Unofficial Portkey Archive

Chapter 8: House Elves

A few weeks after Halloween, the Parker family owl finally arrived with a response from Alice's grandpa. The three girls decided not to open it in the Great Hall during breakfast, so at lunch when everyone else was going to the Great Hall, they hurried upstairs to Gryffindor Tower. When they arrived, the common room was deserted so Alice slit open the scroll and Lily and Amelia crowded behind her to read.

Dear Alice and friends,

I never did congratulate you on making Gryffindor, Alice. I was too worried about the news I was passing on in my last letter. Congratulations to you, and to Lily and Amelia. I know Amelia's family quite well, so I must say that I'm surprised she's not a Hufflepuff (Amelia snorted) but no matter. It sounds like all three of you are making Gryffindor proud.

Love,
Grandpa Parker

Alice and Amelia started laughing as they finished the letter. "'Down dark passageways with boys'. Honestly! You'd think you were doing something untoward!" Alice exclaimed, rolling her eyes.

Lily, however, was re-reading the letter. Was there a charm that could turn an ancient language to modern-day English? She hadn't run across such a charm, but she supposed it was unlikely to be in "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1". It looked as though she, Alice and Amelia would be spending a lot of time in the library for the time being. If the missing page was important, they'd need to find out soon which one it was; and maybe decoding the page would give them some idea about the books contents. Although she was sure that Dumbledore would have told Mr. Parker, he hadn't mentioned it in his letter.

Lily looked up at Alice and Amelia, who were still giggling about Lily being down "dark passageways with boys" and shook her head. "Come on, you two. We need to get some lunch before class," and they headed down to the Great Hall.

Lily was still debating whether or not to tell Potter and Black about Mr. Parker's response when they arrived at the Great Hall to eat, but they weren't there, nor were they in Charms that afternoon. In fact, Lily didn't see either one of them again until she got back to the common room that night. The boys had both warmed up to her considerably since Halloween, although Potter and Black seemed to have decided that it was their responsibility to get her to see "the truth" about Snape, as they called it. She had to admit that it was a nice change from the harassment, but as Snape had never done anything to her or her friends, she wasn't going to start disliking him just because Potter and Black said she should.

When she arrived in the common room from the library (they hadn't had any luck finding a language charm for ancient languages, although there were plenty for Italian, French and German), the two boys rushed over to her. "How's it going, Evans?" Potter asked, running his hand through his hair and smiling his most dazzling smile.

"Good," she said, startled by the greeting.

"Hi boys," Alice said, then giggled. "We'll get a table." She and Amelia then proceeded to walk over to a nearby table and pull their books out. Lily watched them go, and then turned her attention back.

"Good, good," Black was saying, also smiling widely. "What'd you think about our Charms class today?"

"I noticed you weren't there," Lily said suspiciously. "Is there something that the two of you want? You're never this friendly to me."

"I'm hurt, Evans," Potter said, trying to look hurt. He didn't succeed.

"Are you going to tell me what you want," Lily asked, "because if not, I've got studying to do."

"You've been at the library all night with Alice and Amelia," Black said, now looking at her suspiciously. "If you haven't been studying, what have you been up to?"

"I don't think that's any of your business," Lily huffed. "Look, if you aren't going to tell me what you want, I'm going to get started on the homework Flitwick gave us for Charms."

"Funny you should mention that, actually," Potter said, the dazzling smile now fully in place again. "Because we were, erm-detained after lunch, and-,"

Lily cut him off. "Detained?" she asked.

"Well, it was more actually that I was sick," Black said, now elbowing Potter.

Potter nodded. "Yes, sick. Very sick. And I had to help him to the hospital wing."

"Did you now? And I wonder, why couldn't Black here find the way himself?" Their smiles didn't slip.

"Well, you see," Black said, "I was disoriented. Snape hit me with a-"

"Snape!" Lily cut in, her eyes narrowing. "So now you want to borrow my Charms notes because you were busy carrying on your vendetta with Snape?"

Potter looked at Black, his eyes now twinkling. "That sound about right to you, mate?" Potter asked.

"Yeah, that's about right," Black concurred, "but in all fairness, he did hex us first this time."

"The man has a point, Evans," Potter said, turning to look at Lily, the dazzling smile again in place.

"You two are unbelievable!" Lily said incredulously.

"So, will you?" Black asked eagerly.

"Listen carefully, because I'm only going to say this once. No!" she said, her patience now wearing very thin.

"So will you?" Potter asked this time, again running his hand through his hair and mussing it.

"No!" she said again.

Black smiled. "You said you'd only say it once," he reminded her.

"Look," Lily snapped, finally letting her temper get the better of her, "If you two spent half as much time on school work as you do on getting into trouble-"

"But we do spend half as much time," Black interjected.

"-You'd be the top students in our year!" Lily finished.

"How can we both be top, I wonder?" Potter cut in this time.

"I suppose we could tie," Black said, grinning at Potter. "But as we don't spend all of our time studying, unlike Evans here, I guess it must be a mistake that you always receive top marks in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Now that you mention it, Siri, how come you're always getting top marks in Potions?" Potter added, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"And as I recall, we're the top students in Transfiguration." Black reminded them.

Lily had had enough. "My answer," she said, dangerously calm, though her eyes still flashed in anger, "is no. If you want to be horsing around all day, hexing Snape in the halls when you're supposed to be in class, that's your business, but my notes are not going to be available to aid you! You'll have to get them from Lupin or Pettigrew!" and she walked over to the table where Alice and Amelia were now working on Charms.

"But Lupin was out today," she heard Potter whine as she retreated.

"And even Pettigrew can't read his notes!" Black called.

"Not my problem," she threw over her shoulder as she opened her book bag and pulled out her notes, realizing for the first time that Lupin had been gone since Sunday afternoon, and wondering briefly where he was.

"What is it with her?" Potter asked.

"Just a guess, mate," Black responded, "but I'd say she thinks we're screw-offs."

Potter shrugged. "Can't argue with her there," and they both retreated to where Pettigrew was sitting by the fire.

Later that night, Lily sat in a chair by the fire, trying desperately to stay awake. Amelia and Alice had long since gone upstairs to bed, and the common room was nearly deserted save for a seventh-year couple cuddling in the corner. Lily had stayed up studying for their Transfiguration test. She wanted to be sure that she would receive high marks, as she didn't want to give Potter and Black yet another reason to tease her. She looked up from her notes and glanced out of a nearby window, admiring the moonlight glinting off the snow. The snow had begun falling earlier that evening, making the castle and its grounds look a bit like a wedding cake draped in white icing. Her gaze then traveled around the common room, marveling at how it had come to feel like a second home to her in such a short period of time. As she looked around, she thought she saw a little head bob past the arm of the oversized chair in which she was sitting. She rubbed her eyes, sure that it had been a trick of the light, and looked over the side of the chair again, jumping when she saw the little creature standing there.

"Pardon me, miss," the creature said in a squeaky voice. It was wearing a spotlessly clean towel with the Hogwarts crest stamped on it, and was about half the size of Lily, with a round little belly and ears that stuck out from its head in odd angles. Its nose resembled a carrot, its eyes were wide and a glimmering shade of blue, and it was smiling broadly. "There's usually no one up at this hour, miss," the creature said, "Alfie did not mean to startle you." Alfie bowed politely.

Lily was still staring at the creature. "Oh, no. Sorry, it's…it's quite all right. I-I've never seen you around before," she said finally.

"We house elves isn't supposed to intrude upon students when they is studying, miss," Alfie responded. "'Tis the mark of a good house elf if their work is noticed, but they is not, miss."

"House elves?" Lily said. "What, err…well, if you don't mind my asking, what is a house elf?"

Alfie blinked at her, his shining eyes growing wider. "Alfie is a house elf, miss."

Lily smiled. "No, I meant… Never mind. And what do you do here, Alfie?"

"We takes care of the students, miss. There are hundreds of us. We do the cooking, tend to the fires, make the beds, do the laundry. There is a lot of work to be done at Hogwarts, miss, and the house elves is the ones that Dumbledore trusts to do it."

"Oh," Lily said, wondering why it had never occurred to her to wonder how all of these chores would have gotten done without house elves. "Well, I won't keep you from your work." She stood up and picked up her books. "I'm Lily Evans, by the way. It's very nice to meet you, Alfie."

"You too, miss," Alfie said, bowing again.

At that moment, the portrait hole opened, and Lupin crawled in. He had a gash on his forehead, and his hand was wrapped in a bandage. "Hi Lupin," Lily said, concern creasing her face as she noticed his disheveled appearance. "Are you okay? What happened?" She rushed over to where he was standing.

He looked up, startled. "Oh, hi Lily," he said, trying belatedly to hide his hand underneath his robes, which also looked torn. "This? Oh, it was nothing. Just ran into some, I mean-," he paused. "You know what? I'm awfully tired. I think I need to get to bed."

Feeling slightly off-balance, she gazed at him. "You ought to see Madam Pomfrey," she said, now feeling anxious.

"No, no, I'll be fine. Really. I think I just need some sleep. Goodnight." And he turned and walked toward the staircase. As he did so, the firelight caught his hair, and she noticed that it looked like it was graying slightly, but before she could be sure, he disappeared from view. "Goodnight," she called after him, and then headed upstairs to her room, pondering Lupin's odd behavior, and the little creature that she had run into in the common room. It was cute, but somehow it hadn't looked anything like what she had pictured an elf to look. In truth, she was a little startled to find out that elves even existed, let alone that they were working at Hogwarts. As she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, she wondered vaguely if muggle legends of elves had originated from encounters with magical house elves.

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"Well of course there are," Amelia said, helping herself to a piece of toast. They were sitting at breakfast the next morning, and Lily had just related her encounter with Alfie to Alice and Amelia.

Alice nodded. "Helpful little buggers, they are. We have one, but Mum feels guilty making him do anything. She says it's too much like slavery. I always have him clean my room for me, though."

Amelia stared at Alice. "You have a house elf?" she asked, a hint of jealousy in her voice. "I thought only the oldest houses had those. We don't," she added sullenly.

"Well, we inherited the house we're living in now from my great-great-grandpa on my dad's side, didn't we?" Alice asked matter of factly. "The house-elf came with it. She was young when we got the house, too. Only three or four years old." She took a bite of egg and chewed it thoughtfully. "I wonder if Alfie knows Cobbie?"

"How would Alfie know Cobbie?" Lily asked, interested to learn all she could about the fascinating creatures.

Alice swallowed the egg. "Do you know, I don't know, honestly," she answered, taking a swig of pumpkin juice. "But she's always talking about the different elves she knows."

Lily pondered this as she put jelly on her toast. "I wonder if they have some way to communicate with each other?"

"Well, why wouldn't they?" Amelia asked. "Dad says they have a powerful magic of their own. Maybe they use it to talk. If their masters will allow it, that is."

"Couldn't be that powerful," Lily said, now taking some sausage from the platter in front of her, "if they're doing our laundry and making our beds."

Alice smiled as Lily began to eat. "Don't count on that, Lily. The house-elves enjoy caring for humans, that's for sure. But they're powerful all right. Very powerful. Sometimes I think that Cobbie is only bound to us through her choice, not ours. I suppose not all house-elves are that way, but…"

Amelia set down her fork and looked at Alice. "Maybe she isn't bound to you," she said. "Maybe your Mum's set her free and just didn't tell your Dad, and she's still working for you because you're good to her."

Alice pushed her plate away from her. "Could be," she said, shrugging. "I just think there's a lot more to house-elves than most people give them credit for, that's all I'm saying."

Lily chewed her sausage, trying to decide if she should say anything about Lupin's odd behavior. He was sitting with the Marauders this morning, looking much better than he had last night, and he was no longer wearing the bandage. Figuring that it was really none of her business, she swallowed, and then changed the subject. "Ready for that Transfiguration test today?" she asked, her stomach doing a flip-flop.

"No," Alice said, standing. "But I don't suppose that'll stop McGonagall from giving it to us just the same, so we'd better get going." The three girls left the Great Hall and headed to Transfiguration.