Kreacher Waves Through a Window
Chapter 8: Regulus POV
By the time Regulus had stopped crying, Barty was super long gone and all the Chuck-e-Cheese workers were sweeping, even the rat, still in the rat suit. That got Regulus to leave pretty quick and he hailed the Knight Bus to get him back to Grimmauld Place. He only cried on the bus a tiny bit but Stan comforted him.
He burst through the door as quiet as a mouse because Orion and Walburga were definitely sleeping, they super left him at the Death Eater meeting. Whaterver. And Sirius was gone. And Remus was on a mission.
Luckily, Kreacher was still awake. Regulus was pretty sure House Elves were not allowed to sleep or something like that. All the better for him to see his best friend whenever he wanted. Kreacher had prepared him a bed-time snack of warm milk and cookies that was waiting for him on his nightstand but Regulus didnt care he wanted the real thing. He ran all the way down to the basement where Kreacher lived when he wasn't scrubbing the floors.
“Hello young Master Black.” Kreacher bowed.
“Bestieeeee!” Regulus cried! He was excited to see his best friend, even if it was to deliver terrible terrible news.
“I have really bad news.”
“Okay what is it.” Kreacher said.
Regulus gulped and met Kreacher’s eyes- they were almost the same height. Regulus would never forgive Kreacher for that growth spurt he had a few years ago. “I don't know if I can even say it!”
“Bad news is best broken over a broken triangle… On the pool table!” Kreacher squealed!
Regulus loved pool. He reallllly loved pool. If there was one thing he was good at, it was playing with balls. But fuck. He couldn't think of James or Barty right now. He had to play pool.
So they started playing pool.
Regulus cast a silencing spell so the noise would not wake up his parents. By Geroge- Walburga would bruise his behind if she found out he was up at this hour!
They broke the triangle. Regulus was solids and Kreacher was stripes. Kreacher played well but you know how House Elves are- so it was down to 2 striped balls on the table and the eight ball that Regulus just had to hit in and he would win the game. Things were getting tense. He lined up his shot, making sure to chalk it up reaaaallll good beforehand and hit the ball. It went in!! Regulus was always good at getting things into his hole when he really needed to.
“HOORAY!! I WIN!!” He pumped his fist in the air in victory.
“Congratulations my dear boy… but you forgot one thing… you didn't claim a pocket. One must always think and analyze before jumping to victory… or then he will be eaten by his follies and no victory will be achieved. Foolish foolish boy.”
“Wert.”
“I win. You lose. Spit out the bad news.”
“Oh Kreacher- you're badddd! Okay but fine I will tell you. The Dark Lord needs to borrow you and I don't know why.”
Kreacher digested this information. “We are all born not knowing and only through the great game of life can you learn.”
“Okay so he's gonna pick you up tomorrow.” Regulus replied.
~~
The next morning Regulus woke up and went downstairs to breakfast. His parents were both sitting in the dining room, but no food was on the table.
“Where’s my bagel????” Regulus whined. He ALWAYS had a bagel for breakfast. Even when he stayed at James and Sirius’ dingy flat with no lightbulbs. This was the cherry on top of an already terrible morning.
Walburga took a sip of the dark red liquid in her glass. She was a bit of a wino. “Kreacher is on official business with the Dark Lord, so we will have no breakfast. Or lunch. Or tea time. Or dinner. Or pudding. Or midnight snacks. And don't even think about brunch!”
“Ughhhhhh!” He groaned and shuffled off to the billiards room to play a fun game he liked to call Pool for One. He played and played until the door opened and lo and behold Kreacher walked in.
“Honey I’m home!!”
“Kreacher!!” Regulus exclaimed and jumped for joy and clapped in hands in the pure excitement of seeing his best friend again. He could only deal with the loss of so many people in such a short span of time… his bed was so cold last night.
“I have returned, yes. And we have much to discuss.”
“Gossip?”
“Oh yes diva you know it!”
And so they gossiped and gossiped. Wow how much Kreacher had learned in just a day! Apparently Lily had already given birth so apparently James was a father now?? Lucky kid *read sarcasm :p*. Regulus thought to himself. Not that James was a bad person or anything. Okay well he was a mudblood sympathizer but that wasn't of that much importance to Regulus, but he could just be… a little… dumb… he was a pathological people pleaser after all.
Kreacher interrupted Regulus’ thoughts of his ex (??) lover. “But listen close Regulus. I have learned Tom’s true plans. Plans he does not want anyone else to know. But I say- what good is a secret if it cannot be shared with a close confidant. If a secret falls in the forest and nobody is around did it ever really crash or even make a sound?”
And so Kreacher explained the Dark Lord’s deep dark secret. And so Regulus began to form the inklings of a plan while he and Kreacher painted their nails and read gossip mags (Witch Weekly and Cosmopolitan) and did facemasks and played spin the bottle and pillow fought and made microwave popcorn and watched some chick flicks and painted their toenails and made some prank calls and played truth or dare and of course played one more round of pool!