The Marauders: Year Four

House Elves

House Elves

"Help me, Mister Regulus! Help me!" The tiny house elf sobbed and waved her arms. "Don't let them be killing me!" Tears as large as the elf itself fell from her eyes, rolling across her cheeks and splashing into puddles... turning into rain that beat upon his back as he ran across a hazy marshland, clutching something, always clutching something in his fist. "Help me, Mister Regulus!" the elf's voice echoed through the sky like thunder, lowering... deepening... becoming croaky... until he came to a stop on a path leading up a hill and he looked down and beside him stood Kreacher. "Master Regulus musn't -- he musn't let them be killing me!" Kreacher begged, grabbing onto Regulus's robes, his fists balling about the fabric. Regulus walked up the hill along the path, dragging the elf like a ball and chain, clutching that something...and looking over a cliff at an ocean, dark, ominous green-black with algae and the waves crashing horribly hard against the rocks. "He must not be letting them kill us." Suddenly the teeny house elf Orion had murdered and Kreacher and a plethora more elves surrounded him and they were all begging him, all crying... "There's a hundred more where that one came from," Orion's voice echoed over the sea and it seemed the elves just kept on multiplying as far as Regulus could see. And he turned to the water and he felt as though there was a choice he could not make... one that was splitting his very soul into pieces. "Make up your mind boy," hissed Voldemort's voice. "Will you help me?" Regulus looked down at his fist and there it lay - a shabby, tarnished looking trinket that seemed to burn his hand and he dropped it and it fell to the ground, hitting the grass at his foot and Kreacher picked it up, holding it aloft to him in his palm and he asked, "Is Master Regulus choosing the trinket over Kreacher?" with the saddest, most heart-breaking tone in his voice... "Kreacher loves his Master Regulus... no matter what he is choosing." ...and then his father's voice. "AVADA KED---"

Regulus sat up in his bed, screaming. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoOoooo!" he bellowed, clutching at the blankets, his heart racing, "NO NONONONONONO!"

"The hell, Black!? Shut up! It's the middle the night!" moaned one of the other boys in the room. "What's with all the racket?"

Sweat poured over Regulus and the tears fell from his eyes were hot and burned the rims, seating them. "No, oh no, no no -- Kreacher!" he cried, "KREACHER!"

There was a loud CRACK! and the elf stood on the foot of Regulus's bed. The elf took one look at Regulus and he grabbed onto his master's hand in worry, "Master Regulus, Kreacher is here... Kreacher is here..." he looked around the room and clicked his fingers, the pitcher of water pouring a glass that floated over and Kreacher caught it up, handing it to Regulus, "Drink, Master Regulus, drink this water." Regulus took the cup, gulping the water, his chest heaving. "Kreacher's here, Master Regulus, Kreacher's here."

Regulus nodded as his throat pumped the water into his system and he started to calm down. Only a dream, he realized. It was only a dream... and a quite impossible one, really... Of course Kreacher was okay. Of course it wasn't real. He finished the water and swept his fist over his mouth, staring at the house elf with wide eyes - just so glad to see him. He grabbed onto Kreacher's little hand and pulled him close, wrapping his arms around the elf, who stood awkwardly, letting Regulus do it, an uncertain look on his old little face. The tufts of fur in his ears twitched. "I'm sorry, Kreacher," whispered Regulus, hugging the elf.

"Why is Master Regulus sorry to Kreacher?"

"For not paying you better attention." Over the summer, Regulus had been so intent on learning everything and anything he could about the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters that he hadn't spent near the amount of time he normally would've done with Kreacher. They'd only played Exploding Snap once and they hadn't even truly finished the game, though the elf had dutifully set up the board every day...