Payback Time

No Dumbles this chapter, perhaps later.

Thanks for the reviews.

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An old ugly house elf was pointing and screaming at Sirius, who was pointing and screaming at it. Harry was pointing and screaming at a portrait of a woman, who was pointing and screaming at him. Remus was holding his ears at all the screaming.

Harry getting tired of all the screaming, slammed his hands together creating a sonic boom and silence fell. “That’s better,” he said with a sigh. “Now, who the hell are you?” he asked, pointing to the elf.

“I is Kreacher,” the elf said, folding his arm in self-righteous indignation. “This is being the Black home. Yous is not supposed to be here,” he huffed, pointing at Harry and Remus.

“I am the Head of the House, you blasted elf. I can invite whomever I wish,” Sirius said, only for the portrait of his mother to start screaming again.

Harry slammed his hands together and the screaming stopped. “Who is that woman?” he asked, looking at the deranged person in the picture. She was crazy looking. Her head was rolling around and her eyes were moving in all directions. Her hair was in a mess around her head, like a crown of snakes. Her dress that was once pretty, was now a mass of rags.

“That’s my lovely mother,” Sirius said, pulling the curtains in front of the portrait closed. The curtains were no better than the portrait. They too were in tatters.

“Do you want her there?” Harry asked, thinking of what to do with the picture. If he had it his way, it would simply disappear.

“Merlin, no,” the dogman said, giving the boy a wishful look. “Turn her into a nice scenic picture,” he suggested, waving to the curtains. “Something beachy,” he added with a wicked grin.

“Okay,” Harry said, only for the house elf to jump in front of him.

“Yous will not be harming my mistress,” Kreacher said, holding up his hands, like he was going to use brute force to stop him.

Harry didn’t want to hurt the little guy, so he did the only thing he could think of, he called Dobby. “Dobby!”

Dobby appeared with a pop, right in front of Harry. “Yous is calling Dobby?” he said, looking around as he did. He saw Kreacher in a ready position. “Yous will not be hurting the Great Harry Potter,” he said, holding his hands up.

“If you two want to duke it out, do it proper,” Harry said, and waved his hands making a boxing ring with both elves attired in boxing shorts and gloves. He dinged the bell.

Dobby bopped Kreacher in the face right away with his right hand. The older elf’s head jerked back, and he got the gist of the fight. Kreacher punched Dobby in the nose with a quick jab. And Dobby got him in the gut for his trouble. Then Dobby danced out of the way and Kreacher doubled over in pain. Dobby’s footwork was all over the place, while Kreacher’s was slow and steady.  

The two circled each other, until Dobby jumped in for a quick jab to the jaw and Kreacher fell on his arse. Dobby went in for another punch to the jaw and Kreacher was out for a count of two, and Dobby was told to go back to his corner. Kreacher was up and ready in a few seconds, and they started again.

The two elves duked it out for a good five minutes. However, Dobby was younger, quicker, and much spryer. He knocked Kreacher out fairly quickly.

Harry climbed into the tiny ring and claimed, “Winner by knockout, Dobby!” and Sirius and Remus cheered. They had no idea what just happened, but it had been fun to watch.

Dobby did a little dance and the ring disappeared. “What can Dobby be doing for Harry Potter?” the elf asked, looking at the dilapidated house.

“Hold on a moment, okay?” Harry said, going to the portrait and opening the curtains. He put his hands on the frames, ignoring the screams of the deranged woman and pushing his magic in to the picture.

The scene changed to that of a beach scene with frolicking women in bikinis and men in shorts playing volleyball and swimming in the tide. There were lounge chairs with umbrellas and a lifeguard’s chair with a woman in a bikini sitting in it. She had a whistle around her neck that she blew every now and then. There was even a few kids and dogs running around. Birds dotted the skies. There were even sound effects.

Mrs. Black was not seen anywhere.

“What did you do with my mum?” Sirius asked, looking at the delightful scene.  He especially liked the ocean wave sounds. That was relaxing. A bit out of place in this grim old place, but relaxing, nonetheless.

“I made her a shark,” Harry said, pointing to a fin in the far-off distance. “She can’t come to shore, or even close to it.”

“That’ll teach her,” Sirius said with a laugh. He then went to Kreacher and slapped his face to wake him. When that didn’t work, he conjured some water with his wand.

The elf groaned but was responsive.

“Dobby, I want to have a race with you. We’ll start on the bottom floor. Whoever gets the most rooms clean, gets to cook dinner,” Harry said, looking around the dusty, dirty hall and knowing that his magic was just as good as the house elf’s. It should be fun, and it would get the house habitable.

“What about the bad house elf?” Dobby asked, pointing to Kreacher, who was staring at the new picture with horror on his face.

“He had his shot. It’s his fault the house looks like this,” Harry said with a shrug. He didn’t care what the old house elf did. He didn’t look like he could keep up with them anyway.

“To make it fair, Kreacher you are to go to your sleeping area and stay there until they are done,” Sirius ordered, pointing to the kitchen where he knew the elf slept. “Remus and I will be in the kitchen,” he added, making sure they would stay out of the way. They’d see if there was anything for tea. If not, then they’d go and get some groceries while these two cleaned. It would be the best thing to do.

“As master says,” the depressed elf said, snapping his fingers and disappearing. He was distraught that his mistress was gone, but he could not go against his master’s orders. He didn’t know what his life was going to be like now, but he did know that his new master did not like him, and he had good reason not to. He would have to reflect on it in his sleeping quarters.

“Ready, Dobby, and Go!” Harry said, and he waved his hands to clean the hall. The wallpaper straightened itself and was clean. The carpet was like it was freshly shampooed. The pictures looked like they were newly painted, and the sconces looked polished. The floors looked newly washed. There was a fresh scent in the air.

Dobby took the parlor, and Harry took the kitchen. The elf took the living room, and the human took the dining room. The two popped around the house until it was brightly shining. They both tackled the outside, and the garden. It was a tired duo that shared the task of dinner. Which they decided to keep simple with fish and chips.

“Sirius, while we were cleaning, we found a lot of dark objects,” Harry said as he finished his last chip.

“What did you do with them?” his godfather asked, not sure if the kid should be handling anything his family had in this house. They were a dark family, there was no ifs ands or buts about it. He knew there were things as simple as books that could kill in this house. He should have thought of that when he let Harry do his little race. However, Harry had some powerful magic on his side.

“Mostly left them where they were,” Harry said with a shrug. “I figured you’d want to take a look.” He served himself up some more food. He was really hungry. Using that much magic took a lot of energy. That and he was craving potatoes. They were just calling his name. He doused them in ketchup. Something he normally wasn’t able to do. And lots of salt. His body was just craving salt and carbs.  

“I’ll take a look when we’re done,” Sirius said, watching his godson eat. He just sipped his tea, while Remus also got seconds. There were no afters tonight. They forgot to buy anything. They’d have to do some real shopping tomorrow.

“I’ll help,” the werewolf said, eating some more fish. He wasn’t a big fish eater, but it was protein. His wolf made him eat tons of protein, no matter want form it came in. It liked peanut butter the best.

“I can cleanse them,” Harry said, sticking some chips in his mouth and chewing. He was pretty sure he could anyway. It felt like he could.

“Why didn’t you?” Sirius wanted to know. He knew Harry was stupidly overpowerful, so he wondered why the boy had just left them alone.

“Because I didn’t know if they were heirlooms or not,” Harry said, when he swallowed. “I didn’t want to mess with family magic,” he added, eating some more chips. He knew if it was his house, he’d be pissed if someone came and undid his stuff without asking.

“Oh, I guess that make sense,” the dogman said, nodding his head. He sipped some more tea. That did make sense.

When the other two had finished their seconds, they all got up and went to the study. The room looked pristine. Like it had never been dirty, a day in its existence.  There was a sofa and some bookcases. With two curio cabinets behind a desk with a chair. Everything was done in browns, greens, and burnt oranges.

Harry pointed to a curio cabinet. “Most of the vile stuff was in there,” he said, waving his hand and opening the doors. Many knick-knacks floated out and on to a table. There was a necklace, a pair of tweezers, a paperclip, a picture frame, and a pair of scissors.

“Which is the worst?” Remus asked, sniffing the objects. They all were moving about, or just reeking of dark magic.

“This one is the foulest,” Harry said, pointing to the rectangular necklace that had a large diamond ‘S’ on it. He could almost see the darkness on it.

Remus lifted it up with his wand and sniffed it. He immediately dropped it. “That is rank,” he agreed, waving his wand over it, running a diagnosis on it. So far nothing was coming up, but there were a lot of things it could be.

“Any idea what it is?” Sirius asked, running his own tests on it. It was vile there was no doubt about it.

Kreacher came in and started wailing. “Master Regulus’s necklace,” he cried, trying to snatch it away.

Harry held it tight with his magic. “What about it?” he asked, not letting the elf steal it away. “Tell me about it,” he demanded.

“Kreacher cannot tell family,” the elf wailed, still trying to take the necklace from Harry.

“I’m not family,” Harry pointed out, pulling the necklace towards him. The elf was putting up a pretty good fight.

The jewelry pulled the elf with it, and Kreacher had to let go. “Master is being here,” he said, nodding to Sirius.

Harry waved his hand and said, “Now he can’t hear you. Tell me.” He held tight to the necklace.

So Kreacher told the story of the Dark Lord borrowing him and the cave. His almost demise. His master’s order to bring him to the cave. Then Regulus’s death and last order and how it was never finished.

“Do you know what this necklace is?” Harry asked, looking at the elf with pity. It was a sad tale, and it explained why the house was the way it was. The elf was crazy with grief and an unfulfilled order.

“It is being a horcrux,” Kreacher said, tears dripping down his face.

“What is a horcrux?” the teen asked, finally putting the necklace down, but making sure the elf couldn’t get it.

“Kreacher is not sure, but it is being bad,” the elf said, knowing that Regulus said that it was evil.

“I can cleanse it,” Harry said, hoping that was true. He had been able to do everything else he set out to do. He hoped he could do this.

“Truly,” the elf asked, his heart in his eyes.

“Yes,” Harry said firmly. He turned to his godfather and waved his hand again. He told the man the story he had just been told. “What’s a horcrux?” he asked Sirius.

“It’s a soul container,” the sad man said, almost overwhelmed by what he had heard.

“Voldy’s?” the teen asked, holding the jewelry away from him as far as it could be held. “It must be, considering what Kreacher said,” he added, walking to the fireplace.

“Probably,” Remus said, not wanting to be near it either, but he wanted it away from Harry.

“I’m going to try and cleanse it,” Harry said, putting it in the fireplace.

“How?” Sirius asked, wondering why the fireplace. He was still coming to grips that his brother turned at the very end.

“With lightning first,” the kid said, hoping that that would cleanse it like it had him. “If that doesn’t work, I’m going to try to melt it.”  He sent a bolt of lightning to the necklace, and it sparkled with electric arches. There was a terrifying scream as something came flying out of the jewelry.  There was a face for a split second and then it was gone.

“I think you did it, pup,” Sirius said, waving his wand over the necklace, and seeing that it was magic free. “If there was any other magic on it, it’s gone. It’s just a plain necklace now. I wonder if it was Slytherin’s?” he added, looking at the elaborate ‘S’.

“Maybe,” Remus said, thinking much the same thing.

“I didn’t mean to make it that clean,” Harry said, upset that all the magic was gone.

“Don’t worry. If it was Slytherin’s it’s probably for the best,” Sirius said, giving the necklace to Kreacher. “You keep it,” he told the elf.

“Truly?” the elf said, holding it close to his chest.

“You’ve tried to clean it for years, keep it,” the man said, shooing the elf away. Kreacher didn’t need to be told twice as he snapped his fingers and was gone.

“I think I killed one of these, last year,” Harry said, once the elf left. He slumped down in the chair behind the desk.

“Really?” Sirius asked, not sure how that could be. Harry was in school all last year. Where would he have come across a horcrux.

“Yes, it was a diary, of Tom Riddle, you know him as Voldemort,” the teen said, and told them the story of the Chamber of Secrets. He told how he thought Malfoy Sr. had put it in the school and how he freed Dobby because of it.

To say they were scared and impressed was saying something.

“Damn, pup. Where were the adults?” Sirius asked, mad at Dumbledore for something else now.

“The headmaster had been kicked out of the castle by Malfoy,” Harry said, hoping to stop that train before it left. “I don’t know where everyone else was. But I think they were trying to get everyone into the Great Hall,” he said, trying to remember what Percy was trying to tell him and Ron.

“That doesn’t excuse them,” Sirius grumbled. He was going to be having words with quite a few people. How dare they make a kid fight their battles.

“What next?” Harry asked, changing the subject.  He didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

“Bed, I think,” Sirius said, letting him drop it for now seeing the boy was tired. “You’re knackered,” he pointed out.

“I meant now that we’re here,” Harry pointed out, not as tired as Sirius seemed to think he was.

“We have a month to worry about things. You need to finish your homework and we still need to explore London,” the man said, sitting on the sofa.

“Are we going to tell Dumbledore we’re here?” Remus asked, knowing the man was looking for Harry and Sirius. He joined Sirius on the sofa.

“Why would we?” Harry wanted to know. As far as he was concerned Dumbledore didn’t need to know what he did over the summer. He was his headmaster, and that was it. Sirius was his guardian.

“Yeah, why would we?” Sirius reiterated; he didn’t see the need either. He felt the same as Harry, if not more so.

“He’s looking for both of you,” Remus said, pointing to the two of them.

“Why?” Harry asked, knowing it was probably because the Dursleys were missing.

“Your relatives are missing, and he wants to make sure you’re okay,” Remus said, clarifying Harry’s thoughts.

“He can wait until school starts,” Sirius said, not wanting that old man to interfere with his godson.

“Really, Sirius,” Remus said, only to be stopped.

“No! I just got out of prison,” Sirius started, sitting up straighter. “I don’t want to share Harry with anyone but you,” he said, slamming his hand on the arm of the couch. “Is that too much to ask,” he said quieter.

“No, I guess not,” the werewolf said, sitting back and thinking on that a bit. He could deal with that. He was still thinking about the man’s offer of a job, but now that Sirius was free, he wondered if the job was still on the table.

“He might come here,” Harry pointed out. He didn’t want to share Sirius with anyone else either. He needed to get some letters written out, letting people know he was okay, so there would be no rescue attempts, like last year.

“Let him,” Sirius said, relaxing again. “I’ll tell him the same thing.” He was not afraid of the old man.

“Good,” Harry said, getting up and heading to the door. “I’m going to find a room.” He had cleaned most of them, so he knew where they all were.

“Good night,” the two men said as he left.

“Good night,” he returned from the hall.

“Do you think there are more?” Remus asked as Harry’s footfalls sounded on the stairs.

“I’d bet my life on it,” was the ominous answer.

“I thought as much,” the werewolf said, sounding just as gloomy.