Harry potter and the breeding darkness

Chapter 13

Around 2 pm, Molly Weasley popped in, informing the group that she had a late lunch ready so they all made their way down the stairs then into the kitchen where a more humble table than the extravagant one Harry had seen in the dining room was set up and the group had their meal there.

The mood was still fairly subdued and Ron still seemed to be brooding from their earlier earth shattering discussion on Dumbledore. Mrs. Weasley remarked on it but only got a grunt in return. Seeing no signs of getting an answer to her inquiries, she simply sighed and shrugged, refocusing on the meal. Sirius and Remus joined them for the meal but didn't say much. Interactions with Sirius seem obviously strained between he and Mrs. Weasley but their interactions were generally genial.

The meal ended, then Remus and Sirius quickly disappeared back upstairs while the young Gryffindors returned to the drawing room on the second floor. The Weasley's all, almost instantly, took seats around the front of the room but Harry slowly walked around the space examining it and taking it all in. The whole room was filled with delicious dark taint but there was a glass case along the far back wall that seemed especially potent. He opened it up and found that it was empty, frowned in disappointment.

"What was in here?" he asked as Hermione came to stand behind him.

"Oh, it was quite an assortment of items. Mrs. Weasley had us just throw it all out. We couldn't identify much of any of it but she was sure it was all Dark or cursed in some way."

"And she just tosses it all out just because she thinks the stuff could be Dark?" Harry asked with incredulity and annoyance clear in his voice. "That stuff could have been valuable or rare. They could have had historical value! Or been powerful, rare, magical artifacts!"

"Well, yes, but they were all Dark." Hermione said hesitantly, giving Harry a cautious look before glancing back at the other Weasley's on the opposite side of the room.

"And all things Dark should be eradicated just because they're Dark," Harry said with a sarcastic sneer. His voice was low and directed right at Hermione so the others wouldn't hear.

Hermione glanced back at the others once more, all still seated towards the opposite side of the room and saw that none of them were paying them any attention. She turned back to Harry. "I... may have saved some of it," she whispered quietly.

Harry looked at her with legitimate surprise. "You did?" he asked.

Hermione pulled her lower lip between her teeth and gave another cautious glance back at the Weasleys. "I... well, I agree that some of those things looked valuable. Not just in a monetary way, of course, but in a historical value way. The Blacks are one of the oldest magical lines still alive in Britain and there are loads of things in this house that, while Dark, still have a valid historical value. And some of the magical artifacts looked really fascinating. Also..." she hesitated again before sighing and shaking her head. "The house elf here, Kreacher, he's such a sad sight. I mean, he's gone terribly mad over the years being in this nasty old house all alone but it's obvious that he loved his family. Even if they were all Dark wizards. He was so upset that we were throwing out all of these Black family treasures so I helped him pick out certain objects and we've hidden them in Sirius' brother's room."

"Regulus's room?"

"Right."

Harry nodded his head thoughtfully, making note to go check out Regulus's room as soon as he was able to ditch the ginger brigade.

He focused back on Hermione and she was still gnawing away at her bottom lip nervously and looked as if she were contemplating something a bit unsettling.