Harry The House-Elf

Another idea from the most likely partially-crazy mind of everyone's favorite (not really) author Chaos! Who, as a note to canon-freaks, is disregarding JK's idea that Arabella Figg is a squib if for no reason than for the story bit to have a plot. So enjoy! Well, hopefully!

Summary: Harry is abused by the Dursley's just as in canon, but what if Harry's magic reacted with the abuse the way say... A house elf's might? That's the idea seed for this ficlet.

.oOo.

A very angry looking tortoise-shell cat was skulking around number 4 Privet Drive unconsciously mirroring the actions and thoughts of a cat that had been there almost seven years before. Like that cat this cat was sitting on the stone wall observing the so-called People that lived inside. Also like that cat this cat wasn't a cat at all but an animagus, a wizard or witch who had an animal form. The last animagus at the house had been Minerva McGonagall who had also been observing the muggles who lived there for the well-being of one Harry Potter. This new animagus was there for the same reason but had much more mutinous thoughts.

Damn that Albus! Doesn't he realize that the blood-wards he puts so much faith in rely on a sense of home and family, love and caring and such positive emotions from those giving the care? That if they work him like a house-elf and hate his guts for no other reason than powers he doesn't know he has that the blood-wards will be paper thin? The cat animagus snorted. Of course he doesn't he's Albus bloody Dumbledore! The man of second chances who believes that blood and family transcends hatred that even with all the signs of abuse and neglect I've given him just smiles and says " The Dursleys are Harry's own kin of course they love him," Then he will smile grandfatherly. she thought scathingly, and finish up with "I bet the wards are the strongest on the planet with all the love the Dursleys must feel for him!" she snorted a second time despite the fact that a determined first year with the intent to kill and torture could probably walk straight through them without even knowing there were wards! She huffed quite loudly, well to the best of a cats ability, and turned tail, literally, and jumped off the wall and trotted back towards her house.

No muggles realized when a cat walked into an alley and crazy old Mrs. Figg stormed out with a truly volcanic expression on her face.

.oOo.

Harry Potter was not the pampered prince most expected him to be, quite the opposite in fact. For as few people realized Harry Potter had the mind of a perfect little house elf. He got up at an obscene hour unconsciously and made a huge breakfast for the Dursleys. If he was done earlier than expected he would do nothing not even think, which made him quite the natural occlumens, until his relatives came downstairs and gave him an order. Then the only thought in his mind was to get that order done then return for further orders the first order of the day was usually something mundane like " Get the mail, boy!" or "Fetch my paper, freak!" from uncle Vernon.

After he returned and waited unnaturally silent for his uncle to finish with whatever he had asked for, he was usually rewarded with a light to medium, in Harry terms, smack across the face with a screamed "Don't act so freakish in my house, boy!" from Vernon to which he would reply "Yes uncle Vernon," rather mechanically. Then, after he had hit Harry, Vernon would probably be satisfied he'd done his part to stamp the magic out of him for that day and would leave for work never failing to tell Petunia "Make the boys chores especially hard for today pet! For his cheek," He would say quieter with a sneer. Of course since he said that every day and Petunia only had so many chores that he could do even with Dudley helping to keep the house as dirty as possible the chores list remained relatively the same with a chore that only needed to be done every once in a while on there occasionally. Though on this day it looked something like this,

1. Wash the clothes

2. Polish/clean the windows

3. Wash the dishes

4. Paint the tool shed

5. Wash and wax the car

6. Mow the lawn

7. Weed the flower beds.

8. Clean and organized the house

Since most of the chores were done daily like to wash dishes and clean and organize the house Harry would usually finish in about two hours. A normal malnourished eight-year-old would take two or even three times as long but Harry Potter was not normal. He was unconsciously emulating the house elves in another ways, he like them, was pushing a small amount of magic into his legs and arms to increase their efficiency. His body worked on the level of a healthy person three times his age.

Unfortunately for Harry and his unconscious ability, Petunia would usually give two or three repetitive and usually useless chores that took no extra energy but consumed a lot of time and were exceedingly boring. Harry with his house elf mentality didn't complain or even mind really but Petunia didn't know that and so kept assigning them.

On this day his repetitive chores were to organize and alphabetize Petunia's extensive cleaning supply cupboard, count the number of species of flowers and how many there were of each and the most absurd to count the number or bricks on the east side of the house.

His aunt just sneered at him as she read the list to him, he had never been taught to read, and handed him a clipboard, pencil and a tattered piece of loose leaf paper and commanded, "Don't lose them freak, I won't give you anything else," she leaned closer, "and there better not be a scratch on that clipboard when I get it back!" Then she would retreat into the living room to watch better homes and gardens type programming despite the fact that her obedient little Harry took care of everything in regards to her home and garden as he was currently doing.

Harry finished all the chores on his list and walked back inside to await further orders. Then Petunia sneered as she did everyday and told him to try to entertain himself without breaking anything. Again she would always lean close and threaten a beating from uncle Vernon if he put one toe out of line.

Harry had learned the hard way that unless he left the house completely Petunia would always find something he had messed up and so as he did everyday when he finished his chores he wandered to the little park and sat on the swing for a few hours or only a few minutes depending on the severity of the chores that day. On the day in question Harry's chores hadn't been too difficult and he had polished them off in just over 3 hours the bricks had been much easier for Harry than Petunia had expected because he had taught himself math and reading from things Dudley had brought home like textbooks and beginners readers from kindergarden.

Harry was now a rather accomplished reader and knew his times tables so finding the number of bricks had been easy the number of bricks up, 64 times the number of bricks across 50 to get 3200 bricks. Harry had messed with that number a little further to get the exact amount because the mulch upset his calculations and came out with 3273 bricks on the east side of the Dursley house. His mentality had insisted he learned the skills of reading and mathematics to better serve his masters or at least thats what the house elf in him thought the real Harry hidden away from all the abuse was just glad to know more then he did the day before.

Harry's internal clock buzzed and Harry knew it was time to get back to the house and make his aunt Petunia her lunch, with uncle Vernon at work and Dudley at school thats all he had to handle before coming back to his swing.

Harry made his way home did his chore, not a chore for him as even the real Harry liked to cook, and returned to his swing for five more hours before returning to receive orders from Vernon who Harry knew would be home soon from nothing but the suns position in the sky.

Vernon blustered as usual over happenings at work and then took them out on Harry by giving him a slap across the face and a light, again in Harry's opinion, punch to the ribs before demanding dinner and settling in the kitchen to watch TV. Harry cooked the families meal, breakfast for dinner, which consisted of fifteen pieces of bacon, three omelets, ten medium sized pancakes and fifteen sausage patties. Comparatively Harry made for himself one piece of bacon and a pancake which was just about what he needed to survive, he didn't eat lunch.

Then Harry turned in to his cupboard to get the sleep he needed to do it again with little variation the next day.

.oOo.

If that doesn't show him what the Dursleys are capable of than I've lost my faith in him. Arabella thought darkly as they, her and Dumbledore, returned from the pensieve that she had shown that exact treatment of Harry in. Dumbledore just looked at her expectantly as if curious to what was wrong with those memories. Seeing the look on his face she began to shout, "See here Albus! Just because I respect and admire you does not mean I will allow you to allow Them," The word them spoken with incredible venom, "to abuse and belittle him. For god's sake the boy acts like a house elf."

The headmaster just smiled genially at her and responded with, "My dear Arabella that is not abuse they are just being strict with him, and he is not a house elf just willingly helping with some chores, though some did seem to lack purpose..." The last part muttered to himself and not heard by the other occupant of the room.

"You're blinded Albus! How can you not see what they do to him as abuse!" She paused and continued at a normal volume, "If that is what you see as acceptable treatment than what I will do to him will seem like heaven on earth!" she spat. And with that she disappeared into his floo.

Ten minutes later both Harry Potter and Arabella Figg disappeared from Dumbledore's and the ministry's radar and Albus Dumbledore sunk back into his seat. What have you done Arabella? What did you see in Harry's treatment that I missed? He thought those thoughts and others in the hours he sat in his chair doing nothing more than observing his silver instruments.

AN: Okay guys I forgot to mention this in the last chapter but the reason that these aren't becoming multi-chaptered fics in their own right is that unless they are posted again as such they are up for grabs by you guys just like Rorschach's. In fact I actually write these scenes hoping someone will take them for their own so I can see what others do with my version of plot-lines that have been examined a few times already.