Hordes of owls traversed the starry sky causing even the most blind of muggles to glance up at the sky and mutter how peculiar the sight of countless owls in the sky was. Luckily, it would all be explained in the morning by scientific experts, specifically Ornithologists. It was apparently a rare anomaly seen every few dozen years, where a parliament of owls would gather causing other owls to mimic the gathering, and so forth.
A group of four owls flew past the town of Norton and into the forest that lay beyond. The trained owls sensing the magic surrounding the edge of the field let out cries and fluttered to a halt in the trees at the edge of vast green lawns. A shrill peacock cry is heard in response as a handsome peacock, Fidel storms up to the owls.
Hanging around Fidel's neck is a small pouch filled with coins. Fidel bends down and allows the leather cord to slide off his neck and onto the ground. Picking up the leather cord up, Fidel approaches the nearest tree and glares at the owls. The owls hoot contemptuously at him for bowing down to them. The owls haughtily stick out their claws and release a rolled-up copy of the Daily Prophet evening edition onto the ground.
Grudgingly, Fidel drops the pouch in front of the tree and steps back. The owls must have sensed the murderous intent and fluttered their wings restlessly. The owls hoot at each other in argument until one of them is selected. An unfortunate Tawny owl cautiously flutters to the ground and keeps one eye on Fidel while picking up the leather cord of the coin pouch with their claw. The Tawny owl hoots in relief at not being attacked, before hurriedly taking flight.
Fidel had been tempted to pull out the feathers of the Tawny owl, but he had been most pointedly warned the last time by his mistress, Georgine, that she would have no choice but to punish him. He clawed at the ground unhappily and cried out loudly at the remaining owls.
The owls flap their wings even faster, quickly vanishing through the treetops. With feathers all out, Fidel proudly struts before letting out a loud cry into the night. He was a responsible peacock and took his duties most solemnly. The house elf would soon be by to pick up the copies of the Daily Prophet and see them appropriately delivered.
A loud pop is heard echoing through the woods as a male house elf appears. The white shirt of Tadbey is perfectly starched and impeccable. He wears comfortable blue overalls with nary a wrinkle. He bends down and gathers the five copies of the Daily Prophet. Four of the copies were for the household members, and the fifth was his own personal copy.
The hairy toes of Tadbey curled in the grass as he enjoyed the sensation of the grass beneath his feet. He paused to glance up at the waning crescent in the sky. A waning crescent on such a night symbolizes allowing the past to rest and reflecting or planning on what is to come. His beautiful wife, Dawn, loved to share the meaning of the phases of the moon and the astronomy of the sky with him and their son, Laldey. It was one of the things Miss Georgine had taught his wife when young.
Barely refraining from letting out a snort, Tadbey vanishes from the forest to deliver his goods. He first delivers the copy to his employer, Reginald Prince, in his study. Reginald quickly takes the copy of the Daily Prophet from Tadbey and nods at him in both gratitude and dismissal.
Next, Tadbey appeared in the quarters of Miss Georgine only to find her gone. He knew she must be tucking in young Rodrigo in bed. He carefully sets the evening edition on the bedside stand before vanishing.
Appearing in the attic, Tadbey finds Sir Knight Prince playing chess with his ghostly body. He doesn't interrupt the match and merely sets the newspaper nearby for when the match ends. With a pop, he vanishes to his next stop outside the quarters of Rowan and Severus Prince. He sets the copy on the customary stand in the hall between the two rooms. The twins tended to share their copy, taking turns reading the paper.
Vanishing Tadbey reappears in the cozy quarters of his family. He hears his wife singing a lullaby to their son, Laldey, in the native tongue of house elves. He paused to listen, and from the depths of his memories, another voice sang over the voice of his wife; it was the sweet voice of his long-gone mother.
"At a warm hearth, may my voice find you,
Where weary hearts find rest,
And hands and feet, toil no more.
May you sleep,
Sweet dreams,
May you dream,
Joyfully,
May we never be apart,
But if fate decrees it so,
May our wishes meet on dragon wings."
Tadbey is transported for a moment to the past. He sees his gentle mother, his brave father, his beautiful sister, Tilly, and his little brother, Beat. Once there had been so much laughter until it was gone. Stolen at the vile hands of their foul master, Mulciber.
The face of Tadbey hardened, and he turned away from the voice of his wife and the memories of the past. He sits down in his comfy black leather armchair made for a house elf's use. He pushes up his spectacles and unfurls the Daily Prophet.
The front-page screams, "The INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF WIZARDRY APPROVES the RIGHT for GOBLINS to WIELD WANDS! Is the MINISTRY OF MAGIC and the CONFEDERATION on the PAYROLL OF THE GOBLINS? Continued on page 2."
Tadbey almost chokes at the title of the newspaper as his brows rise equally high. He knew that there were various plans and motions, but not this. Well, he had to hand it to his employer; he sure knew how to spring a surprise.
With avid interest, Tadbey reads the article and the following article, which describes the addition of new clauses of existing treatises along with that of the giants, which included reparations made by the new Gurg of the Giants, Fridwulfa. He was even surprised to see that the Sword of Godric Gryffindor was included as part of the treatise and would be housed at Hogwarts.
"That should have been front page," Tadbey muttered to himself. "Bigots, the whole lot of them," which was true.
Nearing the end of the Daily Prophet at the bottom of the second-to-last page, the fingers of Tadbey tighten. He brings the copy of the newspaper up that the tip of his long, thin nose is actually pressed to the evening edition. His hands shake from eagerness and emotions as moisture fills his eyes.
Closing the door behind her, Dawn opens to greet her husband warmly only to stop. Her large droopy ears flap in alarm. "Hubby?" She worriedly asked.
Flinging the copy of the Daily Prophet onto the ground, Tadbey leaps out of the chair and pulls his wife into a hug. He whirls about her and places a great big kiss on her lips much to her shock. "
Hubby, what's wrong?" Dawn squeaked in protest, pulling away from her husband's kiss.
"House elves have the right to be free and employed!" Tadbey eagerly said.
"Oh, I see," Dawn sagely nodded her head. "Master had said as much."
"Don't you see, sweet pea," Tadbey pointed to the discarded copy of the Daily Prophet. "House elves can sue for their right to be free."
"As long as they is happy," Dawn wisely said, before letting out a tired yawn. "Hubby, I know ye is excited. Dawn is happy for Hubby. However, Dawn is happy serving as Prince house elf. This is Dawn's home. Dawn would not be happy elsewhere."
It was a long-standing disagreement between Tadbey and Dawn. Tadbey wanted Dawn and his son, Laldey, to be free like him. However, Dawn had no desire to leave the service of the Prince family. The only consolation Tadbey had was that the Prince's had promised to free their children should they request it.
Pressing a gentle kiss to her husband's face, Dawn says, "Dawn will sleep now. Hubby is welcome to visit friends and tell them the news. Dawn knows not all elves is as lucky and as happy as Dawn."
The face of Tadbey softens at the words of his wife. He knew his wife was proud that he was a free elf, she often had told him as much. She even supported his cause even if she didn't necessarily agree with it.
"Good night, my sweet pea," Tadbey kissed his wife good night before he purposefully departs from Prince Manor with an errand in mind. The time had come for the house elves to rise above their masters. It was time!