All Hail the Dark Lord, Or Something Idiotic Like That

Adding to the Inner Circle

A/N: Not my story! Original available on ao3

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"Dinner," Mrs. Weasley stuck her head in to call them all.

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"Kreacher just doesn't understand why the Dark Master needs this other elf though," Kreacher was grumbling during what was becoming a common meeting he and Harry had in the Black library late at night when everyone else was asleep. "Kreacher can serve his great Dark Lord without this Dobby person."

"I know that, Kreacher," Harry assured him vehemently, feeling a headache coming on from having to explain this once again to the elf and from his lack of sleep due to nightmares the past few nights. "I know you are perfectly capable, but house elves can see through my glamour. Dobby works at Hogwarts and can talk to the elves there to keep them from going to the headmaster about me."

"Kreacher can just threaten this Dobby..."

"Please Kreacher, Dobby is a friend," Harry tried another tactic after a large swig out of a new bottle of whiskey he'd recently swiped from Sirius's stash. "I lost him in the future like I lost you, and I've gotten to see you and spend time with you, but I'd like to see Dobby too."

"Wizards are not friends with house elveses," Kreacher now looked at him suspiciously, seeming to think Harry was lying to him or joking or something.

"You're my friend, Kreacher, or you will be a least," he sighed. "This whole time-travel thing is confusing, but you became a good friend to me, and Dobby does too..."

"Kreacher will get this Dobby, but Master will not invite him to stay in our home," the elf almost commanded before popping away with a loud crack.

Harry picked up the book he'd taken off a shelf when he came in. He had started reading it in his own time and hadn't finished before they came back, so he figured he'd get a few pages farther along before school when he probably shouldn't be smuggling an ancient text on blood magic's use in human transfiguration into his solely Light magic boarding school. It only took two pages before a loud crack sounded again and Kreacher reappeared with a tight grip on Dobby's arm. Dobby who looked just as eccentrically dressed as Harry remembered in his green knit hat, orange toga, and four pairs of socks.

Harry took another large swig of whiskey and forcefully pushed the tears threatening to well up in his eyes down at the sight of the friend he'd lost and who had saved his life. "Hey Dobby."

For his part, Dobby looked extremely confused about being summoned by a random wizard away from the school to a dark magic library in an old manor home. "Master Wizard knows Dobby?" The elf turned and studied Harry intently instead of his surroundings.

"The great Dark Master wishes to see Dobby elf, yous will be respectful," Kreacher warned the newcomer with a dark glare from his large, yellow eyes.

"Hey, Kreacher, could you maybe go get a plate of biscuits for me, you, and Dobby?" Harry turned to his elf to ask. "This might take a while, and as it's late at night, some biscuits might be just what we need to keep going."

Kreacher spared one more glare at the elf before he popped away to get them some biscuits and probably tea as well since he'd made it very clear he didn't approve of Harry's drinking. "Master Wizard is offering Dobby biscuits?!" Dobby's eyes went really wide and looked shocked at that. "Harry Potter is the only one who ever comes to the kitchens to eat biscuits with Dobby. Wizards don't eat with house elves, but Master Wizard isn't Harry Potter...he does looks some similar..."

Sometimes Harry regretted just how much he'd changed in his looks, even the famous lightning bolt scar had faded to almost invisible after the horcrux was gone. Those times were very slim and fleeting though. This happened to be one. He took one more drink of the whiskey and capped the bottle to put under the table beside him.