This is a short three chapter story that I have already finished writing. I am hoping work allowes me to finish typing it up by the end of the week so I can have the whole thing posted by next Sunday at the latest. I hope you all enjoy and as alway, I wish I did but I don't. J. K. Rawling does. I just play a bit.

Chapter 1. The Selling of Harry Potter

August 18

Harry was in his room reading when he first felt the twinge from the wards or at least he assumed it was the wards. He had worked very hard last month studying the wards because quite frankly he didn't completely trust them any more despite the fact that Dumbledore swore they were still safe and that he was safe when behind them. From what little information the closed mouth headmaster gave him they were based on his mothers sacrifice when she willingly died to protect him. His aunt by taking him in assumed the focal point for the wards because she shared blood with his mother and himself and by her sacrifice in taking him in she activated the protections for not only himself but also for her whole family. Unfortunately since the end of the tri-wizard tournament Harry, Dudley and aunt Petunia weren't the only ones that shared the same blood. Voldermort had forcibly taken his blood to create a new body for himself. Harry couldn't think of any reason he would have been so obsessive about it having to be Harry who supplied the blood unless he gained something unusual along with his blood and the only thing that he could have gained was a measure of the same protection afforded Harry and his blood family. After having reasoned that out he had gone to Dumbledore with his concerns but the headmaster had assured him that the amount of blood stolen wasn't enough to interfere with the wards nor would it lesson the protections that surrounded the house at number 4 Privet Drive.

Harry had no choice but to take him at his word although before he left school for the summer he had mail ordered three books from Flourish and Blotts about blood wards and he had spent July doing nothing else but reading up on them. It was with some surprise that he found out that the wards were not based so much on blood as they were based on unwilling sacrifice. If his mother would have wanted to die or if his aunt would have wanted to take him in the wards would have collapsed. Even he and Dudley contributed to the strength of the wards. Dudley because he also didn't want to share house room with his cousin but did anyhow and Harry himself because he came back unwillingly every year.

That by itself caused Harry concern. He did not want to give his blood to Voldermort and apparently the more unwilling the sacrifice the stronger the protection. That being the case then Voldermort should be better protected than Harry was.

After learning all of this Harry had made it a point to learn to 'feel' the wards and tonight they were twinging.

Putting aside his book he left his bed and turned out his light. Walking to the widow he studied the backyard trying to see if anything was amiss. By this time the wards were thrumming. It felt almost as if someone were running fingers rapidly across a tautly pulled string causing a vibration. Harry grabbed his wand and cautiously opened his bedroom door and as silently as he could he made his way to his aunt and uncles bedroom. Opening the door he glided inside and made his way over to the bed. Putting his hand over his aunt's mouth to stifle any sound she might make he gently woke her up. "Aunt Petunia, something's wrong" he murmured, his mouth close to her ear.

She was one of those rare individuals who was able to wake up at a moments notice without the disorientation that plagued most so when she heard her nephews quiet words instead of starting she remained quiet as she asked. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure. The wards are reacting from something and I have a very bad feeling about that. Look, I'm going downstairs and see if I can find out what's going on. I need you to get Dudley and uncle Vernon upstairs to the attic. I'm going to cast a silencing spell on this floor and the attic to try and hide any noise you three make. It will alert the Ministry and they will send someone here to investigate. Don't come back downstairs unless I come and get you or unless it's someone from the ministry that comes for you. Can you do that?"

Petunia nodded without saying anything so Harry removed his hand from her mouth. She whispered "Try to stay safe Harry."

"Wait till I leave the room before you wake up uncle Vernon. Ok?" She nodded once more to show the boy that she understood her instructions.

Harry left the room as silently as he had entered it and made his way to the stairs. Before he started down them he cast two silencing charms, one on the attic and one behind himself encompassing the floor he was leaving. He then quietly made his way down the stairs.

Going from room to room searching for…whatever it was. Harry was at a loss. He could feel the wards reacting, he knew something was going on but he could not locate the source of the disturbance. Harry made his way to the living room window and twitched the curtain open the slightest bit. Just enough to be able to get a good look outside but there was nothing to see. No movement, no noise, no shadows that should not be there. What the fuck was going on? Once again he circled the house and when he was once more in the kitchen he looked out the windows hoping to find answerers but without any success. He debated opening the back door and sneaking outside for a more in-depth look around but decided that might be considered a bit too reckless even for him so he resisted the temptation and instead once again circled the house.

He wished that Dumbledore had given him a way to contact someone from the order in case of emergency but no one had apparently ever considered that he would be faced with that need. Coming to a decision Harry made his way back up the stairs to his bedroom and grabbing a piece of parchment from his trunk he pulled a ball point pen from the drawer of his desk and after giving it a bit of thought he started to write a note.

Who ever gets this. Something is going on with the wards here at my Aunts house. I don't know what it is but I fear the worst. Please inform Dumbledore ASAP and send someone here to help.

Harry.

He called Hedgwig and attached the note to her leg. "I need you to take this to anyone who's at headquarters girl. Please hurry." He ran his hand down her back and then scratched her head as she cooed softly at him. Opening the bedroom window he watched her fly off into the night. He didn't notice the strange smell as he stood there nor did he really notice as his eyes got heavy. He did notice that something was wrong when his legs gave out and he sank to the floor beneath the window but by then it was too late. Blackness was fast taking over his sight as he slipped into a state someplace between sleep and unconsciousness

August 19

When Harry next woke up he was in a sparsely furnished room lying on the floor. The air was musty and the smell of decay coming from the carpet beneath his nose was strong. Groaning, he pushed himself up onto his wobbly hands and knees. Holding out one of his hands he found the edge of a chair and using that for additional support he made his way to his feet.

His glasses although skewed were still on his face so he reached up and adjusted them securely on his nose as he looked around. It was a large room with three doors. The only furnishings were the chair he was still using for support, a small cot and a rickety end table. He must have been out for several hours because the only light in the room came from four large widows that graced two of the grimy walls. The tattered curtains waffed around two of them because of broken panes of glass. Harry was grateful for that small measure of mercy. If the windows had not been broken he was sure he would have choked on the stench of rotting carpet.

Standing there his legs regained some measure of strength back and he finally decided to trust them to support himself without the help of the chair. He slowly made his way to one of the doors, a feeling of disquiet washing over him. He wasn't sure what it was but something was missing. Shaking his head in the hopes that it would help clear the cobwebs that had apparently taken up residence in his brain he reached a hand out to the doorknob. He was a bit surprised to see how badly it shook. Opening the door he surveyed the empty closet. Turning he started to make his way to the next door before some instinct kicked in and he changed his direction to the third and farthest door. It took longer to traverse the length of the room but he finally made it to the third door which when he opened it led to an empty hallway. Stopping to collect his breath and strength he stumbled into the hall and headed for the stairs that he could barley see in the shadowed half light.

Reaching the head of the stairs he was a bit surprised to see how high this floor was. Although he couldn't say for sure it seemed like the stair case was at least half again as tall as the one that separated the first floor from the second in his aunt and uncles home. Reaching out to grip the banister he started down. It only took about four steps before he came to the conclusion that this was a bad idea. A very bad idea as waves of vertigo once again attacked him. His vision wavered in and out before finally deserting him altogether.

He didn't precisely pass out but everything did go white before he totally lost his precarious balance and finished his decent of the steps by tumbling down them gracelessly.

He lay there in a heap on the floor, aching body and head wondering if anything was broken or if he was going to loose the content of his stomach. Gasping for breath he desperately tried to calm himself as well as anchor his pounding head and dancing stomach. When he finally opened his eyes he could make out a blurry shoe in front of his face. Following the foot up to a black robed body his eyes rested on the silver white mask hiding the face of the person in front of him. Yep, this was most definitely shaping up to be a red letter day in his diary. Harry started to fumble for his wand when one of the feet came down on his hand and pushed it back to the floor.

"If you're looking for your wand, don't bother boy. My lord has it." The death eater reached a hand down as if offering Harry assistance in standing. He confirmed that unlikely notion by asking. "Can you stand or do you need to be carried?"

Harry batted the helping hand away and struggled to his knees but try as he might that was as far as his meager strength would take him. With and exasperated sigh the death eater grabbed Harry's arm and lifted him to his feet. Another death eater came into the hall and stopped in surprise.

"Why didn't you wait for me before you went to get him?" He asked the first.

The first death eater chuckled, "I didn't go get him. Apparently he decided to escape our hospitality but found the stairs a bit too much of a challenge."

Harry's cheeks pinked at the slam directed at his strength then decided it was well founded although that was only because he had been fed or given something that sapped his strength. His snarl let the two death eaters know he wasn't happy with their words or assumptions.

The second death eater laughed at his cheek before grabbing his other arm and helping the first to take him into another room where he had the distinct displeasure of seeing one of his least favorite persons. Voldemort.

Harry felt sick to his stomach and his body hurt so badly. He wished desperately that he could just loose conciseness again but that luxury was denied him as he was held upright between the two death eaters.

Voldemort reached over and yanked on his hair forcing his head up and back giving him an unobstructed view of the dark skinned, blond haired elf like creature that was studying him. As the elf studied him he had to suppress the insane urge to stick his tongue out at it or at least pop off with some sort of smart assed comment like 'Take a picture'. The creature walked all the way around the boy and the two who held him upright and in place. When he got behind the boy he reached out and ran his fingers through the boy's hair. Harry shivered at the chill of the elf's hand as it rested against his neck. The elf leaned forward and sniffed his hair before its hand descended to the neck of the pajama top.

With a strange accent the elf said, "Is anything broken on it?"

Voldemort gave an evil smile before he said "No. The boy is only bruised from his fall. In a few days he will be healed."

The elf came back around the front of the boy and still without taking his eyes from him said "I am paying good gold for it. I need to see that it sustained no permanent damage. Strip it."

Harry's eyes widened at these words and without even thinking about it he jerked his arms trying to get free from the two that held him. One of the death eaters apparently had relaxed his guard enough that much to Harry's surprise he did manage to get an arm free which he promptly swung at the other one. Hitting the surprised death eater in the face with a closed fist he was a bit surprised to see blood start to stain the cloth mask around the area the nose would be. He was so surprised at the success of his attack that he didn't follow through with another attack quick enough to free the still trapped arm. The death eater he struck staggered back a step or two but instead of releasing the boy's arm he tightened his grip and yanked the boy against his body thus pulling the Harry off balance. As Harry stumbled forward the death eater wrapped his free arm around his chest. His captive arm was pulled up and back causing pain to shoot through his over stressed shoulder. Harry yelped.

The death eater that he had managed to free himself from lunged forward and once again captured his arm. The two then stepped apart causing Harry to be stretched between the two with his arms spread wide.

Voldemort did not interfere during the short escape attempt or recapture but once Harry was back under the control of his followers he reached out and rested his hand on Harry's chest. "As I said, nothing broken." Moving his hand up to where the buttons started he gripped the top of Harry's pajamas and bringing his other hand up he ripped the top open exposing the slender boy's chest to view.

The dark elf who had demanded that Harry be stripped never said anything as he stood there and watched as the two death eaters upon their master's command manhandled the boy to the floor and literally ripped the clothes off of his back till he was dressed in nothing but skin. Once the boy was completely naked he was pulled back to his feet and his arms were once again spread. Harry never stopped struggling as the dark elf moved in and ran his hands down the boy's ribs examining the bruises Harry had acquired on his unorthodox decent of the stairs. Bruises on his legs and back were examined in the same way before the elf removed his hands and turned once again to Voldemort.

"Very well, nothing seems to be broken. State your terms."

"Five thousand galleons and one hundred of your people will serve me."

The elf got a grim smile on his face. "Four thousand and 50 will call you Lord, this human will never be allowed his freedom again and in addition the human will have his ability to do magic stripped from him."

Voldemort gave the elf a satisfied smile. "Agreed"

With a snap of his fingers a pile of gold coins appeared in front of The Dark Lord. "Do you wish to count it my Lord?" he was asked.

"No, the reputation of the Drow is respected. Your people do not go back on their given word ever. I trust you."

The Drow bowed to Voldemort before turning to the death eaters who held the shocked boy. "Put him on his knees."

Harry's legs were kicked out from under him and if it weren't for the hands holding his arms he would have fallen. As it was the two who held him controlled his decent to the ground till he was resting on his knees.

The dark elf calmly walked behind the boy and fastened a collar around his neck. After spreading his hands along the collar the elf quietly pronounced an incantation that caused a shiver to travel down Harry's back. He felt a wrenching feeling travel through his body then a sick empty feeling descended upon him. His vision swam and the nauseous feeling returned. Harry felt like something was violently ripped from his soul and he found it hard to breath. As he knelt he panted trying to retrieve the breath that had been stolen from him. Dots sparked in front of his eyes and he was afraid that if it didn't stop soon he was going to black out. He felt something being done to his ankles and his wrists but didn't have enough understanding at this time to analyze what else was being done to himself. He did understand when he was pulled back to his feet although he thought that whoever had done that expected a lot from him if they expected him to stand. Fortunately no one did expect him to stand unaided for a good long time as he felt arms supporting his unresponsive body. Eventually he managed to regain motor control of himself and he pulled away from the supporting arms and stood. This was when he realized that his arms had been restrained behind his back and with his head bowed he could see the shackles attached to each ankle with the foot of silver chain in-between.

His mouth was dry and he shook with fear. What had just been done to him? The dark elf moved around in front so that Harry could once again see him. He carried in his hands another length of silver chain although unlike the one between his ankles it was about two foot long and it had a leather strap on one end and a clasp on the other. One of the death eaters grabbed his hair and pulled his head up and back again. The elf reached forward with the chain and attached it to the collar around his neck by the clasp. Once that was done he wrapped his hand in the leather strap and jerked the boy toward himself. Wrapping his arm around Harry's waist he said one word and Harry was subjected to the feeling of being passed through a very small hole and finally Harry got his wish as conciseness fled.

When Harry woke up he was laying down on a large bed. Still naked he was covered up with a thin blanket. Harry's arms were no longer secured behind his back and after moving his feet he discovered that although the shackles were still around his ankles the chain that had run between the two was now gone. Reaching up he felt his neck and found the collar still secured there. The feeling that something had been ripped from himself was muted but still present as well. Harry reached inside himself trying to feel his magic and could not. This more than anything caused a panic to well up from his soul. He had always been able to feel his magic before. Even when he was young and had no idea what it was he could still feel it. No more. Now he was empty and hollow. His magic core was either gone or inaccessible to him.

Harry felt the tears gather in his eyes and determined not to spill them he hardened his face into an expressionless mask. With a little effort he was able to sit up on the bed and take stock of his surroundings. The room he was in was nicely appointed although the décor was a bit dark. The king sized bed was covered with a dark forest green comforter and the thin blanket that had been thrown over himself was only a shade lighter. The room contained a desk and a wardrobe in a dark mahogany wood with the upholstered chair for the desk done in the same color as the comforter. A recliner upholstered in a burgundy was sitting beside an occasional table made of the same dark wood that held a lamp. Other than the windows this was the only source of light for the room and although the windows were plentiful they were covered by drawn curtains also made of the same dark burgundy. The walls were painted in a heavy cream color and there were several tastefully done landscapes hanging up to break up wide expanses of plain wall. Of the three doors in the room one was open and Harry could barely make out fixtures for of a loo. Another door made of glass covered in a scrunched up curtain was on the wall that held the windows and the third door which was closed was almost directly across from the one that led outside.

Harry swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up. Dizziness assaulted him so he sat still till the swimming feelings passed enough that he felt standing was not beyond his skill. Cautiously he gathered the blanket that had been used to cover him around himself and slowly stood. Shaking slightly he made his way over to the wall with the windows and looked outside. The room faced a walled in courtyard with a fountain off to the side. A seating arrangement with a small wood table was situated under a tree covered in pink blossoms. A very green and luxuriant grass covered the ground except where the land was cultivated into gardens. There was not a gate to an outside world that he could see from this angle but if he canted his head to the side he could see that one of the walls that made up the bottom of the courtyard had a door and several windows facing it.

He turned from the window to explore the content of the wardrobe. Opening one of the drawers he found folded underclothes. Reaching out a hand he fingered the silken stuff taking in all of the colors and patterns before grabbing a pair of the boxers and slipping them over his feet and up to his hips. The were finer than anything he had ever owned but they did fit and having something on to cover his nakedness made him feel marginally more secure although boxers weren't the best protection when it came to modesty.

Pulling open the next drawer he found socks. Warm winter ones done in white and black. Thin dress socks done in blue, black and grey and an array of colored socks that would come to the calf of the person wearing them. Before he grabbed a pair of them he opened the third drawer and hit paydirt. Jeans, stacks of them in blue, black, grey, kaki and cream. He reached in and grabbed a pair of the soft prewashed ones and held them up to his hips. They looked like they would fit him so he inserted one leg at a time and pulled them up. A bit loose but nothing like the trousers he was use to wearing. Snapping them closed he finally reached for a pair of white socks and pulled them up over his feet.

Still moving a bit cautiously in case the lightheadedness returned he walked over and explored the loo. Somewhat larger than what he was use to it had both a shower and tub. The toilet was located off to the side and another door was located on a side wall. The room had a double set of vanities and each was equipped with a sink. One the closest vanity was a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. There was also a bottle of shampoo, a bar of body soap, comb and a brush. Looking in the cabinet under one of the vanities he found a supply of bath towels and face cloths. He went over and opened the other door in the room and found a closet well stocked with shirts and tunics. Pulling out a dark blue pullover he finished dressing, well except for shoes and of those there was no sign. He looked around the loo once more before going back into the bedroom. Something was missing. It took a few seconds before he realized there weren't any mirrors. Strange, a bathroom was where you would most expect to find one…

Going back to the bedroom he cautiously tried the door only to find it locked. Stifling a sigh he went back to the door that led to the courtyard and expecting it to also be locked he was a bit surprised when the knob turned under his hand and the slight pull opened the door into the room. Moving forward Harry left the room and looked around outside. Other than the door that he had used there was only one exit and that was the door he had seen earlier when he had peeked out the window. Oh well, nothing ventured nothing gained. He walked over to the door and tried it only to find it was locked too.

Harry made his way to one of the windows that led into the room that he was locked out of and tried to see through the small parting but the room was a bit dark and about all he could make out was that it was another bedroom. The window wouldn't open to his efforts and he considered breaking it to gain access to this room in the hopes that the door on the far wall would lead outside and to freedom but decided that for the time being he would just wait and see what happened. Perhaps someone would come and at least tell him what was going on here. He studied the courtyard looking for another way out and had to sadly admit that unless he got into the locked room or the last door in his room was opened he was trapped well and good.

Harry went back to the room where he had woke up in and explored the desk. Parchment, quills, two bottles of ink but nothing else. Not even a book to read. Harry wondered what he was going to do to fill the time till something happened. Bored he sat down on the recliner and with nothing to occupy his mind he finally just drifted off to sleep once again.

He woke to the noise of the locked door being opened. It was the dark elf that had purchased him from Voldemort. Having some thoughts about facing your enemy seated and helpless not being the best idea Harry stood and waited to see what the dark elf was going to do. What he did was hold the door open for a dark female elf to bring in a tray of food. He glanced over at Harry but said nothing as the girl carried the tray over and set it down on top of the desk. She gave Harry a shy smile before quickly walking back out of the room.

The smells coming from the tray were wonderful but Harry didn't approach. Instead he just stood there and waited for some action from the other occupant of the room. It didn't take long, a few minutes at best before the dark elf turned and left. Harry heard the lock turn as the door closed. Although knowing it was a futile gesture Harry hurried over and tried the door again. Of course it was locked.

His stomach rumbled and he made his way over to the tray and lifted the cover off the plate. A generous slice of roasted meat, small whole potatoes with parsley in a butter sauce, green beans seasoned with pieces of bacon and for desert a dark chocolate brownie covered in a thick chocolate sauce. The tray also contained a goblet that held a sweet smelling juice of some sort and a small side salad. Harry's stomach rumbled once again and he wondered if the food was safe to eat.

With a sigh he sat down on the chair and picked up the fork. He guessed it really didn't matter too much if it was safe or not. It was either eat or starve and if the elf wanted to harm him he guessed there wasn't much he could do about it with his magic gone. With those thoughts foremost on his mind he dug into the generous lunch.

Once finished eating with apparently no bad side effects Harry again went over the contents of the room hoping that somehow he had missed something. Something to do at least. A book perhaps but discovered nothing new. He could see that sitting around without anything to occupy his time and mind was going to get very old very fast so he decided to go ahead and enliven things a bit. Taking up a towel Harry walked outside and over to the locked room on the bottom side of the courtyard. Wrapping the towel around his hand and wrist Harry drew back his fist and hit the window on the door hoping to break the glass and thus make his escape via this room's door. Instead his fist bounced off the unbroken glass. Great.

He contemplated trying to break the windows but decided that would most likely be as futile as trying to break the window in the door. Instead he started to walk the wall of the courtyard hoping to find a hidden door or even a place in the wall that he could climb. He didn't get too far before he felt like he was being watched. Turning around he spotted a tall blond elf standing outside the bedroom door where he had woke up.

With a mental shrug and a 'What the hell.' he walked over to the man and cocking his head off to the side he asked, "Will you tell me what's going on?"

The dark elf that was standing behind the other one came forward and motioned Harry over to the furniture grouping under the shade tree beside the fountain and after Harry sat down the tall blonde elf started to pace and talk.

"Your family many generations ago intermingled with one of our prominent families. On the elven side that family died out but on the human side it flourished until recently. Now there are only three left and of those three only one has magic and that one is you. This was not an issue for concern until three years ago. It was at that time that the wizarding world claimed that which is ours or more correctly that which is your family's although all elves have shared in it. A large piece of land that houses a pool of water that renews our race. This is a sacred place to us and its loss could have dire consequences for all of our people so we want it back. You are the key to getting it back."

Well, of all the things that Harry expected this was not one of them. "You had Voldemort kidnap me over a piece of land? Why didn't you just approach me directly? If this land belongs to me and you need it I don't mind trying to get it back for your people." Harry rapidly though of whom he knew that would help him. "I'll need to hire a lawyer to help reclaim the land. Can you tell me the location?"

The elf smiled sadly down at the boy. "Were it that simple we would have asked for your help before. You cannot claim the land because you are human and according to the laws passed by your ministry for non-humans only an elf from the family that once owned the land may claim it. If we were presently in control of it no law would be able to remove us but it was taken after it had gone unclaimed for fifty years by a legitimate heir" He reached out and ran his hand down Harry's cheek. "I am so sorry child for what we will do to you but our race is slowly loosing itself and unless we act we will die. Unfortunately you will pay a price for us that is terrible. Had we any other option we would take it but we do not."

Harry sat there in shock. It just figured didn't it? Life it seemed was getting ready to deliver another sucker punch to the Great Harry Potter and he had a sneaky suspicion that this one was gonna be a dozy. "Ok," Harry said. "So far I think I understand but what I don't understand is what you are going to do. If a human can't claim this land even if he is of elven decent then I can't help you."

The elf sat down on one of the other chairs and said something to the dark elf in an unknown language that Harry assumed was his native language and he left through Harry's bedroom door.

Then the blonde elf turned back to Harry and once again started to speak. "Many years ago a very evil potion master sought the hand of a beautiful young woman in marriage but because the woman was already promised to another her father refused. This evil man became enraged and decided to seek revenge on her family and so he worked to find a potion to achieve his revenge with. It took him years but he finally found what he had been seeking. He developed a potion that could be administered to a werewolf when he was in his human form. Each day for the lunar month the werewolf would take a dose of the potion and when the full moon came and the change happened the werewolf found himself locked into his monster form for the rest of his life. The evil man found a werewolf and paid him to infect the woman's husband with the curse. He then told the small family that he had a cure and all the husband had to do was to take the potion everyday after the next full moon till the lunar cycle once again brought the full moon around and her husband would find himself cured. Of course the family was delighted and so the man took the potion and when the full moon once again came he changed but he never did return to his human self. The potion was outlawed and the evil man arrested and later executed and his notes confiscated and the poor husband was put down.

It was though that those notes were destroyed but they were not. Instead the notes on the potion were kept as part of a private collection. Almost a hundred years later the notes passed on to another who experimented with the potion. It was found that if the potion was given to a human that had a small amount of veela blood for approximately thirty days the person would gradually morph into a pure veela. It also works on humans that have a small amount of elven blood Harry."