Hallowed
Chapter Two: A Reluctant Kreacher
Managing to place the parchment in the mokeskin pouch Hagrid had given him, Harry stared around for a few seconds but felt Hermione shake him gently. He went with her while still casting an eye around the crowd. The tabby or ny traces of her were gone when they reached the apparition point, however. Feeling Hermione's hand grip his arm, Harry felt a sudden sensation of being condensed and forced through a narrow tube. Darkness followed this, and when he felt he could breathe again, he opened his eyes to see a narrow street and several shops.
"Where are we and what do we do now?" Ron's first question was met with Hermione's quick answer.
"Tottenham Court Road in muggle London." She was already looking over the shops and settled on a café in the corner. As for Ron's second question, she hurried along the street and darted into an alleyway. "Come on. We'll need to change out of these robes." Hermione motioned to the entrance to a public toilet, and Ron frowned. "Oh go on! We have to blend in or anyone who may have followed us will be able to-"
"Okay, I'm going." Harry had to suppress a snort at Ron's exasperation. Sure, it wasn't the best place to change, but it was better than stripping down in some alleyway behind rubbish bins and hoping no one saw them. Following Ron down into the underground toilets, he heard Ron speak again. "Erm Hermione, what exactly are we changing into? I think we left everything at the Burrow."
"Don't be silly." Stopping just outside the men's door, she flicked her wand and muttered "Scourgify!" at a spot on the floor which cleaned itself immediately. Dropping her handbag down with a loud thump, she opened it and rummaged around; eventually retrieving jeans, socks, and trainers for Harry, Ron, and herself. Closing the bag again, she handed the boys their clothing and picked up her bag again. "I've had the essentials packed for days now. That's why I was sorting out the books and everything. Harry, your rucksack is in here as well. Just bring your dress robes back out when you're done changing."
"Blimey." Ron said in admiration as they entered the men's toilet. "You'd think she had this planned all summer."
"Knowing Hermione, I'd say she has." Both Harry and Ron chose separate stalls and entered. They were appalled by the shape the stalls were in, and both could be heard saying "Scourgify" to clear up the unkempt toilets. Harry, whose robes had returned to their usual length and width with the wearing off of the polyjuice potion, began removing them and managed to have them folded well and floating in the air beside him as he pulled on the clothes Hermione had packed for him. Once dressed, Harry put his glasses on again and exited the stall to find Ron lacing up his trainers near the sink.
"Honestly, she's like my mum…" Looking from Ron to himself, Harry didn't quite know what Ron meant. Thankfully, he clarified. "She packs maroon…"
"Well, I s'pose it goes better with your hair." Harry lied. He had no idea why Hermione had packed the maroon shirt and socks, but he did know it looked better than the scarlet Ron had been wearing the day before.
"Good to know, but since when have you paid attention to that?"
"Well, I was just trying to figure out why your mum likes to use that color for all of your stuff. I assume because any brighter would clash with your hair..." At Ron's incredulous look, Harry explained. "It's what I get for living with my aunt, Petunia. She's all into things like that." Straightening his shirt, Harry made sure the mokeskin pouch was secure around his neck and headed for the door with his robes under his arm. "She'll probably be waiting on us now."
"Yeah." Ron followed back out into the corridor and sure enough, Hermione was there. She had just come out, apparently, and was putting her dress into the handbag. "Oy, how are you fitting all that in there?"
"A lot of charm casting." Hermione had finally looked up again. "I spent some of the holidays looking up how to expand an object without making it look so outwardly. Harry, I did the same with your rucksack before we left. Shouldn't have a problem storing things in it now."
"Thanks, Hermione." Harry handed her his dress robes, which she placed into the bag along with Ron's. "Now, we need to think on a place to go for the moment."
"Right." Hermione closed the bag again and headed for the street above again; talking as she went. "We can head into that café around the corner for the moment. Remember, we have to look natural. Stopping in the street and discussing this so that anyone could hear would be senseless. Oh Harry," Hermione opened her bag and pulled out something before moving on. "Put this on. There's no way to know who's out there." She handed him the invisibility cloak. Harry didn't bother questioning it; he threw the cloak over himself and began to walk behind them.
"Good thing no one saw us appear in dress robes…" Ron exited the stairs and looked around the corner to see if the café was still open. At Hermione's insistence, he moved forward onto the sidewalk. "Been here before have you, Hermione?"
"Several times." Spotting a group of men talking nearby, Hermione kept her head pointed ahead and toward the café. "Not the greatest part of town at night, but it will do for now." It didn't take long for the other two to see what she meant. As they emerged in front of the café, they fell under a street lamp. This left them in clear view of the men nearby.
"Hey, Beau'iful." One man, holding a long necked bottle of wine had turned to face the three as they passed. He spoke with half slurred words. "Ditch Ginger there and come wif us."
"See what I mean?" Hermione ignored them and pushed open the café's door. Inside, they saw one waitress clearing off a table. Choosing one with a clear view of the door, Hermione and Ron took seats adjacent while Harry sat with his back facing the wall to have a clear view as well. When the waitress walked toward them, Hermione ordered two coffees just to pass the time and avoid suspicion. The girl went to retrieve them, and two men entered in what looked to be muggle utility uniforms. They took a table nearby but didn't order anything when the waitress questioned them. Instead, they muttered amongst themselves. Harry however, didn't like how they looked. He withdrew his wand and thought hard. Flicking his wand, he cast a successful "Muffliato" charm without speaking. Ron and Hermione seemed to notice this because they looked at the exact place where Harry was sitting before averting their eyes to the waitress who was returning with their drinks.
"So, where to now?" Knowing that it was safe to talk for the moment, Ron voiced the question that Harry was thinking. "Leaky Cauldron?"
"Can't exactly just walk in there, can we?" Hermione stirred her coffee carefully so as to look as if she was interested in it. "They'll look there first because it is obvious…"
"Grimmauld Place then?"
"I don't know…" Frustrated, Hermione took a sip of her coffee after adding cream and sugar. "Is it safe? I mean, Snape knows about it-"
"Remember what they said?" Ron took a sip of his as well, but from his expression, he realized he should have added something to it. "Mad Eye said he had charms in place to make sure no one got in that shouldn't. He would have fixed it so that Snape couldn't just walk in and use the place, wouldn't he?"
"I suppose…" Hermione and Ron were too busy with their coffee and conversation to see the two men reaching down to their belts. Harry however, pulled his wand and flicked it quickly, blowing their table back and causing the men to snarl in response. The other two realized what was going on and pulled theirs out as well. Sending stunners across the room, Ron managed to hit the waitress, who was running for cover and screaming. Hermione hit one of the now identifiable death eaters and Harry hit the other one; he recognized him as Dolohov.
"We've got to move, Hermione. They were right behind us." Harry looked around the room and saw her nod. "We need to modify their memories though."
"Right. Ron, get the lights." Hermione drew the blinds and flipped the sign in the window to "Closed" before Ron had used the deluminator to darken the café. When that was done, the three replaced the tables and chairs; Harry casting a quick spell to vanish the broken china and spilled tea.
"Evanesco."
"Good." Hermione said as she looked over the others. Both death eaters were going to wake within minutes. "Harry, can you get the waitress, and Ron, Dolohov? I'll get this one." She indicated the unknown death eater.
"Right." Ron stood over Dolohov and pointed his wand at the man's forehead. Harry did the same with the waitress, and Hermione the other death eater; Harry recognized him as Raul, who had gotten into Hogwarts when Draco let Bellatrix and the others in. At nearly the same time, three voices spoke the same word.
"Obliviate!"
"Good. Let's go." Harry had straightened up and retrieved the cloak from the now invisible back of his chair. Handing it to Hermione, he pocketed his wand and stood between them. He saw the look she gave him. "I can't very well apparate with the cloak yet. We don't need to lose it. We can practice in Grimmauld Place when we get there." She finally agreed and placed it in her bag and joined him in the center of the café. "Focus on the front door of Grimmauld Place. We can't afford to wait around in the square."
"Hold on." Hermione leaned over the waitress and pointed her wand at the woman's chest. "We can't just leave her here for them to wake up and find." Turning back, she spoke clearly. "Ennervate." The waitress came 'round slowly, but when she sat up, she saw the three teens and the two unconscious men and started to scream. Hermione headed her off. "Don't! They'll wake and try to kill you!" She whispered quickly; clamping a hand over the other woman's mouth. "We just came in and they tried to hold you up. These two knocked them out and I've already told the police what happened. Just go home. They're sending medics for these two now." The waitress, still a bit out of it from the memory charm, nodded mutely, and Hermione let her up. Tottering while still a bit unstable, the waitress went out the door and hailed a cab. Only when she was gone did Hermione turn back to the other three. "Alright, she's gone."
"Good thinking, Hermione." Harry had thought along these lines as well when first preparing to leave, but he didn't quite know what to do for her. "They'll wake soon. We'd better go." And with a final look around, the three turned on the spot and disapparated; landing on the stone front step of the house Harry had inherited from Sirius.
Grimmauld Place was just as musty as Harry had remembered it as he opened the door and got the other two inside. Closing it behind him, he heard the hissing of the oil lamps as they flared, but there was something different. The portrait of Sirius' mother was still tightly concealed behind her curtains, but the dust was gone. If he looked hard enough, he could have sworn he saw footprints in the layer on the floor as well. As if on cue, a voice came from what seemed to be all around them. It was easily recognizable as Mad Eye Moody's.
"Severus Snape?" Before he could answer, a rush of wind hit him and knocked him, Ron, and Hermione against the walls and door. Blinking as his eyes watered, Harry could also see a figure rising in the distance. Like a dust cloud, it solidified to form a body with long hair and beard that came hurtling toward him. He only had a few seconds to speak before it collided with them. Hermione and Ron's shout and scream were almost enough to drown his voice out.
"I didn't kill you!" The figure dissipated where it should have plowed into them, but it still left the three in a state of shock. Straightening up, Harry could hear Ron swear under his breath.
"Blimey, Mad-Eye thinks of everything, doesn't he?"
"He'd have to…" Hermione added as she picked up her bag after dropping it on the floor. "Snape knew all about headquarters, didn't he?" Anything Ron was going to offer in reply was drowned out by the deafening shrieks of the portrait of Mrs. Black hanging on the wall nearby.
"Filth! Mudbloods and traitors defiling the house of my father!"
"Stuff it, you miserable old hag!" As a familiar voice rang out, a loud bang issued from somewhere near the basement staircase, and as Sirius' mother disappeared behind her curtains again, Harry found a wand pointed square at his chest. The voice rasped slightly as it questioned him. "Which key revealed the truth in my office three years ago?"
"Erm…" It took Harry a moment to figure out just who was talking and what they were talking about. Then it hit him. "The seventh. It opened up a cellar-like hole." He could practically sense Ron and Hermione's confusion as he answered this. Harry had not told them exactly what had happened in Alastor Moody's office when it was discovered that Barty Crouch Jr. had used polyjuice potion to disguise himself as the ex-auror. They had heard what had become of the death eater but not what had happened before.
"Started to wonder." The wand lowered and Harry heard an odd clunking noise. Soon after, Alastor Moody stepped over the staircase's threshold. Looking rather ruffled, he extended a knobbly hand and Harry took it while holding back a shocked expression. Ron however, couldn't resist.
"But… Mad-Eye, I thought-"
"Thought that git Mundungus caused me to get myself killed." Motioning for them to follow him down into the kitchen, Moody spoke again. "Nearly took the tail end of the broom when he disapparated. Next time we cross paths, he won't be so fortunate."
"Going to kill him, then?"
"Wouldn't dream of it." Harry had to grin at Moody's sarcasm in response to Ron's question. Mad-Eye hadn't killed anyone as far as Harry knew, but he wouldn't put it past him. Dung had nearly gotten more than a few people killed that night.
"So, what are you doing here?" Hermione had already prodded the empty grate with her wand, and flames had erupted. The room was alight in seconds.
"Good thing the idiot made it look like I was killed that night, Granger." Moody sat down in one of the chairs surrounding the table and was joined by the other three soon after. "Gave me time to do a little work while the wedding was going on."
"Did you find anything?" Harry asked with obvious hopes of an affirmative. "Do you know how they knew when to come after me?"
"That one I don't know yet. Mundungus was too much of an idiot to know who to tip off."
"I just don't know what gave me away." Harry shook his head in confusion. "Everyone had a broom, a trunk, and an owl hidden in their pocket so it wasn't like they'd tell a difference there."
"Well, consider what Hagrid told you when we first arrived." Looking more serious than angry, Moody interlaced his fingers while his magical eye darted around the room as if trying to spot something out of place. "He mentioned that he was the one that brought you to your relatives seventeen years ago. Who else do you think knew that?"
"Dunno…" Wracking his brains, all Harry could think of was one person. "Sirius knew because he leant Hagrid the motorbike, but I don't see him being all that keen on telling any of the wrong sort."
"Well…" Hermione, who had decided to rummage through the cabinets, found a few bottles of butterbeer and moved them to the table. Passing them around, she was surprised when Moody took the one she offered. "We don't exactly know where Pettigrew was. For all we know, he could have been in Godric's Hollow that night."
"Possible." Moody examined the bottle thoroughly before opening it and sniffing its contents.
"Still can't get over that…" Ron frowned as he wrenched open his butterbeer and took a small drink. "Then again, twelve years is a ruddy long time to keep a rat."
"Yeah, well…" Moody growled as he finally seemed satisfied with the contents of the bottle. "Days are numbered. Dark Lord doesn't have a place in his ranks for a weasel like that." Turning back to Harry he settled both eyes on him. "Now Potter, on to important matters. I see you three aren't bothering to go back to the castle. What are you doing here?"
"Dumbledore left something for us to do." Harry answered truthfully; he knew that there was no point in trying to keep something like this from Alastor Moody. The man would have known he was being dishonest.
"Wouldn't have something to do with this now, would it?" Moody reached into is pocket, and to Harry's astonishment, pulled out the fake horcrux. "Don't leave these things lying about. Picked it up at your place just before we left."
"Yes." Taking the offered locket from Moody, Harry opened it and extracted the note. "I suppose you've read this, then."
"And I might have an answer to your question."
"My…" Harry stopped when he realized. He hadn't asked a question, but it was obvious. "Right, so you think you know who R.A.B. is?"
"Have a look upstairs. Think you'll find something useful."
Not waiting a moment more, Harry nodded. As he left the kitchen, he went straight for the first landing. There was really nothing out of the ordinary. He, Ron, Hermione, and the Weasleys had been on this floor a good bit while they had occupied the house. Moving to the second floor, he looked through the bedrooms and saw that Phineas Nigellus Black's portrait was thankfully empty. As he searched Sirius' bedroom however, something stuck out. The room was decorated in Gryffindor colors and had an air of familiarity about it. Sure, there was still the gloomy appeal due to it being part of this house, but it was easier on the eyes. He found something sticking out of one of the dresser drawers as he passed that made him stop. It was a letter from his mother to Sirius.
Reading it, Harry realized that from early on, Sirius had been part of his life; he had bought Harry his first broomstick and there was proof of it in this letter. Lily had enclosed a picture of Harry as a baby flying around on a small broom very close to the ground. The letter however, was torn. It mentioned that Lily and James hated that Sirius couldn't come for Harry's birthday due to the danger of it. It mentioned something about Dumbledore, but that was where the parchment ended. Wondering about it, Harry took the photo and parchment and put it in the mokeskin pouch. As he did, his hand brushed against another roll of parchment, and he suddenly had an idea. Pulling it out along with a self-inking quill he had gotten from Fred and George for his birthday, Harry unrolled the parchment and wrote a short message on it that vanished as soon as he was done.
"Dolohov and Raul followed after leaving the Burrow but we are safe for the moment. Good news: Mad-Eye is alive."
As his scarlet ink faded, Harry went to replace the parchment, but a short message appeared in familiar narrow emerald script.
"I trust the death eaters were dealt with?"
As his had before, the emerald words vanished just after he had read them. Harry pulled a chair to the desk and sat down to respond. His message was a bit longer.
"Yes. Confronted them in a muggle café and left them stunned. Wiped their memories as well as the waitress who saw it all. Did everyone make it out alright?"
"No casualties."There was a pause as Harry read the two words. For a moment, he thought he heard footsteps on the stairs outside the bedroom, but dismissed it when the noise stopped. Moody had obviously searched the house and had found no threats, so no one was here that didn't need to be. Looking back down to the parchment again, he saw words appearing again. "Just returned to the castle. I assume you will know this soon enough. The ministry has appointed Severus Snape as headmaster. Voldemort's influence is growing at an alarming rate. Must prepare for start of term. Keep me informed."
"Not sure what my next move is, but I will." Definitely hearing footfalls on the stairs this time, Harry rolled up the parchment and placed it in the pouch again along with his quill. Rising from the chair, he crossed the room and headed for the door opposite of Sirius' bedroom. This one had a warning to those who trespassed which Harry ignored. Trying the door, he saw that it was locked, so he withdrew his wand and tapped the handle lightly. "Alohomora." Immediately, the lock clicked and the door swung open. When he entered, he saw the name on the door. Muttering it to himself, something clicked. "Regulus Arcturus Black…" Not even registering what was in the room, he headed back downstairs two at a time. Once he reached the ground level, he moved to the kitchen where Ron, Hermione, and Moody were still sitting. "You think Regulus Black is R.A.B., don't you?"
"Took you long enough." Moody's mouth twitched as he looked Harry over. "Only one person will know for sure. Good luck finding him. I haven't while I've been here."
"Harry, mind if we look around his room, then?" Ron asked this while standing up. "Feel like I need to be doing something."
"Sure. I'll see what I can find here." He watched Ron and Hermione head up the stairs, and when he turned back, Moody was looking at him with both magical and normal eyes. "Something wrong?"
"Saw what you were doin' up there in Sirius' room." Harry had come to expect this. Moody's eye could see through many things. "Who was it?"
"Could you-"
"Couldn't read it. Just saw you were writing and the words disappeared. Not foolin' with dark magic are you?"
"No." Harry decided to let Moody in on what he was doing. It was fair enough for him to know. "Ran into Professor McGonagall at the wedding. This" he paused as he removed the parchment from the mokeskin bag. "is a means of keeping in contact while I'm dealing with those." He motioned to the locket that still lay on the table from where he had put it down earlier.
"Right. I know what that's used for. I want to know if that's really her."
"Sir?" Harry was almost dumbstruck by Moody's words, but in a way, he understood. Talking to someone who he couldn't be one hundred percent certain of would jeopardize everything. Opening the parchment again, Harry wrote a message explaining the situation.
"Moody apparently saw me upstairs earlier. He wants to check-" Before Harry could even finish the thought, words appeared.
"Very well."
"Says "very well"." Harry read aloud seeing as Moody couldn't see what was written. It was a marvel that he couldn't. Harry had to wonder just where she had come across this pair of scrolls.
"Ask her what her reaction was when she found out the identity of those responsible for the murder of her mother." Harry paused before he wrote it down. It was a deeply personal question, but he didn't have much choice. When he finished, he waited a moment before an answer appeared. He swore he saw signs of a shaking hand in the script.
"I swore I would kill them by means of dismemberment."
"She swore she would kill them by means of dismemberment." Harry extended the response to Moody who nodded curtly.
"It's her."
"He's satisfied." Harry wrote this quickly, and after a few minutes, he got a response.
"Tell him to find Arthur Weasley. He will know where to start looking."
"She says to find Mr. Weasley; that you'll know where to look." Rolling up the parchment again, Harry placed it back into the mokeskin and looked over to the fireplace. "Now, I need answers about this locket." He thought for a moment before speaking again. "When we were scouring this place while Sirius lived here, I swear I saw this in one of the drawers. Threw it in the rubbish sack when we couldn't open it. I wonder if Kreacher got it…"
"Well, if he did, he doesn't have it now." Moody looked over toward the boiler room where Kreacher had his "bed" and possessions. "Searched through this place when I got here. All valuables are gone."
"Kreacher!" With a loud crack, the house elf appeared. Old and ragged as ever, Kreacher regarded Harry with forced pleasure.
"Master summoned Kreacher?"
"I have something I need to ask you." Harry began. He remembred what Dumbledore had said about the elf, and thought Hermione might be happy if he followed her lead. "When we were clearing away a lot of stuff over a year ago, we found something that looks like this." Pulling the locket from the table, he showed it to Kreacher, who leaned forward with wide eyes. "I don't care that you took it; actually I'm thankful you did. Where is it?"
"Kreacher doesn't know." He seemed to be telling the truth. There wasn't a resentful tone in his voice at the moment. "Kreacher had many things and they are gone."
"Who took them?" Harry had a feeling he already knew, having encountered the assumed thief nearly a year ago. "Who took this, Kreacher? I order you to tell me."
"Stole everything: Master's ring, Mistress' broach, stole everything with the Black family crest-"
"Mundungus Fletcher… Did he steal it?"
"Took all of it."
"Find him." Harry had a feeling Moody was thinking the same thing as he gave the order. "Find Dung and bring him back here." With another crack, Kreacher was gone. Ron and Hermione came back down the stairs as Harry looked back up.
"Harry, what was that about?" Hermione had sat down beside him while Ron took the chair opposite her. "Was that Kreacher?"
"Yeah. He reckons Dung stole the real locket." Harry had suspected this due to his running into the man with a sack full of goblets that bore the Black family crest in Hogsmeade the previous year. "He just left to get him."
"Reckon he still has it?" Ron asked as he lazily directed a crudely folded paper airplane around the room with his wand. "I mean… Dung has been selling off a lot, hasn't he?"
"Makes a living off being a thief." Moody had just gotten done saying this when a patronus glided through the doorway and stopped short on the table. Arthur Weasley's voice spoke from it.
"Family is safe. Do not reply. We are being watched." When the patronus vanished, the room was silent; save for Ron's sigh of relief. Harry would have done the same, had a yawn not been on the verge of leaving him.
"Go on, you three. Get some sleep." Moody stood and stumped toward the stairs. "Got a few things to do before I leave in the morning."
"You're leaving?" Hermione stood with Harry and Ron as Alastor looked back at them. "Everyone thinks you're dead."
"Easier to get things done, then." Getting up the stairs, Moody headed fr the drawing room, where Harry had seen the trunk with seven locks on it. "One of the advantages of having an invisibility cloak, eh Potter?"
"Never got that one from Sturgis Podmore, did you, Mad-Eye?" Ron was on the stairs and looking down at the ex-auror now. "Heard he had it during our fifth year."
"Managed it." Looking to Harry again as he and Hermione joined Ron on the stairs, Moody narrowed his normal eye. "Keep what Dumbledore said about that elf in mind, Potter. Choose your words carefully. Don't want him to go off and alert the remaining Black family that you're here."
"I will, thanks." As they started up the stairs to the bedrooms, hey caught Moody's last comment.
"And do something about that blasted portrait of Phineas Nigellus. Don't trust him to keep his mouth shut."
The three headed up to the bedrooms, and Harry decided on taking Sirius' old one. Ron and Hermione went for the boys' old bedroom where Phineas' portrait was still empty. When Harry opened the door again, he was met with a rush of wings and a blur of white flying around his head. Only when the thing settled on his shoulder and nipped his ear did he realize just who it was. "Hedwig!"
"Oh yeah, forgot to mention that! Bird showed up a bit before you lot!"
