Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

10

Chapter 10—Kreacher’s Tale

Summary

Harry wakes the next day, noting Ron and Hermione’s postures (they may have fallen asleep holding hands, which makes him feel lonely). He thinks of his mission, and how his grief about Dumbledore has transmuted since hearing all those horrible things about him at the wedding. He feels the need to get up and do something, so he looks about the house, realizing that it has been searched since the last time he was there. He wonders who might have done it, thinking that it was likely Snape or Mundungus. Phineas Nigellus is missing from his portrait, clearly at Hogwarts. Harry heads upward to the top floor and finds Sirius’ room, which he never inspected before. It is a large space and teenage Sirius had covered most of the walls with Gryffindor paraphernalia, as well as pictures of motorbikes and women in bikinis. (Harry assumes that Sirius put Permanent Sticking Charms on all of it to keep his family from redecorating.) The only Wizarding photograph on the wall is a picture of the Marauders, and Harry perceives that Peter and Lupin simply look pleased to be included… then has to wonder if he’s only seeing that because he knows some of the crueler things that group got up to. As more light comes on, Harry can see that Sirius’ room was searched too, though it doesn’t appear that anything there was taken.

Harry bends down and finds a piece of a textbook, a page from a motorbike maintenance book, and a letter. The letter turns out to be from his mother to Sirius, thanking him for Harry’s birthday present and asking him to pop by sometime soon to cheer James up, as he’s been going stir crazy locked away (it’s after they went into hiding). She also mentions getting visits from Bathilda Bagshot, who has been telling them “amazing stories” about Dumbledore that she’s not sure she believes. Harry is stunned by the letter, noting that he and his mother write their “g”s the same way, feeling connected to her in a way he never had before. He goes back over the letter, learning the details, like the fact that they had a family cat and that Dumbledore had borrowed his father’s Invisibility Cloak. But the letter is incomplete, and ends on words about Dumbledore, so Harry goes frantically looking for the other half. What he comes across instead is the picture Lily promised in her letter, of baby Harry zooming around on a toy broomstick and James’ legs running after him. Harry wonders if the other half of the letter was lost or taken due to useful information.

He hears Hermione calling his name, and she tells him that they panicked when they woke and didn’t know where he was. Harry shows her what he found. They talks about that house being ransacked, and then Harry brings up Bagshot and tells Hermione that she’s still alive and living in Godric’s Hollow, trying to interest her. Hermione sees through it, and doesn’t believe that talking to Bagshot will help them find the Horcruxes. Harry tells her what he heard from Muriel at the wedding as well, but Hermione thinks that Doge is right, that Harry shouldn’t let people like Skeeter and Muriel ruin his memories of Dumbledore. Harry isn’t pleased with her reasoning, but follows her downstairs to rustle up breakfast. As they leave the room, Harry notices the other door on the landing with a sign attached that reads “Do Not Enter Without the Express Permission of Regulus Arcturus Black.” Harry gets the sense that he’s found something then realizes those are the same initials on the note they found in the fake Horcrux locket. He tells Hermione what Sirius told him about his brother, and she agrees that it would fit if he were the person who planted the fake. Hermione calls Ron upstairs, and the three of them enter his room.

Regulus’ room is the opposite of his brother’s, decked out in Slytherin green and silver, the family crest, and collage of clippings on Voldemort. Harry finds a picture of the Slytherin Quidditch team and realizes that Regulus played Seeker for them. The room has been torn through just like Sirius’. Hermione tries to call the locket using Accio, but nothing happens; she figures it could have counter-enchantments on it to prevent that kind of summoning. They go through every nook of the room, but still don’t find it. Hermione decides that it could be elsewhere in the house. She remembers all the terrible things in the house that they’d gotten rid of before, then hits on it; they got rid of a locket when they were cleaning house, one they couldn’t open and tossed in a garbage sack. Harry is horrified until he reminds them that Kreacher kept stealing back things they tried to get rid of. They run downstairs to Kreacher’s cupboard, Harry opens the door, picking up the house-elf’s blankets to shake them out when he doesn’t see anything. When nothing appears, Harry calls for Kreacher, and immediately has to forbid him from using the words “blood traitor” or “Mudblood.”