Author's Note: Believe it or not, I haven't abandoned this. I've just been really busy actually writing for work. ;-) And by the time I'm done writing for work, I often don't have the energy to write any more for fun. Sad but true. But here's an update, anyway!

Chapter 4: Explanations and Detentions

Pomona Sprout could not believe how much uproar this darling little child had caused in the school. Even among her hard-working Hufflepuffs, she could see that he was the hardest working of them all. He wasn't afraid to dig his hands deep into the dirt when necessary to care for the plants, and she could almost see even the most withered ones (which had had the most 'attention' from the first year students, who generally didn't know what they were doing) begin to thrive under his gentle care. She couldn't see in him a hint of the stubbornness, rebelliousness, or unwillingness to learn that many of the teachers who had already had him in a class complained of.

Then again, he didn't need a wand for her class, and apparently, that was one of the issues. She hardly wanted to single him out after he had been such a good student, but he was in her House and she wanted to get a chance to talk to him before there were even more problems.

"All right, that's all for today," she said to the mixed group of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. "Mr. Potter, if you can please stay after for a few minutes?" she added, trying to make it sound like as much of an afterthought as possible. No use singling him out anymore than she already had to.

Harry didn't look particularly uncomfortable, and nodded quickly and easily. Pomona was happy to see that Neville seemed to be looking after him, based on the worried look on his face. Indeed, he hung back after all the other students had left. "It's all right, Mr. Longbottom.. I just wanted to talk to Mr. Potter for a few minutes. Your loyalty is to be commended, but you had better hurry along if you don't want to be late to your next class," she told him gently. Neville, who had been showing a scared kind of courage, smiled then; after sending another smile Harry's way, he hurried off to his next class.

"Is--do you need something, Professor Sprout, ma'am?" Harry asked, stuttering slightly and then sounding rather stilted.

"Just to talk to you for a little while. How are you liking Hogwarts?"

"Oh, Hogwarts is wonderful!" Harry exclaimed, his face lighting up at the thought of it. "So much magic everywhere, and so many things to do all the time!"

Pomona realized that he was talking about the castle, not his classes. "And how are your classes going? Are you learning a lot?"

His face closed down then, and he chose his words carefully. "Harry--I... wish that I didn't have to go to classes..." Then he seemed to realize who he was talking to, "Not yours! Harry was not meaning any offense. It's just that... Har--I don't want to learn to use a wand. I don't need a wand! Why does everyone want to make me?"

Instead of trying to explain, she decided to take a different tack. "Why don't you want to learn to use a wand, Harry?"

To her great surprise, instead of getting angry or just shutting down, Harry burst out crying. "Harry just.. Harry just wants to be a House Elf.. Harry isn't a wizard.. why did Harry have to come to Hogwarts? Why?" he cried, with tears streaming down his face.

Without even thinking twice about it, Pomona pulled Harry into a hug and let him cry on her shoulder. She patted his back gently and whispered quiet reassurances. "It's all right.. it'll be okay.." She was used to some of her children being homesick, but this was something else entirely. And hadn't he just said how great Hogwarts was?

When his crying had mostly subsided, she had finally thought of a way to possibly cheer him up, and possibly find out what was going on in his head as well. "Harry, we.. I mean, wizards and witches, we don't know much about House Elves, or their magic. As far as I know, there has never been a human who has learned House Elf magic, before you. Can you tell me about being a House Elf? What's different about House Elf magic?"

As she had hoped, he perked up immediately. "Oh yes, Harry is telling you all about House Elves! Professor Sprout, ma'am, must be understanding.. House Elves do not use magic the way that wizards do. House Elves are always asking magic to help them. Wizards are forcing magic out of their bodies and making it do what they want, but House Elves are serving magic, asking it to do what they are needing.. or what their wizards are needing."

Pomona tried to fit her mind around this concept. "But.. magic is just all around us and in us.. how can you serve something like that?"

For a moment, Harry looked stumped at this. Pomona expected him to say that he "just did" but he surprised her. "Hogwarts has a mind of its own, doesn't it, Professor Sprout, ma'am? Harry has been seeing staircases move without any wizard or House Elf telling them to.."

"But that's just mag--" Her eyes widened as she realized what he was saying. "You mean.. that's magic, telling them to move?"

Harry grinned and nodded. "Yes, and because House Elves are serving magic, we can be asking magic to not move the staircases, or to move them back to where we want them. And it is magic that is always telling us when someone is calling us or when something is going wrong and we are being needed to fix it!"

As she thought this over, Pomona realized that this sweet, wide-eyed child belonged in her House even more than she knew. Not only was he hard working and loyal to people around him, but he was so loyal to the magic that he could apparently communicate with, that he absolutely refused to force it to do anything by using his wand. She began to understand how such a seemingly easygoing child could have been so stubborn.

She smiled down at him. "Now I understand why you don't want to use your wand.. but we also want you to learn to do wizarding magic, just in case you ever need it. Do you understand that?"

Harry scowled and shook his head. "Why would Harry be needing wizarding magic? Harry can already do everything that the wizards are being taught to do with wands!"

"I have a deal for you, Harry, but I'd like you to keep it a secret, alright? I'm sure all of your teachers would be reassured to see you waving a wand and learning the words to the spells." She held up her hand to forestall the protest that she could see coming. "But, I also understand that you know how to do everything with House Elf magic already. So.. if you'll show me your wand, I'll make you a replica. It will look the same on the outside, but it will have no magical core--so you won't accidentally use it, you see? And you can learn the motions and the words, but you can just ask magic to do whatever the spell is supposed to be doing. You can do that, right?"

Harry seemed to be thinking this over. "Harry supposes he can do that.. it will make all the professors stop being so mad at Harry, right?"

"It should, yes," she responded with a smile. "And I know it will be hard, but if you can practice talking less like a House Elf, it would probably help you to fit in with the other students a little better. I think some of them don't really know how to talk to you.."

Harry nodded slowly. "Har--I will try. Dovey was making--Dovey, she made Har--me practice. But it's still so much easier to talk the way the other House Elves do.."

She smiled. "I know, but I have confidence in you."

----

Harry appeared in the middle of the Hufflepuff common room, the popping sound making Cedric jump in spite of the fact that he was expecting it. He and Neville were the only ones in the common room; it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and everyone else was outside. Neville had told Cedric about Harry's detention with Snape, though, and they had decided to wait for him and make sure he was okay.

Harry grinned. "Hi Neville, hi Cedric!" Then he looked around the otherwise empty common room and tilted his head. "What are you doing inside? Isn't it a nice day outside?"

Neville smiled hesitantly back, exchanging a look with Cedric. "Yeah, it's a nice day.. we just wanted to make sure you got back from your detention in one piece."

"Yeah, Harry," Cedric said. "What did Snape make you do?"

Harry smiled again. Cedric couldn't believe he'd just spent hours with Snape, based on his expression. "Oh, it was wonderful! Har--I got to help Professor Snape with potions for the Hospital Wing, and then I cleaned the cauldrons for him! They needed a House Elf's touch.. did you know he doesn't let House Elves down there to clean?"

"Well, no, I didn't, but I might've guessed.. otherwise it would be a lot cleaner down there," Cedric answered, still not sure what to make of this happy Harry. It sounded like he *had* had the detention, but... "So.. you're okay?"

"Yes, Harry is fine! Er.. I am fine.. sorry, I'm trying to practice." Then he tilted his head again. "Do you know someone named Hermione Granger?"

They both shook their heads, and exchanged another glance. Harry was even more... more weird, than normal, today.

"I think she's calling me.. I guess I should go help her. You should go outside! Even the castle is basking in the sun today!" With that, Harry disappeared.

Cedric shook his head, standing up from the couch. "Well.. I guess Snape didn't make him any less weird.." He laughed. "Shall we go enjoy the sun, then? I think Harry can take care of himself."

Neville laughed too. "I guess so. Maybe we should have been more worried about Snape having to spend hours with him, instead of the other way around?"