7 years

11

It was now almost the end of summer. I was sitting in my room, looking through my photos in a scrapbook but stopped at a photo of Ron and Hermionie. I missed them, dearly. Hedwig made a sound so loud that it scared me. I jumped and looked over to see Hedwig pecking at the lock on her cage.

“I can't, Hedwig. I'm not allowed to use magic outside of school. Besides, if Uncle Vernon –”

As if on cue, Hedwig made a louder sound and my uncle called me.

“HARRY POTTER! YOU COME DOWN THIS INSTANT!”

“Now you’ve done it.” I mutter as I look back at Hedwig before turning and walking out of my room.

“I warned you. If you can't control that bloody bird, it'll have to go.”

“She's bored. If I could just let her out for an hour or two –”

“And have you sending secret messages to your freaky little friends? No, sir.”

I rolled my eyes and looked away. “But I haven't gotten any messages. From any of my friends. Not one. All summer”

Dudley laughed. “Who'd want to be friends with you?”

I glare at Dudley while he just smiles and laughs.

“I should think you'd be more grateful. We have raised you since you were a baby,” I roll my eyes, not my choice, “give you food off our table,” again, not by choice, “even let you have Dudley's second bedroom... purely out of the goodness of our hearts.”

“I thought he got the second bedroom because Mum was afraid he'd turn us into dung beetles if you put him back in the cupboard under the stairs.” Dudley spoke and I smiled at him which caused him to look away.

“Well, I'll just be in my bedroom, making no noise and pretending I don't exist.” I said, sighing and backing away.

I enter my room, closing the door and then turning and stopping dead in my tracks to see a creature with bat-like ears and bulging green eyes just jumping on my bed as if it were a trampoline.

“Harry Potter! Such an honor it is!”

“What... Who are you?”

"Dobby, sir. Dobby the house elf.”

“I see. Not to be rude or anything, but this isn't a great time for me to have a house-elf in my bedroom. “

“Oh, yes, sir, Dobby understands. It's just that, Dobby has come to tell you... it is difficult, sir... Dobby wonders where to begin. “

“Why don't you sit down?”

“S-s-sit down?”

Suddenly Dobby bursts into loud tears and I start to panic.
Why is he crying?!
I try frantically to calm him down so I don’t cause any issues with my uncle or aunt.

“Shhhh! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you or anything –”

“Offend Dobby! Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, but never has he been asked to sit down by a wizard, like an equal... “

I look at the door quickly to make sure I don’t hear anything when Dobby's words finally sink in. I looked at Dobby and frowned.
Who’s house elf is he?

“You can't have met many decent wizards then.”

Dobby shakes his head, then without warning, he leaps off my bed and starts to band his head furiously on the dresser. “Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!” Dobby gets back to his feet, wobbling, eyes spinning dizzily. I regard him with a mixture of concern and wariness. Too scared that I’d set him off again.