Metanoia • Harry Potter • Book I

Chapter Two

The creature was very small with big floppy ears and a long thin nose. It looked vaguely female, with big brown eyes and a single springy brown curl on the top of her head. She wore nothing but a raggedy pillowcase that barely held on to her tiny body.

"What did you do to my room?" Daphne screamed.

"Pippa cleaned it, Miss," the creature said politely. "Pippa comes to deliver a message and sees this room, so then Pippa thinks that this room is messy so Pippa cleans it!"

Daphne looked even more anguished, rushing under her bed and feeling under it.

"Where's my letter?" she asked, her voice barely even.

"What letter, Miss?"

"The scrunched up parchment with green ink spots!"

"Pippa puts it in the bin, Miss," the creature said, pointing to the bin. "It seems like rubbish."

Daphne leapt over to it and stuck her hand in, gasping in relief as her hand emerged grasping tightly onto a small paper ball. Tucking it safely into her pocket, she grabbed her wand from her desk and pointed it threateningly at the elf.

"Where did you come from?" she snarled. "Start speaking, elf."

Keziah's eyes widened as she pulled Daphne back.

"Calm down, Daph," she said quickly. "Pippa?"

The elf looked up more excitedly, doing a small curtsey.

"Miss Potter speaks to Pippa. It is a huge honour, Missus Potter, it truly is! Pippa was supposed to meet Miss Potter at Mister and Missus Dursley's house but Pippa is shocked to see they let the Potter siblings stay at other homes!"

"Who sent you? How do you know all this?"

"Dobby asks Pippa to help him so Pippa does," Pippa said immediately, smiling. Then she frowned tilting her head. "Was Pippa not supposed to say that?"

"Who's Dobby?" Keziah asked. "And what does he want you to help him with. Who's your master, Pippa?"

Pippa frowned and started rocking back and forth.

"Dobby says not to say!"

"Is Dobby your master?" Keziah said quickly before the elf broke something.

Pippa slowly shook her head. "Dobby is Pippa's friend. Pippa and Dobby work for the noble Malfoy family. It is an honour, truly, to work for such great wizards."

Daphne, who'd settled into a beanbag-chair, snorted nastily as she rocked backwards. Keziah shot her a look.

"You work for the Malfoys?" Daphne asked slowly, ignoring Keziah. "Then why would you want anything to do with us?"

Keziah elbowed Daphne sharply and looked awkwardly at the tiny house elf.

"What Daphne means to say," she said, "is that we're just confused on why you're here. You still haven't told us."

"Pippa is here to warn the great Missus Potter not to go back to Hogwarts," the elf said promptly. "A great evil is coming to the school and Dobby pleads for Pippa to help protect the last heirs of the great Potter legacy."

"What sort of evil?" Daphne asked suspiciously.

"Pippa does not know," Pippa admitted guiltily. "Dobby does not say. All Dobby tells Pippa is that she must stop Keziah Potter from going to school. Pippa does not think Master Malfoy would tolerate such a thing but Dobby insists. He says it's for the... the greater good! We hear so much about the wonderful and noble Harry Potter and his fearsome sister and Pippa can't possibly let them be destroyed."