Bad Romance

Chapter 136

Dependent and more...more that was worse but she didn't have the proper words at present to define what she was coming to see as a horror.

"Harold doesn't seem to mind," Rodolphus observed. "He enjoys living here and working for us. His job is easy, and we treat him well."

"But they're so much more powerful," Bellatrix said with an exasperated shake of her head. "How can they not feel we should be serving them instead, especially now that so many of them are free?"

"Because, to be honest, wizards would make dreadful servants. As Miss Bella has already pointed out, we do everything better, so why have inferior servants?" Harold spoke from the doorway, having returned without them noticing.

"Fine, but why lower yourselves to serve us," she replied.

Harold chuckled. "Well, as you are aware, for centuries we did not choose. Now though, it is what most of us know, and if the situation is an easy one, we prefer it. Harold, for example, has plenty of time for his own pursuits and does not mind keeping the Lestrange manor in good condition.

"He likes the Lestranges and considers them family so he does not mind making good food for them to enjoy and generally looking after them. He enjoys living here in exchange, and he has few wants that cost him money. If his tastes ever change, the Lestranges pay him well enough that he can afford anything he may want. So why would he wish to be anywhere else?"

"So you've got it easy, but what of the others?"

"Harold cannot answer for those others who wish to be free. Harold is free, but he has no interest in fighting, save to defend himself and his family. He does not wish to be an Auror or work at the bank. Neither activity interests him."

"But keeping house does? That's more interesting," she asked, unsure.

"Bella, are you trying to bloody drive him away?" Rod laughed, and Bella shook her head.

"Of course not. I am simply attempting to understand."

"Keeping house is not particularly interesting, but it is quick, leaving Harold time to do whatever he likes with most of his day," the elf reasoned.

"What do you like other than reading," Bellatrix asked, genuinely curious.

"Harold likes to cast charms on things. He also likes to watch the trees grow, and he likes to see the patterns the leaves make when the wind blows them. Harold considers nature the best artist there is, and he loves to study the art of nature."

"Nature as art...that's poetic and quite nice," Bella murmured. "What do you like to put charms on?" Finally she was getting to know a bit more of Harold. The elf was always polite and genuinely seemed to care for them, but he was never forthcoming when it came to himself.

"Harold likes to put charms on anything that could benefit from them. He placed anti-rust charms on anything metal in the manor including the family jewelry, for instance. He put anti-tear charms on all the fabric from clothing to curtains to the furniture upholstery. He likes the shape of charms."

"Thank you...for the charms you placed on our things," Bellatrix said, feeling oddly embarrassed for not thanking him earlier. She hardly could have, though, as she didn't know he'd placed them until now.

"Blaise and Gellert asked Kreacher to work with them on enchanted items years back because they were interested in elf magic and wished to combine it with wizard magic for enchantments," Bellatrix said. "I wasn't sure if you knew. Kreacher began doing this before Regi finally turned him into a vampire. Now due to the schedule differences, I hear the three have a more difficult time working together, though they still make it happen. I'm sure Kreacher wouldn't mind if you would like to work with Blaise and Gellert as well. You'd make a ton of money, and they are two of the most brilliant wizarding enchanters to have ever lived, but don't tell them I said so."

Harold shrugged. "Harold will keep it in mind. Though he did not mind helping Mr. Rabastan with his blasting rods, he is not so certain he would enjoy working with others in general. Honestly, he had a look around the shop when the Lestranges were there, and he wasn't very impressed." He chuckled. "If Miss Bella does not tell them that, Harold will not tell them that she complimented their skills."

Bellatrix laughed, loving the mad irony of their extreme views and the want to keep both secret. "You've got yourself a deal."

She'd noticed that Harold hadn't seemed very impressed with the shop at the time, but assumed that perhaps she'd read him wrong, or he was simply having an off day. She'd then promptly forgotten about it. For, what had felt like forever, there had always been some rubbish stressful thing happening that required their mental attention in some form or another and constantly drew her mind away from that thought.

"Were you unimpressed because you feel you could do better," Bellatrix asked. "If so, I want to open a shop with you!"

"For real," Rodolphus murmured with a grin.

"Count me in," Rabastan said before slurping the rest of his drink and setting the empty glass down.

"Oh, not necessarily," Harold said. "Harold has had no particular ideas of his own... He simply wasn't especially impressed with theirs either."

Bella didn't need to see his face under the plague doctor mask to hear the amused smile in his dry tone. "Fair enough," she chuckled. "And honest. I like that."

"Yeah... We're kinda honored that you consider us family and shit," Rabastan said awkwardly.

Harold placed a hand on his own heart as he nodded. "As Harold is honored that the Lestranges consider him family. With that said, he wishes to live in his family's home and attend to it as he sees fit without being pressured to do other things with himself simply because other elves are. It's Harold's life, and he is living it as he likes for once.

"He never believed, or even imagined, that he would have that option until the Lestranges rescued him. He does not wish for them to think he looks after them out of gratitude. Perhaps at first he felt safe with them and had nowhere else to go, but this was only the case because they were kind to him. Now he would not wish to go elsewhere."

"Did we make you feel that you should be doing more," Bellatrix asked, dismay creeping into her stomach.

"No, but just in case any of the Lestranges feel the need to do so, Harold wishes them to know that he is doing just as he wishes already and requires nothing more."

"Good," Rodolphus said firmly. "We'd be lost without you. Were you to leave, I am quite certain that I would cry." He spoke with an entirely serious expression, leaning forward in his chair to meet Harold's gaze through the goggles of the plague mask. "If you do ever decide to do anything extra with your spare time, though, know that you always have a home here."

Harold nodded, the awkward jerk of his head indicating his rising discomfort with the sentimental turn the conversation had taken.

"Want a drink?" Rabastan offered. "With Delphini gone, we don't have to fucking constantly be on guard all the time!"