Your Elf Friend is Your Best Friend
Harry was tired… it was only his second year in Hogwarts and he was hating every moment of it. Last year he had human friends, 3 of them. Thank the starts for Neville, the other 2 showed their true colors. This year he has rumors and people following him around to make sure he isn’t doing anything ‘evil’. It was no longer safe to sleep in his dorm, even leaving his belonging was just as dangerous. The only reason he managed to stop most of their destruction was thanks to Neville. The boy did what he could to help Harry as discreetly as possible, which frankly he can understand, standing out is dangerous.
Another thing Neville did was push him get in touch with the Goblins, Apperntly he was supposed to have a meeting with his account manager at 11, the fact that he didn’t go was his problem, not theirs. It was a good thing he did, they helped him arrange for somewhere to go, even got his lovely aunt to sign all the necessary papers for him to leave, and than made sure she wouldn’t remember. His account manager proposed this precaution in case anyone came looking. Considering her years of ‘loving’ care, he did not see a problem with that.
Now if he could only survive until the end of the year without getting murdered by the self righteous students of Hogwarts. The faculty isn’t any better, he tried going to them for help only to be reprimanded for causing problems. Going to madam Pumfrey was just as useless considering she gave him a talking to for getting in to fights, than proceeded to call Professor McGonagall to do the same. If she happens to miss parts of his treatment that wasn’t her problem.
Harry hasn’t slept in dorm since November, it was currently winter break and he wasn’t in a rush to return. The elves from the kitchen let him in on a little secret in the 7th floor when he asked them if there was a quick way to replace some of his stuff that were destroyed. That was when he was introduced to the wonders on the lost and found room. It was a treasure trove of supposed garbege. He loved it.
When he asked the head elf if there was an owner to it all Timber told him that he can have what he wants, but to be carful not to take anything cursed. Even went ahead and taught Harry how to use aura sight so he would know what is dangerous and what is safe. It was always wonderful to talk to the elves, they were the only ones who ever really helped him. The Potter Heir ended up spending most of his time in that room going over everything. He ended up ordering several expandable trunks and he stored everything he wanted to take with him. A lot of it was broken but with a little TLC it could be beautiful. He knows he sounds like a prat, but he saw himself in the broken pieces that just needed someone to care.
While he was working he had time to think about Dobby, the misrable sod was clearly trapped with a family that was breaking him. He also needed an out and Harry decided to make a deal with him. Thanks the Effy, he was able to get a meeting with the mad elf, where the little guy was finally quiet long enough to listen. After a lot of talking and some wise input from effy they had a plan to get him free. After that Dobby will help him leave discreetly so they would both be free.
He finally had a game plan for everything, and he could go back to practicing languages while he sorted through the things in the lost and found room. Headspliter got him new papers, found him an old muggle estate in a small town in Japan, signed him up for home schooling for magic and found him a tutor so he could catch up on everything he missed. It cost him most of the funds in his vault but it allowed him a clean break in the muggle world with a transition period. Beside, he never had a problem getting by on nothing, at least now he will have a home and no beatings so he is free find his way. His worries about furnishing are over now that he raided the lost and found room, the library would be beyond full, and thanks to some visits to the forbidden forest and the green houses he has enough seedlings, and cuttings to have a proper garden so most of his food and potions supplies are also handled for the most part.
When everyone came back from winter break it was when everything started to work really fast, getting Malfoy to free Dobby wasn’t really a challenge, the elf actually insisted on bonding with Harry, said he needed the bond to live. All things considered he decided to go with the mad elf’s plan, but he placed some ground rules.
As they were searching for who has the diary his former bad master planted Dobby kept working on the lost and found room and their garden collection, apparently he liked the idea. Harry had yet another detention with flopheart where the moron kept talking about copyrights, and other things. For once Harry paid attention, a voice in his head screamed at him important. Once he did he realized there was a way for him to gain income, and contacted Headsplitter. According to the goblin he needed the headmaster, and Petunia’s signatures for it, and they could make it work. He also told him that if he could get them to sign a few more papers it would give him freedom to use a solicitor.
Dobby hearing this, and knowing that Harry needed this to be done without the twinkly menaces realizing what he signed off decided to take charge. Harry as a firm believer off deniability told him to keep him out of it and not get caught. For some reason Effy was happy to help and got a hit involved in his mad schemes, considering how old she is, he was starting to think she was trying to re-live her youth through all this madness. Either way it was good, she was a balancing influence to Dobby.
A disturbing thing was that when Harry was avoiding yet another encounter with students trying to show him his place, he saw Ginny sneaking around. Considering it was way past curfew for first years, and she was looking weird he decided to take a closer look. He changed his vision to the same way Timber taught him and noticed her aura was dark and sticky. From what he remembered reading this means she was being possessed, he quickly called Timber and Effy, knowing this was too dangerous for him to handle.
He quickly told them she might be possessed, Timber noticed the same thing he did when he properly looked. Unfortunately, she opened the wall in the girls bathroom somehow the thing possessing her noticed their presence and there was a confrontation. He is not sure what happened next, but he fell in to the opening and found himself in a creepy underground place with skeletons of animals. Harry figured since he can go back might as well go forward. He reached a chamber, once he started looking into it he found a set of rooms and a lovely library. There was also a chamber with a snake, a huge, old, hungry snake.
At that point Harry did the dumbest think he could think off and called Dobby, the panicked elf couldn’t get him out, but apparently he himself can teleport, that was when Harry asked him to try and get her something to eat. She might want pray, but dead meat is still better than Harry meat!
He is not sure how, and he was too grateful to care but the little guy got her a cow, once she ate she was calm enough to talk to him. She explained to him that she was a guardian of Hogwarts, unfortunately some of her late masters descendants used her against her original orders and now she is stuck here in punishment for doing as she was ordered. After talking a little he asked her if she wanted to join him, she couldn’t agree fast enough. That was when they came up with a plan, thankfully Dobby was able to help with the logistics.
His mad friend got help from some of the maintenance elves and fixed the trunks from the lost and found room, he made one of the spaces so big they could plant a forest, which they somehow did. Then Effy happily added some pray for poor Isolde to snack on, after all Arcmentula are her favorites. (Effie used the chance to shove as many of those damn spiders into the trunk, if the centaurs discreetly helped there was no way to prove it.) for some reason Effy also gave him piles of arcamentula parts and web in one of the trunks, it seems many of the other animals were happy and gave some of their sheddings as thanks. Harry wasn’t sure why, it’s not like Isolde did anything, but he was very appreciative of the gesture.
Dobby used the supplies they had to copy the library, he saw how sad his little master was about not being able to learn more from the books and wanted to help. It’s not like he was coming back to this hell, they made sure of that. It took a few hours but they managed to find the tunnel that was blocked for Isolde to get out and from there she went in to the forest trunk, and Harry started walking to the border of the forest. Getting on a plane to Japan a few months sooner wouldn’t be a hardship, after talking to Hedwig she decided she rather fly on her own. She wanted to enjoy the scenery route, considering she was just as trapped as he was he can understand. Thanks to some basilisk venom and old shed skins Harry can even replenish his funds so he wouldn’t have as many problems.
Meanwhile the wixen world was going crazy, Ginny was caught by the head house elf who immediately alerted the Unspeakables when he sensed the aura of the girl and the item she was holding, in accordance to the charter. Dumbledore tried to put a stop to it but couldn’t work against Hogwarts safety and security regulated by the charter set by the founders. When the unspeakables and Aurors arrived, a head count was preformed only to realize a student was missing, one who hasn’t been seen for days. The wixen world was in an uproar, where was Harry Potter?
An investigation into the boy went ahead only to find that he was horrifically bullied with no aid from the staff. An empty class room was found with blood stained cloths and residue of curses on them, the initial H.J.P. On the uniform made it very clear as to the owner. The sings that the child squatted there were obvious to anyone, between the beddings and the personal items it looked like he was sleeping there for a while. When his dorm mates were interviewed as to why, Heir Longbottom said it stopped being safe for him in November, when they tried to get the staff to help they were punished for causing problems. Safe to say the faculty was in a world of trouble, and Effy was thrilled she is finally getting rid of the bearded menace, useless cat, and angry bat. Now if she could only get the pointless ‘healer’ that couldn’t heal a scratch it would be perfect.
On a random note when Madam Bones went to inform heir Potter’s family of the situation a few things came to light about his living conditions that brought a world of truble to the Dursley’s, and Dumbledore in particular.
Harry knew none of that as he was in the healing halls in Gringotts getting throughly cleansed and healed. Apperntly his scar held a dangerous remnant from the attack in 81’ and his soul fire was keeping it at bay. And wasn’t that a doozy, apperantly the fire that helped him his entire life had a name and a designation. Effy and Timber recognized it and let Headsplitter know so they could take precautions, Timber also saw the aura on the cursed scar and warned Headspliter to take care of it. The ritual and the relocation to a safe destination were the real reason young Potter needed to empty most of his funds.
The Goblin was very pleased with the Basilisk Venom and skins, the last thing he wanted was to be the Goblin that emptied his own clients' coffers. Though the little brat presenting him with a trunk filled with Goblin artifacts he collected from wherever it was did not amuse him, no matter how much the brat claimed otherwise. He was sure the 10% finders fee didn’t hurt the little brat either.