Even with the fascinating things I was finding every day, Grimmauld Place was not too inviting. Sirius owned the place, and was hiding out there, and it was getting to him. The only inhabitant for many years had been Kreacher, the family house-elf, who was right straight around the twist. He'd been taking mad orders from Sirius" mother's portrait for years, and the second I saw him, I knew that there was a lot about house-elves I still didn't know. I'd started the Society for Protection of Elfish Welfare the previous year at Hogwarts, mostly to test just how far the elves" loyalty to their masters could be shaken. Until I met Kreacher, I had all but despaired; Dobby was the only one I had met with any interest in freedom. The others were polite, but everything I said was in one big ear and out the other.