"Young mistress, do you really mean it?" Kreacher's voice trembled.
Daphne pursed her lips. This little elf-no, this old elf-had already asked the same question no fewer than twenty times.
"If you ask again, I'm not going," Daphne said, giving him a kick in the backside that was neither too hard nor too soft.
Kreacher immediately clapped his hands over his mouth and shook his head repeatedly to show he would not ask again. Naturally, he did not mind Daphne kicking him in the slightest.
Watching from beside them, Black, Lupin, and Harry could not help chuckling.
"Daphne, don't frighten Kreacher." Hermione was rather displeased. Although her house-elf rescue plan had not been successfully implemented, and although Kreacher still did not particularly want to have anything to do with her, she remained intent on fighting for house-elves' rights.
Daphne's rough treatment of Kreacher made her very uncomfortable.
Daphne, however, thought nothing of it. She had long since grown used to Hermione's personality. Instead, it was Kreacher, whose cause Hermione was championing, who gave her a displeased look.
How dare she speak to the young mistress like that!
Kreacher grumbled inwardly. If he had not known that this young lady was very close to his young mistress, and that even his unreliable young master was very fond of the girl, he would certainly have taught her a lesson for daring to speak so rudely to the young mistress.
But...
Seeing that his young mistress and young master did not mind, Kreacher could only pretend he had seen nothing.
"Kreacher, you still remember that place, don't you? Can you find it?" Daphne asked casually, unaware of Kreacher's thoughts.
"Of course, of course!" Kreacher nodded repeatedly. "Kreacher remembers. Kreacher has always remembered."
"Good. Take us there, then," Daphne said. "Can you take this