Chapter Text
Harry loved magic, he loved Hogwarts and his new family, but most of all he loved flying. The complete freedom that came with getting on a broom and taking off into the air, no responsibility other than catching the snitch. He loved it.
What he didn’t currently love was the rouge bludger that kept trying to attack him.
The game had started as usual with an almost manic speech from Wood about the game that Harry sometimes forgot the moment they stepped onto the pitch, okay he almost always forgot when he stepped foot on the pitch. It wasn’t that Wood’s speeches were bad, it was just very clear the boy was very obsessed with winning, and like Fred and George had said his fist game, the speech was almost always the same.
He would always use the same strategy, fly high and circle, keeping out of the way and his eyes open. The other seeker would usually do the same but at the opposite end. This time though he had Draco whose strategy seemed to be, fly so close they could share brooms. It was annoying but nothing Harry couldn’t handle.
Draco for his part had calmed down a lot since the detentions Aunt Rose had doled out the previous year. He was still a pompous, spoiled brat, but he no longer went out of his way to antagonize or bully people. He still threw his weight around, or tried to, but things had improved, a lot. Harry and Draco still tossed insults to each other during the game, but it was nothing more than a basic quidditch rivalry.
Harry had heard from Uncle Edward that Draco’s dad had tried to ‘donate’ brooms to the Slytherin team in the hopes of securing his son’s position as seeker, but Snape of all people had refused. Telling the man if he donated brooms, they would have to be made available to the entire school, not just one team. He must have withdrawn his donation after hearing that. Harry felt a bit bad for Draco when he found out, it must feel crappy to hear your own father didn’t believe you were good enough on your own and felt the need to bribe the team in order to play.
Draco had proven him wrong though and Harry was actually happy to see he had a rival that was pretty dang good. It made beating him and catching the snitch so much sweeter.
“What the-“ he heard Draco swear, quickly swerving away. “Potter watch out!”
Harry turned in time to see a bludger coming straight for his head. He pulled up sharply and winced at the loud crack as the errant ball hit the stands, shattering the wood completely. He dived down, bobbing and weaving the entire time as the ball kept coming straight for him. Fear rose up as he flew recklessly in an attempt to escape the ball, relief flooding him when Fred and George came closer, trying to keep the bludgers from connecting to his face, or any other body part as he continued to attempt to avoid death by quidditch game.
Who knows how long it would have gone on if it hadn’t been for the snitch hitting him in the face before hovering close by. Reaching out his arm he wrapped his fingers around the tiny golden ball just as he heard a crack. It took his brain several seconds to register that crack had been his arm as fiery pain shot though his body and he let go of his broom to hold his now shattered arm and slipped from his broom.
Rose was particularly gleeful as she slipped into the Defense classroom and practically skipped up the stairs to Lockhart’s private quarters.
She would have liked to watch the match currently going on but Edward had flat out told her no. She had been rather peeved until he had explained they both knew she wouldn’t be able to control herself when the idiot attempted to ‘heal’ Harry and with so many witnesses it would be hard to keep her out of Azkaban. Which was an extremely valid argument, it didn’t mean she was pleased with him putting his metaphorical foot down though. Plus, they needed to talk to Dobby and they knew for sure the little troublemaker would be showing up in the hospital wing tonight. It killed her to know that Harry would be in pain, but they really need to keep this as close to the first time as possible.
Edward did make it up to her though by telling her she had full free range to punish Lockhart how she saw fit and would be more than willing to create a distraction in order to help her. It wasn’t necessary of course. She had the current match plus the help of the house elves for.
Rose grasped the handle to Lockhart’s room and grinned when the door opened easily, revealing Lop, one of the Hogwarts elves waiting for her.
She he had yet to convince the house elves that they should be getting paid for their work and should also have time off. She had convinced them to accept other things in exchange for a little extra help. Sweets were the number one form of payment, followed by fabric they could use to make themselves things. Rose had absolutely no issue whatsoever in indulging the wonderfully brilliant little creatures and always carried something she could give them. Doing this had essentially made her a favorite amongst the hidden staff and they were always happy to help, especially with dealing with humans they didn’t like.
At the top of that list, currently sat one Gildroy Lockhart.
While most of the human staff at Hogwarts maintained a decent relationship with the house-elves, most tended to forget the elves were there, choosing to do most things for themselves. Lockhart was another story. According to the elves assigned to maintain her and her husbands’ quarters, the man was extremely rude and demanding, always yelling about one thing or another. That was one more massive strike against the man in Roses book, and it was finally time to take him down a notch.
Rose almost laughed at just how excited the little elf looked as she pulled out two bags from her purse. The same purse she had carried the entire time they been on the run… old habits were hard to break, and she just couldn’t seem to let go of this one, no matter how safe she now felt.
Blinking back the maudlin thoughts she gave Lop a small smile and passed him the bag of sweets. “Are you ready to have a little fun?”
Edward sat beside Harry’s bed in the Hospital wing under the invisibility cloak and waited.
Dobby was sure to show up soon and it was time he had a few words with his friend.
It wasn’t long before the little elf popped up, looking all around him and wringing his ears. Edward watched him crawl onto the bed and freeze, realizing he had made a very big mistake. The bed was surrounded by a very old, archaic magic. One that had been taught to them by Kreacher. It was the only spell that could prevent a house elf from using their own magic to escape and had been the way wizards had originally trapped the poor creatures and enslaved them. He hated using such magic but there was literally no other way to ensure Dobby stayed put long enough for them to talk.
Pulling off the cloak Edward gave Dobby a small, triumphant smile. “I learned that trick from an old friend, a house elf I hope to be reunited with very soon.” He watched Dobby’s eyes grow even larger, fear taking over. “I won’t hurt you Dobby, you and I have the same mission.”
He pulled the diary from his pocket and tossed it on the bed where Harry slept peacefully. Thank Merlin for Rose and Severus for creating that sleeping potion that wouldn’t interfere with the Skelogrow. He rubbed his arm absently, remembering the excruciating pain he had had to endure.
Dobby flinched away from that diary before his head seemed to twitch slightly, his eyes narrowing as he inched closer to the book before gingerly picking it up.
“It’s not possible…” Dobby whispered, looking at him with suspicion now.
Edward chuckled softly and shook his head. “I know you can feel it, the echo of the dark magic. I know that you can also feel that it’s nothing but an ordinary book now.”
Dobby squawked slightly and he nodded. “But how? My master was-“ He cut himself off and was about to dive for something to bash against his head when Edward wrapped his arms around the tiny creature, preventing him from moving.
“You’re master failed Dobby. The threat inside Hogwarts is gone.” He let go of Dobby but kept a hand on his shoulder, bending his head to look into his eyes. “I know you wish to protect Harry and would do everything you can to do that.”
Dobby nodded, keeping quiet.
Edward grinned. “Perfect.” He sat back down in his chair. “Tell me Dobby, is it possible for a house-elf to get into Azkaban?”
Rose came out of her office just as Edward released to magic containing Dobby and the little elf disappeared with a pop.
Hopefully the plan to get the cup would work, it was a long shot, but it was the best they could come up with. The goblins wouldn’t work with them; it didn’t matter what was in a person’s vault. Only those approved to get into that vault could access it, and that included the goblins themselves. They needed a Lestrange, and they had a pretty good idea of who the weakest link in that family was. It was just getting to him that posed the problem.
That was an issue for another day though, they still had a few years anyway, for now an opportunity they hadn’t anticipated had just arrived.
Both of them turned, wands raised as Draco melted from the shadows by the doors, face screwed up in confusion.
“Why was my house elf here?” He moved closer to them. “Why was he talking to you?”
Rose looked over at Edward who shrugged and put his wand away.
They didn’t want to influence any of the kids one or the other. What they wanted to do was give them opportunities to be better versions of themselves. Harry had never learned to trust others, having lost so many and been let down far too many times to know that he had people who could and would help him. Hermione was so obsessed with proving she was a proper witch and proving she deserved her place at Hogwarts that she had ostracized herself from everyone, even her friends. Ron had been a good friend, until the pressers of war and loss had been too much for him to bear. Neville had proven time after time he was loyal and brave, putting his life on the line to do what needed to be done.
And Draco had risked it all to help them escape. He proven to be so much more than his name and supposed legacy. He had given his life for them, and it was in the memory of that man that they knew the boy needed to be given opportunity to change.
Rose sat on the bed opposite the one Harry was currently sleeping on and patted the spot next to her. “Come and sit Draco.”
The boy eyed them warily as he slowly walked over and stiffly sat on the very edge of the bed. “Why was Dobby here?”
Edward snorted and laced his fingers behind his head, leaning back and closing his eyes, leaving the explanation up to Rose. She looked over at the boy, cocking her head slightly before nodding to herself.
“You aren’t going to like this Draco, but Dobby came to warn Harry about something your father planned on doing at the school this year.” She watched closely as the boy kept his expression closed off. “He wouldn’t say what, but he knew it would be bad and a lot of people could end up hurt.”
Draco nodded as little “He said he was going to clean the school up, get rid of the undesirables.”
Rose gave Edward a sharp pock when he snorted loudly, ignoring the interruption, she gave Draco a sad look. “Have you ever taken a handful of grass and thrown it into the air Draco?” she waited for him to give her a confused nod before continuing. “When you throw it up you no longer have control over where it may land. It’s the same with your father’s plan. Once set into motion he no longer had control over who got hurt.” She looked into Draco’s eyes, trying to put this as softly as she could. Lucius Malfoy loved his son, but that love was nothing in comparison to his devotion to his lord. It was a hard truth but one that could potentially save the boy a lot of pain in the future.
She patted his hand when understanding dawned. Shaking his head he stood up. “You're wrong, my father would never hurt me.”
Edward opened his eyes and cocked a brow. “If you went up to him today and told him you believed muggle-borns and pure-bloods were equal, what would he do?”
Draco blanched slightly and shook his head, that haughty expression back on his face. “I would never say that.”
Rose stood up and went into her office grabbing a book off her shelf and bringing it back. “As punishment for being out after curfew you are to read this and write a two-foot essay summarizing what you have learned.” She passed him the book, one written by an African wizard that had spent decades researching magic and the myth of muggle-borns. “Once you have done that, I expect an actual answer. What would your father do?”
Draco eyed the book before taking it, straightening his back. “I just wanted to check on Potter, but I see he is fine.” He read the title and rolled his eyes before turning and leaving in a huff.
Edward grinned at his wife and stood up. “Well, that went well.”
Rose shrugged her shoulders, “He is a very smart boy. He just needs to learn to apply that intelligence to something worthwhile.
He shook his head and wrapped his arms around her. “We will just have to wait and see, love.”