Forward Progress - Part 10

Hermione grabbed an old painting out of her hand. The frame was scratched and scuffed, and it looked incredibly old.

"Sweet Merlin," Hermione said, breathing heavily.

"What is it?" Harry asked curiously.

"Is it what I think it is?" Ginny asked.

Harry glanced over Ginny's shoulder to see the painting Hermione was holding. It depicted two couples standing in what Harry thought was the great hall at Hogwarts. They were clad in exquisite dress robes, one of the men standing slightly apart from the other three.

"It's the founders of Hogwarts," Hermione said, awestruck. "Look, Harry, Godric Gryffindor is wearing the sword you used against the Basilisk."

Harry looked closely and realized she was right. He looked carefully at the other founders, recognizing Helga Hufflepuff from a painting he'd seen at Hogwarts. The other woman, a stern looking witch wearing a glittering tiara, reminded him of Professor McGonagall. He assumed this was Rowena Ravenclaw. The fourth person – the one standing slightly apart and scowling – was Salazar Slytherin.

"How did this end up packed away up here?" Hermione asked, breathing heavily. "This is a priceless piece of history. Harry, you have to show this to Professor McGonagall."

"I bet it's worth a fortune, mate," Ron said.

"I'll give it to her when she arrives for the Order meeting this evening. They want to talk to me about yesterday, and what I was doing with Professor Dumbledore. I'm going to have to put them off, and they're not going to like it. Maybe this can be a kind of peace offering," Harry said, smiling weakly.

"Harry! Call Kreacher. Maybe he can help us," Hermione said suddenly.

Harry's eyes widened. "Kreacher!" he bellowed.

There was an immediate crack and the dirty, disheveled house-elf appeared, scowling at all of them. He was wearing a filthy tea-towel with the Hogwarts' logo emblazoned upon it.

"The half-blood whelp summons him, and poor old Kreacher must answer. Oh, if his mistress only knew what Kreacher has been reduced to," the elf muttered under his breath, woefully shaking his head from side to side.

Hermione knelt down in front of him. "We're terribly sorry to have disturbed you, Kreacher. We're in need of your help," she said kindly.

"The Mudblood dares to speak to Kreacher directly. Kreacher won't answer her," the house-elf said.

"That's enough, Kreacher," Harry said angrily. "I won't have you using that foul word. Do you understand me?"

"It's all right, Harry. He doesn't know what he's saying," Hermione said.

"Don't be fooled by him, Hermione," Ron said, staring at Kreacher menacingly. "He knows exactly what he's saying. We want to know about Regulus Black."

"Master Regulus was a great and honorable wizard. He never once broke his poor mother's heart. He died in service to the Dark Lord," Kreacher said reverently.

"He died because his friends murdered him," Harry said flatly. "Look, we're not here to listen to you spout off about how great it is to serve the Dark Lord. I want to know if Regulus ever had something that looks like this," he said, holding out the fake Horcrux for Kreacher to see. "I want you to tell me what happened to it."

Kreacher twisted his lips together and grunted, obviously trying not to answer. Finally he could resist no more. "It was here, on a shelf in the drawing room. That horrid half-blood thief who has stolen many of my mistress's fine things took it."

"Mundungus!" Ron exclaimed.

"Of course. Remember, Harry? We saw him in Hogsmeade with a trunk full of your things from this house," Hermione said.