Chapter 2 - A Nod and a Winky

'I hear you had a hot date today, Harry,' said Ron Weasley with something of a leer as he slid a pint of beer across the table towards his friend.

Harry raised an eyebrow in surprise at the remark but did not reply. Instead, he lifted his glass and took a long pull of his drink, sitting back in his chair as he waited for his friend to elaborate. He glanced at his other best mate who was trying hard not to smirk. For his part, Neville Longbottom was failing miserably to hide his amusement.

'Yeah. You were spotted in the Magic Bean earlier today,' continued Ron as he took his seat. 'Apparently you were with a really pretty witch?'

Harry shook his head in annoyance. 'Who spotted me? Tell me I've not made the Prophet again,' he groaned.

'Nah…George told me. Said that Angelina had spotted you.' Ron watched his friend sag in relief. 'So?' he added expectantly.

'So, what?' asked Harry.

Ron rolled his eyes. 'So, who was your hot date?'

Harry placed his glass back onto the table and took a few moments to gather his thoughts. He glanced around the muggle pub as if seeking an escape route. He generally loved spending his time with his two best mates, particularly as it often proved difficult for them to get together as both he and Neville worked at Hogwarts and Ron had frequent shift work as a junior Auror. But as much as he loved these two men, he did get more than a little frustrated at their unhealthy interest in his love life.

Or lack of a love life, he thought darkly.

'It wasn't a date. It was a…business meeting.' He didn't realise a small smile played on his face as he thought about Hermione.

'Yeah, right,' grinned Ron. 'A "business meeting,"' he repeated, drawing invisible quotation marks in the air with his fingers as he did so. 'So, was she pretty, this business meeting?'

'Piss off, Ron,' replied Harry. 'It wasn't a date.'

'But was she pretty?' repeated Ron.

'Yes, she was! Happy now?'

Ron and Neville laughed heartily. 'Yes. I'm happy. That's all I wanted to know,' said Ron. 'What's her name? Do we know her?'

'You don't know her. She grew up in France. Went to Beauxbatons. Her name is Hermione,' he said, and saying her name out loud to them somehow felt like a betrayal. Ron and Neville shared a look at the wistful expression on Harry's face.

'What business? If you don't mind me asking?' Neville flushed as Harry rounded on him at the question. He held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. 'If it's none of my business, Harry, just say so. I'm just curious.'

Harry eyed Neville for a long moment before deciding his friend was sincere. 'We talked about House Elves,' he said quietly. 'She runs a…support group for abused House Elves.'

Ron and Neville's expressions softened at this revelation, both of them lost in memories of war and death.

'I can see why you would be interested in such business,' replied Neville in a quiet voice. 'Does she…did you tell her…did you…?'

'No. I never told her about the war. She didn't even ask,' he added with a small smile.

'Pretty and not bothered about your fame?' asked Neville with a smile. 'I can see why you like this girl.'

'I never said anything about liking her!'

'Oh, come on, Harry,' interjected Ron. 'It's obvious from your expression when you talk about her. I've never seen you like this about anyone.' He turned serious for a moment. 'Look; I'm not winding you up here. It would be nice if you have finally found someone. Do you like her?'

'Maybe,' he replied after a long silence. He looked up as his two mates. 'Please don't mention this to anyone. I think I do like her. She's…enchanting. She's smart as a whip. She's very pretty and has a great sense of humour. She's engaging, she's…elegant,' he added wistfully.

'Merlin; do you have it bad!' exclaimed Ron. 'Enchanting? Elegant? Really, Harry? Who describes a girl as elegant?'

Harry snapped out of his thoughts, his eyes wide. 'Look guys; please don't mention this to anyone. I don't want the press to find out. I don't want her scared off before she has a chance to get to know me.'

Neville laughed. 'No worries, Harry. She can be scared off once she does know you, just like everyone else.'

Despite himself, Harry laughed at the remark. 'Fair enough, mate.' He looked at them both carefully. 'So, I can rely on your discretion? At least for now?'

Both friends nodded. 'You can,' replied Neville. 'But I would like to meet her when you think it appropriate.'

Harry nodded his agreement. 'If things go the way I want, you'll get to meet her soon enough,' he replied softly.

Ron and Neville said nothing, contenting themselves with a shared look of amusement at their friend's behaviour.

He's got it so bad!

oOoOoOoOoOo

Harry tried to contain his nerves as he walked down an almost deserted Diagon Alley. It was early on Sunday morning and most of the stores had yet to open. In fact, the only business that was open at this hour was the Magic Bean Cafe, and as a result, he carried two steaming cups of café creme and two hot butter croissants. He aimed to make a good impression on Hermione Granger this morning.

Besides, he'd something important to tell her and he wasn't sure how she was going to react.

Since meeting her a mere two days ago, he'd been unable to stop thinking about her and this was something he simply was not used to dealing with. Despite his fame, he was actually very inexperienced when it came to women. At school, there had been a very brief and disastrous relationship with Cho Chang, followed by a slightly more successful – but ultimately failed – relationship with Ginny Weasley that had finished at the end of his sixth year.

After the war and after his return to Hogwarts to complete his education, he'd been on dates with a few witches but nothing serious had materialised. He found that witches tended to be intimidated by him or that they couldn't see past the public persona of Harry Potter. This "fangirl" phenomenon had started with Ginny Weasley but sadly hadn't ended with her. To this day, he still felt uncomfortable in the presence of Ron's sister. She had carved out a successful Quidditch career for herself as a chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, but she had never stopped pursuing him and no matter how many times he'd told her he wasn't interested in her romantically, she simply would not take the hint. He actually suspected that her unhealthy fixation on him may have caused a few potential girlfriends to give him a wide berth.

Suspected, but never confirmed.

The other issue he faced with relationships was the fact that he would not talk about his experiences during the war. Although he'd not dated many women, those he had and clearly been frustrated at his absolute refusal to discuss any aspect of his ten months on the run. What they did not realise was that he could not talk to anyone about it, even if he'd wanted to.

After Voldemort had finally been defeated, he, Ron and Neville had briefed Kingsley in full about everything that had happened, including the truth about the Horcruxes and his own "death." The new Minister for Magic had been appalled at the tale and had realised the danger if knowledge of Horcruxes became available to the general public, lest some future budding Dark Lord or Lady get any ideas. His solution was for the four of them to take an oath not to discuss these events with anyone else without first obtaining the permission of the other three. While not at the same level as an Unbreakable Vow, the oath they took could still have punitive consequences if broken, up to and including the loss of one's magic.

He'd found this burden hard to bear, especially when trying to forge new relationships. But he absolutely agreed with the need for discretion, even if it meant that some people were denied deserved recognition.

However, one drawback was that most of the women he'd dated had taken his refusal to talk about the war as a personal affront and he'd been accused more than a few times of being someone who was unwilling to confide, to trust. As a result, his dating history was not a resounding success.

As a consequence of these past experiences with women, he found himself rather nervous whenever he thought about Hermione. He knew that Ron and Neville would take the piss relentlessly if they ever discovered how uncertain and inexperienced he was in respect of relationships. The way the press portrayed him one could be forgiven for thinking that he was a player; that he was constantly fighting to keep the witches out of his bed. The reality could not be further from the truth. He was twenty-two years old, and he'd never been in a serious relationship.

It's depressing when I think about it.

He stopped in front of a now familiar black door and took a few moments to gather himself. Finally satisfied that he was as ready as he'd ever be, he raised his hand and rapped sharply on the dark wood.

A few moments later, he heard the bolts sliding back and the door clicked open.

Here goes.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Hermione Granger strode from her living quarters into the main body of her store, cursing as she struggled to pull on her dressing gown.

Who, the hell is calling on me at half past eight on a Sunday morning?!

Carefully placing one hand on the wand concealed in her pocket, she used her free hand to slide back the bolt that was locking her in and slowly opened the door a few inches.

'Who is it?' she asked angrily.

'It's me; Harry.'

Harry? Damn him! I'm a mess! I'm not even dressed! And my hair…

She held the door only a fraction open 'What do you want at this time in the morning, Harry?' she asked, pleased with herself for not sounding too annoyed. She couldn't believe he was here! He'd been dominating her thoughts since their shared coffee and now he was here!

'I wanted to talk to you. I've brought you a coffee. And a croissant,' he added, as if this somehow made all the difference.

It actually did make a difference. The tantalising aroma overwhelmed her senses and she finally conceded to the inevitable. 'OK, come on in,' she said, pulling open the door. 'But this had better be important,' she added, turning, and walking towards the back of the store. 'Make yourself comfortable; I'm just going to put on something a bit more appropriate for receiving a guest.'

'Sorry 'bout that,' Harry mumbled sheepishly as he entered. Head down, he gingerly made his way to the counter and placed the coffees and croissants on top of it, before settling onto a nearby stool. After a few minutes, Hermione returned, now wearing jeans and a t-shirt, tying her hair into a loose ponytail as she approached him.

'This had better be good,' she said with a hint of asperity in her tone. 'I'm not a morning person.'

'Priorities,' replied Harry, holding out a cup of coffee to her as some sort of peace offering. 'Breakfast first, then explanation.'

Despite herself, she smiled as she took the cup, removed the lid, and took a sip. She placed it on the counter and reached for a croissant, before breaking a piece off and placing it in her mouth. She closed her eyes and emitted a small moan at the sweet, buttery taste. Harry couldn't take his eyes off her.

'I forgive you,' she finally said with a soft smile. 'Now; what is it you couldn't wait to tell me?' she asked, looking at him intently and deciding he too, was good enough to eat. She watched him scratch the back of his head nervously and wondered what was causing him such anxiety.

Suddenly, something occurred to her. Something that made her stomach feel like a lead weight lay within.

'I was just so excited by the prospect of working with you that I realised I hadn't told you something about me,' he began nervously.

Damn it! He's going to tell me he has a girlfriend, isn't he? A girlfriend who isn't happy at the prospect of him working alone with another woman! She didn't know why this upset her so much, but there was no denying that it did.

'Go on,' she said, proud of herself for keeping the disappointment out of her voice.

'It's just that if we are working together, we need to trust each other and so there is something about me that you need to know.' He paused for a moment. 'Or rather; someone.'

I knew it! He's seeing someone and he's letting me down gently. I knew this was too good to be true!

'Do you mind if I introduce her to you?'

Introduce her? Now! When I'm just out of bed? I could kill him!

'Of course not. I'd be glad to meet her,' she managed.

Harry smiled broadly, oblivious to her distress. 'Great. Just give me a minute. You'll love her.'

Yeah, sure I will. Bitch.

'Winky!'

Winky? What sort of a name is Winky?

Her surprise was complete when a small House Elf popped into their midst and took a few moments to take in her surroundings.

'Good morning, Master Harry. How be's Winky able to help this morning?'

'Winky? I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. This is Hermione Granger.'

'Pleased to meet you, Miss Hermione!' exclaimed the little elf.

Despite her initial shock, Hermione found herself enchanted. The elf in front of her looked a picture of health. Her bat like ears pointed high towards the ceiling and seemed to move independently to the rest of her body. Her huge brown eyes shone with merriment and her cheeks were rosy and full. She wore a green skirt with a white blouse, allied to a pair of the shiniest (and smallest) black boots she had ever seen. In short, Winky was how all House Elves should look; healthy, happy, and cared for. She finally recovered enough to reply.

'I'm delighted to meet you too, Winky,' she said offering her hand. To her further surprise and delight, Winky took her hand without any hesitation and shook it warmly. Despite all her time working with elves, she had never encountered one so comfortable with being treated as an equal. She looked back up towards Harry.

'Is Winky your elf?' she asked, and she felt the ball of lead disappear from her stomach as she realised exactly who Harry had been talking about.

No girlfriend in the background!

Harry nodded. 'We share a bond. We have for a few years now.' He looked straight at her, and she found herself lost in his gaze. 'We are going to be working to help abused elves. I thought you should know about my situation.' He hesitated. 'Is this going to be an issue?'

Instead of replying directly, she returned her attention to Winky. 'Do you mind if I ask you something personal, Winky?'

'Winky not be minding you ask, Miss Hermione; but I's not answer if I's not like the question,' she replied.

Despite the situation, Hermione found herself smiling broadly. 'Thank you, Winky, I understand. Now, can I ask you if you are happy being bonded to Harry?'

To her delight, Winky seemed to become even happier – she positively glowed. 'Oh, yes, Miss! Master Harry be the bestest master. He took me in when no-one want poor Winky. He gives me time off and lots of presents! He teach me how to read and write and loads of other things! Winky loves Master Harry and is proud to be his friend!'

'And I love you, Winky. You're family to me,' Harry said softly, and Hermione felt her heart swell at the words.

This is how it's supposed to be!

'How did you come to bond?' she asked tentatively.

Harry frowned at the question and looked at Winky, receiving a nod of agreement from the elf. Hermione was gobsmacked by this; at witnessing a wizard seek permission from a House Elf.

'Winky's last master took advantage of her. Ordered her to do things that were…wrong. Bad. The first time she failed to carry out an instruction, he gave her clothes and freed her. He got rid of her as if she were a broken tool. It was heart-breaking,' Harry added.

'And you took her in?'

'Not right away. Winky was devastated by being freed and got herself in a bad way. She was depressed. She was wasting away. We had a…mutual friend who alerted me to her situation and begged me to offer her the bond. I had to help.' He smiled sadly. 'I always had trouble saying no to my friend.'

Hermione found herself fighting back tears. 'That was a good thing you did, Harry Potter. A great thing. How can I be upset at such a bond? If every human bonded with their elves like you have with Winky, there would be no need for SPEW.'

'Just so you know, I do have other elves,' Harry replied. 'For one thing, Winky has children. Twins, in fact. They're nearly six years old, but they are bonded to me. We had to, just to make sure no one unscrupulous could get their hands on them. House Elf children are much sought after, so I gave them the protection of a bond. Of course, I don't actually give them orders; I leave that to their mum, right, Winky?'

'Right, Master Harry,' affirmed the diminutive elf as she picked up Harry's croissant and began munching away at it.

'So, where are the twins now?' asked Hermione, curious, and smiling as the little elf made herself at home.

'They're being looked after by Kreacher, another elf I'm bonded with.' He hesitated. 'This isn't going to be a problem, is it?'

'Are the circumstances of that bond the same as with Winky and the twins?' she asked.

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment before replying. 'Generally similar, but not in the detail. I sort of inherited him by accident. Kreacher was appalled by the prospect of freedom and had no one else to take him. I couldn't in good conscience cast him adrift.'

'In that case it won't cause any problems between us.' She paused for a moment. 'I'm not against humans and elves bonding; I'm just trying to get protection for those who are mistreated. When I started out, I had these grand ideas of freeing all the elves.' She paused as Winky squeaked in horror at her words. 'It's OK, Winky. I know better now. I have an elf friend who explained everything to me. Now I just want to see you all happy.'

She turned back to face Harry. 'Thank you for telling me, for sharing this with me. I value honesty above all things, and I get the feeling that you were worried about telling me this. Is there anything else you think I need to know?'

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment, even a little unsure. Finally, he shook his head. 'I don't think so.'

She smiled at his response and then turned her gaze back to Winky. 'Is this why you are so keen to help elves? Because you have two who were mistreated?' she asked in a soft voice.

'It's part of the reason, Hermione. A large part,' he replied, his voice thick. He licked his lips before continuing. 'So, does this mean we are going to work together? That you'll still let me help?'

She smiled at him, and felt her heart give a little skip at the intensity of his gaze.

'This means we'll be working together, Harry. We're going to change the world.'

oOoOoOoOoOo

Headmistress Minerva McGonagall glanced up from her paperwork as she heard the familiar rumble that indicated that someone had accessed the stairs to her office. She glanced at the clock on the wall and realised that she'd been working for several hours now and had not noticed the passing of time. She laid down her quill as she heard a faint knock on the door.

'Come in!'

'Good evening, Headmistress. Do you have a few minutes?'

Minerva rolled her eyes at her visitor and huffed. 'How many times do I have to tell you to call me Minerva when we are in private, Harry?'

The Hogwarts Defence Against the Dark Arts professor had the good grace to look sheepish for a moment. 'At least one more time, Minerva,' he replied with a smile.

'Better, Harry. Remember, we are colleagues now.'

'I know, it's just that old habits die hard.'

'I understand, Harry. Now, what can I do for you?'

'I have a favour to ask if I may?' Harry replied, taking a seat as he did so. ''I'm going to have to be out of the castle quite a bit over the next few weeks and months. I just wanted to make sure that was still okay with you. Of course, I will not be missing any of my classes or any other obligations I have to the school.'

Minerva sat back in her chair and regarded her DADA professor for a few moments. In truth, she was reluctant to see any of her professors leave the castle on a regular basis, but she knew Harry Potter was a special case. When she'd offered him the position, he'd been reluctant at first owing to the other demands on his time. As the holder of two seats on the Wizengamot, not to mention the person responsible for managing the Black and Potter family holdings, Harry was an extremely busy young man. This was without going into the whole "man who conquered" nonsense that also saw the Ministry and numerous charities request so much of his valuable time.

She'd agreed to allow him to leave the grounds when required and trusted him enough to know that he would not abuse the privilege, nor would he allow it to affect the quality of his teaching. So far, this trust had been well placed.

'May I ask why, Harry?'

'Of course. I'm working on something that I'm hoping to present at the Candlemas Wizengamot session.'

'On your own? Don't you have Percy to manage such things?'

'Not this,' Harry replied. 'I'm working with someone on elf rights.'

'Elf rights? A very worthwhile cause, Harry. Anyone I know?' she asked as innocently as she could.

Harry eyed her shrewdly. 'I don't think so, but that's not to say you haven't been checking around, does it, Minerva?'

She laughed at his words and raised her hands in a gesture of surrender. 'Okay; you got me. I have been doing my research on Miss Granger.'

Harry bristled a little at her admission so she though an explanation was in order. 'I mean no offence, Harry. I had heard you were working with a new lawyer, and there's more than a few opportunists out there who would like nothing better than to use your name for their own ends. I wanted to make sure she had no ulterior motives for approaching you.'

'I approached her.'

'Really? I didn't know, Harry. I thought it was the other way round and I must confess, I was a little suspicious at first.'

'Why?' Harry asked, and there was a hint of anger in his tone.

'For one thing, her legal qualifications, while sufficient, are not particularly impressive. When I saw this, I decided to dig a little deeper, so I spoke to Madame Maxime about her. I'm glad I did, as Olympe had much to say about Miss Granger, all of it good.'

Harry did not reply, instead contenting himself with a raised eyebrow.

'Olympe said that Miss Granger was a grade A student throughout her time at Beauxbatons. Said she was one of the smartest people she'd ever taught and had a work ethic that could take her as far as she wanted. She wasn't surprised when Miss Granger won a scholarship at the Sorbonne. It's what happened to her when she was there that I thought needed investigation.'

'What do you mean?'

'I spoke to a few friends and acquaintances familiar with that seat of learning. Miss Granger was considered a rising star when she was there. A brilliant student, by all accounts. But she left under a cloud after accusing another student of plagiarism. She claimed that a wizard stole her Thesis and submitted it as his own work. The university found no evidence of her claims and exonerated the student she accused.'

'There's no way that Hermione would make such an accusation if it wasn't true!' Harry exclaimed.

'Olympe agrees. Says that the thing she admired most about Miss Granger was her integrity. All the acquaintances I spoke to said the same thing; that they believed Miss Granger.

'So, how did the cheating bastard get away with it?

'Because his family are a very powerful French Pureblood house who regularly make large donations to the university.'

Harry felt the anger rise within him. 'So, they sacrifice the career of a brilliant muggleborn witch just to protect their own?'

'I know, It's terrible. Simply awful, but there is nothing we can do about it, other than give Miss Granger any opportunity we can to prove herself. Which is just one of the reasons I am agreeing to your request to leave the school when you need to in order to work with her.'

Harry smiled, despite the anger he felt over Hermione's treatment. 'And the other reasons?'

'You'll be a pain in my arse if I don't let you work on this. It's not worth the hassle.'

His smile widened. 'Thank you, Minerva. I'll restrict any trips out to the weekend if I can. There will be no disruption to my lessons. And I shall endeavour to not be a pain in the arse.'

'See that you don't, Harry,' she replied with a smile of her own. 'And see to it that Miss Granger gets the recognition she deserves if you can. Integrity seems to be rare coin these days. We must protect it and reward it whenever we find it.'

Harry simply nodded his agreement at her words, remembering Hermione's words to him from earlier.

We're going to change the world.

And so they would.