Harry Potter and the Jacobite Elves

Rating: M

Summary: Harry takes possession of the Black family's castle in the Highlands of Scotland. Up to and amidst the celebration of Hogmanay (New Year's), he discovers that there is some very old business to attend to.

Disclaimer:

I have not claim to characters or scenes from the Harry Potter series, which belongs to JK Rowling and associates. I get nothing from this except the enjoyment of imagining and writing the story. I am making no money from this (rats).

Night Visiting

That night, Hermione Granger and Winnie, 'her' house elf, had just started Hermione's first language lesson in Scottish Gaelic when a soft knock came on the door of the washroom Hermione's bedroom shared with the room where Ginny slept.

Hermione said to come in, and Ginny entered, sniffling. She asked, "Hermione, can I sleep in your bed with you tonight?" The younger girl was obviously distressed (as well as undressed), wearing only the t-shirt and knickers which were her regular sleeping attire.

The older girl said, "Of course, come on in." Then turning to the elf, she asked, "Would you mind if we have the lesson another time?" The elf agreed, obviously pleased at the courtesy Hermione was showing to her by requesting a delay, rather than just declaring it so. Hermione thanked her and promised to meet again the next night.

As the elf left, Ginny crawled into the large bed, cuddled up to Hermione, and started sobbing uncontrollably. Hermione hugged her friend, asking what was wrong.

Ginny spoke haltingly, through her tears. "This place, it's all wrong." She sobbed and spoke all in a rush as if to get it all out before she broke down completely, "It'stooquiet, myroomistoobig, ImissmyMomandFred'sdead!" With this, she began crying to the point where she could not speak any more. Hermione hugged the red-head to comfort her, adding her own tears to Ginny's in memory of the rascally brother who had died fighting in the battle at Hogwarts. Through her sobbing, Ginny sobbed out, "And Harry is so different here!"

After a while, Ginny's sobbing diminished to a soft whimpering, and Hermione asked, "How is your room too big? Your dorm room at Hogwarts is bigger." Ginny said softly, "In my dorm room, there are four other girls, so the room is full. You know how small my room is at home. And it's too quiet. In the dorm, there is always the sound of breathing and snoring, the other girls shifting in their beds, the beds creaking, and so on. At home, the house has its own sounds as it bends in the wind, and there are always the sounds of the family. Here, I'm all alone in the big room, and the castle doesn't make noise the way home does. And I'm lonely. Hermione, I don't mean that I don't like being with you and Harry, but I think I need to go home. I miss my Mom, and I think with Fred gone (sob), she needs me to be there. I have to go. I need to go now."

Hermione bit her lip as she thought about this change in plans. She said, "Well, we're going to have to tell Harry. If you are going to go now, we need to tell him now. Let's go." The two got out of the large bed, and Hermione looked at Ginny's outfit. She giggled. Ginny looked at her puzzled. Hermione said, "Ah Ginny, I think we're going to have to do something about what you're wearing. Looking like that, he might not let you leave."

Ginny looked down at her t-shirt and knickers. She giggled a bit "You think the knickers are too much?" Hermione laughed "I think it's more a case of too little. Hang on a tick." Casting her spell wandlessly, Hermione charmed Ginny's t-shirt into a knee length nightgown of the same material, that fit her figure well. Ginny looked down at her adjusted outfit, "Nice. I don't think I need the knickers now". Hermione agreed and said, "Well, the seams do catch on the nightie, so the panty-lines show." Ginny declared "Right, no knickers!", and slipped her underpants off, dropping them onto Hermione's bed.

The two walked across the hall to Harry's room, and knocked on the door. After a pause, a sleepy voice said to come in. They entered Harry's room as he was putting on his glasses.

Harry stared at the two young ladies dressed only in their nighties. He said, "You two had better be a dream, or Ron is going to kill me. And then Ginny's other brothers are going to kill me. Then Mrs. Weasley is going to kill me. Then, if I'm not dead yet, Ron will kill me again. You realize, of course, that what I think you're suggesting is every teen-age boy's fantasy." Harry could not help noticing that both young women had hourglass figures, although Ginny's, taking after her mother's, was more along the lines of 'fifteen minutes past the hour', while Hermione's was more 'half-past'.

The girls giggled, and shook their heads. With a naughty twinkle in her eye, Hermione said, "Sorry Harry, maybe later, but not tonight. Ginny's going to leave for home."

Harry looked incredulous. "Now? In the middle of the night? What's wrong?"

Hermione looked at him, and said, "Harry, do you mind if we get into the bed with you while we talk about it? It's a little cold standing here in not very much. After all, we shared the cot in the tent all last winter." Even in the dim light, Harry could tell that the girls were cold, as their nipples showed prominently through the thin fabric of their nightgowns.

Harry sleepily said "Sure, come on in." He threw back the covers, revealing his bare chest. Hermione blushed at the possible implication of this (did Harry sleep nude?), but felt she was too committed to back out. However, seeing a flash of some material lower down, she relaxed.

Ginny climbed into one side of the bed, and Hermione got in on the other side, so that Harry was in the middle between them. He put his arms around them as they filled the bed, to prevent either falling out. Through her sobs, Ginny said, "You're warm" and cuddled up to him, then stiffened slightly as she realized she had just cuddled up in bed with the boy she had dreamed of taking to bed for years. She could feel that Harry was not relaxing either, as he too felt a bit uncomfortable with the situation.

Harry became suddenly very aware that, on the upper half of his body, he was separated from young and nubile female flesh by a single thin layer of material, and lower by only two layers (his and hers).

Ginny could feel Harry's body reacting to her presence, and looked at him with soft eyes, saying "Thank you, Harry". He looked puzzled (and a bit embarrassed from his involuntary erection growing under the covers), and said, "You're welcome, I guess. What are you thanking me for?" Ginny glanced downwards, then to Harry's face and said "In spite of me crying like a little girl, you apparently see me as a desirable woman". Hermione started to say, "Ginny, it's just.." when Ginny interrupted her "Hermione... shut up". The girls looked at each other and giggled, but Ginny's gentle laugh turned into racking sobs.

Hermione reached across Harry to hold Ginny's arm, and the younger girl responded by holding Hermione's arm tightly as she cried. Harry thought "Great Merlin, I'm a Harry sandwich. I could get to like this, if they weren't crying."

Hermione started to explain Ginny's dilemma, when Ron walked in from the shared bathroom. He looked at the bed with Harry in the middle, with a beautiful young woman under each arm. His first thought was "Mom's going to kill him", then "I'm going to kill him", then "But this is what Ginny has been wanting for years", then "But I don't think she wanted to share him."

Ron looked at Harry and said, "You know, mate, I don't know what arrangements you three have made, but don't you think that two at the same time is a bit greedy?" The four laughed a bit, with Ginny's laugh being a bit choked with a soft sob.

Ron heard the sob in his sister's voice, and asked "What's wrong, Gin?" She started to explain, but burst into tears again. Now Harry had one very seriously crying girl in bed with him.

Hermione explained Ginny's feelings to the two boys, while Ginny cried and nodded as the older girl laid out her plan to leave.

Ron thought for a moment. "Harry, Hermione, I don't want to be a killjoy, but Ginny is right. I have been feeling uncomfortable, too. I should go with her. I need to be home."

"Harry, I love your castle, but it's not my place. I grew up in a poor family, happy but poor. I just don't feel right here. I need my family around me, and I think that right now, they need me around too."

Harry said, "Ron, I want this to be your place, and Hermione's and Ginny's, and Neville's and Luna's too. And the rest of your family, and Hermione's parents."

Ron said, "But it's not our place, it's yours. You earned it. You seem to feel free here."

Harry turned a bit red, and raised his voice a bit. "Ron, if anyone 'earned' it, it was you and Hermione and Ginny and all the people who fought Voldemort! You guys fought voluntarily. Yes, I feel free, because this is the first summer of my life I haven't had the Dursleys or Voldemort hanging over my head. I have had this death sentence my entire life until last spring - I fought because I had no other choice. I got this place, and the others, not because I earned it, but because people I loved died! Can't I please share it with people I love? Those who lived. The ones that I feel really 'earned' it!"

Hermione was in tears as she heard Harry's declaration of how he felt about his so-called destiny, and his inheritances. Now he had two crying women in bed with him.

Ron tried to simultaneously nod and shake his head, looking like he was throwing his neck out of joint. Ginny watched this manoeuvre and giggled through her tears.

Ron said, "Harry, I hear you and I know you mean it. Someday, maybe, but not now, not tonight. Tonight, Ginny and I are going home. We have to."

He said, "Harry, mate, I don't mean to belittle what you've done or what you have had to put up with, but Hermione and me, and my family, have been under the same death sentence. The Death Eaters called my family 'blood traitors', and have hated us since Mum and Dad fought them in the first Voldemort war. Hermione's family was in danger because of being muggles, and Hermione's relationship with you – that's why she had to send them away with their memories screwed up. We're all in this together."

"I am thrilled that you feel free. But being from a poor background, I worry that the money, and the status and all that is going to go to your head. Mate, don't let your possessions own you! Power can corrupt, and so can money. Just stay 'Harry', please. For all our sakes."

"Harry, the money you inherited is from your family and people who loved you too. That's the way it works. We pass stuff on to our families when we go. That's where yours came from."

Ron grew a bit angry as he continued, "I know Ginny and I and Mum and Dad and the rest have lots of money now, because of the money attached the Orders of Merlin we all got. I feel that money is the Ministry trying to buy our loyalty after they screwed us over for so many years. You have to know that I would give all of that money up in an instant, if we could have Fred back!"

Harry nodded sadly, "And Remus and Tonks, and Sirius and the others! Even Colin Creevey and his bloody camera!"

"Ron, you're right, and I'm sorry I snapped at you. But you know that you and Ginny, and your whole family will always be welcome in any place I have, any time, because you are my family too."

"Okay, I guess we need to get your stuff together. The fireplace in the great hall is connected to the floo network, so you can floo home. I will come and see you off, so I guess we had better get dressed, or at least put on dressing gowns if we can find some, or something." The three in the bed started to get out, so the girls could return to their rooms.

Ron saw the top of Ginny's outfit, and recognised her favourite t-shirt. Knowing how his sister typically dressed (so to speak) for bed, he blushed slightly, and said "Ginny, are you dressed like you usually do?"

Ginny's humorous streak came to the fore as she watched her brother blushing, and shook her head, realising what he had assumed about her outfit. She said "No Ron, I'm not". As she got out of the bed, so he could see that her nightgown was of a more modest length, she said "Hermione insisted that if I was going to go to bed with Harry, I had to take my knickers off." Putting on her best 'little girl' face and looking over at Hermione, she said "Older ladies are so much more knowledgeable about these matters." She looked at Ron, Hermione and Harry, all blushing brightly, and said quietly "Three blushes from one prank. Not bad." and headed into her room to pack.

Hermione returned to her room to get dressed or find some kind of dressing gown. Lying on her bed waiting for her was a long robe of midnight blue velvet. She spread the robe across the skirt of her nightgown, admiring the complimentary colours. She was stroking the soft material when Ginny ran into her room carrying a similar gown of emerald green velvet. Ginny asked "Did Winnie say anything about making us these?"

At the sound of her name, the lady elf appeared with a faint 'pop'. Hermione turned to her and asked "Did you make these for us? Thank you so much", as she knelt down and hugged the elf.

Winnie smiled, surprised and evidently pleased as she had never been hugged by a human before. "Nae, those are the work of my eldest daughter, Elspeth. She is a better seamstress that I ever was."

Hermione's eyes widened "Your daughter? So you and Hamish are married?

Winnie laughed, and the elf's laughter sounded to the girls like the chiming of tiny silver bells. "Hamish and me? Oh, Lord, no! I could nae live with that man. My Sandy is the head beekeeper."

"Hamish's Lindsay is the taste-mistress at the distillery – no one has a nose like her for blending the whiskey or the liqueurs. You tasted her work after dinner last evening."

Hermione asked "How did you pick the colours for these gowns so perfectly?"

Winnie replied "Well, I am in charge of looking after you, and your laundry. For you, Hermione, I noticed that your favourite underthings, and that nightgown you have on, are all shades of purplish blue; it seems the same as the periwinkle flowers in the courtyard. Elspeth and I thought that with a dressing gown, you needed something which would contrast but not clash, so a bit of your nightie showing at the neck would be offset by the darker colour of the outer gown."

"For Lady Ginevra, her long red hair needed some colour to set it off well. Half of her clothes go well with her hair and skin colour, and the other half clash terribly!"

Ginny snickered and told the elf "My brothers are great pransksters, and I have one brother who thinks of himself as the height of fashion. I wear clashing colours when I'm around him, just to get his goat!"

Winnie responded "From what I have seen of some of your clothes, that would do it." She continued "I spoke with Elspeth, who took a look at you during the day, and she recommended that shade of green. If you or Hermione would prefer something else, it can be easily done."

Both young women shook their heads, "Oh no, these are gorgeous! Thank you so much, and please thank Elspeth for us."

Winnie said "That I will do. She will be pleased you appreciate her work. We do not often get told that our service is well received."

Hermione thought for a minute and asked "Winnie, if you don't mind, and I do not wish to offend you in any way with these questions, how did you know which were my favourite underwear, and what do you mean about your services being well received?"

Winnie looked at Hermione with a faint smile, and said "Some of your dainties are more worn than others." Hermione looked shocked and said "I didn't think any of my things were so worn to be obvious!"

Winnie continued, "Hermione, you have to remember that my folk have rather longer lives than your folk. I have been what they call a 'body-servant' for this century and more. I can tell at a glance whether something has been worn once or twice or five times. Some of your undies have been worn at least twelve times, and been well cared for; they were obviously favourites. Others are brand new. The more worn ones are not yet worn out, yet you acquired more of the same shade. Your beautiful nightgown is also the same shade. Apparently, that is your favourite colour."

"As to your other question, we elves live to serve; it is our way of life. When service is perfect, it is often not noticed, as it is seen as the world working well without effort on the part of the people we serve. To an elf, for the family they serve to not notice the presence of their elves is a compliment to the perfection of their service."

"To have their service noticed, and appreciated as you have, is beyond our expectation."

Hermione thought about this, and was puzzled. She said "I had thought elves were bound servants, or slaves. Certainly Dobby was, with the Malfoys. Harry freed him, and he was happy about that. I have been trying to free the elves at Hogwarts."

Winnie shook her head. "Lady Hermione, I am sorry to say that you have misunderstood my folk. You had the misfortune of meeting Dobby as the first elf of your acquaintance. He was an abused slave, and Laird Harry did him honour by freeing him from those horrid people!"

"However, for most elves, we serve because that is our way. I am sorry to tell you that your attempts to 'free' the elves at Hogwarts are misguided. A freed elf is a disgraced elf, because that means that their service is found to be unacceptable. They have failed as an elf. To pay an elf for their service shows contempt for their work! Dobby accepted payment because of his gratitude to Harry, and that accepting his salary served both Harry, and you, better as you would not accept his service otherwise."

Hermione was stunned by this revelation. She had misunderstood the situation, which to Hermione was a personal failure of major proportions, and she acted inappropriately because of her own prejudices. She thanked Winnie for this information and said she would have to do some serious thinking about it.

Winnie smiled. She continued, "Thank you for considering my words. May I ask the two of you young ladies to listen to some advice from an older woman?"

Again Hermione was taken aback by this question, but she and Ginny agreed to the request. They were a bit amused by the old elf describing herself as an older woman, but this was going to be a woman-to-woman talk between the elderly and the young, and deserved the respect as such.

Winnie looked at them, and said "I have watched young people of your folk and my own for many, many years, and I hope to prevent some heartache where I can. I have watched you and your young men for the last few days. May I suggest that you do not rush into things quickly? You all have come through the recent war and you have emotional scars, some of which you don't even see yet. You have not seen a world with a future for so long that you don't know what you want yet for yourselves."

"Hermione, you have a passion for learning. The world is wide and there is so much to learn about. Please be careful that you don't tie yourself down too early to something or someone who cannot or does not respect that."

"Ginny, you have thought that you fell in love with the 'Boy-who-Lived'. You did not! You fell in love with the 'Boy-who-Survived', which is very, very different. Harry has not really lived yet, not until the last few months, because he was under what he knew to be a probable death sentence. He did not really expect to survive the confrontation with Voldemort, and he had no plans beyond that day. He doesn't yet know what he wants to do with his life, and neither do either of you, nor does Ron."

"You all need time; take some time to know yourselves before you commit yourself to another. I have seen too many young people commit themselves to someone they are not suited to, to wish that on any, particularly those whom I have come to respect. I am not saying that you are not suited to your young men, but you may change in the next while, and they may too; you may grow together, or you may grow apart. Please, take the time to grow and leave room for the growing."

Winnie smiled "Well that's my 'old lady' talk! Now we need to get Ginny packed to her trip home."

Ginny looked at the dressing gown lying forgotten on her lap. Having never had such a luxurious garment before, she said "May I take this home with me?"

Winnie smiled "Lassie, it was made for you, and for you alone. It is yours. Take it or leave it, as you please. If you take it, there will be another waiting for you when you return. That will give Elspeth something to do with her time."

Ginny grinned "Thank you, and thank Elspeth for me please. I will take it with me." She smiled with a twinkle in her eye, and said, "I wish I had one that really goes badly with my hair, to annoy my brother!"

Winnie smiled "I will just go pass your thanks on to my daughter. Just give me a tick." She disappeared with a slight pop, reappearing within a few seconds, smiling broadly. She then helped Ginny pack for her journey.

While helping Ginny pack, Hermione asked Winnie "Do elves ever sleep?" Winnie answered, "I gather you wondered how I arrived so promptly when you needed to prepare Ginny to leave. We do sleep, but we also align our senses to those we serve, so we can feel when we are needed. You two were awake and becoming active at a time when you would normally be sleeping, although being in bed with the young Laird, some activity would not have been unexpected, nor should be interrupted. But two of you at the same time, rather unusual, but then it is not my place to judge, and I don't presume to do so. After as many years as I have been around, I have seen much and many variations in behaviour in the beds."

Both girls blushed at this appraisal of their activities.

Winnie continued "I felt no reason to intrude at that time, but when you returned to your rooms quickly and purposefully, I knew I would be needed, and I came."