Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 53: The Locket
"Kreacher, what's wrong, Kreacher?" Sirius stood up from his seat and approached the elf.
The elf rocked backward and forward, shaking with sobs, his knuckles pressed into his long nose.
"Kreacher tried, Master Harry, Kreacher tried so hard, but no matter how many times Kreacher said it, Mistress would not listen. Kreacher could not make her understand that Kreacher had followed Master Regulus's orders, that Master Regulus had f-forbidden him to tell the f-family what Master R-Regulus had d-done…"
Sirius and Harry exchanged a look.
"Kreacher did as Master Regulus ordered. Kreacher tried so hard, but it made no difference. No matter what Kreacher did, nobody would listen to Kreacher…"
"You tried to destroy it?" Harry asked, and the house-elf nodded.
"They are not that easy to destroy, those things…" V said. "You need a very powerful curse, or the most potent of all venoms."
Sirius stared at Harry for a moment before turning to the elf. "Okay, Kreacher. Just tell us where the locket is, and we will destroy it for you. That's what my brother wanted to do, right?"
"You will?!" The expression of the house-elf changed to one of joy and hope.
"I promise," said Harry. "Now, tell me. Is it here?"
Kreacher got excited. "Safe! It's safe! Kreacher promises. Kreacher hid it inside the grandfather clock so that nasty man would not steal it as he did with the rest."
"The grandfather clock…" Harry muttered.
"It's in the main dining hall. Second floor," Sirius said. "Wait, hold on. Who has been stealing things from here?"
"Mundungus Fletcher did!" Kreacher spat the name. "He took Miss Bella's and Miss Cissy's pictures, my mistress's gloves, the Order of Merlin, First Class, the goblin-made tankards, and… and…"
"Okay, okay. Calm down." Sirius narrowed his eyes. "I'm going to get that bastard the next time he comes here… but now, let's go see this locket."
Harry and Sirius rushed out and went to the large main hall of the house.
"I never come here… this room freaks me out," Sirius commented while glancing at the eerie decorations of the hall, like the group of house-elf heads hanging from the wall.
Harry went directly to the grandfather clock and began to examine it. "It's faint, but I can feel it now..." Someone hid it well. It would have taken him ages to find it if he didn't already know it was here.
He took a few steps back and aimed the palm of his hand at the clock.
"What are you doing?" Sirius asked, wondering why Harry was making a gesture with his hand at the clock. "Just open th—... whoa!"
Harry's magic made the grandfather clock separate into its hundreds of individual components, and then had them all floating in the air.
"What spell is that?" Sirius stared at the levitating pieces, his face filled with shock.
"It's a deconstruction spell, the opposite of a Reparo charm," V explained. "He also added a levitating charm to every piece so they won't fall."
"Mmm… let's see." Harry's eyes moved quickly over all the components until he located the Slytherin locket. "There it is."
Without touching it, he pulled the locket away and gently placed it on the large dining table behind him.
Then, without turning around, he snapped his fingers, and all the clock pieces returned to their original spots, restoring it in an instant.
"Merlin!" Sirius exclaimed. The magic display still shocked him, even after learning what Harry had endured while trapped inside that frozen world. This was the sight of a wizard who had completely mastered their control over their own power through sheer practice.
"Hehe, I don't get tired of people's reactions when they see you do magic," V said in a jovial tone.
Harry focused his eyes on the locket on the table. "This is no doubt the real one."
V glanced down at it. "Yes, no doubt about that. And with this…"
"We have them all," Harry added.
"Really? Already?!" Sirius got startled.
"That we know of. He could have made more after his resurrection," V pointed out.
"He can make more?!" Sirius asked.
"Not many more. We are talking about splitting the soul here." Harry had studied a lot about souls when he was trying to explore the piece embedded in his scar. "If he creates one more, that would make seven. And that should be the maximum possible. Any more than that, and he would risk ending his own existence in the process. I'm sure he is aware of this."
"One more is still bad news, since we have no information about it," V said.
"If you want information from the inside, there is only one person you can ask," Sirius suggested. "Not that I like talking to that guy…"
"Who would that be?" the hat asked.
"Severus Snape, of course," Sirius responded. "He has been working as a double agent for years, feeding information to the Order." He glanced at Harry. "I would suggest that you speak with Dumbledore first. You know… before doing something reckless."
"That is something he is really good at," V commented.
"I should go now." Harry conjured another box to contain the dark magic emanating from the horcrux.
"You are leaving already? But you just got here," Sirius said.
"Are you really going to waste this chance?" V asked.
Harry glanced up at his hat. "What are you talking about?"
"Since you are already here with your godfather, why not ask him for some advice, like you said you were going to do?"
"Advice? About what?" asked Sirius. "As long as it's not about homework, we are good."
"V, I don't believe this is the right time for this… we have more urgent matters to att—"
"No, this is also important. I can't stand seeing you being so awkward when you are around that girl," V said.
"A girl?" Sirius raised an eyebrow and glanced at Harry with interest.
A.N: - Remember to comment, vote, and/or leave a review if you have the time. Those things help me a lot and I would really appreciate it.
You can Support me on P@treon if you like and get 20 advanced chapters. You can also find characters images to view for free in Collections/Time Images
-patreon.com/Kriogenix
For donations and commissions, go to ko-fi.com/kriogenix