Disclaimer: All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Hunter x Hunter universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yoshihiro Togashi and Shueisha Inc. (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.
Warnings: Mild to moderate violence, character death, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon goodbye – as if that wasn't already obvious since I swapped a few genders), angst, drama, some mild character bashing, and who knows what else.
AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.
Chapter Twenty-One: Auras x and x Elves
Azalea stretched languidly beneath the covers before she snuggled back against Kurapika's side; enjoying the warmth and security of the older teen's presence. A small part of her wondered why she felt so comfortable beside the teen when they hadn't really known one another that long while another part of her wondered what she'd do when it was time for the two of them to part ways. Thinking of the day she'd have to say good bye to the blond had Azalea turning her thoughts to just how much time she had left.
They'd arrived at Dolle Harbor on the thirtieth of December and the First Phase of the Exam had officially started on the first of January. The Final Phase of the Exam (and Azalea's brief death) had taken place on January sixteenth and Hisoka had attacked her almost a week and a half later on the twenty-fifth of January. The two of them had then become Mizuken's students on the sixth of February, with Azalea not officially meeting the man until the seventh. After roughly six weeks of training, it was now the twenty-third of March and that left Azalea with just over four months before she would need to head back to England and the war.
Sighing softly over how fast the time had been passing, Azalea let her thoughts return to her attempts to separate her magic into six separate auras as she absently drummed the fingers of her right hand Kurapika's chest. She knew that part of the problem was that she didn't truly know what a single aura felt like; oh she knew what it felt like when someone used their aura on her but that wasn't the same as actually knowing what it felt like to have nothing but that single aura. Another part of the problem was the fear that she'd lose her magic entirely if she broke it down in separate auras.
"What has you in such a pensive mood so early in the morning, kitten?" Kurapika inquired as he reached up to capture the hand that had been tapping out a rhythm of annoyance on his chest through the blankets that separated their bodies.
"I was getting frustrated because I only have four more months until I need to return to England and I still haven't found a way to separate the various auras out from my magic. Part of the problem is that I don't really know what it feels like to only have one aura; I've lived with my magic all my life, even if I've only known about it for around six years. I know what it feels like to have someone's aura come into contact with me but that isn't the same as knowing what that aura feels like to that person."
"You said that was only one part of the problem…"
"Yeah, another part is that I'm afraid I will lose my magic if I separate it into six auras. I realize that technically those six auras will always be my magic because they are what make up my magic but breaking my magic apart like that might change the way my magic works. It is my magic that makes me a witch and the thought of not being a witch any more frightened me because I feared what my friends would think. And while I'm no longer as frightened by the prospect of no longer being a witch, I still fear losing my magic. I know it sounds kind of silly but I can't help it."
"I don't think you're being silly for fearing what changing your magic might mean for you. I also think that there's no real need to worry about never getting your magic back since if you can learn to separate your magic into individual auras, then you should theoretically be able to forge them back into your magic since you are intimately aware of what your magic feels like. As you said, your magic has been part of you all of your life and you know exactly what it feels like. It will just take a bit of practice before you can switch freely between the two."
"When you put it that way, it makes me feel even sillier for being afraid in the first place, Kura," Azalea groused as she poked Kurapika in the side several times with her free hand.
"I'm happy to be of service, kitten," Kurapika laughed in response as he squirmed away from Azalea's fingers before he captured that hand as well and tugged her up so that the witch was laying half on his chest. "Now… what else do you think is stopping you from breaking down your magic?"
"Hmm, it is possible that part of the problem is the fact that I still don't have complete control over my magic. I've regained some control over the last six weeks but I still have a long ways to go. It would be much easier to bring my magic fully under control if I had a wand but there's also a chance that having a wand would make separating out the different auras even more difficult than it already is because using a wand reduces the flexibility of the user's magic in order to reproduce the same effect each time the user casts the same spell. Wandless magic, on the other hand, requires adaptability and willpower in order to consistently produce the same results each time you cast the same spell."
"Anything else…?"
"No, I don't think so."
"So, to summarize the problem; you have a lack of control which you are slowly regaining, a fear of losing part of yourself that we just partially dealt with, and the inability to relate to a single aura. Does that sound about right?"
"Yes."
"Sounds to me like we just need to figure out some way for you to have a chance to familiarize yourself with another person's aura enough for you to determine the differences been a single aura and your combined auras. I'm sure you could ask Mizuken for help…"
"No, he already said he couldn't help me. And I don't think I really trust him enough for him to able to help me," Azalea countered before she pushed herself up so she could meet Kurapika's gaze with determined emeralds. "I trust you though and you have far better control of your Ren than I do."
"What does that have to do with…?"
"You could use your Ren on me when we train and I could let your aura wash over me without using Ten so that I can feel the difference between your aura and mine."
"No, absolutely not; I could end up seriously hurting you!"
"No, you wouldn't."
"Zalea, if I made even a single mistake you could end up crippled for life, if it didn't kill you outright."
"My magic would protect me if I was ever in any true danger and we could start small," Azalea stated as she negligently waved her hand in dismissal. "You could use Ten while you're holding me and if that doesn't help then you can slowly start using Ren until your aura surrounds me."
"I really don't think that's a good idea."
"It's really no different than me trusting you not to seriously hurt me during our training sessions or when we're alone at night when you could easily put me in the same position that Hisoka had me in."
"Fine but I have one condition."
"What's that?"
"If I'm going to expose you to my aura so you can familiarize yourself with it, then you are going to do the same to me so that I can familiarize myself with your aura."
"I don't have enough control…"
"Then you damn well better work on it because the matter is not negotiable," Kurapika interrupted as he scowled up at Azalea. "Besides, knowing how your aura… how your magic feels could help me identify other magicals and allow me to better protect myself against them. And I trust you not to hurt me."
"Fine," Azalea huffed as she realized the blond had a made a good point.
"Good, one last thing, kitten; if you get hurt just once, I will stop the training."
"Just so long as you know the same applies if you get hurt by my magic."
"Fair enough. When did you want to start?"
"Can we start now?"
"I suppose now is fine," Kurapika reluctantly agreed with a soft sigh. "I'm not going to expose you to my aura for more than a minute the first time."
"That's fine," Azalea replied as she settled herself more comfortably on top of Kurapika's chest; letting her cheek rest over the blond's heart after she'd slipped free of the covers so that they wouldn't be in her way.
Kurapika grumbled about stubborn brats under his breath as he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Azalea while he concentrated on shrouding himself in his aura. Azalea unconsciously jerked and let out a sharp hiss as she felt the soothing warmth of Kurapika's body heat turn to burning fire in an instant as the blond used Ten; the older teen's arms preventing her from escaping completely. Azalea grit her teeth and forced herself to ignore the tingling of her nerve ends as she focused on what Kurapika's aura felt like instead of the uncomfortable heat. After a minute had passed, the heat vanished and Azalea was left panting as she collapsed onto the blond and shivered over how cold she felt now.
"Are you alright, Zalea?"
"Yeah, I just wasn't prepared for the heat," Azalea replied as she closed her eyes. "I'd actually forgotten how much it burned when Mizuken opened my aura nodes that day. Can you do it again and hold the shroud for five minutes this time? I'd almost managed to completely ignore the heat enough to actually feel what your aura felt like underneath the heat when you stopped."
"I will… but first it's your turn to use Ten."
"But…"
"Not negotiable."
"Fine. Brace yourself."
Azalea waited until Kurapika announced that he was ready before she called up her magic and let it slip out to form a shroud around her. Beneath her, Kurapika shivered the moment Azalea's magic brushed against him and his arms tightened briefly around her. After counting silently to sixty in her mind, Azalea pulled her magic back into her core and sat up a bit so she could make certain that Kurapika was alright.
"Kura…?"
"I'm fine, kitten; just feeling a little bereft."
"Huh?"
"Your aura felt nothing like Mizuken's aura felt when he'd awakened me. There was no feeling of burning heat invading me… just a cool heaviness that enveloped me. I felt the same thing last night when we'd kissed after our discussion about the prophecy; only this time it wasn't as intense."
"It was cold? That almost makes no sense… why would my aura be cold?"
"It wasn't exactly cold," Kurapika corrected as he loosened his arms enough to run one hand up and down Azalea's back over top of her shirt. "It was like stepping out of a hot shower into a steam filled bathroom on a warm day; you feel chilled because of the slight drop in temperature but once you adjust to the change you feel comfortable once more."
"What does your aura feel like when you wrap it around you in a shroud?" Azalea asked curiously as she relaxed against Kurapika and tried not to let the teen's hand distract her as it continued to stroke her back.
"Like a thick mist as it clings to my skin; only warm."
"Mist…? And you said my aura felt heavy? I wonder… Can you…?"
"Yes, but I'm only going to hold it for two minutes this time; not five. I'm not going to risk hurting you."
"I'll be fine if you hold it for five full minutes, it didn't actually hurt; it was just uncomfortable."
"Zalea…"
"I'm not made of glass, Kura."
"You are a stubborn little brat and I'm beginning to believe that you are made of pure contrariness."
Azalea laughed as she pushed herself up enough to gaze down at Kurapika's face before she boldly stole a kiss from the older teen. The witch soon forgot all about getting the older teen to expose her to his aura again for a full five minutes as she got lost in the kisses they shared. The next thing she knew, Kurapika was kicking her out of bed and ordering her to get started on her morning exercises with him joining her a minute later. Once they'd finished with that, the two of them headed out to the kitchen for breakfast.
"What did you want to do with all of this junk?" Kurapika inquired as he waved his hand at the untouched boxes and letters scattered about the table and floor.
"Anything that is not from the twins can go back in the box; I'm going to send it all back. I'll keep what the twins sent me though; they were the only ones that didn't condemn me for leaving to train."
"Are you sure you want to do that, Zalea?"
"Absolutely; I'm done bending over backwards to please others."
"You're not even going to read the rest of the letters?"
"Nope, I will read nothing that is not from Fred or George. I don't need or want to know how many more times they can cut me to the quick and try to guilt trip me into believing that I was in the wrong for wanting to find a way to survive the damn prophecy. Nor will I let their guilt and empty apologies sucker me back into trusting them again when they will inevitably break my trust the next time I do something they don't like or get something they can't have."
"So long as you are certain; I would not want you to have any regrets later."
"I'm certain," Azalea replied as she carefully sorted through the boxes as she put anything that didn't have Fred and George's names or their Triple W logo on the outside back into the box everything had come in.
The only exceptions were her sixth year Hogwarts letter, her O.W.L. results from the Ministry, the box of newspaper articles, and a plain wrapped box with a letter attached to it that had her name written on it in a familiar and much despised scrawl. Snape may have been a git of the highest order but he'd at least never once changed how he'd treated Azalea. Azalea could therefore see what the man had to say to her before deciding on whether or not she'd keep the package the man had sent. Once everything was packed up, Azalea set the box off to one side so she could make a light breakfast for herself and Kurapika.
"We have an hour before we go for our run," Kurapika stated after the meal. "Are you going to meditate like you usually do or are you going go through everything you left out?"
"I'm going to go through this stuff first," Azalea answered as she picked up the package and letter from Snape and casually broke the seal on the parchment. "Starting with seeing why Snivellus felt the need to go out of his way to write me a letter and send me a package. Would you like me to read his letter out loud so you can hear what the caustic man has to say?"
"It's up to you."
Azalea nodded, unfolded the short piece of parchment, and cleared her throat before reading…
Miss Potter,
Congratulations, your level of arrogance has finally surpassed that of your father's but I
find that I am not surprised; I fully expected you to pull something like this eventually.
You have also managed to drive the Dark Lord's anger to new heights and I find myself
lamenting your abysmal skills in Occlumency now that the Headmaster foolishly entrusted
you with the knowledge of the prophecy that the Dark Lord still actively seeks.
Knowing that your skill in potions is nearly as hopeless as your level of common sense, I
have sent with this letter a well stocked Professional Healer's Kit and a couple of potions
that will save your life when you inevitably screw up yet again.
I have also sent you the sixth year potions text since you somehow managed to cheat on
your tests to receive an Outstanding O.W.L. in Potions. I suggest you read the book and
study the potions in it if you intend to take Potions once you return from your foolish lark
because I will be testing you extensively and I will be much more difficult to please than
the senile examiner that administered your O.W.L. test.
Professor Snape
"You weren't kidding when you called him caustic," Kurapika murmured as he scowled at the letter in Azalea's hand.
"Actually, that was almost nice," Azalea countered as she stared down at the letter in shock. "He almost complimented me there a time or two. He also sent me a rather expensive gift that is not only practical but one that could mean the difference between life and death. That was on top of acknowledging my right to take his class and making certain I am fully prepared to continue my studies when I return. He also warned me that Voldemort is angry and looking to use our connection to influence me again; though it's odd that he hasn't done so since the end of the Hunter Exam."
"If you say so," Kurapika countered skeptically. "And what connection are you speaking about?"
"The cursed scar on my forehead has some kind of connection to the Dark Lord because that's where he supposedly tried to kill me when I was a baby. Whenever he is near me, my scar hurts and since he regained a body he's been able to send me visions, influence my nightmares, and when he feels a strong emotion I can usually feel it as well. When that happens, my scar starts to hurt, turns an angry red and the skin around it swells, and when it is particularly bad the scar itself splits open. It's not bothered me once since… well since just before the final task, I think."
"I pretty much forgot all about that scar since it has nearly faded completely away," Kurapika mused as he leaned closer to inspect Azalea's forehead.
"Faded away…?" Azalea echoed as she reached up to run a finger across her scar. "Weird. It's never done that before."
"Seeing that scar split open and bleed was creepy. I much prefer it to stay invisible. Anyway, it's almost time for our run? Are you going to open the packages you left out now or did you want to start early today?"
"You won't hear me complaining about the scar not being quite so visible and I'll look the rest of the stuff after lunch. I do have one other thing I need to take care of before we go for our run though."
"What's that?"
"You'll see; just try not to scream when they show up and if one of them insults you, just ignore him."
"Uh… what?"
Azalea smirked as she turned away from the confused blond and addressed the air beside her, "Dobby! Kreacher!"
Two loud pops one right after the other heralded the arrival of the two house elves and Azalea snickered when Kurapika jumped in his chair before leaning forward to intently observe the two beings.
"The great Missus Harriet Potter is finally calling her Dobby!" the elf with the large green eyes and mismatched attire greeted as he threw himself on Azalea.
"Nasty little mudblood spawn calls for Kreacher… oh how mistress would wail to know Kreacher is forced to serve the impure wench thanks to the no good traitorous master's cruelty… and poor Kreacher is forced to appear in front of nasty little magicless vermin too."
"Enough, Kreacher!" Azalea roared as she surged up out of her chair; displacing a now wide-eyed Dobby. "I hereby order you to never again insult Sirius; I will not tolerate you speaking ill of my godfather whether I can hear you or not. I also order you to stop insulting muggles and muggleborns. Do you understand!?"
"Kreacher understands, ungrateful mistress."
"You are to address me as James or Master James when you speak to me outside of the wizarding world, Kreacher," Azalea ordered as she dropped wearily back into her chair and scowled at the rather nasty tempered elf. "For now, go stand with your nose in the corner until I call you; I need to speak with Dobby."
"Zalea…?"
"I'll explain in a bit, Kurapika," Azalea answered as she glanced at the now frowning blond before she turned her attention back to the now nervous Dobby. "Hi, Dobby, I'm sorry I ignored you while I dealt with Kreacher. Fred and George said you were looking for me but they never said why."
"Missus Harriet Potter went off without saying goodbye to her Dobby. Dobby couldn't find his Missus Harriet Potter and Dobby does not know what to do if Missus Harriet Potter isn't at Hogwarts."
"Please call me James when I'm not around other magicals, Dobby; the people I deal with now don't know that I'm a girl or a witch," Azalea requested as she digested Dobby's short speech. "And I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye to you before I left. I had a lot of things to do and didn't have much time to say goodbye to anyone before my ship set sail. Why would it matter if I was at Hogwarts or not though?"
"Dobby is supposed to be taking care of his Missus Har… of James sir and Dobby can't take care of Missus Har… James sir if she is not in Hogwarts where Dobby can find her."
"Take care of me…? I thought Dumbledore hired you to work at the castle with the other elves?"
"Yes, Headmaster Dumbledore was hiring Dobby to work in the kitchen and clean the common rooms but Dobby is only working at Hogwarts to stay close to his Missus Har… James sir."
"Why though? I mean, you're a friend and I like seeing you but why do you need to stay close to me?"
"Dobby not wanting Missus Harriet Potter to be mad at Dobby."
"I promise I won't get mad; I just want to understand."
"Dobby is forming partial bond with Missus Harriet Po… with James sir when James sir is freeing Dobby from nasty family and Dobby is needing to watch over James sir and help her keep her secrets. Dobby wanted a proper bond with Missus Har… James sir but James sir is so happy that Dobby is free that Dobby not want to make James sir sad."
"But… but don't you want to be a free elf?"
"No. Dobby only wanted to be free from nasty family. Dobby asks for paying from other families because Dobby only wants one family but no work means no magic and no food for Dobby. So Dobby had to find work close to Missus… James sir so Dobby could work and watch over James sir."
"What family was it you wanted to work for, Dobby? Did they not want you?"
"Dobby wants to be Potter elf but James sir wants Dobby be free elf. House elves need to belong to a family to use their magic. Dobby sneak partial bond with Missus… James sir but partial bond does not help if Dobby not near James sir."
"Why didn't you just tell me? I wanted you to be happy and I thought being free made you happy."
"Does that mean James sir will let Dobby bond with James sir properly?" Dobby half asked and half demanded before he glared at Kreacher's back where the other elf was still standing with his nose in the corner as instructed. "Dobby will be a proper good elf for Missus… for James sir; not like the nasty Kreacher."
"Is that what you really want, Dobby?"
"Oh yes," Dobby replied enthusiastically as he bobbed his head up and down rapidly, making his ears flop comically.
"Then I guess it is alright for you to form the bond," Azalea replied after giving the matter a moment's consideration; the sixteen year old for once not caring what Horatio might have thought if he'd known she was 'enslaving' Dobby.
The little elf threw himself at Azalea once more and hugged her for all he was worth and Azalea felt a small tug on her magic that she suspected was the elf initiating the full bond. She smiled fondly down at the elf and hugged him in return before she sat back up so she could introduce Dobby to Kurapika.
"Now that that's settled, I'd like to introduce you to someone, Dobby; Kurapika here is a very close friend of mine. Kura, this is Dobby; he's an old friend of mine."
"It is nice to meet you, Dobby," Kurapika greeted with a smile as the elf glanced over to the blond.
"Dobby is happy to meet Master James sir's new friend," Dobby replied as he smiled at Kurapika in return; the elf referring to Azalea as Master James without fail now because of her earlier request for her identity and gender to remain a secret when she was not in the wizarding world became an order in his mind the moment the bond took hold of his magic.
"You don't have to call me master, Dobby."
"Dobby wants to call Master James sir master and Master James sir said he wants his Dobby to be happy."
"You can't argue with logic like that, kitten," Kurapika laughingly pointed out.
"No one asked the peanut gallery," Azalea grumbled in reply. "Anyway, Dobby, could you do me a couple of favors while I deal with Kreacher?"
"Master James sir doesn't have to ask. Dobby is happy to follow Master James sir's orders."
"Ah, tonight I'm going to need you to help me better understand how the bond between house elf and witch works so I don't make any mistakes," Azalea sighed before she shook her head and returned her attention to Dobby. "In the mean time, please take the box that is sitting on the counter and deliver it to Fred and George Weasley; if they ask why I am sending a bunch of stuff back unopened, tell them to read the open letters. After that, please pick me up some more owl treats for Hedwig as I'm almost out; you have my permission to take the money out of my vaults at Gringotts to pay for them. You can then have the rest of the day to take care of anything you need to do and I will call you when I am finished with my training so we can talk."
"Dobby will take care of everything, Master James sir," Dobby enthusiastically replied before he grabbed the indicated box and popped away.
"Interesting fellow," Kurapika stated as he stared at the place Dobby was last standing for several seconds.
"Remind me to tell you about how I first met him later. Right now, I have to deal with Kreacher and then we can go for our run. Kreacher, come here please."
"Master James calls for Kreacher."
"Yes; you are to return to Grimmauld Place and start cleaning the house properly. You are to stop causing trouble for the members of the Order of the Phoenix that are using the house but you have my permission to ignore their orders if they contradict my orders. You are to make certain that Dumbledore's people do not throw away, destroy, or steal anything from the house; if you have to, lock all of the valuables up in the attic or in one of the unused rooms. I also want you to spy on any meetings they hold in the house and report to me when the meeting is over."
"Additionally, you are to always answer me truthfully when I ask you a question or when you are reporting what you learn during those meetings. The final order I'm going to give you tonight is to never, under any circumstances, approach or speak to anyone that bears the Dark Mark or serves the Dark Lord. You are also to never share any of my secrets with anyone that is in any way associated with the Dark Lord or his Death Eaters nor are you to share my secrets or my whereabouts with anyone associated with Dumbledore. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Kreacher understands."
"Good. I will call you if I need anything from you or if I need to give you new orders."
Kreacher bowed and left without another word and Azalea grimaced as she'd much rather have ordered the elf to drop dead after the part the stupid elf had played in Sirius's death. Only the fact that she now knew that Sirius had been dying already helped her to set aside her anger and deal with the elf fairly; after all, she was no Malfoy and she'd never order an elf to harm itself for any reason.
"What exactly were those creatures and why did they call you master?" Kurapika inquired as the two of them ducked out of the tent to start their morning run now that Azalea had finished dealing with both elves.
"They are called house elves and they consider themselves servants of sorts as they live to cook and clean for the family that they are bound to. Most elves think it is a terrible thing to be set free… actually, it appears that all elves think it is a bad thing to be free since Dobby just bonded himself to me of his own free will. If you want to know more about house elves, then you can listen in tonight when I talk to Dobby since I don't really know all that much about them. As for why they called me master, Dobby just bonded himself to me and I inherited Kreacher from my godfather after he died."
"I think I'll take you up on that offer; it sounds like it will be an interesting conversation."
"Or one big headache," Azalea countered with a soft laugh as they trotted side by side through the forest. "All of the house elves I met to date are more than a little crazy and Kreacher is an example of just how nasty they can be if they put their mind to it and he was actually pretty tame this time."
"You don't really like him much, do you?"
"He's partially responsible for my godfather's death and I know part of it has to do with the way my godfather treated him and the beliefs of my godfather's mother, who was the elf's mistress prior to her death, but that doesn't make it any easier to accept. He's also a rather foul mouthed little elf that will insult almost any one alive if given half a chance. I'd set Kreacher free so he could find a family he'd be happier with but he knows far too much that could give Voldemort an advantage; which is why I gave him the orders I did."
"Ah, I'd have been tempted to kill him if I was in your shoes."
"I was tempted on more than one occasion but it is far more of a punishment to allow him to live since he has no choice but to serve me; a halfblood witch from a notoriously light-sided family – though I suppose the halfblooded part is no longer true. The Black family, on the other hand, is a family of pureblooded bigots that has long been considered as dark as their name; my godfather one of the few exceptions. In fact, Sirius's parents had unofficially disowned him when he was sixteen because he didn't follow the family philosophy and refused to serve the Dark Lord."
"What exactly constitutes a light or dark wizard or witch?"
"Dark wizards and witches are those individuals that torture, maim, and kill in their quest for personal gain while light wizards and witches are those that fight against the dark wizards and witches; though that doesn't mean they are all saints. Most of the wizarding population actually falls into the third category of neutral or gray wizards and witches; who are those magicals that don't want anything to do with the dark wizards and witches but aren't brave enough to fight alongside of the light wizards witches. At least that is what we are taught at Hogwarts."
"That would make you a light witch, correct?"
"I suppose, though I think I've started to consider myself as a Hunter first and a witch second."
"Nothing wrong with that as far as I can tell, kitten."
"I know at least a dozen people back in England that would disagree with you."
"Bah, they're not important."
"I never said they were."
"Less talking, more training!" Mizuken ordered as the two of them trotted back into camp at that precise moment.
Azalea and Kurapika turned to one another and grinned as they rolled their eyes simultaneously even as they complied with the order. Azalea's good mood stayed with her all through the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon; her frustration only returning during her Nen practice when she still hadn't managed to separate her magic into six auras. She cheered up again after supper when she discovered that Dobby had made her an extra large treacle tart for desert; a treat she'd not had since the End of Term Feast at the end of her disastrous fifth year – and she hadn't been able to enjoy it at the time due to Sirius's death.
The rest of the night passed rather pleasantly as she listened to Kurapika thoroughly interrogate Dobby about house elves while the two teens took turns feeding each other bites of treacle tart as they cuddled on the couch. Azalea had asked a few questions about the bond that Dobby had formed with her before letting Kurapika take over the questioning; letting Dobby know in passing that Kurapika could be considered family (which meant that Dobby was obligated to follow the blond's orders and answer his questions so long as the orders didn't go against Azalea's orders and the questions weren't prying into Azalea's secrets).
It was a rather informative discussion for the two teens as they learned quite a bit about the wizarding society as a whole in addition to what they learned about house elves.
10-31-15: Minor edits made to chapter to fix spelling/grammar mistakes and removed unnecessary author's notes.