Harry was left breathless for the third night today.
The first time was when he saw Ginny Weasley, as she turned around in a black-framed dress as Harry went to zip up her dress. How women can be so godly; Harry would never understand.
The second time was when Hermione took them away from the chaos that became the Weasley Wedding. He felt himself struggle to catch his breath as he held onto the rail and tried to think of what to do next.
And now, he felt his breath catch again as he looked at the engraved initials, feeling as if the mist in his head had finally begun to clear.
"R.A.B"
Harry looked over to his friends, dots connecting in his head as he rushed back downstairs and towards the drawing room.
"Harry? Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, her voice echoing off the walls as he rushed down the stairs.
"Where the bloody hell is he going?" Ron questioned, before quickly following behind as Hermione rushed to get to Harry.
The pair found Harry in the drawing room, staring up at the Black family tree as his fingers grazed over the date of death on Regulus Black's portrait.
"December 24, 1978. The same day as Astrids." Harry said, not tearing his eyes away from the portrait.
"Harry, what are you talking about?" Hermione questioned.
"He died the same day that Astrid did," Harry explained.
"So? Probably got into a fight with the Death eaters. You heard what Sirius has said, supposedly Regulus got too scared and tried to back out. Probably a fight blew out and wands got drawn" Ron countered, not giving it much thought.
"No, they knew," Harry explained, glancing back at his friends. "Both of them, Astrid and Regulus, that's how they died."
The trio sat at the dining table as Harry began to explain to them everything from the diaries= leading up to the last entry: his father and Astrid's fight over the war, the secret letters on Astrid's desk, and their final goodbye.
"The last entry was December 24, 1978, the same day they died. Astrid and Regulus were going to some sort of Christmas Eve ball. But something was off," Harry tried to explain as much as he could without being able to show the memories. "She was more standoffish like she was preparing for something. When she said goodbye to my dad, it was as if she knew."
Harry pulled out the Horcrux, looking at the note before starting to read.
I know I will be dead long before you read this, but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret.
"What if this is what happened?" Harry urged. "What if they went off to get the Horcrux, but never made it back?"
"But if that were the case, where would it be Harry? It wasn't back at the cave, so someone must have gotten out or something happened," Hermione questioned, not fully understanding what could have happened.
A noise echoes from the corner of the room, causing Harry to look up from the note and notice the dark shadow looming over the corner before scurrying away.
"Kreacher!" Harry called out. "Stop! I order you"
Kreacher hissed back "Kreacher does not listen to filthy blood traitors and mudbloods"
"No" Ron bit back harshly, "but even he listens to his master, doesn't he?"
Kreacher hunched in disgust, mumbling and avoiding eye contact with the trio, likely spitting insults at the tree.
"Been spying on us, haven't you?" Harry questioned forcefully.
Kreacher glanced over the three, looking at the note in Harry's hand before responding "Kreacher has been...watching. Kreacher is always watching.
Hermione creeps closer to Harry and whispers to him: "Maybe he knows"
Harry, understanding what she was implying, pulled out the locket and pointed it towards Kreacher.
"Ever seen this before?" Harry questioned, as he saw an unfamiliar look cross over Kreacher's face before Kreacher continued to mumble and avoid answering.
"Kreacher, I own this place. Sirius left it to me," Harry barks. "Which means I own you too."
A look of disgust comes over Kreacher as he hides behind the furniture, and it looks almost as if he is going to lunge forward and retaliate before Kreacher finally responds.
"That is Master Regulus' locket"
Harry nodded slightly, happy to finally have the confirmation he needed on who R.A.B. was. "That's right. But there were two, weren't there?"
Bingo, Harry thought as he watched Kreacher's eyes widen in surprise before nodding at him.
"Where's the other one?"
"Kreacher doesn't know where the other locket is."
Harry's temper spiked up again in both frustration and desperation before Hermione cut in.
"But was it here? Did you ever see it?" Hermione questioned, causing Kreacher to spit out at her in response.
"Filthy mudbloods – the Death eaters will soon be coming for you!" Kreacher bellowed at Hermione, spitting at their feet.
Harry watched as Ron jumped forward to strangle the house elf, obviously just as annoyed and angry as Harry was, while Hermione yelled at him to stop. Once all the commotion ended, Harry pestered on.
"Answer her," Harry demanded, not shifting his eyes away from Kreacher.
"Yes," Kreacher gave up, hunching his back and shifting his eyes to the corner of the room. "It was here, in the house. A most evil object..."
Harry interjected, "How do you mean?"
Kreacher glanced back up at Harry, looking directly into his eyes.
"Before he...died, Master Regulus ordered Kreacher to destroy it. It was the last thing he asked of Kreacher. But no matter how Kreacher tried, he could not..."
Kreacher explained, failure filling his voice before Harry decided to confirm his last question.
"And Astrid?" Harry questioned forcefully, afraid that the elf may try to deny and cover up the entire truth if he didn't ask soon.
Kreacher hesitated, obviously not wanting to answer before giving in.
"She was a good mistress, Mistress Astrid. The good pureblood witch tried her best to take care of young Master Regulus. But foolish, Mistress Astrid." Kreacher explained distastefully, with a sense of mourning laced in his voice. "Falling for stupid blood traitor. Not stopping Master Regulus before it was too late."
"What happened?" Harry questioned, as he got the final confirmation, he needed to know that everything in the diaries was true: his father did love a woman named Astrid Black, and she switched sides before getting to ever tell him"
"Mistress Astrid demanded Kreacher take the locket and get back to Master Regulus after I left her. She died not long after."
"Left her, left her where?" Ron questioned.
Kreacher's eyes darted angrily as Ron spoke, before looking back at Harry and saying:
"At Potter Manor."
YOU ARE READING
Keep Breathing ♢ James Potter
Fanfiction"I want you to understand something, Harry...James loved Lily. He truly did love you and your mother. But what Astrid and James had was more than just love. It was all things above love. It was a sacrifice. It was putting each other first. It was m...
