M.S.C. Meeting

London, England, Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

"Welcome! Great Mr. Lovegood, Mrs. Lovegood!"

Wizet and Luna had barely reached the door when Kreacher, as though he had foreseen their arrival, opened it of his own accord and struck an exceedingly respectful welcoming pose.

"Kreacher... I'd still prefer it if you called us by our names," Wizet said. "I'm Wizet, and she's Luna... Just call us that."

"Oh! Master Wizet, Miss Luna..." Kreacher reluctantly changed his form of address, though only slightly. "There are always some things that cannot be changed."

"Kreacher is the House-elf of the 'Most Ancient and Noble Black Family.' Kreacher is different from ordinary House-elves. This is Kreacher's bottom line..."

Wizet and Luna exchanged a glance, then both gently shook their heads.

It seemed Luna, like him, felt that Kreacher's words carried another meaning. The "ordinary House-elves" he mentioned probably referred to Dobby.

Still, he found it strange. Kreacher and Dobby seemed to have met only once, and they probably had not spent much time together.

He still remembered how Dobby had been helping in the kitchen at the time, while Kreacher had hidden in Regulus Black's room, only to be found later by Sirius Black.

Kreacher apparently did not wish to dwell on the matter. He stepped aside and continued, "Please come in! Master Wizet, Miss Luna..."

"Kreacher hopes to have the honor of preparing lunch for you today... Master Wizet, Kreacher has mastered all the dishes you enjoy!"

"Kreacher will prepare candied pear tart and blackberry lemon mousse for you now. For lunch, Kreacher has prepared pea and mint soup, Gurdyroot baked lamb chops, creamed spinach..."

Luna blinked. She remembered clearly that these were not the dishes Wizet liked.

"Ahem! Kreacher..." Wizet coughed twice. "We'll be staying for lunch..."

As he said this, Luna noticed that