A Beginning
Once upon a time, there was... an Ending.
And we House-Elves searched high and low for the new Lord Potter.
We were like fleas without a dog. Maggots without a carcass. Pimples without a face.
And on Christmas Eve, in Little Whinging, we found...
A Beginning.
Harry didn't like Christmas much.
He understood why other kids liked it so much. It was a time to be with loved ones, with warmth and love in abundance for everyone. Kids get gifts from their families, and memories are made to be remembered in the years to come.
That was why he didn't like it.
His relatives, for he refused to call them his family, never showed him any warmth. If they did, it was somehow connected to the stove that Petunia was teaching him to use. Not because it was a useful skill, but so he had another chore they could force him to do. It didn't matter that he was only five years old. To them, he was free labour. He was quite certain that if the law didn't require it, they wouldn't even send him to school, and instead keep him as a full-time servant... or slave if he were being honest.
And always, the question in the back of his mind was simple: Why?
Why did they hate him so much?
Why did Aunt Petunia hit him on the head with a frying pan?
Why did Uncle Vernon whip him with a belt?
Why did they do nothing when Dudley beat him up?
Why did they lock him in a boot cupboard for days on end?
Was his presence so terrible? What had he done to deserve such horrible treatment?
All these questions and more ran through his mind as he made his way to the park. It was Christmas Eve, and Petunia wanted to make sure the house was spotless before Aunt Marge came over. She was going to arrive in time for Christmas Eve dinner, stay for Christmas Day, and leave on Boxing Day.
He just had to avoid her for as long as possible, and he should be fine. That woman took a twisted joy in making him miserable, especially since she knew it made Dudley happy.
As luck would have it, rather than drafting Harry into helping her make the house as spotless as possible, she'd opted to kick Harry outside until then. She didn't seem to notice, or care, when he went out the front door. Instead of sitting in the backyard, waiting for Dudley to return from his friends and make him miserable, he opted to walk to the park today. It was cold and miserable out, but at least he'd be left alone.
Walking past some bushes, however, he had the strangest feeling. Like he was being watched.
Is it him? Is it the Master?
Harry whipped his head around, searching for the source of the voice... but he found nothing.
Me sense the magic in him.
'I must be going bonkers.' Harry thought to himself sadly. As he continued towards the park, the voices continued.
If he Master, why so miserable?
Maybe Master stuck with Bad Elves?
We Good Elves! We help Master!
Me not sure him Master. Me think we need to be sure.
Harry bit back a bitter chuckle. 'Even my delusions think I'm worthless.' As Harry reached the park, he found it empty of people, but filled with snowmen. One of which he recognized as the one Dudley and his friends had made. It was an ugly thing, much like Vernon. And looking at it, all Harry could think was how unfair it was. How it wasn't fair that Dudley gets adoring parents, while the same parents treat him worse than dog droppings.
He wanted to change that.
He wanted to fight back.
He wanted... to be free.
The House Elves are watching.
Now's my chance.
I've got just enough to make this push.
Hopefully, it's enough for them to notice.
Suddenly, without warning or explanation, the snow-Vernon simply... exploded. It burst into a shower of snowflakes, leaving no sign there was ever anything there. The snow-Vernon was simply there one moment, and the next... gone. As Harry tried to comprehend this turn of events, his audience was elated.
Ohohohoh! Magic! Magic!
He IS the Master!
We found the Master!
We serve the Master!
We protect the Master!
Before Harry realized what was going on, he found himself surrounded by five of the most curious creatures he'd ever seen. They were small, smaller even than him, with large eyes and bat-like ears. The clothes they wore looked like bathrobes, black with a red dragon badge. The strangest thing was they seemed overjoyed to meet him of all people.
"Master! We found you!"
"We ready to serve you, Master!"
"What does Master wish of us?"
Harry's mind was too busy trying to comprehend this. These creatures kept calling him 'Master' but that didn't make sense. He wasn't a Master or anything like that. He was just... Harry. It was better than being a 'freak' like his uncle always called him, but that didn't mean it made any more sense. How could he be these creatures Master? Especially considering he'd never...
'Wait...'
In the back of Harry's mind, a memory arose. One so old it was probably his first.
You will have a life full of questions, young Master...
But I know what lives within you...
And when the Dragon awakens, we will be there to help you.
After all, the Potters always find a way.
He blinked as the memory came and went. He remembered another of these... beings. They seemed to like him, and he didn't want to be rude and call them creatures. But he wasn't sure what else they...
"Uhm... Hello, all of you." The beings snapped to attention, eagerly hanging onto Harry's every word. "I'm... not sure what I'm supposed to call you. I've never seen... beings like you before."
This seemed to confuse them.
"Never seen House Elves before?"
'So that's what they're called.'
"Uhm... no, I've never seen a... House Elf before today?"
"Who taking care of Master?"
"My... relatives, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon."
The House Elves made strange faces at those names.
"Lady Lily forbid Master Harry from being with them!"
"Master Harry is supposed to be with Master Sirius!"
"Master Harry supposed to be loved!"
"Master supposed to be with us!"
The House Elves made such declarations so quickly that Harry barely had time to process them all. His mother's name was Lily. And he was never supposed to be with the Dursleys? Then why was he here!? Who was this Sirius the House Elves referred to? Why wasn't he with him? Did something happen to him? Or... did he simply not want him? Before such thoughts could overwhelm him, the House Elves continued.
"We here now, Master!"
"We serve the Master!"
"We protect the Master!"
"Control us, Master!"
Harry had no idea what he was supposed to do next. The house elves wanted him to... control them? How was he supposed to do that? Before he could say anything, he heard a most unwelcome voice.
"Hey, Scarhead!"
Harry grimaced, recognizing it as Malcolm, one of Dudley's friends. And one of the people who tormented him. His first response was an instinctive command for the house elves.
"Hide! Quick!"
In an instant, they were gone, no doubt hiding somewhere, so Malcolm couldn't find them. Turning around, he came face to face with Malcolm. Like Dudley, he was fat, mean, and dumb as a rock. Malcolm always enjoyed kicking him whenever Dudley pushed him down.
"What do you want, Malcolm?"
"What are you doing out here? Don't you know freaks are supposed to stay inside at Christmas?" Malcolm laughed at his joke. Harry just kept a straight face. When Malcolm didn't get any reaction, he noticed the lack of a certain snowman in the park. "OI! Did you mess with our snowman?"
"Your snowman?"
"Yeah, our snowman, Freak!" Malcolm pushed Harry backwards, knocking him down. "Me and Dudley worked hard on that snowman! Did you do something to it!?"
Harry was about to say something when one of the house elves jumped onto Malcolm's face and began beating him with his fists. Malcolm screamed like a girl as he stumbled backwards, trying to push the house elf off of him, to no avail. As two other house elves joined in on the beating, the remaining two helped Harry to his feet, and with a snap of their fingers, all the snow on Harry vanished, leaving him feeling dry and warm.
Moments later, Malcolm stopped screaming, and the sounds of fists striking their target faded. Harry looked in shock to see the house elves had beaten Malcolm to a bloody pulp. His eyes were swollen shut, and blood flowed freely from his mouth, with multiple cuts to his forehead. He was still breathing, but it was shallow. It was worse than anything Dudley and his friends had done to him, though not by much.
Harry initially felt sick to his stomach, but then he felt... satisfied. He wasn't sure why until he began thinking about it. Malcolm had always been a jerk, not just to himself, but to other kids in the neighbourhood. He liked pushing around anyone smaller than him. The more he thought about it, the more he was certain that Malcolm wouldn't have hesitated to beat him like this, nor would Dudley. He'd beat other kids the same way too.
This... felt right, when he thought of it like that. Maybe Malcolm wouldn't have become a thug, but Harry doubted it. He was a fat, stupid, jerk, and Harry was happy he wasn't going to hurt him or any other kids again. With that in mind, he turned to the house elves and smiled softly at them.
"Thank you, all of you."
The house elves were practically giddy hearing this. Their Master had praised them for a job well done! What else could a house elf ask for?
"We happy to serve the Master!"
"What next, Master?"
Harry... wasn't sure what came next. At least not until he realized he still had to go back to Privet Drive. It wasn't his home, and it never would be. But it was the only place he had at the moment. With a shrug of his shoulders, he looked at the house elves.
"I need to get back to my relative's house. Can you stay out of sight while you follow me?"
The house elves nodded vigorously. They were ready and willing to follow their master's orders, regardless of what they were.
"Alright then. Follow me, but stay hidden. I'm not sure how others would react to seeing you."
And just like that, the house elves disappeared, but Harry knew they were close. As he made his way back to Privet Drive, he couldn't help but grin to himself. This was going to be the best Christmas ever!
'Nevermind' Harry thought, this wasn't any different from his other Christmas'.
Marge was already there by the time he returned and gave his shins a whack with her walking stick almost as soon as he walked through the front door. The first thing Petunia did was drag him into the kitchen to 'help' with dinner. Usually this 'help' involved Petunia watching him like a hawk, occasionally stopping to join the others in the den watching the telly. The only upside to him being stuck in the kitchen was it kept him away from the rest of the Dursleys. Vernon wasn't much of a cook, at least with holiday foods, while Dudley was too lazy. Even better, Harry knew Dudley hated Marge always giving him kisses. Sure, Dudley always got paid by his parents afterwards, but it was worth knowing he was likely squirming.
Of course, when it was time for dinner, Harry was the one serving the food, while the rest of the Dursleys ate like pigs. If he was lucky, he'd at least get some scraps of food. It wasn't much, but it'd be enough to keep him going.
But the strangest thing was he couldn't shake the feeling the house elves were watching all of this... and were angry. It felt... strange, to have someone feel upset about how the Dursleys treated him. He'd gotten so used to it, that he didn't even bother feeling angry about his lot in life. He just... accepted it, and wished for something better someday.
He was broken out of his thoughts as he slipped walking from the dining room to the kitchen, carrying dirty dishes to be washed. The sound of plates breaking rang out across the house, drawing Vernon's ire.
"BOY! WHAT DID YOU DO!?"
He could hear the thump of Vernon's footsteps, stomping over towards him. He began to shake, terrified of what was coming next. 'It was an accident!' he wanted to say. He wanted to defend himself, to promise to be better. But all he could do was tremble when he saw his massive uncle looming over him, reaching for his belt. But the menacing glare on his face turned to one of shock as Vernon realized something: Harry wasn't alone.
"FOR THE MASTER!"
A house elf had leaped at Vernon, much like they had done with Malcolm in the park. But this time, instead of attacking him with their fists, they had grabbed makeshift weapons from the kitchen. The one that leaped on Vernon's chest plunged a knife into Vernon's throat, drawing a bloody gurgle as the other elves attacked with forks, cleavers, and even a frying pan. He collapsed on his back, shaking the house as he did so.
"VERNON!?" Petunia called out, the commotion drawing the attention of the rest of the house. Without a second thought, Harry called out the first thing he could think of.
"GET THEM!"
The house elves leaped into action, rushing out of the kitchen and into the dining room, where Petunia, Marge, and Dudley screamed at the sudden arrival of the tiny creatures. Standing in the kitchen, next to his dead uncle, Harry heard the sounds of violent assaults. Dudley's voice went quiet almost immediately, drawing a pained shriek from Petunia, while Marge bellowed out a warcry... only to go silent.
Petunia's voice rang out, begging Harry to stop them, begging for mercy... and then nothing.
Slowly, Harry stepped around Vernon's still-bleeding corpse and looked at the chaotic mess that was in the dining room. Dudley lay in the corner, a meat cleaver lodged deep in his forehead. Marge lay on the table, a fork jammed in her eye, and another knife lodged in her back. But Petunia... she'd been bludgeoned to death with a frying pan, the house elf standing on her still holding the bloody pan.
It... it was too much... Harry stumbled backwards, a strange feeling in his gut...
"Master?"
Harry looked up at the house elves around him. They looked at him with concern in their eyes. They... they cared about him. They protected him from the Dursleys, and somehow, he knew they'd do it again if they had to.
"I... thank you... all of you..."
It was said in such a small voice, Harry could barely hear himself. But they heard him, and they gathered around, hugging him, letting him know he wasn't alone anymore.
"What does Master want next?"
"I... I think we should get out of here... but I don't know where to go."
One of the house elves began jumping wildly, gaining Harry's attention.
"OH! OH! OH! Diagon Alley! We go to Diagon Alley!"
Harry had never heard of 'Diagon Alley' before. But it wasn't like he had many options at the moment. Slowly, he nodded his head at the house elves.
"Alright then. Let's go to Diagon Alley."