Harry was musing over the conversation he'd had with a clerk of Malik's yesterday as the dawn brightened the room via a large window behind him.
Malik himself hadn't been there, yesterday, and his clerk was running the store for him. This wasn't the first time he hadn't been there -Harry didn't that at all odd. No it was something the clerk said… that Malik kept the oddest hours. Sometime days he was there, a lot of the time he wasn't. Furthermore, there were some weapons he wouldn't let the clerk sell, even though they were on display with the rest…
His thoughts stilled suddenly as he felt something, and froze. He didn't have time to figure out what he had felt, before he heard a voice greet him.
He looked over to see the venerable Headmaster. "Sir."
He looked back to the door, which he had been facing and repressed of smile. He figured out what he'd felt. "How nice it is to see you."
Dumbledore was looking as he usually did, figuratively screaming wizard, with magnificent robes and a pointed hat. "As I just received word that the elves have arrived, I thought I might gather those intrepid souls who were willing, and go meet them.
He was delighted at the idea, "Sure." The wizarding world had had a few bad relations with the elves, and rare good encounters over the ages. Mostly, they were unknown, which scared people, but interested Harry.
Dumbledore, McGonagall, and two Aurors, and he himself met in the entrance hall. He would have thought that Snape would come -but then he remembered the man's dislike of 'creatures.' Elves probably were in the same category of non-human as werewolves, after all.
They walked to the forbidden forest, and were greeted at the edge by an elf. She indicated that they should follow, and they did so.
The elves had already set up a 'home' for themselves. Harry looked around, absorbing the sight. They did indeed have structures in the trees. He marveled at how they seemed to blend with the surroundings.
They, however, did not have to go 'climbing.' They were led to a small building, constructed around several trees. Inside was a meeting hall, with elves already present within.
The headmaster took the lead. "Albus Dumbledore." He made a gesture with his hand and the elf directly in front of him nodded. The elf was slightly green, with light blue hair, and he wore clothing which Harry had never seen before. Dumbledore continued, stating each of their names, not using any titles.
The elf followed suit. "I am Lithon." He gestured to his left, "Kalien. Fresair." He gestured to his right, "Storlin, Werndre."
Dumbledore said. "I welcome you and all your companions to Hogwarts."
"We accept your welcome and welcome you to our camp in return."
"I accept your welcome. May we sit?" Dumbledore received a nod, and they all sat.
The elf who had introduced the rest, Lithon, started. "We have come to observe."
"I hope you do, and report back all you see. Voldemort is gaining far too much strength, and you will not remain unaffected."
"We have begun to realize that. On the way here, we were attacked, and could very easily be dead right now."
"Was it you who sent the human who fought with us?" asked the female elf named Werndre. As she asked, she looked straight at Harry, and he found himself a bit unnerved.
The Headmaster answered. "No, as you know, I did not know when or where you would be arriving."
Harry felt something odd from the elves -he wasn't sure what though.
Fresair spoke up, "Do you know of him?"
"Perhaps. Could you give us more information?"
Lithon obligingly told them of how the man had fought beside them. Apparently, he may have made the difference in favor of their survival.
Harry answered, "Yes, we have had reports of a -man, fighting independently against Voldemort."
Dumbledore said, "We know not much more of him than you do, though we have tried to make overtures."
Lithon nodded and turned to different matters. "We wish to hear what you have to tell of Voldemort. We will want first hand accounts -would you permit a few of us to join your ranks for observation?"
One of the Aurors spoke up, "It's not exactly that easy. With the sporadic danger involved your observer may very well be injured or killed."
"We understand the possibilities."
The other Auror answered after a glance at Dumbledore. "Very well then. Send them to the castle, and we will arrange something."
McGonagall asked, "You do realize that Voldemort attacking Hogwarts at some point is always a likely possibility. You will be in his path."
"If Voldemort does attack this school, then all the better that we should stand in the way," said Lithon.
Storlin was watching Harry. "Did you know that you had a bit of elven ancestry?"
Harry raised his eyebrows. "N- no. My mother was a muggle born."
"Muggleborn?"
The Headmaster said, "her parents were muggles -those without magic."
"Ah." Harry wondered if there were any elves without magic.
Despite his curiosity over the matter, the conversation moved on.
Lithon looked into Dumbledore's eyes. "Now, tell us of Voldemort."
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Realistic elves?
I'm going to try to add more darkness to the fic, as it is set during a wartime; After the next chapter, things start to roll along faster.
