Elves

It was a regular afternoon, where Ron felt like eating a bit more than usual and insisted on dragging Harry to the kitchens. Hermione, who was engrossed in a transfiguration essay homework that the two boys decided to put off until the last day, refused.

Ron enters the kitchen first, greeting the only other elf he knows, "Hi Winky, how's your day…"

His voice dies off, and the boy around the corner seems to trip on his own feet.

Worried, Harry rushes through the painting, "Ron! Are you ok…?"

His voice trails off too.

He was not expecting to see the Caretaker, Eragon, sitting in Harry's usual spot with a plate of éclairs in his hands.

He was certainly not expecting to see a group of elves swarmed around him, their backs straight and heads held up high, all looking like they want to press in closer to the Caretaker.

"Er…"

"Ah, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter." The Caretaker puts down his éclair and stands up, his hands brushing off any nonexistent crumbs. The elves part before him like Moose before the Red Sea (Harry can't remember the exact name), and they scramble, some albeit reluctantly, back to their regular positions. A faint smile hangs on Mr. Eragon's face, as if he wasn't caught in the act of slacking off from work, "Coming for a snack too?"

"Er…"

"Mr. Potter!" Dobby pops in front of Harry and Ron, a big smile on his face, "Would Mr. Potter and his friend like to have a plate of sandwiches?"

"That…That'll be great, Dobby." Ron replies, his eyes still glued on the Mr. Eragon. "The bacon one, thanks."

Dobby beams and disappears with a resounding crack. They allow several elves to lead them to another table – not the one they usually sit at – and Ron plops down like a sack of rocks.

"Stop staring at him!" Harry hisses to Ron. "You're making it awkward!"

Ron startles, his head whipping away from the Caretaker so fast that Harry swears he hears a crack.

"What is he doing here?" Ron hisses back. Not with hostility, just pure confusion.

"How am I supposed to know?" Harry resists the urge to elbow Ron. "It's not like he's a professor, of course he would have time to come down here!"

"Yeah, but we never saw Filch before…"

Harry elbows Ron, "Are you really comparing Filch with Mr. Eragon?"

Ron pauses.

Luckily, the elves save him from answering by appearing with their sandwiches.

Harry politely thanks the elves, who responds with watery squeaks, and proceeds to stuff a sandwich into Ron's mouth.

"Umph!" Ron protests loudly.

"You really shouldn't do that, Mr. Potter," A chastising voice nearly makes Harry jump out of his bench. He looks up to see the Caretaker, now sitting across them with his plate in hand. "You could have choked him."

"Er…" Harry feels a flush coming. "Sorry?"

How is he so quiet?

Mr. Eragon smiles. "Though if you really want to do it, I would advise using a bigger sandwich. Harder to get it into the throat by accident."

"Hey!" Ron cries indignantly, his sandwich somehow already swallowed. "'Bit rude, don't you think?"

A hint of a smirk flashes across Mr. Eragon's face, and Harry finds himself incredulous at the indication of such an expression appearing on the Caretaker.

The elves are still there, all watching Eragon with a look of fascination. They're no longer so close like before, but Harry can see their restlessness. It took a few seconds, but Harry can even see Winky among them, her usual companion butterbeer missing.

"Wh-why are they looking at you like that?" With curiosity bubbling under his skin, Harry asks the Caretaker. "They're looking at you like you're their…" He struggles to find the right word, "Idol?"

"Idol?" A small laugh comes out of Mr. Eragon's mouth, and he sets down his unfinished treat to fold his hands on the table.

"I don't think so, not really. You can say that they're…curious."

"'ecause yo're an el' 'oo?" Ron interjects with his mouth full.

"Part elf." Mr. Eragon smiles with a slight strain, "I would prefer if you do not show me the contents of your food in your mouth, Mr. Weasley." His smile becomes genuine at the Ron's flush before answering, "And yes, that would be the main reason, seeing that we're very... different."

Harry decides to accept that the Caretaker outrightly admits his lineage without question.

"Like your appearance?"

The Caretaker's smile widens slightly in amusement, "Yes. That. But also my magic."

"Huh." Harry turns to look at the elves, who are now all staring at him with an odd look.

He's pretty sure that he can see a hint of wariness in there.

"Well? I'm sure that you two still have schoolwork to complete. Finish your snacks."

Harry picks up his sandwich, and wisely decides not to prod further in the kitchens.

"So he's definitely part elf?" Hermione asks, her notebook in hand. Her transfiguration homework, which still has around 3 inches left, lies on the table forgotten.

Harry shrugs, "That's what he said."

"More like some elf king." Ron mutters. "The elves were looking at him like elf-Merlin or something."

"Hm." Hermione scribbles that down. "Do you think we can get him into SPEW? If he's really some 'elf-king', then it might be possible that he can..."

Harry groans inwardly.

At least Fred and George weren't there.

I'll try to update more. If you guys (if there are even readers) are ok with oneshots of this length, I can definitely do faster.