Author's note: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the canon, world, and characters portrayed below and you can tell I'm not J.K. Rowling because #transrights

Hogwarts: Assignment #12, Media Studies Task 2: "Everybody Lost Somebody" - Write about losing a loved one

Warnings: Canon character death; loss of a friend


An Unlikely Will

"I'm not doing any of this today," Harry told the Ministry official standing in the Burrow's doorstep before she'd even introduced herself.

"This isn't about the war or any of that, sir, I'm from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures…"

"Oh," Harry said. He thought of Remus, who had essentially had to go into hiding again during the war, and of Teddy who was upstairs in the attic where he and Ron had set up a playpen for him. "I don't think I want to talk to you either, have a good day…"

"It's about the will of Dobby of Hogwarts, Mr Potter," she tried desperately.

Harry froze.

"Pardon?" he asked.

"Dobby? The House Elf?" she asked. "My understanding is that he tried to write a will after he started earning money at Hogwarts, but the Goblins could not open a bank account for him or handle his affairs as he was without a wand. I think he was redirected to our department, but I'm not sure. The man who had my job before me, the one who dealt with Dobby, went missing back in October…"

He could feel his stomach tie itself into knots and his blood slow, his body slipping back in the usual suspended state it needed to be in to process the war. He hadn't known that Dobby had had a will, but… well, it made sense didn't it? Of course he would have wanted to have a will, to plan out the future of the few and precious treasures he had accumulated since becoming free. The fact that Dobby had thought of Harry made his heart swell.

"I… I have a box I can leave with you…" the Ministry employee said shyly. "Some of the other elves in the castle packed up his things…"

"I can take it, yes," Harry said with a dry mouth. It wasn't a very heavy box, and the Ministry employee had him sign a release form before handing it over with a copy of Dobby's will that was written in Ancient Runes that he might ask Hermione to translate later. He watched the Ministry employee disapparate once she'd wandered past the chicken coop before closing the door. He rushed upstairs with the box, not quite willing to answer Mrs. Weasley's question about who was at the door. He wasn't even sure if she knew who Dobby was…

He filled in Ron, Hermione, and Ginny when he got back to their attic refuge, though.

"Blimey," Ron said. "I mean… this is bonkers, but it checks out doesn't it?"

"Are you really going to open it here, Harry?" Hermione asked cautiously, eyeing Teddy's crib. "I mean, he would never do anything dangerous on purpose…"

"Come on now, Dobby got loads better at understanding what was or wasn't lethal to regular people over the years," Ron said.

"Besides, if the other house elves packed his things up, surely they wouldn't have sent anything dangerous," Ginny said. She hesitated. "Right?"

Finally, they elected to put a shield around Teddy's crib–just in case–before Harry opened the box and… and laughed.

His friends must have thought that he had finally gone mad when he turned over the box and let its content spill out onto Ron's bed. There were big ones, small ones, striped ones; new ones, worn ones, homemade ones, and store bought ones. There they were, in a million shades of red and yellow, blue and green, purple and pink, white and grey, and every other colour Harry could imagine–in any configuration of colours and patterns that Harry could imagine.

Socks. Hundreds and hundreds of pairs of socks.

They all laughed until they cried.


WC: 614