Here we go, chickadees, another chapter, as promised! I know it's short, but I am posting a second one later today. There are only two more chapters after this one! I can't believe that we are so close to the end! As always, please read, enjoy, and if you like it enough- review!
A few days after Christmas, Sirius and Grace sat alone in the drawing room, his head in her lap as he sprawled across the length of the couch. She was reading quietly to him from The Tales of Beetle the Bard, both of them finding comfort in the stories of their childhood as the holiday season drew quietly into a close. Christmas had been rather subdued, with Harry and the others still gone on their search for Horcruxes, and Grace had done her best to keep Sirius contented.
Suddenly, a knock at the front door startled them out of their hushed domesticity. Sirius leapt to his feet, moving into the hallway and admitting their guests. Grace heard Harry's voice, rising over both Ron and Hermione's as he excitedly related a story to Sirius. Sirius' deep, booming laugh reached her before all four of them, plus Remus, who had hurried down the stairs at the sound of the teenagers' arrival, tumbled into the drawing room. "It's done!" Harry exclaimed excitedly, cut short as Sirius yelled for Kreacher. The aged elf appeared in the midst of the chaos with a pop before bowing to Grace. "Mistress Black." He turned and bowed to Sirius, as well. "Master."
"Kreacher, listen to what Harry has to tell you," Sirius instructed, returning to his place on the couch beside Grace and drawing her legs into his lap. "It's very important to all of us."
Grace, bewildered, asked, "Sirius? What's going on?" Sirius responded only with a wink and a smile.
Harry told them all about the awful effects Slytherin's locket had had on the three teens as they searched all over Britain for the other Horcruxes believed to support Voldemort's existence. Leaving no detail out, he told them about the climactic moment when Ron had finally stabbed it with the sword of Gryffindor, smashing the mirrors within and the golden chain. Pausing for breath, Harry grinned at Grace. "It's done, you see!" he said breathlessly. "Regulus' work is finally done. The locket's destroyed." He smiled, first at Kreacher, then at Sirius, and finally, again at Grace. "He can rest in peace now," he continued, an exultant look on his face. "It's completed."
Grace felt a wave of relief wash over her as Kreacher began sobbing, finally released from his master's final order to destroy the locket. "Oh, Harry," she breathed, before crossing the room and pulling him into her arms. "Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me. And to Kreacher."
Remembering her husband's protective love for the house elf, she sent Hermione to fetch a mug of tea for the poor creature, who was curled up on the carpet, bawling. Hermione returned with tea for all of them, floating the steaming cups ahead of her with her wand. Kreacher's sobs finally subsiding into hiccups, Grace knelt on the floor beside him and toasted the little old elf with her own cup, then turned and raised her glass to the three teenagers who had made it possible. "To finding the Horcruxes," she said with relish, and the others dutifully echoed her sentiment and drank deeply.
Sirius rose and settled himself beside Grace on the floor, between Kreacher and Harry. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he whispered in her ear, "And God bless my brother for his bravery." She didn't reply, but her hand found his and held on tightly.