Dobby's Friend
DISCLAIMER! This Harry Potter story was written for fun. All rights belong to the wonderful lady (JK Rowling) who gave the world Harry Potter to read and enjoy. Looking forward to the next movie!
When he is freed by Harry Potter, Dobby becomes the house elf of the boy-who-lived. With permission and assistance from the grateful Hogwarts house elves, the determined Dobby takes steps to ensure his wizard is safe and able to recover from years of neglect by every adult in his life. And the adults have to pay the price for abuse and neglect.
CHAPTER 10: 10 August Hands and Legs
The Daily Prophet seemed to change in August with more positive stories. The Hogwarts Board of Governors had been reconstituted with Lady Longbottom as the Chairwoman – she ran strict meetings, calling on Professor Sprout for behind-the-scenes insight, a Goblin accountant who revealed the bulging vaults of the school that could be used to pay for more professors, reduce the cost of tuition for all the students, and purchase modern equipment for the potions brewing classroom and for safe, modern brooms.
There was a long article on the sudden availability of high-quality basilisk venom that allowed the potion brewers from Bristol to brew the potions to regrow Marcus Flint's right hand, as well as Alastor Moody's right leg and missing fingers on both hands. The formidable Auror (retired) kept his magical eye, but his facial muscles were restored, allowing him to smile once again.
After Professor Sprout declined to take the position of Headmistress, Lady Augusta Longbottom interviewed Andromeda Tonks for the position of Headmistress at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, in that first meeting the witches almost came to casting spells at one another when Mrs Tonks learned about the offer of sanctuary the older witch afforded to Harry Potter.
"His godfather is frantic to see the boy!" Andromeda growled. "And you've been hiding him for almost two weeks."
"That's what sanctuary is," Augusta reminded the younger witch. "Something my husband and I gave you when you fled your family and needed to hide…remember?"
Backing down after being reminded of the debt she owed the Longbottom family, Andromeda apologised and asked, "How do we make this right with Mr Potter?"
"Time and quiet discussion will help," Augusta stated. "Perhaps you can talk with the young man as part of the interviews for the job of headmistress."
"Talk with him?"
"Yes, I have picked several students who will talk to the candidates for every position to be filled and their approval is necessary to be asked to join the staff."
Andromeda asked, "Are they a good representation of all the houses and blood status?"
"All four houses but I have weighted the students with a majority half-bloods and more muggleborn than pureblood students. Daphne Greengrass, Susan Bones and Ernie McMillian are the only purebloods."
"You left out your own grandson?"
"I don't want there to any claims of favouritism," she said. "Besides, Neville met everyone when they came for their first interviews. He greeted them at the door and brought them to the library for their interview. Afterwards, he told me who gave him…what was the expression Mr Potter taught him?"
After thinking for a moment, Augusta said, "Hebbie-jebbies. Yes, the hebbie-jebbies," Augusta said. "Neville screened every candidate first."
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14 August New Leaders for HogwartsHarry Potter sat at the breakfast table with Neville and Gran, each of them reading their own copy of the Daily Prophet.
New Leaders and Professors for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Announced!
The first bombshell in the article was that Mrs Andromeda Tonks had been selected as the headmistress for the school. The daughter of the Black family (recently restored by Lord Sirius Black) would be the first headmistress descended from a previous headmaster – Phineas Black from more than a century before.
The portraits of the former headmasters and headmistresses were positive about the appointment, but the portrait of Phineas Black was empty – the bit of his soul captured in the painting was enjoying a long vacation in the portrait frame in the Black family home in London, keeping company with another descendant, Walburga Black, in the attics with the house elf, Kreacher.
Professor Pomona Sprout was the only senior staff member returning to the school and she would teach Herbology to the first years, fifth years, and seventh year students. The other years would be taught by a new professor, Andrew McFadden. She would also keep her job as head of Hufflepuff house while the other three houses each had a new head of house (married couples).
Each of the core classes was to be taught by a team of two professors while four potion masters would begin to repair the damage done in the potion's classes by Snape's sabotage and Dumbledore's blind-eye.
After a long talk with Harry Potter (with Neville and Lady Longbottom present) about his first two years at Hogwarts, Andromeda hired Gringotts warders to ensure that there would be no way for Albus Dumbledore or Minerva McGonagall to ever set foot inside Hogwarts.
There were long discussions about the future of Rubeus Hagrid, and it was an appeal by Harry Potter that allowed the groundskeeper to remain at the castle. With several visits that autumn between the boy-who-lived and the half-giant, the curse on the large man appeared to lessen somewhat.
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31 August An End to SummerOn the last day of the summer vacation, the Daily Prophet published pictures of McGonagall, Pince, Pomphrey, and Dumbledore in Janus Thackery Ward. The three cursed witches were busy scrubbing floors and windows. The healers were quoted as saying that these activities kept the three witches satisfied and calm. The wizard Albus Dumbledore was only satisfied when he was allowed to collect and clean the bed pans of the other patients.
Breaking with tradition, the Daily Prophet expanded previous reporting that former professor Filius Flitwick would work out his curse while digging new vaults underneath Gringotts.
With careful consideration of the facts, Alastor Moody realized the identity of young wizard to whom he owed a massive debt for the restoration of his limbs – and his circulatory system allowing his brain to function more fully than in the past ten years.
He kept the conclusion to himself except for a terse conversation with Marcus Flint who approached the Auror (retired) about contributing to a newspaper article on the effectiveness of the potions. The two wizards agreed to keep the identity of their benefactor to themselves.
In rare moment of lucidity, on 28 August, Albus Dumbledore blamed the curse on Lord Voldemort. The Minister for Magic, the DMLE, and the Department of Mysteries remained silent about the curse that would plague the former staff members for a dozen years.
When told by the newly hired reporter, Marcus Flint, that the goblins had gathered all the bits of Tom Riddle's soul and banished them to hell, Dumbledore refused to believe the claim.
"They couldn't get them all!"
"Are you referring to the bit you left inside Harry Potter?" asked young Flint.
"What? How do you know about that?"
"It was the first piece the goblins gained access to. They used the Dark Lord's true name and summoned all his parts to tehri caverns and banished them," Marcus explained.
"His true name?" Dumbledore asked growing terribly concerned. "How do they…what is his true name?"
Marcus shook his head and replied, "They never told anyone that bit of information."
"But I must know! I am Albus…" the headmaster began to state before the curse smacked his magic and sent him back to emptying bed pans.
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