Ultimatums

Chapter 39

Hermione laid next to Regulus on his bed, her head resting on his chest. Avery and Rosier had snuck out to Hogsmeade, so they had the boys dorm to themselves. Her head was tucked safely under his chin, and he stroked her hair softly. Faint old Muggle music wafted into the room from an unknown radio in an unknown dorm along the landing. The atmosphere was perfectly peaceful.

Until Kreacher popped into the room.

The pair jumped apart, Regulus throwing on a shirt and Hermione smoothing down hers awkwardly. Kreacher would've made a wry comment if he wasn't so weak and anxious.

Just before he could open his mouth, he fell onto the carpet. Regulus moved into action immediately, placing a hand under the elf and putting him on the bed next to Hermione. "What's wrong, Kreacher?" He asked frantically.

The house elf coughed, sitting himself up. He was still trembling, but he began to stutter out the tale.

Voldemort taking him to a cave. The wizard using his blood to open the the cave walls. Kreacher drinking a vile potion on an island, and feeling tortured beyond anything Walburga Black had put him through. Seeing visions. Voldemort dropping a locket into a basin and filling it with the potion. Then Voldemort left him surrounded by inferi, seemingly forgetting that house elves have extraordinary magic surpassing a wizards and so he could escape.

Hermione rushed out of the room and into the en suite, running the bath and urging the water faster with her wand.

"Regulus" she called, and the boy walked in carrying Kreacher in his strong arms.

Regulus dropped Kreacher gently into the warm water, and the elf stopped shivering gradually. The grime he had been covered in turned the clear bath a dirty brown, but Hermione ignored that as she passed him a glass of water to down.

Kreacher snatched it out of her hand and drank intensely. When he was finished, he stuck his head under water, the scratches he had made on his neck bleeding into the brown.

☏

"Kreacher, darling, you don't know anything about the locket. Do you?" Hermione asked tiredly.

The house elf was drowning in an old knitted jumper of Hermione's that her mother had made her. Seeing as she wasn't an official Black, it didn't free him, and he snuggled into it to get warm.

Kreacher thought rocking back and forth. The memories of the torture still remained imprinted in his mind (and most likely always would be)  and he trembled under the heavy material. "The Dark Lord was muttering about horcruxes. Is that helpful, Miss Nita? I wish I could be more helpful-"

The sound of smashing glass stopped Kreacher. Regulus hurried into the room from where he was cleaning the bathroom and crouched down. "Horcruxes. Are you quite sure, Kreacher, that he said Horcruxes? Positive?"

Hermione raised a brow. "Horcrux? What's a Horcrux, love?"

Regulus's grave tone chilled her. "A soul split, one section going into an object. If such an object was untraceable, the wizard or witch performing such an act would be rendered immortal"

"What does splitting entail?"

"The Dark Lord would take a life every time he wanted to create a horcrux. Though more than one is... unheard of"

Hermione's hand flew to her mouth. They sat in silence for a few moments, Kreacher still rocking violently. She hugged him close, and the house elf surprisingly allowed it.

"You need to destroy them Master Regulus" he whispered, barely audible.

Regulus looked up. "Kreacher. I'm sorry but that's hardly plausible. The only way to is with fiendfyre or basilisk venom as far as I know. And we can't use either safely, can we?"

"We have to, Reg. We can't ask Dumbledore to help, can we? And we're more than capable. We'll go after NEWTs and find them" Hermione agreed.

"Nita, he'll know. No one can lie to the man. And imagine what he'll do to you if he finds out. We can't. It's out of our hands"

Hermione stood  "we have the opportunity to help win the war and you're opting we do nothing?"

"Why help them" a hand came up to his hair " when they don't care about us? Why help them have their happy world when they've made ours miserable?"

"Because the rest of the world isn't just constructed of the Marauders and their associates. There are so many innocents..."

Regulus sighed, his shoulders hunched over. He spoke guiltily "I just can't see past them"

Hermione sat beside him and rested her head against him, her arm snaking around his waist.

"I know Reggie. But think of Tonks"

He peered at her curiously. "Ted? I doubt -"

"No, sorry. Dora. I got so used to calling her that... But think of her. She'll have to live in a world where she's hunted when they find out about her. All the Death Eaters looking for a twelve, thirteen year old. She won't -"

"Enough, Nita you've driven your point." Regulus snapped, before relaxing enough to say "fine. I'll come and help. After NEWTs."

Hermione planted a soft kiss on his lips, reluctantly pulling away at the remembrance of Kreacher in the room.