Twisted Fascination

I felt quite bored as I did my chores, falling into my usual routine once back in the Dursley household. I got them done early, as usual, ignoring how Harry slacked off.

He was laying in bed, seemingly depressed about the fact none of his little friends wrote to him.

I didn't mind as much, especially considering I didn't have an owl to reply with. What I did mind was the fact I couldn't get any homework done over break.

Vernon decided that Harry's and my 'freakish' magic should be locked away in the cupboard underneath the stairs. He then moved me into Dudley's old room, stating that we weren't to do anything even remotely related to magic.

I, for one, approved when Harry started mumbling nonsense words under his breath while pretending to perform magic. I oftentimes smirked whenever Dudley ran scared, clearly not one to test if Harry was playing around or not.

Vernon and Petunia, on the other hand, would backtrack before immediately growing angry, so Harry had to learn quickly what his limits were.

Of course, Vernon also disliked Hedwig, Harry's owl, with a burning passion. Because she was bored, the bird often hooted. Vernon would absolutely lose his marbles over the fact the owl actually made bird noises and such to display just how sick and tired she was of remaining in a cage.

I just calmly continued my day when it happened, always ignoring the way Vernon would yell at Harry over it.

It was one particular morning when Vernon came storming down the stairs angrily, where Petunia and I were already working in the kitchen. "Do you know what day it is?!"

It took a moment for me to realize he was talking to me. "Erm, Friday, sir?" I said in a more questioning tone of voice.

He looked incredibly irked at my answer. "It's the third time this week that I've woken up to that bloody bird."

"Sir, that's not my bird," I pointed out, "It's Harry."

"And you two share a room," Vernon argued, using horrible logic at that.

"I come down early, so I cannot prevent it from making noise while I'm not there," I stated, "I can talk to Harry, but he will likely argue that his owl is bored and deserves the right to fly."

The man clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed.

That's when Harry strolled downstairs, looking surprisingly well-rested. He sat down at the table as Vernon stomped over.

"Third time this week!" Vernon cried out loudly, "If you can't control that owl, it'll have to go!"

"She's bored," Harry tried to reason, "She's used to flying around outside. If I could just let her out at night-"

"Do I look stupid?" Vernon snapped as he began to eat his eggs, only to allow some to dribble down from his bushy mustache. "I know what'll happen if that owl's let out." He exchanged a dark look with Petunia.

Harry opened his mouth to argue, but his words were drowned out by a long, loud belch from Dudley.

"I want more bacon," Dudley stated.

"There's more in the frying pan, sweetums,"Aunt Petunia said as she looked at her massive son with misty eyes. "We must build you up while we've got the chance… I don't like the sound of that school food…"

"Nonsense, Petunia, I never went hungry while I was at Smeltings," Vernon stated heartily, "Dudley gets enough, don't you, son?"

Dudley, who was already large enough to not fit on the chair properly, grinned and turned to Harry. "Pass the frying pan."

"You forgot the magic word," Harry said irritably.

Dudley gasped loudly and fell off his chair with a loud crash that shook the whole kitchen.

Petunia immediately gave a small scream and slapped her hands to her mouth in horror.

Vernon, meanwhile, jumped to his feet, his veins visibly throbbing in his temples.

"I meant 'please'!" Harry exclaimed fearfully, "I didn't mean-"

"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU," Vernon thundered, spraying spit across the table in a disgusting manner of rage, "ABOUT SAYING THE 'M' WORD IN OUR HOUSE?!"

"But I-"

"HOW DARE YOU THREATEN DUDLEY!" Vernon screamed, pounding the table with his fist.

"I just-"

"I WARNED YOU!" The rotund man roared, "I WILL NOT TOLERATE MENTION OF YOUR ABNORMALITY UNDER THIS ROOF!"

Harry, the absolute moron, looked between Vernon and his pale-faced wife, who was trying to heave Dudley to his feet. He then looked at me, but I pointedly looked down at my food, which now had saliva all over it. "Alright, alright…"

Vernon sat back down, breathing like a rhinoceros and watching Harry closely out of the corners of his small, sharp eyes. Once sure Harry wouldn't suddenly make another outburst, the man perked up. "Now, as we all know, today is a very important day."

Harry lifted his head, looking like he hardly believed the words coming from Vernon's mouth.

I glanced at Harry oddly, wondering if he had gotten amnesia over the course of the night, as there was no way anyone could reasonably forget the date that Vernon had eagerly been discussing for the past two weeks.

"This could very well be the day I make the biggest deal of my career," Vernon boasted.

Harry went back to his toast, looking incredibly bitter for some reason or another.

"I think we should run through the schedule one more time," Vernon stated, "We should all be in position at eight o'clock. Petunia, you will be-"

"In the lounge," Petunia said promptly, "Waiting to welcome them graciously to our home."

"Good, good. And Dudley?"

"I'll be waiting to open the door!" Dudley chirped as he gave a foul, simpering smile, "May I take your coats, Mr. and Mrs. Mason?"

"They'll love him!" Petunia cried rapturously.

"Excellent, Dudley," Vernon approved before rounding on my brother and I. "And you two?"

"We shall be in our room, making no noise, pretending we don't exist," I recited from memory.

"Exactly," Vernon said nastily, "I will lead them into the lounge, introduce you, Petunia, and pour them drinks. At eight-fifteen-"

"I'll announce dinner," Petunia said.

"And, Dudley, you'll say-"

"May I take you through to the dining room, Mrs. Mason?" Dudley chimed in, offering his fat arm to a nonexistent woman.

"My perfect little gentleman!" Petunia sniffed loudly.

"And you?" Vernon asked viciously, his glare directed at Harry alone this time.

"I'll be in my room, making no noise and pretending I'm not there," Harry recited dully.

"Precisely," Vernon approved, "Now, we should aim to get in a few good compliments at dinner. Petunia, any ideas?"

"Vernon tells me you're a wonderful golfer, Mr. Mason," she supplied right away, "Do tell me where you got your dress, Mrs. Mason…"

"Perfect… Dudley?"

Dudley thought for less than a second before supplying a dumb answer. "How about - 'We had to write an essay about our hero at school, Mr. Mason, and I wrote about you.'"

Petunia burst into tears and hugged her son tightly.

Harry, meanwhile, ducked under the table so they wouldn't see him laughing like some deranged individual.

"And you, boy?" Vernon snapped.

After gently elbowing Harry, I answered, "We'll be in our room, making no noise and pretending we don't exist."

"Too right you will," Vernon forcefully said as Harry came up with a straight face. "The Masons don't know anything about you, and it's going to stay that way. When dinner's over, you take Mrs. Mason back to the longue for coffee, Petunia, and I'll bring the subject around to drills. With any luck, I'll have the deal signed and sealed before the news at ten. We'll be shopping for a vacation home in Majorca this time tomorrow."

Harry didn't look too enthusiastic, but I was fairly satisfied. Even if they wouldn't want us to go with them to Majorca, they'd have to by law. I'd get a free vacation and the chance to slip away to find wizards that would surely give me proper legal advice in dealing with the Dursleys.

"Right - I'm off into town to pick up the dinner jackets for Dudley and me. And you," Vernon snarled, "You stay out of your aunt's way while she's cleaning."

Harry left through the back door, but I still had to clean the table off before I was free to go outside. The two of us sat by the garden bench across the lawn.

I was content to soak up the sun like some snake on a rock.

Harry, meanwhile, began to sing the birthday song under his breath.

I realized that it was our birthday and that Hogwarts was almost upon us. I felt a bit fretful as I wondered just how I'd get my homework done in time.

Harry suddenly sat up bolt upright on the garden bench. He stared at the hedge in shock and jumped up to his feet as if in disbelief.

I looked over and briefly saw large green eyes staring back from through the leaves.

That's when Dudley's jeering voice floated across the lawn as the boy in question waddled toward us. "I know what day it is."

"What?" Harry asked as the eyes blanked and vanished.

I, meanwhile, looked back up at the sky, closing my eyes and soaking up more sun.

"I know what day it is," Dudley said as he came marching right up to us.

"Well done," Harry said mockingly, "So you've finally learned the days of the week."

I decided trouble would only ensue from there, so I got up and back toward the house, not at all interested in listening to them squabble over meaningless things. I had just made it inside when Dudley came rushing back into the house.

"MUUUM! Harry's doing you-know-what!" Dudley cried out loudly as he scrambled inside of the house.

I ducked out of the way as Petunia snapped her head around to glare out the window at Harry. I decided to make myself scarce and headed up to the bedroom so I wouldn't get any chores. I succeeded in not getting any chores, internally sighing in relief as I lounged around in my bed, wondering if I could write to Dumbledore and get him to allow Harry and I to write our summer essays. I down around lunchtime and received a sharp glare from my aunt, so I decided to just sit outside in the sun like a garden snake.

Harry was out there looking quite bitter as he trimmed the flowers and such.

"Why are you so upset?" I asked, "I know you hate chores, but-"

"It's our birthday, and only Dudley remembers," Harry hissed angrily, "It's like my friends don't even-" He cut himself off abruptly, looking as if incredibly pained.

"Did you tell them our address?" I inquired.

"Of course, I did," Harry snapped irritably, "But they haven't sent anything."

I hummed softly. "You know, they have lives, too. Granger has probably been working on homework, and the Weasley family is supposedly always busy with one thing or another."

"They don't have the time to even write a single letter?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"Have you?" I asked despite knowing the answer. "Maybe they think you cut off contact with them."

"But I didn't!" Harry cried out as he almost cut the blooming part of a flower by accident.

"Harry, focus on your hands," I demanded, "You can multitask."

He huffed as he looked back down at the garden and continued doing his chores. Finally, he muttered, "I didn't, though…"

"Technically, you did. You just couldn't help it," I pointed out, "Sometimes, there are things out there that are out of our control. The Hedwig situation being one of them."

Harry frowned deeply, looking like he was getting ready to cry.

I sighed heavily before saying, "If your friends are truly your friends, I'm sure that you'll be seeing them soon. After all, Weasleys aren't known for following the usual trends."

He didn't look too convinced, but he did stop the teary eyes.

I eventually fell asleep, only for Harry to shake me awake some time close to six o'clock.

"Come on. Aunt Petunia was calling for you," Harry said nervously.

I hummed in acknowledgement before sitting up. "I'm not sunburned, am I?"

He gave a nervous smile. "I think you are…"

I sighed before just heading inside.

Petunia looked me over once before yelling at me loudly. She then sent me to the bathroom to wash my face off for some reason.

I was understandably confused as I made my way to the bathroom, only to find mud on my face. I deadpanned before I carefully washed myself up. I was then forced to clean the bathroom until it was spotless. I was also told to go to the bedroom, as I "clearly couldn't be trusted to keep clean." I was fine with that, as I got out of doing more chores. I was just relaxing in my bed when something moved in the room. I lazily looked toward Hedwig, only to see the bird looking down at the ground. I looked down toward the floorboards, only to see something crawling out from under the bed. I nearly screamed, but inevitably decided that silently observing the thing would benefit me better.

The creature looked up at me with big, green eyes. It stared for all of two seconds before standing up properly. It stood about three feet tall, with its large nose and even larger ears that were basically big and floppy like a bat's. It had long fingers and toes, and it also wore what appeared to be an old pillowcase. The creature suddenly bowed deeply to me, "Greetings-"

"What are you doing in my room?" I interrupted, knowing now the creature understood proper etiquette, at least somewhat.

The creature winced as it wrung its fingers together. "M-my deepest apologies, M-Mister Potter, but Dobby simply had to come."

"How do you know my name?" I demanded to know, "What was so pressing that you invaded the one sacred place I have in this muggle-infested world?"

"D-Dobby was looking f-for Harry Potter," the creature stuttered.

"For a personal reason, or at the behest of your master?" I demanded, knowing that the creature was likely some sort of servant if its awful rags were anything to go by.

"Erm…" The creature wrung its hands together again, looking increasingly worried. "Dobby supposes you would see it as personal, Mister Potter."

"Ah, then come again tomorrow," I demanded as I waved the creature off. "Harry would be glad to greet anyone on any day but today."

"It is very important-"

"Is it so important that you cannot wait another day?" I asked as I looked down at the creature sharply.

"It is," the creature said seriously.

I eyed the creature critically for a moment before huffing in annoyance upon seeing it not back off. "Will your master not notice your absence?"

"Oh, Dobby doubts that Master will notice," the creature said, making it clear that its name was Dobby.

"Dobby, what would happen to you if your Master knew you were coming here to give Harry Potter a message that only you find to be important?" I pressed.

Dobby shuddered violently as it wrung its hands together violently, giving me all the indicators that I needed.

I sat up and leaned over the creature. "Dobby, look me in the eyes."

Hesitantly, green eyes met mine before the creature squeaked in fear.

"I will warn you once and only once," I said darkly, "If I ever get word of who your master is, I will tell them of your disobedience. Of course, I could be kept silent if you simply came back tomorrow."

Dobby quivered. "D-Dobby has to warn Harry Potter-"

"Can you not pass the message on to me? Does it have to come directly from your mouth?" I questioned.

The creature, in reply, said, "Dobby has only heard that you are the next Dark Lord."

"And you believe my brother is the savior, yes?" I inferred before scoffing, "My brother would likely be dead if it wasn't for me, so I would be careful with your next words."

The small being shuddered again. "But yous hates your brother-"

"I do not hate him," I tutted, "Dislike, yes, but I do not hate."

"Why?" The creature asked boldly.

"Why?" I repeated as if it were the stupidest question in the world. "Dobby, my brother turned his back on me years ago, and I will not ever forgive him for that. He is one of two people who have given me a scar, and I will not tolerate those that do."

Dobby swallowed thickly. "H-Harry Potter hurt you?" He asked in an incredibly meek voice.

"He did," I confirmed, "He hurt me so bad that I bled."

Dobby looked shocked beyond words.

"Dobby, he is not a saint. He is a child. Do not put everything you have on a mere boy," I warned.

"But Dumbledore said-" The creature cut itself off.

"Said what?" I demanded, "Said that Harry would save the world, all because he has a scar? Do you know I have a matching scar?"

Dobby appeared to be shocked speechless, as was evident by how the creature opened and closed its mouth several times.

"Dumbledore is not what he appears," I stated, "And don't believe for a second that he is the Light that everyone needs. Even he has dwelled in darkness."

Dobby swallowed thickly before Petunia began to yell at my brother.

"Leave," I commanded.

"Dobby cannot let Harry Potter go to Hogwarts this year," the creature said shakily.

"Then get him expelled, you daft fool," I suggested, "Do not make me suffer because you are incompetent."

Dobby's big eyes welled up with tears.

I narrowed my red eyes sharply, having no tolerance for crying, especially not when the Masons could show up at any moment.

Harry rushed into the room and closed the door behind him before whirling around. He opened his mouth, only to pause upon seeing the creature. "Er-"

"Silence," I commanded, "Unless you want to get us both punished."

Harry shut his mouth as he eyed the creature carefully. He shuffled in place before hesitantly approaching his bed and taking a seat on it.

"H-Harry Potter," the creature squeaked as if in awe.

"Dobby, lower your voice," I demanded softly.

"D-Dobby has always wanted to meet you," the creature said in clear hero-worship as it stared at my brother.

Harry gave an awkward smile, clearly not knowing how to reply.

"Dobby, give you warning and leave," I hissed at it, hoping it'd just tell Harry to stay away from Hogwarts and leave.

"What are you?" Harry blurted out softly.

"A house elf, sir," Dobby stated.

Harry hummed before saying, "Not that I'm not pleased to - er - meet you, but now isn't the best of times."

"I told this thing already, but it insisted," I grumbled with annoyance.

"Dobby must warn you not to go to Hogwarts this year, sir," the house elf said quickly.

Harry's jaw dropped, clearly appalled by the gaul of the creature. "Not - not go to Hogwarts? But I have to. It's all I have. I belong there, not here."

"It'll be too dangerous!" Dobby exclaimed, and I hushed the creature quickly.

"Why?" Harry pressed.

"There is a plot, Harry Potter, a plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Dobby whispered, trembling suddenly as if the plot were that bad, "Dobby has known about it for months, sir. Harry Potter must not put himself in peril. He's too important-"

"What if he transfers to another school for a year?" I suggested, and Dobby paused, "Will that make you satisfied?"

Harry looked ready to object, but I shot him a warning look that caused his mouth to close just as quickly as it opened.

"Dobby supposes… as long as he isn't in Hogwarts," the creature said slowly.

I nodded. "Harry and I will discuss it further, as there are two other known schools in the area for wizards. Thank you for warning him. You may go back to your family now."

Dobby looked at Harry desperately, as if wanting to hear it from his mouth.

Harry gave a jerky nod. "Yeah, of course."

Dobby nodded back once before bowing deeply and disappearing with a loud crack.

Harry groaned miserably as he laid back in his bed. "What do I do now?"

"You're still going to Hogwarts, you fool," I said with a small scoff, "I just said that to make that blasted thing go away."

"Oh," Harry said before looking quite satisfied. "I didn't even think about that."

That's because you don't think things through, I thought with the utmost annoyance.

"What's a house elf?" Harry asked.

"I need to do research into them, but I believe them to be the equivalent of servants," I said honestly.

Harry hummed softly before staring at the ceiling. "What about that plot? What do you think is happening?"

I shrugged, not having any idea or care so long as it wouldn't affect my grades or myself.

"You don't think it's Voldemort, do you?" He questioned.

"I doubt that pathetic thing is going to come after you so soon, especially not considering it was so badly beaten by you last time," I stated.

"Oh, yeah." Harry sat up, looking at me carefully. "Ron said you came to help me."

"Actually, I got Snape to help you," I stated, "I have no doubts that you would have died had Quirrell been at least halfway competent."

"You didn't warn me," he said angrily.

"I told you to keep your nose out of things," I snapped at him, "And had you stayed out of things, Quirrell never would have gotten so close to the Philosopher's Stone with the Dark Lord."

"You could have said something-"

"Harry, in exchange for not blowing Quirrell's cover, I was left alive," I said honestly, "If you think for a moment that I wanted to die last year, you're wrong."

Harry shut his trap after that, looking somewhat guilty. He laid back down, seemingly contemplative on what I had just said.

Downstairs, dinner soon finished, and the Dursleys sent the Masons off.

I grinned to myself at how everything had gone successfully.

The next morning, the Dursleys looked quite pleased with themselves.

"Has your agreement been finalized?" I questioned after coming in from the backyard, where the owls had delivered the Daily Prophet at my request.

"Of course it has," Vernon replied with a scoff. "As if I could fail."

I hummed softly as I looked over the morning Daily Prophet. "Will we be going with you to Majorca, or will we be staying here?"

"As if I'll leave you and your brother here to burn the house down," Vernon snapped.

"Then I request that you allow us to take along our trunks," I said honestly.

Immediately, Vernon went red in the face. "Why would I ever agree to that?!"

I lowered my newspaper to look at the man sternly. "It will limit the time we have to pack up after the break. Surely, you don't want us here more than necessary."

"You don't have the money to stay elsewhere," Vernon said, looking at me suspiciously.

"Harry and I have made acquaintances, and we could always stay there," I stated, "Of course, that's only once we come back, of course. I wouldn't want to impede on your vacation."

"Why haven't they offered yet?" Vernon questioned.

"You haven't allowed Harry to send a letter by owl," I lied.

Vernon looked contemplative of that before finally saying, "That damn owl would stop making noise."

"You also wouldn't have to deal with Harry and I before Dudley goes off to Smeltings for another year of schooling," I pointed out.

Vernon looked thoroughly sold on the idea. "Very well, but I want an answer within a week."

"Of course, sir," I replied, knowing it would take less than a week with those Light-aligned wizards who were fond of their precious Boy-Who-Lived.

That's when Harry finally came down the stairs, stumbling as Dudley pushed him and laughed.

"Boy, get in here!" Vernon snapped, causing Harry to enter the kitchen while looking a bit annoyed. "Your brother and I were talking… How would you feel about staying at your acquaintance's house?"

"Which acquaintance?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Weasley, of course," I said as I flipped the page of my newspaper, scanning over the articles on the next page.

"But-"

"He'll let you use Hedwig to message them," I interrupted lazily.

Harry remained silent for a moment before nodding once, seemingly satisfied. "Okay."

"I'm reading over the letter you'll send," I said with a tone of finality. "I don't want you to come across as a blundering fool."

"I can write Ron just fine," Harry objected childishly.

"Harry, you'll be writing to his parents to ask for the privilege to stay over," I said with the utmost exasperation.

"Oh…" Harry grimaced a bit at the thought.

"Do you just want me to write for you?" I asked as I glanced at the boy.

"No," Harry denied, "I'll be fine."

I doubted that, but I didn't say anything.

"What about you?" Harry then asked.

"When Hedwig returns, I'll send a letter off to one of my acquaintances," I lied.

"That could wear her out," Harry grumbled while glaring at me in annoyance.

"Do you wish for me to join you at the Weasleys?" I asked rhetorically.

Harry was silent for just long enough to make his answer evident in my mind.

"Exactly," I said as if talking down to a child.

Harry huffed in annoyance before beginning to eat what Petunia had served him.

I finally folded up my newspaper, having briefly checked the stocks. I then ate my breakfast before straightening up. "Now, may I know what chores I must do today?"

Petunia ran me through a long list of chores, which I got started on right away. She also gave Harry his own chores and sent him off just after he finished his meager meal.

I quickly did all of my chores to perfection and headed back to the bedroom, where Harry was writing out a letter on a piece of lined paper with a pen. I raised an eyebrow before shrugging it off. "Let me read it."

"No," Harry said defiantly.

"It wasn't a question," I pointed out.

"Why do you have to read it?" Harry grumbled in annoyance.

"Just let me read the one you're sending to the parents. Write a different one for Ron if you care so much," I demanded as I held my hand out toward him.

After giving a withering glare, he handed over his letter.

I barely glanced at it before looking up at him with a blank expression. "This is to your friend."

"I was just going to ask him," Harry admitted as he continued to glare like the infernal child he was.

"Do you expect him to convince his parents that you should stay over without anything but a letter to him that fails to explain why you need to stay there in the first place?" I inquired.

Harry blinked once at me, a slow and reptilian blink that indicated he didn't know what I was talking about.

"Harry," I said with a heavy sigh as I sat down at the bed, "Do you expect Weasley's parents to just welcome you into their home for who knows how long without a good reason?"

"Er-" Harry cut himself off with a small flush. "W-well, it wouldn't even be that long-"

"How many mouths do the Weasleys feed?" I asked. "Do they have the money to sustain you for who knows how long?"

Harry paused before looking down at his hands guiltily. "Why would I stay there if they don't?"

"Do you think Granger's parents would let you stay over there with their daughter?" I questioned, causing Harry to flush deeply.

"W-we're just-"

"The answer is no," I said, "And I doubt I could go to a Slytherin acquaintance and have you stay with us."

Harry grimaced, clearly making it clear that he didn't want to even resort to that option.

"Harry, if we play our cards right, we could stay there for the rest of the summer instead of dealing with the Dursleys," I muttered to the boy, who looked at me with wide eyes. "Do you want to start the year off behind, or do you want to play it safe while possibly seeing your precious friends again?"

Harry clearly didn't even think about dealing with the Dursleys, as was evident by how he snatched back the paper and crumbled it into a ball. He then picked up another piece of lined paper and began to write a careful letter to the parents of Ronald Weasley. He gave it to me to proofread, and I corrected some of his spelling and grammar before giving it back to him. He rewrote the letter a third time and opened Hedwig's cage, which Vernon opened just after breakfast. He gave Hedwig the letter and sent the owl off while looking incredibly hopeful.

"By the way, did you finish your chores?" I inquired, causing the boy to pale before shooting off. I sighed as I laid back on the bed and got comfortable. Surely, I'd be free from the Dursleys soon…