Reshaping Destiny
Author: Lahore Ajnabi
Summary: Harry dies after a very mediocre life and is appalled he didn't do better, so when Death gives him a chance, he grabs the opportunity to go back. HP/DG Time-Travel to Sixth Year.
Chapter 3: Dobby and Kreacher
It took a few days for Madam Pomfrey to give Harry a clean bill of health. Well, clean was a bit of an exaggeration - she let him go with strict instructions to not to overexert his body or his magic, and his gait was more shuffling than he would have liked.
Still, he left the Hospital Wing quickly while classes were still in session, not wanting to wait till the evening when someone would be with him and try to give him company… but a few minutes after he left, he realized that that was a bad idea. For one, he had no idea of what the password to Gryffindor Tower was. He knew it had been Baubles earlier in the year and he thought Abstinence had been this year too. Was it Tapeworm? He didn't feel like embarrassing himself in front of the Fat Lady, and he didn't know what class he had just then, so instead he decided to make his way to the kitchen.
He tickled the pear in the painting hiding the kitchen and entered.
"Master Harry Potter Sir!" rang out a high pitched voice Harry hadn't heard in several decades as Dobby the House Elf ran up to him. It sounded like music to his ears, and Harry was so overwhelmed he scooped up Dobby, tea cozy and all, and pulled him into the tightest hug. Dobby squawked in surprise and the noise of a thousand clanging pots and pans and dishes being washed and floors being scrubbed died down, as hundreds of tennis-ball green eyes stared at the two in absolute wonder and shock.
Harry, suddenly feeling incredibly self-conscious, lowered Dobby gently. The kitchen was pin-drop silent, with all the elves watching.
"Master Harry Potter Sir?" asked Dobby, his voice quivering and knees shaking.
"Ah, sorry Dobby," said Harry awkwardly. "I'm sorry, I don't know what got over me."
Dobby threw himself at Harry's feet and started crying. "Harry Potter hugs Dobby and then apologizes, sir. Harry Potter is a great wizard. Dobby is not worthy. Dobby is not worthy."
"Harry Potter is a great wizard," said another elf, and before Harry knew it the whole hall was filled with mutters of "Harry Potter is a great wizard."
"Get up, Dobby," said Harry, pulling the elf. He didn't know what to say to the elf who had saved his life and had been a better friend to him than most wizards. "Listen, because I don't want to have to say this again. You are my friend and my equal, do you hear me? I don't want to hear anything about not being worthy from you again."
"Yes sir, Master Harry Potter sir," said Dobby sniffling. "Dobby is not..." but he caught himself under Harry's glare and instead said, "what can Dobby do for Master Harry Potter sir?"
Harry glanced at the watching elves and realized he really didn't want to Dobby in front of them, so he said, "Let's go somewhere else, I need your help with something." Spotting another wizened old face in the crowd he added, "You too, Kreacher."
Kreacher snorted. "Dirty half-blood master sullies himself with the free elf," he spat. "Why does he..." But before he could finish his sentence, the twenty odd elves closest to Kreacher jumped on top of him with unholy shrieks, pulling at his rags and pounding him with their tiny fists. Harry had to physically restrain Dobby.
"STOP! STOP!" he bellowed, but it was no use, so he had to pull out his wand and make several bangs before the elves stopped and stepped away from Kreacher, who was curled up in the fetal position. "Are you okay Kreacher, can you stand?"
Kreacher groaned and stood up gingerly, dusting himself off. His lip was bleeding and his rags looked a little worse for wear, but he otherwise seemed all right. He had been a tough little blighter, Harry remembered, and survived at least ten odd years after Harry had inherited him.
"Kreacher is a Black House-Elf and I am the head of the House of Black," Harry announced to the room. He knew, now, how to play to Kreacher's ego. "Anyone who attacks Kreacher attacks me." The elves who had jumped on Kreacher wilted, their ears drooping. "Come," he said to two elves, leaving quickly before further mutterings about his greatness filled the kitchen.
He led the elves to an abandoned classroom on the second floor, with Dobby following eagerly and Kreacher dragging his feet and forcing the other two to wait at every turn. Harry felt his irritation rising but he held his tongue and didn't say anything.
"Muffliato," he cast once they were in the room, and he followed it up with some more complex privacy wards he had learned after the Daily Prophet had started making a habit of reporting on his private conversations. "Now were either of you following Malfoy the day I was attacked?"
"Dobby was," said Dobby breathlessly. "Dobby is seeing him going into Moany's bathroom that evening, Harry Potter Sir, before Dobby is having to go help with dinner. Dobby is telling Headmaster Dumbledore this, and Headmaster Dumbledore is telling Dobby not to worry and that he will be looking into it."
"I see," said Harry. "And did the Headmaster ask you not to tell me?"
Dobby wilted. "Yes sir, Harry Potter sir. Headmaster Dumbledore is worrying that you will be punishing bad master even if it wasn't bad master's fault. Dobby disobey Headmaster Dumbledore's orders so Dobby is slamming the oven on his fingers tonight, sir."
"You're not to punish yourself on my account Dobby, you know that," said Harry sternly. "And you Kreacher?"
Kreacher grunted. "Half-blood Master isn't ordering Kreacher to follow Master Malfoy, so why should Kreacher follow the young Master? He should be the Head of House Black, he should…"
"Enough," snapped Harry. "Kreacher, I understand there is a locket in your possession? Something maybe Master Regulus left you?"
Kreacher started. "How did Half-blood Master know about Master Regulus' locket?"
"Half-blood Master knows a lot of things," said Harry. "Now, I understand that Master Regulus wanted you to destroy this locket?"
"Ye-yes," Kreacher stuttered. "It- it was Master Regulus' dying wish but Kreach-Kreacher failed him." A tear leaked out of his eye, though he continued to stare at Harry stony-faced. Kreacher was as stoic as Dobby was excitable. "Kreacher failed him. Kreacher tried everything possible to destroy the locket and Kreacher failed. Fire did nothing, Mistress's diamonds couldn't scratch it, heavy rock couldn't break it…"
"Listen," interrupted Harry. "You want to destroy it right? I think I can help you. It's what Master Regulus wanted, and I know that Sirius loved Master Regulus so I want to destroy it too. "
At that Kreacher's emotions seemed to crack. "Half-blood Master would help?" he asked, voice quivering.
"Of course," said Harry calmly. "It's my duty as Head of House Black to finish Master Regulus's work."
Now it was Kreacher's turn to break down and throw himself at Harry's feet, sobbing. Exasperated, Harry helped him up.
"It's too late," sobbed the ancient elf. "Mundungus Fletcher stole the locker. He stole it from under Kreacher's nose, with his wand pointed at Kreacher, he did."
Had he? Harry tried to remember when Mundungus Fletcher might have stolen the locket, but he honestly had no idea.
"All right then," he said. "Then I have a mission for you, Kreacher, maybe one you'll like more. You're to go find Mundungus Fletcher and get the locket for me. Steal his wand first so he can't hurt you. If he doesn't cooperate, bring his wand to me. And if he does… well, bring it to me anyway." He remembered how Dung had been responsible for Mad-Eye Moody's death and was in no mood to be kind to him.
"Yes, Master," sobbed Kreacher. "Kreacher will find the filth, make him suffer, make him pay…"
"That's quite all right," said Harry, alarmed. He didn't want to bring the DMLE on himself. "No suffering or hurting. Just get the locket and we'll deal with him after."
Kreacher nodded and disapparated with a loud crack. Harry then turned to Dobby.
"Dobby, can you get into the Chamber of Secrets?" he asked.
"Dobby can try," chirped the little elf. He spun with a loud crack, and suddenly he was sprawled on the floor. "Dobby cannot, Harry Potter sir!" he wailed. "Headmaster Dumbledore is putting up wards to stop anyone from going in or out. Dobby cannot be passing these wards, not within Hogwarts. Dobby is sorry, Harry Potter sir!"
Harry groaned. Accessing the Chamber of Secrets was how he planned to get Basilisk venom to destroy Horcruxes. He didn't know how to get the Sword of Gryffindor from Dumbledore's office, and he could hardly go about casting Fiendfyre within Hogwarts.
"That's ok," he said out loud. "I need you to do a couple of other things for me then. One is, keep an eye on Malfoy still. I found out where he's hiding - it's in the Room of Hidden Things. Mind you eat and sleep and stay out of trouble, but other than that, if he's there, you should be too. He'll be working on a cabinet of some sort. Watch him, stay out of his sight, and if he ever gets really excited and happy, come get me right away. Got it?"
"Yes sir Harry Potter sir!" said Dobby, jumping up and giving him a salute. "Dobby be watching bad master and reporting everything to Master Harry Potter sir!"
"Thank you Dobby," said Harry, and that set off another round of blubbering from the elf. Harry awkwardly patted his head, his heart aching with fondness for his old friend.
After Dobby disappeared, Harry shuffled out of the classroom. Classes would be over soon, and he had one more stop before going down for dinner.
Moaning Myrtle's bathroom was luckily empty. It had already been cleaned up from his and Malfoy's fight. The floor was spotless and, without Myrtle divebombing the toilets, it wasn't flooded for once. He pulled out his wand and cast a couple of diagnostic charms. Dumbledore had indeed sealed the entrance, but Harry didn't think the charm was exceptionally prodigious. He saw a sort of reverse age line that prevented anyone above a certain age from approaching the sinks. He supposed that would trap any above-age intruders inside its circle. He thought he saw a standard alarm ward that he was careful not to trigger, but if Dumbledore had put anything more complicated in there, it was beyond Harry's comprehension.
"Back again, Harry?" asked a familiar voice and Harry almost jumped out of his skin.
"I had to come see, Sir," he answered, not turning around. "How did you know I was here?"
Dumbledore stepped up to him. "There's not much that I don't know of inside these walls, my boy," he said.
"The portraits?" guessed Harry with a wry smile.
"And the ghosts," confirmed the Headmaster. "Within reasonable limits to protect your privacy of course, but returning to the scene where you were attacked did cause some concern."
A thought struck Harry. "Back in my second year," he said. "Didn't any of the portraits see the basilisk? Surely they must have seen it come in and out of the pipes?"
Dumbledore sighed.
"You give me too much credit and not enough to Tom Riddle," he said. "The basilisk moved in the pipes when it could and only emerged when absolutely necessary, and in places with the least number of portraits. And those that were there, they never remembered anything. Portraits are not difficult to tamper with Harry, it just happens to be beyond the interest and ability of most students except the most talented."
Harry nodded, accepting that answer. The Headmaster was too attached to Hogwarts to leave it willingly, that much he was certain of.
"Did you find any leads since we last talked?"
"None worth pursuing," said Dumbledore calmly.
Harry took a deep breath and wondered if he should confront Dumbledore about Dobby telling him about Malfoy. In the end he decided against it. Dumbledore would be well within his rights to prevent Dobby and Kreacher from interacting with Harry easily and that would make things very difficult.
Instead he just said, "Thank you for your efforts, Headmaster."
"It is my responsibility to keep you safe, Harry," said Dumbledore.
Harry bit his tongue, remembering the feeling of white hot knives digging into his flesh. He had warned Dumbledore multiple times about Malfoy, had he not?
"If there's nothing else, I'd like to use the restroom before dinner," he said. He was finding it really hard to deal with Dumbledore's deceptions and half-truths after knowing the real truth.
"Not this one, I hope," said Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye and Harry blushed, remembering that they were in a girls' bathroom.
"Of course not," he muttered, beating a hasty exit. "See you at dinner, Headmaster."
AN: Not much of a reaction to the last chapter I'm afraid. Hoping y'all like this one more. Leave me a review if you do (or don't)!