Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 14 – Dobby the House-Elf
Harry was released later that day and immediately sought out Ron and Hermione. He was immensely relieved to see that they were alright, as they were to see him alright. The remainder of the year, the whole two days that were left, went by in a flash and before the trio knew it they were on the Hogwarts Express back home. The Weasleys and the Fudges greeted them on the platform and Harry walked Hermione through the barrier to her parents before returning home. This summer was a slow one for Harry. After the events of the Philosopher's Stone, Aldora and Cornelius kept an annoyingly close eye on him, both seeming to think that he was going to run off and do something stupid. He was forced to spend lots of time with Draco Malfoy as the Fudges now all but forced them together, determined they would become the best of friends.
"Not likely." Thought Harry.
Thankfully the Fudges didn't seem to dislike Ron and Hermione, nor did they disapprove of his friendship with them. The push towards the Malfoy heir was merely a political one. The Malfoys were one of the richest and most influential families in their world. They could, and did, donate a lot of money and use their influence on Cornelius' behalf, whereas two muggle dentists and the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office could not. Harry was glad for every chance he got to spend with his friends, though in reality it was only once that he'd seen them. Every time he mentioned going to visit Ron and Hermione, Cornelius or Aldora remembered other plans that they had already made for him. This did not lead credence to their insistence that they liked his friends, but Harry knew when to choose his battles, and it was only two months before they'd return to Hogwarts. The time apart, though, felt especially long as Ron and Hermione didn't even write him. Or so he thought. At their first meeting in July both had insisted that they had written him, though Harry had received no letters. This continued throughout the rest of the summer until finally when he saw them again in Diagon Alley, where they all managed to be at the same time shopping for their school supplies, and they insisted again that they'd written him.
"But how could you have not gotten any of our letters?" Ron asked as they walked down the alley towards Flourish and Blotts.
"Not by accident, that's for certain." Said Hermione. "Owls almost never get lost, its why wizards chose them as letter carriers instead of another type of bird. Which means something, or someone, is stopping Harry's letters from reaching him."
"Yeah but who? And why?" Harry wasn't happy that they already had another mystery to solve, and one that probably didn't bode well for any of them. Thankfully his thoughts were interrupted as they reached the bookstore, where they were to meet with their families. The shop was more crowded than they'd ever seen, the crowd even spilling out onto the street. They managed to push their way through until they found the Weasleys and Fudges, who were unsurprisingly at the front. Cornelius thought it good for the public, on occasion, to see him doing such mundane things as taking his ward shopping for his school supplies, or waiting in a crowd like a normal person, though Harry had no doubt that Cornelius had used his position as Minister to ensure they were at the front of the crowd. Hermione's parents were off to the side where they were being interrogated by Mr. Weasley, his fascination with muggles apparent. After saying hello to the Weasleys Harry turned to the table and posters in front of them, and the reason for the crowd, and groaned.
"Not him." He muttered. Ron wholeheartedly agreed, but it was clear by her scandalized expression that Hermione did not.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart." A man in rich and highly ostentatious robes entered from a backroom to resounding applause. He smiled most charmingly at the crowd, especially the simpering women, one of whom was Hermione. Harry tried to make himself less conspicuous and shoved Ron forward to stand behind him. He had met Gilderoy Lockhart on several occasions, the Order of Merlin, Third Class, winner being a staple at Ministry events. He was supposed to be a very courageous, smart and powerful wizard, who had dedicated his life to helping people, travelling around the world to do so and saving many from various dark creatures or wizards. He had written several books about his journeys, which is what earned him the Order of Merlin. Harry believed none of it. Gilderoy Lockhart was a vain man whose favourite subject was himself. He was also as much of a social climber as Cornelius and hated it when there was someone more famous than him in the room. That saw him often demand Harry's company at Ministry functions, for who could be more famous than The Boy Who Lived, who also just happened to have the Minister of Magic as his guardian? Lockhart would attach himself to Harry's side and ensure that anytime someone tried to speak with Harry he could turn the direction of conversation onto himself, often by saying that he had taught Harry everything he knew. Harry was not looking forward to seeing the man again, and tried his hardest not to be singled out.
"Make way there please, excuse me madam, this is for the Daily Prophet." A photographer had showed up and Lockhart turned his charming smile up a notch. Unfortunately for Harry, the photographer had stopped just in front of Cornelius, drawing Lockhart's attention in their direction.
"Minister, how lovely of you to come!" He came around the table and shook Cornelius and Aldora's hands. "And you've brought Mrs. Fudge, how delightful." Harry wondered if he could escape, knowing that Lockhart would now be looking for him, but with the size of the crowd all trying to get a glimpse of the famous author, he wasn't that lucky. "And Harry, how wonderful!" Harry found himself pulled out of the crowd, Lockhart's vice like grip holding him in place as he posed for another photograph. "Nice big smile, Harry. Together you and I rate the front page." Harry most certainly didn't smile, but he tried not to look as miserable as he was; Cornelius wouldn't like it if a photo of him looking anything but perfect did indeed make it onto the front page of the Prophet.
"Let go." Harry growled once the photo was taken, but Lockhart didn't release his grip.
"Ladies and gentlemen, what an extraordinary moment this is." He began. "When young Harry stepped into Flourish and Blotts this morning to purchase by autobiography, Magical Me…" He stopped for applause, which the crowd was only too eager to give him. "Which incidentally, is currently celebrating its twenty-seventh week atop the Daily Prophet bestseller list." Again he paused for applause, and again the crowd gave it to him. "He had no idea that he would, in fact, be receiving the best of news. I can now officially announce that young Harry and his school chums will be getting the real magical me this coming school year as their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." Harry tried not to look devastated by the news, though he couldn't hide the shock. Lockhart at Hogwarts? The year was already off to a bad start and term hadn't even begun yet. With his announcement over with, Harry was able to escape Lockhart's grasp and immediately made his way outside, along with Hermione and the Weasley children.
"Bet you loved that didn't you, Potter?" A voice sneered and Harry's least favourite, or perhaps now second least favourite, person blocked their path. "Famous Harry Potter. Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."
"Leave him alone." Little Ginny Weasley stepped forward, glaring menacingly at Draco, though he seemed far from concerned.
"Oh, look, Potter! You got yourself a girlfriend."
"Now, now Draco, play nicely."
"Hello Mr. Malfoy." Harry greeted, wondering if this day could get any worse.
"Mr. Potter." He greeted in return, they were in public after all and the niceties must be observed. Thankfully Harry was saved from any further conversation by the arrival of Mr. Weasley, who had come over upon seeing Lucius Malfoy talking to his children.
"Come on everyone, it's mad in here, let's get outside."
"Well, well, well, Weasley senior."
"Lucius."
"Busy time at the Ministry, Arthur, all those extra raids? I do hope they're paying you overtime, but judging by the state of this, I'd say not." The elder Malfoy reaching into the cauldron Ginny was carrying and pulled out a second hand book, looking at its worn cover with derision. "What's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard, if they don't even pay you well for it?" While Lucius and Draco both had to toe the line with Harry, they did not have to with the Weasleys, and Lucius' opinion of Mr. Weasley was clear.
"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy."
"Clearly." He looked back to the two people in the shop who were obviously out of place; Hermione's parents wearing distinctly muggle attire. "Associating with muggles. And I thought your family could sink no lower." He returned the book to Ginny's cauldron and sneered at them one last time before leaving without even so much as a goodbye. Draco trotted after his father and Harry breathed easier when they were gone. The rest of the day went better than the trip to the bookstore had, for which Harry was very grateful. He told Ron and Hermione about his opinions on Lockhart and that he was sure to be a horrible teacher, but while Ron readily agreed with him, Hermione did not.
"They don't award Order of Merlins to just anyone." She insisted. "Perhaps he's a little vain and enjoys the spotlight, but I'm sure he'll be a great teacher, and he has all that experience to share with us." Harry disagreed, but knew that Hermione wouldn't change her mind until proven wrong, which Harry was sure would happen in their very first lesson with Lockhart. After a tiring day, Harry and the Fudges returned home, all of them looking to relax. Harry went up to his bedroom hoping for a nap before dinner, but his plans were cut short by a house-elf he didn't recognize jumping on his bed. The elf turned when he heard the door open and gazed at Harry with reverence.
"Harry Potter. Such an honour it is."
"Who are you?"
"Dobby, sir."
"And what are you doing here, Dobby?" Harry was used to house-elves, the Fudges had two, Misty and Donny, who had become a seven-year-old Harry's first friends upon his arrival at the Fudge household. He had also met several of the Malfoy house-elves over the years, though he knew from Draco's boasting that they practically had an army of them. This elf reminded Harry of the Malfoy elves. He had a look of fear about him and was dressed in a dirty old pillowcase with scars and bandages covering every visible part of his body, no doubt from punishing himself at his master's command. It boiled Harry's blood to see a living creature treated this way. House-elves were viewed as nothing more than servants in the wizarding world, and the Fudge elves were no exception; however, neither Cornelius nor Aldora were cruel. Misty and Donny had clean clothes – or rather their version of clothes they'd made out of old curtains or bedding – and were treated with kindness for the most part. The Fudges still expected the elves to do all the work and obey their commands without question, but in the odd case of one of the elves making a mistake they were at most yelled at, and never corporally punished, though usually Aldora just gave them a stern talking to; letting them feel their masters' disappointment could be just as bad a punishment for a house-elf. Whoever this elf belonged to, however, was clearly cruel and Harry wondered again why he was here.
"Well, sir, Dobby has come to tell you…it is difficult, sir. Dobby wonders where to begin." The elf was wringing his hands nervously.
"Why don't you sit down?" Harry offered, hoping putting the elf at ease would get an explanation out of him sooner. However, his offer received the exact opposite reaction.
"Sit…sit down?" The tennis ball sized eyes began to fill with tears and it wasn't long before Dobby was sobbing.
"Dobby I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or anything."
"Offend Dobby?" The tears disappeared and he looked scandalized at the thought. "Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, but never has he been asked to sit down by a wizard…like an equal."
"You can't have met many decent wizards, then." Dobby was confirming what Harry already knew: that the family he served were not good people, and given that house-elves usually stayed with their family for generations, instead of being help for hire, it narrowed down the list of possibilities to the older pure-blood families.
"No, I haven't." He said with a laugh, though his mood changed immediately. "That was an awful thing to say." With no warning Dobby threw himself against Harry's dresser and began to bang his head against it, all the while calling himself a bad elf. Harry wouldn't stand for it though and picked Dobby up with ease, sitting him on the bed and taking a place beside him so he couldn't try to punish himself again.
"Dobby had to punish himself, sir. Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, sir. And if they ever knew Dobby was here…" He trailed off, looking more frightened than before and Harry tightened his grip on Dobby's pillowcase. It took a moment but he recovered quickly and finally got down to business. "But Dobby had to come. Dobby has to protect Harry Potter. To warn him." He looked around, as if his family might jump out of the wardrobe, before leaning in to Harry and speaking in almost a whisper. "Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year. There is a plot. A plot to make most terrible things happen." Harry was shocked. Of all the possibilities of why Dobby was here, a plot to no doubt kill him while he was at school had not crossed his mind.
"What terrible things? Who's plotting them?" Dobby started to speak but he barely got one word out before he stopped and grabbed his head.
"Can't….say." He repeated as he reached for a nearby inkwell, though Harry took it from him just as quickly.
"Ok, I understand you can't say. But what can you tell me? I'm not staying away from Hogwarts without good reason. I won't leave my education, my friends-"
"Friends who don't even write to Harry Potter?" The elf cut in and it suddenly made sense why he hadn't gotten any of Ron and Hermione's letters.
"What have you done, Dobby?"
"Harry Potter mustn't be angry with Dobby." The elf looked guilty as he reached into his pillowcase and pulled out a pile of letters. "Dobby hoped that if Harry Potter thought his friends had forgotten him, Harry Potter might not want to go back to school, sir."
"Well you're wrong!" He snapped, having finally lost his patience. "Besides, I've seen my friends twice this summer, just today even." Dobby's ears drooped, seeing his plan hadn't worked, and put the letters on Harry's desk. "What can you tell me about these terrible things, Dobby?" He repeated his question.
"Dobby cannot say!" The weeping began again. "Dobby can only say that Harry Potter is in grave danger now that history is to repeat itself."
"Repeat itself?" Harry jumped on that new piece of information. "You mean these terrible things have happened before?" Dobby's eyes widened when he realized what he'd said and he again began to bang his head against the dresser. "Misty, Donny!" Harry called the Fudge elves to him. They popped in immediately and looked quite surprised to see another elf punishing himself in Harry's room. "Donny, take Dobby down to the kitchen and fix him a cup of tea and something to eat. Calm him down before he returns to his family."
"Of course, Master Harry!" Grabbing a hold of the other elf's arm, Donny popped back out leaving just Harry and Misty.
"Misty, I need you to try and find out who Dobby's family is, and see if you can get more information out of him. He says terrible things are going to happen at Hogwarts this year, but can't say what." Misty's eyes widened.
"Will Master Harry be in danger at school this year?" Harry smiled at the elf and placed a comforting hand on her head.
"I'm sure I won't be, but I can't know for certain until we find out more about what Dobby is talking about."
"Then Misty will find out for Master Harry!" She looked determined.
"Just don't put yourself in danger. It's not worth it." While the Fudges thought of the elves as mere servants, Harry viewed them more as family, perhaps even more as family than he viewed the Fudges. With a nod Misty popped out to join Dobby and Donny, and Harry sat down to write a letter.
A/N - Review please!