69novels Chapter 184 Kreacher's Story
Chapter 184 Kreacher's Story
Chapter 180: Kreacher's Story
With a snap, the house-elf Harry had reluctantly inherited from Sirius appeared.He stood on the cold floor: thin and small, only half the height of a person, with pale skin hanging down in folds, and a lot of white hair protruding from bat-like ears.He was still wearing the same dirty dishcloth they had worn when they first met him, and his disdainful look at Harry suggested that his attitude towards changing masters hadn't changed, as had his clothes.
"Master," Kreacher said hoarsely in his bullfrog voice, bowed low, and muttered to his head and knees, "back to my mistress' old house, with the scum Weasley and the Mudblood—"
"I forbid you to call anyone a 'scum' or a 'mudblood,'" Harry bellowed. Even if the house-elf hadn't betrayed Sirius to Voldemort, he would have thought Kreacher's long nose and bloodshot The eyes are extremely unattractive.
"I have something to ask you," said Harry, looking down at the elf, his heart beating fast, "and I order you to answer truthfully, understand?"
"Yes, Master." Kreacher said, bowing low again.Harry saw his lips move soundlessly, no doubt muttering the insulting words that were now forbidden to him.
"Two years ago," said Harry, heart pounding against his ribs, "we threw away a rather large gold locket in the living room upstairs. Did you get it back?"
After a moment of silence, Kreacher straightened up and stared at Harry's face, then said, "I picked it up."
"Where is it now?" Harry asked cheerfully, and Ron and Hermione beamed too.
Kreacher closed his eyes, as if he couldn't bear to see their reaction to his next word.
"Gone."
"It's gone?" Harry cried out, his joy drained all of a sudden, "What did you say, the locket is gone?"
The elf shivered and wobbled.
"Kreacher," snapped Harry, "I order you—"
"Mundungus Fletcher," hissed the elf, eyes still closed, "it's all stolen by Mundungus Fletcher: pictures of Miss Bella and Miss Sissy, my mistress Gloves, Order of Merlin [-]st Class, goblets with family crests, and, and—”
Kreacher gasped, his shriveled chest heaving violently, and then he opened his eyes and let out a blood-curdling scream.
"—and the locket, Master Regulus' locket, Kreacher made a mistake, Kreacher failed to carry out the master's order!"
Harry reacted instinctively: as Kreacher charged at the poker standing against the wall, he threw himself on top of the elf, pinning him down.Hermione's screams mingled with Kreacher's cries, but Harry's roar outweighed both: "Kreacher, I order you to hold still!"
He felt the elf froze before letting go.Kreacher lay upright on the cold stone floor, tears pouring from his sunken eye sockets.
"Harry, get him up!" whispered Hermione.
"So he can beat himself up with a poker?" said Harry disapprovingly, kneeling beside the elf. "I don't want to. Now, Kreacher, I want to hear the truth: how do you know Mundungus Fletcher stole the locket?"
"Kreacher saw it!" cried the elf, tears streaming down his long nose into a grinning mouth where a set of gray teeth could be seen, "Kreacher saw him coming from Kreacher's storeroom. Come out full of Kreacher's treasures, and Kreacher tells the thief to stop, but Mundungus Fletcher laughs and runs--runs..."
"You said the locket was 'Master Regulus'," said Harry. "Why? Where did it come from? What did Regulus have to do with it? Kreacher, sit up and tell me you Everything you know about that locket, and Regulus' relationship with it!"
The elf sat up, curled up in a ball, clamped his wet face between his knees, and began to rock back and forth.When he spoke, his voice was low and muffled, but he could be heard quite clearly in the quiet, echoing kitchen.
"Master Sirius ran away, and it was good that he was gone, for he was a bad boy, and my mistress was heartbroken by his unruly behavior. But Master Regulus had pride, and he knew the name Black and his What pure blood means. For many years, he often talked about the Dark Lord, who wanted wizards to stop hiding and come out to rule Muggles and their descendants... When Master Regulus was 16 years old, He was so proud, so proud, so happy to have joined the Dark Lord's organization, to be able to serve in..."
"A year later, one day, Master Regulus came to see Kreacher in the kitchen. Master Regulus has always liked Kreacher. Master Regulus said...he said..."
The old elf shook faster.
"...he said the Dark Lord wanted a elf."
"Voldemort wants an elf?" Harry asked, looking back at Ron and Hermione, who were just as confused as he was.
"Oh yes," said Kreacher bitterly, "Master Regulus contributed to Kreacher. It was an honor, Master Regulus said, for himself and Kreacher. Kreacher must go Do everything the Dark Lord wants him to do...and go back—go home."
Kreacher swayed faster, and his breathing turned to sobbing.
"So Kreacher went to the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord didn't tell Kreacher what to do, but took Kreacher to a cave by the sea. It was a big cave with a big black lake..."
The hairs on the back of Harry's neck stood on end, and Kreacher's hoarse voice seemed to come from the black water.He saw the scene as if he had experienced it himself.
"...there is a boat..."
Of course there was a boat, and Harry knew that boat, the ghostly green boat, bewitched to take only one wizard and one victim to the isle in the middle of the lake.This, then, is how Voldemort tested the protection of a Horcrux: with the help of an insignificant being, a house-elf...
"There is a stone-stone basin on the island, full of potions. Black-the Dark Lord let Kreacher drink..."
The elf trembled.
"Kreacher drank, and saw a lot of terrifying sights while drinking... Kreacher's internal organs were on fire... Kreacher called Master Regulus to save him, called Mistress, but the Dark Lord just laughed... ...he forced Kreacher to run out of potions...he threw a locket into the empty basin...and filled the basin with potions."
"Then the Dark Lord got on board and left, leaving Kreacher on the island..."
Harry could see that.He saw Voldemort's pale, snakelike face disappear into the darkness, his red eyes staring grimly at the writhing elf.The elf would die in a few minutes, when he couldn't resist the extreme thirst caused by the potion's heartburn... But at this point, Harry's imagination couldn't go any further, because he couldn't figure out how Kreacher had escaped .
"Kreacher needed water, and he climbed to the edge of the island to drink the water from the Black Lake...Many hands, the hands of dead men, stretched out from the water and dragged Kreacher down..."
"How did you escape?" Harry asked, not surprised to hear his own voice whisper.
Kreacher lifted his ugly head and looked at Harry with big bloodshot eyes.
"Master Regulus said he wanted Kreacher to come home," he said.
"I know—but how did you get rid of the Inferi?"
Kreacher didn't seem to understand.
"Master Regulus said he wanted Kreacher to come home," he repeated.
"I know, but—"
"Gee, obviously isn't it, Harry?" said Ron. "He's Apparated!"
"But... you can't Apparate in and out of that cave," said Harry, "otherwise Dumbledore—"
"Elf magic isn't the same as wizard magic, is it?" said Ron. "I mean, they can Apparate or Apparate at Hogwarts, and we can't."
There was a moment of silence as Harry pondered the words.How could Voldemort make such a mistake?Just as he was thinking this, Hermione spoke, her voice was cold.
"Of course, Voldemort was as dismissive of the behavior of house-elves as any purebred wizard who treats them as livestock...it never occurred to him that the elves might have magic that he didn't."
"The supreme law of house-elves is the master's order," Kreacher said singing. "The master told Kreacher to go home, and Kreacher went home..."
"So, you did what you were ordered to do, didn't you?" Hermione asked gently. "No disobedience at all?"
Kreacher nodded, shaking faster.
"Then what happened when you came back?" Harry asked, "What did Regulus say when you told the master?"
"Master Regulus is very worried, very worried." Kreacher hissed, "Regulus told Kreacher to hide and not leave the house." Then... After a while... One night, Regulus Master Les came to the kitchen and found Kreacher.Master Regulus looked weird, unlike usual, Kreacher could see that he was in a state of confusion... The master asked Kreacher to take him to the cave, the same cave that Kreacher and the Dark Lord had been to...
So off they went, and Harry could clearly picture a terrified old elf, and that lean, dark Seeker who looked so much like Sirius... Kreacher knew how to open the secret entrance to the underground cavern , knew how to float the boat, this time sailing to the isle of potions with his beloved Regulus...
"He made you drink the potion?" Harry asked in disgust.
Kreacher shook his head, crying bitterly.Hermione covered her mouth: she seemed to have guessed something.
"Master Ray—Master Regulus pulled out a locket from his pocket, the same as the Dark Lord's," Kreacher said, tears streaming down the sides of his long nose. "His name was Kreacher. Hold it, and when the stone basin is dry, replace the locket..."
Kreacher's sobbing became rough and harsh, and Harry had to concentrate to understand him.
"He ordered - Kreacher leave - leave him alone. He called Kreacher - go home - not to say to the mistress - what he did - but must destroy - the first locket. Then He just drank - drank the potion - Kreacher swapped the locket - and watched... Master Regulus... being dragged underwater... and..."
"Oh, Kreacher!" wailed Hermione, weeping, kneeling beside the elf, trying to hug him.Immediately the elf stood up and ducked back in obvious disgust.
"Mudblood touched Kreacher, Kreacher won't allow it, what would the mistress say?"
"I told her not to call her 'Mudblood'!" Harry roared, but the elf was already punishing himself: he fell to the ground, banging his head on the floor.
"Stop him—stop him!" cried Hermione. "Oh, don't we see how cruel this is, they have to obey!"
"Kreacher - stop, stop!" Harry yelled.
The elf lay on the ground, panting, trembling all over, the shiny green mucus around the nose, a large swelling on the pale forehead, red, swollen and congested eyes, tearful.Harry had never seen such a pitiful sight.
"You took the locket home, then," he continued grimly, determined to learn all about it. "Have you tried to destroy it?"
"Kreacher couldn't leave a trace on it," said the elf sadly. "Kreacher tried all the ways, all the ways, but none, none of them worked... There's so much magic on the box. , Kreacher believes that it can only be destroyed from the inside, but it can't be opened... Kreacher punishes himself, try again, punish himself, try again. Kreacher failed to carry out the order, Kreacher can't destroy the locket! The mistress is mad with grief, because Master Regulus is missing, Kreacher can't tell her what happened, can't, because Master Regulus forbids—forbids him to say rock—cave things in..."
Kreacher was sobbing, and Hermione looked at Kreacher, tears also streaming down her face, but she didn't dare to touch him again.Even Ron, who didn't like Kreacher, seemed a little uneasy.Harry sat up on his knees, shaking his head, trying to clear his head.
"I don't understand you, Kreacher," he began. "Voldemort wanted to kill you, and Regulus died trying to defeat Voldemort, but you were willing to betray Sirius to Voldemort? Willing to meet Narcissa and Belle?" Latrix, tip off Voldemort..."
"Harry, Kreacher doesn't think that way," said Hermione, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "He's a slave, and house-elves are used to rough, even cruel treatment. Voldemort didn't do that to Kreacher." Rare. What does war between wizards mean to an elf like Kreacher? He is only loyal to those who are good to him, Mrs. Black presumably is, and so is Regulus, so he serves them willingly and fully accepts I know what you're going to say," Harry was about to argue, she had said, "Regulus had a change of heart...but he didn't seem to explain it to Kreacher, did he? I think I know Why. Kreacher and Regulus' families would be safer by keeping the old pure-blood idea, and Regulus wanted to protect them."
"Sirius--"
"Sirius treated Kreacher badly, Harry. It's no use looking at me like that, you know it's true. Kreacher had been alone for a long time when Sirius came to live here, and he was probably yearning for a little Tenderness, I believe 'Miss Sissy' and 'Miss Bella' were so kind to Kreacher that he offered to help and told them all they wanted to know. I always say wizards pay for the way they treat house-elves The price, see, Voldemort paid the price...and Sirius."
Harry was speechless, watching Kreacher lying on the ground crying, he remembered what Dumbledore said just a few hours after Sirius died: I don't think Sirius ever regarded Kreacher as having the same sensitive emotions as humans a creature...
"Kreacher," said Harry after a moment, "when you feel like it, uh... please sit up."
It took several minutes before Kreacher hiccupped and fell silent.He sat up propped up, rubbing his eyes with his fists like a child.
"Kreacher, I want to ask you to do something." Harry said, looking at Hermione for support.He wanted to sound the order nicely, but he couldn't pretend it wasn't an order.The change in his tone seemed to win her over, though, and she smiled encouragingly.
"Kreacher, I want you to go find Mundungus Fletcher. We need to find out that locket - where Master Regulus' locket is. It's really important. We want to To finish what Master Regulus left unfinished. We wanted to - er - wanted to make sure he didn't die in vain."
Kreacher lowered his fist and looked up at Harry.
"Find Mundungus Fletcher?" he said hoarsely.
"Bring him to Grimmauld Place," said Harry. "You think you can do this for us?"
Kreacher nodded and got up.
With an idea, Harry took out the leather pouch Hagrid had given him (a magic pouch in donkey skin that only the owner could open), and took out the fake Horcrux, the counterfeit locket, which contained Regulus' note to Voldemort.
"Kreacher, I, uh, want you to take this," he shoved the locket into the elf's hand, "it's Regulus's, and I'm sure he'd be willing to give it to you as a thank you— —”
"Too much, man," said Ron, and the elf let out a howl of surprise and pain when he saw the locket, and collapsed again.
It took them nearly half an hour to calm down Kreacher, and they could get a Black family relic. The elf was so excited that his knees went weak and he couldn't stand up.When he was at last able to stagger a few steps, they accompanied him in carefully hiding the locket in a dirty blanket, and assured him that they would take good care of it while he was gone.The elf bowed low to Harry and Ron respectively, and even twitched comically at Hermione, perhaps trying to salute, before disapparating with a familiar snap.
"Isn't Mundungus from the Order of the Phoenix?" Ron scratched his head after Kreacher left.
"I told you once," said Harry, "that Dumbledore gave me my second lesson, the one after Katie picked up the opal necklace. Dumbledore said he was sorry he didn't supervise him. Kool removed him from the Order of the Phoenix. But he was never found."
"What if you can't even find the Order of the Phoenix?"
"There are so many things happening in the Order of the Phoenix every day!" Hermione said quickly, "You can't expect them to find a 'habitual thief' who is removed from the list! Besides, I think Harry's approach is right, since Kreacher can get rid of the lake full of corpses , then I believe he will be able to catch Mundungus."
"Okay, okay, I didn't say that the Order of the Phoenix is bad, and I didn't say that elves are bad!" Ron said in surrender. "What do we do now?"
"Keep cleaning!" said Hermione firmly. "It's an hour before lunch."
The author has something to say:
Hermione is very protective of the Order of the Phoenix~~~
． ．laugh. ．