Lily Evans

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

       The next day Hermione offered to go over some spells and potions (only the theory of them - no real magic) so we sat in the living room with Harry, Ron and Ginny, with dozens and dozens of books and parchment littering the floor and sofa. Learning spells is actually really hard, but it didn't feel the same as when I revised for tests, because you know, this was magic, and Hermione Granger was helping me. After a bit we took a break and watched Harry and Ron play wizard chess, I was actually pretty good at normal chess, so I offered to play against Ron after Harry was beat (a couple of times.) "Bloody hell, you weren't kidding!" said Ron after I took out his second bishop.

       "Well the logic is the same as muggle chess - which I've been playing since I was six."

       "So...the pieces in your muggle chess thing don't actually move? They just sit there, and you move them yourself?" I nodded, chess was so much cooler when the pieces kicked each other off the board, and when at the end the losing king got dragged away.

       "Are you okay Lily?" asked Hermione, noticing the smile had suddenly faded from my mouth, as though someone had flicked off a light. "Yeah...I was just thinking how much my Dad would have loved wizard chess. He taught me how to play." I hadn't thought about my parents very much that day, Sammy had been in his room today and yesterday just playing with his Lego, but not seeming that sad. I wish I knew how he was feeling about everything: mum and dad, all these new people, this new building, he'd always said how much he hated it when things changed.

       "Your dad would have played wizard chess before he went into hiding, I'm sure of it, and he would have loved to play it with you Lily." Hermione said, she and Ginny put comforting arms around me while the boys just looked uncomfortable.

       "Check." I looked at the board in surprise, where I found that Ron was actually one step from beating me, that woke me up. "Not so fast! Check mate!" I had, in one impressive move, cornered Ron's King with my Queen.

       "How - how did you do that?!?!" We all laughed at his expression and and I watched happily as my queen flung Ron's king off the board.

       "Lunch!!" Mrs Weasley called from the next room. Hermione and I stacked my books into a pile and I hastily ran upstairs to store them in my trunk again before returning downstairs and joining everyone else at the table.

       "You should all start packing later. I know we're closer to the station here, but with more of us coming on the journey it'll be more chaotic than usual in the morning. I don't want to have to go back for spare quills or forgotten robes like we always do!" At this point, Kreacher came shuffling into the room, doing his usual mumbling, eyeing us angrily. A sudden thought struck me like lightning. Of course! How could I nearly forget about it? The locket!!

        Information starting racing through me head; so in the book, Harry is cleaning out the cabinet and he throws the locket away, but Kreacher saved it - so Voldemort's horcrux should be in Kreacher's hovel-den thing. Not exactly the location I think Voldemort would have liked to home part of his soul, not that I care. I really didn't want to have to steal it secretly, because since reading the Deathly Hallows, I positively adored Kreacher.

*****

       I sought out Sirius after lunch, though not really knowing what I'm going to say, and eventually finding him feeding Buckbeak. I hadn't actually spoken to Sirius since we first met as he didn't always come down to meals, and mainly stayed upstairs.

       "Uur... Mr Black?" Sirius looked up, but then he smiled at me, the change immediately brightening his face, filling his cheeks and momentarily bringing back the young man he once was. "Hello, Lily, and please don't call me Mr Black, that's my rotten father."

       "Sorry, and I wanted to talk to you. It's about Kreacher."

       "What's he done this time? Did he steal something again?"

       "No! No not at all! Well, kind of I guess. There was this Black family heirloom that was thrown out, but I saw Kreacher save it. Uur Dumbledore's asked me to get it, it's extremely important I think. Would you mind getting him to give it to now? I doubt he would obey me." I mentally applauded myself for lying so convincingly.

       "Absolutely. And am I allowed to ask if this 'locket' has anything to do with the top secret thing going on that made Remus tell me to do anything you say?" Sirius' voice was suddenly very serious (XD).

       "Yes, and there's one other thing about Kreacher that I really want to ask of you. I know you'll find this hard to believe, but I have a hunch that Kreacher could be really nice, and like an actual house elf, all obedient and cleany, but I think he just doesn't feel cared for enough. No offence. Maybe, possibly, Kreacher would feel better about this whole situation if he was given something? Of perhaps the Black family? So I was wondering if I could just pick something out to save you the trouble and maybe you could give it to him?"

       "Are you sure you want to bother? Kreacher - nice?" Sirius raised an eyebrow at me, the way it made him look made me laugh, which then made him laugh too. "Yes I'm sure!"

       Sirius sighed, "Fine. l I will get Kreacher to hand over the locket, and sure, if it's for the best, I'll try to be...nice to Kreacher. " Sirius frowned at the thought as we went downstairs together.

       "Kreacher!" There was lots of loud scurrying, and then Kreacher appeared at our feet, panting and glaring at Sirius with extreme hatred. "Kreacher, go get that locket you stole back from when we threw it out - don't denie it, and give it it Lilly." Kreacher looked like he was about to denie taking it, and protest, but didn't, and he shuffled out of the room and towards his cupboard.

       Quickly, I ran upstairs and into Regulus' old room, rummaging quickly, I found a thick silver ring with the Black family crest on it. Grinning, I rushed downstairs, just in time to see Kreacher shuffling grumpily towards us with the horcrux. "Thank you Kreacher." I took the ring and then secretly handed Sirius the ring and nudged him sharply with my elbow.

       "Uhh, this is for you Kreacher. I found it, it belonged to Regulus, and I thought you might like it. To say um thank you for being such a... faithful house-elf all these years." Mumbled Sirius, very reluctantly. Smiling as politely as possible (though it looked more like a grimace), Sirius handed him the silver ring. Kreacher stared at it in utter amazing.

       "Master is giving Kreacher Black family heirloom." I smiled, and then something positively amazing happened. Kreacher smiled. A huge, tooth-filled smile, spreading over ever corner of his face. Sirius looked kind of disgusted.

        Still smiling in a slightly dazed way, he pushed the locket into my palm and shuffles out of the room, humming. The locket felt heavier than I expected. When I turned it towards the light I could briefly see a suspicious glint of red. As I brought it closer to my face, I could hear something. A whispering noise that as far as I could tell, wasn't saying anything, more like it was hissing. I felt myself bringing it closer to my eyes without realizing I was telling myself to - like the locket was controlling me...

       "What's that?" I yelped and jumped backwards in fright, the locket crashing to floor. I looked up to see Harry frowning at the locket, Sirius had left. "Didn't I throw that out?"

       "Uuh...yeah, I just found it lying about, Kreacher tried to steal it no doubt," I managed a small fake laugh, while I picked it up, but I could feel my lying blush creeping up my cheek. "Well I'll just throw it away again. See you later."

       "Yeah sure, and sorry for scaring you Lily. Did you know that my mum was called Lily? And you have her surname. A weird coincidence, don't you think?"

       "Mmm..." There were so many things I wanted to say to him, but I had no idea how. "I heard about your Ministry trial. It was so unfair of them to even consider expelling you, plus for Fudge to change the time and place of it to try and stop Dumbledore being there, well at least that's why I think he did it. He just needs to accept that Voldemort is back." Of course, instead of just trying to start up a normal conversation I go on a rant about things I shouldn't know so much about.

       "You really think that's why he did it? Wow, I hadn't thought of that." Then somehow after that, Harry and I went into the living room and talked for ages about Fudge, and how unfair the Ministry is being. He was surprisingly easy to talk to.