Chapter Text
"Aaaaah!" Binky moaned lowly. "Not now, Baby, please be holding on. Plea-aaaah!"
Unfortunately, Binky's baby did not listen. Alone in the tent, Binky gave birth to her precious little one. Small even by elven standards, the babe's cry was weak and interspersed with little gasps as she tried to breathe.
It was during one of these episodes that Draco returned from a hike. Normally, Binky would greet him with a nutritious energy drink, and her absence was immediately noted as were the sounds of her pleas for something to hold on. Entering the makeshift area that the two had made for Binky, his heart leapt into his throat at the sight. For a long minute, Draco was frozen staring at the scene in front of him.
The babe's squall shook him out of his daze. "Wha-who? Who is this, Binky?" Despite speaking at a whisper to avoid startling his nanny-elf, Binky still jumped in fright and backed away from the slowly approaching tall-one. Her worst nightmare had come to be. Tall-ones were not to be troubled with elves unless the elf was able to do something for their Maschre. The little babe in her arms was helpless, unable to prove its value. It stood no chance against the whims of the Maschre. A keening wail left her mouth without permission. No, NO. She had to stop. Binky had no time for keening. She had to think of something, anything that she could give or do in exchange for her baby’s safety. Maschres found joy in punishment right?
“P-please Masch-Master. P-please, be doing whatevers you be wanting to me in punishment. Just, just don’t be hurting Binky’s baby.” Bad Binky, Bad. Calling Baby her own is just giving the Maschre another way to hurt Binky. “She be growing strong and be working good for youse if she be having a chance.” flings
Draco’s heart hurt. It beat in terror for the baby? Seemingly struggling for life. It hurt that Binky feared he would hurt the little life. He kneeled next to Binky with tears in his eyes. “No Binky. No one’s gonna hurt you or your baby. Why didn’t you-never mind.” Draco understood why this would be kept a secret. He didn’t want to imagine what would have happened had this happened around his dad. Now Draco understood why Dobby wanted to go in Binky’s place.
“What’s wrong with... her, you said? Is there anything I can do to help?”
Binky’s heart leapt. She could barely believe her ears even as she carefully shifted the rags a little so that Master Draco could see her precious little one. “She be weak, Master Draco. House-elves be needing lots of magic around to grow healthy, especially baby elvies”
“Couldn’t you pop back with her to the manor?”
“I’s afraids she may be being too weak to handle the pop, Master. I’s needing to finds a way to makes her stronger first.”
“And I suppose if she’s too weak for that, just hiking out of here is out of the question too…Oh Binky, I’m so sorry I made you come with me! I...I have a friend. Maybe if I can contact him, he’d be able to help.”
Thankfully, their campsite wasn’t terribly far from Potter Manor. Oh definitely too far for them to reach on their own, but Draco’s familiar would be able to reach it within a few hours. Draco just hoped the baby in Binky’s arms could hold out that long and that Harry would send someone to help them quickly.
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Pop! Pop! Pop! Nearly faint with relief, Draco greeted the three visitors and explained the situation. While Emi and Gellion went to see to the baby and mother, Harry sat with Draco.
“it’s not your fault.”
“Isn’t it though? I’m the one who dragged a pregnant house-elf into the wilderness. Her mate even tried to go in her place, but I wouldn’t let him.”
“So you knew she was pregnant?”
“…no”
“You knew that the trip would be dangerous?”
“No, but Harry, you don’t understand! It took us hours to get here. What if the hike encouraged the baby to come early?”
“Tell me about your bond with Binky.”
“Huh?”
“Tell me about your bond with your nanny-elf. I presume you talked to her at some point during the trip. I can’t imagine that that didn’t impact your connection in some way.”
“It’s stronger…I think. I mean I’ve sorta maybe been getting little twinges that I think are what she’s feeling? Not all the time, but it seems to bleed through when her guard is down. That’s never happened before.”
Harry’s eyebrows rose. He wasn’t surprised that Draco could feel his nanny-elf’s emotions, rather that this was a new situation. Given his unique upbringing, Harry had always been close with Emi, and she had never (at least in his memory) felt the need to shield herself from him. It was similar with Pogi and Warken though they sometimes shielded if a game required stealth. Also, their bond with Harry was different, being through Harry’s dad rather than a direct connection like nanny-elves had. Hearing that Draco did not have access to the easy approval and comfort that Emi gave him made Harry sad.
Sighing, Harry continued, “I’m glad your bond is getting stronger. I imagine that a strong connection with you will only help your nanny-elf and, through her, the baby. Come on,” Here Harry stood from the log where they’d been chatting. “ You said that she told you the baby needed lots of magic, right? While Emi and Gellion tackle the direct care, you and me can at least help with the magical atmosphere of the tent. You remember how to float stuff, right?”
More thankful than he could express for his friend and having something positive to do, Draco merely nodded and followed Harry back inside. It took a few tries to connect with his magic like Harry had taught him in Hogwarts’ kitchens, but soon the two boys were levitating everything in sight. Draco’s brow sweat a little with the effort of such prolonged magic, but he wouldn’t, no couldn’t, stop doing the one thing that might, maybe be helping his nanny-elf and the baby in the next room.
Somewhere deep inside him, a soft thu-thump was felt, and with it was a wave of relief. Binky was not shielding at all, and Draco’s intense magic use made his perceptions of her that much stronger. Thu-thump, thu-thump...through her, Draco could sense the babe now breathing peacefully, her heart beating strong.
A few minutes later, Gellion left Binky’s room. “I’s thought the wave of magic in here was you,” he stated to Harry. Turning to Draco, “You’s be floating too?”
“Harry taught me...it was the only thing we could think of to help,” Draco responded meekly.
“You’s a surprise, you is,” Gellion sighed.
“Will the baby be alright? I’ll keep this up as long as I have to!” Draco fervently stated, matching words to action by levitating the table. Both Gellion and Harry could see the strain on Draco, however.
“That’s...not be necessary. You’s is making the baby stronger, but I’s afraid the magic is being only a bandaid. Babies be needing bonds to their families to maintain their’s magic levels. This baby be’s only having one bond. Is not enough, and hers magic levels even with youse two’s boosting the magic in the tent is not being strong enough for travel.”
“You’re, you’re saying she’ll die? No! No! What if, what if she bonded to me? The adult elves are bonded to my father, would being bonded to me help her levels?”
Gellion scoffed. “Tall-ones not be being bonded to baby elves. Babies not be being able to serve masters. Babies is to be kept hidden until they’s old enough to serve.”
“You’re telling me about tradition. Please, answer the question. If the baby was bonded to me, would that give her the strength needed to get home and be healthy?”
Slowly, Gellion nodded in the affirmative. “Yes, if you be opening the bond on you’se end enough to let hers access some of you’se magic, that be being enough”
“Let’s do it!...Um, Gellion, I’ve never been to a bonding ceremony. What do I say and do?”
“You’se be needing to state your intent to take baby elf as you’se bonded one and think of youse expectation for the bond. Then be letting your magic make hers submit to you. Then she should be safe to move back to yours manor.”
Within thirty minutes, the bonding ceremony was ready to begin. As Draco held the baby and bound her to him, he could only hope that she would grow to be happy, healthy, and strong. He remembered seeing the young elflings at Hogwarts play with each other, and yes...even with him. He wanted that, that carefree life for this precious life in his arms and vowed to do everything in his power to make it so, in spite of his father. When the time came for his magic to interact with hers, something strange happened. Rather than seeing the green glow of his natural magic beat her gentle yellow into submission, his magic seemed to envelope hers, holding it close and nurturing it instead.
Binky, able to feel the newly formed bond both through her daughter and through her master, felt her eyes tear up...this time in joy. The bond was a beautiful vibrant thing, symbiotic more than parasitic.
Draco could not take his eyes off the little one. His magic sang a song of peace, and he felt overwhelmed by feelings of love and a need to protect. Eventually, he spoke. “What’s her name?”
Gellion and the other elves shared a look. Traditionally, elflings were given an elvish name by the strongest elf to bond with them, and maschres either renamed them at their bonding ceremony or they were called by bastardized versions of their real name. In this case, none of the elves at Malfoy Manor would contribute more to the elfling’s well-being than Master Draco already had. Plus, she was already bonded.
Gellion spoke up. “I’s believe that that honor is belonging to you, sir.”
Draco was silent for a minute...his mind going over the, admittedly little, he knew about elves. He remembered a story Harry had told him while he was busy making the cure for the sick elves at Hogwarts. Draco wanted to be like the human in that story. Remembering that the elf was Gellion’s ancestor, he turned to him. “If it’s alright with you, Gellion, I would like to name her Aiyalia...or Ailey for short. Harry told me the story, and I want to be like Donnchad when I grow up”
And so the babe was named. Just as the one for whom she was named represented great change, so too would this child. As Donnchad created a cure to a deadly illness, so would Draco be remembered as one who led the fight for a new type of bond between elves and man.