Chapter 03: Conversations and Realizations

"Ok, spill it!" Hermione and Harry were sitting on the floor of Harry's room the next morning.

"What do you mean Hermione?"

"Harry, I have had a lot of time to think while recuperating at St. Mungo's. I have known you for all these years and there is definitely something non-Harryish about the way you behaved yesterday. Why not we start with 'How are you doing?'"

"I am fine! Is non-Harryish a word?"

"Harry, when have you ever told the truth when you said 'I am fine'? I am your best friend remember? Sometimes life is just easy if you share your burdens with others. I promise that I will not nag you after listening to you, nor will I share what you told me with others. Tell me what has been on your mind?" Hermione could already see the chain reaction starting and was waiting for Harry's temper. Harry started pacing the room and missed Hermione placing imperturable and silencing charms around the room.

"What do you want me to tell you Mia? HE HAS KNOWN IT ALL MY LIFE and yet he did nothing to prepare me for my future. Had he told me about the prophecy, Sirius would not have died. What does he do? Forces me onto Snape who mind-rapes me while he hides from me!" Hermione expected that Harry would be depressed about the death of his godfather, but it almost looked like Harry was actually more angry at someone rather than being depressed. Seeing the confused expression on Hermione's face, Harry took a deep breath and started afresh.

"OK, you asked for it, so here it is. The great wizard Albus Dumbledore took it upon himsElf to save the savior of the wizarding world, the boy-who-lived and placed him at his abusive relatives for 10 years of his life and later every summer all for the 'greater good'." Harry's speech was dripping in sarcasm.

"He knew that Lord Voldemort was not dead and he knew that the boy-who-lived was prophesized to either kill him or be killed by him. Yet, Dumbledore left the boy-who-lived with a magic-hating family instead of a family that would train him to face his destiny. This family tells the boy-who-lived that their parents died in a car crash and were good-for-nothing drunks, prostitutes and criminals. After the boy-who-lived starts attending Hogwarts, he bans everyone under his control, which is almost everyone, from speaking about the boy-who-lived's parents with him. Any information necessary is always given after the fact and is withheld from the boy-who-lived for the 'greater good'. I sometimes question the sanity of the old man. Tell me Mia, if you were Dumbledore and you know that the boy would have to fight Lord Voldemort in the future, what would you do?"

Hermione was shocked at what she just heard about the prophecy. "But the prophecy was lost!"

"That was only a copy, Mia. The prophecy was told to Dumbledore. What it says is that I should either kill Voldemort or he will kill me and I apparently have a 'power the Dark Lord knows not'. That's my destiny."

Tears started pouring down Hermione's face and she jumped up and threw her hands around Harry neck and hugged him tightly. Harry was about to complain that he could not breathe when he heard her sobs. He had never seen Hermione cry like this before. He wrapped his arms around her and tried to console her awkwardly. Hermione refused to let him go and continued to hug him and sob. Nearly ten minutes later, Harry realized from her rhythmic breathing that Hermione had dozed off. Harry maneuvered her onto his bed and let her sleep. Now he really felt guilty to have made her cry.

Hermione woke up with a smile on her face. She had had a very pleasant dream in which she had gone on a trip with her family and Harry to various magical historical sites. The Harry in her dream was so out of character that she had found him amusing. As she opened her eyes, she realized that she wasn't sleeping in her bed. She became aware of the person sitting on a chair waiting for her to wake up. "Harry, where are we?"

"Wake up sleepy head. Our lunch is ready. I would suggest a trip to the restroom, but it looks like my uncle has locked us in. Force of habit I suppose."

"Oh! Let me fix that." She dished out her wand and muttered an incantation. As she got out of the bed, the memories of her conversation came back to her and fresh tears started rolling off her cheeks. With a supernatural speed, something that can be considered normal for Hermione, she jumped up and hugged Harry again. "Now, now, Mia. We don't want you passing out again. Have you been over working yoursElf? Are you using a time turner again? And how come you are doing magic?" Harry was very concerned that Hermione would have to deal with Ministry now.

While Hermione was washing up, Harry called Dobby and gave him an offer to work for him for pay. "Dobby, Hermione will kill me if I enslave you. Also, I get the feeling that you would prefer to be a free Elf. Is there anyway where you can work for me without becoming a slave?"

"Yes Harry Potter Sir! There is. But it have not been done for a few centuries. An Elf and his family can works for their master as servants and not slaves. But they will draw magic from master and not master's house."

"What do you mean Dobby? Could you explain about this drawing of magic?"

"Sir, when an Elf binds himsElf, the Elf usually binds to master's magical house and Elf and Elven children are bound to their masters house as slaves forever. Elf needs to be bound to survive. Without magic, Elf goes insane and dies. That is why Winky is ill and Kreature went mad."

"So what happens when the Elf binds with the master and not his magical house?"

"Elf becomes servant and not slave. Master can still order his servants. Elf can work in non-magical homes when Elf draws magic from master."

"So how many free Elves can I bind this way so that they can survive? How much of my magic will be used?"

"Harry Potter Sir is great and powerful wizard. Harry Potter Sir can bind with at least a thousand Elves and not feel any drain on his magic. If Elf is ordered to do large-scale magic, Harry Potter Sir will only be tired for a few minutes"

"If I die, what will happen to those Elves? Will they die?"

"The Elves will have a few months before they have to bind themselves to either another masters house or another master"

"There are many Elves working at Hogwarts. How come Winky is the only one not doing well?"

"Winky wants to bind with a master's family. She too stubborn to bind with Hogwarts. She die in a couple of months if she doesn't bind. She is very sick."

"What about you Dobby? Did you bind yoursElf with Hogwarts?"

Dobby started fidgeting and pulling on his long ears. "Dobby being very bad Elf! Dobby will punish himsElf, Master!"

"Dobby, stop it right now. No punishing yoursElf. Tell me what is wrong. Why did you call me Master?"

"Dobby bound himsElf as servant to Harry Potter Sir when Harry Potter Sir freed Dobby. Dobby did this to survive. Dobby bad servant for deceiving the great Harry Potter Sir. Dobby will punish himsElf now."

"Stop Dobby! I am fine with it. Don't punish yoursElf for anything without my permission and that is an order." Dobby hugged Harry's leg and started wailing. "Why not we renew the binding with you? Also why don't you get Winky so that I can bind her too? But before that I need to talk to Hermione about it and convince her. Why not meet me in an hour and bring Winky along?" Dobby was so deliriously happy and did an Elven jig before disappearing with a loud crack.

"Hey Mia! How are you feeling?"

"Much Better. Since when did you start calling me Mia?" She huffed.

"Well, I like the name Hermione and you are right, Hermy, Herms or Mione sound awful. Mia sounds good and can be a short nickname for you. You like it?"

"Umm... yeah I do. But you will be the only one to call me that."

"Well, guess what? I have some great news!" Harry said with a naughty twinkle in his eyes. "I am going to bind with at least a thousand Elves!"

"WHAT! HOW CAN YOU DO THAT? AFTER ALL THAT I HAVE DONE FOR S.P.E.W., MY BEST FRIEND WANTS TO ENSLAVE NOT ONE BUT A THOUSAND ELVES? HOW DARE YOU?" Hermione was red in her face.

Harry could not control his laughter any longer. "Relax Mia! Let me explain and you will agree with me."

"NEVER! BUT EXPLAIN!!"

Harry then explained his conversation with Dobby and explained about Elves' need to be bound otherwise they would die. He also explained the difference between servants and slaves.

Hermione wondered if there is a heirarchy in Elven society and if servants were better respected than slaves. The more they talked about it, the more she liked Harry's idea. "But Harry, how did you find out so much about Elves? I haven't had any luck with them. No Elf wanted to speak to me."

"Mia, do you know what the Elves call you? she-who-frees-Elves. They are very scared of you." Harry could see the embarrassment of her face. "More over I think spew sounds horrible."

"It's not spew, it is S.P.E.W." She huffed. "If you think it sounds bad, what would you have named the organization?"

"I don't know! Something catchy like... umm... Elf Life Foundation... or something like that! Moreover, your goal should have been improving Elfish wElfare rather than liberating them. Almost sounds like you were imposing your standards of 'greater good' on them."

Hermione was horrified at what she had done. Harry could see tears forming in her eyes. "I am sorry Harry! I really was not thinking. I thought I had the right idea and was angry at all those purebloods and their refusal to do anything about it. Maybe they had the right idea in not trying to liberate them."

"It's alright Hermione. We all make mistakes. My mistake in not listening to you cost me my godfather's life. No! I don't blame mysElf for his death. I have accepted it. But many of us are responsible for the mess and the blame primarily falls on Bellatrix Lestrange and Voldemort. And to a small extent on Dumbledore. He may be a great wizard, but he is not infallible."

"Big words Harry, infallible!" She teased. "But I do like Elf Life Foundation. You can shorten it to E.L.F. Any other such pearls of wisdom?"

"Hmm... I don't know... How about WElfare of Lycanthropes Foundation for WOLF?"

"That's amazing Harry! When did you get so smart?" She teased.

"I don't know Mia! I was always smart I guess. I couldn't do better than Dudley in School because I would get a beating if my Uncle sees my score card. I guess I continued the same attitude when I came to Hogwarts. I hate the attention given to the boy-who-lived, so I guess I tried to be as normal or below average as I could. Unfortunately it never worked for me."

"Harry, I want to talk to you a little more about this. I want to understand the effect of the abuse you suffered here at Privet Drive and hopefully help you overcome such sElf-imposed barriers. Would you be willing to help me do that? I promise I wont nag you!"

"Mia, this is the second time you talked about nagging! Did something happen?"

"No Harry! I have had a lot of time to introspect while I was at St. Mungos. I guess I am trying to grow up and not be the bossy know-it-all you know and love. I really want to make a difference in my life and I want to be accepted in in the wizarding society. That has been my goal since the day I got my Hogwarts letter. Did you know how difficult it is for a muggle-born to live in our world? I was encouraged not to apply for most jobs at the ministry because of my blood status. Muggle-borns cant do many things and are even taxed differently. You know something? I am embarrassed to admit this though. One of the reasons for my crush on Ron might be that I might find better acceptance in our world because of his blood status."

"WHAT? NO! Mia, that SHOULD NOT be the reason to be with someone!"

"Come on Harry. Think about it, Ron and I are polar opposites. He is everything I should hate in a boyfriend. He is lazy, totally not driven, uncouth, ill-mannered, ill-tempered, jealous and petty. Not to disrespect the Weasleys, their household is too chaotic and Mrs. Weasley really smothers her children rather than nurture them. I can understand why Bill, Charlie, the twins and even Percy chose to move out of the Burrow. She so wants to protect her children that she does not care about their personal development. All of them have such bad tempers and rush into conclusions and situations without thinking. The twins channel their temper into pranking. Its not that I don't love them, I am just analyzing them. So why do I have a crush on Ron? Is crush/love so irrational?"

"I don't know Mia! I don't know what love is. So I cant really answer your questions. But you do raise some valid points. Could it be that Ron was the only one to show interest in you? But then I am not sure why that is so because you certainly are pretty enough to be noticed. Or could it be that you are overanalyzing the situation? But then again, there has to be something you should like about him to feel that way."

As they kept pondering about a possible solution, Hermione gasped! "No! He couldn't have! He couldn't have stooped to that level. Could he?" Hermione got more agitated as she kept rambling.

"What do you mean Mia? Who couldn't have done what?"

"Harry, do you think he gave me a love potion? It may not have been a powerful one or maybe it is a compulsion potion?"

"Mia, I don't think Ron has the brains to do that. His actions do not support the theory. He keeps fighting with you just to get a raise out of you. Maybe it is his or your form of flirting. But if he had given you a potion, I am sure he would have taken a more direct approach. But considering your potion theory, who stands to gain from it?"

"Oh! a lot of people. Lets see... It could have been Mrs. Weasley, Ginny or any of those girls or even guys from your fan club."

"What do you mean my fan club? And guys??" Harry was clearly embarrassed. "I don't think Mrs. Weasley or Ginny would stoop that low. It could be the master manipulator Dumbledore for all you know."

"Harry, Ginny has had a crush on you for a very long time. Mrs. Weasley has had a history of usage of such potions. A story for another day! And I refuse to believe Dumbledore could do that. He is after all the greatest wizard of our time."

"Mia, do you think there is an obedience/loyalty aspect of the potion or charm? Is that why you so whehemently support Dumbledore in spite of all that I told you?"

"It doesn't matter who did it! Can we undo the effect of these potions or charms if they are there?" Hermione always the logical and intelligent one.

"I guess we can always ask the Goblins for help. I hear that they would do anything if you grease their hands enough. Moreover I am supposed to meet them in a day or two. By the way, will you be able to come with me there? And tell me more about this summer job of yours and how you are able to do magic."

"You are going to make fun of me!" Hermione was clearly embarrassed. "I promise I wont tease you Mia. At least not too much! Come on you can trust me!"

"Well, I had a long talk with my parents and told them everything about the Wizarding world. I had not told them about the war earlier. They understand that I want to be part of our world and were surprisingly very cooperative. They asked me what the most ideal solution would be. So after a lot of thought, we met a wizarding lawyer who suggested that I be emancipated in the muggle world which would automatically mean being emancipated in the wizarding world too."

"My parents are rich enough to promise me to pay for my Hogwarts tuition and other expenses. But according to wizarding law, I should provide proof of employment to be emancipated in our world. So I talked to the Weasley twins and requested them a job and after some thought, they told me that their silent partner would not have any trouble with it. I also need to have a separate address from my parents within 30 days. It can be in the muggle world and the ministry doesn't need to know it. So I was going to ask Mr. Weasley if I could be a paying guest in their house. But now, I don't know."

"WOW! I really need to learn more about our worlds, both muggle and wizarding. I hadn't even considered emancipation. Are your folks okay with you having a different address? Would it just be nominal or would you have to live there?"

"Harry, my parents got married when they were 18. They understand the need when the chick needs to leave the nest. But they only ask that they be involved in any major decision in my life. In fact, they are the ones who helped me work things out about the emancipation and Ron. I would like to have an address where I spend most of my summer learning and doing magic. That is the reason why I spend so much time at the burrow. However, I would also like to visit my parents during the weekends while they are free and spend time with them."

"Mia, I would love to help you out, but even if you were to completely avoid my relatives using my invisibility cloak, this room is too small for both of us. I wish there was a way. Maybe I will ask Dobby and Winky."

"Winky, thank you for coming. I have a couple of questions before we do that binding." Both Winky and Dobby nodded. "What happens to children born to married Elves who are servants? And what happens when if the Elves are slaves?"

Winky's eyes widened at the question. "Harry Potter Sir will let Elves marry and have children?"

"Of Course Winky, what is so surprising about that?"

"I agree with Dobby. Harry Potter Sir is really a great Wizard. Wizards do not let Elves marry because married Elves become servants and not slaves. The children born from marriage become free Elves and can choose new master. Generally, wizards order Elves to have children who be born slaves to their master."

"That is atrocious Winky! Would you want to be my servant? I promise I will not ill treat you and will look out for you. I promise you that both of you may marry who ever you want and have as many little Elves as you want. but there are a few rules. I want you to buy/make yourselves the best clothes that you want anytime. I also want you to speak your mind to me as if you are my equal. If I am wrong, I want you to tell me so. I realized that I don't know anything about Elven culture, heck I don't even know about wizarding and muggle worlds. I want you to be my teachers. Can you do that?"

Both Dobby and Winky were deliriously happy. After the bonding ritual, the effect on Dobby and Winky was amazing. Both became taller, their eyes became shrunken and were no longer the size of tennis balls, and their ears were more proportionate to the size of their heads. "Thank you Master" they both said.

"How come you both look different? And please call me Harry. I am really uncomfortable with 'Master'. That is what those death eaters call Voldemort"

"Okay Harry Potter Sir. Dobby and Winky will tries to call you Harry. But sometimes we forgets"

"Now a few things that need to be done. I need to give you both access to my Gringotts vault so that you may buy anything you need." Seeing that shocked expression on their face, Harry said, "I understand I don't do things as other wizards do. So don't be so surprised at what I say. Also, can anything be done with living arrangements here? Dobby will you be able to take me to Gringotts tomorrow morning?"

"Yes sir, I is able to take you to Gringotts tomorrow"

"We Elves will surely be able to make this place comfortable to live. What would you want me to do?"

"I don't know Winky, why don't you surprise me? I am going to go for a walk to the park. Would a few hours be enough? Also remember I do not want anyone to know about the changes. I may have Hermione and a few of my friends visiting or even living here. I don't want anyone from the Order of the Phoenix knowing about these changes. Can you manage it?"

Winky had a pensive expression on her face and started whispering to Dobby in a strange language which Harry assumed to be Elven. They seem to have come to a conclusion. "Master, we is requesting permission to use some of your magic to make changes to your living arrangements. You may feel a little tired."

Recognizing a formal request, Harry said, "Not a problem Winky. I hereby give Winky and Dobby permission to use any amount of my magic whenever you want and you may do so without asking me for permission again. I also give you permission to use my magic to protect yourselves from anyone who wishes you harm." Dobby and Winky were so shocked that they both crumbled to the ground. "Dobby and Winky, you both are my friends. Don't be so surprised at what I will do for my friends. And make sure you both have the best living arrangements too."