A/N: My Saturday just took a turn for crazy, so you get an EARLY UPDATE! Hooray!
"What's this about, mate?" Harry asks Ron as they walk up to the little building down one of the smaller lanes off of Diagon Alley.
Ron shrugged, "Dunno, mate. Hermione told me as much as she told you."
Harry rolled his eyes; Hermione would deny it to her dying breath but she definitely had a flair for the dramatic.
They walked through the old door and Ron was nearly knocked off his feet by a whirl of bushy brown hair.
"You're here!" Hermione squealed releasing Ron and giving Harry a hug.
"Well spotted," Harry teased.
Hermione rolled her eyes at him but grabbed Ron's hand and pulled them past the little reception desk. "Come on, I have someone I want you to meet. And it's all thanks to your godparents, Harry."
Harry stopped short. "Wait, what do Sirius and Marlene have to do with this?"
Hermione flashed him a grin before pulling them into a back room that Harry immediately recognized as at least partially Hermione's office. What seemed most out of place was the house elf sitting at a small chair and table directly next to Hermione's. He had on a smart suit which was strange to Harry, he'd only ever seen house elves wearing smocks. Clothes suited them.
"Hello Dobby," Hermione chimed as they entered. "This is my boyfriend Ron, and my friend Harry."
"Friends of the great Miss Granger!" Dobby looked at Hermione with adoring eyes and Ron pointedly pulled Hermione closer.
"Nice to meet you Dobby," Harry chose to sidestep any weirdness.
"Dobby is pleased to meet you!" Dobby jumped from his chair, knocking it over in his excitement, and shook Harry's hand with an enthusiasm that took Harry by surprise. 'Any friends of Miss Granger are friends of Dobby's! Miss Granger ensured Dobby's freedom you know!"
"That's what we've been led to understand," Harry looked sidelong at Hermione who beamed.
"We'll let you get back to work, Dobby." Hermione smiled down at him. "I just wanted you to meet my friends."
"Dobby is honored, Miss Granger! Truly honored!" Dobby bowed deeply and Hermione sighed.
"You don't need to bow anymore, Dobby."
Dobby smiled confidently at her. "Dobby only bows to those he wants to." Then he picked up his chair and went back to the documents before him.
Hermione ushered them back out to the reception area before Harry stopped her.
"Do you want to tell me what role my godparents played in this or would you rather I go ahead and get their version?"
Hermione chuckled before sitting in one of the old threadbare chairs and gesturing for the boys to do the same. "I had the idea back in February to ask everyone we knew with house elves if they'd be willing to let us talk to their elves about how we could make life better for them. Sirius and Marlene agreed and brought Kreacher."
Harry nodded. He'd met Kreacher a time or two. But Sirius and Marlene rented out Sirius' childhood home, along with Kreacher. They'd bought a home not far from his parents' home in Godric's Hollow and Harry had always known that to be their home.
Hermione continued. "I let Mary and Marlene go with Kreacher and sat to talk with Sirius about what he knew about how renting a house elf works. Apparently, as long as Sirius commands him to do everything the renting family asks, Kreacher has no choice but to comply." She leaned in closer and dropped her voice a bit. "I mentioned to him my concern about Dobby with the Malfoys and he offered the perfect solution."
Harry chuckled, he was sure that Sirius would never pass on an opportunity to prank any of his relatives, well, minus Andromeda. Harry was pretty sure Sirius had a soft spot for his cousin.
"What was his plan?" Ron asked curiously. "Obviously it worked."
Hermione smiled and nodded. "We sent a package to Malfoy Manor addressed to Dobby."
Ron nearly choked on that one. "I'm surprised they didn't kill him."
"I was worried about that too!" Hermione nodded emphatically. "But Sirius had the perfect solution. We sent Dobby a rock."
"You sent them something that they could hurt him with?" Ron's eyes were huge. "Who are you?"
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Believe me before Sirius explained it I nearly threw him out on his ass."
Harry chuckled at the thought. He's sure if it had happened Marlene would have made Hermione do it again so she could have taken a picture of it.
"It looked like a rock to the Malfoys. It felt like a rock, was the right weight and texture and it was black. But the minute Malfoy threw the rock at Dobby and it touched Dobby's skin, it turned into that suit you saw him wearing."
"You tricked the Malfoys into giving their house elf clothing?!" Ron howled with laughter.
Hermione shushed him but she couldn't keep her smile off her face. "Yes. And Dobby could have gone anywhere after that, but he chose to show up right here. He said he wants to help other house elves see that there are witches and wizards working to make things better for them. He wears that suit like a war badge and I love it!"
Harry laughed, "I wish I could have seen Malfoy's face!"
"Let's celebrate!" Ron stood and took Hermione's hand, "Lunch, my treat."
Hermione beamed.
It was a good fifteen minutes before they were all tucked into a booth at one of Hermione's favorite Muggle cafes.
"So how are things with Gracie and Dennis?" Hermione asked after they had ordered.
Harry laughed, "Better now that they know Colin's intentions."
"Colin's intentions?" Hermione gave him a confused look. "I thought she was dating Dennis."
Harry quickly explained the conversation he and his parents had with Dennis at the Gryffindor match earlier in the month.
"Gracie and Dennis sent us a letter a few days ago." Harry smirked, "And apparently, Colin is an aspiring photographer. He hopes to do it professionally, and he thinks that Gracie is really photogenic. So he's been taking photos of Dennis and Gracie together like mad, trying to build up a portfolio."
Ron laughed, "Leave it to Colin to forget to ask permission to use his little brother's girlfriend as a photo model."
"I bet they're a decent pair for it though," Hermione mused. "Gracie has that really pretty brown-auburn hair and her skin is just a bit lighter than you and your dad, Harry. Pair that next to Dennis and I can see where Colin got the idea."
Harry shrugged, "As long as it all stays G-rated, I'm just going to let the three of them deal with it. And hey, if Colin does become a famous photographer then Gracie will be able to say she helped him get his start, which is sort of cool."
The server brought their orders and the conversation moved on. Harry made a point of side-stepping anything to do with Ginny's career after Hogwarts. He wasn't sure he could handle that yet, and this was a celebration lunch, after all, no point in ruining it with his drama that didn't even involve his friends in the first place.