Dobby
Sirius tilted his head, confused. Why would a house elf come here? Unless... A small, hopeful part of Sirius hoped that the house elf belonged to Draco. That the boy had sent him with an apology, or at least an explanation as to why he hadn't written.
Harry and the house elf stared at each other for a couple minutes until the silence was finally broken by Dudley's voice coming up from the hall. "May I take your coats Mr. and Mrs. Mason?"
The elf jumped off the bed and bowed low enough that its nose brushed the ground.
Sirius nudged Harry. Harry swallowed, "Er- hello."
"Harry Potter!" Harry jumped slightly and glanced nervously at the door. The elf was loud. "So long has Dobby wanted to meet you, sir... Such an honor it is."
"Th-thank you." Harry slid into his desk chair and scratched Sirius's ears. "Um, who are you?"
"Dobby, sir. Dobby the house elf."
Harry nodded slowly and looked down at Sirius, who rolled his eyes before walking over and sniffing at Dobby. The house elf stared at him with wide eyes.
"Oh, um. Shadow's just making sure that you're, um, nice? That you aren't here to hurt any... thing."
"Dobby would never!" Dobby gasped.
Petunia's high false laugh sounded from the living room.
"Dobby, I'm really sorry, but now's not- it's not the best time." Harry said weakly.
Dobby hung his head.
Harry chewed his lower lip, "I-it's not that I'm not pleased to meet you, but, uh, why did you come?"
"Dobby has come to tell you, sir... it is difficult, sir... Dobby wonders where to begin."
"Oh, uh. Why don't you sit down?" Harry offered. The elf's eyes widened again and he burst into very noisy tears. Sirius jumped on him, growling softly. Dobby stopped crying and whimpered softly instead.
"Shadow!" Harry hissed, "Get off him."
Sirius huffed and jumped off, returning to Harry's side.
"I'm sorry, Dobby. It's just that, it's really important that we're quiet. I didn't mean to offend you or anything."
"Offend Dobby!" he choked, "Dobby has never been asked to sit down by a wizard- like an equal-"
Harry smiled a little, trying to cheer the elf up, "You can't have met many decent wizards then."
Dobby shook his head, then jumped up and started slamming his head on the window, "Bad Dobby!"
Sirius leapt forward and dragged the elf back to the bed while Harry whispered, "Dobby, quiet please!"
"Dobby is sorry, sir. He had to punish himself." he said, slightly cross-eyed, "Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, sir."
"Your family?" Harry frowned. Sirius leaned forward a little, silently hoping that Dobby would say the name of his family. Kreacher had always been proud to serve the "ancient and noble House of Black." He'd told anyone who asked. Then again, Dobby didn't seem much like Kreacher.
"The wizard family Dobby serves, sir... Dobby is a house elf- bound to serve one house and one family forever..."
Sirius sighed. Apparently Dobby wasn't as thrilled about the family he served as Kreacher was.
"Do they know you're here?" Harry asked.
Dobby shuddered. "Oh, no, sir, no... Dobby will have to punish himself most grievously for coming to see you, sir. Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven door for this. If they ever knew-"
"But won't they notice? If you shut your ears in the oven door, I mean."
"Dobby doubts it, sir. Dobby is always having to punish himself for something, sir. They lets Dobby get on with it. Sometimes they remind Dobby to do extra punishments..."
"Then, why don't you leave? Escape?"
"A house elf must be set free, sir. And the family will never set Dobby free... Dobby will serve the family until he dies, sir..."
Sirius wanted to shake the elf and scream 'What family!" He needed to know.
"That makes the Dursleys sound almost human." Harry leaned forward a little, clearly concerned, "Is there anything I could do to help?"
Dobby dissolved into wails of gratitude. Sirius jumped on him again while Harry started whispering frantically.
"Please, please be quiet. If the Dursleys hear anything, if they know you're here-"
Dobby had gotten a little quieter with Sirius sitting on him, but still sobbed, "Harry Potter asks if he can help Dobby... Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, but of your goodness Dobby never knew..."
Harry blushed, "Whatever you've heard about my greatness is a load of rubbish. I can barely get through a conversation with someone knew without Shadow around. I'm not even top of my year at Hogwarts; that's Hermione, she-"
He cut himself off. Sirius whined softly, he knew it was painful, thinking about the friends he'd made last year.
"Harry Potter is humble and modest," Dobby insisted. He hadn't even tried to get out from under Sirius yet. "Harry Potter speaks not of his triumph over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named--"
"Voldemort." Harry corrected.
Dobby let his head drop onto the floor and clapped his hands over his ears, "Speak not the name, sir! Speak not the name!" Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Sorry," Harry said quickly, "Shadow, you can let him up now."
Sirius huffed and got up. Dobby jumped to his feet and leaned toward Harry, "Dobby heard tell that Harry Potter met the Dark Lord for a second time, just weeks ago... that Harry Potter escaped yet again."
Harry nodded, Dobby looked about ready to start crying again. He dabbed his eyes with a corner of the pillowcase he was wearing. "Harry Potter is valiant and bold. He has faced so many dangers already. But Dobby has come to protect Harry Potter. To warn him, even if he does have to shut his ears in the oven door later... Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts."
"W-what?" Harry sank from his chair to the floor, his arm sliding around Sirius. "I have to go back. I-it's all that's keeping me going. I c-can't stay here. I d-don't belong here. E-even if they a-aren't-"
Harry's other arm wrapped around Sirius, hugging him tight. Sirius rested his head on Harry's shoulder, worried. What had he meant, 'it's all that keeping me going'? Harry wasn't suicidal, right? He probably meant, 'all that's keeping me here'. That was it. Sirius was just worrying too much. Probably.
Dobby was shaking his head, "Harry Potter must stay where he is safe. He is too great, too good, to lose. If Harry Potter goes back to Hogwarts, he will be in mortal danger."
The urge to grab the elf and shake him came back in full force. He was sure Harry appreciated the compliments, but Sirius would appreciate it a lot more if Dobby stopped dancing around the subject and just told him who was endangering his godson!
Harry looked up, "Why?"
"There is a plot." Dobby answered, "A plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts this year. Dobby has known it for months, sir. Harry Potter must not put himself in peril. He is too important, sir."
"'M not that important." The boy mumbled. He cleared his throat slightly, "What things? Who's plotting them?"
Dobby made an odd choking noise and moved toward the wall Sirius jumped in the way and snarled at the thing. /Just tell us, damn it!/
"You can't tell me. Got it." Harry sighed, "But why are you warning me? Please tell me this hasn't got anything to do with Vol- er- You-Know-Who? Just shake or nod."
Slowly, Dobby shook his head.
"He hasn't got a brother, has he?"
Sirius snorted. Dobby shook his head again.
"Look, I don't feel much like guessing at the moment. Can you tell me anything without banging your head on the wall?"
Dobby flinched slightly. "Dobby is sorry, sir. But it is most important that Harry Potter not return to school."
Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I have to go back, Dobby. It's the only place I've got- or at least I thought I had- friends."
"Friends who do not even write to Harry Potter?"
Sirius started growling again. Had the house elf been stealing Harry's letters?
Harry's eyes went from Dobby to Sirius and back. "How did you know they haven't been writing?"
Dobby shuffled his feet, "Harry Potter mustn't be angry with Dobby. Dobby did it for the best."
Sirius's growling go louder. For the best? Dobby didn't have a clue! He had no idea how many nights Sirius had spent comforting Harry because he thought his only friends didn't care about him anymore. That stupid elf had caused so many anxiety attacks, so much heartbreak, and he had the gall to say it was for the best! It took all of Sirius's self control not to tear the damned elf's throat out then and there.
"You're the reason... You took my letters!"
"Dobby has them here, sir." Dobby jumped as far from both Harry and Sirius as he could manage and took out a thick wad of letters. "Harry Potter mustn't be angry... Dobby hoped... if Harry Potter thought his friends had forgotten him... Harry Potter might not want to go back to school, sir..."
Harry made a grab for the letters, Dobby dodged him, but forgot about Sirius. Sirius grabbed the letters and growled again. Dobby yelped and tried to pull them away. Sirius held on for another minute before letting go and tackling him instead.
"Give me my letters, and I'll have Shadow let you go." Harry said, holding a hand out.
"Dobby will give them back if Harry Potter gives his word, that he won't go back to Hogwarts." Dobby answered.
Sirius put his teeth on Dobby's throat. Dobby gulped and handed Harry the letters.
"Shadow, off." Reluctantly, Sirius released him.
"Dobby is sorry, sir, But Harry Potter left him no choice." Dobby pulled the door open and ran out.
"Shadow, hide these!" Harry tossed him the letters and ran after Dobby. Sirius sighed, hid the letters under a loose floorboard, and trotted after Harry.
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Had the situation been different Sirius would have laughed his head off. As a Marauder he could recognize that dropping a massive pudding on someone's head was a funny, if amateur, prank. However, when said pudding was made by terrible relatives and dropped a house guest of those terrible relatives, it wasn't such a great idea. Especially when you got caught. Even if you hadn't been the one to drop the pudding.
Now, Harry, Sirius, and Hedwig were all locked in Harry's room. Harry and Sirius were let out once in the morning and once in the evening to use the bathroom and that was it. Thanks to Dobby's brilliant plan to "protect" Harry, not only had he been locked in his room, but he'd also received a letter from the Improper Use of Magic Office in the Ministry, warning him about using magic around Muggles. Which meant the Dursleys now knew Harry couldn't use magic. Hence the locks on Harry's door going from the top of the door to the floor and the bars on his window. A cat flap had been installed so they could slid meals in. /Thanks Dobby, he's real safe now./
The only good thing about everything was that Sirius could stay in human form most of the day. He and Harry read the letters his friends had sent. Harry was pleased that they hadn't forgotten him after all. Ron, Hermione, the twins, Draco, Lee, even Hagrid had written him at various times over the summer. They also talked about Harry's parents. Sirius was more than happy to share stories from when the Marauders had ruled over Hogwarts. He tried to stick to the lighter stories, ones that didn't have much to do with the war.
"Do you think they'll send someone?" It had been three days and they'd had 'dinner' (read stone cold soup and a handful of kibble).
"Who?" Sirius asked absently. He was trying to manually pick the lock on Hedwig's cage with one of Petunia's bobby pins, which he'd stolen during their last bathroom break. He was really out of practice.
"Hogwarts. Do you think they'll send someone when I don't come back."
Sirius hummed, he almost had it, "I wouldn't count out going back just yet, pup. Your friends are stubborn, and as much as I've disliked Malfoys in the past, they do have quite a bit of sway in the Ministry. No way will Draco let you rot here. That is, if Fred and George don't come get you first. Never give up on a prankster, Harry. We are a very loyal bunch." Peter popped into Sirius's mind, "Uh, most of us, anyway."
"You know, eventually you're going to have to tell me whatever you're thinking of when you do that."
"Do what?"
Harry rolled his eyes, "You know, you'll say something, then get this weird look and correct yourself."
Sirius dropped the bobby pin, he gave up. He'd try again tomorrow. "I said I'd tell you everything, didn't I? I'll tell you about that too, just, not now. Okay?"
Harry smiled at him, "Okay. I'm tired," Harry held out both hands. Sirius smiled back and dropped next to the boy. He kissed Harry's forehead and shifted into his Animagus form. It was warmer that way. "Goodnight."
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Sirius was woken in the middle of the night by the sound of something rattling the bars on Harry's window. He slipped out of Harry's arms and looked out to see what it was, staying in dog form, just in case.
"Hey, Shadow." Ron Weasley grinned at him. "Can you get Harry for us boy?"
"I doubt that's a command he knows, Ron." Fred hissed.
"Just hurry up. Harry needs to be ready to go before we can get the bars off." George said. "We'll get caught otherwise."
Ron rolled his eyes and reached out to shake the bars again. Sirius ran over to Harry and nosed him awake.
"What is it?" Harry yawned. He froze when he saw who was in the window. "Ron? Fred? George? I don't- how?"
"Tell you later." Ron answered, "Grab your things, hurry. We're breaking you out."