Chapter- 42 : Fire and Fury Part - 8

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Harry was breathing heavily, scared out of his wits at how suddenly things had fallen apart. All he wanted was to reconnect with a dead friend and ask him to deliver a letter. How had things gone so wrong so quickly?

"Please," he said again, because that word seemed to have more of an impact on the elf than anything else. "Please, don't do anything rash."

Dobby remained where he was, not sitting down but not popping away either.

"If Master Harry is finding other way to send his letter Dobby is still having problem that it may not be beings safe. Dobby is not trusting Master Harry if Master Harry is not trusting Miss Iris Potter."

"But I do," he blurted out. "I trust Iris, but not the Headmaster. Unfortunately, she doesn't know me yet and is very wary of strangers. That means the first thing she will do is contact the Headmaster to tell him that a stranger wrote to her. Do you see my problem?"

The elf nodded. "Dobby does."

Harry's heart lifted.

"Dobby also does not care."

Fear clawed its way up his spine.

"Master Harry is playing dangerous game so unless Dobby is getting assu... assuranceses Dobby will be telling Miss Iris Potter."

"But I don't know what to tell you," Harry said in dismay. "I swear, I mean her no harm. I won't send her poisoned food or dangerous Dark artefacts or anything. I just want to write to her-"

"Master Harry swears?" Dobby interrupted, looking him very intently in the eyes as if searching for something.

Harry paused. "Yes..." he said slowly, unnerved and unsure what he was getting at.

"If Master Harry is swearing he not be harming Miss Iris Potter and he try to helping her always Dobby will not need to be telling Master Headmaster Dumblydore or Miss Iris Potter about Master Harry."

Harry let out a breath of relief. "I swear that I mean her no harm and I have her..." He trailed off as Dobby was shaking his head.

"Master Harry must be swearing and bonding to his swear."

He gaped at the elf. "You want me to swear an unbreakable vow?"

Dobby enthusiastically nodded before frowning and shaking his head. "Vow is being wizard magic. Master Harry will be swearing elf-bond."

That sounded disturbingly serious. "And if I don't..."

"Dobby will be telling everything to Master Headmaster Dumblydore right away," the elf said resolutely.

Harry pondered the options presented to him by the blackmailing little elf.

"If an elf-bond is not unbreakable, what happens if you do?" he asked warily.

Dobby looked thunderous and Harry held up both hands. "Not that I intend to, I'm just curious."

The elf huffed. "Elf-bond will be taking punishment," he said, before grinning viciously, reminding Harry of his predilection towards maiming enemies and friends alike, regardless of whether he wanted to hurt or help them.

"What kind of punishment...?"

Instead of answering Dobby started pacing while listing ever more gruesome tortures under his breath as if he couldn't decide which was worse. Suddenly his eyes widened as if he had an epiphany and he turned to the human sitting on the floor in a snap.

"Punishment will be Master Harry being Dobby's wizard."

Harry blinked in surprise. "If I break the bond you become my elf?" That didn't sound too bad.

"No, no!" Dobby shook his head so hard his ears flapped and bared his teeth in a bloodthirsty grin. "Dobby will not be being Master Harry's elf. Master Harry will be being Dobby's wizard."

He gulped, eyes wide. "You would make me your slave?" he whispered, horrified.

The elf crossed his arms and nodded firmly. "Dobby can not be thinking of worse punishment for betraying Miss Iris Potter."

Harry was speechless.

Here he was, wanting to do nothing more than send a simple sodding letter and suddenly he was being blackmailed by a house-elf of all things into becoming its slave unless he... suborned himself to Iris Potter?

"What... exactly would you want me to swear?"

"No harming Miss Iris Potter and helping Miss Iris Potter if she needs."

He swallowed. "That last bit is really vague, I don't want to fall afoul of some badly worded vow."

Dobby shrugged. "Thoughts is more important than words." He grinned sneakily. "Dobby promised Miss Iris Potter not to save her life again. If Master Harry swears Dobby knows he will instead."

Harry stared open-mouthed at the Slytherin elf. "And if I don't you'll go to Dumbledore?"

Dobby nodded.

"Bloody hell. You realise that's blackmail."

"Dobby is not caring. Dobby is a good elf."

"Yes, bloody marvellous, you are," Harry muttered under his breath, trying to look at this like a Slytherin, himself. "And in return, you'll play post owl and keep secret that we- You'll keep my secrets?"

"Not all secrets," the elf immediately objected. "Dobby is only be keeping letter-writing secret."

"Nuh-uh." Harry emphatically shook his head. "I only asked you to deliver a letter, and you're asking me to become an ally of Iris Potter whether I want to or not. For something that big you'll swear to keep all my secrets." Something occurred to him and he hastily added, "Keep my secrets, don't draw attention to me and swear not to seek a way around the vow. You're obviously... creative in interpreting your orders."

The elf scowled at him. "Dobby is not liking this," he said mulishly

"Funny," Harry snarked. "Neither am I."

Dobby pondered, hopping from foot to foot as he thought before nodding hesitantly.

Harry closed his eyes. "For how long?"

"Always and always."

Harry immediately shook his head. "Hell no. I will not have this vow hanging over me for the rest of my life. One month. If need be we can always renew it for another month or you can tattle after it is over."

The elf frowned. "One year. Dobby is doing things for Master Harry no other can be doing. In return he must be helping Miss Iris Potter long time."

Were they... haggling?

"Two months," he tried, only to be cut off immediately by an ear-flapping head shake.

"Dobby is not going lower than one year or Dobby is going to Master Headmaster Dumblydore right now."

Desperately Harry stared at the elf, looking for any kind of kindness or leeway there, but his face was like stone and his eyes like diamond.

"Fine," he said, slumping. "Do you know how to do this or will we need a third party?"

"Dobby knows. All elves be knowing about bonds." He spat the word like it was a curse. "Master Harry be kneeling and gripping Dobby's arm."

With great reluctance Harry sat on his knees, resting his weight on his ankles and glared at the elf who was now at equal height. Dobby gleefully extended his right arm and Harry grabbed his stick-like wrist firmly even as Dobby gripped his own with his long spindly fingers. Like opposing Captains crushing hands before a Quidditch match both squeezed the other with bruising force while neither let on that it affected them in any way.

Dobby raised his free arm and snapped his fingers loudly. Like a tuning fork the vibration resonated all the way down his arm and up the other into Harry, who felt something rush through him, making his bones rattle. Magic filled him up to his hair, feeling heavy and waiting for some ominous event to come to pass.

Bands of blue-green light emerged from their fingers and encircled the other's wrists.

"This is elf-bond on Dobby elf's swear and Harry wizard's swear, punished by servitude until giving of clothes," Dobby intoned formally and the magical cords tightened, truly binding their arms together.

"Is Harry wizard agreed?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

Harry swallowed thickly. "Yes. Is Dobby elf agreed?"

A firm nod was his answer. "Yes."

Dobby snapped his fingers again and the resonance filled both of them with magic until it was sucked into the cords that started vibrating as if eager to fullfill their function.

It rattled the bones in his arm and the rest of his body shook with it. Harry tensed when to his consternation it didn't let up.

"Master Harry is to be snapping fingers," the elf said through gritted teeth.

Harry immediately did so and the heavy feeling of magic disappeared as the cords around their arms flashed before they too dissipated. Looking closely at their joint arms Harry thought he could see an after image.

"It is done," Dobby said, sounding pleased, releasing him. "Dobby will go deliver the letter now."

With a pop he disappeared, leaving Harry alone on the floor staring at his arm, wondering if making a friend out of Iris Potter was worth the hassle of dealing with her blackmailing elf.

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(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)

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