CHAPTER 6—SPIDER, SNIDGET, AND HOUSE ELVES

Suddenly, Dobby appeared out of nowhere, screaming, like nobody had ever heard him. "Mr. Harry Potter, sir!!! Dobby must wa-" but Dobby turned around and saw Harold and Virginia, and screamed again. "Mr. Harry Potter! What has happened! What has Dobby done!?" Dobby proceeded to run to the oven, turn it on, and throw himself in. Virginia sniffed the air and said "Wow.... he smells good...I wonder if he tastes as good as he smells."
That's when Harold finally reacted. He had been sitting there, dumbfounded. He ran and pulled Dobby from the oven and turned it off. "What do you mean? You didn't do anything!"
"Yes I did, sir!"
"Then what did you do?"
"I turned you into someone you're not, Mr. Harry Potter!"
"You did nothing of the sort!" Fred/George flew over. "We did that Dobby."
"No, I did!"
"Hey, look, calm down, Dobby!" Hermione said. She didn't realize yet that she was now a house elf.
"Who are you, pretty elf?" Dobby asked.
"What?" poor Hermione had no idea of what he was talking about.
Harold picked her up and stood her in front of the mirror in the hallway that everyone had been seeing their transformed selves in all summer. She screamed. And that's when the house elf instincts kicked in, for she grabbed the lamp and began hitting herself, "I mustn't think I'm a witch, I mustn't think I'm a witch!"

Ron didn't want her to be hitting herself on the head, so he reached out with a long leg and wrapped it around the lamp and took it from her.
"You are a witch, Hermione!"
"No, I am a lowly house elf, lucky to be able to do what my dear Master asks of me!"
Ron would have looked dumbfounded if you could have seen expression on his face.
But then, suddenly, the Acromantula instincts also started to come in.
"Harry! Help! The spider I've become wants to eat you!"
Harold got wide eyed as Ron stopped acting like himself and started advancing on him. Ron's face suddenly went from apprehensive to almost pure evil hunger!

Harold quickly turned around and went back to the living room, looking for something to defend himself with. Suddenly he spotted the bowl of candies on the floor. He quickly grabbed one, on a whim. Fumbling with the wrapper, as he shook, watching the giant spider approach him menacingly, he finally got it open as Ron started to say in a very evil voice, "So, human, I've hunted you-"
Harold threw the candy into the open
mouth. The spider closed its mouth in surprise and instantly, it shrank down to the size of a snitch. Ron quickly became round like one, and grew wings, while his eight legs disappeared. Two tiny feet popped out from the bottom of his belly and six of his eyes disappeared while the remaining two became like tiny red gemstones. All of his black hair disappeared and in its place, were now gold feathers. Finally, a very long beak protruded from his face.
Harold at first thought Ron had become a Snitch, but when he went to pick him up, Ron jumped into the air and zipped over to the hallway mirror. He had become a Golden Snidget.
Harold spotted Hermione's wand on the floor and conjured a large birdcage.
"Accio Ron!"
After he had put Ron in the birdcage, he said, "I'm sorry, but it's for your own good."
Ron screeched indignantly.
"Well, your clothes are there on the floor and you know from your last transformation that the instincts of the Snidget will soon emerge. Your brothers claim that the spells for the candies will wear off at the end of August."
Harold watched as Ron stopped complaining.
"If it does work, do you really want to be flying somewhere outside when you become you again? First of all, you'll fall to your death, second, if you don't die, you'll be very badly hurt. Third, you'll be nude. Finally, this birdcage is huge!"
"Harold?"
"Yes, dear?"
"What does that type of bird eat?"
Harold's eyes went wide. "I guess I'd better go figure that out, Virginia!"

Poor Dobby watched all this in confusion. Fred/George noticed this and flew over to him.
"Hey Dobby, why don't you go chatter with Hermy? The poor girl looks like she doesn't know her Master needs to know what Snidgets eat. Maybe you can help her?"
"Dobby will help Hermy so she doesn't displease her Master," Dobby responded, nodding. He quickly ran over to Hermy and said, "Come Hermy, we must find out what Snidgets eat for your Master."
"Yes, Master Harold Evans must get his information," Hermy responded and followed Dobby. Both Dobby and Hermy snapped their fingers and disappeared.



"This is ridiculous! Ron, a Snidget?" Tricia stated.
"Yes, and I became a house elf," Hermione stated.
"What happened to spew after that, Hermione?" Aimee asked.
"Well, Uhmm. It kinda died. As a house elf, I wanted to obey a master," Hermione answered, blushing. The four children came inside from their Quidditch game just as Hermione said this.
"You were a house elf, Mommy?" Shirley asked.
Hermione turned around, surprised.
"Yes, she was," Harry said, laughing, "Thanks to your Uncles!"
Hermione turned bright red.
"Wow!" Shirley said, "I wish I had a house elf."
With that thought there, the four children instantly became interested in the story again, but Hermione tried very hard to get the four kids off the topic.
"So who won your Quidditch game?"
"Mackenzie and Beryl," Celeste replied, "but what about the story?"
"Yea! The story!" the other three chorused.
"Well, Harry?" Tricia asked, "You gonna continue for these darling children?"
"Of course!" He replied, "Well, Hermy and Dobby returned later that night with the needed information.



"Master Harold Evans!" Hermy cried, upon entering the room he was in. Harold turned around and faced her with surprise. "Yes, Hermy?"
"We have found that Snidgets eat the nectar of the rare Quiliadis flower."
"O. And do you know how to get one of them?"
"We got one for Ron. The Modesty Rabnott Snidget Reservation in Somerset has given us a plant to help protect our young Snidget friend."
"O ok."

Later that night, Ron was presented with the flower. He began to drink the nectar as greedily as Miranda was drinking her mother's milk.
Harold started to make dinner when Hermy stopped him.
"Have I displeased you, sir?"
"No, why?"
"Because you did not tell me to make your dinner, like I must do."
"O. Well, go ahead, if you would like to."
Harold watched in fascination as Hermy's face lit up and she began to make the family dinner.

While Miranda was being fed, Harold took Cassandra upstairs to get a bath. Dudley followed. After about fifteen minutes, Dobby brought Miranda up and took Cassandra down to her mother.
Shortly after Miranda's bath was done, Petunia was brought up for her bath.
This one was quit amusing. The baby teddy bear child only wanted to play. In the end, it appeared that Harold was wetter then Petunia.


"Naughty Petunia!" Celeste cried out. The adults in the room burst out laughing.
"What?"
"Never mind, dear," Ron told her.
"Later that night," Harry continued, "We were all sitting in the living room when Hermy came to get us."



"Dinner is ready, Master."
"Thank you, Hermy."
Her face glowed with pleasure. "You are too nice to Hermy, sir."
"One can never be too nice to you!"
Hermy blushed.

Late that night, when everyone else was in bed, Hermy and Dobby sat downstairs.
"Dobby likes Hermy. Does Hermy like Dobby?"
Hermy looked at Dobby. "Yes, Hermy likes Dobby. Does Dobby want to be friends?"
"Dobby wants to be close friends."
Hermy gasped. "But Hermy can't be close friends with Dobby without her master's permission!"
"Hermy's master will give Hermy permission, Dobby is sure!"

The next morning, Hermy decided to ask her Master for permission to be close friends with Dobby.
"Master?" Hermy asked Harold, trembling, "can Hermy be close friends with Dobby?"
If Harold had known what that meant, he would have said no, but as it was, he didn't. "Sure, Hermy, why not?"
"O thank you master!" Hermy exclaimed.
After that, the day seemed to go by uneventfully, except for times when Hermy insisted on doing something that Harold was doing.
But that night, things between the two house elves were not as uneventful as the day.

The two house elves sat down on a chair, leaning against each other's backs, each holding a knife.
Dobby started and as he held his knife in the air he cried, "I promise to protect my close friend, Hermy, forever!" Then, he swung the knife down hard and chopped off his forefinger.
He held it solemnly in the air as Hermy took her turn. "I promise to protect my close friend, Dobby, forever!" And then, she too, cut off her fore finger and held it solemnly in the air. The two house elves slowly stood up and turned around. The final step was at hand.
They stared each other in the eye and slammed their chopped

off fingers on each others hands where the finger had been chopped off.
They squealed in pain as the 'new' fingers became merged to their hands with red thread of magical light connecting the fingers to their hands.
After it was all over, the two of them sat quietly on the floor in each other's arms.
"It is forever, Dobby is Hermy's close friend." Dobby said quietly.

"You cut off your finger, mommy?!" Beryl exclaimed, disgusted.

"Yes, I did," Hermione responded, blushing. She lifted her hand to prove it. Her forefinger was more green than the normal peachy color of the rest of her hand.

"Ewww," Celeste cried, "It's green!"

This only made Hermione blush even more.

The next two days were rather boring, Hermy and Dobby ran around, not letting anyone else do chores. The only exciting thing was that somehow, Ron laid an egg. Harold, scared that Ron would hurt the egg, took it and got an incubator for it after he saw Ron pecking at the egg with his beak.

But, Thursday became a day of surprise.

Although none of the candy spells were supposed to wear off for another four weeks and a day, Hermione and Ron's did.

Harold and Virginia were at the table, eating dinner and feeding Petunia, who was now able to eat some real food. Fred/George was sitting on his flower, watching TV in the living room; Dudley was flying thru things to be playful. The twins were asleep in their playpen.

Dobby and Hermy were sitting by the fireplace together and Ron was in his birdcage, drinking nectar from the plant when it happened.

Suddenly, something crashed to the floor and someone screamed. Harold jumped up and ran to the living room to find the bird cage on the floor and a nude Ron trying to get out of it, next to Hermione, who was still wearing the pillowcase, but the thing only covered her chest now, who was rubbing her head, which had hit the mantle when she became herself again. Dobby was sitting there, starring and shaking his head, "Hermy can't be Hermione, Hermy can't be Hermione," he repeated to himself again and again.

Hermione looked down at the poor house elf and said, "I'm sorry, Dobby."

Harold quickly found clothes for the two teens, while Fred/George flew over. "How'd you get the stupid spells to wear off so quickly!?"

"We didn't," Ron muttered, freeing himself from the birdcage.

"O."

"What had happened was our spells malfunctioned," George told the listeners.

Everyone started laughing at the twins' indignant expressions.

Suddenly, Ron picked Hermione up.

"Aww, you'll ALWAYS be my little house elf," he told her, kissing her squarely on the lips. She kissed him back, in the midst of a fit of giggles. 

Later that night, Hermione and Ron began to pack because the next day they were going home.  Neither one would admit it, but they both enjoyed being someone and something else for the week, even though both were quite glad that the spells wore off earlier than they were supposed to.

The next morning, they left via flew powder, after telling Harold that they would see him on September first. He really didn't know why, but he nodded his head.

Later that day, a letter from Hogwarts arrived, addressed to him.

"Dear Mr. Harold Evans, (or, under normal circumstances, Mr. Harry Potter)

You're seventh and final year of Hogwarts is at hand. Enclosed is a list of the text that you will be required to have this year.  Remember this is a very serious year, as your graduation is at the end of it.

The Hogwarts express leaves on the first of September. 

I am also very pleased to inform you that you are the Head Boy of Gryffindor this year, so enclosed you shall also find your badge.

Please meet the other Head Boys and Girls on the train ten minutes before it is scheduled to depart. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Professor Dumbledore,

Headmaster

P.S. If you have not managed to return to your true self by August 30th, Please do send me an owl and I will fix your problem. Otherwise, enjoy your role as a father for the time being."

Harry turned around. George had gotten up to answer the door.
"Why, hello, Sara!!"
"Hi George, dear! You're mother told me you were here."
"Ah. We've been taking turns telling a story."
"Oh?"
"Yep. From the summer before I met you!"
"O!"
"Well, seeing as nothing unusual happens in our story for a while after he gets his letter, I think I will continue starting on July 20," Harry said.



Harold stood, staring out the window where Virginia sat in the yard with the three girls and Dudley. He knew something wasn't right; HE wasn't right, and neither was anyone else in the house. But he couldn't figure out what was wrong with him and Virginia.
Then, he remembered the letter he had received from the beginning of the school year.
"It was addressed to Harry Potter and myself," he thought, "but it said that that WAS me."
Harold shook his head, unable to fathom the riddle

That night, as Harold and Virginia were getting ready for bed, Harold decided to ask Virginia if things seemed wrong to her, too.

"Well, Petunia is half teddy bear, Fred and George have become one person and Dudley now flies through things. That is wrong. Other than that, I don't know dear. Don't worry, sleep it off."

Harold nodded his head then climbed into bed.

The next morning, Harold got out of bed and went outside for a walk. As he was walking, assorted things came to mind that made him think that something was wrong.