12-House Elves – 1991

Hermione didn't get her letter soon after her birthday. She was a bit disappointed, but she figured that it was easier to send all those letters at once, instead of keeping track of individual birthdays.

The phone rang a few days later. "It's for you, boy!" Harry heard his uncle. He lifted the extension in the upper floor corridor. "Hello," he said, noticing the other extension was being closed.

"Harry, guess what? Your present seems to have saved me from injury today!" Hermione sounded excited.

"What happened?"

"Some of the bullies were playing in the backyard at school. I was just reading a book on the bench, not paying them any attention. Then they started throwing things at me. I knew I could hurl them back, but that would attract unwelcome attention, so I just stood up and walked away. This seemed to have unnerved one of them. He took a largish stone and threw it forcefully at me. Had it hit my head, it could have broken my skull. I didn't see it, as my back was turned to them, yet somebody shouted at me to move away. I turned around to see what was happening, and I saw the stone sailing straight to my head. It was too close for me to move, too close to even think, yet as it was only a few inches away from my face, it turned aside, as if skidding on some invisible shield. Losing its momentum, the stone fell a few paces behind me, a bit to the side. I can almost swear I heard a kind of 'clank' as the stone reached that invisible shield."

"Maybe your magic reacted? It could happen. It did at least once, for me."

"No, Harry. Even at times I had no control of it, I always knew if something happened due to my 'weirdness', as I was thinking of that at the time, or not. This time it was NOT my magic. It was the protection, and I'm really thankful for it."

Harry smiled, although Hermione couldn't see it. "I'm glad I helped you. When I found that set, I only wanted to give you something nice. When the goblin said it could also give you protection, it finalized my decision. I want you to always be safe and I want no harm to touch you. You're my friend and I care for you." He somehow felt that description incorrect, but he had no clue how to better describe his feelings.

\/\/\/

For Christmas, Harry had a different present for Hermione. As the only books about Mind Magic which either he or Hermione could find were the ones in his library, and as they couldn't both read the same book due to living at different places, Harry thought that a duplication method could be handy. That thought brought several books to him, books he needed to study and understand before putting anything to practice. Although, as he was emancipated, he was allowed to use a wand, Harry felt he should try to do as much as possible without one. There would be time to master the wand at school.

Among the duplication charms that he found, the one he liked best was one producing personalized copies. To the right person, they would look exactly like the original. Anybody else would only see something benign, completely irrelevant. Harry chose the alternate forms to look like dictionaries. He made copies of both books he had as well as the notebooks where Mind Magic was mentioned. A hairpin that Hermione had forgotten in his room during one of her visits, was all that he needed to key the copies to her.

"I love these," she told him when they met at Christmas. "You really are the best!" She added a hug and a kiss as emphasis.

The new year Ball was even better than the previous one. Both children had learned some more dances and were able to dance the whole evening. Dudley also found a dance partner, but got tired of dancing quite quickly.

\/\/\/

Having read a bit about the period before he'd lost his parents made Harry understand that some magic users were not to be trusted. With his growing suspicion of authorities, he didn't trust the government to have eradicated all the followers of the last Dark Lord. He had a feeling he should be able to protect himself under any circumstances.

As if to enhance these feelings, Sharptooth's investigation found out some more breaches of trust, as Dumbledore seemed to have sold a few expensive artefacts from Potter Manor. "It was only due to the house-elves protecting their master's belongings that he was unable to take any more," Sharptooth told him.

"Can you retrieve these for me?" Harry asked.

"I don't think so. These were just some gold decorations, of no real value except for the gold itself. They were probably molten to be sold as raw gold. We can retrieve their price, though. We're charging Dumbledore's account for every sickle taken from you, adding the highest interest rate allowed in the bank. We're also considering the possibility to sue him on your behalf for negligence in handling your accounts, yet that may pose some problems."

"Why?"

"Dumbledore has a very high position in the Magical society and some very influential friends. He may change the laws to suit him or even disregard them completely, as he's known to have done a few times. Yet, with some luck, we may be able to take him into a goblin court, where his position and his connections would be irrelevant."

Harry nodded in understanding. "Now, what are house-elves?"

Sharptooth seemed surprised that his client didn't know. "These are magical creatures, a bit smaller than goblins. They've been serving prominent magical families since before we have records of. They derive their magic from their masters and seem pleased to do whatever makes their masters happy." There was no mistaking the tone in which he spoke – Sharptooth didn't have a good opinion of these creatures' servitude. "Still, their loyalty saved most of your precious belongings from being taken and sold out. They can be quite fierce when protecting their masters."

"You mean they are my servants?"

"Most wizards think of them as slaves and treat them badly, yet a few, the Potters included, treat them nicely and consider them friends. It seems to work much better that way."

"I'll have to meet them sometime. Where are they?"

Sharptooth looked amused. "They are where they are ordered to be. There's a team tending the Manor and some tending the castles. Other operate your winery and tend to your vineyards. A few keep your other apartments clean and ready for whenever you'd like to visit. There's even one tending your apartment at Diagon Alley.

"How do I contact them?"

"Just call them by name. Here is the list, if you want it."

Harry frowned. The list, lying on the table in front of Sharptooth, seemed to be quite long. There were probably more than a hundred names on the list, each with its designated main task and additional or optional tasks.

"I don't want slaves. Shouldn't I set them free?"

Sharptooth looked alarmed. "I've just told you that they derive their magic from their masters. If you set them free, they lose their magic and die. The ultimate punishment for a house elf is to be set free, as that is practically like killing it very slowly."

Harry gulped at the thought. Sharptooth continued. "If you want them to be happy, show them they matter, show them you care. That's what your parents did, gaining the loyalty of their house-elves."

Harry was unsure about how to act. He had only one person he could consult with – his friend Hermione.

\/\/\/

"How many?" she asked, evidently shocked by the number

"One hundred and seventeen, about half of them on the continent. Here is the list – you can see for yourself."

She scanned the list. "Well there's only one thing you can do. Call the main house-elf and talk with him."

He took the list back and looked at it again. "Twinkle!" he said, not quite confidently.

A loud "crack" was heard as an ugly creature, about as high as a five-years-old, appeared in front of him. It seemed old, judging by its wrinkled skin, and was wearing an elegant uniform with the Potter crest below the left shoulder and some stripes sown on the upper part of its right sleeve. "What can Twinkle do for Master Harry and young Mistress?" he asked, bowing slightly.

"I need to ask you a few questions," Harry started.

"And I'm not your mistress," Hermione added.

Twinkle looked at her. "You're wearing the Potter promise ring, and you're already a couple in your hearts. That makes you my mistress, even if it will take a few years before it becomes official."

Hermione blushed at its words, failing to see that Harry blushed too. He was quicker to recover, though.

"Please sit with us," Harry said.

Twinkle clicked its fingers, making a chair of a size fit for a small child appear in the room and sat down, looking expectantly at Harry.

"I've only been informed of house-elves a few days ago. I was surprised I had a team of more than a hundred working for me. Now, could you tell me a bit about who you are, how you came to my family and what you all do? The list I've got doesn't give much detail."

Twinkle seemed to sit prouder now. "The Potter house-elves had been with the family for so many generations, that nobody can remember when it started. We take care of all the day-by-day aspects of the Manor, the castles and the other homes of the family. We also tend the fields and the vineyard and operate the winery, the mills, and a few smaller businesses. We take care of cleaning, cooking, gardening and even of changing diapers. I changed your diapers quite a few times when you were a baby, although Misty, my mate, preferred to do that. She's looking forward to having some more babies in the family."

Both children blushed at the implications. They had not yet reached puberty, but they already knew enough about how babies came to the world.

"Are you well treated?" Hermione asked.

"By whom? For the last nine years, we had no master to speak of. We were free to do as we pleased, but it was no fun. Before that, all the masters I can remember were very kind and considered us a part of the family."

"Well, you are," Harry said. "You've kept everything going while there was nobody else to take care of that. You should know that I appreciate your work very much. If ever you encounter a problem that I can help you with, please don't hesitate to ask."

Twinkle turned serious. "Do you allow us to come to your help whenever we feel we can help you?"

Harry felt his heart overflow with the love he was feeling from the small creature. "Yes, of course. It would be just fair, I believe."

Hermione was still not satisfied. "Can you tell me about your living conditions?"

Twinkle seemed to be amused by her question. "We each have our own places, usually near where we are most needed. I and my mate, as well as a few others, live at the Manor, in a separate annex, fitted for our needs. Those working in other places have similar arrangements, although not always as elegant."

"And don't you want to be free?" she insisted.

Twinkle seemed to shudder at the idea. "We are already as free as we can be. We are well treated, suffer no lack and can do as we please within the boundaries set by our jobs. We have free access to whatever we may need and we can buy anything we deem necessary. We're also aware of the fact that not all house-elves are as lucky. Some are abused, starved and punished for no reason, but even they wouldn't like to become free. That would be a death sentence to them."

Twinkle seemed to think for a moment. "As you seem to be still learning our customs, I must warn you to never offer clothing to one of your house elves. Giving clothes is magically interpreted as setting the elf free, breaking its connection to the family. Once free, a house-elf can't survive for more than a few months, slowly deteriorating until death takes it."

"I'll never offer clothes to a house elf," both promised.