𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙍𝙏 𝙏𝙊 𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙍𝙏

four┊ ➶ ｡˚ °

HEART TO HEART
umbitch !

Bright dawn light woke Avery the next morning. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and tried to make out her surroundings through her blurred gaze.

Grimmauld Place.

Yawning, she glanced around the room. Harry and Ron had already left, leaving only her and Hermione. "Did you sleep well?"

"Well enough." Hermione answered quietly, blinking sleep from her honey-coloured eyes. "Where are Harry and Ron?"

"Probably checking out the other rooms. I doubt there'd be a Horcrux here, though." Avery sighed. "Risky place to hide it, I guess."

Hermione shot her a weird look, as though Avery had missed something blatantly obvious, but before the redhead could ask why the two heard Ron's voice. "Avery? Hermione? Harry? Where are you? I think I've found something."

Avery frowned curiously, her attention instantly diverting away from Hermione, which seemed to irritate the brunette ever so slightly. The two followed Ron's voice and found themselves at the door of an upturned room.

"Lovely," Hermione commented flatly.

Ron swung the door closer, letting them see a golden metallic sheet engraved into the door. On the sheet, in neat, tidy black letters, were the three words -

"Regulus Arcturus Black." Hermione read.

"R.A.B." Ron nodded.

All four assembled at the dining table; Hermione beside Avery and Ron and Harry facing them.

"I know I will be dead long before you read this. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it." Harry read out loud, the words finally seeming to make sense. "R.A.B. is Sirius's brother.",

"So that's a fake." Avery echoed, staring at the locket beside the parchment.

"Yes. Question is, did he actually destroy the real Horcrux?" Hermione asked.

Something inside a closet moved, and Avery flinched backwards, subconsciously moving closer to Hermione. "Oh hell no. Is everything out to bloody kill us?!"

Harry approached the closet and opened it cautiously. His hand shot out, quick as a snake, and dragged out an elf into the light. "You've been spying on us, have you?"

"Ew!" Avery gasped out, her jaw dropping open. "What is that?"

"Kreacher has been watching," the elf responded hoarsely, sending Avery a glare that made the redhead shudder.

"Maybe he knows where the real locket is." Hermione suggested, placing her hand on Avery's arm protectively.

Harry grabbed the locket from the table, dangling it in front of Kreacher. "Have you ever seen this before? Kreacher..."

"It's Master Regulus's locket," the elf growled after a moment, cowering behind a counter.

"Yes, but there were two, weren't there?" Harry pressed. "Where's the other one?"

"Kreacher doesn't know where the other locket is."

"Yes, but did you ever see it? Was it in this house?" Hermione moved forward.