NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4: Bonds Beyond Boundaries
Harry groaned and got up from his rickety bed. He was wide awake now, so he decided he might as well take a shower and prepare for another day of boredom before the rest of the house began stirring.
Harry stood under the hot water for almost twenty minutes, letting it wash over him as he contemplated how to go about making some changes to the status quo. He felt he would go slowly insane if he were forced to remain at the Dursleys for the next two months.
When he finally returned to his room, feeling absolutely ravenous after his meager dinner of stale bread rolls, he was startled by the smell of bacon permeating the room.
Looking around warily, he discovered a steaming hot plate of bacon, eggs, and roasted potatoes lying on his bed.
What the bloody hell? Harry wondered in confusion.
He thought hard for a few seconds, but could come up with no explanation for how a hot, fresh breakfast had appeared in his room. The Dursleys weren't awake yet, and they certainly would not have fed him such ample portions. Was someone trying to trick him or poison him?
Then realization struck. The last time someone had tried to render him unsolicited aid at Privet Drive was when…
"Dobby?" Harry spoke hesitantly into thin air.
There was no response for a few seconds, then with a loud pop the little elf materialized in front of Harry. Hedwig hooted indignantly at him; she remembered just how much trouble this creature had caused her human three summers ago.
"Harry Potter Sir has called his Dobby?"
"Er, hi Dobby…how are you?"
"Oh, Harry Potter's Dobby is doing fine. Does Harry Potter Sir need Dobby's help?"
"Well, I, er—yes, I suppose I do. Did you make this breakfast?"
Dobby nodded, his huge ears flopping back and forth. "Dobby brings Harry Potter Sir his breakfast. Dobby has been watching, and Harry Potter does not eat enough," he said shyly.
"You've been watching…" Harry trailed off, a little disconcerted at the idea that Dobby could probably watch him anytime he chose to. Even when…best to not go there. Harry shook his head and tried to regain control of his thoughts.
"I appreciate it, Dobby, but why are you calling yourself 'Harry Potter Sir's Dobby'?"
Harry hadn't seen Dobby since he freed him at the end of his second year, and as far as he knew Dobby was still a free elf.
Dobby shuffled his feet and looked at the ground. He nervously twisted one of his ears. Softly, he spoke up at Harry.
"Dobby is choosing Harry Potter Sir as his new master."
Harry looked intently at the little elf for a few seconds, trying to comprehend whether this was a good thing or a disaster waiting to happen. Dobby's usual idea of helping him involved trying to get him in serious trouble.
"But…why, Dobby? I thought you wanted to be free?"
Dobby pulled down viciously on one of his huge ears, causing Harry to grow slightly alarmed.
"House elves is needing a master, Harry Potter Sir, and Dobby wanted to serve the great Harry Potter. Dobby is knowing you are a kind master, and you have need of him."
"Er…alright. I just wish you had asked me first, okay? But I'm glad that you want to help me. I need all the help I can get right now."
Harry paused, thinking over his next words carefully. He didn't want to offend Dobby. "But I want you to understand that we're friends, all right? I don't like it when you call me master. And I don't want you to hurt yourself anymore. Maybe you can explain to me sometime why house elves need a master?" Harry phrased the question as gently as he could.
The elf smiled widely, his teeth looking unnervingly sharp and goblin-like. "Dobby can. Dobby is happy to call Harry Potter Sir a friend."
Harry smiled in return and stuck out his hand for Dobby to shake. Hermione is going to have me drawn and quartered, he thought, but a bloke's got to eat.
Harry sat down on his bed and dug in heartily to the first real meal he had eaten since returning to Privet Drive. In between groans of contentment, he realized that his dull summer of confinement had just grown a little less unbearable.
July 16th, 1995 – Privet Drive, Little Whinging
Five days after his first encounter with Dobby, Harry sat on his bed, absentmindedly chewing on a piece of black licorice while he read a thick book from Hogwarts library. Dobby had come through for him in ways that stunned him, and Harry chided himself on a daily basis for not seeking out Dobby's help sooner.
Really, freeing Dobby from Lucius Malfoy had been one of the luckiest breaks he had ever caught.
It turned out that Dobby could pilfer food from the Hogwarts kitchens with no trouble at all. Harry could look forward to three huge meals a day with Dobby's ability to pop back and forth between Privet Drive and Hogwarts. Evidently Dumbledore's wards around the house didn't detect house elves, or Harry was sure someone would be knocking on the front door right now.