SnitchSeeker.com - View Single Post - House Elf Fan Club

Leeness · 07-16-2007, 12:48 PM

The first chapter of those cute little creatures:

Quote:

Chapter 1

Harry sat on the train, which would return him shortly back to Platform 9 3/4. He looked around at the others in his compartment; Neville, Luna, and Ron all sat there quietly. No one had said anything except for when the lunch trolley came through, and even then the speaking was kept to a minimum.

Hermione had finally stopped crying, but only because she was now asleep on Ron's shoulder. He barely seemed to notice; he was instead focusing unsteadily out of the foggy window. Suddenly, the opening of the compartment door slashed through the silence, causing Neville to jump so badly that his head hit the back wall.

A shadowy figure entered the frame, and it took a few seconds for Harry to realize that it was Ginny. He tried to catch her eyes but she was doing her best to avoid his. Giving up, he waited for her to speak, which didn't take long.

"We'll be at the station soon. Mum just sent an owl ... had a nasty time trying to catch up with the train," Ginny joked. Realizing that no one was very amused, she hastily hurried on. "She wants to know if you lot will be visiting over the summer. You're all invited."

Luna looked up, her permanently astonished look plastered to her face. "Even me? Daddy says he might need me over the summer for The Quibbler. There have been recent sightings of the Holly Cranklenarbs in Australia ... and with Dumbledore ... dead ... he wants me close by."

Ron's gaze turned to the group when Dumbledore's name was mentioned. "Harry can't ... not yet. He has to return to Privet Drive until he's seventeen."

"Okay," Ginny nodded. "What about you, Neville?"

He slowly bit his lip, then answered, "I have to talk to Gran about it, but it should be all right. I'm almost seventeen, too; I'll be legal soon enough. I'll owl and let you know, okay?"

Much to Harry's surprise, Ginny settled herself into the seat next to him as Neville spoke. She smiled weakly, patted his hand, and returned her attention back to Neville. "That sounds good. I'll let mum know when we get to the platform ..."

Their wait wasn't long; soon the train was slowing to a halt, and people could be heard throughout the compartments, getting down luggage and saying their good-bye's. Harry followed suit and was soon in the company of his aunt and uncle, on his way back to their car which would return him to another boring summer. Much to his unknowing, Dobby the house-elf was following him closely, making sure that no harm would come his way.

____

Back at Hogwarts, the teachers and staff had met once more to decide on whether or not Hogwarts should close. Winky bent over the fire place, picking through ashes to get it clean.

"As ... current Headmaster," McGonagall spoke to the wave of professors in front of her, "I have listened to everyone's thoughts, including my own, and ... I believe Hogwarts should stay open. Dumbledore would have wanted it. It is one of the safest places students can be ... and even if there are only ten of them, that's good enough for me. I hope to see you all staying in Hogwart's employment."

Winky smeared some grime away from her face and hastily stood up with the bucket of dirt in her hand. "Winky is all done with the fire, Miss! Winky will return to the kitchen unless Miss needs Winky to do anything else?"

Professor McGonagall turned, surprised. Apparently, she'd forgotten that the elf was even in the room. "No, Winky, that's fine; you go back to the kitchens."

Winky nodded frantically and rushed from the room; once she reached the corridor, she snapped her fingers and appeared in the kitchens. Elves were bustling through the room, scrubbing the floors and pans.

"Stop, stop!" Winky cried.

Dobby rushed to her side. He'd just gotten back from following Harry to his house. "Is Winky feeling okay? Is there something wrong?"

Winky shook her head. "No, no! Winky has news about Hogwarts!"

As this announcement, it was as if time had stopped; every elf had completely frozen and any desire they had to clean at that moment had vanished.

"Winky was cleaning the Headmistress' office ... and Winky heard ... Winky heard that Hogwarts will be staying open!"

A loud uproar followed this proclamation; cheering emanated and several house-elves began dancing. During all of this, Dobby disappearing was not noticed.

____

Harry's room in number four, Privet Drive, was sufficiently dusty. Dobby had quite an urge to clean it while waiting. The Dursely's weren't even back from the train station yet; however, just when Dobby was getting slightly anxious, the sound of a car pulling into the driveway made his hopes rise once more. Not long after, the door swung open, and Harry entered the room, dragging his trunk behind him.

"Dobby! What are you doing here?"

A grin spread across Dobby's face. "Dobby comes with news, sir! Winky heard-"

"Winky? Is she doing better now?" Harry questioned. In truth, he hadn't thought much about the elf recently. With Sirius dead, and then Dumbledore, not much else had come to mind.

"Oh, yes, sir. Winky had laid off the butterbeer and is even cleaning Hogwarts, sir! But Winky told Dobby and all of the house-elves news, about Hogwarts!"

Harry collapsed onto the bed next to Dobby. He stretched his hands behind his head and met Dobby's eyes. "What?"

"Hogwarts will be reopening, sir!"

Harry sat straight up. "What? I thought ... no way. McGonagall is letting them?"

"From what Dobby knows, it was the Headmistress' idea!" Dobby exclaimed. "All of the house-elves is very excited! Many were upset, including Dobby, sir, about Master Dumbledore's death. Many cried for long days, sir, and some have even been talking getting together to do one last thing for him. Hopefully, Hogwarts staying open will be good enough; Dobby just wants to work, and so do they! Dobby wants to serve Master Dumbledore, even if he is ... dead."

"Wait, wait, wait ..." Harry said, thoughts racing through his head. "So ... the school is reopening ... and all of the elves want to ... what, avenge Dumbledore? Or just ... clean his school?"

Dobby shook his head. "You is missing the point, sir. They is just wanting to do something. Lots of ideas has been flying around ... They is wanting to help him by helping you. Sir, will you be coming back?"

At this, Harry was lost for words. He'd been thinking about it so frequently, and while he had told Ron and Hermione that he wasn't returning, Dobby's pleading expression made Harry soften up. And, now that he really thought about it, Hogwarts would be the safest place for Harry to reside while hunting out the Dark Lord ...

"Yes, Dobby ... I'm coming back," Harry nodded, while standing up.

The house-elf jumped onto his feet and hugged Harry tightly around the ankles. "Oh, they will all be so excited! Dobby cannot wait to tell them that you is returning, and that they will get to help Dumbledore after all! Thank you, thank you, sir!"

With that said, Dobby let go and snapped his fingers once more, returning to Hogwarts to tell all of the news.