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Harry Potter And The Twists Of Fate | ||||||
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Category: Alternate Universe Characters:All, All Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Fluff, Humor Warnings: Extreme Language, Sexual Situations, Violence Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 475 Summary: What if the fates let Harry's parents live that night he got his scar, plus gave him a younger sister and become friends with the Weasleys, especially Ron earlier. What would be different? Hitcount: Story Total: 323969; Chapter Total: 8769 Author's Notes: Here's the next chapter. I'm sorry for taking a bit longer than usual but life just didn't give me many chances to write lately. Anyway, enjoy and please review. |
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Chapter 53: House-elves and sisters James and Lily said their farewells to their children and their friends when they got back to the castle, as they were anxious to get back to Andrew and Daisy whom they had left with Molly. In addition, they wanted to tell Molly what had happened in the task. Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Rose barely touched their food during lunch in the Great Hall, anxious as they were for Snape to have finished the antidote to the ‘Cure to Insomnia’ poison. They saw that Fleur and Viktor were looking equally anxious. The four Gryffindors returned to their common room when they couldn’t eat. Just before three in the afternoon, about four hours after the end of the task, Professor McGonagall came into the common room to inform Harry and Ginny that the antidote was ready. Ti, Neville and Neville’s sister, Maggie, joined them, Hermione and Rose as the four headed for the hospital wing. Bagman and the three headmasters were already there along with Fleur and Victor, who were waiting their own friends to be revived. Harry and his friends held their breaths as Madam Pomfrey gave Ron the antidote. When he awoke, Ron had a confused look on his face as he noticed where he was and the anxious looks on his friends’ faces. Then he said that he seemed to have had the most peaceful sleep in his entire life, which earned him exasperated looks from the girls and amused ones from Harry and Neville. Of course, when he learned what had been done to him, to say that he was angry would be a gross understatement. Harry and Neville had to hold him back as he tried to get up, looking for his wand and threatening to hex Bagman. Ron was even more furious when he learned he had missed lunch. At the mention of lunch, Harry and the others realized that they were as hungry as Ron, now that the redhead was up and about. Since classes had been cancelled for the day, Harry suggested they go down to the kitchen and ask the house elves for some food, a suggestion everyone agreed to, though Hermione was reluctant. Unfortunately, before Ron could get out of bed, the doors of the hospital wing banged open and his mother walked in. When she caught sight of Ron, she hurried over to his side. “Ron, are you all right,” Molly asked her youngest son as she hugged him tightly. “Geroff, Mum,” Ron said, his voice muffled, “I’m fine, Mum. I’m just hungry. I can’t believe I missed lunch.” “Ronald Bilius Weasley! How can you think about lunch when you’re recovering from being poisoned?” Molly asked, exasperated. “Now, Molly,” Dumbledore said to the Weasley matriarch, “calm down. As you can see, he is fine. The poison actually has no side effects once the one…involved…wakes up.” He deliberately avoided saying the word ‘poisoned’ which would have set off Molly. “How could you let this happen, Albus?” Molly asked Dumbledore, “Letting students be poisoned, really!” “I’m afraid the Ministry insisted on having it this way, Molly,” Dumbledore said, “It was the suggestion of the representative from the Department of Magical Sports.” “The representative of the Department of Magical Sports,” Molly asked, confused. Then she saw Bagman who was now fidgeting anxiously, “YOU! You’re the representative of that Department in this tournament. What were you thinking?” Molly started to berate Bagman in her usual manner, her attention drawn away from Ron. Harry gestured to the others that they should leave. The other seven children nodded and they all headed for the doors. Upon reaching the corridor outside the hospital wing, they all doubled over, laughing hard. “Poor Mr. Bagman,” Rose said, “I almost feel sorry for him, almost.” “I know,” Ginny said, “Never have I been gladder of how protective Mum is of us.” “All right,” Ron said, “Enough of this. I’m starving. Let’s get to the kitchens.” The older Gryffindors rolled their eyes while Maggie and Ti looked bewildered. They all headed down the main staircase, headed for the lower levels and the painting with the basket of fruit, which was the hidden entrance to the kitchens. When they entered the kitchen, with Harry leading the way, they were surprised by something small that rammed into Harry and almost knocked him over, squealing, “Harry Potter, sir! Harry Potter has finally returned to see Dobby!” “Er, hello, Dobby,” Harry said as he looked down at the squealing elf, a bit embarrassed. He had forgotten about the exuberant elf he had freed from the Malfoys two years ago and whom he and Ginny had found working in Hogwarts the previous year after the attack by Peter Pettigrew on Ginny. “Dobby is so happy to see you again, Harry Potter sir,” the house-elf said, as he let go of Harry, his huge eyes brimming with tears of happiness, “Dobby had thought Harry Potter had forgotten Dobby. “Oh, Harry,” Ginny said in Harry’s mind, sadness in her tone, “We did forget about him.” Harry knelt down on one knee so he could be at eye level with the elf, “I’m sorry, Dobby. I did forget that you were here. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” Dobby looked at Harry with wide eyes, “Harry Potter should not apologize to Dobby. Dobby is only a house-elf and doesn’t mind being forgotten.” “Well, that’s wrong, Dobby,” Harry said, “You are not my slave or servant. I consider you a good friend and friends shouldn’t forget one another.” “Y-you consider Dobby your friend?” the house-elf asked Harry. When Harry nodded, he burst into fresh tears. “Harry Potter is a great wizard, willing to befriend Dobby,” the elf cried. In an attempt to calm the house-elf, Harry said, “Err, Dobby, I’d like you to meet my other friends.” He gently pulled Ginny forward, “You remember Ginny Weasley? She’s actually my girlfriend.” “Oh, no, sir,” Dobby said, awe in his voice, “she is more than that. She is Harry Potter’s soulmate.” The seven Gryffindors’ eyes widened. “H-h-how do you know that, Dobby?” Harry asked, in a soft voice, “You didn’t mention it last year.” “Elves see magical bonds, Harry Potter,” Dobby said, awe still in his voice, “It be one of our magical abilities. Dobby could barely see it last year but now it is visible to all elves. The bond you have with Miss Weezey is very strong, the strongest Dobby has seen.” Feeling uncomfortable with what Dobby had said, Harry continued introducing his friends, “This is my sister, Rose. This is Ron Weasley, Ginny’s brother. This is Hermione Granger. That’s Neville Longbottom. Beside him is his sister, Maggie and beside her is….” “Master Tiberius,” Dobby shouted, rushing forward again and embracing Ti fiercely, “Dobby is glad to see you, Master Tiberius, sir. Dobby was so worried what would happen to you. Dobby was worried that Master Draco would harm Master Tiberius again.” “H-h-hello, Dobby,” Tiberius said, as he awkwardly returned Dobby’s hug, “I’m glad to see you, too.” Ti looked at Harry, a smile forming on his face, “Dobby took care of me when I was younger. Father was furious when you freed Dobby, Harry, but I was glad. He and Draco treated him so badly, making him punish himself for the slightest mistake.” “Good Master Tiberius was so kind to Dobby,” Dobby said, tears again brimming in his eyes, “Master Tiberius always stopped Dobby from punishing himself when Master Draco and Master Lucius were not around. Dobby was sad not to see him again when Dobby was freed.” “Well, you can see him everyday, Dobby,” Harry said, a smile on his face, “In fact, maybe you can stay with him, Dobby. After all, he’s no longer staying at Malfoy Manor.” “Master Tiberius is no longer living with his family?” Dobby asked, his eyes bulging. “No, Dobby,” Tiberius said, sadness in his voice, “Father disowned me last year for being sorted into Gryffindor.” Then his tone became a happier one, “But now, I live with Sirius Black, my mum’s first cousin. He’s great. He’s my guardian and sort of adopted me, so I’m now Tiberius Black and you can call me Ti, Dobby. I’m no longer your master. Maybe we can be friends now.” Dobby’s started watering and he again hugged Ti fiercely, “Oh, you is as great a wizard as Harry Potter.” Ti’s cheeks turned red as the elf continued to hug him, unable to respond to such praise. He instead awkwardly patted Dobby’s back. Finally, the elf let go and Ti turned to Harry, “What do you mean that he can stay with me, Harry?” “Well, maybe Sirius would be willing to hire Dobby,” Harry said, “I was considering the idea earlier this year but forgot all about it with everything going on. Maybe you can ask him now.” Ti looked thoughtful for a moment then said, “I guess I should. Right now, we have Kreacher. He doesn’t really like Sirius or me, always ranting about how Sirius’ mum would be appalled by what Sirius has been doing to the house and how we weren’t proper purebloods. He has to obey Sirius since he’s the rightful heir to the ‘Noble House of Black’ but refuses to have anything to do with me.” Dobby looked appalled, “A house-elf refuses to serve good Master Ti? That is horrible. What a bad house-elf he is.” “See, Ti?” Harry asked, “Dobby would be perfect. We’ll owl Sirius tonight and ask him. I’m sure he’ll be glad to hire Dobby.” “All right, Harry,” Ti said, “Thanks.” “Excuse me,” Ron said, looking annoyed, “I hate to break up this little reunion, Harry, Ti, but we came down here for lunch, remember?” “Ron!” Hermione admonished, “How can you be so callous?” “Oh, come on,” Ron whined, “I’m the one who was poisoned and missed lunch. Now, I’m the bad guy?” Harry snickered, “Ron’s right, Hermione.” He turned to Dobby, “Dobby, if you don’t mind, my friends and I sort of skipped lunch. Could we have some sandwiches or something?” “Sandwiches?!” Dobby said, sounding scandalized, “that is not a proper lunch for Hogwarts, Harry Potter. Come this way.” He pulled on Ti’s hand and led them deeper into the kitchens. They saw that there were four long tables there. Harry noted their positions and thought that they were right below each of the four house tables above, in the Great Hall. They were presently empty since lunch had been over for the past three hours. There were at least a hundred house-elves in the kitchens as Dobby made them sit down in the table that would correspond to the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. The elves were all wearing the same uniform, a tea-towel stamped with the Hogwarts crest and tied like a toga. They were all bowing and curtseying to the seven students. “Harry Potter and his friends would like some food,” Dobby said to the other elves. Instantly, two dozen of the elves came up to the table, carrying plates, silverware, cups, two jugs of pumpkin juice, a whole roast chicken, several pies and loaves of bread. “Good service,” Ron said, obviously impressed. The elves beamed and bowed. Hermione, however, frowned. As they ate, Hermione talked with the elves. She discovered to her horror that the house-elves of Hogwarts were not free like Dobby, but bound to the service of the school. She refused to eat another bite until Rose pointed out that it was an insult to the elves if she didn’t eat. Reluctant to offend the house-elves, she started eating again, though she ranted a bit about elves’ rights. After eating their fill, the seven New Marauders thanked the elves for the food. Harry and Ti said goodbye to Dobby, promising to visit him again. As they climbed the stairs up to the Entrance Hall, Ti turned to Harry, “Harry, do you think Sirius will hire Dobby?” “I think so, Ti,” Harry answered, “If we explain to him how he raised you and how hard he works, I’m sure he will. After all, I’d think anyone would be better than that Kreacher. Why don’t we go to the common room and write him a letter right now?” Ti grinned, “Okay. Let’s go.” Everyone went up to the Gryffindor common room, except for Hermione who said she needed to go to the Library to do some research. After writing the letter to Sirius, Harry, Ginny and Ti went to the owlery to send it through Hedwig to Sirius’ home in London. They hoped he’d reply soon. Classes resumed the next day. Harry, much to his disgust, was again in the spotlight since he was currently in first place in the tournament. Students keep coming up to him, offering their congratulations. Several girls would go out of their way to try to talk to Harry while walking in the corridors, leaning on him and even showing him tantalizing glimpses of cleavage, causing him to blush furiously. Some of them were older than Harry, including a few seventh years. Ginny was not amused and took to walking hand in hand with him between classes, even if she could be late for her own class, despite protests from Harry that it wasn’t necessary. She would scowl at any other girl who approached Harry aside from Rose and Hermione. It all came to a head a few days after Ron’s birthday, during breakfast. As the students were eating, a great rush of wings announced the arrival of the delivery owls. One owl delivered Hermione’s subscription copy of the Daily Prophet. “Oh my God!” Hermione exclaimed when she got a look at the front page. “What is it, Hermione?” Ginny asked. Hermione quickly folded the paper. “Um, oh, it’s nothing,” she said hastily, “Nothing of concern to you or Harry.” Ginny’s eyes narrowed, “I don’t think it’s nothing if that was your reaction. Hand the paper over, Granger, or I’ll make you.” Hermione reluctantly handed the paper over to the redhead. Ginny took one look at the headline and shrieked, “THIS IS THE LAST STRAW!” She looked furious. Harry quickly grabbed the paper from his fuming girlfriend and took a look. Ron, Rose, Neville and Ti all crowded together to read over his shoulder. They all gasped at what they saw. The headline was The Boy-Who-Lived now the Boy-Who-Plays-The-Field. There were several photos of Harry with different girls. Harry’s face turned red as the moving pictures clearly showed the girls trying to get him to kiss them and placing their hands suggestively on him. The photograph versions of Harry looked stiff and embarrassed as he tried to disentangle himself from the girls. Then they read the main story, which was by Rita Skeeter. As they read the article, the friends started feeling increasingly angry at Skeeter. “How dare that woman insinuate that Harry used Dark spells to enter the tournament,” Rose said, with indignation in her voice. “She even says he’s using his standing in the tournament to get girls to go out with him,” Hermione said. “Hey,” Neville exclaimed, “There are several quotes from female students.” His cheeks started to turn pink as he read them. “Wow,” Ron said, “they think Harry is hot and sexy?” The amazement in his voice was evident. “That’s it!” Ginny exclaimed, getting up. She pointed her wand to her throat and said, “Sonorus!" “All right, you lot!” she said in her magically amplified voice to the rest of the student population, “GET THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL, YOU HUSSIES! I AM HARRY POTTER’S GIRLFRIEND! WE LOVE EACH OTHER VERY MUCH AND INTEND TO DO SO FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES! YOU’D ALL BETTER BACK OFF OR THE NEXT FEMALE TO CUDDLE UP TO HARRY BESIDES ME OR HIS SISTERS WILL FIND OUT WHAT THE BAT BOOGEY HEX IS ALL ABOUT! Quietus!” Ginny sat back down as the Hall became silent “Wow,” Rose whispered, “that was great, Ginny. It’s about time your relationship is confirmed to this school.” Harry turned to Ginny and gave her a quick but fierce kiss, “Thanks, love. I hope they leave me alone now.” “They better or else,” Ginny said, looking around the Great Hall with a fierce look in her eyes. “I just wish you didn’t do it like that,” Hermione said, a bit of worry in her voice, “You could get a detention for that.” Harry looked up at the professor’s table and then said, “Oh, I don’t know about that, Hermione. I doubt they were displeased, except of course, for Snape, the greasy git!” The others looked up at the head table. Sure enough, excluding Snape, all the professors were either smirking or smiling, even McGonagall. Dumbledore had a benign smile on his face and the familiar twinkle in his eye. Moody even had a grin on his battered face. Only Snape was scowling and looked like he wanted to get up and head for the Gryffindor table. However, since only McGonagall could discipline Ginny for what she did and didn’t appear like she was going to, he couldn’t do a thing about the youngest Weasley’s outburst against the rest of Hogwart’s female population. Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of breakfast and the impending start of classes for the day. Harry and Ginny got up and headed for the door. They noticed that only their friends stayed close to them. The rest of the school kept their distance from them, especially the females, which suited Harry quite nicely. Later that night, Ginny and Rose were getting ready for bed when Hermione entered their dormitory room and sat on Ginny’s bed. The redheads’ other roommates were already asleep. “Uh, Ginny,” Hermione said, “Earlier at breakfast when you gave that ultimatum, you said something about other females cuddling up to Harry besides you or his sisters. Why did you use ‘sister’ in the plural since only Rose is here at Hogwarts?” “When I said sisters, Hermione, I meant Rose and you,” Ginny said, smiling at the older girl, “I know that Harry has thought of you as a sister since the two of you became friends. I just wanted to let you know that I do, too.” Hermione gaped at Ginny for a moment then grabbed her in a fierce hug, “Thank you, Ginny. I’ve always thought of Harry as a brother. ” Hermione broke away from Ginny and looked uncertainly at Rose, who had a smirk on her face. “Um, Rose,” Hermione said, “You don’t mind my thinking of Harry as a brother or him thinking of me as a sister, now do you?” Rose smiled as she sat down beside them, “Of course not, Hermione. I’m glad to have someone as an older sister. Mum is great and all that, but I’ve always wanted to have another girl a bit older than myself and Ginny to talk to about stuff.” Hermione grinned, “All right then, I’d be happy to be your older sister. Of course, I’m not too knowledgeable on stuff like makeup and partying and boys.” “That’s okay, Hermione,” Rose said, “We can learn more of that stuff together.” “Speaking of boys,” Ginny said, “How is it going between you and my brother? You’ve been dating now for two months, yet you seldom hold hands. Hasn’t he asked you to be his girlfriend yet?” When Hermione’s face fell, both redheads knew the answer was a negative. “What is wrong with that prat?” Ginny said, “I mean, why is he taking so long to ask you?” Hermione shrugged, “I guess he needs time to get used to us being more than best friends. I don’t mind. We seem to row much less these days.” “Something for which the rest of Gryffindor Tower is grateful for,” Harry’s voice suddenly sounded in Ginny’s mind. “Harry! Stop eavesdropping on us like that. This is girl talk. Go to sleep.” “Oh, all right, Gin. Just let Hermione and Rose know that I love my sisters, both natural and adopted. Oh, I love you, too. Night, Gin.” “Good night, Harry. I love you, too.” “Ginny? Ginny!” Rose said, waving her hand in front of Ginny’s face. When Ginny looked at her, she asked, “You and Harry were talking again through your bond, right?” Ginny’s cheeks colored in embarrassment, “Yeah, he was listening in a bit. Don’t worry. I told him off and made him go to bed. Oh, he did say that he loves both his sisters, natural and adopted.” The three girls laughed at this. “Well,” Hermione said, “I have another reason for coming to see you and Rose, Ginny. Ever since we saw Dobby and the other House-elves, I’ve been thinking of how unfair and horrible the Wizarding World treats them. I think it’s time that changes.” She reached into the pocket of her nightgown and pulled out what looked like badges similar to the ones Hogwarts gave the prefects. “Hermione,” Ginny said, “What are those?” “I’ve decided to organize a club to campaign for the rights of house-elves, including putting a stop to their enslavement,” Hermione said, “I’m calling the club the Society for the Protection of Elvish Welfare or S.P.E.W. These are badges for the members to wear. I’m hoping that the two of you will be my first members.” Ginny and Rose exchanged surprised and anxious looks. “Err, Hermione,” Rose said, “I’d be the first to agree with you that the house elves shouldn’t be treated like slaves. But it’s not as simple as having a club to get people to treat them better. Most house-elves aren’t like Dobby or Blinky and her family. They really like being enslaved to a family and working for them, with no pay or off time.” “But that’s horrible,” Hermione said, “How can anyone accept it like that?” “That’s the way it’s been for centuries,” Ginny said, shrugging, “Most families with house-elves are rich and very old, like the Potters and the Malfoys, so they’re very influential with the Ministry. My family may be purebloods but we aren’t as old or have anywhere near their money.” “Rose,” Hermione said, turning to the other redhead, “why hasn’t your family done anything to remove the enslavement of house-elves? Surely they could have done something, like push for an emancipation law.” Rose sighed, “I don’t know if it would have been that simple, Hermione. As Ginny said, there are many wealthy pureblood families that have house-elves and enjoy a large amount of influence in the Ministry. They’d fight any law that freed house-elves from their Wizarding families since they like having servants they didn’t have to pay.” “Then we really have to start with our generation,” Hermione said, “we have to show them how cruel and wrong it is to enslave house-elves. That’s the main purpose why I’m organizing S.P.E.W.” “Uh, Hermione,” Rose said, “I don’t know if your club will attract many kids with a name like SPEW.” “It’s S.P.E.W., Rose,” Hermione said, indignation in her voice, “It’s not spew. Anyway, the name doesn’t really matter. It’s the ideals of the club that will attract members.” Both redheads sighed. For an intelligent girl, Hermione could be so dumb sometimes in dealing with people. They exchanged a look of agreement. “All right, Hermione,” Ginny said, “We’ll be your first two members. However, we want to think of another name for the club, okay?” Hermione looked like she was about to disagree but finally shrugged, “Okay. That’s fine. Now, I was thinking of having our first meeting in Hogsmeade during the next Hogsmeade weekend. That’ll give us about two weeks to seek out new members. I’m sure we can get your brothers to join.” She went on talking about her plans for the club, not noticing that the two redheads had been a bit alarmed by her last statement. Ginny and Rose exchanged worried glances. How would they get their brothers to join Hermione’s new brainchild? Maybe they had a chance with Harry, but Ron would most likely prove to be nearly impossible, even if it was the brainchild of the girl he was dating. They sighed and decided to pay attention to Hermione’s plans. Maybe they could inject a bit of reality into them. Hopefully, two weeks would give them enough time to organize the club. |
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