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Many thanks to Phlytie Elf and Alika Elf for their eagle eyes and
corrections!!  Now, onto my favorite chapter in Deathly Hallows...
-------------------------------------

CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Chapter Ten:  Kreacher's Tale

Our Trio is now at Grimmauld Place.  Harry wakes up in the drawing
room floor, where he, Hermione and Ron have slept for the night. 
Harry notices that Hermione's fingers are inches away from Ron's
fingers and wonders if they had fallen asleep holding hands; Harry
feels strangely lonely at this thought.

Harry thinks about the daunting task that Dumbledore has left him
with, finding all of the Horcruxes and defeating Voldemort.  Harry
begins to wonder why Dumbledore didn't explain about the objects from
the will and questions whether Dumbledore actually cared about Harry
at all; was Dumbledore just using Harry as a tool?

Harry gets up to find something else to distract him from his
thoughts.  He begins to go upstairs.  He notices that someone has been
in the house since the Order had left; was it Snape or perhaps
Mundungus?  Harry continues to go upstairs to the very top floor,
where there are two doors.  One has a nameplate with "Sirius" on it;
he opens the door and enters.

Sirius' room is large and very dusty and cobwebby.  Teenage Sirius had
decorated his room with Gryffindor banners and Muggle pictures of
motorcycles and bikini-clad girls.  There is only one wizarding photo
on the wall, which was of the Marauders.

Sirius's room has been searched as well and Harry notices several
pieces of paper on the floor.  He picks up the handwritten one and
begins to read.  It is addressed to "Padfoot".   The letter's content
speak of Harry's first birthday and Sirius' gift of a broomstick to
his godson.  Although the letter is not signed, it is from Lily, as
she mentions James' amusement.  Lily mentions a birthday tea with just
the family and Bathilda Bagshot and how James is so frustrated being
shut up in the house.  Dumbledore still has his Invisibility Cloak and
James cannot leave.  Bathilda visits often and tells Lily the most
amazing stories about Dumbledore, some of which she cannot actually
believe.  The letter ends on that note, as the second page is missing.

Harry feels the letter is a treasure, proof that his mother actually
lived.  He rereads the letter several times, noting that they had a
cat and his parents had known Bathilda.  He puzzles over the line
"Dumbledore's still got his Invisibility Cloak" and wonders why DD had
taken it.  Did someone else less gifted in the Order need it?  Harry
moves on to the next line of "Wormy was here" and wonders if Peter was
aware this was the last time he was seeing James and Lily alive? 
Moreover, what about Bathilda and her incredible stories about DD -
what was so incredible?  

Harry gets up and looks for the rest of the letter, opening drawers,
shaking out books and looking under furniture.  He spots a torn piece
of paper under the chest of drawers and it is the photograph that Lily
mentioned in her letter.  It shows a baby zooming in out of the
picture on a broom, laughing, and a pair of legs that must belong to
James.  Harry continues to look for the second sheet of the letter,
but after some time searching, gives up.  
Hermione calls up to Harry and comes into Sirius' room.  Harry shows
her the letter and the photo.  Harry tells Hermione that his parents
knew Bathilda and that she is still alive.  Bathilda also knew
Dumbledore's family, if Ron's Aunt Muriel was telling the truth. 
Harry wants to go to Godric's Hollow, but Hermione believes it is not
a good idea.  Harry feels that no one wants him to know the truth and
is resentful.  Hermione leaves the room, mentioning finding something
for breakfast.  Harry follows and passes the second door in the
hallway.  He stops and reads the sign, which he feels is pompous.."Do
Not Enter Without the Express Permission of Regulus Arcturus Black". 
Harry has found R.A.B.  and calls down to Hermione.  Harry tells her
that Sirius' brother was a Death Eater and that he was killed when he
tried to leave.  

Ron joins them and the trio enters Regulus' bedroom.  Regulus' bedroom
is the exact opposite of Sirius' - Slytherin colors and the Black
Family Crest and motto, "Toujours Pur" was on the walls.  Newspaper
clippings about Voldemort are also on the walls.  Harry notices a
photo of a Quidditch team and sees Regulus - a small, slighter and
dark haired figure.  Harry tells them that Regulus was a seeker
because of where he is sitting, but no one pays any attention to that,
as Ron and Hermione are looking for the locket.  The room also looks
like it has been searched before.   They continue to search for an
hour and then decide that the locket is not in Regulus' room.  

As they leave the room, Hermione states that the locket could still be
in the house and mentions all of those items they got rid of the last
time they were there.  She mentions that the locket could have been
hidden in any of them and then, realization hits her.  She remembers
there was a locket - the one they could not open.  Harry mentions that
Kreacher had nicked back a lot of things they had tried to throw out
and they go to the kitchen. 

After a quick search in his cupboard reveals nothing, Harry summons
Kreacher.  Kreacher appears, still looking dirty and still behaving
sullen.  Harry questions him about the gold locket from two years ago
and did Kreacher take it back?  Kreacher tells him yes, but it is
gone, as Mundungus stole it.  Kreacher gulps for air and screams out
"- and the locket, Master Regulus' locket, Kreacher did wrong,
Kreacher failed in his orders!"

Harry asks Kreacher why he called the locket "Master Regulus'" and
where did it come from and what did Regulus have to do with it?  The
elf begins his tale.  Sirius had run away and broke his mother's
heart.  Regulus was a proper Black and had talked of joining Voldemort
for years.  When Regulus was 16, he joined the Death Eaters and was so
proud and happy to serve him.  One year later, Regulus went to
Kreacher and told  him that the Dark Lord needed an elf and that elf
was Kreacher.  He ordered Kreacher to do what Voldemort asks him to do
and then to come home.

Kreacher and Voldemort had gone to the cave, the same cave Harry and
Dumbledore visited in the "Half-Blood Prince".  They crossed the lake
to the island in the same boat, finding the basin with the potion. 
Voldemort ordered Kreacher to drink the potion.  Kreacher saw terrible
things, his insides burned and he cried for Regulus to save him. 
Voldemort only laughed and ordered him to drink the entire potion. 
When the basin was finally  empty, Voldemort placed the gold locket
into the basin and left Kreacher there on the island to die.  Kreacher
crawled to the lake's edge to drink from the lake and dead hands had
reached out to him.  

Harry asks Kreacher how he got home and he replies that Master Regulus
ordered him to come back home.  Harry asks him how he escaped the
Inferi and Kreacher just repeats his original answer.  Ron interrupts
and states that Kreacher Disapparated - Harry argues that if that was
the case, Dumbledore could have done that.  Ron states that Elf magic
is not like Wizard's magic, as elves can Disapparate and Apparate into
Hogwarts all the time.  Harry thinks about this for a moment and
ponders how could Voldemort make such a blunder?  Hermione, as if
reading his mind, spoke up and stated that Voldemort would have
thought that elves were far beneath him and would not have thought
that the elves would have had magic that he didn't.  

Kreacher tells them that the house-elf's highest law is to do his
master's bidding and that he was told to come home and that is what he
did.  Harry asks him what happened after he came home to Regulus. 
Kreacher tells them that Regulus was very worried and told him to stay
hidden and not to leave the house.  A little while later, Regulus came
to Kreacher and asked him to take him to the cave.  Kreacher states
that Regulus was "strange" and "disturbed in the mind".   Kreacher and
Regulus go to the cave.  

Harry asks him if Regulus made him drink the potion, in which Kreacher
shakes his head and starts to cry.  Hermione brings her hands to her
mouth and she seemed to know what Kreacher was going to say next. 
Kreacher continues:  Regulus took a locket out of his pocket and gave
it to Kreacher.  Regulus tells him when the basin is empty, Kreacher
must switch the lockets and then go back home.  Kreacher was never to
mention this to Mrs Black and, when he could, destroy the locket.  
Regulus drank the potion; Kreacher swapped the lockets and watched as
Regulus was dragged beneath the water into the lake.

Kreacher could not destroy the locket, no matter how hard he tried. 
Every time he tried and failed, he would punish himself.  Mrs Black
went mad with grief at Regulus' disappearance and Kreacher could not
tell her what truly happened to her son.  Kreacher continues to sob
and Hermione is crying as well.  Harry sits back and tells Kreacher he
doesn't understand him.  Voldemort tried to kill Kreacher, Regulus
died to bring down Voldemort and yet Kreacher still betrayed Sirius? 
Hermione explains that house-elves don't think like that; that they
were used to bad treatment.  Kreacher was loyal to those that were
nice to him and mimicked their beliefs.  Regulus was kind to him and
even though Regulus changed his mind about Voldemort, he didn't
explain that to Kreacher.  Hermione believes that Regulus was trying
to keep his family safe and to protect them from Voldemort.

Harry mentions Sirius, but Hermione reminds him that Sirius was
horrible to Kreacher.  Kreacher had been alone for a long time and was
looking for affection.  Narcissa and Bellatrix  were probably lovely
to Kreacher and he did them a favor.  Hermione tells Harry that she
has said all along that the wizards would pay some day for how they
treat house-elves and both Voldemort and Sirius did pay for their
treatment.

Harry remembers what Dumbledore had said to him after Sirius died: "I
do not think Sirius ever saw Kreacher as a being with feelings as
acute as a human's."  Harry asks, not orders, Kreacher to sit up,
please, when Kreacher feels up to it.  Harry's demeanor has changed
towards Kreacher - his tone is kinder and he uses the word ask, not
order.  Harry asks Kreacher to find Mundungus as they need to find
Master Regulus' locket and finish the work that Regulus began;  to
ensure that Regulus' death wasn't in vain.

Harry gives Kreacher the substitute locket that Regulus had placed in
the basin and tells him he would like Kreacher to have it and that
Regulus would have wanted that as well, as a token of gratitude. 
Kreacher begins to cry and wail and it took them over an hour to calm
him down, as Kreacher was so overwhelmed to be given a Black heirloom
for his own.  He gave two bows to Ron and Harry and gave a funny spasm
in the direction of Hermione and Disapparated.

Questions:

1. Sirius' room is described as dusty and there is a spider's web and
mice inhabiting it.  The decorations are also from his teen years as
well.  Do you think that Sirius actually stayed in his old room in
"The Order of the Phoenix" or that he stayed in another bedroom? 

2. If he had slept in his old room, do you think that added to his
"living in the past," with all the reminders from his "happy" years?

3. Why is Lily's letter addressed to "Padfoot" instead of Sirius?  Is
this just a term of affection or was Sirius underground at the time of
the letter?  If a term of affection, why doesn't she call James
"Prongs" in the letter?   She calls Peter "Wormy", so it seems she
does know about the nicknames.

4. Kreacher mentions that Sirius' leaving home broke his mother's
heart.  Does this new bit of information seem  to contradict Sirius'
story about his relationship with his family?    

5. Regulus joined the DEs when he was 16, which means that Voldemort
really had no age limit for his recruits.  How does this contrast with
the Order of the Phoenix?  Ignoring that the DE's are evil and the
Order is good, do you think that the DEs support the notion of
fighting for what you believe in, regardless of age?  In other words,
do you agree with the Order's stance of not allowing underage wizards
to join or do you agree with the Death Eater's stance instead?

6. After Kreacher returns from the cave and tells his tale to Regulus,
where do you think Regulus went?  Regulus' return to Kreacher shows a
Regulus with a disturbed state of mind, strange, according to
Kreacher.  Do you think Regulus talked to anyone or just did book
research?

7. Did you initially believe that Regulus forced Kreacher to drink the
potion, as Harry thought, or did you think as Hermione did - that
Regulus did give up his own life?

a. Despite what Harry knew about the note that Regulus left in the
locket, did he think badly of Regulus because he was a Slytherin?  Do
you feel that Harry is showing his old biases here?

8. How did you feel when Regulus' death was revealed?  I found this to
be the most tragic death of all of the deaths in the series.  Do you
feel that Regulus redeemed himself?

9. Do you think Regulus should have done more to let others know what
Voldemort was up to?

10. How do you feel about Kreacher at the end of this tale?  Did you
feel empathy for him?  Is Kreacher's attitude now explainable and
understandable?

11. Does Hermione's explanation - Voldemort's contempt for house-elves
was his downfall in Kreacher's escape from the cave - make sense?  Do
you think her parallel of Voldemort's and Sirius' attitude towards
house-elves was warranted, or a bit extreme?

12. Harry's attitude finally changes towards Kreacher, with his tale
and Hermione's explanation.   Is this a turning point for Harry in
regards for empathy and understanding or do you feel that Harry has
already made strides in this area with other characters?  Do you have
examples, if the latter?


Please feel free to add your own questions to this discussion! 

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Next chapdisc, chapter 11, The Bribe - January 7, 2008