Chapter Text
“Harry Potter?”
Dumbledore’s words seemed to echo in the unprecedently quiet great hall. The room could be full of screams from the Weasley twin's latest prank and Harry still wouldn’t hear anything over the sound of the blood rapidly pumping in his body.
A great weight seemed to droop over Harry’s shoulders as he hunched in on himself.
Slowly a whisper seemed to creep around him, not able to make eye contact for what he might see Harry tried to blend into the table. Alas, it was not meant to be.
“Harry Potter,” Dumbledore said more sure now, a sense of command in his voice as his eyes trailed up and down the Gryffindor house table clearly looking for the unruly mop of black hair that would signify one Harry James Potter.
“No-o,” Harry managed to gasp out as hell started to break loose. The previously quiet headmasters from the visiting schools were clearly not a fan of this development as their bickering became shouts.
A hand on his shoulder had Harry jerking to the side only to see Fred Weasley’s face, full of concern and something else Harry couldn’t quite distinguish. Ron’s presence had disappeared at some point as the older Weasley brother took his place.
“Hey, it’s okay-” Fred seemed to cut himself off realizing that platitudes were an inch away from lies. The lack of grin or otherwise Cheshire smile spoke to the severity of the situation almost more than seeing Fred on his own.
How could he be okay? The bloody blasted tournament that Harry wanted no part of was coming back to bite him not on the arse but directly at the throat.
“Shhh, I’ve got you,” Fred said as he tentatively slid his hand toward the center of Harry’s back.
Harry didn’t realize he wasn’t breathing until his lungs started to burn like he had taken a shot of fire whiskey down the wrong pipe. Taking in a large gasp of air Harry tried to reel in his fraying nerves, it would do him no good to have a breakdown now after so many years. Crying only ever got him pain at the Dursley’s whether it was Aunt Petunia’s wooden spoon and insults or Uncle Vernon’s belt and clammy hands, both always used to land him in the cupboard. He had learned long ago that the luxury of working through emotions was not one that he had been afforded.
“Mr. Potter come up here this instance!” Dumbledore’s voice must have been amplified somehow as the sound seemed to quiet the rebellious students and staff. Looking up Harry saw a ball of light floating over his head, it might have been pretty if it weren’t the harbinger of his probable death. Looking closely Harry didn’t think it was too different from a Lumos.
With little choice in the matter Harry tried standing, realizing that his efforts were futile as black spots clouded his vision, shaky legs gave way as he slumped back onto the bench. Fred’s steadying grasp was stabilizing but Harry didn’t want to get used to it, he couldn’t afford the comfort.
On the second attempt, Harry’s legs managed to cooperate as he forced his feet towards the front staff tables, getting directed into the backroom, presumably where the other champions waited. Fred had escorted him this far but a few stern words from McGonagall had him turning back away, a resigned look on his face but a promise to meet up again before the night was over.
What happened next was a blur as Harry watched the room degrade into madness.
Snape, McGonagall, Dumbledore, Maxime, Bagman, Carkaroff, Moody, Sprout… All of their voices bounced around in his head as he walked back to the Gryffindor common room like a spooked animal. His own Head of House refused to escort him back as she had other duties, meanwhile, Professor Sprout had been eager to see Cedric back to the Hufflepuff common room in the lower portion of the castle.
“You will participate in the tournament-” Dumbledore had said.
Those damning words had hit Harry in the soul. A strange sensation had trickled over Harry as the others agreed that Harry would either compete in the tournament per the magically binding contract, or forfeit his magic, and possibly his life. As he accepted his fate and that no one on the staff would help him the weight that seemed to surround his body sunk into him, his flesh had radiated with the power that he knew was the magic of the Goblet of Fire.
It was a strange sensation, not unlike the power that seemed to radiate off of the other ancient magical artifacts Harry had held. Gryffindor’s sword had seemed to imbue Harry with a sense of courage and charisma, Flamel’s stone had felt refreshing and greedy, the Goblet though felt like competitive energy and righteousness.
The Magic of the goblet had swirled in Harry’s core now for the last hour as he wandered the empty castle corridors hoping to be able to sneak into the common room when the rest of Gryffindor had already fallen to sleep. Finally feeling his own exhaustion Harry knew he would have to actually face the lion’s den sooner rather than later. Making his way past the fat lady Harry was blasted awake by the raging music in the Gryffindor common room. Someone had the wireless on with a sonorous charm amplifying the Weird Sisters throughout the room.
It was 11 in the evening for Merlin’s sake… Harry just wanted to go to sleep.
“HARRY!” One of the Creevey brothers yelled out, Harry wasn’t sure which one.
Fuck me, Harry was not looking forward to this.
“Congratulations mate,” someone in the back said spurring on a wave of renewed excitement and a flickering of bright lights from a camera.
“Gryffindor for the Tri-Wizard Tournament!!!”
“The Boy Who Lived! Champion of Hogwarts!”
“Let’s go Potter!”
Harry felt drowned as he stumbled through the sea of students. I just want to go to fucking sleep, cut this bloody crap out. Harry wished he had enough Gryffindor courage to make his thoughts known but he couldn’t muster the words. Remaining silent was already an impressive feat considering he just wanted to scream, and maybe punch whoever was taking photos.
A whistle shot through the room, a very recognizable sound to many as its unordinary toon brought a hush to the chattering students.
“How about we give him some space to rest you mangy lot? Hmm?” George’s voice seemed to snap the group out of their revelry as some people started to look at Harry’s clearly drained form.
“I’ll take him up,” Fred volunteered, some unspoken communication passing between him and George that Harry could never even hope to understand. Just because Harry could tell the twins apart didn’t mean he knew how to understand their mysterious ways any more than the average person could, their motivations were chaotic as much as they were meticulously planned.
Finally making his way up the steps Harry was thankful to be rid of the loud music and what was sure to be an all-night banger. Lions were apparently party animals as Harry had discovered early on in his first year at the ripe age of 12.
Stopping outside of the door that separated his dorm room Harry stood for a second. He knew he would have to face his dorm mates eventually, and that included Ron. The fickle redhead was one of the most disappointed of the younger years that he couldn’t participate in the tournament and had thought that Harry was ‘barmy’ for not wanting to compete and saying the tournament was too dangerous.
“Hey, it's alright,” Fred said with a tentative smile. “I’m with you on this one-”
“I didn’t do it,” Harry said immediately. He needed someone to believe him. Anyone…
“You mean you didn’t willingly enter into the tournament that you called a deadly waste of time that you wanted no part of? Who would have guessed?” Fred said with a flourish of his hand leaning back against the wall, the ghost of a smirk creeping onto his lips.
“Git,” Harry muttered out as he looked down at the floor. What right did Fred have to be that adorable in a time like this when all Harry wanted to do was sulk and panic? It wasn’t fairrr.
“Hey chin up Harry, let’s head in and see how Ronnikins is doing… I wasn’t too keen on his reaction at dinner,” Fred said as the smile disappeared from his face. Harry was definitely afraid as he opened the door.
Luckily, or unluckily, all of his dorm mates sat awake on their separate beds, the lights still on.
“Harry,” Neville gasped out as he stood. He was clearly unsure of what to do as he continued to stand, uncertainty etched into his features as he shifted his weight back and forth like a rabbit ready to spring away.
“Ney Nev,” Hary mumbled out as he glanced at the other three boys in the dorm. Dean and Seamus both looked curious but otherwise unconcerned and Ron… Oh. Yeah, he was furious.
“Harry Fucking Potter is back everyone,” Ron growled out as he jerked his body up out of bed, the stench of liquor surrounding him had Harry wanting to choke. Vernon was always worse when he was drunk.
“Ron-” Harry tried but knew it was pointless as the redhead's eyes narrowed.
“I hope you’re bloody happy you right piece of shite!” Ron scowled as he swayed on his feet walking towards Harry as quickly as a slug doused in salt.
“Listen to me!” Harry snapped. “I didn’t want this-”
“Oh so you put your name in for shits and giggles then?!” Ron snapped as he poked Harry in the shoulder. “Bollocks. You filthy liar, couldn’t get enough of being the Boy Who Lived, huh?”
Neville looked scared as his eyes jumped back and forth between the two fuming boys. Harry had come into the room demure, but now he looked ready to boil blood. Fred for his part hung back, observing, a strange place for the boisterous Weasley.
“I didn’t fucking put my name in you wanker!” Harry ground out.
“Ohh so Perfect Potter didn’t even have to do the dirty work himself. Who bent over to do it for you then huh?” Ron snarled out, a small string of spit flying from his mouth hit Harry’s glasses. Harry was starting to see more red than just the vibrant mop of hair on the ginger’s head.
“I don’t want to bloody compete in this stupid tournament!” Harry nearly screamed, hoping that someone had the sense to cast a silencing charm on the room.
“Oh yeah, and it really shows, you little fucking attention whore. Bet you’re loving it, that party down there, all the girls swooning over you. You could have let me in on it you know, you little filthy rat. A traitor just like Pettigrew-”
Harry didn’t see the fist coming. He didn’t expect it either. But there it was, a fist colliding with his face.
Harry had had his fair share of hits throughout the years, Dudley and his gang, Vernon’s bulbous knuckles, Petunia didn’t count but her frying pan was certainly an honorable mention, but somehow Ron’s relatively mild punch hurt the most.
The crunch that filled the room was sickening, it felt like a betrayal worse than any other Harry had ever had. But just like that Ron had punched him in the nose. The glasses he had since he was five crunched as they slid from his face shattering on the ground. Harry saw as Ron’s hand came flying back but he wasn’t about to take it a second time.
Ducking to the ground Harry did something he wasn’t used to doing to his aggressors.
Tackling the taller boy with his shoulder was relatively easy; despite growing up with so many siblings and having endured constant conflicts, Ron couldn’t fight for shit.
Straddling the other red head it was easy for Harry to pin the intoxicated redhead's fists to the ground. Ron was probably physically stronger despite his poor form, but Harry wasn’t an idiot. Somehow in the process of taking down the lanky redhead Harry’s knee had managed to hit Ron in his manhood hard enough to knock the wind from his body before he even collided with the floor.
Knowing when to stop Harry stood up leaving behind the quickest fight he had ever won. He didn’t know when his wand had come into his pocket but suddenly it was aimed at Ron a spell on his lips.
Harry’s hand haled as he considered the display in front of him. Ron had just hit him, probably broken his nose for that matter. He had insulted him and failed to trust him. Could he look at this person and say that he wanted to still call him a friend? People fought and reconciled, but that required trust and forgiveness, neither of which Harry felt like bestowing upon the cursing boy.
Settling for a silencing charm Harry was grateful as the moans of pain ceased.
“Wow, maybe he does have a chance after all,” Dean joked from where he now stood beside Neville.
“I’m on Ron’s side mate,” Seamus said casually as he stood up. “No way you just randomly got in, you had to want it, you should have helped the lots of us in mate.”
The Irish boy didn’t look angry but he was certainly upset.
Looking at his roommates all Harry felt was resignation, he would have to live like this, no one would believe him in the entire bloody fucking castle! Movement from behind him reminded Harry that that statement wasn’t entirely true.
“Well then, I think George will be having a bit of a talk with you Ickly-Ronnikins, hmm?” Fred’s voice had taken on a dangerous purr as he looked down at his brother who was only just starting to calm.
Harry was excited by the thought of what the twins might do to him, but he knew that it would only bring more conflict to the already tense dorm room.
“No it's fine Fred-”
“No no no, Harry, it's quite alright, I insist. George and him need to have some… Brotherly bonding,” Fred said finally looking at Harry’s face.
“Better get that looked at Potter,” Dean said as the blood from Harry’s nose started to drip to the ground. “We can’t have our champion wounded this early on.”
“Fuck off,” Harry snapped. He might be alienating people but he couldn’t care less, if they weren’t going to listen to reason he didn’t want to bother keeping up communication.
“Hey, I’m just trying to look after our champion’s health. You are in it now!” Dean’s proclamation seemed to be agreeable to Seamus who nodded his head as if that was the obvious conclusion to come to.
Harry was feeling a headache coming along, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of the idiot boys or the head trauma.
“Screw this,” Harry said as he turned towards the door. Neville remained shockingly silent as he wadded up a fistful of blanket in his hand.
“Where do you think you are going without your things Harry?” Fred asked with faux innocence, but Harry for his part had no clue what the taller boy was trying to hint at. “Grab your things, you are getting out of here.”
Fred winked at Harry, which really should have been illegal. At the very least it was emotional manipulation. Harry tried hiding his blush in a scowl, he wasn’t sure if it worked but no one seemed to be picking up on anything so he assumed things were fine.
“And where can I go exactly?” Harry managed to say over the pressure building in his head.
“Secret,” Fred responded while bouncing on the balls of his feet looking like an excited child. “Cross my heart, I promise that you will like it.”
Looking at his roommates Harry didn’t take long to come to a decision.
“Fine,” Harry said already wondering how quickly he could be packed.
“Excellent. I have just the helper in mind for you specifically. DOBBY!”
Harry felt enormously curious. That is until the all too familiar elf appeared in front of him.
In the span of a few seconds, the tennis ball-sized eyes had locked onto Harry’s, and it took no further persuasion for Dobby to spring at Harry. Flinching Harry braced himself as the elf lunged into his arms crying. Dobby was at Hogwarts?
“Great Master Harry Potter sir has need of Dobby!”
“Hey I’m the one who called you-” Fred started petulantly. He still seemed amused though, whether at the situation Harry found himself in or Dobby firmly ignoring him Harry didn’t know.
“Dobby, Harry here needs his things packed up in his trunk quickly do you think you can handle that?”
“Can Dobby’s handle that… Anything for the Great Harry Potter!” With the snap of his fingers, Harry watched in awe as a packing spell more impressive than anything Mrs. Weasley had ever done had Harry’s laundry folded, books organized, parchment straightened, and everything compartmentalized in less than a minute.
“May I burns this Master Harry?” Dobby asked as he held up what was once a sock. It was now so holey and stained that Harry didn’t think it qualified as rag material.
Dobby was clearly now a connoisseur of socks. While he wore the sock that Harry had gifted him after the Chamber of Secrets incident proudly on his left foot it stuck out as clearly inferior quality compared to the silk, arguile, and wool socks he now sported across his… eclectic outfit.
Harry felt great shame looking at the offending garment thinking once more about the Dursleys.
“Incinerate it,” Harry mustered up.
The vindictive elf's eyes seemed to light up as the sock burst into flames. A satisfied smile peeked through Dobby’s face, equal parts jubilant and terrifying. “Where’s would Masters like his things?”
“I can take it from here Dobby,” Fred tried but Dobby was not having it.
“Nos. You red devils are not to bes trusted,” Dobby said wagging a finger at Fred.
Looking at his other roommates Harry just wanted to leave. Ron had managed to fall asleep on the floor but Neville continued to stare clearly unsure of what the hell was going on and honestly Harry felt the same.
“Let’s just go,” Harry managed to speak over Dobby and Fred’s minor quarrel that had broken out.
“I can carries the trunk thens,” Dobby said confidently when considering the trunk was close to seven times his body size.
“Fine. Right this way gentle-man and traitorous elf,” Fred said begrudgingly as Dobby blew a raspberry at him. Harry was surrounded by idiots. Some were loveable idiots, but still.
Walking out of the dorm Harry heard some noise of complaint but it was quickly blocked by the sound of the door slamming.
“Ronnikins?” George asked from where he leaned against the wall outside of Harry’s (old) dorm.
How long had he been waiting there for…?
“Ronnikins.” Frede repeated.
Silence followed as the twins seemed to have one of their silent conversations. Harry’s leading theory was that the twins had some sort of psychic connection but when he had asked Ron and Hermione about it the first year both of them had laughed at his feeble idea. While Harry hated Divination with a passion and wished he could drop he had learned some useful info about other mental arts, and he did now know that such things weren’t completely unheard of. Watching them now Harry felt like he could still be onto something.
“Well Harrykins looks like you are gonna be let in on a secret,” George finally said breaking eye contact with Fred.
Dobby had somehow managed to remain entirely quiet, but upon glancing at the small figure Harry was slightly weirded out to see that he was lovingly running his hand across the spot where ‘Harry Potter’ was carved into the trunk that floated beside the elf.
I need a vacation from people, Harry decided.
“Follow if you dare,” George said with a menacing tone of voice and a wiggle of his eyebrows.
Harry had surprisingly enough not explored much of Gryffindor Tower outside of his own dorm room and the common room. Well. There had been the one time he tested the limits of the girls staircase and figured out how to get up the enchanted entrance way… But that had been a one-time thing and he had yet to tell a soul about his mini adventure.
As the group walked farther up the stairs passing by different dorm rooms Harry wondered if he was going to see the twins room that they shared with Lee Jordan and Kenneth Towler. Lee was a constant in the twin's lives but Harry only knew of their other roommate passively. He was surprised as the group came to a stop on a floor halfway between one set of dorm rooms and the next. There was a narrow hallway that seemed to lead to where Harry would guess the girl's staircase ran.
How had he never noticed this small corridor’s existence? It wasn’t even hidden!
“This is mostly used by prefects and McGonagall to make it easier to get from one side of the tower to the other without going all the way to the common room,” Fred explained having caught site of Harry’s curious face.
That made sense. Still, Harry clearly had to step up his game. He had the Marauders Map for crying out loud and he didn’t see the hallway right next to his bedroom? He wasn’t that blind…
“We however will be using this fine place for a slightly different purpose,” George said with a mischievous tapping of fingers like a cartoon supervillain.
Looking at an empty frame Harry was confused by what they might be expecting. It was pretty enough with gilded edges and an interesting pattern, but he supposed that you couldn’t take most things at Hogwarts for face. There were armor sets that danced, stairs that moved, mouse holes that could be expanded into doorways, and curtains that turned into fabric ladders. A portrait could be an entrance to a room or a hidden tunnel through the castle and Harry could only guess what nefarious things the twins knew.
Fred and George seemed to share another silent conversation before simultaneously whispering the current Gryffindor common room password. The door flung open revealing…
“No bloody way…” Harry couldn’t believe his traitorous eyes.
“Yes way-” George said in a sing-song voice.
“Welcome to the entrance to the Gryffindor common room,” Fred continued where his brother left off.
“This, you could imagine, has been mighty useful-”
“Right bloody useful brother o’ mine-”
“And the fact that McGonogall doesn’t have a clue-”
“Superb!” The twins chorused together clearly pleased with themselves.
Harry found that odd considering the frame was literally the only ornamentation in the hallway but he didn’t want to start questioning things now, that usually jinxed it.
“Let’s just go before someone comes creeping by,” Harry said hoping that the twins didn’t pick up on any of his ill-placed fondness for them. It wouldn’t do to show them that kind of weakness, Harry shivered at the thought and internally smirked to himself glad to have at least someone semi-competent on his side… if not a bit deranged.
“Right you are-” George started.
“Harry of mine,” Fred finished while receiving an elbow to his side from George.
“Harrikins,” George stated while scowling at his twin. Fred didn’t seem perturbed as he closed the portrait revealing a snoring Fat Lady.
Turning towards Dobby Harry was slightly terrified to see the elf with a serious expression, hand still absentmindedly tracing Harry’s trunk.
“No intruders this’s ways Master Harry sirs, but Mistress Kitty Catty bes nearby,” Dobby said as if reporting from a scouting mission. Harry wasn’t about to question the elf and it seems neither were Fred and George.
“This way then,” George stated, quieter now that they knew of the potential threat.
Harry followed the twins through their weird twists and turns, Dobby alerting them to any upcoming dangers meant that the group needn’t have worried, his skills were on par with the Marauder’s Map Harry had ended up pulling out just to be safe.
Going up and down stairs Harry honestly could say he had no clue what floor they were on or what part of the castle they were in. Hogwarts was huge, there were entire wings of the castle that had rotted away and collapsed in. Walking through a particularly dusty corridor had Dobby close to feral as he berated his fellow elves' work. Harry didn’t want to get involved in that drama but it was interesting hearing what constituted to Dobby as an insult.
“They don’t know the difference between a scouring and scraping! No’s they don’t…”
Finally, the twins stopped at the base of a narrow tower that at one point probably served as lookout during the Witch Trials.
“Harry, we trust you-” Fred looked sheepish as he looked on at the raven-haired boy.
“But. We need to make sure you know that this has to stay between us,” George finished with a great amount of excitement radiating off of him but also fear.
Harry was no fool. He would never betray the twin's trust. He also knew that this was a test, and what he said definitely mattered.
“I understand, I promise that I won't speak on-”
“Not so fast Harry. Remember, oaths can mean things here to magicals,” Fred chimed in slightly fearful.
Harry remembered the story of how the younger twins had tried to convince a small Ron to make an Unbreakable Oath. Harry gulped at the implications. He needed to get better about his wording, but that also gave him plenty of ideas he would need to think about.
Looking up at the twins Harry felt renewed motivation.
Taking out his wand Harry felt a sense of right, he was doing good. “I Harry James Potter swear on my magic that I will not purposely, of my own will and volition, spill the secrets of Fredrick Fabian-”
A laughing startled Harry out of his speech. “Harry, my full name isn’t Fredrick Fabian… it's Fredrick Gideon Weasley… George’s middle name is Fabian. We switched them around when we started Hogwarts to confuse people.”
“Even worked on Mom,” George let out an uneasy chuckle that had Harry cringing internally.
“Right well, Fredrick Gideon Weasley and George Fabian Weasley as it pertains to this location and its contents… Unless necessary for someone’s health or safety or in the matter of any criminal activity,” Harry hoped they could forgive him for the tact on the addendum but given their innocent smiles Harry figured he was probably okay. Harry really couldn’t preach the virtue of following the law himself after all. “So mote it be.”
Upon finishing his vow Harry was crashed into by identical red-headed bafoons. The arms surrounding his body were constricting but comforting, not that Harry would let the menaces know that.
“Thank you-”
“Thank you-”
“Thank you!” The twins finished together.
A large kiss to his cheek from Fred had Harry momentarily stunned but it was over quickly as Dobby finally grew impatient.
“Where’s will Master Harry’s things bes going?” Dobby asked, cold eyes falling on Fred for some reason. Harry didn’t know why the elf was suddenly so icy towards the ginger demon.
“Ah yes, right this way monsieur,” Fred tapped the front of the door with his wand only for it to disintegrate into smoke.
“Walk right on through Harrikins,” George said smoothly.
“Welcome to the Chaos Forge as we have so lovingly named it,” Fred said wiping a fake tear from his eye.
The place was truly a masterpiece, what they had managed to do with the space was rather impressive just with Harry’s untrained eyes. The room was tall with several pipes lining the walls carrying strange fluids and shimmering gases, organized wires ran between. Rows of semi-organized shelves ran through the room, stacked with bins and other small objects, labeled in Fred and Goerge’s bubbly script. A large flat table sat in the center of the room covered in stacks of paper, with a pinboard surrounding it. Harry noticed two cubicles in the back that had Harry wanting to choke on his restrained laughter. Who would have thought the twins would work at a desk willingly?
Dobby seemed to give a nod to show his approval which for whatever reason had Fred let out a choked breath and the doofus nodded his head wildly in thanks. Harry chose to ignore their strange antics.
“Well then, this is our main inventory room and brainstorm pit, downstairs is the potion lab basement, second floor is the tinkering workshop, third floor is mine, and fourth is Fred’s. You Harrikins will get the privilege to stay on the fifth!” George started marching towards a staircase Harry hadn’t noticed against the right wall through a low arch.
“Me and Gred here sometimes need to stay the night for our ugh… More delicate merchandise,” Fred said not confusing Harry for a second. He had figured out who was who and nothing they would do would get him mixed up.
Fred seemed to realize this as he shared a knowing glance with his brother.
“Of course, this tower has more to offer than just pranks. It has been a nice place to escape from student life for a bit,” George said with a shutter.
“And now it has the illustrious honor of housing, sir Harry Potter,” Fred said with a bow and wink. Dobby looked furious.
“Stupid devils…” The elf muttered as he disappeared with Harry’s trunk.
Passing by the twin's separate floors Harry wondered what it was like having this be the first time they were allowed separate rooms. Harry was sure that the twins absolutely loved each other and would probably never live apart from their counterparts. But he knew they also needed some independence from their mirror self. Harry would do quite a lot for a bedroom he could call his own, his cupboard, Dudley’s spare room, and the Gryffindor boy’s dormitory certainly didn’t count. Harry thought back to the pictures of his nursery he had seen in the photo album Professor Lupin had given him before he left his fourth year.
Finally stopping at the door Harry figured that he had gotten lost in thought. The twins didn’t seem to notice as they opened the door with a flourish and, “ta-da!!!”
Dobby stood in the center of the room bouncing on his feet. “I will get it clean for Master Harry Pottter sir!” And with a snap of his fingers, Harry watched in amazement as the room became alight with magic.
The thin layer of dust that managed to build up on the floor was swept away just for a wave of mysterious green fluid spilled over the floor leaving behind a polished stone stone surface. The cobwebs in the corners were twirled by dusters, the cracks blown out by billows, a soapy sponge flew at the dirty window pain of the floor-length glass expanse, pink bubbles floated about. Magic. Was. Awesome.
Dobby stood in the center of the chaos letting off snaps and waving his fingers like a conductor of the sudsy symphony.
“You have a talented elf Mr. Potter,” George chuckled.
“Oh Dobby is a free elf-” Harry’s words were cut off by a loud yelp.
“What?” Fred and George proclaimed both looking worried, even by their standards.
“Uhm, he was unhappy under his previous masters and I helped free him…” Harry wondered how the twins knew of Dobby in the first place.
“Harry… House-elves are magical creatures that manifest from great concentrations of family magics. They- they- uhm…” Fred looked very uncomfortable as he weighed the thoughts in his head.
“They die if they remain unbound,” Gorge offered as his twin sputtered.
Harry thought on the words for several seconds reeling from the new information. “Dobby!?”
Harry thought the elf was entirely insane and quite possibly a stalker, but despite this, he liked the highly emotional soul (he could do without the sniffling though).
“Yes Master Harry Potter sir? Oh great Master Harry called Dobby,” Dobby cried out as he popped into place beside Harry already jumping for a surprise hug.
“Dobby. I uhm. Is it true that without being bound a house elf will perish?” Harry tried asking gently hoping that perhaps the Weasley twins were just misinformed.
Wiping his eyes Dobby seemed confused by the questioning. Leaning back on his feet Dobby started to shift back and forth, “Yes Master Harry Potter sir. We elves binds to a fam-ly, witches or wizards, places, or even beasties. If a good elf-sie is to go unbound for too long they fade, no more.”
Harry felt like he had just been slapped. Had he accidentally set Dobby into motion to die?!
“I- Dobby! Are you okay? I didn’t know I swear, I never meant to harm you, how do I fix this? Please!” Harry felt slightly hysterical, but he hoped the twins could forgive his outburst. He had just been told he was probably going to die this year, and now he was figuring out that he might have accidentally killed a kind-of-friend.
“Bad Dobby. Stupid Dobby-” Dobby slapping himself was a horrifying scene, Harry had almost hoped the elf had gotten over the self-harming tendencies.
“No please Dobby, don’t hurt yourself,” Harry tried but the elf wouldn’t listen.
“That’s quite enough of that don’t you think,” George said as he grabbed Dobby’s small hand gently.
“You aren’t in any trouble, you didn’t do anything wrong. Harry here, and us, are worried about you,” Fred gently patted Dobby in between the shoulder blades, the redhead had to bend down quite a bit to make the gesture.
“You’s bes worried about Dobby?”
Harry knew where this was going.
After the elf had once more flung himself at Harry crying the three students were able to wrangle the elf into sitting down and talking with them. Thankfully it seem that Dobby had managed to negotiate a contract with Hogwarts where he would work for the school but would not respond to any authority figure within as a master. He had also secured wages which he used to afford his exotic sock collection.
“That’s a relief. I didn’t know if I qualified for you to bind yourself to me or not-” Harry had meant the words to be under his breath but clearly Dobby had heard him.
“The Great Master Harry Potter wants Dobby as HIS ELF?!”
“Well if it was to help you of course-” Harry’s words were cut off as Dobby fainted.
Fred laughed like a lunatic as Harry panicked and George just sighed saying he had enough for the night and was heading to bed. Harry couldn’t blame him.
As Dobby started to stir Harry wondered what he might have to face. Blinking awake Dobby looked at Fred who had managed to catch the elf, and then Harry who remained fidgeting. Suddenly Dobby was awake as ever once more.
“Please Master Harry Potter sirs, I want to be your elf-sie!” Dobby wailed as he leaned on the floor crying fat crocodile tears. Surely he was becoming dehydrated, his small body couldn’t hold that much liquid!
“Uhm, I…” Honestly, Harry didn’t know the first thing about having a house elf. And how was Harry’s magic supposed to keep Dobby alive, was the elf going to be a parasite?
“I promise to be a good elf-sie! I cleans, cook, launder, I wasn’t very good in the gardens, too many big fancy birds… But I can learns!”
Harry wondered if there was any scenario where he was getting out of this without an elf. “Look Dobby…”
Dobby’s bright eyes stared up at him with such intensity and hope that Harry knew he was a gonnner. What were Hermione and Neville always calling it? His saving people thing… Curse them.
“What would being bound to you entail on my end?” Harry hoped the elf didn’t start crying again so soon.
“Simple Master Harry sir! Your magic would ground me’s. It is a deal. Yous make me whole and I help take care of yous,” Dobby said it so excitedly that even Fred took a second glance at the little spitfire. “Please bind to me Master Harry sir!”
Looking at Fred was all Harry had left but of course, the redhead was a traitor who only held up his thumb as a go-ahead and smirked. Harry wanted to smack his pretty head.
“Fine,” Harry tried his best not to sound overwhelmed. “How do we do this exactly?”
“YESSS!” Dobby seemed drunk as he did a twirl and threw a couple of socks into the air. In the background, Harry could have sworn that he saw some of the cleaning products dancing.
“All you have to dos is let me taste your magic, then allow your magic to keep me,” Dobby stated simply.
Yeah, that made total sense. Just let him taste magic. What the fuck was that supposed to mean?!
“Okay Dobby… How do I do that exactly?” Harry hedged.
Dobby seemed to deflate a bit but only slightly. “Do wizards not be knowing how to release their magics?”
Harry tried the question on his brain. But unfortunately, he had no clue what precisely the elf meant. Harry could cast a spell but if that is all Dobby wanted then he would have surely stated as such.
“Dobby can teach yous,” the hunger in the elf’s eyes was terrifying. Harry had only ever seen such unrestrained desire in Professor Flitwick after Harry had accidentally but successfully charmed a teapot to sing different songs based on what kind of fluid was in it. Harry still shivered at the thought of the melancholy in the pot's voice when a poisoned brew was tested in the vessel.
“Focus nows Great Master Harry Potter sirs,” the determination in Dobby’s eyes almost had the large orbs shining. “Close you eyes-es. Now think deeplys. What does your magics feel like?”
Harry had to restrain the urge to pinch his brows. Eyes closed Harry felt slightly silly standing around as Fred and Dobby stared at him.
Trying to at least give a noble attempt Harry thought about what it felt like to use magic. The very first time he had picked up his wand it had been a fluttery feeling throughout his body. But that wasn’t entirely what magic was, after all, he had used magic before his wand hadn’t he? All of those incidents as a kid with accidental magic, even the blimb Marge incident…
His magic, what was it? Using magic was exhilarating, like riding a broom. It was empowering, it's how he had survived so many terrible situations. But magic wasn’t just a toy, it was something that he respected and revered.
A flicker of something in himself had Harry gasping. Oh… That was new, but also, not? He had lived with this magic within himself for his entire life, it was always there, but this was the first time he was really aware of it. Harry couldn’t really see anything, but it was almost like an awareness, magic was radiating through him but it was definitely constrained. Harry didn’t know entirely how he knew but he just did.
“This is weird.”
A chuckle had the hairs on Harry’s kneck raised. I didn’t mean to say that out loud! Okay, focus. Let’s get this over with…
How do I release magic? Uhm. Concentrating on where the magic seemed to naturally want to flow through his arms and legs into his abdomen and back out again Harry tried to imagine some of it flowing out of himself towards where he knew Dobby to be. It was odd, like when someone focuses on their blood flow. The average person doesn’t think about the fluid pumping through their body but once you bring attention to it its hard to forget.
“You’ve done it!”
Dobby’s screech had Harry’s eyes popping open as his soul tried to leave his body from the fright.
“Focus Great Master Harry Potter sir!” Dobby looked like a reptile basking as he tilted his chin into the air and stood still as a shimmer seemed to surround him.
Harry guessed that this was the time to accept the elf. Whatever that meant. Closing his eyes once more Harry got back to his little subconscious magical bubble, feeling about he felt where a small stream of his magic left his body and wrapped around a foreign entity. Well, he supposed that was probably just Dobby. Concentrating on the elf Harry felt the strange magic, it was very different than his own.
Wrapping his magic around the elf Harry felt as tentatively the two magics started to mingle a small portion of Harry’s magic fed into the small core and instantly there was a snap as the bond was set.
A gasp rang through the air as Harry opened his eyes, looking down at the elf Harry knew he needed to stock up on tissues. Dobby once more bawled into his shirt with Harry offering comfort to the sniffling ball. Harry wasn’t really used to all of the touchy-feely stuff but he knew the abused elf needed it. Harry would have been out of sorts himself if any of his primary teachers had decided to help him with the Dursleys.
“I think I’ll leave you to it for the night,” Fred said as he slowly backed towards the door taking dramatically spread-out steps. Stupid tall people.
“Wait!” Harry felt like something very major was being overlooked here. “I can do without, but is there any bedding by chance? Even a small blanket?”
Harry wondered if he could get away with making a next out of his winter clothes. Maybe Dobby could get some spare linens from wherever the house elves stored the laundry.
“Oh, uhm right…” Fred chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I can call another elf-”
“Don’t you DARE.” Dobby’s head suddenly sprang up from Harry’s midsection. Apparently, he was territorial. “From nows on I be’s the Great Masters elf-sie!”
Dobby poked a narrow finger in Fred’s direction with a near-murderous expression that had the redhead taking a gulp.
“Right. Well… I will just take my leave then. Tomorrow’s Sunday so don’t worry about sleeping in. Toodles-”
Just like that Fred scampered off clearly afraid of whatever vengeance Dobby tried to take. A yelp was heard before Fred could close the door, Dobby was good with a stinging hex. Harry would take note of that little tidbit.
“I will gets you a bed for nows Master Harry Potter sir, and then we can gets you something befitting the Great Master Harry Potter.”
Dobby popped away before Harry could say another word. Letting out a well-deserved sigh Harry walked towards his trunk. He had gotten the absolute barebones and was now leaving to regret it. Neville’s trunk could be tipped on its side and turned into a walk. Even Ron’s trunk had an extended storage capacity!
Then again, flipping the latch of his trunk open, Harry was reminded that he didn’t have enough possessions to fill even his trunk. Hedwig's empty cage fit and he still had wiggle room for all of his clothes and two spare pairs of shoes. Luckily Dobby had cleaned the dirtier items before they had made their way in. Harry’s cheek reddened as he looked at a very familiar towel that would have been tucked into his hiding spot in his old Gryffindor bed frame. Harry hoped that no one had noticed the incriminating stains it had once had.
A loud plop was all the warning Harry received as a ginormous bed suddenly appeared in the room, Dobby bounced off of it and for all intents and purposes looked like a dog wagging its tail as he looked at Harry expectantly.
“I- Uhm. Thank you Dobby,” Harry didn’t think they made beds this large, the bed framed luckily didn’t take up much space but then again this new room was HUGE so it really wasn’t a problem per se.
Dobby held back tears but thankfully didn’t feel the need to tackle Harry.
“Two more things before I go to sleep. First, did you happen to figure out where the toilet and shower were located?” Harry crossed his fingers that somewhere in the twin's lab there was an actual full bathroom.
As Dobby pointed to a door Harry hadn’t noticed on the opposite wall from the stairs Harry silently thanked the twins again for their generosity.
“Thank you Dobby. Lastly-” Harry watched as Dobby nodded his head vigorously and wondered how strong the elf's spine must be to function as the support for a bobblehead. “Lastly, I want you to call me Harry. You don’t have to use any title to address me Dobby, we’re friends.”
As Dobby jumped into his arms Harry wondered if he could count this as Quidditch practice for next year. Why they canceled the extracurricular Harry could only imagine.
Finally getting the elf to calm down and leave for the night Harry was thankful for the peace. Going through his nighttime routine and abulitions Harry lay on his monstrous bed and felt as the aches from the day caught up to him. Eyes closed Harry felt a spike in his newly acquainted magic and that was it before he surrendered to sleep.