Chapter Fifteen: House Elves

In all his time at Grimmauld Place, there was one inhabitant Harry had failed to learn much about: the House Elf, Kreacher.

He rarely saw the diminutive (and constantly scowling) being, usually only when he called him for a task like finding food for the snakes. He knew that Kreacher often did all the chores, as he would return to his room to find all of his laundry done and his bed made without his doing anything.

Harry was mentally berating himself for not really getting to know the elf, which…now that he thought about it, he didn't know much about House Elves in the first place.

On the floor, basking in the sunlight from a window, Selena lifted her head to regard her master dryly. "What have you done?"

He furrowed his brow in confusion. "What?"

"You're making a face."

Harry sighed. "I did something stupid."

"More so than normal?"

Snorting at her sarcasm, he cleared his throat. "Kreacher!"

With a crack, the elf Apparated into the living room (noticeably a fair distance from the Basilisk) and scowled at his liege. "What does Harry Potter want?"

"Erm…I don't know much about you or your race," Harry started lamely. He should've thought about this more before he called Kreacher. Bollocks.

The short being lifted an aged brow. "Kreacher does not understand."

"Could you tell me about House Elves?" He tried again. "Or find a book about them? Whichever is easier for you."

The elf's huge eyes blinked slowly. "Kreacher does not know if there be books about House Elves. Should he be punished?"

"What? No," Harry gave the elf a bewildered look. "If you don't know, you don't know. Um…just—could you tell me about House Elves?"

Kreacher looked almost as confused as Harry felt, but the elf nodded slowly. "Kreacher will tell Harry Potter about House Elves. What does Harry Potter want to know?"

"I…guess let's start with the basics. What is a House Elf?"

"A House Elf is a magical creature bound to their masters as servants for life. Most of them serve old wizarding families, and must obey their master's every command unless they are freed."

He said that last bit with disgust, and Harry frowned. "Do they not want to be freed?"

"NO!" Kreacher snarled, making Harry jump and causing Selena to hiss dangerously. The elf's eyes bulged in anger. "To be freed is a disgrace! It is the greatest shame! To be freed is to be a failure in an elf's duties!"

"Ok, ok!" Harry yelped. "I'm sorry, I didn't know!"

Kreacher's rage vanished in a second and he stared again at Harry with utter befuddlement. "Harry Potter is a strange master."

"Wait, what? When did I become your master? I thought Andromeda was your master."

The anger returned, but not as fiercely. Kreacher grumbled his displeasure. "Filthy blood-traitor who mated with a mudblood is not Kreacher's master."

"Don't call her that," Harry snapped. "I don't know what it means, but it doesn't sound friendly."

"Harry Potter is ignorant, isn't he?"

"I didn't grow up in the Wizarding World, so yes, I am."

Kreacher visibly froze in surprise. Then his face slackened into a guarded weariness. "Harry Potter has a lot to learn."

"I know," the boy replied, still frowning. "You didn't answer my question: when did I become your master? I'm not a part of the family you serve, am I?"

"Harry Potter has been Kreacher's master since his birth, because he is the godson of the last Black. The last Black is not here. Harry Potter is. Harry Potter is Kreacher's master."

Harry stilled. "Godson."

Kreacher's already large eyes bulged. "Harry Potter does not know?"

"No, he does not," Harry breathed, standing up and staring at the elf. Selena lifted her head, paying sharp attention to the diminutive creature. "Tell me."

Kreacher wrung his hands together tightly. "Kreacher does not know much. Kreacher knows the last Black left this house a long time ago, but by blood, he was still Kreacher's master. Many years ago, when the Dark Lord was still in power, the last Black became your godfather. Kreacher knows this. He sensed it through the magic of the family he serves."

"Who is it? My godfather?"

Kreacher's face scrunched up distastefully. "Sirius Black."

"Is he still alive?"

"Regrettably."

"Where is he?"

"Azkaban."

Harry shook his head. "What is Azkaban?"

The elf almost (almost) looked pitying of him. "Wizard prison. Prison from which there is no escape. Prison for life."

Silence filled the room and Harry sat back down onto the couch slowly. Selena slithered up to him and watched her master with concern.

Kreacher regarded Harry for a moment. "Does Harry Potter want a cup of tea?"

"Yes," was the dazed reply. "Thank you, Kreacher."

"Kreacher lives to serve," the elf said simply, then snapped his fingers and disappeared with a crack.

"Harry," Selena hissed softly.

He closed his eyes and fought down the roiling surge of emotion bubbling within him. Selena curled up in his lap, lifting her head to press her snout to his brow and hum her song.

"I got excited for a moment," he told her lamely. "I thought—"

"I know."

"…do you think Andromeda knows?"

"Almost certainly. Didn't she mention once that Grimmauld Place belongs to her cousin?"

"Yes."

Selena's tongue flickered against his forehead. "She would not keep it from you if she felt you were ready. She has proven herself to be worthy of your trust."

"I'm not sure if I'm tired of people keeping things from me, or tired of people telling me things that blow my reality apart."

She hissed in amusement. "Hindsight is a telling thing, isn't it?"

"You don't think I was ready?"

"I don't think anyone could ever truly be ready to hear even a few of the things you have learned in your short life," she replied dryly. "You are bound to a prophecy to vanquish the foulest Dark Lord of this time. You have unknowingly played host to a fragment of that same Dark Lord's soul since you were a baby, immediately after he killed your parents. You grew up in an abusive environment without knowing the power that dwells at your fingertips, created a serpent so deadly that its very existence is forbidden by wizards, and only over the past year have you learned of your importance."

She paused. "That's the condensed version, and I've not even mentioned everything. Shall I go on?"

"No," he managed to snort. "It's a lot, isn't it?"

"That, Harry, is what some call an understatement."

Another crack of magic heralded Kreacher's return, this time with a cup of tea in his hands. He offered it to the boy. "Your drink, Harry Potter."

"Thank you, Kreacher."

Harry blew on it for a moment before sipping at the drink. It was hot and flooded him down to his bones with warmth. He closed his eyes and breathed. "It's good."

"Kreacher lives to serve," the elf repeated.

Harry decided not to bring up the topic of Sirius Black to Andromeda. Not yet, anyways. Maybe he'd do some digging of his own in a while, but right now…right now he was just looking forward to returning to Hogwarts.

Of course, given his luck, he should've known things wouldn't go exactly as planned.

He was woken up in the night by a series of loud banging downstairs. Harry threw the blankets off of him and immediately, Selena and Aurelion were at his side. The Horned Serpent was levitating around him as Selena guarded the floor at Harry's feet, both of them hissing aggressively.

Harry hurried to put his glasses on, snatched his wand, and strode for the door.

He could hear Kreacher snarling something, but couldn't make out the words. There was another voice—one unfamiliar to Harry—that seemed to be protesting, but whatever was going on, Kreacher didn't seem to be in a cooperative mood.

He hurried downstairs with the snakes and walked into a disaster.

Kreacher was positively fuming, snapping his fingers to direct small blasts of magic after a small creature—another House Elf, Harry realized, as the other being scrambled around in an effort to evade the furious housekeeper.

Aurelion became invisible as Harry yelled. "STOP IT!"

Both of the elves froze and the stranger whirled towards him, eyes going wide. "Harry Potter! Harry Potter, Dobby is—eep!"

"Dobby" was suddenly engulfed in Aurelion's coils as the Horned Serpent let his invisibility dissipate, regarding the stunned elf with a cranky hiss. Selena practically launched herself towards the intruder and helped Aurelion restrain the struggling creature, pinning him entirely.

Kreacher sneered with vindictive glee. Harry frowned and looked at him. "What happened?"

"This elf be intruding without permission," Kreacher growled. "Came in here and demanded to see you. He was not invited and he would not leave. Kreacher had to take action."

Harry observed the now thoroughly-cowed elf (who wouldn't be frightened by two of the most dangerous, venomous magical serpents glaring daggers at them?) with no small amount of wariness. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

"D-D-Dobby is Dobby's name!" The elf squealed.

Selena hissed at the elf. "Dobby had best answer carefully."

"Indeed," Aurelion bared his fangs.

"Don't give him a heart attack, you two," Harry sighed, though he kept his wand at the ready just in case. "Why are you here, Dobby?"

"Dobby came to warn Harry Potter! Harry Potter must not go to Hogwarts this year!"

His eyebrow rose. "Why is that?"

"D-Dobby cannot say."

"Dobby is not answering to my satisfaction," Selena retorted. The elf didn't understand Parseltongue, but he clearly was able to recognize the Basilisk's displeasure.

"You can't just tell me that and not give me a reason," Harry frowned, waving away Selena's irritation. "I love Hogwarts. Of course I'm going back."

"Harry Potter mustn't! It is too dangerous!"

"Dangerous how?"

Dobby fell silent, bottom lip quivering, and Harry pressed on. "Why can't you tell me what the danger is?"

"Dobby's master has forbid it!"

Kreacher scowled. "Dobby is disobeying his master just by being here! Dobby knows this! Dobby is shaming himself!"

Harry's gaze snapped to Kreacher. "Who is his master?"

"Dobby serves the House of Malfoy," Kreacher grumbled. "Serves Lady Narcissa, who hails from the House of Black."

Harry's eyebrows rose into his hairline. "Malfoy."

He snapped his gaze back to Dobby. "You cannot tell me what the danger is?"

"Dobby cannot, sir! Dobby is already needing to punish himself for being bad!"

Harry regarded the elf in silent thought. "If you cannot tell me what the danger is, you can still tell me who is responsible for it."

"Dobby cannot!"

"He cannot, Harry Potter," Kreacher agreed. "Dobby is being bad, but Dobby is loyal to the House of Malfoy."

"Dobby just wants to help Harry Potter," the elf cried.

"Then Dobby needs to give us something more than the threat of danger!" Selena hissed in aggravation.

"Hold on," Harry stopped the Basilisk's anger. "I have an idea. Dobby, you can't tell me who is making Hogwarts dangerous, right?"

"Dobby cannot be telling."

"Kreacher, get me a quill, ink, and some parchment," Harry ordered.

Kreacher snapped his fingers and the items he requested were there. The elf clearly wasn't going to leave anytime soon. Harry was fine with that.

He scribbled onto the paper furiously for a second and then held it up for Dobby to read. He indicated the words with his finger. "Left or right?"

Dobby's eyes widened and he spoke. "Left."

Harry circled the name and glared as if it were an affront to his existence. Which, technically, it was.

"Dobby, I'll tell my guardians, ok?" He promised the elf. "They'll handle it. Professor Dumbledore will hear about it too, alright?"

Dobby's ears sagged in relief. "Harry Potter will be safe?"

"Harry Potter will be safe," he replied with a wry smile. "You should probably return home before you're missed."

"Yes. Dobby needs to punish himself."

Harry opened his mouth to object, but he caught Kreacher's eye and closed it. "Thank you, Dobby."

Dobby visibly broke out into tears as Selena and Aurelion released him, then he snapped his fingers and vanished.

Kreacher gave Harry a measuring look. "Harry Potter is a clever wizard."

Harry accepted the compliment in silence, opting to focus on the name Dobby had indicated and think. "Kreacher, I need you to call Andromeda and Ted over."

"Kreacher will call them."

The elf vanished with a crack. Selena and Aurelion slithered over to match Harry's glare at the name of the party responsible for the "danger" Dobby had tried to warn them of.

Lucius Malfoy.

"Perhaps I spoke too soon," Andromeda muttered darkly. "Perhaps that pompous, sneaky bastard has more nerve in him than I believed."

Ted sent an owl out the window with a message to Hogwarts, closing and flipping the lock before he turned back to the kitchen. "Well, Dumbledore should know what's happened soon enough."

"I'm sorry all I got was the name," Harry told them.

"No," Andromeda shook her head. "You got more out of that elf than most people ever could. I'm amazed it actually acted independently in the first place. Working around Malfoy's orders to get his name from the elf was cunning of you."

"Will Dobby be ok?"

"If his master discovers his treachery, I doubt it," she admitted. "But there's nothing we can do right now. Storming Malfoy Manor to rescue their House Elf is a fantasy. Dobby will be bound to them unless the Malfoys free him."

"The greatest shame," Kreacher seethed.

"Indeed," Andromeda agreed. At Harry's questioning look, she filled him in. "House Elves pride themselves above all else their ability to serve their masters. Treated properly, you will find no better keeper of your house and most closely guarded secrets."

She glanced at Selena and Aurelion, then smirked a little. "Present company excluded, of course. They are unique, though. But for a House Elf, to be released from their master is for all their hard work and loyalty to be cast aside as worthless. Their very purpose to be disregarded. That is why to be freed is their greatest shame."

Harry inclined his head, understanding a bit more about House Elves even if the mindset was still alien to him. He'd look into that more.

"There's no way to know exactly what Lucius is up to," Ted said. "But this will put Dumbledore on alert. He'll want to keep an eye on him. Draco too, perhaps."

"I could ask him—" Harry cut himself off, frowning. "No, I can't."

"They would grow suspicious and Dobby would be found out," Andromeda confirmed. "You'll have to be discreet. I'd leave this to Dumbledore, Harry. He's not going to take a threat to the school lying down."

"I know," he sighed. "I just wish I could help more."

"You've discovered a threat to the school. You've helped plenty."

Andromeda took a breath and looked outside at the still-black sky. "Right, off to bed with you. Even if you cannot sleep, at least rest. You have a long trip to Hogwarts tomorrow."

Being back with his friends was freeing in its own way.

Harry was still getting accustomed to sharing space with groups of people, (and he still needed breaks now and then) but he found the train ride with Nym, Fred, George, and Ginny to be enjoyable. Ron and Hermione had popped in earlier, but they'd decided to take some time and check in with a few of their other classmates as well. He'd seen Ron plenty over the Summer at the Burrow and he knew that he and Hermione would be spending many hours together in the library soon.

He was content.

Selena and Aurelion both were in the suitcase. They could've fit if the compartment was empty, but with five people already there, it would be a bit too cramped.

They were just a call away if he needed them.

It helped that the focus wasn't really on him at the moment. Ginny was being regaled by Nym and her brothers about Hogwarts, and all the wonders she could expect from her first year. She looked excited, if a little overwhelmed, and Harry was happy for her.

"Harry," Nym got his attention. She was seated across from him next to Ginny. "Did something happen last night? Mum and dad went over to Grimmauld out of nowhere."

"You heard about that?"

"Psh, the House Elf wasn't quiet about showing up to our place," she scoffed. "I'd have had to be deaf to not hear about it."

He shrugged. "It wasn't anything bad. I got a surprise visitor."

She raised an eyebrow. "Someone got into Grimmauld?"

"Sort of," Harry admitted. "It wasn't a problem. Kreacher, Selena, and Aurelion were all over them. No one got hurt."

Fred and George whistled in sync. "Best never get on your bad side, mate."

"It wasn't that bad," he protested.

"Harry?" Nym's voice held a mockery of sugary sweetness. "Sweetie, you set a House Elf, a Basilisk, and a Horned Serpent on this mystery intruder."

"In my defense, Kreacher actually started it."

"You still set Selena and Aurelion on them."

The Twins were muttering in his ear before he could defend himself further. "Best cut your losses, handsome."

"This isn't an argument you're gonna win."

Harry took one look at Nym, all smug and self-satisfied, and decided they were onto something. "Ok. Yeah. Maybe it was overkill. A little."

"Mmhm," she smirked. "So Potter, think you're gonna try for Quidditch team this year?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. I've got a lot I want to look into. I like flying, but I don't know if I could keep up with Quidditch practice on top of all the other stuff I have going on."

"Wise of you," she teased. "It would be a shame if I knocked a bludger into your pretty face."

"Don't worry, Harry," Fred grinned.

"We'll keep your pretty face safe from Nymphy here if you join the team," George finished.

"Call me Nymphy again and you won't be safe," Nym scowled at them, causing the Twins to snigger. She rolled her eyes and glanced at Ginny instead. "What about you, Gin? Planning to get into the team with your brothers?"

"You should give it a go, Ginny," Harry suggested when she hesitated.

The girl reddened under all the attention and covered her face in her hands, muffling her voice. "Please…just let me get used to school first? I want to join the team, I do, just…maybe next year?"

"No worries, sis."

"We'll give the other Chasers a year to show their stuff before you put them all to shame, yeah?"

Harry leaned back in his seat and took a moment to just enjoy the banter. It was good to be heading back to Hogwarts.

After the First Years were sorted, (and to no surprise, saw Ginny in Gryffindor with all of her brothers) Dumbledore stood at the head of the Great Hall and cleared his throat, garnering the attention of all those present.

"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts," he began, his voice amplified as usual to make himself heard. "Now, I'd like to start with an introduction of our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lockheart."

Harry's eyebrows rose up into his hairline as he watched said Professor stand up and take an extravagant bow, as though the world revolved around him. Some of the girls were looking at him with dreamy expressions, but Harry found himself not particularly looking forward to his classes with Lockheart.

He'd already given the "textbook" for this year's DADA classes to Kreacher for…repurposing. "Magical Me" wasn't going to teach him anything.

"Thank you, Professor," Dumbledore said, turning away from Lockheart as the man sat down and proceeded to lift his feet onto the table. "I would also like to announce Professor Flitwick's new Dueling Club, which will be seeking out members for competitions against others schools in the future. He will be assisted by Professor Snape and Professor Lockheart, so if you have any interest in Dueling, please contact him. You are welcome to join at any time throughout the year, but if you wish to participate in inter-school competitions, you must meet with Professor Flitwick before October the 22nd."

Harry perked up at the mention of the new club. Lockheart's involvement aside, he was interested to see what a Dueling Club would be like. He made a mental note to at least attend a session or two.

The Headmaster paused regarding the students with a smile. "Now, unless my memory has failed me, I do believe my announcements have concluded! Let us eat!"

He clapped his hands twice in rapid succession, and the feast began with a cheer from the students.

Harry threw a glance at Hermione as he started to fill his plate up. "What'd you do with your copy?"

In an unbelievable, un-Hermione like fashion, her nose scrunched up in disgust at the mention of a book. "I never bought one. What about you?"

"I'm mostly sure Kreacher turned it into toilet paper."

She almost choked on a biscuit and slapped Harry's shoulder for making her laugh. He smirked as her body wracked with mirth even as she drank to get the food moving again.

Harry's eyes were suddenly blinded by a flash of light and he flinched, half-reaching for his wand as the spots dissipated. He found himself staring wild-eyed at a young, excited boy with an old muggle camera around his neck. "Hi, Harry! I'm Colin Creevey! I'm in Gryffindor, too!"

"Hi," Harry managed, still blinking spots out of his eyes. "Nice to meet you, I think."

"Whoops—sorry! I was so excited to meet you, I guess I got carried away. I wanted a picture so I could prove I met you."

"No harm done. Maybe just give me some warning next time. And probably best not to get the jump on my familiars."

"You have familiars? What are they?"

Harry shot a helpless look around the table, but Ron and the rest of the Weasleys looked all-too amused. Seamus and Dean were chuckling under their breath and the rest of the Gryffindors in the immediate area were pretending not to notice. He pleaded silently with Hermione.

She rolled her eyes, shook her head, and cleared a little space. "Here, Colin. You can sit between us while we eat."

"Are you Harry's girlfriend?"

"No," Harry and Hermione answered immediately, resigning themselves to many more questions before the night was up.

In the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry finally let Selena and Aurelion loose.

Not that either of them were dying to socialize, but they wanted to see him once he'd gotten to Hogwarts, which was something of a tough order given how big they were getting. Aurelion he could carry around still, (or the snake could float) but Selena was growing too fast for Harry to keep up with. He did miss having her around as often as she used to be.

The pair of snakes got a few startled looks from the students who either hadn't met them, or hadn't seen them since the end of the last school year. Hermione and Ginny, on the other hand, brightened upon seeing them.

"Goodness, you've both grown so much!" Hermione exclaimed, kneeling to give Selena the chin scratches she was so fond of. The Basilisk hummed in pleasure at the attention.

"Ah, yes," she said dreamily. "Worship."

Harry just snorted.

Aurelion took to the air (once more garnering some startled looks) and circled Ginny, who was a personal favorite of his. Whenever they'd visited the Burrow, she'd spent a lot of time flying on her broom with the Horned Serpent as he adjusted to his new flying abilities. She smirked at the beautiful black snake and ran a hand down the length of his sinewy body. "Have a good trip?"

"It was tolerable," he replied. Harry translated and Ginny grinned.

Ron wasn't as close to the snakes, but he did like them. He just didn't want them near Scabbers.

Understandable.

Harry spotted Colin walking into the Common Room with the last of the Gryffindors and watched the boy's jaw drop at the sight of the snakes. He was already heading over as the First Year started to lift his camera up and stopped the motion gently.

Colin blinked at him and Harry tried to offer him an apologetic smile. "They don't really like surprises much. Maybe another day we can try a picture of them, yeah?"

"Sure," the boy said, dazed.

"Blimey," Neville stared at the coiled form of Selena resting on Harry's bed. "Mate, what do you feed her?"

"She's a bottomless pit," Harry half-joked.

"I am right here," she retorted dryly.

Aurelion was investigating Harry's bed, at the moment—more specifically, stuffing himself into one of the pillows as much as he could for…some reason. Seamus just shook his head. "Harry, hate to say this, but I think you lost your bed."

"This pillow is mine," Aurelion decided.

"One day, you're going to be too big to keep it," Harry pointed out.

"One day, I will be too big to fit in it," Aurelion corrected him. "I'll never be too big to keep it. And you can enlarge it with magic, because you love me. But that is neither here nor there, because at this time, I fit in it just fine, thank you very much."

"It would appear your logic has been rejected, Harry," Selena hissed gleefully.

He rolled his eyes and looked at his dorm mates. "They're going through a rebellious phase."

Ron snorted from his bed, watching the madness unfold. "Tell them to keep it up. Quality entertainment, that is."

Harry threw one of his balled-up socks at his best mate, caught him square in the face, and the room quickly descended into juvenile chaos.

Selena and Aurelion watched the unfolding havoc with their unblinking eyes.

"Quality entertainment," Selena sang mockingly.

"Indeed," Aurelion concurred, staring out from the inside of his pillow.

A/N: This story is flying off my fingers right now, so I'm taking full advantage of that while I adjust to my new job. Gotta keep my brain busy while my body tries to adapt to the new abuse XD

As ever, please review and thanks for reading!