Chapter Text
“Happy birthday, Elizabeth!” Remus, just like the year before, caught the girl as she came down the stairs, jumping into his arms.
“Hi Remus!” She accepted the kiss to the cheek as she was twirled around. “Thank you for coming!”
“I wouldn’t miss your 12th birthday for the world.” He put her down and led her to the kitchen, where Severus was making breakfast. “So, what’s the plan for today? Hogwarts house party or something else?”
“It’s another full house this year.” Severus filled his daughter’s plate, then Remus’. “Only this year is complete with Weasleys and the Grangers.”
“Can we handle that many people?” Remus looked around at the house. “We’re a little small, don’t you think?”
“The weather is going to be nice today. If we keep the children outside, we’ll be fine. Which reminds me- Elizabeth, there will be no flying today.”
“What? Why?” She looked up from her food, confusion on her face.
“Jenny can’t fly, remember? She’s going to be here today, and it isn’t fair to her that she can’t participate.” Severus put his hand on her head. “I promise, you can go to the Weasleys’ some time next week if Molly will allow it to fly with them, but right now, I can’t let that happen.”
She nodded, before going back to her breakfast. “When is everyone getting here?”
“They will be here for noon, so you’ll have plenty of time to clean up that room that I’ve been asking you to do for days now.” Severus looked at her sternly.
“They aren’t going to be in my room.” She grumbled, poking at her eggs.
“They won’t be here at all if you don’t get it done.” Severus sat at the table with his coffee, waving his wand to put food on the table for himself and Remus. “There are clothes everywhere, your quidditch things are on the floor and if I have to step over one more pair of shoes or toy, I’m throwing them all in the bin.”
“Come on lion, it shouldn’t take you that long.” Remus said, taking a sip of coffee.
She groaned one more time and then got up, putting her now empty plate in the sink. “It’s my birthday. I shouldn’t have to clean my room today.”
“You wouldn’t have to if you cleaned it three days ago like I asked.” Severus said coolly as she shrieked and stomped off. “I love this preteen thing.” He said to Remus as they now sat alone in the kitchen.
Just before the guests were about to arrive, Severus and Remus went to check on the girl, who had been silent for the last three hours. “Elizabeth, how are you doing in-“
He pulled up short to the sight of his daughter, sitting on the floor, wearing her school hat, her quidditch robes and school scarf, with her box of chocolate frog cards scattered before her. There were books surrounding her and she seemed to have made a bigger mess than she had started with. “What are you doing?”
“I got distracted.” She said sheepishly.
“I can see that.” He came over as Remus bit back a laugh, Severus unwinding the layers from his child, putting them away. “You need to get this done. Everyone will be here soon.”
“Can’t I do it tomorrow?”
“No, you’ve put it off far too long as is.” Severus sighed. “Come now, where would you like to start?” He looked at Remus, who was tidying her books.
“Start? You’re going to help me?”
“There is no sense making you tackle this on your own so close to everyone arriving.” Severus began to gather her clothes that he knew were dirty into her hamper. “Collect your shoes and put them away where they belong.”
Together, the three managed to tidy her room before there was a knock at the door. Severus led the girl down to the main floor, Remus shutting her bedroom door behind them all. Opening the front door, Elizabeth was tackled by Jenny, who knocked the two to the ground.
“Elizabeth!”
“Jenny!” Elizabeth laughed, pulling herself off the floor.
“Happy birthday!” She said cheerfully, her voice bouncing off the walls in delight.
“Jenny, inside voices!” Maureen said, coming into the room, holding several bags. “I’m sorry, Severus. She’s been excited all week.” She apologized for her daughter before putting the bags on the table they were putting gifts on before hugging Elizabeth tightly to her. “Happy birthday, darling!”
“Thank you, Mrs. Ashter!” Elizabeth hugged her back. She turned to Daniel, who was coming inside, shutting the door behind himself. “Hi Mr. Ashter!”
“Hello, Elizabeth!” He scooped her up in his arms and hugged her tight. “Happy birthday!”
She laughed as he jostled her, before putting her feet back on the floor. “Thank you!”
“I remember when you were barely walking, but now, look at you! Look at how big you’ve gotten! You’re making me feel so old.” He kissed her head before going to the kitchen with the other adults, where Severus was putting the food together to take outside.
Elizabeth and Jenny sat in the living room, with Elizabeth showing Jenny how to play exploding snap. Jenny cried out the first time one of her cards exploded, before they dissolved into fits of laughter. Every once in a while, one of the adults would poke their heads out to check on the girls, as loud snaps erupted from their game, but there would be nothing amiss.
At exactly noon, the fireplace activated, causing Jenny to jump in fright, more than the game had caused her to. Hermione and her mother came through into the living room, the two looking around for a moment before finding Elizabeth and her friend, the former standing up to greet the bushy haired witch.
“Hi Hermione!” Elizabeth hugged the girl, pulling her over to the section of rug they were playing on. “Hi Mrs. Granger!”
“Hello Elizabeth!” She came over to the girls, looking down at the game they were playing. “What are you doing here?”
“Exploding Snap,” Hermione and Elizabeth said, the latter re-dealing the cards to include Hermione in their game.
“I see,” The older woman left them to their game, smiling as Hermione began babbling to the two other girls.
“Hermione, this is my friend from Muggle school, Jenny. Jenny, this is Hermione. We met at school.” Elizabeth introduced the two.
Hermione looked up from the cards, slapping one down on the pile. “Elizabeth’s told me all about you.”
Jenny smiled shyly. “She told me about you as well. I wish I could go to Hogwarts with you all. It seems like so much fun.”
Elizabeth looked at Hermione, before carefully saying. “It’s different, but the work load is the same as muggle school. And when my other friends get here, they’re going to think everything you learn in school is the coolest thing in the world.”
Jenny smiled a little and laid a card down, jumping when it exploded. “Do you really think so?”
“Yeah, I do. Especially if their dad comes too. He loves anything to do with Muggles.”
The three played happily for another half hour before the floo activated once more and several red heads stepped out, each stamping their feet onto the rug by the hearth. Molly was last, coming in after Arthur, sweeping Elizabeth into her arms, kissing her cheek.
“Happy birthday, Elizabeth!” the plump witch fussed over her as Elizabeth looked for help in her father, who had stepped out of the living room due to the commotion.
“Thank you, Mrs. Weasley,” Elizabeth said as her father cleared his throat.
“The Hogwarts staff are set to arrive soon, so it might be prudent to move this get together to the backyard.” Severus pulled his daughter from Molly and swept the cards from the floor, handing then to Elizabeth. “My home, unfortunately, is not designed to hold the majority of the world population.”
Molly nodded, while the girls ran out of the house, where the Weasleys were gathered, watching as Remus set up the large table to accommodate everyone for lunch.
“Hey, Ellie,” Fred swung Elizabeth around as she came running out of the house, Hermione and Jenny at her heels. “What’s with the huge table?”
“Oh, the Hogwarts professors are coming. They did last year too.” Elizabeth whirled a little at the impromptu spin.
“Really? Why do they come?” Ron asked, his face pinched. “Why would you want to spend time with them outside of class?”
“I spend time with them all summer. I’ve been going back and forth to study with them for the last few weeks.” Elizabeth shrugged. “They’re not so bad to spend time with outside of class.” Elizabeth shook her head. “Anyways, this is Jenny, she’s my friend from muggle school. Jenny, this is everyone else from school that I hang out with.”
Jenny waved shyly, not sure what to say, when George stepped up. “Hi, I’m George, this is my brother, Fred.” He pointed. “Percy is over there, by the tree. He’s boring as hell, so you don’t need to worry about him much. This is Ron and our youngest sibling, Ginny.”
“It’s nice to meet you all. Elizabeth has told me so much about you.”
“She hasn’t shut up about you,” Ron said, laughing as Elizabeth slugged him in the arm. “It’s true! You’re always talking about how much you miss her and how sad it is she couldn’t come to school with us.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but perked up when Hagrid came through to the backyard. “Hi Hagrid!”
“Hullo, Elizabeth! Oh, of course, everyone is here. Hullo, Miss Jenny, how are you doing?”
“I’m doing well, Hagrid. And yourself?”
“Not too bad. I have a whole batch of blast ended skrewts about to hatch back at school for Professor Kettleburn, so it’s a very exciting time for us all.”
Hagrid walked away to help Remus, as the kids looked at each other in confusion. “What is a blast ended skrewt?” Ron asked.
“I have no idea, but if it’s something that has Hagrid excited, then it’s some kind of animal.” Elizabeth said before the lot of them ran up to the tree house, climbing into the interior. “And normally, that doesn’t mean something good.” The three second years winced as they remembered the dragon that Hagrid had tried to raise and had subsequently bit Ron.
“What was that look for?” Jenny asked, looking from person to person.
Elizabeth looked at Hermione and Ron before the three launched into the story of their first year, telling Jenny about dragons and the stone and how Quirrell, their previous teacher was absolutely insane and tried to kill Elizabeth.
“But why?” Jenny asked, her face pinched. “That makes no sense.”
“Because I was trying to keep him from getting the stone, so he couldn’t live forever.” Elizabeth told her, leaving out the part about Voldemort. She didn’t think it was right to worry her friend about what could possibly be nothing. If Voldemort couldn’t create another body, then she didn’t have much to worry about, then, did she?
“I just hope that this year is quiet,” Ron prayed to the group, before looking over the edge of the railing to find Flitwick and McGonagall entering the backyard. “The professors are here, it seems.” He turned back to Elizabeth. “Why do you invite them?”
“They’re my dad’s friends, so he invites them. Anyways, they were there for the trial and they acted as character witnesses for us… I don’t have an issue with them coming, since I have a good relationship with them all.”
“I do too, but it doesn’t mean I want to see my teachers when I’m having time off from school.” Ron sulked in the corner, then sputtered as George threw a pillow at him.
“Cheer up, Ron. The only person who can really discipline you here is Mum, so at least there’s that.” He smirked. “Though, after all the detentions we got this past year, it will be strange seeing them again so soon before school starts.”
“You’re telling me. McGonagall started writing to Mum about all the trouble we got into every time, so they’re going to have some interesting conversations today, I think.” Fred shrugged. “At least Dad wasn’t too mad.”
“Your dad doesn’t seem like he’s ever angry.” Elizabeth stretched out on the floor, looking at the sky.
“Oh, he can be, but not often. That’s why it’s so scary when he’s actually pissed. It happens so rarely that it catches you off guard. It’s Mum who yells the most.” Fred turned to Ginny, who had been listening to their conversation, but not contributing. “Ginny here is the only one who seems to get away with anything, but I think that’s because she’s Mum’s favorite.”
“I am not her favorite!” Ginny shook her head. “That’s Percy, if you weren’t aware.”
“That is true… she does like that brown noser a lot.” George agreed. “But you’re the only girl and we all know how badly Mum wanted a girl over boys.”
“She really wanted a girl that badly?” Hermione asked, looking around at the redheads as if seeing how many there were for the first time.
“Mhmm. I don’t know if we would all be here if she got Ginny sooner.”
“You don’t mean that,” Elizabeth scolded. “She loves all of you so much. I think that’s why she was so mad when you blew up the basement. At least that’s what Dad said.”
“Oh she loves us all, that’s not up for debate, but she has favorites. We all got screamed at, except Percy and Ginny. They were allowed to leave the fight after five minutes. Ron was after about ten, since he just didn’t say anything to Mum before the explosion happened and we were lectured by her and Dad for nearly two hours. Then we were grounded for a week, so,” Fred and George shrugged.
“I was going to ask what happened with that, but Dad never said. He just kept telling me I wasn’t allowed over yet.”
“It’s because Mum wouldn’t want to punish you and not let you see us, so she just kept you away for the time being until we were done being on punishment. She would have folded for you.” Fred thought for a moment. “No, I know who the favorite Weasley is and it’s not even one of us. It’s Ellie. Ellie is Mum’s favorite kid!”
“Stop, no I’m not!” Elizabeth gently pushed Fred.
“It does seem that way,” Hermione laughed, before looking over the railing, seeing more adults filing in. “Did your dad bring-“
“Nearly every Hogwarts professor? Yes, he did. He invites them all, but they don’t all come. They do send gifts though. Last year was just like candy and some books, but yeah, it’s the entire staff. I just hope the Headmaster doesn’t show up.”
“Do you think he will?”
“With Dumbledore? There’s always a chance.” Elizabeth turned away as Severus came out into the yard, calling for his daughter.
“Elizabeth!” Severus shouted, looking up as her head poked over the railing of the tree house. “Come down here, please. Everyone’s here, it’s time for lunch.”
The other children began rushing down, sliding down the slide that connected the top to the ground or using the ladder, while Elizabeth stayed at the top.
“Did you not hear me?” Severus asked, crossing his arms while he waited.
“Can I climb down from the swing side and jump off?”
“Absolutely not. Either use the ladder or the slide, but any other way and I’m sending everyone home now.”
Elizabeth groaned, but threw herself down the slide, brushing off the seat of her jeans.
Severus shook his head as Molly came over, laughing. “Is she always inclined to throw herself off tall structures?”
“Merlin, I hope not.” Severus sighed. “She likes to climb over the side to the swings and flip upside down off the top bar. She just needs to think with her head.”
*S*S*
Later that night, Elizabeth was tucked into bed, Severus going to bed shortly after. She was falling asleep when she felt a weight on her chest. She thought it was Hedwig, but she hadn’t received a letter from her friends, but still, she reached up sleepily to pet her head. Instead, she touched skin, startling her.
She pushed the thing off, the bed giving way as it went to the side. As it flopped, she threw herself to the side of her bed, turning on her knees to see a wrinkly creature kneeling on her bed. A scream bubbled up in her throat, but she managed to keep it down.
The creature was wearing a dirty pillowcase, with rips for arms and leg holes. It was dirty and it’s eyes were watery, as if on the verge of tears.
“Er- Hello?” Elizabeth whispered. She knew her father was a notorious light sleeper, and any noise was liable to wake him up.
“Elizabeth Evans! So long has Dobby wanted to meet you… Such an honor it is…”
“Thank you?” Elizabeth shuffled back away from the creature, moving Bear and Falkor away from it. “If you don’t mind me asking, but who are you?”
“Dobby, sir. Just Dobby. Dobby the house-elf,” said the creature.
“Oh — really?” said Elizabeth. She had never heard a name like that, but she didn’t want to be rude and make any mean comments. She had no idea what a house elf was, but if they all looked like that, she certainly didn’t want anything to do with one. “Er — I don’t want to be rude or anything, but — this isn’t a great time for me to have a house-elf in my bedroom. Not that I’m not pleased to meet you,” said Elizabeth quickly, “but, er, is there any particular reason you’re here?”
“Oh, yes, miss,” said Dobby earnestly. “Dobby has come to tell you, miss… it is difficult, miss… Dobby wonders where to begin…”
“Sit down,” said Elizabeth politely, pointing at the bed. The elf was now standing up on her bed, and it was making her nervous that he would tumble and fall, waking her father.
The elf burst into tears — very noisy tears. Elizabeth, ignoring everything her brain was telling her about the elf, launched forward and put a hand over his mouth, muffling his screams.
“Dobby, please be quiet! My dad will wake up!”
“S-sit down!” he wailed, muffled behind her hand. “Never… never ever…”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I didn’t mean to offend you or anything —”
“Offend Dobby!” choked the elf. “Dobby has never been asked to sit down by a witch or wizard — like an equal —”
“You can’t have met many decent wizards,” said Elizabeth, trying to cheer him up.
Dobby shook his head. Then, without warning, he leapt up and started banging his head furiously on the window, shouting, “Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!”
“Don’t — what are you doing?” she hissed, springing up. She began pulling Dobby back onto the bed. As she was wrestling him back, her door burst open, Severus standing in the doorway, his wand drawn.
“What the devil is going on here?” He looked at Dobby, who was still beating his head.
“Dad, he just appeared, I promise! I don’t know where he came from!” She finally wretched Dobby from her window sill, looking at the bruise that was forming in a thin line on his forehead.
“I know, Elizabeth- Step back, elf!” He reached for his daughter, yanking her back behind him, not allowing Dobby to come any closer.
“Dobby had to punish himself, sir,” said the elf, who had gone slightly cross-eyed. “Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, sir… Dobby didn’t mean to wake you from your sleep…”
“Your family?”
“Elizabeth, hush. What are you doing here, elf? To cross my wards, you must have a death sentence.” He dug his wand into Dobby’s chest. “I’m not going to ask again.”
Dobby was silent for a short moment before speaking again. “Elizabeth Evans must not go back to Hogwarts.”
“W-what?” Elizabeth stammered. “Dad, I-“
“Elizabeth, go to my room.” Severus pushed her toward the door in a not unclear instruction to move. As he wrestled with her a moment, Dobby kept talking.
“If Elizabeth Evans goes back to Hogwarts, she will be in mortal danger.”
“Why?” said Severus sharply.
“There is a plot, Elizabeth Evans. A plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year,” whispered Dobby, suddenly trembling all over. “Dobby has known it for months, sir. Elizabeth Evans must not put herself in peril. She is too important, sir!”
“What terrible things?” said Severus at once. “Who’s plotting them?” He waved his wand, freezing the elf to prevent him from hurting himself any longer or from leaving before Severus got all the information he wanted. “Elizabeth Renee, go to my room now!”
“Dobby cannot say, Sir. Dobby cannot betray his family.”
It was then that Severus recognized the elf. Lucius Malfoy had been particularly cruel to this one, beating him over the head on more than one occasion. “I can tell you this ‘Dobby’,” Severus sneered. “If your master comes anywhere near my daughter, there will be hell to pay.”
“Dobby is just trying to protect Elizabeth Evans!” Dobby began to try to wrench himself free from the spell Severus had him under. “She cannot go back to Hogwarts!”
“I have to go back to Hogwarts! It’s the only place I’ve got — well, I think I’ve got friends.”
“Friends who don’t even write to Elizabeth Evans?” said Dobby slyly.
“I expect they’ve just been — wait a minute,” said Elizabeth, frowning. “How do you know my friends letters haven’t been getting to me?”
Dobby shuffled his feet. “Elizabeth Evans mustn’t be angry with Dobby. Dobby did it for the best —”
“Have you been stopping my letters?”
“Dobby has them here, miss,” said the elf. Yanking his hand out of the freezing spell, he pulled a thick wad of envelopes from the inside of the pillowcase he was wearing. Elizabeth could make out Hermione’s neat writing, Ron’s untidy scrawl, and even a scribble that looked as though it was from the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Hagrid.
Dobby blinked anxiously up at Elizabeth. “Elizabeth Evans mustn’t be angry… Dobby hoped… if Elizabeth Evans thought her friends had forgotten her… Elizabeth Evans might not want to go back to school, miss…”
Elizabeth wasn’t listening, not to Dobby, not to Severus, who shouted once more for her to leave. She made a mad dash to Dobby, yanking the letters from the elf. “These weren’t yours to take!” She yelled, getting pulled away by her father once more, his hand coming down sharply on her backside.
“Young lady, if you value sitting comfortably again, you will go to my bedroom right now.”
“Hmph,” She stomped out of the room, throwing herself on her father’s bed.
After she was gone, Severus undid the freezing charm, cast an anti-apparation jinx and then grabbed Dobby by the filthy pillowcase. “Listen here, elf. I don’t know what your master is planning. I certainly do not care. You will tell me what you know.”
“Dobby cannot betray his family, sir!”
“Then it is unfortunate that you came to my home, then, is it not?” Severus shook the creature. ”Not only do I have veritaserum to shove down your throat, I don’t have the issue with doing so. Or maybe, I’ll save myself the trip downstairs and just go into your head and see what kind of Occlumens you are.”
“No, please, sir! There is a plot, a terrible plot!” Dobby shook as Severus gripped his pillowcase tighter still. “Elizabeth Evans is in danger! She cannot return to Hogwarts!”
“What kind of plot, Dobby?”
“Dobby cannot say! But terrible things are going to happen this year. She must stay where it is safe!”
“I’ll tell you this, elf. Your master’s wrath is nothing compared to the pain I inflict on those threatening my daughter. Furthermore, since you will not tell me what this plot is, I will tell you that if any harm is to befall my daughter this year, I will hold you accountable, due to your negligence. Understood?”
“Yes sir.”
“I am going to release your apparation ability and you are going to go home and leave us in peace. Elizabeth will be returning to Hogwarts this year, regardless of whatever your depraved master and his nefarious band of followers are planning. They are chasing a dead wizard.” He released the elf and Dobby disappeared with a pop.
Severus wiped a hand over his face and turned, going back into his bedroom, finding his daughter going through the letters, tears running down her face. “Elizabeth, why are you crying?” Severus forgot about his irritation with her momentarily, scooping her up to sit on his lap. Worried she had somehow been hurt by the elf, he looked her over and scanned her with his wand but found nothing.
“They’ve been writing to me all summer, Dad.” She held up the letters, multiple from Hermione and Ron, as well as Fred and even Hagrid.
“Elizabeth, you knew that. Now we know why they weren’t coming, but you knew your friends didn’t abandon you.” Severus sighed. “But I do know that now is bedtime, not time to read the post.” He scooped up her letters and tucked them into the bundle they had been tied with. “I think it’s best we get you back in bed.”
Severus brought her back to her bed, tucking her in after he put the letters in her desk drawer. “Now, we do need to have a discussion about following orders, young lady.” He said sternly, sitting on the edge of her bed. “When I tell you to follow an instruction, I expect you to obey and to do so quickly. What if that elf had been dangerous? You could have gotten hurt. I don’t care that you weren’t, which I know that’s what you’re about to say, but I will say that if you disobey me again, a single swat on the backside will be the least of your worries. Understand?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good, now it’s time to go to sleep.” Severus gestured for her to roll over, the older man rubbing her back as she drifted off, dreaming of house elves and Hogwarts.