Marauder's Love

Something Returned

"You're so mean," Sirius said with a smile tugging at his lips as we walked back up the stairs.

"I don't think so," I shrug with a smirk making him chuckle. We heard voices coming from the drawing-room which Sirius followed while I just slowly trailed behind him. Sirius made it to the room first and I heard him say something made me curious so, I quickened my pace. In the room was all the kids, Sirius stood at the door glaring at someone. I peek around Sirius to see the house-elf bowing so low to the ground that his nose was against the carpet, Kreacher.

"Stand up straight," Sirius said impatiently. "Now, what are you up to?"

"Kreacher is cleaning," the elf said. "Kreacher lives to serve the noble house of Black-"

"And it's getting blacker every day, it's filthy," Sirius interrupted Kreacher. I reach my hand up to rub Sirius's back trying to calm him. Sirius never liked Kreacher and it showed.

"Master always liked his little joke," Kreacher bowed again. "Master has a nasty ungrateful swine who broke his mother's heart-"

"My mother didn't have a heart, Kreacher," Sirius snapped. "She kept herself alive out of pure spite."

"Whatever Master says," Kreacher bowed again. "Master is not fit to wipe slime from his mother's boots, oh my poor Mistress, what would she say if she saw Kreacher serving him and his half-breed, how she hated him, what a disappointment he was-"

"You didn't answer the question," I growl as I grabbed Sirius's arm when he took a step towards the elf.

"Every time you show up pretending to be cleaning, you sneak something off to your room so we can't throw it out," Sirius said coldly. He squeezed my hand that was wrapped around his arm probably trying calm himself before causing a scene.

"Kreacher would never move anything from its proper place in Master's house," the elf muttered. "Mistress would never forgive Kreacher if the tapestry was thrown out, seven centuries it's been in the family, Kreacher must save it, Kreacher will not let Master and the blood traitors and the brats destroy it-"

"I thought it might be that," Sirius said looking at the opposite wall. "She'll have put another Permanent Sticking Charm on the back of it, I don't doubt, but if I can get rid of it I certainly will. Now go away, Kreacher."

I moved to stand in front of Sirius so that the old elf could walk past but the damn thing threw a look in Sirius's way before muttering to himself in the hallway.

"Comes back from Azkaban ordering Kreacher around, oh my poor Mistress, what would she say if she saw the house now, scum living in it, her treasures thrown out, she swore he was no son of hers and he's back, they say he's a murderer too-"

"Keep muttering and I will be a murderer!" Sirius snaps before slamming the door so hard that a shiver went through me.

"Sirius, he's not right in the head," Hermione said trying to defend the elf's nature. "I don't think he realizes we can hear him."

"He's been alone too long," Sirius says, "taking orders from my mother's portrait and talking to himself, but he was always a foul little-"

"If you just set him free," Hermione said hopefully, "maybe-"

"We can't set him free, he knows too much about the Order. And anyway, the shock would kill him. You suggest to him that he leaves this house, see how he takes it."

Sirius walked across the room towards the tapestry that hung on the wall and the others followed him. I stayed by the door and leaned against the frame with my arms crossed over my chest. They stared at the tapestry with observing eyes as they looked at the many limbs of the Black family tree.