The Marauders: Year One | #Wattys2016

Goodnight Kreacher

Goodnight Kreacher

Regulus couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned in his little bed in the Slytherin first year dormitory, trying to find a way to be comfortable. Everything seemed so different and weird here at Hogwarts - there were just so many people! He'd never been around such a lot of people in all his life - and he didn't know hardly anybody. He sat up and put his arms 'round his knees, looking about the dark room. There were no windows, so no moonlight, the only illumination in the room was a dark green glow that seemed to emanate from the corners of the rough hewn stone, probably magicked there to stop the complete darkness that would have otherwise swallowed them up in the dungeons. He rolled out of bed and shoved his feet into his slippers and snuck out of the room, descending the stairs to the common room.

The ceiling was everything he'd imagined - an almost aquarium sort of look to it, thick glass with thick brass accents, the glow of green lake water filtered moonlight... The giant squid lay in the curve of the glass when he looked up, sleeping. Little bubbles flowed up toward the surface. Regulus sat down on the couch and laid back against the arm of it, staring up at the squid.

He felt alone. He closed his eyes. "Kreacher," he whispered.

CRACK.

Regulus sat up in surprise and found the old house elf standing on the coffee table, looking up at him with an adoring expression. "Kreacher is at Slytherin house," he murmured, "Kreacher hasn't been to Slytherin house in such a lot of years... Master Regulus has been sorted well."

"Yes, I was," Regulus agreed. He wouldn't tell the elf how the hat had debated for so long. It was shameful, he thought, that the Sorting Hat had come so very close to putting him in Gryffindor - it had been on the tip of the hat's tongue when the thunder crack had interrupted it and he'd used the moment to bellow at it NOT GRYFFINDOR, and the hat had obliged. But, even as he lay there in the Slytherin common room, he knew that the hat had truly wanted to chose Gryffindor.

"Kreacher's Mistress will be most proud of Master Regulus for being sorted," Kreacher murmured. "Kreacher will tell her in the morning."

"Thanks Kreacher," Regulus said.

"Is Kreacher's Master enjoying his school?" Kreacher asked, climbing off the table and onto the couch beside Regulus. He put his little palms on Regulus's knees and his ears moved in an excited manner, eager to hear about Regulus.

Regulus nodded, "Yeah, it's alright. The feast was good, but not as great as the food you make back home."

"Kreacher misses Master Regulus, too," the elf said, reading between the lines.

Regulus sat up and held out his arms for Kreacher to give him a hug and the little elf crawled onto Regulus's lap and put his spindley arms 'round Regulus, who had thick tears pouring down his cheeks. "Master must not cry," Kreacher said croakily, "It is not proper for Master to cry at such a place."

"I just miss home," Regulus said quietly. "I miss my bed and I miss Mother and I miss our gobstones and you."

Kreacher patted Regulus's back. "Kreacher is to be at Grimmauld Place when Master Regulus returns at Holiday, and Master's gobstones will be waiting, set up to play already. Master Regulus shall win so many times!"

Regulus smiled at the thought of the gobstones set up and waiting. "I always win, Kreacher."

"Master Regulus is such a lot better at gobstones than Kreacher is," Kreacher answered, "And Master Regulus likes winning, and Kreacher is happy he can be playing at all with Master Regulus."