wards, Master and as I appeared this foul creature hit me" the Elf sobbed "He took the Master's Order Of Merlin, and the Mistresses silver, and .. and and..he took Master Regulus' locket" and with that he fell onto the floor sobbing.
Harry looked down into the case and he could almost feel the evil pouring from it. He took a step away as Dumbledore bent down and took out the egg-shaped locket with the emerald snake on it. He watched the headmaster slip it into his pocket with a smile.
"Kreacher, when you're ready can you tell us the story about the locket please" Harry asked in such friendly tones that the house elf cried that much harder.
It took ten minutes for Kreacher to calm down. During that time Dumbledore had vanished the very angry thief and had changed the Wards, so no one but himself and Harry could enter. When he came back Harry and Kreacher were chatting in the kitchen with all the stolen items on the table.
"How's everything here Harry?" the headmaster asked, taking a seat and he was instantly served a cup of tea by the now smiling Elf. Dumbledore looked at Harry with a quizzical look.
Harry smiled,
"I have given Kreacher the personal items of his former Great Masters as his own, so he can protect them, and I've said that at the weekends he can stay here and look after his Mistress's house. He can get it ready for when I move in after my education, isn't that right Kreacher?" he asked happily.
"Yes, Master Harry, he has been very kind to forgive old Kreacher for his old ways" Kreacher said while bowing low.
"Now my old friend, take a seat and tell us about the locket and Master Regulus, if you would" Harry asked kindly.
The house elf looked at the two wizards with tears in his eyes,
"When Master Regulus was just out of Hogwarts, he decided to do his pure-blooded duty and joined the dark lord's forces, and that made his parents so proud. But as time went by I saw my Master change from the happy young man I served loyally, to a shadow of a man. Then one day he told me to accompany the Dark Lord, as he needed an Elf. So, the Dark Lord took me to a dark cave filled with water, with a small island in the middle with a crystal basin. We journeyed in a small boat and upon arrival he ordered me to drink the potion from the basin. It burned. It burned my insides so much, but the Dark Lord just laughed, and when I had finished he dropped the locket into the basin, and watched as it refilled" kreacher shuddered with the memories flooding back.
Harry stroked the old elf's back,
"How did you escape Kreacher?" he asked kindly.
"Master Regulus was worried when the Dark Lord returned without me, so when he got home he called for me and hid me so I could heal myself. But a week later Master Regulus came back almost insane and just kept on muttering 'he must be stopped, it's unholy, he must be stopped' and then he ordered me to take him to the cave and made me promise to have him drink the potion this time and swap lockets, and once it was done I was to destroy it. I begged him to let me drink the potion, but he said it was his penance for the evil acts he had done in the Dark Lord's service. The potion made him scream constantly but I followed his order, and watched as my much-loved master was dragged to his death into that dark lake".
Kreacher was destroyed after the retelling of the story,
"I tried everything to destroy it but all my power didn't even make a mark on it. So I let my Master down, and lied to his parents who were so worried about him" he bawled.
Harry leaned forward and took the servant's hands,
"No Kreacher, listen to Master Harry. You didn't let him down. Yes, you couldn't destroy it but you kept it safe, and now Dumbledore will destroy it. So, your Master didn't lose his life for nothing. You have honor Kreacher. You are a true servant of the blacks and I'll be proud to call you my friend and servant" he said softly and looked at the now beaming headmaster "now Kreacher, go and clean yourself up to a Black standard, put all your new things away safely,and head back to Hogwarts".
With a bow,
"Yes, Master Harry" Kreacher replied and with a crack he disappeared.
Dumbledore clapped his hands,
"Oh well done Harry. I think you and your friends will be getting some points tonight" he said gleefully "shall we depart Harry?".
"Just one thing before we leave Sir" Harry said.
"Yes Harry".
Harry took a photo out of his pocket and slid it towards Dumbledore,
"Did you know that Draco was a death eater?" he asked. But the question hung in the air as the headmaster paled as he looked at the photo showing the unconscious Draco with the dark mark clearly visible. "Did you know?".
With a sigh Dumbledore answered,
"Yes Harry, I knew. But I've got people watching him at all times. You are safe Harry, trust me" the sad headmaster pleaded.
Harry stormed around the kitchen,
"Trust? I do sir. But now we have two death eaters in the school, and god knows how many more. How long till they band together? And yes, I might be safe but my friends, they might not be as lucky" he said loudly.
"Please Harry calm down, everything will be ok, I promise" Dumbledore begged "Lets not part angry at each other. We've dealt another blow to Voldemort, and I will explain why at our next meeting" and he stood up and walked to the fireplace. "Shall we go Harry?".
Harry nodded quietly, followed the headmaster and disappeared back to Hogwarts. When they got there Dumbledore placed a quick call to his friend in St Mungo's asking if he could come over to see about his arm.
"That was a very good idea Harry, about amputating my arm. I don't know why I didn't think of it before" the headmaster chuckled.
Harry headed towards the door,
"Well you're a busy man Sir, and by the way I do trust you" he said sadly and opened the door to leave, but turned back to the smiling headmaster "but if someone gets hurt because of Draco, I will deal with it as I see fit" and as Harry said that, he saw the old man pale, "Goodnight headmaster".
"Good night Harry".
Harry made his way back through the dark deserted castle, thoughts of all the things that had happened not just today but throughout the start of the year. He gave the password at Gryffindor tower, headed in, and true to their words sat waiting for him was Hermione, Ginny and Neville.
"Harry" they called out and ran straight to him and the two girls pulled him into a big hug.
"We were so worried, it seems like you've been ages" said Hermione.
"Did it go all ok? Did you find it?" questioned the young fiery redhead.
Harry sighed and gave them a smile and took a seat on the sofa, then was flanked by both girls which each took one of his hands. He looked up at his friend and said,
"Did you want to sit on my lap mate?!" and gave him a wink.
"Nah you're alright mate. You're not my type, tits are too small!" Neville said with a laugh.
"Neville, language" barked Hermione, while Ginny and Harry laughed.
Harry looked at Ginny then her hand holding his,
"Gin,are you sure? I don't want to cause trouble between you and Dean, and I know Ron hates me, but he is your brother".
With that Ginny stood up and in a very molly esque way put her hands on her hips, staring down at Harry, which made all three lean back,
"Now you listen here Harry James Potter" she barked.
'I'm always in trouble when they say my full name' Harry thought and watched her carry on.
"I have loved you since the first time I saw you, and yes it was a fan girl crush. But then you saved my life in my first year because of that damned diary" she said and visibly shuddered "then it wasn't any longer a fan girl crush. I fell for you big time, but for some unknown god damn reason every time I saw you I fell to pieces, then this one here" and pointed at Hermione "told me to move on and start dating and live a little. Yes, I cared for Dean, I really did. But he was so jealous, not just you, but of every swinging dick in the place!".
"Ginny, that's no language for a lady" berated Hermione while the boys laughed.
Ginny just smirked and waved it away,
"I'm no lady anyway, so why pretend Hermione" she said with a giggle "Harry, Dean was smothering me from day one. But as I was with him, you and I managed to get on better chatting and laughing, even a bit of flirting…. but of cause 'noble fucking Harry Potter' wouldn't cross those boundaries, so over the summer I thought stupidly that I had time to get to know you better and see if we could have something together. Because I knew it was only a matter of time until Dean and I would self-implode!" she started to pace up and down "But now Harry fucking Potter suddenly decides to mix things up a bit!".
Neville started to get up,
"I think it's time for my bed" he said softly.
"You stay there Neville" Ginny spat in fury making the older boy go pale and sit back down. Then she turned back round, her flame red hair whipping through the air,
"Not only do you start talking to other girls. You all but start dating half of fucking Slytherin! Don't get me wrong they are great and fun, but what a way to piss off most of the girls in the school, and you did it in pretty much one day too! So not only do you have four Slytherins hanging off your arm and Susan. You've made a good portion of the girls in this place wanting to be with you hating the girls who are, and all the blokes want to kill you for having some of the most desirable girls in Hogwarts running after you".
She then reclaimed her seat next to Harry and let herself calm down, once again took his hand and explained,
"Harry, when you were sparked out today for playing 'let's wind up the snakes', Susan and I as well as the other girls had a chat and they've agreed to let me join your little clique. They said it was only a matter of time until I joined anyway, smart girls that lot. So, in answer to your question yes I am sure. Dean and I are done, and Ron? Well he's just being his idiot self and if he wants to ruin your friendship over Tracey and that lot, well let him" Ginny then leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek.
The room was silent for a good few seconds till Hermione broke it,
"So, did you find it Harry?".
A shocked Harry just nodded and then told them story about Mundungus and Kreacher as well as Sirius's brother. Then he finished off with his warning to Dumbledore about Draco,
"I even showed him the photo but he still won't do anything" he said shaking his head "but anyway I'm really tired and I need my bed if that's alright".
Hermione leaned in and kissed him on the cheek,
"Goodnight Harry" she whispered and stood up and leaving quickly, followed by Neville who just slapped him on the shoulder and bid him goodnight.
That just left Ginny who was still holding his hand, which she used to pull him up and led him up the stairs and to where Neville had disappeared to,
"Night night Harry" she said softly as she wrapped her soft hands through his messy hair and pulled him into a long lingering kiss. "I'm glad we can be friends".
The dumbfounded Harry watched her hips sway as she walked away but as she reached her dorm's door she turned her head and looked at him over her shoulder,
"Oh Harry, for my date night I'd like us to go flying on your firebolt under the stars. Night harry" she said seductively and disappeared leaving him to his thoughts.