Aurora Rosier & the Year of the Snake

The Delivery

The sound of the manor door unlocking again made the hackles stand on the back of the dog's neck. It growled, prowling back to its hiding place, never taking its eyes from the small girl in front of the door.

To the dog's surprise, neither Lucius nor Narcissa appeared. Instead, a small creature peered timidly out from beyond the double doors, its bulging eyes darting around nervously. Once it spotted the child bundled on the floor, it let out a shrill squeak.

From many reconnaissance missions to Malfoy Manor, the dog recognized the house elf immediately. Dobby had always been loyal and quiet, if not permanently hunched in anticipation of being punished. So what surprised him most was that instead of bringing the child immediately inside, the house elf shut the door gently behind him and let out a guttural moan, bashing his head against the marble pillar nearest the front steps.

After a few seconds of this, Dobby glanced back at the sleeping child, as if to confirm that she was truly there. He bundled her up stiffly, an already difficult task considering she was almost half his size, and began the long trek down the drive of the manor.

The dog followed, intrigued, making sure to keep close to the shadows until the house elf reached the gate. Dobby rushed beyond and made to drop the child into the deserted street, abruptly stopping himself before his arms could release and instead, he dropped to the floor with the child in his lap. He slammed a balled-up fist against his forehead and began to wail once more.

The dog watched for another moment before making a split-second decision, one that he hoped he wouldn't come to regret. Still, under the cover of the bushes, he transformed, emerging now as the lanky twenty-one-year-old Sirius Black. He pulled the collar of his jacket up around his face and shook out his already dripping, stringy hair, hoping that the tangled strands would do enough to hide his face from immediate recognition. Granted, he had never met his cousin's house elf (he hadn't had the pleasure of actually being invited inside the manor since his youth), but he didn't want to leave any room for error.

Sirius stuck his hands deep in his pockets and, as casually as possible, as if he always enjoyed long strolls down empty Wiltshire streets in the rain, passed by the front of the manor. The elf was wheezing, on his knees now, and he scrambled back to his feet at the sight of the man.

"Here sir, please, she can't stay," the house elf panted out, exhausted from carrying the child and beating his forehead raw. He tried desperately to force the child into Sirius' arms, his long fingers clawing onto the hem of his leather jacket. "Can't stay here...Dobby won't let her, no sir, won't allow it at all..."

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, taken by surprise at how the elf was handing over a child to a stranger without any hesitation. "Who is she?"

"Won't let things go this way, no sir, Dobby won't..." Dobby pushed the child towards Sirius more forcefully. "Dobby must protect...keep her safe, can't stay here, won't be safe..."

He would've let the girl drop to the floor if Sirius hadn't swept her into his arms in time. He stiffened, immediately taken aback at how unnatural it felt to be holding a child. He had never been good with them. His thoughts raced back to watching Narcissa night after night, how gracefully she worked to calm her son as he screamed through the night. He loved children, he really did, but more when they were old enough for the rough-and-tumble activities. His blood boiled, hating the weakness he felt, like no matter what he did, he could never fully protect the fragile life in his arms. He watched as her head lolled to the side, a deep stuttering breath her only reaction to being tossed around. Definitely under a sleeping potion, he thought. That eased his fears a bit.

"Why wouldn't she be safe?" Sirius hoisted the child higher in one arm, reaching to grab the house elf with the other.

But Dobby was faster. He ducked away, his face gravely still and his eyes never leaving Sirus'. Still mumbling to himself, the house elf snapped his fingers and vanished. The gates of Malfoy Manor were closed once again, leaving Sirius shell-shocked and alone on the road, a baby he had never seen before still fast asleep in his arms.