𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬 | l. lovegood

xxxvi

𝐋𝐔𝐍𝐀 𝐖𝐎𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐃𝐎𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐀'𝐒 brunette hair sprawled across her chest. Dorothea had asked her to stay in bed with her until she fell asleep, but she had looked so peaceful that Luna didn't want to risk waking her.

She lightly brushed her fingers through Dorothea's hair, but stilled her movements when the girl stirred. Dorothea's eyes fluttered open. She looked up at Luna with a soft, sleepy smile and stretched out her limbs. "Morning, Lulu," she murmured.

"Morning, little lapine," Luna whispered, brushing Dorothea's hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear. She couldn't help but admire how beautiful she looked right now.

After a few minutes of extra cuddles, they headed downstairs. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were already awake. The trio greeted them when they walked in.

"Hey, Thea? Do you have any idea who this might be?" Harry handed her the slip of paper that was inside the fake Horcrux locket.

Dorothea read over the note, the signature at the bottom – R.A.B – catching her attention. "Well, there's my cousin, Regulus Arcturus Black. He has the same initials."

"R.A.B is Sirius's brother?" Ron asked. Dorothea nodded and handed Harry the note back.

"The question is, did he actually destroy the real Horcrux?" Hermione questioned.

"What's a Horcrux?" Luna asked.

Dorothea instantly answered, "It's an item in which someone has concealed part of their soul." The trio stared at her, not at all expecting her to have known. "What? My whole mother's side of the family are Death Eaters. I know about these things."

There was banging in the pantry – the same pantry Dorothea had hidden in 2 summers ago when she'd spy on the Order meetings. The five teens turned in the direction of the noise, the older three getting up to investigate. It was an old house, so Dorothea assumed it wasn't anything they needed to worry about. Harry opened up the pantry and yanked out an old house elf.

Dorothea grinned. "Wotcher, Kreacher!" She waved at him, and he glared at her. "It's been so long! How have you been?"

Before Kreacher could grumble a reply, Harry accused the elf of spying on them. He admitted that he had been watching. Hermione suggested that maybe he knew where the real locket was, and Harry demanded if he'd ever seen it as he held it up to him.

"Be nicer to him," Dorothea scolded, frowning deeply at Harry's harsh tone of voice.

"It's Master Regulus's locket," Kreacher told him.

"But there were two, weren't there?" Harry asked, his tone still demanding. Kreacher nodded. "Where's the other one?"

"Kreacher doesn't know where the other locket is," he answered bitterly.

"But did you ever see it?" Hermione asked gently. "Was it in this house?"

"YOU FILTHY MUDBLOOD! DEATH EATERS ARE COMING— Ah, blood traitor, Weasley!" Kreacher coward when Ron lifted a wooden spoon to hit him with.

Dorothea snatched it out of his hands with her telekinesis and sent it flying across the room. She glared at him. "No."

"Didn't you drop a lap on his head two years ago?" Ron frowned.

"That was Fred and George! They blamed me for it!"

"Answer Hermione," Harry ordered Kreacher.

The elf glared at him. "Yes. It was here...in this house," he whispered. "A most evil object."