Sunday the 1st of September, 1991.
The Hogwarts Express loudly ground to a halt. As the students filed out of the carriages their faces formed into matching expressions of anticipation, awe and joy. Even from Hogsmeade, the view of the ancient castle was impressive. It sat across the lake, positively glowing in the moonlight, bordered by the starry night sky. Silver clouds drifted by, yet they only complemented the landscape before them.
The journey across the black lake was quick for the first years. They were all wide awake with excitement, Harry especially, and the crisp night air only helped keep them that way. Soon the vessels docked, and the cheerful giant directed them to the great hall. Harry would have felt nervous about what house he'd be sorted into, but Hagrid had assured him he'd be sorted into his mother's house, Gryffindor. He seemed to truly want the best for Harry, and he was glad.
The sorting and feast were wonders like Harry had never experienced before. Even on a cool night, they were truly magical, especially when the stars peeked through the clouds, shining brightly overhead. As the feast ended, the cacophony of conversation, and rather a lot of whispering, died down. Professor Mcgonagall made her way over to Harry's new prefect, Percy, pulling him aside to talk about student timetables among other things, though she ended by whispering something he couldn't quite make out.
Harry was then instructed by Percy to remain behind, as the headmaster wanted to see him in his office. He wondered how he'd find his way to the Gryffindor common room, but assumed Dumbledore would provide him with instructions. Undeterred by the cold air that crept beside them, he followed the elderly man and his head of house to his office. Nothing could dampen his cheer in such a place. Hogwarts was a new beginning, where Harry could grow and develop as a person. It looked as beautiful and magical as the opportunity before him.
The headmaster's office was just as magical, with a hidden entrance and whizzing and whirring gizmos strewn upon shelves. Moonlight flitted through the towering windows, which along with the warm tea cups on the headmaster's desk, made for a calming environment. There were two mugs in the room, two chairs, and three people. Both professors took a seat. They almost pointedly ignored Harry as they took their first sips of tea, which from their expressions, they found very refreshing. Finally, Dumbledore looked over to him.
"Harry, there's no easy way to put this, but you're a house elf. Even if you were allowed to own a wand, you likely wouldn't be able to learn wizarding magic. But you'll still receive an education in magic here at Hogwarts. Pass me your wand, dear elf."
Harry did as instructed with not a little concern. Would his elvish magic not be as strong as wizarding magic? He could only wonder with consternation whether the magic he could use would be useful. He watched as the headmaster snapped the once prized possession, leaving it sitting sadly in two in his calloused palms. Even if he bought the wand with his own money, he understood that Dumbledore was probably legally obligated to destroy it, although it did cause a pang in his chest to see.
Dumbledore then requested that Harry strip, offering no explanation. It was as though the headmaster considered it a natural thing to ask. From his expression, that's how it appeared. Harry guessed that house elves had different expectations for modesty than wizards. He paused for a moment, but soon relented and did as was requested, keeping his hands in front of his crotch all the while in defiance of the presumed expectations.
Harry felt a cold chill down his spine. The castle's drafts were far less invigorating when you were uncomfortably exposed. The headmaster then cast a spell. He calmly enunciated the word "federa" while thrusting his wand forward. A blue light that loudly sparked and crackled shot out of it, along with a perfectly white pillowcase. After he was finished with the impressive act of wizardry, Harry waited for an explanation and then, after noticing the five openings in the pillow that he was sure weren't fitted to his measurements, felt just a little bit of dread.
He belonged to a species whose expected attire was a pillowcase. It seemed practical, given his diminutive build, but he couldn't help but feel a little degraded as he changed the into his new wardrobe. Was this even considered fashionable attire by his kind? Dumbledore then cast his final spell for the evening. "Incendio" he uttered, and the clothes Harry was fairly certain he owned were set ablaze. There was a possibility that the headmaster was dramatically settling Harry into his new life by destroying his old possessions, but he found the powerful wizard's actions a little startling to say the least.
After carefully performing his duties in silence, the headmaster finally spoke once more. "Taffy" he called out, and from the pop of an expanding ball of space, appeared a creature that Harry instantly recognised his own defining features in. She was short, though shorter than him, and had large eyes and ears, though they were larger than his. Her hair was thin and wispy, too, though still more so than his own.
"Taffy is the head elf here at Hogwarts. Though I am sure you have many questions about your kind, and how your magical education here will continue, I am just as confident in her abilities to answer any and all enquiries you may have. Taffy, if you may take Harry to where he will be staying this evening?"
Dumbledore's expression remained as kind as always while introducing Taffy. He even seemed to feel pride for her, as a person. Elves, it seemed, were expected to be treated with respect in different ways to wizard's. While they weren't offered refreshments at a wizard's table, or subject to small talk, that did not mean the wizard did not respect them. Before Harry could think further on the matter, as something about it irked him, he was dragged away with a pop, being dragged arm first through a paradoxically spherical tube.