Chapter 02

~ ~ = Parseltongue

<<<<<<<<<<Harry Potter>>>>>>>>>>

Several hours later, Harry woke up hearing the patter of raindrops on the roof of the tent. He groaned as he opened his eyes. His gaze caught sight of Salazar Slytherin's locket on the floor, inches from his face. Even without a detection charm, he could feel the difference, with the lack of the oppressive, dark aura it usually gave out. And for the first time in months, Harry smiled.

"One Horcrux down," he chuckled to himself.

He picked himself off the floor and collapsed on a chair, his shoulders sagging with relief. He had found a means to destroy the Horcruxes. He didn't need the Sword of Gryffindor anymore, for the Killing Curse would be enough. The fact that he had resorted to the curse that he hated above all others should have disgusted him, but instead, it felt right, destroying Voldemort's precious Horcruxes with the Dark Lord's favourite curse. He would have to practice it a few times, just to ensure that it wasn't a one-time wonder. He vaguely remembered the fake Alastor Moody in his fourth year explaining that the Avada Kedavra curse actually impacted the soul, and thus snuffed out someone's life. He wondered why he hadn't made the connection before. On the other hand, why hadn't Dumbledore used the Killing Curse too? Had he been unable? Harry would never know.

As he was pondering the next course of action, his stomach grumbled, reminding him that he hadn't had a good meal in days. While he was a good cook, Harry wasn't used to preparing food using magic, and there was no Muggle equipment here that could help him. He bit his lip. Calling Kreacher was out of the question because Grimmauld Place had been compromised.

Kreacher …

Harry's eyes widened as he remembered something. Kreacher was not the only house-elf he could summon. But was it safe? Could he risk it? Had Hermione been here, she would have no doubt thrown a fit about S.P.E.W. and vetoed it, but without her present, Harry was free to think things through. Finally, after debating with himself for over five minutes, he decided to act.

"Dobby?" Harry called out hesitantly.

Much to his relief, the house-elf in question appeared before him with a crack and immediately hugged him by grabbing his legs.

"Harry Potter sir! You be safe! What can Dobby do for the great Harry Potter?" Dobby asked excitedly.

"Dobby, I need your help," said Harry quietly. "Will you stay with me here?"

Dobby bounced on his feet excitedly. "Oh yes, Dobby will always serve Master Harry Potter. Dobby be Master Harry's elf now!"

"Wait, what?" Harry exclaimed in shock. "You're now bonded to me? How? Why?"

"Master said that he wanted Dobby and Dobby accepted! Dobby has wanted to be Harry Potter's elf for a long time and he be finally accepting Dobby!"

"Dobby, I thought you wanted to be free? Besides, why do house-elves need to bond, anyway?"

"Dobby needs a master, Harry Potter sir. House-elves need wizard magic to stay alive and reproduce and in return, house-elves be doing chores for wizards. Dobby is using the magic at Hogwarts, but since he is not bonded to the castle like the other elves, it is not the same as a real master," he confessed. The little elf was practically beaming with happiness as he exclaimed, "But he now has Master Harry and Dobby is the happiest elf in the world! He knows that Master Harry will never be like bad Master Malfoy, which is why he doesn't have to be a free elf anymore!"

Despite the grave situation, Harry couldn't help but smile at the house-elf. He paused; his mind once more drifted to something he had realised recently. The incident with Kreacher and the cave filled with Inferi was eye-opening. House-elves could travel to places that were inaccessible to most witches and wizards due to protective enchantments that prevented said wizards from entering. If Voldemort was anything to go by, his followers would surely underestimate the power of Elvin magic as well. That could prove to be useful.

"Dobby, I'm happy that you're my elf," Harry said slowly. "But I want to know something. Can you Side-Along Apparate me with you like you do it yourself? Can you sneak into different places, even if they were protected by Ministry personnel?"

Dobby thought for a moment and nodded slowly. "Dobby thinks so, Master Harry. But Dobby never be trying to go to other houses before."

"Tell me something … is Winky still available? Are there any other free elves you know of? Can you track my elf, Kreacher, and see if he's being monitored by the Death Eaters?"

<<<<<<<<<<Harry Potter>>>>>>>>>>

It had been nearly two weeks since they had left Harry. Ron and Hermione were feeling miserable as they sat in the living room of Shell Cottage. Bill and Fleur had been gracious enough to let them stay for a while. Their thoughts still lingered on their friend and what might have happened to him. There were outrageous rumours flying around and the duo didn't know what to do.

Ron was tinkering with the wireless when they suddenly heard a voice.

". . . apologise for our temporary absence from the airwaves, which was due to a number of house calls in our area by those charming Death Eaters."

"That's Lee Jordan!" gasped Hermione.

"– it is my sad duty to inform you about the deaths of Ted Tonks and Dirk Cresswell, along with a goblin named Gornuk. It is believed that Dean Thomas, their travel companion, escaped with a second unknown goblin, but there is no proof of that yet. Sadly, I must also report the death of Andromeda Tonks, the wife of the late Ted Tonks. Evidence revealed that she was tortured by her older sister, Bellatrix Lestrange, before being killed, but sources from the Order of the Phoenix tell me that she put up a brave fight before she died."

The broadcast of Potterwatch continued, but they reported no sightings of Harry Potter.

"But there is some good news, listeners; we have received reports that a dozen snatchers led by Fenrir Greyback were killed near Dover. We were unable to find out who launched the counter-attack against the new regime, but we can all finally celebrate the death of the notorious werewolf and Death Eater. The snatchers were not spared, and many of them were killed quite horribly. The reports we received said that they were the victims of dark cutting curses, Blood-Boiling curses and Organ-Liquefying curses. Whoever is responsible for this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

"Until next time, listeners; the password for the next broadcast is 'Lily'. Take care, be vigilant, and may Merlin keep you safe."

Rebel witches and wizards all over the country were slack-jawed when they heard that someone had taken a stand and killed Fenrir Greyback, the international criminal and notorious werewolf.

"Who could have done this?" Hermione whispered. "Not even Bill managed to defeat Greyback during the attack on Hogwarts. Who –"

"No idea, but it must be a Death Eater," said Ron darkly. "Can you imagine someone using such curses? Only those bloody Slytherins learn such spells."

Hermione was too distracted to listen to him properly or chastise him that his theory made no sense. A Death Eater wouldn't kill one of Voldemort's allies. But if Ron was right … she swallowed in fear. Hermione hoped that Harry was safe and never encountered the one who killed Greyback.