kbinnz - Harry's New Home

"Mr Weasley, since you have obviously been gorging yourself on unhealthy treats for the last several hours, I will expect to see you enjoying double portions of vegetables or fruit at every meal for the next week." Ron's face screwed up as if to protest. "Of course, if you feel your appetite will be insufficient for that task, you can always go without dessert for that time period." Ron quickly shut up and shook his head vigorously.

"And as for you, Mr Potter, you will remain here after the others have left." A pointed look at the other children left them in no doubt that he expected them to leave now.

There was a rapid scramble for the door, and soon Harry, Snape, and Dobby were alone in the messy room. "Clean this up," he snapped at the elf, and Dobby happily whizzed around, tidying and repairing the room.

"Are you mad?" Harry asked cautiously, eyeing his da.

Snape gave him a Look. "To come home and find my living room in tatters? Why would I be angry?"

"We just wanted to make Dobby feel at home here," Harry protested. "Draco said we should just shut him in a cupboard until we needed him, butтАж" he broke off, looking away.

Snape huffed angrily. "What a ridiculous idea," he grumbled, sitting down on the sofa next to Harry and unconsciously dropping his arm around the boy's shoulders.

Harry snuggled closer to his father. He hated being reminded of his time at the Dursleys. "We won't ever lock him in a cupboard, will we, Da?" he said stoutly.

"Hardly. Dobby!"

"Yes, Master Potion Master Sir?" Dobby asked, reappearing before them. "Is you wanting tea? Coffee? Pumpkin juice?"

"Dobby, you are now bound to me, correct?"

"Oh yes, Master Potion Master Sir! Dobby is now your house elf. Dobby is not belonging to Master Malfoy any longer."

"Good. Now I am giving you to Harry. You belong to him now."

Harry's choke of surprise was nearly drowned out by Dobby's shriek of delight. "I is belonging to Master Harry Potter Sir?" He threw himself at Snape's knees. "Thank you thank you thank you, Master Potion Master Sir!"

"Da! I don't think I want a house elf," Harry tugged frantically on his guardian's sleeve and finally managed to make himself heard. "Erm, not that Dobby's not great an' all. And if I did want a house elf, I'm sure it'd be Dobby, but I don't want тАУ"

"Then it is a good thing I did not consult you," Snape told him firmly. "The house elf is now bound to you. He will protect you тАУ"

"Oh, YES!" Dobby agreed ecstatically. "Dobby will take good, good care of Master Harry Potter Sir!"

" тАУand we will be able to control his excesses." At Harry's distressed expression, Snape softened. "When you reach maturity, you can free him, Harry, but the elf is hardly upset with his current situation."

Even Harry had to admit that the little elf, who was dancing around the apartment in a paroxysm of glee, was anything but unhappy. "Well, okayтАж" he agreed reluctantly. "But I don't really know what to do with an elf, Da."

"Order him to obey me as well as yourself and I will see to it that he is kept out of mischief," Snape told him. "He can help out the castle elves since we will not require his services most of the time."

"Okay." Harry did as he was told, and Snape had to listen to the elf again proclaim his loyalty and joy and obedience.

"Yes, fine." He finally managed to shut the little creature up without having to resort to a hex. "Go speak with the Hogwarts elves, and I'm sure you can work something out."

"Yes, Master Potion Master Sir! Goodbye, Master Harry Potter Sir!" Dobby vanished, and Harry sagged against his father.

"Whew! He makes me tired, Da!"

"Yes, but he is clearly devoted to you, and as such will be a good тАУ" Snape caught himself. He had nearly said "protector", but he didn't want the boy to realize that, with the horcrux hunt about to get underway, the danger they faced was about to increase dramatically. If Voldemort realized what they were trying to do, he would strike now тАУ as hard and as brutally as he could. Snape intended to ensure that Harry was as well-protected as possible should that happen, and house elves could be fierce protectors when roused. "тАжa good house elf to have."

"Hermione's gonna hate me," Harry sighed.

"If she is difficult, tell Dobby that she doesn't want you to be his owner any more," Snape suggested drily. "I suspect that he will make his displeasure at her interference abundantly clear."

Harry snickered. "Yeah, I bet he would." He paused. "Hey, I forgot to ask. Did you have a good day, Da?"

Snape leaned back on the sofa, preening at the thought of all he had accomplished. "Yes, Harry. I did, rather."

TBCтАж

*Chapter 53*: Chapter 53

To Snape's simultaneous surprise and relief, the rest of the term proceeded with no additional crises, attacks, or deaths. Even the traditional end of year student pranks were somewhat muted, probably because the usually indefatigable students were equally wrung out from all excitement of the past year. As a result, Harry's first year came to an uncharacteristically peaceful close, though it was not until the Hogwarts Express had departed that Snape тАУ and most of the other faculty тАУ finally relaxed.

A few tendrils of doubt had assailed Harry when the rest were packing up their belongings, and he had been worried that, despite everything, he might yet end up back with the Dursleys. But watching the rest of the student body depart on the train while he stood at Snape's side had finally convinced him that his trust was not misplaced.

Harry had waved off his friends cheerfully, feeling rather privileged to be able to stay on at the castle. Most of the other faculty were departing for a brief rest - or rest cure, as Poppy was heard to mutter more than once - while Snape had admitted, with a grimace, that he and Harry would be visiting Black and Lupin in Switzerland.

Harry had done well enough in his classes that he not only avoided a scolding from his da, but even earned an outing to Fortescue's, a treat that made him hug himself in delight. He was happy to have some one-on-one time with his father after the Potion Master had been so preoccupied with exams and grades for the past few weeks. Snape also explained that Harry would spend a few weeks with the Weasleys towards the end of the summer before rejoining him at Hogwarts. All told, Harry could not have imagined a better summer for himself.

Snape, on the other hand, was more than a little grumpy at what lay ahead. Instead of a nice, peaceful, child-free season spent brewing, he had to sort out all the administrative details for next year with Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Flitwick, make sure the mutt and werewolf were well-prepared for their new roles at Hogwarts, tutor the brat in Defense and Potions, and ensure that their deranged house elf didn't get up to any additional mischief.

Still, he had to admit that traveling to Switzerland was a rather appealing prospect once he had arranged to see Brunhilde againтАж

Sirius and Remus were, as expected, delighted to see Harry, and the boy was nearly smothered by their hugs. "You made it through your first year!" Remus said proudly. "And Severus tells us your grades were excellent!"

"I believe I said they were adequate," Snape corrected sharply. It would never do to let the brat get a swelled head.

Remus winked at Harry. "Right. And we all know that adequate by your standards is excellent by anyone else's."

Harry laughed even as Snape scowled. "It was easy with all the extra help an' tutoring that Da arranged for me," he explained. "In most of the lessons, I got way ahead of the classroom stuff, and even Potions wasn't so hard with Da letting us all help him prepare the ingredients most nights."

Sirius grinned at Snape. "Sounds like you've got yourself a whole army of willing slaves, Snape!"