The Search Is Over

Chapter 43

As it happened, they ended up seeing Wolfgang first, but though the elegant half giant knew a great deal of lost rare magic, he was clueless on the matter of elf enslavement. He explained that though a few wizarding families in Germany used elves, those were originally from Britain, and old true German families used Kobolds instead.

"Do you have a kobold," Regulus asked curiously.

Wolfgang nodded. "Indeed I do. I acquired him several years back. I had to go on a search. Kobolds live under ground and are not easy to locate! He was living in an under ground cavern at the time with a band of fellow kobolds. They were all rather unfriendly, but I managed to bribe him with a sandwich to hear me out. Legend says they will look after a house if you give them the land on which it stands. As I only want the manor itself, I have no problem with him owning the land on which it stands," Wolfgang said with a chuckle.

"If he burrows into it while I sleep to obtain some sort of rare treasure, I say more power to him as long as it doesn't ruin the foundations. He has promised that my house will always stand steady, so everyone is pleased. Things are amicable and he looks after my household needs."

Regulus nodded thoughtfully. "Your agreement seems nothing like the elf bond," he said.

"Kreacher recalls reading of Kobolds in a book of rare magical creatures in the family library," the elf murmured. "They are small blue creatures, yes?"

Wolfgang nodded. "Indeed. I would invite him in to meet you, but he is not much of one for talking. He is either unsociable or shy, I have yet to tell which for certain."

"That is alright," Regulus said, giving an understanding smile. "We would not wish to make him feel uncomfortable." That was quite true, and it didn't appear the kobold's magic was anything like Kreacher's anyway, so he would likely shed no enlightenment on their new project.

Later in the week, they went to Hogwarts to speak with Albus on the matter. It was a bit of a surprise when he had little to offer, as he seemed to be knowledgeable about nearly everything.

"It is a bit of a mystery, I am afraid. As a youth, having only seen the Hogwarts elves, I believed that it was a choice of the elves to serve wizards, and the how of it a private secret they kept closely guarded," he said.

"Only after graduating, did I discover how some of them are mistreated by the old wizarding families that they serve. This shed more of an unpleasant light on the situation if a perplexing one. After a little research, I discovered that elves can be freed when their master gives them a piece of clothing. There went my theory that serving wizards was their choice. I have a vague guess the magic that binds them to wizarding families may have to do with the ancestral home...to the land."

Regulus nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. Recently I considered that the bond could be made with blood magic between wizarding and elf families, but as Kreacher is forced to serve Potter that doesn't seem likely unless the Potters are related to the Blacks."

"Which they are distantly," Albus said. "So your idea is another possibility. I considered it as well, but my hunch is that the tie between the elf and the land of the ancestral home could be more binding. I have no proof, though, so I could be entirely wrong."

Albus turned to glance at Kreacher. "I assume you have no clue?"

Kreacher shook his head. "None at all, Kreacher is afraid. He has gone on vacation with the family, and the bond is fully operational away from the family home, though."

"If it was set in place there, though, that should not matter," Albus said. He gave a regretful sigh, his thoughtful gaze suddenly sad. "For all we know, the bond between elves and wizarding families may have once been willing. Perhaps the elves even initiated it. The magic behind it is certainly rare and difficult to understand, and elves have very powerful magic. Unfortunately we have no way of knowing what truly happened."