Kreacher

"*Kreacher is what he has been made by wizards, Jackson. Yes, he is to be pitied. His existence has been as miserable as your friends houself Dobby's. He was forced to do Antom's bidding, because Antom was the last of the family to which he was enslaved, but he felt no true loyalty to him. And whatever Kreacher's faults, it must be admitted that Antom did nothing to make Kreacher's lot easier.*"
—Albus Dumbledore regarding Kreacher

**Kreacher** was a house-elf who served the Whittemore family with fanatical loyalty for most of his life, until he was left to Jackson Whittemore upon the death of Antom Whittemore in 1990.

He was particularly fond of "his mistress" Walburga Black, who died in 1985, but whose portrait still shrieked orders from the wall in the front hall of the Black house. After Mrs Black's death, Kreacher let the home fall into disarray, doing little, if any, cleaning and left the house to work for the Whittemore family.

He was also fiercely loyal to the Whittemore family, and later to the Elementals whom he fought for in the Battle of Hogwarts alongside many other house-elves. Kreacher survived the final battle of the First Wizarding War; it is known that he still works for Jackson and Brody, though he died at some point after Hugo and Theodore went to Hogwarts.

## Biography

### Serving masters (Pre 1979-1998)

#### Under Master Regulus Black

In 1979, when Lord Voldemort told Regulus Black that he needed a house-elf, Regulus volunteered Kreacher, saying it would be an honour to serve the Dark Lord. Voldemort took Kreacher to the Crystal Cave and forced him to drink the potion in the basin so that Voldemort could place Salazar Slytherin's Locket in the basin. The potion, (the same one Dumbledore drank) caused Kreacher to have nightmarish delusions, intense stomach pains and made him dehydrated. Voldemort then left, leaving Kreacher to drink from the lake (as any water conjured evaporates) and die at the hands of the Inferi. However, Voldemort, in his arrogance, had never cared to learn that House Elves can apparate out of locations that Wizards and Witches cannot, so Kreacher, using his own special type of magic and not contained by the enchantments on the cave, was able to Disapparate from the cave and follow his master's orders, to "come home when he finished his task".

Regulus later had Kreacher take him back to the Crystal Cave. Regulus drank the potion himself and ordered Kreacher to switch Slytherin's Locket with a fake locket and then go home and destroy the "real" locket, leaving Regulus to die in the cave. For the last few seconds Kreacher was there, he saw the Inferi's hands pulling Regulus into the water. Regulus also ordered Kreacher to never tell his family what had happened to him. Kreacher left as ordered but was unable to destroy the locket, despite his many attempts. This inability to complete an order of his master may have driven him to insanity, explaining his muttering and devotion to his mistress' painting.

#### Battle of Hogwarts

"*Fight! Fight for my master, the defender of the house-elves! Fight the Dark Lord, in the name of brave Regulus! Fight!*"
—Kreacher leading the house-elves during the Battle of Hogwarts

Kreacher led the house-elves of Hogwarts in the final battle against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters for The Elementals, defender of the house-elves, and for the sake of the memory of his long-dead master Regulus, bringing to mind that, although he was a Death Eater, he had died fighting Voldemort.

It is specified that he survived the Battle of Hogwarts, but Jackson, who wanted to go to bed after the battle, wondered if Kreacher could bring him a sandwich, implying that he did in fact survive. It is unknown if he continued to work in the Hogwarts kitchens or entered the service of the Whittemore family, or possibly both. Some consider that Jackson may have actually freed Kreacher.

Somewhat after 2017, Kreacher died, age 666.

## Physical appearance

Like all house elves, Kreacher was considerably smaller than a human. He was described as having a bulbous, snout-like nose, bloodshot eyes, many folds of skin, and white hair growing out of his bat-like ears. Dobby also knocked out half of his teeth with a punch in 1997, and it is unclear as to whether he had them magically grown back.

## Personality and traits

**Harry Potter**: "*I don't understand you, Kreacher. Voldemort tried to kill you, Regulus died to bring Voldemort down, but you were still happy to betray Sirius to Voldemort? You were happy to go to Narcissa and Bellatrix, and pass information to Voldemort through them…*"
**Hermione Granger**: "*Harry, Kreacher doesn't think like that. He's a slave; house-elves are used to bad, even brutal treatment; what Voldemort did to Kreacher wasn't that far out of the common way. What do wizard wars mean to an elf like Kreacher? He's loyal to people who are kind to him… I've said all along that wizards would pay for how they treat house-elves. Well, Voldemort did… and so did Sirius.*"
— Harry and Hermione discussing Kreacher[src]

Kreacher was very loyal to the all members of the Black family except Sirius Black, whom he hated because he treated Kreacher poorly. He had a strong bond with Sirius' brother, Regulus Black and was devastated by his death. Kreacher was usually hostile, bitter and miserable and had a habit of insulting people, including his masters. He frequently called Hermione Granger a Mudblood. He hated taking orders from those he hated, often giving them a dirty look or a biting remark.

Like most members of the Black family, Kreacher believed that Muggle-borns and blood traitors were scum. Because of this, he frequently insulted Hermione even though she tried to be nice to him. However, he gradually grew more respectful towards both Muggle-borns and blood traitors, giving Hermione a respectful salute prior to the infiltration of the Ministry of Magic. Kreacher was also very loyal to people who treated him with kindness and respect, particularly Regulus Black. He later grew loyal to Harry Potter and started to be friendly towards Harry, Ron and Hermione. However, he was disloyal to those who treated him poorly. This ultimately led to him being partially responsible for the death of Sirius Black. Had Sirius treated Kreacher the same way his brother had, his death could have been avoided.

Because of years of solitude, Kreacher hadn't cleaned the Black family home for a long time and when the Order of the Phoenix used it as a headquarters, he was rarely seen cleaning. He also had a habit of stealing items that reminded him of his loyalty to the Black family. Kreacher was also considered to be slightly mad, probably from being stuck in the Blacks house alone for so long. His misery and insanity was most probably a combination of drinking the Drink of Despair, Regulus Black's death, not being able to complete his master's order of destroying the locket, living alone with the locket and Walburga's portrait, and Sirius Black's cruelty to him.

A tradition for the Black family house elves was for their heads to be cut off and stuck on a plaque. Kreacher and Ron both expressed the wish for this to be done to Kreacher. Ron later regretted this statement.

Eventually, after being given back the locket that Regulus had switched for Voldemort's real Horcrux, Kreacher grew less hostile and was happier than he had been in many years, resuming most of his expected duties. He also led the house elves into the fray during the battle of Hogwarts.

## Magical abilities and skills

**Apparition:** Like all house elves, Kreacher was able to apparate even in areas that forbade apparition such as the cave which contained one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, and on the grounds of Hogwarts itself. He is also able to perform Side-Along Apparition (Apparition with another person in tow).

## Relationships

### Black family

"*Oh, my poor mistress, what would she say if she saw Kreacher serving him?*"
—Kreacher complaining about his master

Kreacher was extremely devoted to all members of the Black family except Sirius Black, whom he hated. Sirius claimed that he was slightly less devoted to Sirius' father than he was to his mother but also said he caught him snogging a pair of his father's old trousers. Kreacher was often seen taking orders from a portrait of Sirius' mother. Considering Kreacher was disloyal to people who treated him in a horrible manner, the Black family must have treated him with kindness.

### Dobby

Kreacher had a bad relationship with Dobby mainly because they had, at first, opposite opinions of the Elementals. The two house elves even got into a brawl at one point after Kreacher insulted them. However, they worked together to spy on Draco Malfoy.

## Etymology

Kreacher's name is most likely derived from the word "creature." Reminiscent of the German "Kriecher" derived from "kriechen," meaning "to creep, crawl, cringe, grovel, tuckle, or fawn upon."