It had been a quiet summer evening in the Dursley household. They were expecting guest and Harry and I were being made to stay upstairs. We didn't mind so much, but after a long summer without a single letter from our friends. We'd begun to wonder if maybe we'd imagined the entire year last year. The only thing keeping our hopes up, were the fact that we had a cage with our two snowy white owls inside it. Hedwig, white with black speckles and Arwen, with silver speckles. Our wands, and our trunks that were pushed under each of our beds.
Harry and I sat at our shared desk in our shared bedroom, that was much better than our previous cupboard under the stairs. At least we each had our own twin bed to lay on. But anyway, we sat at the desk looking through the wonderful photo album our giant friend Hagrid gave us at the end of last year. The pictures were wonderful and best of all they moved. Harry flipped the book to the first page. The picture was of the two of us a toddlers with our parents. Holding hands and waving at the camera. I flipped the page and sadness overflowed as I looked longingly at the picture of us and our very best friends. Smiling and laughing.
Boy, I really missed Ron and Hermione. Harry and I had grown quite a bit over the summer. We weren't the scrawny homeless looking kids anymore. Harry was a bit taller, still had his circular glasses, his hair was still just as unruly as ever. I was taller too, and my strawberry colored hair started to darken at the roots, just like my mother's. Ever since we had gotten home from school, Harry picked on me constantly. Saying I had a crush on Ron and all that. I always denied him though, because it was true. I was too young to have a crush. And I quite honestly wasn't sure what I felt for Ron. I knew for sure he was my best friend in the entire world, right next to Hermione Granger. Someone I could count on to always be there for me no matter what.
As I was lost in thought, and Harry was gazing at the photo album. Our owls chirped. Arwen placed her beck on the bars and shook the cage loudly. That snapped me out of it and we both turned around.
"We can't let you out, Arwen. Or you Hedwig." I scolded our birds slightly as it wasn't really their fault. I stood up and tried my best to comfort them threw the cage, only for Arwen to nip my finger. "Ouch." I hissed and placed my finger to my mouth.
"She's right." Harry reminded them. "We're not allowed to do magic outside of school."
But the birds didn't stop tugging at the door telling us they wanted out.
"If you two don't stop it, Uncle Vernon will hear you and we'll get in big trouble." I scolded them again.
"Harry and Olivia Potter!" Uncle Vernon's voice boomed from downstairs as the cage rattled louder. Harry and I cringed.
"Now you two have done it." Harry scolded them on his way by to our door.
We took a deep breath and quietly made our way down the stairs, past our old cupboard and into the kitchen. Aunt Petunia was humming happily to herself as she placed the finishing touches on her cake for their dinner party tonight. She was wearing a fancier dress than normal, apparently some business people from Uncle Vernon's work were coming. It was very important.
"He's in there." Aunt Petunia said quietly, hardly paying us any notice. "Vernon."
Harry and I walked through the door and into the living room. Uncle Vernon and Dudley were standing in the middle of the room as he worked on Dudley's bow tie. Both of them were wearing fancy suits.
"I'm warning the both of you now. If you can't control those bloody birds, they'll have to go." Uncle Vernon warned.
"But they're bored." Harry defended our pets. "If we could only let them out for an hour or two..."
"Ha, so you can send secret messages to your freaky little friends? No, sir." He scoffed.
"We haven't had a single message from any of our friends, all summer. Not one." I huffed sadly.
"Who'd want to be friend's with the two of you?" Dudley scoffed as he shoulder checked the both of us on his way by. Choosing to go between us instead of around us. I growled and rubbed my arm.
"I should think you'd both be a little more grateful. We've raised you since you were babies, given you the food off our table, even let you take and share Dudley's second bedroom, purely out of the goodness of our hearts." Uncle Vernon threw in our face like he'd done all summer.
"Not now, bobkins." Aunt Petunia slapped Dudley's hand away from her freshly finished cake. "It's for when the Mason's arrive."
"Which should be any minute!" Uncle Vernon said and summoned the other two into the living room. "Ahem, now, let's go over our schedule again, shall we? Petunia, when the Mason's arrive, you'll be?"
"In the lounge. Waiting to welcome them graciously into our home." Aunt Petunia put on a fake show and I rolled my eyes.
"Good." Uncle Vernon commended her. "And Dudley? You will be?"
"I'll be waiting to open the door." He tried speaking in what seemed to be a fancier voice, propping himself to stand up straighter. Now Harry rolled his eyes. The both of us had become quite sassy and rebellious this summer...
"Excellent!" Uncle Vernon now eye'd Harry and I. Walking over to us in an intimidating manner. He stood up tall, basically trying to hover his rounder self over us. Aunt Petunia and Dudley joined his glare session. "And you two?" He said in a low disgusted tone.
"Who us?" I asked as if I was shocked. Harry pinched my side gently, scolding me for speaking out, but i could see he was trying not to laugh.
"Would you like to miss a weeks worth of meals?" Uncle Vernon threatened.
"Fine. We'll be upstairs in our room." I stated.
"Yeah, making no noise and pretending we don't exist." Harry sassed, only Uncle Vernon didn't catch on.
"Too right, you will. With any luck, this could well be the day I make the biggest deal of my career, and you two, will not mess it up!" He hissed. Giving Harry and I a stern look.
We began to head up the stairs just as the house doorbell rang. We walked through the bit of hallway, and heard something curious coming from our room.
"Harry... What is that?" I whispered.
"I don't know." He frowned.
Quietly he placed his hand on the door handle and quickly we burst into our room. There was a strange sort of laughing that filled the air. We very quickly discovered it was coming from a creature of sorts, bouncing between our beds. Having the time of his little life. Our jaws dropped and I studied the creature carefully. He had big pointy ears, big green eyes, a ratty old cloth for clothing on his tiny body, and a rather long nose. He must have been some kind of elf.
As soon as he noticed us he stopped bouncing and laughing. He smiled from ear to ear and face towards us.
"Harry and Olivia Potter, such an honor it is." He bowed slightly as he spoke.
Harry quickly shut our bedroom door, pushing it shut quietly so we wouldn't get in trouble. I stepped forward very interested in the little creature who was now on my bed.
"Uhm, excuse me, but who are you?" I asked politely.
"Dobby, madam. Dobby, the house-elf." He smiled. I smiled back and stuck out my hand. He seemed surprised but still shook it nonetheless.
Harry quickly walked over and stood next to me.
"Not to be rude or anything, but this isn't a great time for us to have a house-elf in our bedroom." Harry emphasized the urgency in his voice and gave me a scolding look.
I looked back at him sheepishly. What can I say? I find magical creatures fascinating and not to mention the fact that we hadn't had anything magical happen to us at home since last year when we were first visited by Hagrid.
"Oh, oh. Yes, sir. Dobby understands. It's just that Dobby has come to tell you... It is difficult, sir, madam. Dobby wonders where to begin?"
"Well, why don't you sit down and maybe we can help you?" I suggested as I took a seat next to him on my bed.
"S-sit down? S-sit down?" The poor elf began to cry and sob, very loudly I might add. He jumped off from my bed onto the floor. My eyes widened worried that I offended him.
"Dobby, shh, shh. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." I said quickly.
"Offend, Dobby?" The elf stopped crying almost immediately as he spoke. "Dobby has heard of your greatness, madam. But never has he been asked to sit down by a witch like an equal." Dobby's eye's shined brightly at the thought of being considered an equal. My heart broke a bit for him knowing he must be treated badly wherever he is from.
"You can't have met very many decent witches or wizards, then." Harry chuckled nervously.
"No, I haven't." Dobby let out a very small hiccuping sound that must have been a giggle. As he confirmed my thoughts. "That was an awful thing to say." Dobby scolded himself with his words and walked over to Harry bureau and begin smashing his head against it. It shook against the wall and rattled the owl cage that sat half on his and half on mine. It surprised us both and we went over to grab him, but quickly decided against it. "Bad, Dobby! Bad, Dobby!"
"Dobby, Dobby, stop!" I whisper yelled worriedly.
"Stop it, Dobby! Dobby, shush! Please!" Harry begged.
Downstairs, Uncle Vernon was pouring the Mason's a glass of fine champagne. They could hear the small grunting noises Dobby was making and the banging, though muffled. It was still decently loud.
"Oh, don't mind that. It's just the cat." Uncle Vernon excused the sound quickly, making them look at him weirdly.
"Bad, Dobby." Dobby growled over and over again.
"Dobby, please, your hurting yourself, please stop." I finally had enough and I touched the elf's shoulder gently. He flinched slightly, but quickly pulled away from the dresser with his hand over his head.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked as he took a seat criss cross on the floor. I sat next to him on my knees.
"Dobby had to punish himself, sir. Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, sir." He explained pushing over a small closable trash can from next to Harry's bed. He took a seat on it, in front of us as we got up and sat comfortably on my bed.
"Your family?" Harry asked.
"The wizard family, Dobby serves, sir. Dobby is bound to serve one family forever. If they ever knew Dobby was here..." He shivered at the thought. "But Dobby had to come. Dobby has to protect Olivia and Harry Potter. To warn them."
"To warn us?" I asked as Harry and I looked at each other.
"Yes, madam. Harry and Olivia Potter must not go back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year." He stated firmly. Harry and I looked at him surprised and concerned. "There is a plot. A plot to make most terrible things happen."
"What terrible things?" Harry said.
"Who's plotting them?" I said next.
"Oh... He can't say..." Dobby coughed out as if he were in pain. Afraid he was going to start hurting himself again I quickly put out my hands. "Don't... make me..."
"Okay, we understand. You can't say." I replied calmly.
I thought I had calmed him, but Dobby looked around. He climbed up onto our desk and grabbed our lamp and begin to smash his head with the end of it.
"Bad, Dobby!" He said again and he grunted and groaned with each hit.
"Dobby, put the lamp down!" Harry whispered concerned.
Again, downstairs, Uncle Vernon was talking, in the middle of a joke when more grunts and squeaks were heard from upstairs.
"So, when they arrive at the ninth hole..."
Everyone's head turned upward and Uncle Vernon glared at the ceiling.
"Give us the lamp!" I tried to persuade the elf. Harry and I had the body while he struggled to hold the base. We shook it back and forth, fighting over the lamp. Quickly, Harry and I stopped after hearing a loud thump. That meant someone was coming up the stairs.
"Dobby, stop!" Harry said quickly. We pulled harder than before since we were trying not to hurt the elf and he oo'f down onto the desk. Harry grabbed him by the collar and walked towards the wardrobe. "Get in there and keep quiet." He demanded.
I quickly hoped over the bed and leaned against the wall that was next to the wardrobe. Making it look like Harry and I were talking. He stood in front, making sure Dobby didn't get out. our door swung open and Uncle Vernon was fuming.
"What in the devil are you two doing up here!?" He growled lowly.
"We were just..." Harry tried to explain, but quickly had to shut the wardrobe door as it creaked open.
"You've ruined just ruined the punchline of my Japanese golfer joke."
"Sorry." Harry and I said together. He shut the wardrobe door again.
"One more sound, and both you'll wish you'd never been born. And fix that door!" He demanded as a harsh whisper.
"Yes, sir." We said again as the door was pushed close. Uncle Vernon huffed and left our bedroom.
"You see why we've got to go back?" I pointed out softly as Harry opened the door.
"We don't belong here. We belong in your world, at Hogwarts. It's the only place we've got friend's."
"Friends who don't even write to Harry or Olivia Potter?" Dobby remarked smugly.
"Well we expect that they've been..." I started to say before I frowned. "Wait, a minute. How do you know our friends haven't been writing to us?" I asked with narrowed eyes.
Dobby's smug grin, quickly turned solemn. He slowly backed away as Harry and I approached him.
"Harry and Olivia Potter mustn't be angry with Dobby. Dobby hoped if Harry and Olivia Potter thought their friends had forgotten them, they might not want to go back to school, sir, madam."
He pulled out a rather large stack of envelopes that were tied together with string from his dirty cloth clothing. Clearly our letters.
"Give me those. Now." Harry demanded just as fed up with this as I was.
"No!" Dobby shouted.
I lunged forward for the letters and missed. Dobby hopped up and over me and straight for our bedroom door. As I got up off the floor, Harry was already out the door gone after Dobby. I quickly followed behind him, hearing the whimpering from the elf. As we raced down the stairs, Harry and I stopped to see Dobby stopped at the entry to the kitchen. He glanced wickedly up at the cake Aunt Petunia had worked so hard on.
"Dobby, come back here." I whispered harshly with desperation in my voice. Debby smiled and shook his head at me. With the snap of his fingers that cake began floating in the air. Harry and I's eye's widened in fear. We were sure to never go back if Dobby followed through with his plans.
"Dobby, wait, please. No." Harry and I begged.
"Harry and Olivia Potter must say they aren't going back to school." Dobby blackmailed us.
"We can't." I shook my head.
"Hogwarts is our home." Harry confirmed, shaking his head as well with pleading eyes.
"Then Dobby must do it, sir and Madam. For Harry and Olivia Potter's own good." Dobby smiled and snapped his fingers once again. The cake started floating towards the living room.
Harry and I rushed through the small door, pushing Dobby out of the way. In order to not cause any alarm to the other muggles in the house, we simply reached out our hands and tried to inch our way towards the cake. I suppose from anyone else's point of view, not knowing there was a house elf controlling the cake. It would look like Harry and I were levitating it in the air ourselves, but that certainly wasn't the case.
It got closer and closer to the Mason's heads. We moved a bit quicker, making our Aunt, Uncle and Dudley notice us. Dobby snapped his fingers again just as we were about to grab the cake and it fell all over Mrs. Mason. We both cringed. Uncle Vernon put on the best fake display of crocodile tears I'd ever seen.
"I'm so sorry." He whimpered. "It's our niece and nephew. They're very disturbed. Meeting strangers upsets them. That's why we kept them upstairs." Uncle Vernon explained.
Harry and I had turned around just in time to see Dobby snap once more and disappear into thin air.
We were severely punished once again for something that wasn't even our fault. We sat in our bedroom the next day, which had been padlocked what seemed like 100 times, up and down the door. Told, no meals for a week. And just as we thought, we were told we were never going back to Hogwarts. To make it even more over kill, it was the nicest day outside, Uncle Vernon was on the ladder, drilling bars on our window, simply so we couldn't escape. It was truly a prison now.
"You're never going back to that school. You're never going to see those freaky friends of yours again! Never!" He yelled. Harry and I stood glaring at him through the window.