The Girl Who Lived ☆ D. MALFOY

Chapter 57

A/N- this is one emotional chapter. you guys are in for a wild ride lmao. enjoy!

(y/p)= your patronus

Word Count: 3073

We spent over an hour combing Regulus Black's room for any sign of the real Slytherin Locket but came up empty-handed. When it became obvious the locket was nowhere to be found in his room, I grew more and more frustrated. The first clue we had in ages, at least since Dumbledore died, was about as helpful having never found it at all. We were exactly where we'd started.

I chucked a faded jacket at the floor in anger after searching in and under the wardrobe for the fifth time.

"It could be somewhere else in the house," said Hermione, picking up the coat I threw and handing it back to me to put away. With my increasing discouragement, Hermione seemed to only become more determined. "Whether he managed to destroy it or not, he'd want to keep it hidden from Voldemort, wouldn't he? Remember all those awful things we had to get rid of when we were here last time? That clock that shot bolts at everyone and those old robes that tried to strangle Ron; Regulus might have put them there to protect the locket's hiding place, even though we didn't realise it at... at..."

As we were walking down the stairs, Hermione had stopped with one foot in the air and her mouth hanging open. I stopped as well to raise an eyebrow at her.

"What?" I asked.

"There was a locket," she answered, looking at me in despair. My jaw dropped as well. There had been a locket the last time we were here. One that, oddly enough, had caught my eye with its Slytherin themed design.

"There was a locket." The boys both watched us in confusion. "There was a locket! In the drawing-room cabinet, but we chucked it in the rubbish pile!" I shouted, throwing myself onto the floor. I let my head fall backwards and hit the wall behind me, and I could see Harry's face more into one of understanding and then utter disappointment.

"Kreacher nicked loads of things back from us," he said. It was a chance, and evidently, that was all we needed. "He had a whole stash of stuff in his cupboard in the kitchen. C'mon."

The four of us rushed through the house, making so much noise that we woke the portrait of Sirius' mother when we passed through the hall.

"Filth! Mudbloods! Scum!" she screamed, and already annoyed as all hell, I shot some sort of unidentifiable spell in her direction that made the curtains over her face slam shut with a bang while we ran into the kitchen.

Once again we came up empty. Well, not completely empty. A dead mouse rolled out of one of Kreacher's dingy blankets making me sick as well as angry.

"It's not over yet," said Harry, throwing down the dirty blanket and raising his voice to call, "Kreacher!"

There was a loud crack and the house-elf that Harry had been so reluctant to inherit from Sirius appeared in the middle of the kitchen.

"Master," the elf croaked, falling into a deep bow that made his large nose nearly scrape the floor. He also bowed in my direction for some unknown reason, seeing as he technically wasn't bound to me.

"We've got a question for you," said Harry sternly, "and I order you to answer it truthfully. Understand?"

"Yes, Master," said Kreacher, bowing again at the waist with his lips moving silently, more than likely mouthing the insults he wished he could throw at both Hermione and Ron. Harry looked at me for assistance.

"Two years ago, there was a big gold locket in the drawing-room upstairs," I started, causing the elf to look up at me. "We threw it out. Did you steal it back?"