Friendless » Fred Weasley

clxxxi. here lies dobby

With her remaining strength, most of it coming from motivation, Tori pulled herself upwards and straggled towards the boy. She fell to her knees beside him. Harry's voice was still saying, "Dobby...Dobby..." even though he knew that the elf had gone where he could not call him back.

"Harry," She whispered, putting her hand on his arm. "Harry... there's people coming..." Harry ignored her, but Tori stared up at the cottage ahead, squinting.

Two tall figures began to approach them in the darkness. To her right, Ron began to rise, carrying the still unconscious Hermione towards them. Tori stayed with Harry as he continued to look down upon the fallen elf.

"Harry... it's going to be okay..."

After a minute or so Tori look up, knowing they were in the right place for here were Bill and Fleur, Dean and Luna, gathering around Harry as he knelt over the elf. "Hermione," He said suddenly. "Where is she?"

"Ron's taken her inside," said Bill. "She'll be all right." Harry looked back down at Dobby. He stretched out a hand and pulled the sharp blade from the elf's body, then dragged off his own jacket and covered Dobby in it like a blanket.

The sea was rushing against the rock somewhere nearby; Tori listened to it while the others talked, discussing matters, making decisions, Dean carried the injured Griphook into the house, Fleur hurrying with them; Tori followed, stumbling a bit as she entered the cottage.

It was a small cottage. The living room was light-colored, pretty, with a small fire of driftwood burning brightly in the fireplace. Tori followed Fleur into a room where Fleur insisted she change out of her clothes. Tori didn't dare protest. She changed it into a pair of Fleur's old cyan robes and was relieved to finally brush her hair again.

She felt so exhausted, she just wanted to crawl up on the bed and fall asleep, but she decided to go see Harry. She could hear him digging outdoors.

Tori joined Ron and Dean outside as they stood next to Harry, looking down at the hole he had dug. "How's Hermione?" He asked.

"Better," said Ron. "Fleur's looking after her." Dean, Ron, and Tori jumped down into the hole Harry had made with spades of their own and together they worked in silence until the hole seemed deep enough.

Harry wrapped the elf more snuggly in his jacket. Ron sat on the edge of the grave and stripped off his shoes and socks, which he placed on the elf's bare feet. Dean produced a woolen hat, which Harry placed carefully upon Dobby's head, muffling his batlike ears. "We should close his eyes," Tori suggested.

Tori had not heard the others coming through the darkness. Bill was wearing a traveling cloak, Fleur a large white apron, from the pocket of which protruded a bottle of what Tori recognized to be Skele-Gro. Hermione was wrapped in a borrowed dressing gown, pale and unsteady on her feet; Ron put an arm around her when she reached him. Luna, who was huddled in one of Fleur's coats, crouched down and placed her fingers tenderly upon each of the elf's eyelids, sliding them over his glassy stare. "There," she said softly. "Now he could be sleeping."

Harry placed the elf into the grave, arranged his tiny limbs so that he might have been resting, then climbed out and gazed for the last time upon the little body. "I think we ought to say something," piped up Luna. "I'll go first, shall I?"

And as everybody looked at her, she addressed the dead elf at the bottom of the grave. "Thank you so much, Dobby for rescuing me from that cellar. It's so unfair that you had to die when you were so good and brave. I'll always remember what you did for us. I hope you're happy now."

She turned and looked expectingly at Ron, who cleared his throat and said in a thick voice, "yeah...thanks Dobby."

"Thanks," muttered Dean. "Thank you," Tori whispered. Harry swallowed. "Goodbye Dobby," Bill raised his wand, and the pile of earth beside the grave rose up into the air and fell neatly upon it, a small, reddish mound. "D'ya mind if I stay here a moment?" Harry asked the others.

They all agreed; Tori gently patted upon his back, and then they all traipsed back toward the cottage, leaving Harry alone beside the elf.

They were all sitting in the living room when Harry entered once again, their attention focused upon Bill, who was talking.

"...lucky that Ginny's on holiday. If she'd been at Hogwarts they could have taken her before we reached her. Now we know she's safe too." He looked around and saw Harry standing there. "I've been getting them all out of the Burrow," He explained. "Moved them to Muriel's. The Death Eaters know Ron's with you now, they're bound to target the family, don't apologize," He added at the sight of Harry's expression. "It was always a matter of time, Dad's been saying so for months. We're the biggest blood traitor family there is."

"How are they protected?" asked Harry. "Fidelius Charm. Dad's Secret-Keeper. And we've done it on this cottage too; I'm Secret-Keeper here. None of us can go to work, but that's hardly the most important thing now. Once Ollivander and Griphook are well enough, we'll move them to Muriel's too. There isn't much room here, but she's got plenty. Griphook's legs are on the mend. Fleur's given him Skele-Growe could probably move them in an hour or..."

"No," Harry said and Bill looked startled. "I need both of them here. I need to talk to them. It's important."

"I'm going to wash," Harry told Bill, looking down at his hands still covered with mud and Dobby's blood. "Then I'll need to see them, straight away." He walked into the little kitchen, to the basin beneath a window overlooking the sea.

Bill sighed, now looking at Tori. "I'm glad you're alright. Mum owled me soon after you were taken. Everyone's worried sick. I suppose I should congratulate you though," He looked down at the ring on her finger.

It was dirtier than when she first received it, but Tori didn't care. She nodded a thank you. "Is there anything I can get you?" Bill asked her.

Tori paused for a moment, her exhaustion hitting her like the waves in the ocean. "Somewhere to sleep, perhaps?"

i miss dobby :(