23 Sorting and Lodging

Snape was waiting near the entrance to the Great Hall. By the look on his face, Harry was sure that Malfoy's cronies had already reported the events on the train to him. "Potter, what have you done to Malfoy?" the professor asked.

"It's Lord Potter, sir. I didn't do anything to him, I didn't even take my wand out. He spoke in a derogatory way to my wife and I warned him against repeating that, as the House Magic protects her very well. He didn't believe me, evidently, as he tried to repeat his insult and found his lips fused. Would you like to check my wand, sir?"

Snape looked like he had just bit a very sour lemon. "No need for that. I just wanted to inform you that the headmaster expects to see you immediately after the feast."

Without another word, Snape turned around and walked briskly in the direction of the hospital wing, his robes billowing behind him.

"That was our potions professor, dear," Harry told Elsa. "Isn't he a darling?"

Elsa followed Harry to the Gryffindor table, but a prefect stopped her. "Professor McGonagall asked that you go to that room and wait for your sorting," he told her, pointing at the ante-room. She looked at her mates. Both Harry and Hermione smiled encouragingly at her. She shrugged and let the prefect lead her.

Elsa was the last to be sorted. After all the first-year students had been sorted, Professor McGonagall called loud and clear, "Lady Elsa Potter," as the girl walked to the stool and put the hat on. There was a long silence, and one could hear the students starting to talk to each other, wondering who this new student was and what her title meant. Eventually, the hat shouted "Gryffindor!" eliciting a wide smile from Harry and Hermione, as Elsa walked quickly to join them with a hug from each. Nobody noticed that Professor McGonagall was also smiling, as she was hiding her smile with her hand, pretending to cough.

"What took you so long?" Harry asked.

"The hat was not sure where to put me, finding me more than good enough for each and every house. I then made it understand that I'm your wife and would stick with you, no matter what house it put me in, so it decided to put me with you."

By now, everybody had already heard the gossip that Potter got his lordship and two wives to boot. It was also clear to most that berating one of Potter's wives could be quite costly, evident by Malfoy's stay in the hospital wing, expected to last a few days.

The three ignored the gossip. They finished their meal and then walked to the Headmaster's office, meeting him at the gargoyle near the stairs. "Welcome Ladies and Lord Potter. I see you're very punctual. That's a mark of nobility." He said the password and then waved the girls to enter. "Ladies first," he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Once seated in the office, Dumbledore turned more serious. "Lord Potter, Ladies, I must tell you that I was very upset by the letter announcing your change of status, especially since it arrived so close to the beginning of the term. I understand that school is not in the forefront of your mind during vacation, but it would have been politer to give us more than a couple of days to get ready for you."

Harry looked convincingly contrite. "I'm sorry, Headmaster, but it wasn't very clear to me what we were going to do until a few days ago. We seriously considered staying in France and I even started learning some French, but it doesn't look like I'm going to master that language any time soon. We were also considering homeschooling, as we can afford it, you know."

Dumbledore accepted the apology. "Well, at least you made the right choice and came here. Your apartment is ready, although it may need some finishing touches, which the house elves are sure to do before tomorrow night. I hope you'll find it to your liking. You should only refrain from abusing your rights, or we may need to limit them."

"I don't think you need to worry about that," Harry said, "but I'm really worried about the Dementors. Why should they even be allowed near a school?"

Dumbledore sighed. "It was not what I wanted. I argued with the Minister, but he wouldn't listen. I'm sure he would have thought differently if he had a child at school. He states that the Dementors will protect the school. You should stay away from them in any case."

"We couldn't stay away from them in the train," Hermione noted.

Dumbledore nodded sadly. "I've been informed of the incident. Luckily, nobody was hurt. I'm going to protest to the minister, but I doubt he will change his mind."

He now turned to Elsa. "Lady Peverell, I believe I have not yet had the pleasure to meet you, and your school dossier has not arrived yet. Care to tell me a bit about yourself?"

Elsa expected this question and was ready for it, although not eager to answer. "I'm the middle daughter of my parents. My elder sister is starting her sixth year at Beauxbatons, where I've also studied the previous two years, getting quite good marks."

"She was the best in her class," Harry added proudly. Elsa smiled shyly before going on.

"I like reading and I also like physical exercise. I have a few good friends in France, whom I'm going to miss badly, although I hope to make some friends here. Lady Potter and I are already good friends."

"That's very good," Dumbledore agreed. "I hope you'll find this school at least as good as Beauxbatons and make many new friendships. One of the house elves will escort you to your apartment."

He then called, "Dobby!"

The small house-elf appeared immediately. He didn't even look at the headmaster, as he noticed Harry. "What can Dobby do for The Great Harry Potter Sir and his Ladies?"

Harry smiled at the enthusiastic creature. "I think that the headmaster wants you to lead us to our assigned apartment." He glanced at Dumbledore who just nodded.

"Of course, Master Harry Potter Sir. Dobby will gladly lead you to your lodging. Dobby is very happy to serve Master and Mistresses."

Harry refrained from commenting on the way Dobby was addressing them. He just let the house-elf lead them, noticing that Hermione looked puzzled. Elsa was also aware of it.

They were going the same way that led to the Gryffindor tower, puzzling Harry and Hermione. Elsa only looked around, trying to absorb the views and get acquainted with her new environment. Dobby stopped at the last turn before reaching the Gryffindor common room, in front of a painting of a centaur. "This is the entrance to the Potter apartment. It is protected by a password, that is currently 'Marriage Bliss.' You can change it, once you go inside."

Harry was surprised that Dobby managed to say it calmly and without addressing any of them as Master or Mistress. He smiled internally. Hermione approached the painting and said "Marriage Bliss." Harry expected the painting to swing aside, but the wall seemed to open, door-like, just adjacent to the painting, letting them all pass into a short corridor that opened into a very nice sitting room, with several sofas and couches and various tables scattered around it, several book cabinets, all full of books that seemed ancient, and with a large fireplace warming it all. Several doors connected to that room. One, just opposite the entrance, was open, and they could clearly see the large canopy bed in there. By its size, it was more than adequate for three teens to sleep in.

The girls started to scan the books. Harry checked the other doors. Behind one, he found a small dining room, suitable for six diners at most, with an attached kitchenette. Dobby was quick to fill a kettle with water, ready to make some hot beverage, if wanted. Another door led to what was clearly the visitors' toilet room, and the remaining doors seemed to lead to two guest rooms that were currently left alone, clearly not meant for anybody to use.

"Would Master and Mistresses like some tea now?" Dobby asked, as soon as Harry joined the girls in the common room.

Harry thought this was a good occasion to ask, "Dobby, why do you keep calling us Master and Mistresses? You were set free. You don't need to call us that way."

Dobby seemed worried by the question, while both girls lifted their heads from the books and seemed interested. Dobby lowered his eyes and seemed contrite. "Well, Master Harry Potter Sir, after the Great Harry Potter Sir killed the monster and saved the girl, when he set me free of nasty Master, he formed a new, different bond. Dobby is now Harry Potter Sir's house-elf, and as Master got married, Dobby also serves both Mistresses."

"You set him free?" "You bonded him?" both girls said at the same time.

Harry sighed. With all that had happened during the summer, he never really got a chance to tell them all about his adventure in the Chamber of Secrets and what had followed. He sighed and turned his gaze to the girls.

"I tricked Mr. Malfoy to give Dobby a sock, setting him free, as that seemed to be what Dobby wanted. I..."

He didn't have a chance to continue. Elsa seemed appalled. "Don't you know that a house-elf should never be set free? With no master, a house-elf is doomed, unable to survive for more than a few weeks."

Harry lifted his hands apologetically. "I didn't know that, and Malfoy was treating Dobby really badly."

"But you bonded him!" Hermione said accusingly.

Dobby came to his rescue. "Master couldn't know about the bond. Most people don't know, but when one helps a house-elf escape from danger, one creates a stronger bond than those created by the bonding ceremony. Master saved Dobby from suffering and from being abused, and Dobby repays by helping Master as much as he can."

This seemed to have calmed both girls, and Harry felt grateful for that. Hermione seemed eager to learn some more about house-elves, but a yawn that escaped her mouth seemed to convince her that she should have different priorities at the moment.

"Would Master and Mistresses like some tea now?" Dobby asked again. This time he got three nods. Soon enough, he brought three cups of mild tea, just right for calming people before going to bed. The teens sipped the tea slowly, absorbed in their thoughts, yet none of the girls failed to cuddle close to Harry, and that made them all much calmer than the tea could.

They retired to the bedroom, once they finished drinking. None was surprised to find a large en-suite bathroom, with a wide bathtub, fit for three, as well as a large shower stall, where they could all shower together. They were too tired for that, though. Hermione only made sure that they all brushed their teeth before they got undressed and moved to the bed.

Despite it being a tiring day. None of the teens would consider sleeping without having some intimate fun first. Harry made sure to sate both his wives, and then they all fell asleep, smiling contentedly.

\/\/\/

Unknown to wizard-kind, the goblins were quite busy hunting down Voldemort's soul anchors. They were in no hurry, though. Once they identified the soul piece extracted from Harry as a part of Voldemort, they spent close to a year studying and planning. They managed to extract from that soul shard every piece of information it contained, mainly about the location of the other parts and their protection schemes. With that information, they could plan most of the operation in ways that would fit the goblin way of thought – maximum benefits for minimum risk.

A small team – only three expert curse breakers – worked mainly on that project. It first found the cup in Belatrix's vault. The next item was the Gaunt ring. While protected much heavier, it posed no real problem, since the team had access to all the relevant information. Next was the diadem in the come-and-go room. Hogwarts' house-elves needed to access the Hogwarts vaults almost daily, so it was quite easy to inform one of the danger lurking in that room and persuade the house-elf to bring it in for destruction, especially since wizards were unable to properly destroy such dangers, nor could house-elves. The diadem was brought in before the end of the business day.

The other items were more difficult to find. The team extracted Slytherin's locket only to find it to be a fake. They could only guess who took it away and where it was hidden. Nobody thought that whoever stole it could also destroy it. The last item – the diary – was known to be in Malfoy's possession, but it wasn't in any of the Malfoy's vaults. Unfortunately for them, the events at Hogwarts were kept secret, although nobody would have normally thought of them as connected in any way to soul shards.

Still, the goblins stayed patient. They were sure of their success, even if it would take longer than expected.