Care

Bang!

The crisp bang awakened the gas lamps embedded along both walls of the narrow entrance hall. Fresh air rushed into the room, restoring some vitality to the somewhat stuffy old house. A series of sharp cracks followed, and Kreacher, the ancient House-elf butler of the Black family home, appeared before them.

"Welcome back, Master Breen, Master Sirius, Mr. Lupin. And this lady—"

Kreacher's ears, covered in milky-white fuzz, twitched. Its fleshy nose sniffed as well, and its shoulders drew in as though it had caught the scent of something unpleasant. But beneath the scrutinizing gazes of Amosta and Sirius, it said in a muffled voice,

"Kreacher does not know this lady's name, but Kreacher welcomes her as a guest to the noble and everlasting residence of the Black family."

"Oh, thank you!"

Amelia was somewhat surprised to see such an old House-elf here. She nodded to Kreacher.

"I'm Amelia Det. You can just call me Amelia, Kreacher."

Certain beliefs were deeply rooted in Kreacher's mind. Being addressed directly by name by an unfamiliar "Mudblood" made Kreacher deeply uncomfortable, but in the end, it restrained some of its old bad habits.

"It will be a little while before dinner is ready, Master Breen, Master Sirius."

"That's all right. We need to chat before dinner. Go attend to your own business, Kreacher,"

Amosta said.

After bowing, Kreacher vanished from before them.

"Did it just barely avoid losing its life, Amosta?"

Sirius curled his lip and joked.

"Don't be so demanding, Sirius—"

Remus said pleasantly.

"I think Kreacher has changed quite a bit now. It's been a long time since I last heard it privately call me 'a filthy little wolf.'"

Master Breen and Master Sirius.

Both forms of address were perfectly ordinary, yet putting them together felt strange. Amelia blinked as