Where Home Is
Bella and Rod returned to Azkaban after lunch while Rabastan remained at Raven's Nest to work on blasting rods. When Bella and Rod got home from work, Rabastan was still working outside so they left him to it. They didn't see him until dinner.
"I'd like to go see Kreacher and Regulus when we've finished eating," Rodolphus said after swallowing a large bite of roasted chicken. "I understand that you're probably quite tired from making blasting rods, but I'd like you to come along and hear whatever they have to say. Sitting and listening won't take much energy, after all," he added to Rabastan.
"What are they saying...about what," Rabastan asked, blinking in either exhaustion or confusion, Bella couldn't be sure which.
Rod shrugged. "Not sure. Merlin told me to ask them to teach us where home is, whatever the hell that means. He said it's something we can use in the love shields we're working on."
"Sounds...weird," Rabastan decided. "Sure I'll go. Hopefully it'll be good. It was Merlin who said to ask, after all."
Rod nodded. "Yeah."
"Should I attend you," Rhadamanthus asked and Rod shrugged.
"We'll just be Apparating so I shouldn't think it's necessary. If you wish to go you're welcome to, and if you'd rather just rest here, you're free to do so. I think I'd like you to go, though. Harold," he said, glancing at the elf as he set down a fresh pot of tea. "As it's Regulus and Kreacher, I'm not sure if we'll be talking about weird love shit or elf magic. In case it's elf magic, though, it may be worthwhile for you to hear it as well. If it isn't, well, you got out of the house for a bit."
"As you like, sir," Harold said with a slight shrug.
Rod grinned. "That's always nice to hear."
The elf chuckled, then turned the sound into a dignified cough.
"Am I supposed to go," Lyra asked with a slight frown. "I will if you want me to, but I already asked Graven to come over and hang out for a bit. Cassius was invited to some dinner thing at the Malfoy's that is supposed to go on until later, and Wulfric is stuck hanging out with his parents for the evening."
"Oh, what a chore," Bellatrix drawled and Lyra rolled her eyes.
"That isn't what I meant… If you need me to cancel with Graven, I suppose I can, but only if it's necessary."
"I see no need for you to go," Rodolphus said. "The two of you will be staying in for the evening, then?"
She nodded. "Yes. We'll be here all evening, I promise. We're doing our nails and looking through some clothing catalogs that she just got in the mail."
"Goblin clothes," Rabastan asked, arching his brows. "Because I don't think they'll fit you."
"No. Just clothes in all sizes," Lyra said.
"I think I'll remain here as well," Rhadamanthus decided. "Only without the nails and clothes. I'll be here to keep the girls safe if there is trouble, though."
"Brilliant," Rodolphus said, giving the spider a warm smile. "I appreciate you."
Rhadamanthus waved a foreleg in a casual gesture before using it to lift a large chicken leg. "Sure, sure," he rasped. "It's no problem." He tossed the chicken into his mouth and bit down with a crunch.
They Apparated to Grimmauld just after dinner, and for once it was actually Kreacher who opened the door. The hooked nosed elf looked preoccupied, but gave them a warm smile nonetheless.
"Hi, Kreacher," Bellatrix greeted, smiling back.
"Yeah, hi," Rodolphus added jovially. "We came to talk to you and Regulus about where home is. We were sent by Merlin."
Kreacher's large eyes narrowed, his expression becoming thoughtful. "Kreacher sees." Turning, he gestured for them to follow him and wordlessly headed for the library.
"You're actually supposed to teach us where home is. Hopefully you know what that means," Rod said.
"Yes," Kreacher responded simply.
Regulus and Kereston sat in the library, each holding a book. Regulus looked as preoccupied as Kreacher, while Kereston merely looked drawn and tired.
"Oh good, it's only you lot," Regulus said, giving a quick relieved smile.
"Yes," Kereston agreed. "We were hoping it wasn't another afterhours problem."
Bellatrix's brows shot up. "Do you have a lot of those?"
Kereston shrugged. "Not too many, but the last one was in the middle of the bloody night. Someone interrupted a magical working Flitwick and his wife were performing, and it had dangerous consequences." She sighed, small hands coming up to briefly hold the sides of her head. "It's enough to give me a headache just thinking about it."
"Fortunately we don't have any afterhours trouble at Azkaban. We just need to talk about home, whatever the fuck it is," Rabastan said with a grin. "Merlin told Roddy to ask you lot to tell us about where home is. Obviously this is yours and we know where the fuck we live so what's it really mean?"
"In part, it means where we live, but only in part," Regulus began thoughtfully. "Albus, Kreacher, and I began studying the connection between elves and their home some time ago in an attempt to discover what lies behind elf slavery. If elves can be freed, they obviously don't start out that way, after all. We were trying to sort if the link to enslave the elf has to do with the family land or the family blood."
"So what did you discover," Harold spoke up. The elf still wore his mask so his expression was hidden. The attentive way he leaned forward in his chair clearly indicated his level of interest, however.
"Both, in abstract sort of ways," Regulus replied. "Take you, for example. You weren't bound by the slavery curse to the Lestranges, but I can see that you care for them."
At that, Harold shifted in his chair, glancing away in obvious embarrassment. "They were always decent to Harold and treated him well when many wizards would not have," he said quietly.
"Yes, but it's more than that," Regulus pressed. "You have come to care for them. You would be distressed if something were to befall them."
The round glass eyes of the goggles in Harold's plague doctor mask glinted as he turned his head to regard Bella and Rod in a nearly anxious gesture. "Harold would," he agreed. "They do not deserve any more...enough has already befallen them. Harold would not wish to be without their presence. They...they treat him like family, and he enjoys that in a way he did not expect," he said slowly.
Regulus smiled. "Yes, exactly. That is what I wanted."
"So Merlin wants us to do some sort of magic with Harold," Rodolphus asked, struggling to understand. "Something with Raven's Nest, more defenses or something? If so, I don't see what that has to do with the love shields we're working on because he said it deals with that."
"I doubt it's about your home in that case, then," Regulus said. "And I'm not certain if he wants you working with Harold on the shields or not. The connection of home can also be between two humans, or a human and a goblin I should think, if we consider Wulfric Dumbledore and his lady.
"The concept of home is what we discovered through studying the elf slavery situation, but upon further exploration, we believe the concept was used willingly between elves and humans before the elves were enslaved. As such, the same connection can work from human to human, or humans and goblins, and so on. It is being extremely connected to a person to a level that they are your home. Home is where the heart is… If another living being holds your heart to a high degree, they are home."
"So, what? Elf slavery was a twist on that," Bellatrix asked. "You said this was used before, so if the pure form was used before, what? The twist is forcing someone or some place to be home that you do not want?"
Regulus grinned, nodding. "Brilliance runs in the Black family," he said. "You've got it exactly, Cousin."
Bella gave a pleased smile, settling back in her chair. "So we use our home and heart connection with whoever to strengthen the shield," she asked.
"I should think so," Regulus said. "Merlin spoke of it to Rod, though, not me, so it is only a guess."
"Sounds like a good one," Rodolphus said. "I shall confirm with Merlin later on the matter to be sure, though."
Regulus nodded. "Good."
"How do we know if we have that connection with someone, though," Rabastan asked.
"It's something you feel deep within," Regulus said. "You certainly have it with Bella and Rod. It's that person you'd be lost without, that one you love very much. The love can be romantic, like with Bella and Rod, or of a family nature like you with the two of them," he told Rabastan. "Gellert has it with the Zabini family elf even though he isn't born into the Zabini family as Blaise is. In that, if the two form a close attachment, it does not need to conform to the rules of family and home that the elf enslavement does. The curse, for it was certainly that, needed rules to which to conform, you see, but this home connection was originally based on a general deep caring, and that can't be controlled. Gellert and the elf see themselves as brothers, and that goes deeper than most things."
"So he treats Gellert like family because he chooses to," Kreacher clarified. "In that, his choice is stronger than the elf enslavement. Kreacher understands this well from his own personal experiences. Kreacher HAD to serve Sirius Black, but he did not wish to do so. His heart was not in it, so Sirius Black, ,aster or not, was never Kreacher's home. Master Regulus on the other hand..." The elf paused to swallow as tears of emotion sprang to his eyes. One hand reached over to cover Regulus's own as the two locked gazes. "Kreacher would do anything for him...anything."
"As I would for you," Regulus said quietly.
"Why do I feel the fuck like this is a private conversation that I did not ask for," Rabastan complained.
"Right," Bellatrix agreed drily. "This is an old song, you two. No one cares, as we've all heard it too much. The fucking lake incident is long gone, you're both fine. We all made it out of hell, unless Delphini drags us back, so can we put our minds on that, please? I assume that's why Merlin wants us to know about this home thing."
Rodolphus gave Bellatrix a proud smile. "That's my girl!"
"That's just it, though. Kreacher returned to me after that lake incident," Regulus said. "He did not Apparate into the kitchen. He Apparated nearly into my arms, extremely and understandably upset after what he'd gone through. His connection was to me, so when I said to come home, meaning it as more of a casual comment rather than any real order, because who really orders Kreacher, he came home...to me."
"So if Harold needed to, he could come home...to Miss Bella even if she is not at Raven's Nest," Harold asked.
Regulus nodded. "Yes. If you feel that she is home, that should be the case."
"What if she, Mr. Rodolphus, and Mr. Rabastan are not together," Harold asked.
"Then you would have to decide which to go to first, I suppose," Regulus answered thoughtfully. "If the goal is to locate them if they were separated unwillingly, you could find one at a time and take them with you to find the others."
Harold nodded, so Bellatrix assumed that was why he was asking. She liked the fact that he was already thinking of how to get them out of bad trouble if they ever happened to fall into it again.
"You focus on the person in such a case rather than the place, of course," Regulus said and Harold nodded. "We discovered the scope of this home phenomena when Gellert commanded Bramble, with Bramble's permission to locate something that had been taken from him when he was imprisoned in Nurmengard. Gellert believed the elf could find the item for him on pure instinct, and Bramble did not believe such was possible. He gave Gellert permission to command him to find Gellert's mirror, and it worked."
"How," Harold asked, awed.
"Well, Bramble described it as something tugging at him. The magic nearly forced him to Apparate to a location where the mirror was being held," Regulus explained.
"But how is that possible if Bramble nor Gellert knew where the mirror was," Harold asked and Regulus nodded.
"Indeed. That is the point. The home connection is a powerful thing. Love can move mountains, and this is love to the highest degree there is, applied in a particular magical fashion."
"Okay, that's giving me a headache," Rabastan said, clutching his head much as Kereston had earlier.