The Horrible Summer and a House Elf
The ride home from Kings Cross was silent.
Vernon shoved Harry into the car along with all his school things when they got to the parking lot; with a warning of ‘not one word out of you boy’. Harry counted down the minutes until they will arrive at Privet Drive.
When they arrived, Vernon shoved Harry’s school trunk in the cupboard under the stairs. “There will be no magic of any kind while you’re in this house boy!” sneered the fat man, Harry clung onto Hedwig’s cage.
“But how will I be able to do my homework, Uncle Vernon?”
SMACK
“ Be grateful that I’m letting you keep that blasted owl with you in Dudley’s second room”, sneered Vernon. Harry knew better than to protest as he quietly walked up the stairs to the spare room.
Dudley and Petunia came home around five ‘o’clock.
Harry flinched as he heard Dudley howl “ Why does the freak get my game room?!”
He tuned out his aunt’s and uncle’s consoling and explanation of why he had to have this room. One thing for certain he wasn’t getting any dinner tonight.
Over the next few weeks, Harry received a mountain's worth of chores with expectations of everything done perfectly and on time. If he didn’t, he was punished. Mainly by not being fed; he even had to ration out Hedwig’s travel food because she wasn’t allowed out to hunt. It also didn’t help that Dudley kept sabotaging his work; he even used some made-up words to scare Dudley, which he stopped after Vernon gave him a beating for ‘using’ magic around his son.
What hurt the most was that he didn’t receive any letters from his friends. They promised to write but none came.
He was working in the garden tending Petunia’s prized rose bush when she came out and told him to come inside.
“Tonight is a very important night for Vernon. A client is coming for dinner, you will make a roast and the pudding for dessert. I laid out the recipes on the kitchen counter. I’m going to the salon, and I expect everything to be perfect” she ordered.
As soon as she left Harry looked over the recipes; opened the fridge, thankfully Aunt Petunia went to the grocers, and got all the things needed for the roast. He cleaned, peeled, and chopped the veggies; laying them down in the roast pot. Then he primed the meat and placed that in the pot as well. Waiting for the oven to heat up he cleaned the counter to begin working on the dessert. Placing the roast in the oven and setting the timer he got to work on one of the most difficult puddings he ever made in his life.
Three hours later Harry set the table, made sure to use the fine china. He cleaned the kitchen, the dining room, and the living room and entryway. Petunia came home as soon as the roast was done and the pudding was in the freezer chilling; waiting to be decorated.
Vernon and Dudley came back getting their suits; all three Dursleys were all dressed up and going over the plan for tonight. When Vernon got to Harry, “ And, you boy?” mockingly.
“ I’ll be in my room, making no noise, because I don’t exist.” He replied an answer he always gives whenever the Dursleys entertained (who don’t know about Harry; those who do believe he’s either ill or socially inept).
“That’s right,” Vernon grinned, “ now off with you, Petunia graciously made you a sandwich and it’s on the counter. I want to see you out of here in no less than a minute”
Harry took off to the kitchen; they're on the counter was indeed a cheese sandwich. He sighed and took the plate upstairs. Vernon opened the door and greeted his guests. He just closed the door only to see a bald creature bouncing on his bed.
“ Who are you? He whispers as the creature hopped off the bed.
“I is Dobby, sirs” it squeaked, looking up at him with tennis-ball-sized eyes
“ Well, nice to meet you Dobby, but now is not the to be having a …” he looks over the small person in front of him.
“Dobby is a house-elf. And is honored to meet the great Harry Potter, sir.” The house-elf replied.
“Right, well. Dobby, I’m not sure if this is the best time to be having a house-elf in my room.”
“ Oh, yes, sirs. Dobby understands. Dobby has come to tell you that you … It is difficult…” the elf stutters clearly struggling to get the last part out. “ Dobby wonders where to begin.”
“ Why don’t you sit down” Harry invited. That’s when the strange house-elf flew himself onto the floor crying. Startling the wizard. “Shhhhh, Are you okay? I didn’t mean to offend…” He asks. The house-elf takes a few deep breaths.
“ Offend Dobby? No sirs, Dobby is just surprised, Dobby has heard of Harry Potter’s greatness. But never has he's been asked to sit down by a wizard. Like an equal” the elf states.
“Well, why wouldn’t I?” Harry replies. “ You must have not met many nice wizards then”
“No, I’ve haven’ts.” The elf’s wide eyes got even wider, gasps, as he threw himself against the desk banging his head as hard as he could “Bad. Bad Dobby. Very Bad Dobby”
Harry freaking out because the elf was being really loud. “ Dobby. Stop! Please”. The elf turns around, “ Dobby, is sorry sirs. Dobby almost spoke ill of his master. So Dobby must punish himself” blowing his nose.
“ If Master, finds out… but Dobby had to come. Dobby needs to protect Harry Potter. “ The elf stated. Harry stares perplexed, “ Protect me”
“ Yes, Harry Potter is in grave danger. Harry Potter must not return to Hogwarts this year. A plot is planned to make terrible evil things happen.”
“ What things, whose plotting them?” questions the wizard. Dobby froze, grabbed the lamp, and starts hitting his head with it while loudly berating himself.
Harry tries with all his might to calm the elf down. When he hears thunderous footsteps up the stairs. Panicking, he grabs Dobby and throws him into the wardrobe. And just manages to close the door as Uncle Vernon barges in purple-faced and grabs the small boy by the collar and throws him over to the bed; so hard that Harry's head bounces hard against the wall.
“ WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING UP HERE BOY?! YOU’VE JUST RUINED THE PUNCH LINE OF MY JAPANESE GOLFER JOKE!”
“ I’m sorry” Harry tries to apologize.
“One more word out of you and you will Wish you’ve Never been Born! DO.YOU.UNDERSTAND.ME?” the man threatens, giving Harry a hard cuff on the ear before storming out and locking the locks behind him.
After a few moments, the door opened to the wardrobe, and Dobby stumbles out. “See why I have to go back” Harry explains,“ I don’t belong here. Besides my friends are there…”
“Friends who don’t write to Harry Potter, hmmm” interjects Dobby.
“Well, I… Hang on How do you know that my friends haven’t been writing me?”
The elf laughs nervously, and takes out a stack of mail, “ Dobby thoughts that if Harry Potter thought his friend didn’t care about him. He wouldn’t go back to school.”
“So that gave you the right to stop my mail?” the boy's temper rising.
“ Dobby feels most aggrieved, but Harry Potter must promise not to go back”
“No, Dobby give me my letters”
“No!” yells the elf and opens the locked door and rushes into the hallway. Harry’s heart fell into his stomach and runs after him. He reaches downstairs and sees the elf in the kitchen, looking at the desert pudding Harry slaved over early that afternoon. Oh no, no no no. Harry thought. Dobby looked at the desert and at the Dursleys’ with the guests. A smile came on his face. “Dobby, please” the boy pleads. The elf snaps his fingers and the pudding starts levitating. “ Harry Potter must promise not to return to school.” The elf says coolly.
“I can’t… I” said the boy voice wavering, trying to reason with the elf.
“Then Dobby must make sure Harry doesn’t go back” and snapped his fingers, and the pudding started to hover towards the guests. Harry panicking tries to reach out to the pudding before it suddenly fell right onto the wife of the Grunnings Sales CEO. Several things happened at once. Vernon looked murderous, blatantly gave an excuse to the guest that Harry was mentally incompetent. Harry looked to the kitchen and say Dobby disappear with a crack.
The guest left right away, with Vernon apologizing repeatedly and closing the door. An unsettling calm falls on the man as he turns to the boy. And in a dangerously calm voice, “ Would you like to care to explain what happened tonight, Boy?”
“ Uncle Vernon, it wasn’t me… I swear..” Harry stammers, trying to back up in an attempt to escape. Then there was a crack and an envelope appeared addressed to Harry.
“ Well, what is it boy?” questions the walrus of a man, Harry trembles.
“It’s from the Ministry of Magic. “ Stammers the boy wizard. And suddenly the letter starts to open itself. And a woman’s voice spoke. “ Mr. Harry Potter, today at 8:45 pm, a Hover Charm, and Locomotive charm was detected at your place of residence. Please note that students are forbidden to practice magic outside of school. Also performing magic in front of Muggles goes against the Statute of Secrecy. This is your final warning. Mathalda Hopkins, Misuse of Magic Office, Ministry of Magic”.
Harry stood there shaking. The look on Uncle Vernon’s face was between triumph and murderous glee. “ So you were saying, boy?”
Harry stood there on the landing by the stairs now pale as a ghost, gulped.