The Search Is Over

Chapter 111

Kereston and Ariana were waiting in the library when Kreacher and Regulus returned home. Ariana leapt to her feet with a warm smile as soon as the two entered hand in hand.

"I wanted to thank you so much again for helping me to find my father! I'm staying at the Hog's Head with him indefinitely, so I hope to see you all often even after our business is concluded."

Regulus smiled warmly.

"Ariana, it's so wonderful to hear that it all worked out!"

"Yes," Kreacher murmured, nodding.

"Kreacher?"

Kereston spoke suddenly, her tone sharp with concern.

"Are you well? Why you look so pale."

Kreacher flashed a quick glance to Regulus before returning his steady gaze to his small blonde friend.

"Kreacher is fine," he assured.

"Kreacher is simply a vampire now," Regulus added dryly, feeling it best to get that bit over with.

"That's why we're late, Ariana. I apologize for that, but Kreacher decided to change the plans this evening without giving me much notice at all."

Kreacher squirmed, but he was unable to keep the slight grin from his face.

"Kreacher did not exactly plan it either. At times, he can perhaps get carried away," he explained.

Ariana blinked.

"You are a vampire now, aren't you! It shows how distracted I am that I didn't even notice! Some necromancer I must seem."

Regulus gave her a small, understanding smile.

"It's alright. We all have reasons to be a bit distracted."

"So now you're well and truly Nosferatu," Kereston said, rising to give Kreacher a firm hug and fond kiss on the cheek.

Grinning and blushing, Kreacher hugged her back, chuckling a little at the Nosferatu reference.

"So you're what, their Renfield," Ariana asked Kereston, who gave a slight smile and shrugged.
"I'm here to help if they need it with whatever they can't attend to during the day. Unlike Dracula's Renfield, I don't give or receive blood, and nor do I have an interest in doing so."

"You also seem a bit more sane," Ariana stated cheerfully.

"Only a bit," Regulus asked, arching his brows.

"She seems quite sane to me."

Ariana chuckled.

"She lives here in this delightfully spooky old house and seeks to be Minister For Magic some day! She can't be completely sane."

"I'm perfectly sane. Just a Slytherin," Kereston said with a small amused smile as she resumed her seat.

"Slytherin," Ariana murmured.

"That's a Hogwarts house thing, right?"

Kereston nodded.

"You're in a room full of proud former Slytherins. Well Kreacher didn't attend Hogwarts, but if he had he'd most definitely have been in Slytherin house."

"Most definitely," Regulus agreed and Kreacher proudly nodded.

"What makes someone Slytherin," Ariana asked.

"Ambition, resourcefulness, determination, and cleverness," Regulus answered at once.

All were character traits his family prized, after all so he was quite familiar with them and proud to have all of them in spades.