Samantha spent the first few weeks of that summer bored out of her mind. Her aunt and uncle had taken it upon themselves to lock every magic item Harry or Samantha owned up in the cupboard Harry used to live in. No wand, no textbooks, and then they padlocked both owls in their cages, so they had no way of communicating with anyone. Not that they needed to, anyway, because no one seemed to want to talk to either.
Nine people and not one of them can write me a letter, Samantha thought bitterly.
So, with all physical ties she had to her true world tied up, all Samantha had were stories. She and Harry had wasted no time filling their sister in on everything they'd done the past year at Hogwarts. Their stories of Quidditch, of Hagrid's illegal dragon Norbert, and, of course, the Philosopher's Stone, complete with how their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had Voldemort on the back of his head.
"He's not... still on the school grounds, is he?" Lauren asked.
"Not even he is that stupid," Samantha replied. "No, he'll be off in hiding, looking for other servants to take over and ways to regain a body."
Lauren shivered. "He seems awful," she commented.
"He is," Harry agreed.
After that, the only entertaining thing to happen was Lauren receiving her Hogwarts acceptance letter. Samantha thought back to two years ago, receiving hers, and wishing she'd known what Lauren knew about the magical world before going.
Well, maybe not the only entertaining thing. Samantha had gotten a Hogsmeade permission slip in her list of new books. She was looking forward to going, and her uncle had told her that if she behaved well while they had guests over, he'd consider it. Samantha considered that a win.
"Maybe someone there will know something about this," Lauren said, examining her hands.
Samantha shrugged. "I don't know, I haven't heard any mentions of it, ever," she said.
Lauren sighed. "I wish I knew how to stop it. Sometimes it's useful, but sometimes..." she trailed off, thinking of times when she touched something bad, like that time she'd seen that boy's parents die, or when she'd touched a water fountain and saw that girl be shoved, then saw the blood, and how she'd screamed and had to be taken home.
"You'll be in the same year as my friend Ron Weasley's little sister," Harry said.
Lauren nodded. It would be nice to know a little of someone.
The next day was Harry's birthday. Samantha and Lauren had made him a card together, but had not been able to get him a present, because they had no Muggle money and were unable to leave the house.
They ate breakfast silently, listening to Uncle Vernon complain about the paper and Aunt Petunia fuss over Dudley.
"Pass the frying pan," Dudley commanded Harry.
"You forgot the magic word," Harry said grudgingly.
Samantha grimaced. She knew what was coming.
"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT SAYING THE M WORD IN THIS HOUSE!" their uncle screamed.
"I meant please-," Harry tried to explain.
"APOLOGIZE TO YOUR COUSIN!" he shouted.
"Sorry Dudley," Harry said emotionlessly, and roughly passed him the frying pan.
"Today," Uncle Vernon started, "is a very important day. This could be the day I make the biggest deal of my career."
"Congrats," Samantha muttered, rolling her eyes. "How absolutely amazing."
"Shut your mouth, girl," Uncle Vernon told her.
"Really, how kind," Samantha said as she rinsed off her plate and made to go to her room.
"You're staying right here," Uncle Vernon said, and Samantha turned to face him, waiting for what they'd rehearsed that whole week. "We need to go over our placements for the night."
Lauren rolled her eyes at Samantha, and Samantha suppressed a giggle.
"Now, Dudley, where will you be at eight o'clock?" Uncle Vernon asked his son.
"I'll be in the sitting room, waiting to greet the Masons and take their coats," Dudley said between bites of bacon.
"Petunia?" Vernon asked.
"I'll be in the lounge, waiting to welcome them graciously into our home," Petunia said.
"And you three?" Vernon asked nastily.
"We'll be in our rooms, making no noise and pretending we don't exist," the siblings said in perfect sync. They had rehearsed it endlessly or the past week.
"Exactly," Vernon said.
They continued the schedule for that night, with Vernon asking every so often where Samantha, Harry, and Lauren would be, and they replied with the same dully rehearsed message every time.
"Good," said Uncle Vernon when they were finished. "With any luck, the deal will be signed by the time they leave this evening, and we'll be shopping for vacation houses in Majorca this time tomorrow," he said proudly.
Samantha rolled her eyes. Majorca didn't sound extremely exciting to her.
"Now, I'm off to get dress coats for Dudley and I," Vernon said importantly. "You three, don't disturb your aunt while she cleans," he instructed the siblings.
"Wouldn't dream of it," Harry said sarcastically.
That day was spent sitting around boredly for the most part, except for when Harry threatened Dudley with magic, and was therefore made to spend the rest of the day cleaning, with Samantha and Lauren, who were unable to join in because it was Harry's punishment, watching.
That evening, they ate a small, quick dinner before being sent into their rooms. Samantha was just choosing a book to read when she heard muffled talking in Harry's room.
"Come on," she whispered to Lauren, and the two of them snuck into Harry's bedroom, where they were met with a surprising sight.
There, standing in the middle of Harry's room, was a small creature with catlike ears and humongous, gleaming eyes.
Samantha gasped, resisting the urge to scream out loud.
"Wha- who are you?" Lauren asked.
"I is Dobby, Dobby the house elf," Dobby said.
"Nice to meet you, Dobby. But, er, why are you here?" Samantha asked.
"I is here to warn the Potters, miss," Dobby explained.
"Warn us of what?" asked Lauren nervously, looking to her siblings. Samantha shrugged.
"Dobby, not to be rude, but right now isn't the best time for me to have a house elf in my bedroom," Harry said.
"I has so much to explain, sir... but where to begin...?" Dobby said to himself.
"Why don't you sit down?" Harry offered.
Dobby burst into tears. Very, very loud tears.
"Dobby! Dobby, sh, please be quiet," Samantha hushed him.
"I'm sorry if I offended you-" Harry started.
"Offend Dobby, sir? Dobby has never- to be treated like an equal," he sobbed.
"Dobby, be quiet!" Samantha said bossily, and Dobby choked back his tears.
"You can't have met many decent wizards," Harry said.
Dobby shook his head in agreement. Then, with no warning, jumped up and began banging his head against the wall. Samantha ran over and picked him up, restraining him.
"No, Dobby!" she told him.
"I mustn't insult my masters, bad Dobby!" he said noisily. Samantha hoped neither the Dursleys or the Masons heard.
Hedwig had already awoken with a loud screech, and Samantha was fairly certain Athena would do the same in a matter of seconds. She made a mental note to use a bobby pin to unlock her cage later. She didn't care about the Dursley's rules anymore.
"Dobby must punish himself, Dobby almost spoke ill of his family," Dobby said.
"Your family?" Harry asked.
"The wizarding family Dobby serves, sir," Dobby said.
"Do they know you're here?" Lauren asked.
"Oh no, miss. Dobby must punish himself most severely for this when he gets home, miss," said Dobby sadly.
"Don't punish yourself!" Samantha cried.
"But Dobby must, miss, for he has disobeyed his masters and come to warn Harry, Lauren, and Samantha Potter!" Dobby told Samantha. "Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven for this."
"You can't possibly-," Lauren started.
"Won't they notice if you shut your ears in an oven?" Harry asked.
"Dobby doubts it, sir. He is always giving himself punishments, and sometimes his family reminds him to do extra," Dobby explained.
"Can't you escape?" Lauren asked.
"No, house elves must be set free, miss," Dobby said. "His masters would never set Dobby free, so Dobby is bound to serve them for the rest of his life, miss."
"That makes the Dursleys sound almost human," Harry commented.
"Can't we help?" Lauren asked.
Dobby once again burst into tears, and Samantha heard the distant wails of Athena.
"Dobby had heard of the Potters' greatness, but of their goodness, Dobby had no idea," Dobby said.
"Whatever you've heard about my greatness is rubbish," Harry said. "I'm not even the top of my year-"
"But I am!" Samantha added hopefully.
"Dobby heard that Harry Potter defeated the Dark Lord once more only weeks ago," Dobby said.
Harry nodded.
"Harry Potter's bravery is unmatched," Dobby complimented. "But Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts this year, and neither should his sisters!"
"What?" Samantha, Harry, and Lauren cried at the same time.
"I can't! Hogwarts is... is my home," Harry said.
"Mine too," Samantha agreed.
"Great danger lies at Hogwarts this year, and Samantha, Lauren, and Harry is in more danger than anyone else! Especially Harry Potter!" Dobby said.
"What, Voldemort's not back, is he?" Samantha asked.
Dobby didn't move.
"Does this have anything to do with You-Know-Who?" demanded Harry.
Slowly, Dobby shook his head. "Not- not He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, sir-," he said, his eyes wide.
"Well, who else poses a great threat to us, and especially Harry? He hasn't got some secret brother, has he?" Samantha joked.
But she sensed something, that Dobby was trying to say something without saying anything, trying to clue them in to a great secret.
"Dobby, what're you trying to say?" Harry asked.
"The Potters must stay home, there's a plot, a plot to make terrible things happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" Dobby said dramatically.
"Dobby, we can't just not go to Hogwarts!" Samantha protested. "It's where we belong!"
"Harry, Lauren, and Samantha mustn't go back!" Dobby repeated. "Bad things will happen at Hogwarts."
"You say it's not Voldemort, but I don't understand who else it could be. There's Dumbledore, for one... you know Dumbledore, right?" Harry asked Dobby.
"Of course, the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever seen," Dobby said, bowing his head. "But sir... there are powers he doesn't... no decent wizard..."
Then, suddenly, Dobby jumped off the bed and began to pound his head with Harry's lamp, complete with ear splitting yelps.
Samantha tried desperately to get the lamp away from him, and cradled him like a baby when she did.
She heard Uncle Vernon coming up the stairs saying "Dudley must have left his television on, the little tyke!" and promptly shoved Dobby in the closet.
Uncle Vernon burst in. "What in the devil are you three doing? One more peep out of any of you and you won't leave your rooms for the rest of the summer!" he said angrily, and slammed the door.
Samantha retrieved Dobby from the closet.
"Dobby, you can't make noise!" she said harshly. She had a Hogsmeade permission slip that needed signing and was not about to miss out on it.
Dobby nodded, cowering slightly.
"We're going to Hogwarts," Lauren said.
"You mustn't go! Dark things are to happen!" Dobby pleaded.
"It's the only place I've got... I think I've got friends," Harry said sadly.
"Friends who don't even write to you?" Dobby asked.
"How do you know-?" Samantha asked, searching Dobby.
"Samantha Potter and Harry Potter mustn't be mad at Dobby, Dobby did it for a reason-"
"Have you been stopping our letters?!" Samantha cried, not caring about the Masons.
"Dobby did it for the best!" Dobby said, holding up the letters
"Do you know how much I've gone through because no one sent me letters?" Samantha asked him, jumping to reach the letters.
"You can have them," Dobby said, holding them out of reach, "if you promise not to go back."
"I can't promise that!" Samantha told Dobby.
"Then Dobby has no choice," Dobby said.
He ran past the three siblings and through Harry's door, and in the direction of the stairs.
"Stop the elf" Samantha muttered, before dashing after him with her siblings.
Dobby ran into the kitchen, with Samantha, Harry, and Lauren following closely behind him as quietly as possibly.
There, Dobby had something floating in midair. Aunt Petunia's giant, mouth-watering pudding.
"No," Harry said softly. "You can't-"
"Will Samantha, Harry, and Lauren heed Dobby's warning?"Dobby asked.
"We- we can't," Samantha said.
"Then Dobby must do it," Dobby said. And with a crash, the pudding fell to the floor and Dobby vanished.
Samantha, Harry, and Lauren all looked at one another before the Dursleys and the Masons burst into the room. Uncle Vernon took one look at the once-gleaming countertops covered in pudding and his face reddened.
"Just our nieces and nephew, don't like meeting new people, frighten easily, we keep them in their rooms if we have guests," Uncle Vernon said on repeat as everyone stared at him. He got the Masons back into the dining room, promised the Potters that they wouldn't see the light of day for as long as they could think of, handed them mops and towels, and left as Aunt Petunia dug ice cream out of the freezer.
It seemed like he might get away with it, too, if it wasn't for the owl that came swooping into the dining room that moment and dropped two letters on Mrs. Mason.
She shrieked louder than Dobby and ran from the house. Mr. Mason stayed long enough to explain about his wife's mortal fear of birds before he ran out of the house as well.
Carefully, Samantha leaned forward to pick up the letters. One was addressed to her, and one was addressed to Harry. Hands shaking, she handed it to Harry.
"Go on, read it," Uncle Vernon said, pointing at Samantha's then Harry's letters.
Samantha knew it wasn't from a friend.
"Dear Miss Potter," she read slowly, "We have received intelligence that a Hover Charm was used at your place of residence at twelve minutes past nine. As you know, doing magic outside of school is strictly forbidden. We understand there is an underage witch at your residence so we will not press charges, but further use of magic at your place of residence will result in further investigation. Best regards, Mafalda Hopkirk, Improper Use of Magic Office."
Samantha looked guiltily up at Harry, whose eyes told her that his letter said the same thing.
"You didn't tell us you weren't allowed to use magic outside of school," Uncle Vernon said. "Forgot to mention it... slipped your minds... well, you won't be going back to that school... and if you try to magic yourself out, you'll be expelled."
Samantha backed up, pulling Lauren with her.
"Well, just you wait, you'll be locked in your rooms for God knows how long," Uncle Vernon threatened.
By the next day, they realized he was true to his word.
Not wanting to spend too much money on them, he instructed Harry to move his belongings into Samantha and Lauren's room, where he paid a man to install bars on the window. He bolted Harry's door shut, and put a cat flap on Samantha and Lauren's door for food. They let them out to use the bathroom one at a time in the morning and the evening, but weren't permitted to leave the room otherwise.
Three days later, the Dursleys showed no signs of relenting and Samantha had read all of the books she had in the room.
She lay on her bed running over every spell she'd learned the past two years and trying to figure out how to get to Hogwarts from here. She wished she could Apparate.
The cat flap opened and Aunt Petunia's bony hand reached through, shoving three cans of soup into the room.
Silently, the siblings drank it and put the leftovers in Athena and Hedwig's cages. Both looked thoroughly offended at this.
Samantha was finding it consistently harder to fall asleep each passing night, which was why she saw when the car appeared outside of their second story window.