'Ello... *waves carefully*

I... I'm not even going to try to make an excuse...

Try to enjoy if you're not too angry...

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything.

CHAPTER 6: Of Elves and Inferiority

If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.

-Sirus Black
(Harry Potter and Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling)

The second Eragon was sure that the hideous woman was out of ear shot, he turned towards Dumbledore, eyebrows raised. "Where is Norway?" he asked neutrally. "And who in the Stars' name was that?"

Dumbledore, who had taken a seat, answered calmly, "Norway is up north. Probably a day's or two flight away for you two." He paused and his voice became just a notch lower. "And that was Dolores Umbridge, Hogwarts' newly appointed Inquisitor. She's here to… observe us and report about it to the Minister for Magic."

"So, basically…" Eragon began, clasping his hands on his back. "She's here to control you."

Dumbledore gave him only a half-surprised look. "How do you notice all of these things?"

Eragon shrugged and gave a lopsided smirk. "A lot of my friends and companions are elves and they are masters at not showing emotions. I've learned to look for the little things."

The old wizard gave an understanding nod. "But to answer your question directly, yes, she's here to control us and make sure we don't fight against the Ministry." He looked at Eragon pointedly. "Ever since Voldemort's return – which they don't believe happened – the Ministry of Magic has kept an eye on me, the school and, of course, Harry." He sighed. "That boy seems to find trouble everywhere he goes."

This time, Eragon gave a real grin. "We'll get along well, then."

Saphira groaned inside her Rider's head. Another one? Then she said to Dumbledore, I do hope he has at least one to keep or save him out of trouble, because Eragon needs a whole army for that.

Eragon chuckled. "I don't believe I can argue with that."

Dumbledore smiled. "Well, if you mean his friends, then no. More often than not, they join him."

Saphira groaned again, but Eragon only said, "Speaking of Harry and his friends – weren't you supposed to send food to them? They must be starving."

Dumbledore's eyes brightened in realization and he nodded quickly. "Ah, yes, thank you, Eragon." Then he mumbled to himself something about his "memory not being as good as it had once been" and added, "Of course, we'll need someone for you, too."

If Eragon hadn't thought Dumbledore bizarre before, now was the time he started thinking it. But before he could say anything, Dumbledore spoke again.

"Dobby. Kimly," he said clearly.

And a second later, two cracks resounded through the Headmaster's office and Eragon nearly jumped out of his skin. Because standing in the middle of the room were two small creatures. They both had bat-like ears and thin arms and legs. But while one of them was dressed in the weirdest clothing – mint green sweater, blood red shorts, an orange and a pink sock, four hats and three scarves – Eragon had ever seen and had enormous green eyes, the other one was completely different. It had big eyes as well, but its were warm amber and it didn't even wear any normal clothing – it was dressed in a simple tea towel with some kind of crest on it.

House-elves, Eragon realized quickly.

The two house-elves bowed to Dumbledore deeply, their pencil-like noses almost touching the floor. "Master," said the green-eyed and taller one in his – Eragon was fairly sure it was a male if Harry's memories served him right – high and squeaky voice, while the other one stood to the side uncertainly, its hands fidgeting. He looked at the Headmaster with some kind of admiration.

"Ah, Dobby and Kimly, my friends," said Dumbledore, his blue eyes sparkling with soft kindness, as he looked at the two elves as well. "Meet Eragon Bromsson, my student. He's come from abroad. I believe you'll like him."

The elves turned towards him, their colourful eyes large, uncertain of his treatment of elves. They probably expected him to give them nothing but a glance, perhaps a nod if he was in a good mood. They must had been surprised, then, when he dropped to his knee in front of Dobby, so that they would be on the same eye level, his arm outstretched for him to shake.

"Nice to meet you… Dobby, was it?" he said kindly.

Dobby nodded and shook his hand shortly, dumbfounded. "Yes, I's name is Dobby. Dobby is very glad to meet you, sir. You are too kind to Dobby, Mister Eragon, sir."

"Certainly not. To be honest, my kindness could use a bit of help, no?" he answered with a wink. He didn't give him a chance to answer, though, for he knew that the elf would contradict him. He turned towards the other elf – Kimly – and once again, outstretched his hand. "And you must be Kimly, correct?"

The amber-eyed elf nodded, but did not take his hand. After waiting for a few seconds more, he let his hand fall back to his side.

"You is belittling yourself, sir Eragon," said Kimly softly, transferring her weight on one foot and then on the other nervously, her eyes darting around. Despite its quietness, her voice was clearly high and squeaky – more so than Dobby's. "You must not stoop to Kimly's and Dobby's level."

Eragon scoffed at her – she was being absolutely ridiculous. "I'm not stooping to your level, young Kimly," he said evenly – surprising everyone in the room – as he stood up. "I am simply lifting you to mine."

Kimly reeled backwards, her amber eyes wide in shock and horror. "You must not treat us like that, sir Eragon, no, you must not!" she squeaked indignantly. It was the first time Eragon had heard her speak louder than a whisper. "Kimly deserves harsh orders and insults, not kindness and equality!"

Eragon felt himself – and Saphira – grow sad. Was that really the way these small interesting creatures were treated – like slaves?

But they are slaves, little one, Saphira said in his mind. Her voice was strong and rational, but her tone was soft and saddened. They are treated, they think they are and they treat themselves as such. Just like the ones in Dras-Leona.

Eragon's hand clenched into fists. But they aren't supposed to. Servants, yes, but not slaves.

I don't like it any more than you do, little one, Saphira answered. But there'll always be some people who are treated unfairly in the world. You can't change that. Just like you can't change the fact that the world is round and the sky hollow.

He growled in frustration and clenched his fists angrily, but otherwise kept his calm. He watched as Dumbledore kindly ordered Dobby to bring Harry and his friends some food and the elf left, obviously excited about seeing the green-eyed boy again.

He must really adore him, thought Eragon.

After Dobby vanished into thin air – but not before giving Eragon a respectful glance – Kimly seemed even more uneasy than before, her eyes darting around nervously. Eragon wondered what had happened to her to make her so scared and jumpy. But on second thought, he didn't want to know – the possibilities were endless and nauseating.

Fortunately, Dumbledore spoke before Eragon's thoughts could get too far. "Now, of course, comes the matter of where you shall be sleeping. I suppose that you would like to sleep with Saphira?"

Eragon nodded firmly. "Yes, I would prefer to have her by my side. If," he added after a second of thinking. "that's okay with you."

"Well, I think it will be quite a challenge finding a room that could accommodate Saphira due to her big form, but I'm sure it's not impossible."

Saphira apparently hadn't heard anything after the "big form" part. Big form? she angrily asked Dumbledore. (Kimly, who had never heard the blue dragon's voice flinched and her eyes became twice their original size). Are you calling me fat?

"No, Saphira, I was simply-" began Dumbledore, but was cut off by angry Saphira.

I'll have you know that I am not fat, she said, her tone furious and unforgiving. I am simply a growing dragoness, who could, by the way, tear you – or your castle – to pieces in a matter of minutes.

Dumbledore spluttered and Eragon, who had found the situation highly amusing, came to his aid. Saphira, he said calmly, barely managing to keep amusement out of his words. He did not mean to insult you. What he meant to say was that you take up a lot of space. You know that.

Saphira's amusement was evident in her voice. Oh, I do. I simply find it amusing to mess with the two-legs' head.

Something between amusement and annoyance flickered inside Eragon's mind. Ah, was his intelligent answer. And I suppose that you didn't share that bit of information with the dear old Headmaster of Hogwarts.

She hummed before she snorted. Of course not.

Their conversation lasted for only a minute and it went unnoticed by Dumbledore, who seemed to had recovered his composure. "I'm dearly sorry, lovely Saphira. I meant no offense. I only meant to say that we usually don't have to accommodate dragons in Hogwarts."

Saphira harrumphed, but Eragon knew it was fake – Dumbledore, however, did not. I'll let you know about acceptance of your apology in a while.

"Meanwhile," Eragon cut in, his tone becoming slightly impatient. "We've yet to decide on our sleeping arrangements and must I remind you that it's getting quite late." He sent a mental glare towards Saphira, which she whole-heartedly returned, but kept quiet.

"Yes," answered Dumbledore, quickly composing himself. "Yes, of course." He turned towards Kimly, his mouth curving into a small pleasant smile. "Do you happen to know any hidden rooms that could accommodate a dragon?"

Kimly's eyes widened at the mention of a dragon, but she quickly composed herself and nodded eagerly – she seemed glad to be of help, noted Eragon. "Yes, Master. Kimly's helped Dobby get Winky there a couple of times, Master. It's called Room of Requirement, sir. It gives you whatever you require."

Dumbledore smiled and stood up with a clap of his hands. "Splendid!" he said enthusiastically. "Could you please take Eragon there?"

Kimly nodded even though discomfort was quite evident in her posture. "Yes, master."

"Oh, and one more thing, Kimly."

The elf, who had already begun walking to the door, turned around. "Yes, sir?"

"From this moment on until Mister Eragon here leaves you are relieved of your duties as a Hogwarts' house-elf and your only priority is to make Eragon feel welcome and take care of his wishes."

Eragon and Kimly both widened their eyes at Dumbledore, but was Eragon that actually voiced their thoughts, "WHAT?" before he realized that he appeared rather rude to the Headmaster and Kimly. He quickly regained his composure and calmly said, "I assure you, Albus-elda, I am quite capable of taking care of myself."

Dumbledore arched an eyebrow at Eragon's use of honorific for he didn't know the meaning of it, but the Rider's face remained impassive. "I'm very much aware of that, Eragon. You have blasted me and my colleagues into trees, after all. But Kimly is here to show you around Hogwarts."

"Oh." Eragon inclined his head gratefully. "Then, thank you." He glanced uncertainly at Kimly, who stood off to the side, looking quite nervous and scared, before meeting Dumbledore's blue eyes again. "Could I speak with you in private for just a second?"

Dumbledore nodded and – kindly – ordered Kimly to wait for Eragon at the bottom of the stairs. The elf did as she was ordered and Disapparated – was that how the wizards called it?

The old Headmaster trained his bright eyes on Eragon, who steadily met his gaze. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Kimly… what happened to her? She's so jumpy and nervous, like she expects beatings for everything she does."

Dumbledore sighed. "Well, she's very young and she worked for a pureblood family in Norway up until a few months back, when she was let go, because she did something that irked her masters. She then wandered over the world for a few months, trying to find a job, but wherever she went they either already had a house-elf and didn't need another or she was looked down upon for getting fired by her former masters. Then Dobby found her and brought her here. I offered her payment considering she was a free elf, but she adamantly refused for she didn't want to be free. She wanted to have a master, someone who she belonged to. So she became a Hogwarts' elf and I have a feeling she will not leave, lest I give her a piece of clothing. She's a good elf, though I suspect her former masters have not been kind to her."

Eragon frowned thoughtfully. "And you chose her because she's from Norway and can teach me Norwegian –"

– and because she's young and will be quicker to adapt to our beliefs about slavery, finished Saphira without missing a beat.

Corners of Dumbledore's mouth quirked up in amusement as his eyes sparkled. "Not a single thing escapes you, does it?"

Not really, no, answered Saphira confidently, making Eragon roll his eyes.

"Very well, Eragon, Saphira." The old Headmaster bowed his head. "I just have one last question for you two."

"Shoot."

"As I'm sure you've discovered, Severus is very skilled in Legilimency and Occlumency and I am not that bad at it myself. Severus, for example, is able to fend off Voldemort himself." He paused and gave Eragon a serious look. "Then how come you were able to break into both of our minds – not to mention the other's –, while being seriously injured?"

Eragon cracked his knuckles nervously. "Well..." He cleared his throat. "Saphira and I are trained in art of breaking into one's mind and had we been each on our own, I'm sure you would've been able to defend yourself better, from me more so than Saphira." His eyes flickered around the room a couple of times. "She, even though injured and alone, is a force to be reckoned with – every dragon is."

But when we are together, cut in Saphira. we work in sync and harmony that, to you mortals, is unknown and unimaginable. Together, a Dragon and a Rider are terrifying and out of the unbound, a few people can stand up to us.

"So," said one of the portraits that hung on the wall. It portrayed a frail and feeble-looking old man with a few wisps of white hair and brown eyes that was dressed in blue and bronze robes. "in theory, you could defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

"In theory, yes." The Blue Rider gave a small weak smile while turning around. "Prophecies are no light thing to mess with, Armando-vodhr."

And he slipped through the door like a shadow – as if he had never been there.

Walk from the Headmaster's office to the infirmary ward had been an awkwardly quiet one. Kimly had kept shooting scared glances towards Eragon, while he had tried to talk to her, asking her all kinds of questions. She had answered only with "yes, sir", "no, sir" and "I don't know, sir". Needless to say, he had given up after a few minutes.

Even Saphira had kept uncharacteristically quiet during that time.

He had been kind of relieved when they arrived to the hospital wing, where Madam Pomfrey gave him Brisingr before ushering them out of there and slamming the door shut behind them.

After seeing Brisingr – who had been sorely missed – Kimly had been even more afraid of him and Eragon couldn't really blame her. Then, they had started walking towards the Room of Requirement, in front of which they now stood – or, at least, in front of a tapestry portraying a man trying to teach a few trolls ballet.

"You have to walk past it three times and state what you need in your mind, sir," said Kimly timidly.

Eragon glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and shrugged. It's not like I've got anything to lose.

He stepped forward and started walking in front of the tapestry, eyes closed.

I need a room that can accommodate me and Saphira.

He turned around.

Somewhere Saphira can come and where she can't be found.

He whirled around again.

I need a room where I can feel at home. After a moment of hesitation he added, Please.

Only you, little one, Saphira chuckled with undeniable underlining of warmth in her voice. Only you would say please to a room.

His response was lost when Kimly sharply said, "Sir Eragon!"

He opened his eyes and gaped.

Polished double door had appeared in the wall in front of him. He outstretched his hand and grabbed the handle, pulling the door open effortlessly. He stepped into the room, vaguely aware of the house-elf following behind him.

The room was spacious, lit with un-flickering lanterns – Erisdar's, he realized slowly but joyfully, just like those in the dwarven and elven cities. There was a huge bed right of the entrance, its bedding a mix of blue and green colours. At its foot, against the wall was a bookcase, filled with scrolls and books – which, upon closer inspection, he found to be in Ancient language and English and about Alagaësia –, making him itch to grab a handful of them and start reading them. On the opposite wall was a bed large enough to accommodate a dragon three times the size of Saphira. The cushion's colour was the palest of blue, while its lining appeared dark blue. Next to the dragon bed was a door which he opened to find a bathroom similar to the one in Ellesméra with a small addition.

"Kimly," he called uncertainly.

The elf was immediately at his side, her eyes huge. "Yes, sir?"

He pointed to the offensive object. "What is that?"

The small elf looked confused but answered nevertheless. "That's a toilet, sir."

"Ah." He was bemused. "And what is it for?"

Kimly must have thought he was joking, but she replied, "It is used to dispose of urine and faeces, sir."

Eragon, though still puzzled, let the topic drop and walked out of the bathroom, much to Saphira's amusement.

He walked to the last wall that had absolutely nothing on it or against it so he outstretched his hand and pressed it against the stone.

He hadn't been expecting to almost fall through. He stumbled forward, head falling through the wall and one leg slipping over the edge of the floor.

He barely managed to keep his balance, probably thanks to the Eldunarya, who had made him do Rimgar on the railing of the boat these past months.

Well, he said after a second of silence from him, Saphira and Kimly. Seems like I found a way to get you in.

His dragon snorted. Indeed. I would prefer if you didn't almost fall off the seventh floor of a castle, though.

You can't have everything, dearest Saphira, he said in a sing-song voice.

Saphira huffed, but remained silent, only sending him a mental death glare. He felt her kick off the ground and fly into the sky, being careful to quickly mask herself with the darkness and keeping her wing-swings as light as possible. She came through the wall a few minutes later, landing gracefully and almost soundlessly – her talons barely made a sound as they scraped the hard floor. He took as second to notice how much she had actually grown since they left Alagaësia. His awe, however, was short-lived.

Kimly squeaked in fear and jumped back, her amber eyes twice their former size.

Eragon turned to her and outstretched his hands, trying to calm the house-elf down. "Kimly, she won't hurt you." His voice was soft and soothing as he put one hand on Saphira's neck. The blue dragoness gurgled softly, her big blue eyes kind. "We won't hurt you."

The amber-eyed creature stood stone-still, not even a twitch in her posture.

Eragon took a careful step forward, crouching lower in an attempt to not seem so tall. "We won't hurt you, okay?" He outstretched his hand again, palm up.

She eyed his hand and then raised her gaze to meet his – for the first time since they had met. She nodded gradually. Then, she slowly, ever so slowly, lifted her hand and grabbed a hold of his.

He smiled encouragingly and led her towards Saphira, who had lowered her head so that her eyes – or an eye – were on the same height as Kimly. He put the house-elf's palm on Saphira's warm snout, before taking a step back to observe the scene.

Saphira puffed good-naturedly, making dark smoke trail from her nostrils. Hello, tiny-big-eyes-two-legs-Kimly. I am Saphira.

Kimly stepped back and bowed. "Hello, o great dragon. Me is Kimly and is pleased to meet you."

Saphira eyed her Rider, amusement and satisfaction glinting in her big eyes. I like her.

About an hour later, Eragon kicked off his boots and took off his tunic before he unfastened the belt around his hips, which had Brisingr on it. He looked down at his tight pants and immediately wished for something more comfortable to wear.

As soon as the thought left his mind, the room got bigger and at the wall that previously only had had a bookcase and a bed next to it, appeared a large closet. He gaped and stepped forward to open it.

Inside was tons of clothing, from wizarding robes to Alagaësian clothing to Muggle clothes in all kinds of colours. He chose a pair of gray sweatpants and put them on to find that they fit him perfectly. He smirked as Saphira let out a noncommittal noise.

She was laying on the cushion, appearing extremely small on it. Her head was on her paws and she was curled up like a content kitten, her tail wrapped around her. Had anyone looked really quickly at her, they would have thought she was sleeping, but she was very muck awake, for her eyes were open and alert.

So, we're really staying, huh? She asked as he climbed into the bed and covered himself with the covers. Her tone was neither happy, nor sad – Eragon knew it was purposely neutral.

He shrugged helplessly, the motion looking weird under the covers. It seems so. He paused, searching for words. But I'm glad you're here with me, Saphira. I could never stay without you.

Little one, she murmured as she stood up and padded toward him, her tail dragging behind her silently. She lowered her head as she reached him and her snout brushed his forehead lovingly. I couldn't do it without you either.

He reached out and scratched her jaw, just where she liked it. I love you, Saphira.

I love you too, little one. Her tongue flicked out and its tip touched his forehead. Get some sleep. She turned around and walked back to her cushion, laying back down and closing her eyes.

He turned so that he was lying on his side and let his sleepiness catch up with him. And in a matter of minutes, he was lost to his waking dreams.

So, on a scale of 1-10, how bad was it? 13?

Okay, to put that aside, you can thank Pkmntrainereragon124 for making me promise to finish this chapter by the end of this month and though I've been staying up real late last few nights and I've been having a splitting headache through the day, I am a (wo)man of my word! Hope you enjoyed it, (Pkmntrainereragon124 and) everyone!

Also, since I've gotten a couple of notes that I have a few mistakes in my writing (English isn't my first language), I've been wondering if anyone wanted to beta this story?

And, I don't Norwegian and I don't want to use Google or any other translator, would annyone care to be extremely nice and help me out with that? Like, I'd send you the sentence I need translated and you'd send it back in Norwegian. Anyone willing to do that?

Anyway, answers to your reviews:

Hero's Valor: Haha, glad you enjoyed it! :D Thanks for the idea with Angela! I might include it in the story. About Glaedr, I whole-heartedly agree with you, and I did think about him coming with them, but then everything would be too easy. And they are too open, aren't they? I'll try to fix that in the future.

Quintain Apprentince of Alduin: Indeed. :)

Cynder2013: Yes, but I'd like to see Eragon learn a new language. It'll be a nice touch. And don't worry about Hermione, she'll get a break.

Peyton: Haha, good. :) Maybe, possibly. ;) Thank you, again.

Guest: Okay... you're creepy... I like that :D we'll get along well xD Thanks, though. :) I'm glad you love it.

Laonasa Enllyn Avery: Thank you. I do intend to do that. :D

Zekrom1010101010/Awesomepants: Okay... I'm not sure which one is the actual one, but okay. :)

The Dark Shape: Oh, believe me, I will *grins evilly* also, thank you :)))

Ilysia11: Thank you and I'll try. :)

LeonidasLives300Times: You flatter me :) Maybe in a few chapters, maybe in not so few chapters, but definetly YES. You do mean with the POV-s, right? Like Arya, Roran, Nasuada, Murtagh,... Because our Rider and Dragon ain't going back there for quite a while.

Skiing-girl: Thank you. :) BTW, that annoys me too.

DrBurn: You have NO idea how touched I was by your review! I think a few tears might have slipped. :'D But seriously though, you calmed all my fears, but at tha same time you put SO much pressure on me - like, what if I don't live up to your expectations?
But, I won't leave fanfiction! NEVER! I might be absent for a while, but I'll never leave!

Guest - anonymous: Og, God, I am so sorry! I know I hadn't updated and God, I hope you're still alive. To make it up to you, write me an oneshot idea and I'll try to write it as best as I can. Sound good? Again, I'm so very sorry!

Guest: Haha, I actually don't like cheezeburgers ;D But it's the thought that counts, right?

: I'm so glad you like it! :D Hope you liked this chapter, too!

Grace: You really honor and flatter me! :D But don't die! About the errors, working on it - as I'm sure you've read.

Inherifan1: Thank you, thank you, thank you! :D

SaviourUnleashed: Thank you :) I'm working on updating faster, though. I hope I'll update sooner the next time.

Oh, and THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR FOLLOWS AND FAVORITES!

Lots of love,

EA4E.