Chapter 3

LEP Recon training kept Holly from panic. As the world around her dissolved in a rainbow of colors she realized what must have happened: the return of Artemis from his time-travel must have caught her. She also realized she was unanchored in time, and that she might bounce from one place and time to another until she hit a lethal environment and perished.

In just a few weeks, could Artemis have learned enough control of his magic to anchor himself? Holly doubted it. Suddenly she had an idea. She was materializing in a dark alley between buildings. Before she could be swept away, she pushed the button on the top of the copper sphere from Artemis' room, which she still held in her hand.

There was a click and the sphere opened. Inside was a silver ring. Holly quickly grabbed it and put it on her thumb (it was too big for her other fingers). She waited several minutes, and when no further jumps took place she sighed with relief. The silver ring had anchored her. Artemis must have invented a container to block the anchoring power of silver so that he could jump with the assurance of being able to anchor at the other end.

Holly tried the helmet's channel to Section 8 Headquarters. "Hello, anyone there?" There was nothing but static. She scanned other radio bands. As far as she could tell, the mud-man world was much like the one she had left, full of wars, crime, and terrorism.

She ventured into the street, still shielded from sight by her armor. There she got a shock: there were elves here, following long-robed humans and carrying packages for them. Their ragged dress and subservient manner made Holly realize that this world was Haven's worst nightmare. Elves had been discovered by humans and enslaved!

Holly began logging a report into her helmet's memory. "Foaly, if you ever get this, I have to investigate this world. If Artemis is coming here regularly, and I suspect he is, we need to know all about the dangers it could bring to our timeline. Elves are enslaved here. This timeline must never be merged with ours."

Holly set the camera in her helmet to record her for as long as possible. She removed the armor and concealed it in an old pile of bricks that looked like it had not been disturbed in a long time. If other LEP agents managed to get here they would be able to locate it and get her report. If they didn't ever find her, at least she wouldn't be caught wearing this advanced armor.

There was an elf walking alone, warmly dressed in several hats and scarves. She decided to approach him rather than the more miserably dressed slaves.

"Hello," she tried in Gnomish. When he looked blank, she switched to English. "Hello, sir."

"Dobby not sir," said the elf. "Dobby regular elf. Dobby sees you have been given clothes. Don't be shamed. Dobby was freed too."

"Holly not shamed," said Holly, mimicking his style of avoiding the personal pronoun. She realized that wearing proper clothing must be the mark of a freed slave, and that somehow there was a cultural stigma to this.

"Good," said Dobby. "Holly need job? Dobby works for Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft," Dobby said. "Very good place. Fall semester starts soon and they need more elves."

Holly considered this. If humans had developed their own magic here, a school where they were trained was a prime site for investigation.

"Yes, Holly needs job," she agreed.

"Follow Dobby to recruiting station," said Dobby.

In a storefront not far away, a giant of a man hunched over a tiny desk. Dobby went in and spoke to the man in a low voice. Holly stopped at the threshold.

"May Holly come in?" she asked nervously. This was a human habitation and she had to have permission or lose her magic.

"Dobby likes yah, and that's good enough for me," the man bellowed. "You may enter Hogwarts under our standard contract. Come in. Hagrid's the name, by the way."

Holly stepped inside. She didn't know what conditions the "standard contract" contained, but she could find out before entering Hogwarts.

"Welcome, Holly!" said Dobby. "Now Holly is Hogwarts house-elf."

"We got some sheets behind that screen over there," said Hagrid. "Yah can change there."

Holly was confused, "The job's already started?"

"Yep," said Hagrid. "Legally this office is an extension of Hogwarts, so you're now under contract. There's a few differences from the regular house-elf contract you oughta know about. I'll get you a copy, just a sec."

He rummaged in the desk and produced an enormous document, which he tossed to her. Holly looked at it with misgivings. She had obligated herself to obey it by entering. What had she gotten herself into?