Author's Note: Thanks to my captain, Jordi, for switching creatures with me and looking over my story! :)
Written for…
Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. Team/Position: Montrose Magpies, Chaser 1. Task: Write about a house-elf. Prompts: (poem) The Peace of Wild Things, (image) snowy mountain, "I'll survive. I always do."
Wild Thing
"Master called for Tinny?"
"Yes, thank you for coming so quickly. I have a big job for you."
The house-elf shuffled excitedly closer to her master. "Yes, Sir. Tinny is always happy to serve Master Apollo," she said eagerly.
Her master nodded and knelt down in front of her so they were on eye level with each other. He held a small bundle of black cloth in his arms and held it out to her.
"Take it," he ordered softly, and she did as she was told. Tinny couldn't remember the last time she had disobeyed. Probably never.
The cloth was silky and difficult to grip. It unfolded in her hands, tumbling to the floor until she could see it for what it truly was: a cloak.
She gasped, letting go of the fabric as her vision blurred. "M-Master Apollo is letting Tinny go?"
The man sighed, leaning forward to pick up the cloak. "Oh, Tinny, no. I would never get rid of you like that. I need a favor of you, one you won't be able to complete if you're in my service."
The elf wiped her eyes and gave him a watery smile. "Yes, Sir. What can Tinny do?"
She took back the cloak with shaky hands. Apollo reached into his pocket to pull out a faded photograph.
"This," he began, holding it up for her to see, "is Càrn Mòr Dearg. It's a mountain in Scotland. My parents and I holidayed in a cabin at the foot of it when I was a child. I want you to take the girls there."
"Master is not coming?"
"No, it's too dangerous." Apollo placed the photo on top of the cloak and stood up. From behind an old sofa, he retrieved two duffel bags and put them at Tinny's feet. "People are coming for me, Tinny. I know the mess my brother and sister are making of Hogwarts. It's only a matter of time before they try to recruit the girls, and I can't have that."
He came back to kneel in front of the elf and grasp her bony shoulders. "I need you, Tinny. I set you free so you can't be controlled. You're the only mother the girls have known; I need you to protect them."
"I will, Sir. But Master said someone is coming for you."
Apollo smiled, letting her go. "I'll survive. I always do."
"Dad?"
Tinny turned around to find her twin charges standing in the doorway.
"Hestia, Flora," Apollo acknowledged. "Get your cloaks. You're going away for a while."
:-:
The cabin was still standing, just as Apollo said it would be. With a snap of her fingers, Tinny was able to take herself and the girls there.
Fresh snow fell in droves, covering the ground and the mountain, and making it difficult to see beyond the cabin and tight ring of trees encircling it.
"It's so … small," Hestia said, flicking her dark hair over her shoulder as they trudged toward the cabin.
Indeed, it wasn't even a quarter of the size of the Carrow home. Tinny couldn't help but recall the cellar room she had lived in as a child, long before Mistress Gloria had married Master Apollo and received ownership of Tinny. The cabin seemed like a palace compared to that cold, damp cellar.
Tinny warded the cabin and the surrounded area easily once she and the girls were inside. No one would be able to reach them without exhausting themselves first, and Apollo had been quick to assure them that no one would think to look for them in Scotland.
The cabin seemed smaller once inside, if only because it was overstuffed with furniture. There were three couches and at least a dozen chairs crammed into the sitting room alone, not to mention the eight surrounding the tiny dining table.
Tinny went to work in the kitchen, cleaning off plates and unloading some food for the girls' dinner. In the morning she would need to find some way to get them more, but Apollo had packed enough to get them through the night.
"I can't stay here," Flora shouted from down the hall. "The beds are all lumpy!"
"It looks like this place hasn't been cleaned since Merlin was alive," Hestia added.
The twins rounded on Tinny as she set their dinner plates down on the table.
"Why did Dad have to send us here?"
"Aunt Alecto was going to teach me some new spells when we got back to school."
"Tinny, you have to take us back."
The elf silenced them with a look. "Misses, your father has sent you here to keep you safe, and here is where I'll keep you. Eat your dinner and get some rest."
Confident that her charges would do as they were told, Tinny headed for the front door.
"Where are you going?"
"You can't just leave us!"
Tinny smiled at the girls. "You are safe. Tinny is going for a walk."
Back home, she would often take walks in the evening or when she had trouble sleeping. The Carrow garden was large and beautiful, and charmed to never be too cold or too warm.
The woods were beautiful in a different way. Tinny walked to the edge of the little clearing and could see wild animals scurrying in the snow and running in and out of the wards. The stars shone brightly here, and it was so quiet and peaceful, but cold.
Tinny pulled her little cloak tighter around herself. Apollo had to force the garment onto her before she left, but now she was thankful for the gift now. Even if it meant her freedom, at least she wouldn't freeze.
Free.
The word was the source of nightmares for elf children, and now it was Tinny's reality. She had been set free after eighteen years of service to the Carrows.
She knew already that there would be no rest for her that night. There was too much to think about, to worry over.
At least she still had a purpose. Were she not left with the responsibility for the twins, she wasn't sure what she would do with herself. The girls could be a handful at times, certainly, but they were hers. Tinny had been by Gloria's side when the girls were born, and every moment after.
"Must protect them," she said aloud, to the wild creatures. She had made that promise to Gloria on her deathbed, and again tonight to Apollo.
She may have been as free to live her life as the deer and squirrels who lived in those woods, but her life wouldn't be complete without her girls.