"Dealing with Kreacher is actually quite simple," Orli said, walking over and ignoring Sirius's questioning stare. She retrieved a piece of parchment and a quill, dragged over a stool, and settled herself upon it.
"Just dump him on the floor. Add a Body-Bind if you fancy it. Now then, Kreacher's master—you're going to read exactly what I write."
She dipped her quill and began scratching across the parchment. Sirius dropped Kreacher with skeptical reluctance, then peered over her shoulder, reading aloud in a dubious murmur:
"Kreacher, house-elf of the Black family, I, Sirius Black, as your current sole master, command you to answer all my following questions truthfully with 'yes' or 'no.' Should you utter even a single lie, I will immediately grant you your freedom..."
"Are you completely barking?! We can't set him free!" Ron exploded.
"He despises freedom. Short of death, he'd never willingly abandon this house," Sirius said with a vicious smile, fixing Kreacher with a predatory stare.
"You must face him directly and maintain eye contact while speaking these words," Orli instructed. "Otherwise he can exploit loopholes—claim you're merely reciting lines or reading correspondence. That would render your words suggestions rather than commands."
"These cunning, wretched..." Sirius unleashed a torrent of profanity, then followed Orli's guidance, boring his gaze into Kreacher's bulging eyes and repeating the parchment's contents with deliberate precision.
Kreacher flinched and went rigid. His eyes fixed on Orli with murderous loathing, as though he could incinerate her through sheer malevolence.
"First question," Sirius announced, accepting Orli's second parchment. "Have you ever exploited loopholes in my words—I, Sirius Black, your current sole master—to act against your master's wishes?"
"Yes, Master. I have." Kreacher's enormous nose quivered. He attempted to dash his skull against the wall, but Lupin immediately cast a Body-Bind, trussing him thoroughly.
"Second question," Sirius continued relentlessly. "Have you used loopholes in my commands to leave this house and visit other wizarding households?"
"Yes, Master, I have." Kreacher answered through chattering teeth, then erupted into shrill screams and vile curses.
"During your unauthorized departures from this house, did you engage in any form of contact, communication, correspondence, or receive commands from the former Narcissa Black, now Narcissa Malfoy?" Sirius recited the labyrinthine legal phrasing.
"Yes, Master... I have." Kreacher could scarcely draw breath. He trembled violently, emitting weak moans like a fish gasping on dry land.
"Ha!" Sirius whipped out his wand and pressed its tip against Kreacher's chest. "Time to reunite you with your precious mistress!"
"Wait!" Orli and Hermione cried in unison—though Hermione's voice carried desperate pleading while Orli's remained arctic.
Lupin and Sirius turned toward Orli expectantly.
"The interrogation isn't finished." Orli lifted her chin and extended another parchment slip to Sirius.
"You, Kreacher," Sirius snarled through clenched teeth, "have you disclosed the Order of the Phoenix's location, membership roster, meeting contents, or operational activities in any capacity whatsoever?!"
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