Hey, it's me again, back for another year at Hogwarts! Hope you guys enjoy the second arc. Lots of love 333

"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

Act II - more than our abilities

Part I - the house-elf

Not for the first time, an argument had broken out over breakfast at number four, Privet Drive. Uncle Vernon had been woken in the early hours of the morning by a loud, hooting noise from Nia's room.

"Third time this week!" he roared across the table. "If you can't control that owl, it'll have to go!"

Nia tried, yet again, to explain. "She's bored. She's used to flying around outside. If I could just let her out at night-"

"Do I look stupid?" snarled Uncle Vernon, a bit of fried egg dangling from his bushy mustache. "I know what'll happen if that owl's let out." He exchanged dark looks with his wife, Petunia.

Nia tried to argue back but her words were drowned by a long, loud belch from Daisy. "Sorry," she said not sounding sorry at all. "Will you pass the frying pan?"

"Say the magic word," said Nia irritably. The effect of this simple sentence on the rest of the family was incredible: Daisy gasped, Aunt Petunia gave a small scream and clapped her hands to her mouth, and Uncle Vernon jumped to his feet, veins throbbing in his temples. "I meant 'please'!" said Nia quickly.

"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU," thundered her uncle, spraying spit over the table, "ABOUT SAYING THE 'M' WORD IN OUR HOUSE?"

"But I-"

"HOW DARE YOU THREATEN DAISY!" roared Uncle Vernon, pounding the table with his fist.

"I just-"

"I WARNED YOU! I WILL NOT TOLERATE MENTION OF YOUR ABNORMALITY UNDER THIS ROOF!"

Nia stared from her purple-faced uncle to her pale aunt, who was trying to calm Daisy down. "All right," said Nia, "I'm sorry."

Uncle Vernon sat back down, breathing like a winded rhinoceros and watching Nia closely out of the corners of his small, sharp eyes. Uncle Vernon had been treating her like a bomb that might go off at any moment, but if the Dursleys were unhappy to have her back for the holidays, it was nothing to how Nia felt. She missed Hogwarts so much it was like having a constant stomachache. All her spellbooks, her wand, robes, cauldron, and top-of-the-line Nimbus Two Thousand broomstick had been locked in the cupboard under the stairs by Uncle Vernon the instant Nia had come home.

"Now, as we all know, today is a very important day," Uncle Vernon said. He was talking about the stupid dinner party. He'd been talking of nothing else for two weeks. Some rich builder and his wife were coming to dinner and Uncle Vernon was hoping to get a huge order from him. "I think we should run through the schedule one more time. We should all be in position at eight o'clock. Petunia, you will be-?"

"In the lounge," said Aunt Petunia promptly, "waiting to welcome them graciously to our home."

"Good, good. And Daisy?"

"I'll be waiting to open the door."

"Excellent," said Uncle Vernon. Then he rounded on Nia. "And you?"

"I'll be in my bedroom, making no noise and pretending I'm not there," said Nia tonelessly.

"Too right, you will," said Uncle Vernon forcefully. "The Masons don't know anything about you and it's going to stay that way. When dinner's over, you take Mrs. Mason back to the lounge for coffee, Petunia, and I'll bring the subject around to drills. With any luck, I'll have the deal signed and sealed before the news at ten. Right. I'm off into town to pick up the dinner jackets for Dudley and me. And you," he snarled at Nia. "You stay out of your aunt's way while she's cleaning."

Nia left through the back door. It was a brilliant, sunny day. It was also her birthday. She crossed the lawn, slumped down on the garden bench, and sang under her breath: "Happy birthday to me." No cards, no presents, and she would be spending the evening pretending not to exist. She had never felt so lonely.

She missed her best friends, Ronnie and Hugo. They, however, didn't seem to be missing her at all. Neither of them had written to her all summer, even though Ronnie had said she was going to ask Nia to come and stay.

What wouldn't she give now for a message from- Nia suddenly sat bolt upright on the garden bench. She had been staring absent-mindedly into the hedge and the hedge was staring back. Two enormous green eyes had appeared among the leaves. Or had she imagined it?

Nia didn't have much time to think about it because Aunt Petunia soon gave her work to do with the promise she wouldn't eat again until she'd finished. So while Daisy lolled around watching and eating ice cream, Nia cleaned the windows, washed the car, mowed the lawn, trimmed the flowerbeds, pruned and watered the roses, and repainted the garden bench.

It was half past seven, in the evening when at last, exhausted, she heard Aunt Petunia calling her. Nia moved gladly into the shade of the gleaming kitchen. On top of the fridge stood tonight's pudding: a huge mound of whipped cream and sugared violets. A loin of roast pork was sizzling in the oven. Her aunt made her eat her dinner quickly (two slices of bread and a lump of cheese) and then sent her upstairs.

Nia had only just reached the upstairs landing when the doorbell rang and Uncle Vernon's furious face appeared at the foot of the stairs. "Remember, girl... one sound..." Nia crossed to her bedroom on tiptoe, slipped inside and closed the door, ready to bask in her loneliness.

Only she wasn't alone.

She managed not to shout out, but it was a close thing. The little creature on the bed had large, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls. Nia knew instantly that this was what had been watching her out of the garden hedge that morning. The creature slipped off the bed and bowed so low that the end of its long, thin nose touched the carpet. Nia noticed that it was wearing what looked like an old pillowcase, with rips for arm and leg holes.

"Er... hello," she said nervously.

"Eugenia Potter!" said the creature in a high-pitched voice Nia was sure would carry down the stairs. "So long has Dobby wanted to meet you... Such an honor it is..."

"Th-thank you," said Nia, "Who... Who are you?"

"Dobby, milady. Just Dobby. Dobby the house-elf," said the creature.

"Oh... really?" said Nia. "Er... Look, I don't want to be rude, but this isn't a great time for me to have a house-elf in my bedroom. Not that I'm not pleased to meet you, but, er, is there any particular reason you're here?"

"Oh, yes," said Dobby earnestly. "Dobby has come to tell you... it is difficult... Dobby wonders where to begin..."

"How about you sit down," said Nia politely, pointing at the bed. To her horror, the elf burst into tears; very noisy tears.

"S-sit down!" he wailed. "Never... never ever..."

Nia thought she heard the voices downstairs falter. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I didn't mean to offend you or anything..."

"Offend Dobby!" choked the elf. "Dobby has never been asked to sit down by a wizard... like an equal..."

Nia, trying to say "Shh!" and look comforting at the same time, ushered Dobby onto the bed where he sat with his great eyes fixed on Nia in an expression of watery adoration. "You can't have met many decent wizards," said Nia, trying to cheer him up.

Dobby shook his head. Then, without warning, he leapt up and started banging his head furiously on the window, shouting, "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"

"Don't... what are you doing?" Nia hissed, springing up and pulling Dobby back onto the bed.

"Dobby had to punish himself," said the elf, who had gone slightly cross-eyed. "Dobby almost spoke ill of his family..."

"Your family?" "

The wizard family Dobby serves... Dobby's a house elf, bound to serve one house and one family forever."

"Do they know you're here?" asked Nia curiously.

Dobby shuddered. "Oh, no, no... Dobby will have to punish himself most grievously for coming to see you. Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven door for this. If they ever knew..."

"But won't they notice if you shut your ears in the oven door?"

"Dobby doubts it. Dobby is always having to punish himself for something. They lets Dobby get on with it, sir. Sometimes they reminds me to do extra punishments..."

"Why don't you leave? Escape?"

"A house-elf must be set free, milady. And the family will never set Dobby free... Dobby will serve the family until he dies."

Nia stared. "Can't anyone help you? Can't I?" Almost at once, Nia wished she hadn't spoken. Dobby dissolved again into wails of gratitude. "Please," Nia whispered frantically, "please be quiet. If the Dursleys hear anything, if they know you're here-"

"Eugenia Potter asks if she can help Dobby... Dobby has heard of your greatness, milady, but of your goodness, Dobby never knew..."

Nia, who was feeling distinctly hot in the face, said, "Whatever you've heard about my greatness is a load of rubbish. I'm not even top of my year at Hogwarts; that's Hugo, he-" But she stopped quickly, because thinking about Hugo was painful.

"Eugenia Potter is humble and modest," said Dobby reverently, his orb-like eyes aglow. "Eugenia Potter speaks not of her triumph over She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"Malvina?" said Nia.

Dobby clapped his hands over his bat ears and moaned, "Ah, speak not the name!"

"Sorry" said Nia quickly. "I know lots of people don't like it. My friend Ronnie-" She stopped again. Thinking about Ronnie was painful, too.

Dobby leaned toward Nia, his eyes wide as headlights. "Dobby heard tell," he said hoarsely, "that Eugenia Potter met the Red Lady for a second time just weeks ago... that Eugenia Potter escaped yet again. "

Nia nodded and Dobby's eyes suddenly shone with tears. "Ah, milady," he gasped, dabbing his face with a corner of the grubby pillowcase he was wearing. "Eugenia Potter is valiant and bold! She has braved so many dangers already! But Dobby has come to protect Eugenia Potter, to warn her, even if he does have to shut his ears in the oven door later... Eugenia Potter must not go back to Hogwarts."

"W-what?" Nia stammered. "But I've got to go back... term starts on September first. I can't stay here. You don't know what it's like here. I don't belong here."

"Eugenia Potter must stay where she is safe. She is too great, too good, to lose. If Eugenia Potter goes back to Hogwarts, she will be in mortal danger."

"Why?"

"There is a plot, Eugenia Potter. A plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year," whispered Dobby, suddenly trembling all over. "Dobby has known it for months. Eugenia Potter must not put herself in peril. She is too important!"

"What terrible things?" said Nia at once. "Who's plotting them?" Dobby made a funny choking noise and then banged his head frantically against the wall. "All right!" cried Nia, grabbing the elf's arm to stop him. "You can't tell me. I understand. But why are you warning me? Hang on... this hasn't got anything to do with Mal... sorry... with You-Know-Who, has it?"

Slowly, Dobby shook his head. "Not... not She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." But Dobby's eyes were wide and he seemed to be trying to give Nia a hint. She, however, was completely lost.

"Well then, I can't think who else would have a chance of making horrible things happen at Hogwarts," she said. "I mean, there's Dumbledore, for one thing... you know who Dumbledore is, don't you?"

Dobby bowed his head. "Atlas Dumbledore is the greatest headmistress Hogwarts has ever had. Dobby knows it. Dobby has heard Dumbledore's powers rival those of She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at the height of her strength. But..." Dobby's voice dropped to an urgent whisper, "there are powers Dumbledore doesn't... powers no decent wizard..." And before Nia could stop him, Dobby bounded off the bed, seized her desk lamp, and started beating himself around the head with earsplitting yelps.

A sudden silence fell downstairs. Two seconds later Nia, heart thudding madly, heard Uncle Vernon coming into the hall, calling, "Daisy must have left her television on again!"

"Quick! In the closet!" hissed Nia, stuffing Dobby in, shutting the door, and flinging herself onto the bed just as the door handle turned.

"What-the-devil-are-you-doing?" said Uncle Vernon through gritted teeth, his face horribly close to Nia's. "You've just ruined the punch line of my Japanese golfer joke... One more sound and you'll wish you'd never been born!" He stomped flat-footed from the room.

Shaking, Nia let Dobby out of the closet. "See what it's like here?" she said. "See why I've got to go back to Hogwarts? It's the only place I've got friends."

"Friends who don't even write to Eugenia Potter?" said Dobby slyly.

"I expect they've just been... wait a minute," said Nia, frowning. "How do you know my friends haven't been writing to me?"

Dobby shuffled his feet. "Eugenia Potter mustn't be angry with Dobby. Dobby did it for the best..."

"Have you been stopping my letters?"

"Dobby has them here, yes," said the elf. He pulled a thick wad of envelopes from the inside of the pillowcase he was wearing. "Eugenia Potter mustn't be angry... Dobby hoped ... if Eugenia Potter thought her friends had forgotten her... Eugenia Potter might not want to go back to school..."

Nia wasn't listening. She made a grab for the letters, but Dobby jumped out of reach.

"Eugenia Potter will have them if she gives Dobby her word that she will not return to Hogwarts. This is a danger you must not face! Say you won't go back!"

"No," said Nia angrily. "Give me my letters!"

"Then Eugenia Potter leaves Dobby no choice," said the elf sadly. Before Nia could move, Dobby had darted to the bedroom door, pulled it open, and sprinted down the stairs.

Mouth dry, stomach lurching, Nia sprang after him, trying not to make a sound. She ran up the hall into the kitchen and felt her stomach disappear. Aunt Petunia's masterpiece of a pudding, the mountain of cream and sugared violets, was floating up near the ceiling. On top of a cupboard in the corner crouched Dobby.

"No," croaked Nia. "Please... they'll kill me..."

"Eugenia Potter must say she's not going back to school."

"Dobby... please..."

"Say it."

"I can't-"

Dobby gave her a tragic look. "Then Dobby must do it, milady, for Eugenia Potter's own good." The pudding fell to the floor with a heart-stopping crash. Cream splattered the windows and walls as the dish shattered. With a crack like a whip, Dobby vanished.

There were screams from the dining room and Uncle Vernon burst into the kitchen to find Nia, rigid with shock, covered from head to foot in Aunt Petunias pudding.

At first, it looked as though Uncle Vernon would manage to gloss the whole thing over. "Just our niece... very disturbed... meeting strangers upsets her, so we kept her upstairs..." He shooed the shocked Masons back into the dining room, promised Nia he would flay her to within an inch of her life when the Masons had left, and handed her a mop. Aunt Petunia dug some ice cream out of the freezer and Nia, still shaking, started scrubbing the kitchen clean.

Uncle Vernon might still have been able to make his deal, if it hadn't been for the owl. Aunt Petunia was just passing around a box of after-dinner mints when a huge barn owl swooped through the dining room window, dropped a letter on Mrs. Mason's head, and swooped out again. Mrs. Mason screamed like a banshee and ran from the house shouting about lunatics. Mr. Mason stayed just long enough to tell the Dursleys that his wife was mortally afraid of birds of all shapes and sizes, and to ask whether this was their idea of a joke.

Nia stood in the kitchen, clutching the mop for support, as Uncle Vernon advanced on her, a demonic glint in his tiny eyes. "Read it!" he hissed evilly, brandishing the letter the owl had delivered. "Go on. Read it!"

Nia took it. It did not contain birthday greetings.

Dear Miss Potter, we have received intelligence that a Hover Charm was used at your place of residence this evening at twelve minutes past nine. As you know, underage wizards and witches are not permitted to perform spells outside school, and further spellwork on your part may lead to expulsion from said school (Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, Paragraph C). We would also ask you to remember that any magical activity that risks notice by members of the non-magical community (Muggles) is a serious offense under section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy.

Enjoy your holidays! Yours sincerely, Mafalda Hopkirk.

IMPROPER USE OF MAGIC OFFICE

Ministry of Magic

Nia looked up from the letter and gulped.

"You didn't tell us you weren't allowed to use magic outside school," said Uncle Vernon, a mad gleam dancing in his eyes. "For got to mention it... Slipped your mind, I dare say..." He was bearing down on Nia like a great bulldog, all his teeth bared. "Well, I've got news for you... I'm locking you up... You're never going back to that school... never... and if you try and magic yourself out... they'll expel you!"

And laughing like a maniac, he dragged Nia back upstairs.