Chapter 45

A FEW DAYS AFTER THE YULE BALL...

Severus was standing against one of Dumbledore's windows, trying to discern in the darkness whether there was something different than Thestrals flying over the Forbidden Forest. And wondering whether he should do something to stop Potter flying with the Durmstrang champion or not.

"I don't think you should worry, Severus," said the Headmaster. "Mr. Krum strikes me as a decent young man. Besides, he and Harry seemed friendly during the Ball, and he chose Miss Granger as his date."

"It might be all a ruse," said Severus turning around to look at the old man, who was busy reading a very thick book. "Who knows what Krum is thinking behind his scowl? Perhaps it's all a show to get close to Potter and win his trust. Igor can't harm the brat now, and he knows it, but what about his champion?"

Dumbledore chuckled.

"Alastor's paranoia is rubbing on you, Severus," he said turning a page. "You really do have a lot in common."

"I would never use a magical eye to look under students' robes," scoffed Severus indignantly.

The Headmaster looked up, a frown in his face.

"I highly doubt Alastor does that," he said firmly.

"I know for a fact that he does. He was looking at Potter's socks during the Ball, I heard him comment on that. Does the brat own a house-elf, by the way?"

It was amusing to watch Dumbledore's expression of perplexity.

"He does not," he said after a moment, still looking confused.

"What happened to the Potter elves?" asked Severus, remembering all the times the jerk had bragged about how many he had indulging his every whim.

"Lily made sure they were all given clothes as soon as she married James," said Dumbledore cautiously.

"Potter must have gone insane," he commented taking a seat in his usual place. He would have liked to see James Potter's face when Lily had dismissed all his servants. She had ranted endlessly about house-elves and how cruel it was everything about them.

"Oh, yes," said the old man with amusement. "I heard they had a big argument over that. Lily won, of course."

Severus felt some bitter satisfaction hearing that. It was always painful to imagine Lily's marriage, but it soothed the pain a little to know that Lily had not ceased being herself nor put up with Potter's bullshit.

"Why would a house-elf knit socks for Potter, then?" he asked.

Dumbledore's eyebrows rose in confusion again, but then understanding seemed to dawn on him.

"Oh, you must be talking about Dobby," he said with eyes twinkling. "He does like socks. He gave me a very nice pair as Christmas present, I'm guessing Harry must have received one too."

"Since when Hogwarts' elves give presents to students? To anyone, actually?" asked Severus in perplexity.

"Well... Dobby is not exactly a Hogwarts' elf, although he works here. He's a very interesting creature, unique in that he enjoys freedom, unlike the rest of his kind. I believe Harry has struck some sort of friendship with him."

Severus stared at the Headmaster for a long moment, trying to decide which part of his statement made less sense, the one about a house-elf enjoying freedom or the one about a house-elf being friends with a human.

"Are you saying that you have a free elf working in Hogwarts?" he asked finally.

"Yes."

"Why?"

The old man shrugged.

"Why not? Dobby is a really hard worker, and it's perfectly reasonable for anyone to want to retain his freedom and be compensated for his work. I would offer the same to all the other elves if I didn't fear to offend them."

Now Severus was definitely stunned.

"You... pay him?"

"Indeed. Dobby doesn't ask for much, though," said Dumbledore sadly, "he wouldn't accept more than a galleon a week and one day off a month."

Severus shook his head in disbelief. A house-elf wanting to be paid? Shouldn't such creature be locked up or put down by the Ministry?

"How can you allow Potter to consort with a mad elf?" he demanded angrily.

"Dobby is not crazy, Severus," said Dumbledore sternly. "He's just... unusual. Special."

"The thing is demanding to be paid! At the very least it's an anomalous creature, wrong in the head, and as such it's unpredictable and possibly dangerous..."

"I assure you that Dobby is at least as protective of Harry as you are, Severus. There were a few dangerous situations in the past, like the rogue Bludger incident, but..."

"What?"

Dumbledore hesitated when he saw Severus' probably murderous face. He must have also seen that an explanation was urgently required, however, because he immediately began telling him about how the crazy elf had blocked the Platform 9 3/4 a few years back, leading to Potter oh so cleverly deciding to fly across the country in an enchanted car and almost dying when crashing against the Whomping Willow, and also about how the damned elf had tampered with a Bludger that same year resulting in a boneless Potter. All supposedly to save the boy's life.

Severus was astonished, and angry at himself for having completely missed such a threat over Potter at the time. He had been convinced that the mad Bludger had been the work of one of his Slytherins, one cunning enough as to avoid discovery. As to the other incident... He had not wanted to listen to any excuses, sure that the morons had just wanted to draw attention by flying a car to Hogwarts. Of course it was still idiotic what they had done, but he was now more concerned about what else the bloody elf could have done and especially about what the creature might still do.

"I admit that Dobby's attempts to protect Harry were a bit misguided," said Dumbledore in what probably intended to be a reassuring tone, "but you don't have to worry about him, Severus. I understand that Harry made him promise never to try to save his life again, and I made sure of including that as a condition to hire him."

Severus ran both his hands through his hair. It didn't reassure him at all to know that a free, crazy elf had promised not to try to kill Potter again. Perhaps he should just report the creature to the Ministry, or put it down himself, since clearly Dumbledore didn't intend to do anything about it.

Not that dealing with that was in any way urgent, of course, since Potter was currently 'protected' by the Goblet of Fire.

"How did the elf even know that Potter was in danger during the Chamber year?" he asked with a sigh after a minute. And how the hell did the boy manage to always be targeted by anything dangerous in existence?

"Ah, as to that... Dobby used to belong to Lucius Malfoy," said Dumbledore with another twinkle of his blue eyes and proceeding to explain another part of the Chamber story that Severus had completely missed.

He wasn't sure if he was more shocked by the fact that the mad elf had tried to save Harry Potter while being Lucius' elf or by the unbelievable —and amusing— fact that Potter had somehow managed to trick the noble Malfoy into freeing his own house-elf. No wonder Lucius hated the brat so much!

It was also alarming that the elf had dared attacking a wizard.

Dumbledore was convinced that the creature was the way it was as a consequence of Lucius' mistreatment, but many wizards mistreated their elves and yet this was the first time Severus heard of one so completely messed up by it. What had his fellow Death Eater done to it? To be sure, the Cruciatus Curse would affect an elf infinitely more than it affected a person, being elves creatures much more sensitive to stress and pain than humans, but just like with the Longbottom case Severus would have expected the elf to simply die rather than going crazy.

Not crazy, Dumbledore insisted. Damaged. Severus couldn't care less about the terminology, but he did care about such anomalous creature being around Potter.

If the boy was still alive at the end of the year, he would have to look into the matter more closely.

PRESENT TIME...

The alliance between Potter and Krum seemed to be working better than Severus had expected. Krum apparently had fully taken the boy under his wing, and, hard as it was to believe it, it looked like Potter was making an actual effort. The allies spent hours every day in the library going through countless books and discussing the task, or practicing spells in empty classrooms. No doubt they were also still flying together every night, and one could hope that Krum was teaching Potter how to swim, insufficient as the skill might be.

Severus was no longer worried about the possibility of betrayal, not after having noticed the way the Bulgarian looked at Miss Granger. Of course it was a mystery what the famous Quidditch player could see in that insufferable girl, but if it kept him loyally stuck to Potter then Severus for the first time was glad for her existence. He just hoped that youthful passion would not wear off before the year was over.

He began to worry again when the second task drew closer and Irma kept reporting that Potter and Krum still were desperately searching for books on magical means to breathe underwater. Diggory and Delacour seemed to have already sorted out that problem, but not the allies. Or more exactly, not Potter. Irma had overheard them talking, and according to her Krum planned to use human Transfiguration. That wasn't a skill Potter could learn to a seventh year level in only a few weeks, however, so they were still searching for an alternative plan for the younger champion.

It annoyed Severus to no end to know that Potter had told Diggory and Delacour about the mermaids and yet neither of those champions had seen fit to return the favour by passing along the tip about the Bubble-Head Charm. He intended to make Diggory's next year extremely unpleasant because of this.

Of course it was also annoying that Potter and Krum had still not found that charm, but that was sort of understandable considering that it wasn't a charm designed for breathing underwater nor a common charm at all. Less understandable was that the idiots apparently hadn't thought to look for potions or magical plants. And even more infuriating was to hear from Pomona that Longbottom currently had a book that mentioned Gillyweed sitting just feet from Potter's bed.

He was still hoping that Potter would find a way in time, but just in case Severus began considering other options. Not that he had many. The Goblet had not allowed him to send the boy anything else after Christmas, and he was not managing to insult him in any useful way during classes. Perhaps if he could give him detention, something like making inventory of his private storeroom... but private detentions with Potter were over for the foreseeable future, and in any case he was pretty sure that the Goblet would not allow him to direct the brat anywhere near Gillyweed.

It was while he turned around inside his head these frustrating limitations during his, once again, sleepless nights, that he remembered the crazy elf.

There was potential there, he could smell it. Elves were compelled to serve by nature, and yet it sounded like this creature had defied such compulsion even when he was bound to Lucius. Now he not only was a free elf, but he owed his freedom to Potter and apparently was obsessed with the boy's survival.

Severus had already verified that normal house-elves couldn't be used to help champions, but perhaps Dobby would be the exception. Perhaps the elf was anomalous enough as to defy the Goblet's compulsion as well as his race's natural compulsion to serve.

The idea was dangerous, however. After his conversation with Dumbledore Severus was wary of the elf, not trusting the creature with Potter or with himself. He still believed that the elf had to be reported or put down, since it had dared attacking a wizard, and to be honest he was afraid of meeting him being a Death Eater, a friend of Lucius, and Harry Potter's most hated Professor.

Even if the elf proved to be useful and willing to help Severus instead of attacking him, it was a dangerous plan. So far Severus' interference had not triggered any defence mechanisms of the Goblet of Fire, so he had ceased fearing to get Potter and the judges instantly killed every time he insulted the boy or tried to use his Vow some other way. He was hesitant to attempt another kind of interference, though. What if Dobby managed to defy the Goblet and Potter dropped dead as a result?

Not sure at all if he would take the risk, Severus began researching house-elves, noticing right away that the Hogwarts' library contained far too little books on the subject, most of them on breeding or on how to formulate commands to adjust the servants to different household situations. Clearly no one had thought important to investigate the creatures beyond that. There was almost nothing about the elves' compulsion to serve, unsatisfactory information on how best to restrain their powerful magic, and absolutely no reference to any elf that had ever wished to be free.

The second task was approaching fast, Potter looking increasingly desperate while Irma reported that he was now randomly withdrawing useless books like Saucy Tricks for Tricky Sorts or Powers You Never Knew You Had and What to Do with Them Now You've Wised Up. Granted, with such a random search Potter might eventually run across the Bubble-Head Charm by accident, but Severus highly doubted the boy was examining properly each book. It was also doubtful that he would be able to learn the complex charm in only a few days, even with Krum's help.

So Severus began to seriously consider summoning the crazy elf. He didn't dare doing it without being fairly certain that he could contain the creature and defend himself from it, however, so he ended up paying a visit to Macnair. It was risky to consult a fellow Death Eater's private library, but at least Macnair was less likely to be closely watched by the Dark Lord than Lucius, and he was almost as afraid of Severus as he was of their master.

Macnair didn't even ask him what he was looking for, simply giving him freedom around the place and making sure nobody bothered him. The Dark Lord might be reserving a very painful traitor's death for Severus, but for now it was nice to be still treated as a high ranked Death Eater.

The answer turned out to be extremely rare, dark magic, which made sense considering that compulsion magic was very dark in nature. House-elves were clearly dark creatures even if they weren't classified that way. And like everything dark, it would be costly and dangerous to handle a crazy specimen of them. Perhaps Severus was just as insane as the elf if he was considering to actually try this.

"Dobby!" he finally called two days before the second task, when he had given up hope on Potter figuring out a breathing method on his own.

The most eccentric elf that he had ever seen appeared with a pop in front of him, and he knew instantly that he had the right one. The creature was wearing a tea cozy with multiple bright badges pinned to it for a hat, a tie patterned with horseshoes, a pair of what looked like children's soccer shorts, and odd socks, one black and one with pink and orange stripes. A horrid sight on the whole.

He had only a moment to take in the elf's appearance before the elf recognized him and a very angry expression appeared on his ugly little face.

"You!" the creature squeaked pointing a long accusing finger at him.

Severus ignored him while he silently cast the anti-elf ward, quickly surrounding the elf with Dark Magic. The big green eyes widened in fear when the creature realized that it was trapped, narrowing in fury a moment later.

"You is a dark wizard and an evil man!" yelled the elf in such a loud, high pitched sound that it probably would have woken up bats in the Forbidden Forest if there wasn't a silencing ward all around his quarters.

"Quiet, Dobby!" commanded Severus as he stumbled to a seat and rubbed his temples. He had no idea how much the dark ward was costing him, but judging by the killing headache it wasn't cheap. He better do this as quick as possible, he thought as he swallowed down a headache reliever and a Pepper Up. After a brief hesitation he also summoned a Calming Draught and a bottle of firewhisky, even though one really shouldn't mix up all those things.

"I is not your elf!" continued yelling the creature. "Dobby is a free elf! Dobby is only doing what he wants to do, and I is not wanting to obey Professor Snape. Evil man!"

The elf began to struggle against the ward, first attempting to Disapparate without success and then using his magic to try to disable the ward or perhaps to send some message through it. To Severus' relief, however, the ward stood firm.

"Please, Dobby," he said in the most polite tone he could muster, helped along by the Calming Draught that was already making some effect. "I won't give you any more orders, if that bothers you. I just want to talk about Harry Potter. Would you do that?"

"Dobby is not betraying Harry Potter! Dobby is a loyal elf. Harry Potter is the greatest wizard alive, Dobby is saying nothing about him!"

It must be Potter's favourite thing in the world to meet with such an enthusiastic devotee. Friendship his ass.

"I am not asking you to betray Harry Potter," assured him Severus. "I actually want you to help me help him. I'm on Potter's side as well."

"The bad man lies! All the elves knows you hates Harry Potter. And Dobby knows more, I is heard things from Dobby's old master! Professor Snape is an evil dark wizard!"

Severus served himself another shot and emptied it in one swallow.

"Harry Potter will die in two days if we don't help him, Dobby," he said bluntly. That caught the elf's attention and temporarily shut him up. "Now... I know you don't trust me. Truth be told, I don't trust you either. But I understand that you owe your freedom to Potter, and that you have previously tried to save his life." Almost killing him in the process. "On my part, everything I do is to protect him."

Was he really attempting to dialogue with a crazy house-elf? The things I do for your son, Lily.

"I is not believing you!" squeaked the creature. "Professor Snape hates Harry Potter, and you is serving the Dark Lord. Dobby will not be tricked!"

Severus sighed. He probably should feel more annoyed, but after all the drugs he had taken and the Dark Magic's side effects he didn't really feel like himself. That was probably for the best, considering that he needed to convince this elf of trusting him.

"Listen, Dobby," he said calmly, "the situation is extremely complicated. It is true that Potter and I have... issues. We dislike each other to say the least. However it is not true that I serve the Dark Lord, and I definitely do not intend any harm to Harry Potter. Since I am a spy, it is good if you and everyone else believes that, but to you, today, I will tell you the entire truth." He waited to see if the elf would yell some more, but the creature was regarding him in silence with a more intelligent expression Severus would have ever expected of a non-human Being. "I was a true Death Eater a long time ago, but I switched sides before the Dark Lord's downfall and since then I have been working to keep Harry Potter alive. I do not wish for Potter to ever know this, and it is best if he doesn't, since he would not be able to keep the secret and then my spy cover would be blown up. Are you following me?"

"Dobby follows," said the elf, his eyes still full of mistrust.

"Last November I swore and Unbreakable Vow," continued Severus, "to try and help Potter through the Tournament. Professor McGonagall can attest to this, since she was the bonder. The Vow, however, must remain a strict secret. Dumbledore, especially, must not know, since he is a judge and would be forced to stop me. Do you understand what I'm saying, elf?"

The creature nodded, eyes wide.

"To be completely blunt, Dobby, I will die if I fail to keep Potter safe, just as Potter will probably die if nobody helps him. Assisting the champions is not easy, however, since the Goblet of Fire prevents it. I am hoping you might be able to help."

Now the elf looked sad, or perhaps anguished.

"I is not able to help either," he said. "No one can, all the elves know. We heard the teachers talking."

"Have you actually tried?" asked Severus.

"I is not try. Dobby promised he would never try to save Harry Potter again."

Severus nodded.

"Considering that you almost killed Potter trying to save him, I would say that's a good promise for you to abide by," he said. "Today, however, I need you to break that promise."

The elf immediately shook his head and began wringing his hands nervously.

"Dobby promised to Harry Potter! And to Professor Dumbledore too!"

"I understand, Dobby. They made you promise because despite your good intentions your methods were extremely dangerous. But I believe you are the only one who can perhaps help Harry Potter now, so I'm recruiting your help. He needs to find a way to breathe underwater the day after tomorrow, but the Goblet is preventing me from sending him anything. You, however, as a free and... special elf, might be able to do what I can't." He pierced the elf with a very serious look. "You do wish Harry Potter to survive, don't you Dobby?"

Despite the elf's increasing receptivity, it took considerable more convincing to get him to trust Severus in any degree. The decisive factor was Minerva, whom Severus finally floo-called. He hadn't even told her what he intended to do, just in case she tried to talk him out of the entire thing and especially out of the Dark Magic. She did look increasingly worried and disapproving as he explained the weird situation, but fortunately she seemed to decide to scold him later and simply proceeded to confirm to the elf everything Severus had said. Having the Deputy Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor House speaking for him went a long way towards winning the creature's trust and convincing it of keeping secrets from both Potter and Dumbledore.

Much more difficult was for Severus to trust the elf. He couldn't use Legilimency through the dark ward, so he couldn't be sure the creature would not immediately pop away to tell Dumbledore or Potter everything as soon as he was released. Minerva had sternly explained to the elf how serious the consequences would be if he didn't follow Severus' instructions to the letter, and the elf seemed to understand, but Severus still demanded from him multiple solemn promises to ensure that he didn't betray any secrets nor do anything without Severus' approval. Dobby swore on the life of Harry Potter, which was probably as binding a promise as any promise could get for the crazy creature.

Finally, Severus took the risk of lifting the dark ward. He had his wand at the ready, but he doubted he would be able to curse the elf before he popped away if that's what he intended to do, so it was a relief that the creature stayed and didn't attack.

"Are you sure about this, Severus?" asked Minerva anxiously when he took out the package that he had already prepared with a lot of mentalization. There was enough Gillyweed for two hours —in case Potter wanted to split it with his ally— and a book page with instructions of use attached.

He took a deep breath.

"I'm only sure that Potter needs help."

"He still has tomorrow to do research. Maybe..."

"Even if he found the right book now, he probably wouldn't have time to learn any new spell or to steal Gillyweed from me," said Severus shaking his head.

"Champions are not allowed anything but their wands," she objected next.

"If he doesn't remember that he can summon things after he almost drowns chasing that bloody egg then he deserves to die," snapped Severus. Of course, it was a question whether there would be some sort of anti-summoning ward in place, but he didn't judge convenient to mention that particular concern of his.

Minerva sighed and pierced him with a very intense look.

"What if...?"

"I have already considered all the possible implications, Minerva," he cut her off with a warning look. "As long as Dobby is willing, this is going to happen."

It would not do to let the elf know that his interference might instantly kill his two greatest heroes, Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore. Severus felt relieved that if that happened he would most likely die as well so he would not have to deal with a crazy angry elf.

"Dobby is willing!" squeaked the creature with a determined expression. "Dobby will help Harry Potter if he can!"

Severus nodded and handed him the package.

"Remember, Dobby, you are not to mention me nor any of this. If Potter asks, tell him that it was your idea. Don't linger, just stay long enough to make sure the boy receives the package and then report back here. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir!" exclaimed the elf excitedly.

Severus had not been too confident that the elf would be able to do anything, but to his relief and fear the creature instantly popped away when he finally commanded it to deliver the package to Harry Potter. He saw his same fear mixed with hope reflected on Minerva's face.

A moment later, the world seemed to come to an end.

It was as if he had been hit by some powerful blasting curse that targeted directly his magical core threatening with pushing it out of his body.

Severus had never felt so afraid in his life.

It was over in an instant, but whatever had happened had left him shaking and sort of internally bruised. He saw that Minerva also looked shaken and afraid.

What the hell had that been?

With a loud pop, the elf reappeared in front of them looking just as frightened as Severus felt. He was twisting his ears with his hands and glancing around as if searching for something to punish himself with.

"What happened, Dobby?" he demanded, his heart still beating wildly.

The elf ignored him in favour of hitting his head against the floor.

"I forbid you to punish yourself, Dobby!" said Severus sternly, rushing to restrain the creature. "Now answer me! What happened? Did you do it? Is Potter alive?"

"Dobby did as he was told," squeaked the elf, looking in the verge of tears. "Harry Potter is well, but Dobby thinks the Goblet of Fire isn't happy, sir. Dobby fears for Harry Potter!"

Severus breathed in relief, although he was also beyond concerned. Clearly the Goblet had noticed Dobby's interference, and like the elf said the damned object didn't seem to have taken it well. He turned to Minerva.

"Go make sure the boy is alive," he ordered. "Discreetly."

Once his colleague had rushed away, he turned to the elf.

"All right," he said as calmly as he could considering he was still shaking. "You will not, under any circumstances, attempt to help Harry Potter again, Dobby."