The Adventures Of Harry And Dobby Chapter Eleven
A/N: This is to answer an anonymous review. In the line, I clearly stated that they almost died. If it hadn't been for Dobby, they would have died. Harry was trying to show how much damage Tom and the DEs did before he ended their reign of terror. He was also trying to figure out what the group was doing. If it was a trial or judgment. He didn't know it was a test. As always, Ollie the Keeper.
TAOHAD-}
It had been a month since Harry was put in the ward and he hasn't shown any sign of waking up. From 7AM until 8PM there were people sitting around his bed, hoping to hear something from him. Luna was the one that was by his side the most. Even Ginny had to leave her there alone as it was too much for her to bear. Ginny wanted to stay and be there when Harry woke up, but she didn't want to let her feelings for Harry to show, should he say something that made her feel proud or elated.
Luna was there because she knew Harry would expect her to be there when he woke up, unless it was during the middle of the night. Dobby was using his time to keep the family updated and to keep his mind off what he did to Harry. He didn't expect Harry to be angry at him, but it didn't keep him from being angry at himself. He was sure that by pulling the spirit out of Harry, he could eliminate Tom by using what ever Harry was going to use. He didn't believe he would have to poison Harry to end it. He also couldn't stop this feeling like he was being judged for it, from someone. No one here did and it hadn't been in the paper, but he was sure of the feeling. He spent a large amount of time trying to find the source of it.
TAOHAD-}
Harry didn't have a clue as to how long he slept, when he woke up. He didn't know if it was day or night. He got dressed and opened the door to find the young lady there waiting to take him to breakfast. She took him to a dining room where others sat there eating, but no one he recognized. Not even the five behind the table of his what ever it was they were doing to him. Something about a mission or something along that line.
After eating, he and the young lady once again left for the chamber of his hearing, trial or changing of Dobby's status in his world. It was frustrating for Harry to not know what was going on.
He saw the chair that was brought in for him to sit in and once again took a seat. He did this because he was the only one in the room. When the five entered the room, Harry stood up and waited for them to be seated. He was then told to sit and he did. "I hope you had a good sleep and a good meal Mr. Potter, and are ready to get back to our talk?"
"I am sir. For sleep, I had better nights, but the meal was excellent."
"I imagine it was our little talk yesterday that made it hard for you to sleep. Hopefully today's talk will clear up many of your questions. So, where to begin. Ah yes, there was the item of a new danger to your world to speak of. This person had been waiting for Tom to fail so he could step in. Now, mind you, Tom never knew of him or met him. I do believe you have met him though, but just briefly and you may not have been introduced. He is not one to be in the spotlight and remains in the background. He had plans for when Tom failed, but they were spoiled when his death eaters either died, went crazy or were captured when you defeated Tom. So, it may be a while before you hear anything from him as he tries to gain his own army. This may take quite longer than he thinks, since you defeated Tom so easily. People will not be so easily persuaded to follow him and face another situation like the one they just left."
"Is there a chance he will never be a threat?" Harry asked.
"Oh, there is that slight chance, but I wouldn't count on it. He is quite determined to lead an army like the one Tom led. He saw where you defeated Tom when you were a child and knew he was never destined to beat you because of that. Yes, we know you never defeated Tom, and that it was Dobby who did it. But once again, the Prophecy comes into play. How he learned of it, we do not know, just that he did find out about it."
"So, you believe he thinks I was behind Tom's death in both instances?"
"Possibly, we don't know for sure. We can't go any deeper into his history, because it will tell you who to look for. We are forbidden to disclose his true identity. Like we said, it could be years before you hear from him, unless you and Dobby can disclose his identity before that. Just remember you may have seen him before, but did not meet him. He likes to stay in the background and seldom speaks. When he does speak, he is charming and persuasive. But, he is cruel, heartless and unfeeling and uncaring, almost to the point of Tom. When you meet someone new, look twice and watch his actions and reactions to questions thrown his way. If someone tries to engage you in conversation, be wary of his desires. We don't think it will be you he tries to gather information from, but it very well could be your friends."
"How much of this will I remember when I return? Will you be in touch with me again once I return?"
"You will remember everything we told you and no, we will not be in touch again, unless something happens to change the situation."
"What would change the situation?"
"Why yours or the other person's death of course."
"Can you tell me I how long I have been here, according to home?"
"It will be two months in one week. If you return now, you will rest for that final week. We have passed on all we can say and now it is your turn to do what you and your team has to do. Continue to gain strength and knowledge, add to your friends pool and don't let any of them go, as you will need all the help you can get, should this person come forward. Train as you have been doing and even use future year books to gather knowledge. Now, are you ready to return?"
"Can you tell me where I can find this person?"
"In the last place you would expect, but probably the most obvious. Now, prepare yourself to leave us." and the next thing he knew, he was lying down on a bed somewhere, but could not open his eyes.
He could hear people talking, but could not respond. Then, 'SHITE, I FORGOT TO ASK ABOUT DOBBY BEING HUMAN!' he thought in his mind.
Harry felt trapped in his own body with no way to escape. He could not open his eyes and he could hear everyone talking around him. He heard his parents, Sirius, Remus, Dobby his friends and even some of the Professors, including Severus Snape. It aggravated him knowing he couldn't answer them like he wanted to. He still could not tell how long he had been out and no one ever mentioned it around him.
It was one day after everyone had left and Poppy herself went to sleep that Albus wandered into the ward to sit by Harry, hoping he would awaken. It had been two months now and there had been no signs from Harry at all. Poppy couldn't say what his problem was because she couldn't find anything wrong with him.
Albus settled in for what he thought might be a long night, but not three minutes later, he heard Harry moving around in the bed. He looked to him and saw his eyelids begin to flutter and then flash open for an instant. Then he began to mutter something about "It's about time. Why did it take so long?" and then he popped upright on the bed and saw Albus sitting there. "Professor, how long have you been sitting there? How long have I been lying here?"
Harry saw Albus' eyes twinkle and then heard him, "I have been here all of five minutes, but you have been there all of two months? We were beginning to wonder if you were ever going to wake up, Harry. You gave us quite a scare."
"I have one myself, sir. Do yourself a favor and wait until it is your time to die. Doing it and coming back from it, really sucks. But, before we get into any long conversations, Professor, I have to tell you something. I was quite busy while I was unconscious, talking to some very interesting people. It took me forever to figure out what they wanted. At first I thought it was a trial for either me or Dobby, Then I thought it was reward for Dobby after doing what he did to Tom. Of course his doing it to me to get to him sort of soured my mood during this whole thing. Finally it came out that the entire thing was a test to see if they had the right person for their idea, or maybe it's a mission. I don't know for sure yet. Anyway, It seems we got rid of one tyrant and soon we will be facing another, as he was waiting for something to happen to Tom, so he could take his place."
"You say there is another Tom out there, ready to strike?"
"Not right away, sir. In fact it could be years before he tries, if he ever should. Since Tom lost all his men because of me, and since the Ministry made it stricter to gain control like Tom had, it is making things difficult for this person to try anything like building an army and gaining power. I was informed that I had seen him before, but was never introduced. I can only assume that he was in the background when I was with my parents somewhere? I don't even know how old I was when I saw him."
"You don't suppose your parents could help you out with this, do you?" Albus was becoming very interested in this story. He feared something like this would happen. That someone would be lurking in the background and striking when it was least expected and try to do what Tom failed to do.
"If not them, then maybe Dobby, Sirius or Remus. But how are they supposed to remember someone that wasn't presented to me by name. Like in the Ministry, there are hundreds of people there during the day. Or in Diagon Alley, Gringotts or here? Do you think it may be a student?"
"It's highly unlikely, Harry, unless it's Miss Granger, yourself, Dobby or the twins. You are the only ones with the knowledge to conduct such an endeavor."
"I don't think they are likely to do this either. They have all showed themselves to be trustful and loyal. No, I think it's someone from the Ministry, where Tom had ties. Maybe Diagon Alley, but I think it's a stretch as I've only been there a few times and don't remember anyone being in the background that I couldn't remember. I've been there a few times with my father and there have been many standing in the background I never met. Do you know about what time it is, Professor?"
"Almost time for breakfast I believe, why?"
"The others should be here soon to see How I'm doing and I imagine there will hundreds of questions from Hermione, Ginny and Luna. There will be some from the others, but I doubt if they will be given the chance to speak." Harry snickered.
"It's good to see you back Harry." Albus laughed as he headed out the door and almost run over by Luna and Hermione.
"We heard from Percy that you were up and talking to the Professor. He saw you and knew we would want to know. Now, what happened down there? How is it you are still alive? Is it true Dobby stabbed you with a fang from the basilisk? How come you went alone?" Hermione was on fire with her questions.
"Hermione, we all have questions for Harry, so save some of them for us?" Luna pleaded.
Harry laid there listening to his friends as they went on. He hadn't had a chance to answer anything. He saw Dobby in the back laughing at what was going on, and Ginny standing next to him just watching.
Finally he stopped everyone from talking and told the part of the story he remembered, "OK, Hermione, I went down there alone because I didn't want to worry about getting any of you hurt. Now Dobby is more than able to take care of himself, so don't bring him up. By the way, Dobby, we need to speak alone later."
"Sorry Harry, but what ever you got to say you can do it in front of all of us."
"Alright then, here goes. I remember collecting Tom and placing him in my body, where I had control of him. We talked for a few minutes, then told him it was time to die. That was when Dobby petrified me. The next thing I remember is waking up in a strange building and being approached by a young woman who told me she was expecting me, and even knew my name. She left me for a minute and then came back and took me into the room she just left."
"Is this the room you're talking about Harry?" Dobby asked.
"Nope, not even close. It was like a courtroom, but there were five judges. To start with all they talked about was you, Dobby and telling me I was trying to steal your claim. Now. My question to you is, are you now human?"
Dobby didn't say anything for a moment, then he said, "You know what Harry, I think I have been human since James took me in. Since Missy Lily taught me to be me, and since you befriended me and even called me brother. I think that is why I fell for this beautiful young lady standing there in front of you, and I don't mean you, Luna, though you are beautiful." This had both Hermione and Luna blushing.
"I knew it, they were just preparing me for it."
Fred and George had been quiet long enough, "OK Harry, so who were these judges you spoke of? Were you on trial for something? Was it because of you killing Tom? Oh wait, you didn't do it. OR, did you?"
"You guys are nuts, do you know that? But, you are close to what it was all about. It was sort of a trial, but different than the ones we know. They were judging me for a mission they wanted all of us to do."
"All of us meaning who?" it was Ginny asking this.
"All that are here with me now, and a few others. Yes Ginny, that means you too. So, before I go into further detail, you should go to breakfast and come back after classes to hear the rest." and he watched as they all got up and Hermione, Luna and even Ginny came forward to hug him. He wished it was longer for all of them, but he took what he could get.
Dobby sat next to Hermione and before he could say anything to her, she asked, "Dobby, is it true what you said to Harry about being human?"
"Reading my mind again? I was just about to tell you my thoughts when you beat me to the question. Ya, I think when James and Missy Lily brought me so much happiness, I did change, but getting people to believe me would be difficult, even you. You can see I changed in appearance, but it goes deeper than that. My magic got stronger, my conviction got stronger and my love became so great I can hardly contain it. I didn't think I could ever love a human because of our differences, but Missy Lily showed me I was wrong. Then when I met you, it got more involved. It was love on a different level and each day shows me how it makes me a better person. As a house elf, I had very few emotions. Mainly fear and anger. I was angry because I felt elves deserved better than the way we were treated. James showed me not all humans were like Malfoy. In fact, most are like the Potters with the way they treat us, but still kept elves as menial servants. James didn't want me to be treated that way, and Missy Lily made sure I wasn't with Sirius around us all the time. He still has Kreacher and treats him like a slave, but Kreacher puts him in his place, so you can see the difference there, as an elf under Malfoy would be punished if he talked back."
"OK, that was more information than I needed, but you must have wanted to get it off your mind. Do you know when you felt it exactly, when you became human?"
"The minute James told me to stand up straight and never bow down to anyone.. I say human, but I think it may be more a true elf. Meaning my ancestors. I still have my abilities I had as an elf and can use them to my full potential. I can still travel anywhere I wish to go and do it silently rather than with the load POP. That was so annoying. Another thing, I may be wrong, but I think maybe Harry has become part elf, because of our bond. I'm going to test it this summer."
"Could you train me as well?"
"I don't think you have our same abilities, Hermione, but I will give it a try. Just don't be disappointed if you can't do it. The only reason I think Harry can is because we have been together so long and know each others thoughts, like in the Chamber. I knew Harry's thoughts, and because of that I killed him but, was able to bring him back. I know it was Fawkes that did it, but I remembered to call for him."
"We better get to class before we run late. I hope I can join you and Harry in this magic. I wonder what it is these judges want Harry to do?" and her questions never stopped until they got to Herbology class.
The day went slowly for Hermione and Dobby, since they were looking forward to Harry's talk. Whatever it was the judges wanted Harry to do, it had to be something of great importance and possibly even dangerous. They were both use to that, but greatness was new to them. And with Harry wanting everyone there, meant that he felt it was as well.
Poppy had served dinner to Harry and after he finished, he pushed the table aside and got ready for his visitors. He didn't know if they would all show up, but hoped for at least all his core friends, the twins, Ginny, Luna, Draco and Neville. He knew Hermione and Dobby would be there. He didn't know how much of his story would be believed, but the Professor believed it all, and hoped his friends would believe most of it.
It was near seven when they showed up and his best friends did indeed show up, as well as Ron, Dean, Seamus, Lavender, Parvati and Hannah Abbott, who arrived with Neville. Harry wondered about Susan Bones since Hannah was here, but didn't ask.
Dobby conjured up chairs for everyone to sit in, but Luna took a seat on Harry's bed, like she always did. Ginny took a seat nearest Harry so he would notice her, she hoped.
"Thank you all for coming. I just hope you all are comfortable, since this mat rake some time. First, let me tell you I told this story to Professor Dumbledore and I think he believed me. It is my hope that half of you do the same. Dobby and Hermione know some of it, and it told me that what I heard was true. Dobby has become human but, with the same powers he had as an elf. Now, let me tell you how I learned this." and Harry went into the first part of his visit with the judges.
Dobby listened to the story once again and was ready to defend what Harry told the others. He knew Hermione believed what Harry said and didn't think he cared about what the others thought, but he was wrong. Everyone there believed what Harry said was true and Dobby was a human. They have seen him and knew he never acted like a house elf. This made Dobby feel special, because they all just told him they were more than just his friends.
Now Harry got into the part they may not believe, "OK, so what happened next was, I thought I was on trial for trying to take the glory of Dobby's victory from him. The judges made it look like I was the one taking credit for killing Tom down in the chamber, not Dobby. Yes, it was my idea and Dobby stopped me from completing it. What Dobby didn't know was that Tom had to be in a solid form for my plan to work. He petrified me and pulled the spirit form my body, as well as Tom's soul. He tried stabbing it with a Basilisk fang, but it did nothing. He had to do what I was planning to do all along. He was smart enough to know what he could do to save me though, which I wasn't. I thought I was going to die down there." Harry was stopped there by Luna.
"So why wouldn't we believe this, Harry?"
"I haven't got to that part yet, Luna. I'm sure Dobby went over all this by now."
"Actually, I haven't Harry. This is the first any of them, including Hermione, heard of this."
"That helps some what with what I am about to say then. All of this coming from the judges was leading up to what they said next. It was no trial, or judgment or even claiming Dobby human. It was to see if I was the one they were looking for to complete something for them. I can't quite call it a mission, but it could become one. I also can't tell you it will happen soon, because there is nothing to do about it yet. What I'm trying to say is that, there is someone out there that was waiting for Tom to lose, so he could take up where he left off. However, what happened to Tom's army made all the plans of this other person, spoiled. There was no army for him to take control of and it would be a long time before he could build another." Now that the main idea was out there, Harry was ready to answer any questions. That was why he looked to Hermione first.
He was surprised when Hermione just sat there and didn't day anything, but Ginny did, " So, he has no army and doesn't expect to have one too soon. We don't know who he is or where he is. Then why are we worried about him right now?"
"That's the point Ginny. What better time to worry about it then before he becomes known. If we are looking for him before he becomes strong, then we should be able to contain him before he builds his army. We may not know where he is, but I believe it to be the Ministry. With all the contacts we have there, we should be able to draw a list of suspects. It's a beginning and even if we don't find him, it should tell him we know he is there."
"It still doesn't help us though?" Ginny countered.
"You're right, it doesn't, but have you got a better idea?" Harry hoped she really did. That was why he hoped it was Hermione that asked the question.
"I might."
"Let's hear it then. I could really use something good to go on."
"OK, suppose you address the Ministry, telling them that Tom warned you of someone looking to take over if he failed. Someone he knew was in the Ministry. Then take the top five names given to us by your dad, Sirius and my dad. We could even have Dobby snoop around there for suspects."
"It's a long shot, but we could try it. Professor Dumbledore asked me to draw a list, and he would check it out for possibilities."
Hermione decided to enter the discussion, "Harry, suppose we put a tracer or something similar on all known convicts, law breakers and discontents."
"Now you're talking a major operation, Hermione. Besides, I think Tom already took the majority of those. This new threat will have to grow a whole new army from young people, probably just out of school and with no work. Students that barely made it through Hogwarts, or another school. That's another possibility, he could draw his army from Europe or the States."
Ginny grunted, "Hadn't thought of that. Our threat could be from there as well. This stupid thing is going to ruin my whole summer, trying to come up with names."
"No Ginny, don't let it. Ask your dad about his thoughts and I'll ask my dad and Sirius about their thoughts. They may even know someone else to ask. But don't let it take over your plans for having fun this summer. That goes for all of us here. Yes, Hermione, even you. If your parents are going somewhere then you go and have fun."
The last bit of the year went by and now everyone was boarded on the train and it began it's long journey home. Not much was said during the trip, just thoughts about what might be done and where they may go. Hermione wasn't even sure what was planned. Dobby suggested the beaches and some movies. Luna mentioned a picnic somewhere. Many thoughts, but no set plans. Ginny never even gave her thoughts. Harry was thinking a trip to the science museum. Hermione was the only one to react to that one, positively. Finally, the train pulled into the station and everyone departed for their families after saying goodbye to their friends.
Harry and Dobby joined Lily and got their hugs from her and then left for home. Harry and Dobby sat in the kitchen with Lily and helped her prepare dinner. Harry took the time to ask her, "Mum, do you know anyone in passing in the ministry that seems overly nice, yet you get a funny feeling when around him or her?"
"What kind of a question is that to ask, Harry?"
"Can we wait until the others get here before I answer? I don't wish to repeat myself three or four times. I have already done it twice."
"Can you at least tell me what it concerns?"
"Yes. It is something that was told to me this past school year. It could be bad."
"Well, I suppose I could wait to hear it all then. Now, how about setting the table while I finish dinner. Dobby, could you help me over here?"
"Certainly Missy Lily. What would you like to do?"
"Take the roast out and slice it the way everyone likes it. I don't know how you get it so perfect. Mine always comes out too thick or too thin."
The meal was on the table when Remus walked through the floo. He was followed not ten minutes later by James and Sirius. They cleaned up and returned to the kitchen for dinner. Once again Remus remarked about how great dinner was, while James and Sirius continued to eat, showing Lily how much they enjoyed the dinner. Lily often wondered why they weren't fat, as much as they ate.
They sat in the den after clean up was finished and Harry had them all listen as he told them all his story. Once he finished, it was Lily that started it, "So that was why you asked what you did? You do know that during his reign of terror, Tom's followers were all like that and are now gone with him?"
"Yes mum, we know that. We were wondering about someone else that stayed in the background but was always there when something important was said?" Harry figured it would either be Remus or mum who would notice something like this, but nothing was said. They even sat in thought for several minutes before giving up. No one knew anything about a ghost figure. There were plenty that were nice, but they all were straight forward and never shied away from being noticed.
Harry and Dobby had to find another way to find the most likely suspect.