Crazy elf. How did not returning to Hogwarts protect her? What had the elf been thinking asking her to promise something like that? Where had the elf disappeared to anyway? He said that she had left him no choice. No choice but to do what exactly? Harry suddenly got a bad feeling. The elf wouldn't ... surely not. Harry rushed down the stairs and sure enough, she found the elf in the kitchen.

'Stop please,' Harry whispered.

Dobby turned to her. 'You is not my master. You promise not to go to Hogwarts then Dobby stops.'

'Master? Can you tell me why it's so important I don't return?'

'This,' Dobby pulled at his pillow case. 'is the mark of House-elf. Dobby serves his wizarding family.'

'So, your family are your masters,' Harry confirmed trying to understand the elf nodded.

'Does your family know that you are here? Warning me?'

The elf shook his head. Then banged his head against the oven.

'What do you think you are doing?'

'Dobby almost speak ills of his family... Dobby has to punish himself. Dobby's family reminds him sometimes to set extra punishments.'

'Can't you leave? Escape?'

The elf shook his head, 'A house-elf must be set free. Family must give Dobby clothes. And family would never do it.'

'OK, I get that. Now about Hogwarts what can you tell me about why I can't return. I'd very much like to see my friends.'

'Friends that don't even write to Harry Potter?'

'How did you know that I hadn't got any letters?' Harry frowned at the elf.

'You must not be angry with Dobby. Dobby did it for the best.'

'You stopped my letters?'

'Dobby has them here,' the elf says pulling out a pile of envelopes from his pillow case. 'Harry Potter will have them if she promises not to go back to school.'

'Why is it so important I don't go back?'

'If you goes back Harry Potter will be in mortal danger. There is a plot Harry Potter. A plot to make the most terrible things happen at Hogwarts this year.'

'If it's not Voldemort I don't care. I want my letters and I will be returning to school.'

'Dobby is sorry. It is for Harry Potters own good,' the elf says clicking his fingers. The pudding her aunt made for the dinner party, float into mid-air. Her aunt and uncle were going to kill her! The pudding came crashing down noisily and Dobby once again disappeared out of sight.

Harry heard loud footsteps approaching the kitchen, she looked at the smashed cake and gulped. She was so dead.

...

Harry sighed and stared out the barred windows not that she could see much on the outside. It was her punishment, this time she had been locked in her room with no way out. They locked her in the bedroom all day only letting her out of a morning and evening. The bars had appeared on the window the day after the elf's little visit. She had been incredibly lucky that the bars hadn't gone up sooner. For the first time that summer she had received her own post without the elf stopping it. The letter had been a warning to remind her that she shouldn't use magic whilst not at school. At least she hadn't been expelled. Stupid elf. He had got her into so much trouble.

Even trying to keep herself busy had been no use. This was the worst summer ever. Harry turned over in bed. Since she had been stuck in her bedroom her sleeping pattern had not been regular. The boredom made her fall asleep at the strangest of times. Her rumbling stomach didn't help matters either. The Dursleys had installed a cat flap in the bedroom door so food could be pushed through to her. The food she was given hadn't been much just some stale bread with mouldy cheese mainly. She was lucky if she got a change and was given a cold bowl of soup instead.

Dobby may have saved her from the horrible happenings that were going to happen at Hogwarts. He hadn't saved her from being starved though. What had been the point protecting her if she was going to cooped up in her bedroom to starve to death. Harry missed Hogwarts more than anything she would be damn lucky if her aunt and uncle even let her return.

Harry had been drifting off when the rattling of bars could be heard. Thinking that the wind had made the noise she ignored it. The rattling continued though louder than the last time. Great just something else she was going to be blamed for. Harry opened her eyes, just why were the bars rattling she had watched her uncle screw them firmly into place? Turning around to face the window, the moonlight shone through the bars. Though someone: a freckle-faced, red haired, blue eyed someone was pulling at the bars. Harry had never been more glad to see the face of her friend Ron Weasley. Harry paced over to window pushing it up.

'Ron,' Harry whispered. 'How the hell-'

Harry's mouth fell wide open the answer to question that she had been about to ask in front of her. If she wasn't actually seeing it herself she would have never believed it. Ron was leaning out of the back window of an old turquoise car. Which was floating in mid-air by the side of her bedroom window. In the front seats grinning at her sat Ron's elder twin brothers Fred and George Weasley.

'Alright, Harry?' George asked.

Harry nodded dumbly.

'Good now we've come to get you out,' Ron explained.

'Tie this around the bars,' Fred told Harry throwing a rope towards her.

'If the Dursleys wake up, I'm dead.' Harry told them as she tied the rope tightly around the bars.

'Don't worry,' George said. 'and stand back.'

Harry did so hearing the car revving up. The with a crunching noise the bars pulled clean out of windows. The bars crashed to the ground. After Ron had untied the rope from them. Fred reversed as close to her bedroom window as he could.

'Get in,' Ron said opening the car door out so she could climb in.

'I can't my Hogwarts stuff ... my wand ... my Nimbus.'

'Where is it?'

'Locked in the cupboard under the stairs. My bedroom door has been locked too. I can't get it.'

'That's not a problem, you forget who I've got with me,' Ron pointed out indicating to the twins. She stepped back to let George Weasley and Ron into her bedroom.

'Right I'll deal with the door and cupboard,' George said. 'Grab everything that you want and shove it in the boot of the car.'

George pulled out a hair pin and began picking at the lock. Ron looked at her expectantly she opened up her wardrobe pulling out her Muggle clothing. She heard the door unclick then the door opened. George had been standing by it with a smug look on his face.

'Watch the bottom step, it creaks,' Harry told George who nodded at her.

'I'll go help him,' Ron said.

Harry glanced around her bedroom checking that she had gotten everything when George and Ron appeared with her trunk. Between the three of them, they managed to also get it into the boot along with her other belongings.

'Ron get in the front. I'll help Harry in,'

Ron slipped out of the window climbing into the car.

'I'll go next so I can pull you in,' George told her, 'Do you want to leave a note?'

'Nah,' Harry said, George shrugged at her climbing into the passenger seat of the car. Harry stopped at the window. Maybe a note wasn't such a bad idea. So, she ran to a desk grabbed a leaky pen and scribbled a note on an old piece of paper that had been lying around.

'Sorry,' she said climbing out so she was almost sitting on the edge of the window. George already had his hand out for her to grab.

'I changed my mind about the note.' she added slyly. Taking his outstretched hand and sliding herself into the car. Pulling the door shut behind her.

'Let's get out of here,' Ron said.

'Onwards,' Fred said pointing in front of him. Then as he glanced back to look at her in the mirror, 'Oh Happy Birthday Harry.'

'Sorry that we were late for it,' George added.

'Best belated present ever,' Harry said clapping her hands together. 'Can we do this again next year?'

'Sure, no worries, always happy to help,' Fred chuckled.

'It was my idea to come and rescue you though,' George told her.

'My hero,' Harry said putting a hand over her heart. George turned beet-red while Ron and Fred burst into fits of laughter.