Chapter 4:New house elves

Sirius had once been a cruel man, he admitted that to himself, but Azkaban had cured him of that. Years of torture and guilt did that to a man. But now, he felt compassion for the tired old elf. He wondered if he could find more elves to help Kreacher. This house was huge, and it was disgusting. It needed more than one old decrepit elf, who was on his last leg, to clean it. That and it might improve Kreacher's disposition if he had help.

With that in mind, he slammed his hand on the pedestal again, and said forcefully, "Magic hear my call. The House of Black seeks any free elf that wants a family to serve. Come to my voice and let me inspect you." He removed his hand and waited.

A few minutes later, ten elves popped into the room. One was wearing tea cozies as a hat, a large knitted jumper, and had socks on its feet. One female was in a very sloppy and stained yellow sundress. If he looked closely, he knew the stains were butterbeer, which he knew was bad for elves. Still, he'd hear her out. The rest were dressed in ratty pillowcases and didn't look at all well.

He pointed to the one in the tea cozy. "You, what did you do to be freed?"

"Dobby was freed from a cruel master by the Great Harry Potter. Dobby was hoping that if Harry Potter's dogfather took him in, then Dobby could serve around the Great Harry Potter. Dobby would love nothing more in life than to serve the Great Harry Potter," the now-named Dobby said, bouncing on his spindly sock-clad feet.

Sirius thought about that for a minute and then said, "Dobby, go to Harry and offer your services. Explain to him why you want to serve him. If he doesn't take you, come back to me, and I will bond with you and have you serve him as the heir of the House of Black." It would be a nice birthday present.

Dobby popped away to #4 Privet Drive with the hope that his greatest wish would come true.

Sirius pointed to the elf in the dress. "You, what did you do to be freed?"

"Winky is not knowing, sir. Winky is following orders and then Master accuses Winky of using a wand, but Winky didn't. Winky was only following orders," she cried in earnest, putting her thin hands over her face.

"Winky?" the new Head asked kindly. He wondered who her last master was. "Who did you serve?"

"Winky was elf to Master Crouch and his son," she wailed in anguish as it hurt her to remember.

That caught Sirius' attention. He hated that family with every fiber of his being. When he found out that both were dead, he did a little victory dance. Now he had a chance to spit on Senior's grave by taking in his elf. Hell yeah, he was going to snap that up. He didn't even care if she was a good elf.

He got a wicked grin on his face. "Winky," he said gently, making her stop wailing. "Do you wish to serve the House of Black?"

The elf looked like she was thinking hard. Her last master hated this man and his family, but they were gone, and she wanted to serve a family again. Her magic was getting weaker, and the drinking of Butterbeer was not helping. If this man was offering her a family… "Winky will serve the House of Black," she said decisively, as she perked up a little.

"Stand over there, and let me interview the rest of these elves," Sirius said as he pointed to the wall on the far side of the room. He was ecstatic, first Malfoy's old elf, now Crouch's. He wondered if there were any more elves from Dark families.

The elf did as she was told, though she was itching to clean the old blood stains off. Her nose wrinkled and she made sure to stand clear of them. While she was waiting, she snapped her fingers and got rid of the yellow sundress. Instead, she was wearing a comfortable tea towel. It was soft against her skin and brought her comfort to be wearing something familiar. She hated that dress.

Sirius talked to the other elves and found five more, three from Dark families, which made it all the better. After his talks, he felt would serve him well. They wouldn't give him knowledge of their old family, just why they were let go. Mostly due to downsizing, and death.

He took oaths from the six elves after sending the rest away. He just didn't need eleven elves, twelve if Dobby came back. He wouldn't know what to do with that many. After the house was cleaned, he only needed the ones he bonded with to keep it clean. Even then he would be hard-pressed to find them things to do.

He gave them the same orders he gave Kreacher once he had informed them that Kreacher was the head elf and that they were to take instructions from him.

The now invigorated man heaved a large sigh. He was starting to feel the extra boost of magic, and it was making him antsy. He left, warded, and locked the room so no one could come in. As he was leaving the library, he waved his uncle's wand and permitted the room to allow the kids access, but not the adults, except Moony. He felt that he would deny that privilege until the people in his house started respecting him.

"Dinky," he called one of the new elves, who quickly popped in, "I need you to ward the Dark books in here. The kids can come read, but I don't want them to hurt themselves. Just stick them to the shelves, and make sure they can't be removed."

"Dinky will do as Master orders," the thin elf said, bouncing up and down in his excitement that he had a family to serve. He too was dressed in a tea towel, but his was more toga style. It was adorned with the Black family emblem.