Chapter Text
Harry managed not to shout out, but it was a close thing. The little creature on the bed had large, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls. Harry knew instantly that this was what had been watching him out of the garden hedge that morning.
As they stared at each other, Harry heard Dudley’s voice from the hall.
“May I take your coats, Mr. and Mrs. Mason?”
The creature slipped off the bed and bowed so low that the end of its long, thin nose touched the carpet. Harry noticed that it was wearing what looked like an old pillowcase, with rips for arm- and leg-holes.
“Er – hello,” said Harry nervously.
“Harry Potter!” said the creature in a high-pitched voice Harry was sure would carry down the stairs. “So long has Dobby wanted to meet you, sir…Such an honor it is….”
“Th-thank you,” said Harry, edging along the wall and sinking into his desk chair, next to Hedwig, who was asleep in her large cage. He wanted to ask, “What are you?” but thought it would sound too rude, so instead he said, “Who are you?”
“Dobby. Sir. Just Dobby. Dobby the house-elf,” said the creature.
“Oh – really?” said Harry. “Er – I don’t want to be rude or anything, but – this isn’t a great time for me to have a house-elf in my bedroom.”
Aunt Petunia’s high, false laugh sounded from the living room. The elf hung his head.
“Not that I’m not pleased to meet you,” said Harry quickly, “but, er, is there any particular reason you’re here?”
“Oh, yes, sir,” said Dobby earnestly. “Dobby has come to tell you, sir…it is difficult, sir…Dobby wonders where to begin….”
“Sit down,” said Harry politely, pointing at the bed.
To his horror, the elf burst into tears – very noisy tears.
“S-sit down!” he wailed.
"Never…never ever…”
Harry thought he heard voices downstairs falter.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, “I didn’t mean to offend you or anything –”
“Offend Dobby!” choked the elf. “Dobby has never been asked to sit down by a wizard – like an equal –”
Harry, trying to say “Shh!” and look comforting at the same time, ushered Dobby back onto the bed where he sat hiccoughing, looking like a large and very ugly doll. At last he managed to control himself, and sat with his great eyes fixed on Harry in an expression of watery adoration.
“You can’t have met many decent wizards,” said Harry, trying to cheer him up.
Dobby shook his head. Then, without warning, he leapt up and started banging his head furiously on the window, shouting,
“Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!”
“Don’t – what are you doing?” Harry hissed, springing up and pulling Dobby back onto the bed – Hedwig had woken up with a particularly loud screech and was beating her wings wildly against the bars of her cage.
“Dobby had to punish himself, sir,” said the elf, who had gone slightly cross-eyed. “Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, sir….”
“Your family?”
“The wizard family Dobby serves, sir…. Dobby is a house-elf – bound to serve one house and one family forever….”
“Do they know you’re here?” Harry asked curiously.
Dobby shuddered.
“Oh, no, sir, no…Dobby will have to punish himself most grievously for coming to see you, sir. Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven door for this. If they ever knew I came here, sir –”
“But won’t they notice if you shut your ears in the oven door?”
“Dobby doubts it, sir. Dobby is always having to punish himself for something, sir. They lets Dobby get on with it, sir. Sometimes they reminds me to do extra punishments….”
“But why don’t you leave? Escape?”
“A house-elf must be set free, sir. And the family will never set Dobby free…Dobby will serve the family until he dies, sir….”
Harry stared.
“And I thought I had it bad staying here for another four weeks,” he said. “This makes the Dursleys sound almost human. Can’t anyone help you? Can’t I?”
Almost at once, Harry wished he hadn’t spoken. Dobby dissolved again into wails of gratitude.
“Please,” Harry whispered frantically, “please be quiet. If the Dursleys hear anything, if they know you’re here –”
“Harry Potter asks if he can help Dobby…Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, but of your goodness, Dobby never knew….”
Harry, who at this point was getting desperate, said “Dobby, please! Look, I promise i’ll hear you out, but now is really not a good time. Could you maybe just come back in a couple of hours? Then my family will be asleep… I can wait up for you.”
The elf eyed him suspiciously, but reluctantly asked “Does Harry Potter promise?”
“Yes, yes i promise!” Harry sighed in relief, “I will stay right here.”
“Then Dobby waits for Harry Potter’s family to be asleep. Dobby will be back, sir.” And with a last suspicious glance thrown his way, he disappeared with a snap.
Harry nervously listened to the sounds coming from downstairs, checking if they heard anything, but everything appeared normal. Finally, he slumped on the bed, his heart beating against his chest, and attempted to calm down. That was a close one, he thought. What could an odd little creature like that possibly have to talk to him about? He pondered this question while he listened to the voices downstairs, until eventually the guests said their goodbyes, and the front door closed. Harry sighed, already knowing what was coming.
Almost as soon as he had the thought, he heard his uncle’s steps pound against the stairs, and his door slam against the wall.
“Boy! What was all that ruckus about, huh? What part of ‘pretend you don’t exist’ did you not understand!?” Uncle Vernon yelled, spittle flying out of his mouth “Count your blessings you didn’t ruin our night. Go help your aunt clean up, quickly now!”
“Yes, Uncle Vernon” Harry answered in a monotone voice, indeed counting his blessings Dobby hadn’t been found out.
His uncle’s disapproving stare followed him all the way to the stairs, when Dudley suddenly slammed against his shoulder coming up, and looked at him with a grin.
“Night, freak!” his cousin said before going into his room.
Harry went down the stairs rubbing his arm, feeling the bruise forming underneath his fingers, and was greeted by his aunt’s haughty face staring down at him.
“Careful with the china, it’s the good set. This better be done by tomorrow. We’re going to bed.” And then she left without preamble.
Oh, the joys of living with the Dursleys. Harry hastily ate whatever leftovers he could, not knowing when Dobby would be back and not wanting to risk anyone coming down again and deciding he didn’t get to have any food today. He eyed the mountain of dishes waiting for him, and rolled up his sleeves, bracing himself for the task ahead, when suddenly he heard a loud pop right behind him, and almost jumped out of his skin.
“Merlin! A little warning next time.” Harry exclaimed, with a hand on his chest, trying to calm his heart.
“Dobby is sorry, Harry Potter, sir.” the elf said, wringing his ears and shuffling his feet.
“It’s alright, just wasn’t expecting you, is all.”
“The muggles are all asleep, sir, so Dobby came.” he said, followed by a loud snore coming from upstairs.
“Well, alright then, just be quiet so they don’t wake up. I have to finish these dishes though before we can talk, if anyone wakes up and I’m not done, I’ll be in big trouble.” Harry said, turning back to the sink to continue his task, when he heard an enthusiastic “Dobby can help!” and watched in awe as the piles and piles of dishes and pans became instantly squeaky clean and sorted themselves neatly in the drying rack.
“Wow! That was brilliant! I wish I could do that. Thanks Dobby!” The creature’s eyes started to water, and his lips started to quiver dangerously, but before his wails could begin, Harry hastily moved him through the kitchen door, out into the backyard, as far from the house as possible.
“Okay, this is as good as it’s gonna get, we can talk here. So, what’s going on?” the boy asked, settling down on top of the grass. He looked up at the elf, ready to finally have answers. Dobby swallowed his tears and began his explanation.
“Dobby came to give a warning, sir. Harry Potter mustn’t go back to Hogwarts!”
“What? Why?”
“There is a plot, Harry Potter. A plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year,” whispered Dobby, suddenly trembling all over. “Dobby has known it for months, sir. Harry Potter must not put himself in peril. He is too important, sir!”
“What terrible things?” said Harry at once. “Who’s plotting them?”
Dobby made a funny choking noise and then banged his head frantically against the fence.
“All right!” cried Harry, grabbing the elf’s arm to stop him. “You can’t tell me. I understand. But why are you warning me?” A sudden, unpleasant thought struck him. “Hang on – this hasn’t got anything to do with Voldemort, has it?”
Dobby clapped his hands over his bat ears and moaned, “Ah, speak not that name, sir! Speak not the name!”
“Sorry, sorry! Well, has it? You could just shake or nod,” he added hastily as Dobby’s head tilted worryingly close to the fence again.
Slowly, Dobby shook his head.
“Not – not He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, sir –”
But Dobby’s eyes were wide and he seemed to be trying to give Harry a hint. Harry, however, was completely lost.
“He hasn’t got a brother, has he?”
Dobby shook his head, his eyes wider than ever.
“Well then, I can’t think who else would have a chance of making horrible things happen at Hogwarts,” said Harry. “I mean, there’s Dumbledore, for one thing – you know who Dumbledore is, don’t you?”
Dobby bowed his head.
“Albus Dumbledore is the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever had. Dobby knows it, sir. Dobby has heard Dumbledore’s powers rival those of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at the height of his strength. But, sir” – Dobby’s voice dropped to an urgent whisper – “there are powers Dumbledore doesn’t…powers no decent wizard…”
And suddenly, before Harry could stop him, Dobby seized a shovel that was lying close and started banging it on his own head.
“Stop! Dobby, stop!” they wrestled for control of the shovel, Harry emerging victorious, before throwing it as far away from them as possible without making too much noise. “Look, I get it, okay? There are terrible things happening at Hogwarts, and you’re just trying to help, but I can’t stay here. Hogwarts is the only chance I have of leaving this place, otherwise I’m stuck. You’ve seen how they’re like, I’m trapped with them just like you are with your family. They treat me like shit, make me cook and clean for them, beat me up, and all the other times I’m supposed to just ‘stay in my room and pretend I don’t exist’. I have to get away, I just have to.”
“Yes, Dobby has seen. Is Harry Potter a house elf too? Dobby didn’t think wizards could become house elves. But Harry Potter has clothes, so you is being a free elf! See, no need to stay here, sir.”
“Um, that’s… er… what?”
“Oh, no need to be embarrassed, great Harry Potter, sir!” Dobby leaned in and whispered conspiratoriously “Dobby is wanting to be free too.” he said, looking nervously around him.
“Um, what’s a free elf got to do with having clothes exactly?” Harry asked confusedly.
“Did Harry Potter not know? If a family gives clothes to their elf, they are set free from serving them, but it also unbinds the elf from their house, so we never calls the house home again.”
“Well, I don’t think I’ve ever called this place home, but I don’t have anywhere else to go, except for Hogwarts.” Harry said dejectedly, surprised at how much it still hurt.
“Harry Potter could be coming to stay with Dobby! Yes, yes, Dobby has a very big home.”
“With you? But won’t your family notice if I suddenly start living there?”
“Oh no, wizards can’t reach the elven dwellings, if Harry Potter stays there they would never be knowing anything.” Dobby said excitedly, dancing from foot to foot. “This way, you is not needing to go to Hogwarts! Yes, Dobby is a genius. We must leave soon, is Harry Potter ready to go? Dobby is taking you to his home.”
Harry stared at him dumbfounded, not fully comprehending what was happening at all. The elf didn’t look exactly trustworthy, but an offer to leave the Dursleys didn’t come by every day, and no matter how crazy Dobby seemed, going with him seemed definitely better than staying with his aunt and uncle. If it didn’t work out, he could always ask him to bring him back, or better yet, go to the Leaky Cauldron and see if they had a room for him. Yes, the more he thought about it, the better the idea seemed. And Harry never promised he wouldn’t still go to Hogwarts, Dobby just assumed. As long as he didn’t ask, Harry wouldn’t say anything either. Mind made up, he began to get up and dust his pants.
“Alright, we can go. I just need to get my things and Hedwig. She can come too, right?” he asked, suddenly apprehensive. He wouldn’t be going anywhere without his owl, not even if it meant leaving this place.
“Of course! She is being your familiar, sir.”
“Er, right, I’ll meet you back here then. Be back in a bit.”
Harry tried to gather his things as quickly and quietly as possible, Hedwig thankfully being cooperative when he explained the situation, only hitting a snag when it came time to retrieve his trunk from under the stairs. After a while of attempting to pick the lock, he finally succeeded and swiftly moved on to the back door again.
There he saw Dobby beaming at him, ears flopping around in excitement and feet bouncing around the yard. He felt a sudden giddiness spreading through him at the thought of leaving this place for good and he gave a tentative smile back, which seemed to only make the elf more energized.
“Ready?” Dobby asked.
“Yeah” Harry answered after a last look back at the house “I’m ready. How are we getting to your place?”
Instead of answering out loud, the elf reached for the boy’s hand, and after checking that everything was accounted for, whisked them away with a final pop.
Harry felt a terrible lurching, and almost instantly, they vanished from his backyard and appeared inside a dark room he didn’t recognize. The nausea was so bad that the hurried dinner he had not too long ago nearly came back up. Dobby tried his best to support his weight as his legs turned into jelly. Harry slowly lowered himself to the ground and carefully tipped his head back until it hit the wall.
“Dobby is sorry, Harry Potter, sir. Is this being your first time? The first is always the worst.”
“Urgh, yeah, it was. What was that?”
“Apparition, sir. Is how us elves travel from one place to another. Is Harry Potter not knowing it?”
“Um, no, not really…was I supposed to?” Harry asked sheepishly.
“Oh, how dreadful. Harry Potter is being turned into a house elf and no one is even teaching anything about being an elf to him. You is not even knowing about being free! Not to worry, Dobby is teaching everything, Harry Potter is being proper elf in no time.” Dobby said, giving a reassuring pet to Harry’s head. Harry didn’t really know what to say to that, so he just stayed silent.
“Alright!” the elf said with a clap “We is almost home, but for the first time Harry Potter enters, Dobby has to be inviting him in through the front door. Dobby is only needing to check if the masters are asleep so we can do this, and then after Harry Potter is in, we is being safe. Like Dobby said, the wizards is not seeing into the elven spaces, so we is being safe in there even if they is standing right in front of us. Be right back!” And then promptly left.
Harry took the opportunity to analyze his surroundings. The place appeared to be some sort of mud room, with a strangely ornate coat hanger and bench, some different sized boots and gardening supplies. It was too dark to make much of the outside, but it seemed like a well-maintained garden. The nausea finally receded enough for Harry to get up from where he was sitting. Just as soon as he did, Dobby came back.
“They is asleep, let’s go quickly.”
They left through the door to the garden, but instead of going towards it, they turned left through an archway that seemed to go all the way to the front of the house, where he finally got to get a proper look at the place he would be living in. The house was so big it could barely be called a house anymore. It was an imposing structure, ornate and regal in a way that not even Hogwarts was, but it was also light and inviting, with plants climbing all over the walls and intricate details framing the windows.
“Woah, this is your home, Dobby? It’s beautiful.”
“Harry Potter has seen nothing yet.” With that proclamation, Dobby touched the center of the front door, and from his tiny hand, ripples seemed to form and expand, and the whole house began to change. It was like a kaleidoscope of colors were blooming before his eyes. The plants became more vibrant and full of life, the flowers exuded an even sweeter smell, and everything glowed as if bathed in moonlight. Warmth seemed to permeate every surface; the air itself began to shimmer with what Harry could only describe as pure magic. Golden tendrils were floating everywhere, and when he reached for one, it almost felt like a living thing. It was the most amazing sight he had ever seen.
Harry didn’t even notice his jaw dropping, but it seemed like the only reaction he would be able to muster. Dobby was looking at him with a smug look on his face. The elf reached for his hand and began to pull him towards the front door that Harry didn’t even notice was open now.
“Dobby welcomes Harry Potter to Whiltshire Manor and opens its doors to him, so it will always and forever be his home. Do you swear to honor and care for this home for as long as it is yours?”
“Yes, I do.” Harry answered almost as if in trance, and as they passed through the threshold, all the warmth and life he had felt around his body seemed to rush into him all at once. Now, instead of being only an observer, Harry felt an immense sense of belonging, like there was nowhere else in the world he was meant to be more than here. He didn’t have long to bask in the feeling though, because almost as soon as he went fully inside the house, his scar started hurting worse that ever before, even when facing Voldemort himself it wasn’t this bad. It felt like something was being ripped out of him through his scar, a pain so blinding that he couldn’t even scream, all his body’s muscles seemed frozen solid. Just as the pain reached it’s peak, and he swore he could see some sort of dark mist rushing out of his scar through the haze in his eyes, Harry lost consciousness.