Hogwarts is my Home

One

It was the summer right after Harry's first year of Hogwarts, meaning he would be stuck with the Dursley's for about two months before returning to his true home. The boy knew that every moment living up to his departure would feel like absolute torture, as it has been feeling for the last six weeks since summer vacation had started. Only about a week or two left and school would begin again, which had seemed to be the only thing keeping Harry going.

"Now I don't want to hear any noises coming from you, do you understand me?" Vernon clenched his teeth, knowing that the boy would find some way to ruin his career opportunity.

"Yes, sir." Harry spoke blankly, staring straight into his uncles cold eyes, "I'll be in my bedroom, making no noise and pretending that I don't exist."

"To right you will. With any luck this could well be the day that I make the biggest deal of my career, and you will not mess it up." Vernon glared at the eleven year old, "and if you do in any way, you will wish you weren't born."

That threat made Harry's heart ache, but he took a deep breath and proceeded to make his way upstairs, where he headed to his room. As the child opened his door, his eyes widened. He was shocked to discover a thin short creature with big ears jumping in his bed and laughing. It almost reminded him of a toddler, except this thing definitely didn't appear like one and the boy had a feeling that it's presence alone was enough to get him in trouble if Vernon would just so happen to even hear it.

The creature noticed just seconds later and turned to him, "Harry Potter, such an honor it is." He bowed to the boy-who-lived, leaving Harry to continue to be in such shock.

Harry closed the door behind him, quickly becoming angry, "Who are you?"

"Dobby, sir. Dobby the house elf."

"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," the house elf tried explaining, but struggled to get his thoughts together.

"Why don't you sit down?" Harry offered to the elf who continued to stand on his bed.

"S-s-sit down? Ohh-ohh." Dobby cried slightly, running over to a dresser.

"Dobby," Harry called out, clearly confused on the house elves sudden outburst, but his cries only got louder, "Shh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you or anything."

The crying stopped, "Offend Dobby? Dobby has heard of your greatness sir, but never has he been asked to sit down by a wizard, like an equal."

"You can't have met many decent wizards then," Harry stated.

"No, I haven't." Dobby said, but regretted his answer as soon as the words escaped his lips, "That was an awful thing to say". The elf placed his hands on the dresser and began to repeatedly slam his head onto the wooden surface, making a loud thud noise with each hit, "bad Dobby, bad Dobby, bad Dobby." He kept repeating the same phrase over and over again while continuing to pound his head into the boy's dresser.

"Stop, Dobby." Harry rushed to his side, as his heart began to race even more remembering at the threat his uncle made just minutes before, "Shush, Dobby. Please stop."

Meanwhile downstairs, the loud bang of Dobby's head slamming into the dresser continued to be heard by Harry's relatives and their two guests. Vernon was for sure going to kill that boy, "Oh don't mind that, it's just the cat."

"Dobby stop," Harry continued trying, and eventually he listened. Dobby grabbed his head, clearly in pain, "Are you alright?"

"Dobby had to punish himself, sir. Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, sir." He explained, and they both took a seat.