Link of Hogwarts

Thirteen

Link sighed as he sat in his tree, wondering about the headaches he has been experiencing as of late. Link had taken to wearing a sky blue hoodie with white patterns along the hood and the hems. It was a far better comfort than wearing his bandanna. After almost a year of never needing to hide his ears, which his teachers had at first tried to 'correct' only to find out that it's really his ears, Link abhorred the idea of binding his ears. It had never been comfortable but he had bear with it because he has no choice in the matter.

Then when he had confessed the reason for his rather glum mood on the way back, Hermione's eyes had lit up and told him to buy himself hoodies. She didn't know that Link never have allowances, the Dursley deeming him unworthy of money, so she didn't know the reason why it never occurred to him to buy himself a more fitting clothes. She also didn't know that all of Link's clothes had once miraculously turn to shades of green or blue at one point and thus the reason why his relatives refused to buy him fitting garment outside his undergarments. They feared that it will infect their clothing. Attempts to re-dye his changed clothes failed and Link had been left in his cupboard for a whole weekend after that happened.

So once his relatives left him to himself one day for an overnight trip, Link had navigated his way all the way to London and the Leaky Cauldron to change what wizarding currency he have on his person to pounds. As to how he made his way to London, it was yet another thing about Link that he refused to think too deeply on because he has always been able to go long distances without break, cutting through the wilderness and residential area in a straight line toward his destination. Somehow he just has an internal map that help him go anywhere for as long as he has been there once. He only needed to be sure of the location and he can go there from whichever point he's standing from.

Luckily heading back requires less energy after he learned about the Knight Bus from Tom the bartender at the Leaky Cauldron. He managed to return just before the Dursley arrived home. Then he had gone on a short shopping spree for clothes that actually fit him that he kept hidden in his tree. Whenever he left home and want to go further than Privet Drive, he will change in the tree. Now he no longer looked like a homeless person whenever he walks around Little Whinging.

Summer has been quiet as his relatives avoided him even more than before Hogwarts. Petunia avoided handing him chores if she could help it. If anything, his relatives have taken to have him out of their hair as much as possible. Link didn't mind, it meant more alone time for him and the things he really felt like doing. As for why he felt the need to be alone?

Ever since coming across Voldemort last year, Link had taken to train himself. He had always been a restless child, but now that he knew that his life being targeted Link have become even more restless. He no longer threw up or insomniac. If anything, his active lifestyle will knock him unconscious at the end of the day. He had also taken a knife and carved himself a wooden broadsword with which he then swings to tire himself out.

He had also gone out for yet another shopping spree to buy himself some weight to tie around his wrists and ankles. It helped to tire him out but soon he began wearing heavier and heavier weights as he goes about his day. Swinging the wooden sword put him in a meditative state as he moved his body according to instinct. Since then, he carved and built himself several different weapons like a morning star mace that he had built by tying horse chestnuts tightly in a cloth tied to the end of a stick just for a feel of the real thing.

He had also carved several different swords like a scimitar, a rapier and a katana. It ranges from single handed weapon to two handed weapon. Yet Link found himself preferring a hand and a half broadsword. These aside, he has been receiving mails from Neville but hardly from Ron and Hermione. Also Gaepora have been out hunting for something lately during random hours. Considering that his uncle refused to have him out due to its unique size and appearance, Link have to let Gaepora live in his tree.

One day, while still wondering about the missing mails from Ron and Hermione who had promised to write and knowing that they weren't to lie about such things, Gaepora finally caught whatever it was that have been bothering him. Link looked up as his familiar brought to him a struggling creature, "Gaepora?"

Pinning the poor thing under it and looking smugly at Link, Link sheathed away the sword he's been training himself with. His uncle wanted him out of the house for insurance because of a visiting client so Link have been hanging at his tree when Gaepora hissed and flew out of the tree with a vengeful glare. Link knelt down to approach the creature, "What are you?"

The creature sobbed, "I is a house elf, Harry Potter sir! Please don't hurt Dobby!"

Link has heard of house elves when he had asked Percy about his missing laundry, worried that his uniforms have been stolen. Link tilted his head, pushing off the stuffy hood to let his heated head breath, "What did you do, Dobby? I know Gaepora and he's a pretty laidback bird. For him to attack you must have meant that you did something that ruffled his feather,"

Dobby struggled but Gaepora refused to move and pecked at his bat-like ears for lack of answer to which he whimpered, "Harry Potter mustn't go back to Hogwarts! There be danger there!"

Link shrugged, "It was dangerous last year too. And if what you said is the truth, then I must go," He then frowned, "Wait...are you...are you the reason letters have been missing? I can't think of anything else for Gaepora to be so angry at you?"

The house elf fell silent before admitting, "If Harry Potter think that Harry Potter's friends forget about him, then Harry Potter will not want to return to Hogwarts,"

Link rubbed his chin as he stared at the tired creature under his giant owl, "I have more faith in my friends than you think," He then curiously asked, "Also...why not Neville's letters?"

"There be magic stopping Dobby from stopping Longbottom's heir's letters,"

Link nodded before taking out his sling bag and wrote something carefully before putting it in an envelope, looking at Gaepora, "Send this letter to Neville once we finish with Dobby,"

A hoot of agreement resounded and Dobby struggled harder, "You mustn't! You must not return to Hogwarts, there be evil there!"

Link's gaze hardened, "Dobby, look at me,"

Freezing at the hardened voice of the twelve years old, bulbous eyes like tennis balls found hard crystalline gaze and Dobby froze at the sight of the real Harry Potter. Link looked at him stonily and said, "I am not one to run before danger or evil. Whatever will come to Hogwarts, if it aims for me then it will aim for my friends and I will not let it get to them. I will not be me if I abandon them to this evil you speak of. I'd rather die and be sacrificed than allowing evil to roam this land and hurt those I cared for, do you understand me Dobby?"

Dobby's ears shivered, he had never thought that Harry Potter was someone from the sky. All creatures know of the Sky Children. Yet at the same time, as their eyes met and Dobby can see the determination in Harry Potter's gaze, he knew that Harry Potter will go to Hogwarts even if it means death. Dobby gulped, "But Dobby only want to save Harry Potter. Harry Potter is the greatest for us house elves. When the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named reigned, we house elves were treated like garbage and filth. Harry Potter saved us house elves from that fate-,"

Link cut him off, "And that is the reason I must fight, Dobby," He gave the house elf a kind and sad smile, "If I run, then I will not be this Harry Potter who saved you and your fellow house elves from ill treatment. A hero isn't someone that needs protecting because they are the ones who do the protecting," He petted that house elf's bald head, "Do you understand this, Dobby. I cannot run from what I must do,"

Dobby blinked and slowly began to cry from the kindness shown to him. He felt ashamed. Harry Potter's greater than he thought. He deny protection because he does the protecting. Forcing him to run will only make him run straight to danger because he will never run away from danger. Dobby sobbed, "Harry Potter is greater than Dobby thought. But Harry Potter will die if he go to Hogwarts!"

Link tilted his head, confusion glimmering in his gaze, "You know of this danger, you warn me of it but I do not know what kind of danger you speak of, Dobby. If you can give me more to work on, perhaps I can prevent it?"

Dobby's eyes widened, hands clasped over his mouth, "Dobby can't speak! Dobby is not allowed to say it!" At that he snapped his fingers and disappeared, the sudden displacement of air causing the space that reappeared to crack like a gunshot.