Harry was sitting in the Burrow. Ron sat in a chair next to him. Mrs.Weasley was blasting Celestina Warbeck's Christmas Special, and almost everyone was trying to think up an excuse to get out if it. Ron stood up to try a new excuse (I forgot to wrap some of my presents!) when something caught Harry's eye. Harry grabbed Ron's arm and whispered,"Hey, Ron!"
Ron looked down, irritated. "What?" he asked. Clearly, all he wanted was to get out of the rom and away to somewhere a little... quieter. "Wizards have elf on the shelves too?" Harry asked. Ron stared. "Elf on the what?" he asked. "You know, elf on the shelves?" Harry pointed at the elf sitting in the mantle. Now that he thought about it, it was rather large. Ron frowned. "I've never seen that before in my life," he said. Harry stood up and the duo crept over to the mantle, careful not to draw Mrs.Weasley's attention. Harry leaned in close to the large, unmoving elf on the shelf. It didn't really look much like an elf, though, now that he thought about it. It actually looked rather more like a...
Before Harry could even open his mouth, the house-elf disguised as an elf on the shelf screamed at the top of its lungs. All activity stopped. Mrs.Weasley, in her surprise, accidentally knocked the radio to the ground. It shattered, which was a small relief to everyone, but mostly they were concerned with bigger worries. Namely, the house elf sitting on their mantle. It had stopped screaming, and was just sitting there, smiling at the effect he'd made. Ginny had fallen out of her chair, Hermione was covered in ink from her spilled bottle, Mr.Weasley had dropped his book and George had knocked over a vase. Then the house elf turned to Harry, winked, and leapt off the mantle.
Mayhem followed. Mr.Weasley dove after the house elf. Hermione was on her feet, her wand at the ready, but she couldn't get a clear shot at it. The house elf smashed through the door, causing part of the wall to cave in, and rushed out into the entry hall. They could hear cackling and more smashes.
Ron, Harry, Hermione, Fred, George, Ginny and Mr.Weasley all pulled out their wands and held chase. Bill, Fleur and Mrs.Weasley stayed behind to deal with the damage he'd caused already.
The group reached the front hall and stopped short. Everything that wasn't screwed down had been thrown across the room, and everything that had been screwed down had been smashed. They heard more cackling from the next room. Mr.Weasley looked over the group.
"We should split up," he said, talking quick. "Fred,George, come with me. Harry, Ron and Ginny with Hermione. Catch the house elf!" he finished with a flourish, and headed off down one hallway. Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione hurried down the next corridor. Sure enough, the room they were in bore signs of the house elf, but it was nowhere in sight. The foursome ran across towards the stairs on the otherside, but halfway across the room, Hermione cried out. Harry turned to see her clutching her ankle on the ground. Her face was white as a sheet. "I'm- I'm okay," she croaked. "Keep going," Hermione pulled out her wand and pointed it at her ankle. "Woah! Hold on, Hermione! Let me do that," Ginny said kneeling beside her. She looked up at Harry and Ron. "I'll stay here with Hermione. Go catch the house elf!" Ginny said. Her words were punctuated with a crash. Harry looked back for a split second then dashed out the door, Ron hot on his heels. Together they rushed along the corridor.
Suddenly, they were engulfed in darkness. Ron nearly tripped over his own feet. "Harry? What's happened?" Ron called.
"I dunno, one sec," Harry called back. Moments later he had illuminated his wand tip. The two forged forwards, out into the next room. This one was dark, too. Through more rooms, all of them dark, they ran. They must have been 5 or 6 rooms in before Harry noticed something.
"Ron,look! Everything's intact!" Harry said, dismayed. They looked at each other, then ran back through several more intact rooms before the stumbled upon the wreckage of what used to be the kitchen. "The back door!" Ron hollered suddenly, and rushed towards a different door than the one they'd just entered through. Ron pushed it open and they set out into the waning light. There were signs of the house elf here, too: smashed bushes, trampled flowers. Harry and Ron followed the path of destruction along, right through the garden and into the back yard. And there, sitting atop an enchanted birdbath and singing, was the house elf. Upon seeing the boys, his smile widened. "Harry Potter and Ron Weasley have found me at last!" squeaked the house elf. Ron stepped forwards, growling a bit. "What do you want?" he asked in a rough voice. "Why, that's easy. I wanted Harry Potter and Ron Weasley to find me!" said the house elf in the same annoying squeaky voice. Ron looked like he was about to launch himself at the house elf. Harry grabbed his arm, holding him back. "Why?" Ron asked through gritted teeth. Instead of answering, the house elf gave another cocky grin and leapt off his enchanted birdbath. Ron roared in anger. The house elf on the shelf dashed back inside the Burrow, and the chase continued.
The boys were about to run after him when Luna Lovegood came skipping down the hill. "Harry! Ron!" she called in her dreamy voice.
Harry winced. "Oh, hey, Luna!" he called. "Um, we're a bit busy at the moment." "Oh! What're you doing?" she asked. "We're chasing a house elf. Wanna help?" he asked, thinking quickly. "Sure!" she said, skipping over to the boys slowly. Together, the trio burst into the sitting room, and stopped short. All the things that had been broken were mended, and now there were Christmas decorations hung everywhere, too. And then, from behind tables and chairs burst a whole mess of people, all yelling,"Surprise!"
Harry saw Dean, Seamus, Hermione, Katie Bell, Sirius, Tonks, and so many more of his friends from Hogwarts, along with all the rest of the Weasleys. Harry, Ron stood at the door, thunderstruck. "?" Harry choked out finally. Ginny shrugged. "Well, mostly. Dumbledore thought you needed something light and cheery to cheer you up over the holidays, after all the excitement of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and someone suggested a Christmas surprise party. We know those aren't very... customary, but we thought you'd like it. Merry Christmas!" Ginny cried, and there were more cheers. Harry saw the house elf they'd chased standing near the door. It caught him looking, winked, and disappeared out the door. And in that moment, Harry felt as if he could be perfectly happy. He smiled.
