So here we are, pretty much at the start of my version of the Deathly Hallows… even if the actual book starts a few weeks later. This summer will probably be my longest in terms of chapters and word count because there's so much that's going to happen, so buckle up as we begin the final stretch of this story!
As Kreacher says… he saved a lot of the stuff that was thrown away in the summer of 1995 (Order of the Phoenix) and so I use that plotline a decent amount in this chapter with some of the descriptions. I also use the idea that Phineas Nigellus Black isn't the only portrait in the spare bedrooms of the House by bringing back a previously mentioned ancestor...
I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!
27/02/25: Reuploaded due to an error that made the chapter fail to load up.
The rainfall from outside was echoing within the bedroom of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Despite it being the height of summer the outside skies were grey with clouds and the rain had barely stopped in the week since Leo MacDonald's return from Hogwarts, leaving the street outside resembling a low running stream more than it did a road. Not that Leo had even felt a solitary rain drop upon his body, with Grimmauld Place feeling more like a prison than it ever had done.
The lack of any form of outdoor exercise mixed with the lack of any visitors from the Order of the Phoenix had meant that the 17-year-old had rarely left his room since his return to the London townhouse, and as a result he had barely even seen another room, let alone his Father, now the only other occupant of the house. He instead found himself hunched over his desk throughout the day, books stacked beside him that described various levels of charms work intermingled with a small stack of plates that Kreacher had unhappily delivered him.
A hoot sounded from the other side of the window, reminding Leo that the House Elf wasn't the only grumpy creature within the house, as Cosmo, Leo's barn owl, made his frustration with being cooped up inside his cage known for the third time in the past 20 minutes.
"Alright." Leo muttered, turning another page of Advanced Charm Casting by Professor Eulalie Hicks, the latest in a long stack of Charms books that Leo had been examining intensely. "I hear you, Cosmo." The owl simply hooted in frustration again before hiding his head under his wing, thankfully allowing Leo to continue with his task. For the past three days he had been trying to adapt the DA Galleons so that all of those linked by Hermione's excellent spell work could both send messages as well as receive them, instead of just the one Galleon able to send anything out. Nothing seemed to be doing the job however, and after a third replica coin simply melted through his desk, quickly followed by a hasty set of repair charms, the Gryffindor growled out his frustration, throwing the now singed replica coin across the room and knocking his head multiple times on the desk in order to try and force some kind of spark. Nothing happened other than a slightly sore forehead however, and so begrudgingly the 17-year-old kicked back his chair and rose to his feet to retrieve the coin.
He tried to pet Cosmo on his way around the bed, but the owl shifted away angrily to avoid any contact. "I hate this too." Leo muttered, truly meaning that. He longed for the Loch, for fishing with his Grandfather and for the warm summer walks he often took with his Mother when he was younger. He missed the space that they had, hating the cramped walls of the Black family home.
"Tell me, is it sheer indolence that plagues you, or do you simply lack the constitution for perseverance?" A deep voice sounded from the corner of the room, and Leo groaned once again. He looked over at the portrait that had decided to make itself known in the past week, having before just remained remarkably silent. "If it is the former, then I must lament the degeneration of my lineage. If it is the latter however, I would advise you to spare yourself the indignity of attempting anything remotely demanding in future, lest you continue to bring embarrassment upon yourself... and by extension, me."
The figure in the painting was a haughty middle aged man with black hair and grey eyes that just a glance would make anybody feel inferior before you saw the exemplary dark green 19th century robes and top hat. Licorus Black was Leo's direct ancestor, and the last Black to sit on the Wizengamot in his own right back in the 19th Century.
"Nobody remembers who you are." Leo scowled over at the portrait, already bored of the constant interjections and put downs, mentally making a note to throw the biography that Anna had bought him back in 5th year at the portrait the next time it spoke.
Licorus Black barked out an arrogant laugh. "Lying will not improve your capabilities." It retorted, and so Leo kept his mental promise and grabbed the book, throwing it in the direction of the portrait. "How uncouth! Has the once proud Noble and Most Ancient…"
"Silencio." Leo pointed his wand at the painting, and he smirked as the painting tried to speak with no volume, the colour of his ancestors face beginning to grow redder. "Finally." He muttered, but he couldn't stand to be in that room for any longer and so he quickly picked up the thrown coin and jammed it in his backpack, already packed with everything he would need at a moment's notice, something that had been growing increasingly likely the longer Snape went unfound. As he zipped it back up again an almighty crash sounded from down the stairs, quickly followed by the screeching of yet another painting. Groaning, Leo grabbed the stack of plates and walked out of the room, heading down towards the kitchen.
"HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU DESECRATE THIS HOUSE, THIS SACRED LINEAGE, THIS NAME THAT YOU ARE NOT WORTHY TO BEAR! YOUR BLOOD IS BLACK, BUT YOUR SOUL…"
"SHUT UP!" Leo roared as he passed the portrait of his Grandmother, angrily jabbing his wand at the curtains and sealing them shut again. "This bloody house…" he muttered, pushing his way into the kitchen to yet another dramatic scene.
Kreacher was stood on the top of a glass cabinet, his arms folded angrily as his large eyes were narrowed, staring at an equally incensed Sirius. Shards of brown glass surrounded the elf, as Leo recognised the debris of a bottle of Ogden's Firewhisky.
"Move." Sirius Black stated coldly towards the elf.
Kreacher however, shook his head slowly, his bloodshot eyes narrowed further in as much anger as the House Elf could muster. "Master told Kreacher to keep him from this cupboard, and Kreacher lives to serve the Noble and Most Ancient House…"
"I'm giving you a new bloody order!" Sirius was raising his voice now, slurring his words slightly as spit was being thrown from his mouth. "Move out the way or I'll give you clothes! Don't think… don't think I won't!" He hiccupped. "Dumbledore isn't here to stop me now!"
"No, but I am." Leo said, announcing his presence finally as both pairs of eyes turned to face him. "Thank you, Kreacher, but the cabinet has already been emptied."
Now both sets of eyes turned to the drinks cabinet, with Leo waving his wand to release the glamour charm he had set up the last time he had emerged from his room. Quickly the bottles of alcohol vanished leaving nothing but empty shelves. Kreacher jumped backwards in surprise, almost toppling off of his perch, but it was Sirius' reaction that Leo was focused on. The elder of the pair stormed forwards, knocking Kreacher to one side as he ripped open the doors of the cabinet, pawing inside it to try and find anything. When it was clear that the empty cabinet was real, he turned to face Leo. "Where is it?" He asked, his voice low and angry.
It wasn't an unusual state for Sirius to be in since their return from Hogwarts, and so the sight didn't do anything to startle Leo. "Gone." The 17-year-old replied. "You're relying too much on booze and it isn't healthy, so I got rid of it all."
"You. Did. What?" Sirius asked slowly, his voice lowering in rage.
"Got rid of it all." Leo repeated.
It clearly wasn't the right answer, as Sirius took a few steps towards him. "Well then, it looks like I need to go and buy some more." Sirius said coldly. He stopped just before Leo's position, still stood in the doorway. "Out of the way."
Leo didn't flinch as he stared into the dilated pupils of his father. "No." He said boldly, standing his ground.
"Leo." Sirius growled. "Move."
"No." Leo repeated himself. "You're going to go and sober up instead."
Sirius growled again. "The fuck do you think you are?" He slurred. "I'm a free man; I can go and get some drink if I bloody well like."
"You can go up to bed." Leo stated bluntly, for the first time thinking that talking to Licorus Black would have been more productive. "And sober up." They stared angrily at one another for a few seconds, before a sluggish movement caught Leo's eye. Sirius tried to barge past him, but Leo, now taller than his Father, stood his ground again, causing Sirius to merely bounce off him. "Don't…" He began, but he saw Sirius' hand reach to the table and his own right hand clenched around his wand. "You don't want to do this…" Leo started, but he was forced to throw up a shield charm as a blast of red light came speeding towards him. One more blast followed that was just as easily defended when Sirius fell to the ground, throwing his wand away in frustration as he kicked out at the table, pulling a chair out and throwing himself into it. Leo quickly grabbed Sirius' wand with his spare hand before lowering his own guard, pulling over his own chair. He saw Kreacher still standing in place, staring wide eyed at the pair of them. "Kreacher, can you get him a tea?"
The elf remained in place for a moment, before his eyes narrowed in annoyance once again. "Kreacher can." But he didn't move.
"Then do it, please." Leo added, firmly, watching as the House Elf snapped his fingers and appeared on the counter, making the beverage. Leo then turned his attention to his now slumped on the table Father. "This isn't the answer, Dad." Leo said calmly, keeping his own wand in hand but moving towards Sirius. "The alcohol… Mum…"
"I was going to marry her, you know." Sirius mumbled into his arms, before he shifted to an upright position and thrust his hand into his pockets. Leo was on edge for a second, when instead of a second wand, Sirius pulled out a small, cuboid box lined with crimson velvet. "Everything happened so fast last time… we left school, we fought Voldemort, we had you…" He looked up at Leo and instead of the previous anger that had caused him to throw offensive spells, all Leo saw in the man's eyes this time was grief. "I never got a chance to ask… I bought this three days before… before that Halloween." Sirius offered it to Leo clumsily, the alcohol still running through his system, but Leo took it carefully and pried the box open. He gasped audibly when he saw inside. Set in a comfortable velvet cushion was an elegant, but simple silver ring and peering up at him was a brown gemstone that Leo recognised immediately as cairngorm, the national gemstone of Scotland.
"You were about to propose?" Leo asked, his voice cracking as he spoke at the moment a tea appeared from thin air beside Sirius.
Sirius simply nodded his head as he grabbed the mug. "I don't know why I waited… we had you and then life just… happened with raising you and the war. Then I went and messed up by chasing that rat… I got the ring back when I got cleared, I had it on me when they arrested me… but I didn't want to rush going onto one knee..." Tears were brimming in Sirius' eyes now, and Leo could feel similar happening to him. "I was going to talk to you about it this summer…"
"She would have said yes." Leo said quietly, not trusting his voice to stay in control if he said it any louder. "She would have loved this." He nodded to the ring in the open box. "She loved our home, and she loved this stone… but she wouldn't love seeing you in this state."
Sirius went to argue, the anger in his eyes returning for a split second before his shoulders dropped and a sigh sounded. "No, she wouldn't." He concurred, defeatedly. "She was all I had left Leo… of those days." He muttered. "Moony… that's not been the same since…" He trailed off, lost in a memory. "It can never be the same with Moony even if we are the last two left. After school it was mainly the four of us though… James and Lily, taken from me. And now Mary… all of them gone."
"She's never truly gone." Leo insisted, grabbing his father's hand and placing it over the elder man's heart. "She's always here, always." He took a deep breath as he placed that same hand over his own heart. "And she's here, in me, and I can't do this alone, Dad, I need you now. It's like you said at the lake, we aren't alone and we need to stay strong, stay strong for each other, and for Harry…"
He hated bringing Harry into it, wishing that they could keep the moment between the pair of them instead, but the effect was clear as soon as Sirius heard the name, the realisation of what Harry was going to be put through in the near future. As he took a sip of his tea, Sirius nodded determinedly. "I've let myself down here, haven't I." He stated.
Leo chuckled at the self-awareness. "We all cope in our own way. After Granda', Mum wouldn't stop washing up. I reckon the plates were scrubbed of all their artwork by the time I went back to Hogwarts."
The laugh that came from Sirius was a welcome sound, and for the first time since their return, the father and son pair finally managed to sit down and share both of their fond memories of Leo's mother, with Leo learning more about her school life than she had ever admitted to him before. He found himself wheezing as Sirius recounted their first meeting in first year on the morning of their first lessons, and by the time they went up to bed hours later, Leo had hope once again for the future.
Despite their heart to heart the night before, Leo returned to his charms work as he woke up the next day, a day that was very quickly devolving into further frustration as nothing that Leo could think of was working. He worked on various ideas until his watch showed noon's arrival, and then with a final act of desperation threw it again.
"Once more your talent for patience is astounding." Licorus Black drawled, leaving Leo to utter a bunch of curse words that left the former Head of the House of Black outraged at the state of the latest generation.
Without wanting to deal with the portrait once again, Leo left to fix himself some lunch, quickly spotting that Kreacher was in the kitchen once again muttering to himself, and Leo simply ignored the House Elf and made himself a sandwich, noticing later than he should have that Sirius had evidently passed out on the kitchen table the night before and was still snoring loudly. Shaking his head, he took his food upstairs, but instead of returning to his room and forcing himself to either ignore or insult a painting, he went for a further walk.
On the first floor of Grimmauld Place was the bedroom that Hermione and Ginny stayed in when they had been here, though the room felt cold and empty without the signs of the two girls living within it. Beside that room was a bathroom, and rounding off the first floor was the Drawing Room, where the large tapestry of the House of Black was kept. Walking into the room, Leo spotted a number of cabinets full of certain treasures that the Black family had collected from over the years, with Leo stopping to stare at the Order of Merlin, First Class that had been awarded to his Great-Grandfather Arcturus for services to the Ministry. That was surrounded by a number of objects that looked over a hundred years old at the very least, with a silver snuffbox, a musical box and a bunch of golden jewellery that included a signet ring that Leo was very intrigued by.
He had entered the room because of the tapestry though, and moving over towards it, tracing the golden thread from the burn mark he knew to be Sirius' and his uncle Regulus' beside it, up through Orion, Arcturus and another Sirius until that thread and a number of others converged on Phineus Nigellus: 1847-1925.
Seeing the former headmaster's name reminded him about a passage in Hogwarts: A History about the Headmaster's office and what happened after the death of one of the many that had been in charge of the school throughout the years. Professor Dumbledore should now have one… and through Phineas Nigellus Black, Leo had a direct link to the Headmaster's office within the house.
Remembering that the portrait was upstairs in the first room that he had ever slept in inside the house, and so he walked out of the Drawing Room and rose up the next flight of steps, entering the bedroom he had shared with Harry and Ron during that Christmas break when everything had changed. His bed had long since been move, but the two twin beds that Harry and Ron had slept in remained in place, looking as cold as the girls room had done. Looking at them made Leo think on how Harry was managing on his own at his Muggle relatives, but he quickly moved his eyeline to that of the portrait.
"I heard the noise last night from Hogwarts. There's been rather a lot of smashing, hasn't there?" The portrait asked just as haughtily as Licorus Black tended to be. "A shame really, that this is what is left of my bloodline."
Leo scowled over at the figure in a pristine and expensive green suit, not wanting to engage in yet another conversation about the disappointment that a bunch of blood purists felt with him. "Is Professor Dumbledore's portrait awake yet?" He asked impatiently.
The painting of his three times Great Grandfather scoffed and folded his arms angrily. "Thankfully, no. It's been so long since I've not had to listen to that eccentric old fool, and I'm rather enjoying the quiet." The painting turned to the side of the frame and shouted out. "I said what I said, Amrose!"
Leo scoffed at his ancestor. "No wonder you were hated." He muttered, his experiences with the portraits dotted around the house showing him exactly why his Father had such a distain for the Black family, not saying another word as he walked away, ignoring the spluttering objections of rudeness of the portrait behind him.
There was nothing interesting for him on the third floor where his room was housed, and he paused for a moment as he looked up the final staircase, to the floor that housed only two rooms. He rose the stairs and saw that on one side was Sirius' room, a place he had already been in and enjoyed a lot. On the other was his uncle's. Having seen the name downstairs on the tapestry, Leo found himself intrigued and moved over towards the door, gasping aloud when he read the paper that was stuck onto it.
Do Not Enter
Without the Express Permission of
Regulus Arcturus Black
"The real one was taken by an RAB." Leo whispered quietly, parroting Hermione from their walk around the lake. It seemed too good to be true, but Leo went to open the door anyway, cursing himself for not realising it would be locked when the knob wouldn't turn. He drew his wand and pointed it at the door "Alohomora." He muttered, and with a click, he was finally able to enter the room.
Inside was very… Slytherin… Leo thought. Emerald and Silver colours were everywhere around the room from the wallpaper, the curtains and even the bedspread. On the headboard of the bed Leo noticed the Black family crest, the motto of Toujours Pur engraved beneath the crest. A collage of newspaper clippings was also hung near the bed, to which Leo was unsurprised to see what seemed like a shrine to You-Know-Who.
He looked around some more, taking a note of some pictures and some more newspaper clippings, this time, oddly, a Muggle newspaper of a couple of disappearances. Elsewhere in the room Leo noticed a desk which didn't show anything out of the usual as he went through everything, with the draws being filled with old textbooks and ink bottles, with a few quills too.
There was something off about the bottom draw though, Leo thought to himself as he emptied the contents onto the floor. He knelt down and measured the inside with his hand, feeling that there should really be more space within. He pulled the draw away from the desk, feeling around the base of the draw to no avail, but when he ran his fingers along the back, he felt something. Pressing down, the draw clicked and the base came away, revealing a small folder within the hidden compartment.
Leo lay the draw down on the bed without tearing his eyes away from the folder. Most of what was written included things about Horcrux's that Leo already knew, showing him that Regulus had read the same book that Sirius had just a few months previously, but it was the final page that interested him the most. It was a drawing of a golden locket, a green serpentine S in the centre, and Leo slapped his forehead the moment he saw it. "Of course!" He cried, holding the parchment tightly as he leapt to his feet and raced out of the room and down the stairs three at a time until he was back in the Drawing Room, staring down at his Great-Grandfather's Order of Merlin that was neatly placed besides a familiar golden locket...
With just one confirmational glance at Regulus' drawing, Leo grinned, holding his wand out as he went to unlock the cabinet when a loud bang sounded, and Leo was thrown across the room into the nearby sofa, an invisible force stopping him from being able to get up again. By the cabinet was Kreacher, the old House Elf looking half his age and angry, holding a hand out towards Leo. "Master will not throw away Master Regulus' things again!" Kreacher shouted angrily. "Nasty blood traitor! Thinks he is one of Mistress' own…"
"But… the locket…" Leo gasped, the force pressing down on his chest. "I know… what it is!"
Kreacher cocked his head curiously as he stared at Leo. "Master Regulus' locket." He muttered to himself. "The brat knows about Master Regulus' locket."
"It needs to be… destroyed!" Leo gasped, and at that comment he was released, falling to the floor coughing and gasping for air. Once he had recovered he looked towards Kreacher, who had turned to face the locket. Leo rose to his feet and gingerly walked over towards the Elf, noticing in the reflection in the glass that Kreacher had tears falling down his cheeks.
"Kreacher failed Master Regulus." Kreacher croaked after a little while of silence. "Master ordered Kreacher to destroy the locket, but Kreacher couldn't. The locket wouldn't open, and Master Regulus was dead… and…" Kreacher began to wail loudly as more tears fell from his eyes, down his cheeks and soaked his already filthy loincloth.
Leo felt incredibly awkward at the sight of the sobbing House Elf, but he closed the door and knelt next to him. "Kreacher… can you tell me about what happened?"
And Kreacher did exactly that, through regular intervals of sobs he explained to Leo how Regulus Black had offered him to You-Know-Who for a task, a task that sounded very familiar to Harry's own tale of his mission to retrieve the Horcrux with Professor Dumbledore, with Kreacher being the one to drink the potion and try and crawl for some water only to be pulled down by what Leo knew to be Inferi, but his orders had forced him to return to Regulus. Then, a short while later he returned to the cave with Regulus, only this time it was Leo's uncle that drank the potion to spare Kreacher, and Leo's uncle that had been pulled under by the Inferi, never to return…
It was a horrible story to listen to, and Leo felt a wave of pity for the House Elf by the time his tale had finished, and he allowed Kreacher some time to compose himself before he continued his questioning. "Kreacher… I can help you destroy the locket. I just need you to open the case, if you can?" Leo asked hopefully.
Kreacher looked up at Leo curiously once more, his eyes red from crying. "Master… will help Kreacher?"
Leo smiled down at the Elf. "I will." He nodded fervently. "I will help you fulfil Regulus' request."
It took a moment longer for Kreacher to agree with the House Elf seemingly thinking of all the ways that this could be a trap of some kind, but eventually he snapped his fingers again and the cabinet door swung open at the same time the door to the room barged open, and Leo stared up to see Sirius there, his face looking worse for wear and his hair being a complete mess, but his grey eyes were blazing with anger. "What in Merlin's name is going on up here?" Sirius asked angrily.
Kreacher took the golden locket in his hands, and carefully held it out for Leo. The teenager took it, feeling the large, golden object in his hands and immediately wanting to throw it as far as he could because of the dark feeling that swarmed him. It seemed to hum, almost like a heartbeat trying to burst out of its cage. "We've had one under our noses this whole time." He explained to Sirius, holding up the locket so that he could see the S engraved on it clearly. "This… this is one of them… this is one of You-Know-Who's Horcruxes."
Reviews:
AZW330: I figured that while there's an argument that he could have joined them… he'd be better off at school as you say. He has also only been involved for around 18 months at this point and there's still some trust issues with Harry. In meta reasons, staying at Hogwarts is a large part of what made me think about doing this story as a whole too and I'm excited to shed a new light on the Deathly Hallows timeline. There is still plenty of time to get through before we're back at school however!