Harry sat on the cold stone floor in the Chamber of Secrets. The freshly dead basilisk lay nearby, and Ginny was just beyond it. Fawkes sat on his shoulder. He could already feel the tears touching the wound on his arm. Last time, this was where the phoenix took him back to see Dumbledore. There was a couple of things he needed to do first.
He held up the sword and willed it away. This time he wasn't going to part with it. Once he was strong enough, he walked over to the Sorting Hat. Tucking it under his arm he turned his attention to Ginny. He was tempted to just leave her there. She had dosed him with love potions, tried to kill him multiple times, and actually succeeded once.
Harry sighed. That was future Ginny. Right now, she was just a scared child.
Something dripped across his eyes. Harry wiped it away to find his hand touched a thick slime. He looked at his hand to see it covered in a tar-like substance. It took him a moment to realize it was the horcrux. Another realization followed quickly after.
He could feel his magic. Sure, ever since he had held a wand he felt it, but the difference was drastic. It was even stronger than before he died. His magical power thirty years in the future was like a meandering river, now it felt like a tidal wave that hit with each heartbeat. Harry pushed his mental shields into place. Years of training helped him tap his magic back down. Masking his signature, or completely hiding it, was a helpful tool when hunting down rogue wizards.
"Fawkes." Harry turned to the bird. "Could you give us a lift out of here?"
The phoenix chirped in reply. It hopped over to Ginny, grasping her with one claw before awkwardly flapping back to Harry. He smiled at the bird; it bonked its beak against his forehead. In a flash of fire, they vanished.
Only to appear in Dumbledore's office. Lucius Malfoy stood nearby, for a moment a look of pure terror flashed across his face. Years of Pureblood training kicked in instantly, hiding the emotion behind a mask of annoyance. Dumbledore looked at Harry expectantly, trying to appear as though he had planned this all along. Harry noticed that Ginny wasn't with him. Somehow Fawkes had dropped the girl off elsewhere.
It was like… Magic.
"It was a basilisk." Harry stated. "I've taken care of it. The enchanted diary too."
Harry placed the diary on the desk in front of Dumbledore. The two wizards stared down at the boy. He was covered in dirt, grime, blood, and basilisk saliva.
"Well done, my boy." Dumbledore smiled at him.
Harry felt the pressure of magic pressing against his mind. It wasn't a full spell, just a gentle compulsion.
*This is Malfoy's fault. All Slytherin were evil*
He wanted to slap Dumbledore. Sure, the man thought that Harry was under his control, but that was just lazy.
Harry looked at Lucius. He did his best to glare at the older man. It was then that Harry noticed a familiar shape standing nearby. There, hiding just out of view, was Dobby. Harry felt a swell of intense emotion. The crazy elf was alive!
Of course, none of it had happened yet. Hedwig, Fred, Tonks, Remus, and Sirius. They were all alive. He tuned out the rest of the conversation. Harry didn't look away from Dobby. It was only when Lucius stormed out of the room that he started to pay attention.
Harry chased after the blond wizard.
"Mister Malfoy." Harry called out.
Lucius turned on his heel, glaring down at the boy. "Mister Potter."
"You don't know, do you?" Harry asked.
"Know what exactly?" Lucius looked bored.
"He never died." Harry said.
Lucius squinted, studying him. "Who?"
Harry sighed. "Tom Riddle. Voldemort. Your old boss."
"I have no idea what you are talking about." The older Malfoy started to turn away.
It was odd. Last time he was sure that Lucius had drawn his wand. It had to have been the influence of the aura. Annoyance, anger, and indignation enhanced to blind rage.
"He gave you the diary for safe keeping." Harry called. "You're in danger. Your entire family is."
Now Lucius spun to face him. Still, he had yet to draw his wand. "Are you threatening me, boy?"
"No." Harry's voice turned cold, letting just a taste of his true power loose. "You will address me as Mister Potter or Harry when we are speaking."
Lucius blanched at the sudden flood of magic pressing against him. "Forgive me, Mister Potter. I allowed my emotions to get the better of me."
"Thank you." Harry inclined his head. "We should continue this conversation somewhere private, and after I've had a shower."
Lucius nodded.
"Meet me at Kings Cross at the end of the year." Harry walked by Lucius. "Surely you must know somewhere we can speak that respects privacy."
"Of course." Lucius was beginning to regain his composure.
"Before I forget." Harry stopped just behind the man. "I find myself in need of a house elf." He looked at Dobby. "This one will do."
"Pardon?" Lucius cocked his head to the side as he stared at the boy.
"Your elf." Harry repeated letting another bit of power out. "As payment for my warning, and a show of good faith. Give him to me."
"Certainly." Lucius croaked out. "Dobby, I release you of your service to House Malfoy and bequeath you to Harry Potter, Heir of House Potter."
Dobby looked from Lucius to Harry. The elf let out a loud screech as he pulled Harry into a tight hug. A swirl of magic surrounded them. When it faded, Dobby stood straighter, his skin had a healthy sheen to it, and his ears had shrunk slightly, but looked more solid.
"Dobby is proud to serve Great Harry Potter." The elf hopped up and down.
"I will take my leave." Lucius stated.
"I look forward to our next meeting." Harry watched the older wizard walk away. He turned his attention to Dobby once they were alone. "Dobby, you work for me, you are not my slave. As my employee you are to be paid for your time as well as given days off and regular breaks." Harry looked down at the dirty pillowcase the elf wore. "You will need a proper uniform too."
Dobby sprang forward, wrapping Harry in another tight hug. "Great Harry Potter is truly a great wizard."
"Let's discuss your pay." Harry managed to choke out. "One galleon a day."
"Agreed." Dobby shook his head. "Seven galleons a year."
"What?" Harry snapped.
"Seven days in a week. Dobby knows this." Dobby nodded sternly.
"There are more than seven days in a year." Harry countered.
"Mister Harry Potter cannot trick Dobby." The elf crossed his arms. "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. That's seven. No more days than that in a year."
Harry rubbed a hand over his face. It didn't help the headache that was starting to form. Instead, it smeared the grit and grime across his skin.
"I need a shower." Harry grumbled.
"Dobby can take you to the shower." The elf said.
"No thank you, Dobby." He chuckled. "I do have an assignment for you. Go to my trunk and try on my clothes. Shrink them to fit you and set aside the style you feel most comfortable in. Then I can work on creating your uniform."
"Dobby cannot have clothes." The elf yelled.
"Dobby." Harry glared at the elf. "You are my employee. Employees have uniforms and a strict dress-code they must abide by. Failing to follow this will result in punishment. You are a representative of House Potter, and I will not have you walking around in rags."
Dobby's ears drooped. "Understood, Great Harry Potter, sir."
"You will need pants, socks, shoes, and a shirt." Harry stated. "I should have a style or two of each for you to try on. Set aside something comfortable that still allows you to accomplish your daily tasks."
Harry took stock of where he was in the castle. It was quite a walk back to the Gryffindor tower, but that was where his clothes were. The prefect bath was closer, plus a soak sounded wonderful.
"First." Harry stopped the elf. "Bring me a fresh set of clothes once I'm done with my bath."
"Of course, Harry Potter sir." Dobby popped out of sight.
"We still need to discuss days off and breaks." Harry muttered.
He trudged along until he came to the prefect bath. The password was the same, which made him wonder if it ever changed. If not, he knew where he was going to go from now on. Harry stripped off his clothes, dropping them on the floor as he went. He didn't like making more work for the house elves at Hogwarts, but right now he was too tired to care.
Harry started the water to fill this tub then headed to the showers. Soaking in a tub the size of a pool sounded amazing, but he didn't want to be surrounded by a cloud of filth. He finished washing up just in time for the tub to fill. There had to be some sort of enchantment for it to happen so fast. Not that he was complaining.
He let out a long sigh as he settled into the hot water. Harry basked in the feeling for a long moment. He could was tempted to take a nap. With his luck that would lead to him drowning. Technically, he had died twice already today.
That thought sobered him right up. Ginny had poisoned him, Hermione had helped, and at some point, Molly Weasley started dosing him with love potions. The multitude of manipulations and betrayal from Dumbledore were honestly much more dangerous, but the others were personal. These were people he counted as friends, family really.
He needed to make some changes, but he had to be smart about it. Dropping Hermione as a friend and cutting off the Weasleys would cause too much of a fuss. This upcoming summer was when the Weasleys went to Egypt. He could use that as an excuse to distance himself from them. It could work with Hermione too, depending on how much she decided to write.
At what point had Hermione turned against him? Was it always like that? What caused it? Would it still play out that way with the auras were removed? Lucius not drawing his wand was already a change.
He could figure out all of the emotional stuff later. Right now, he needed to focus on what he could do. He could capture Wormtail, that would change quite a few things. Sirius wouldn't see the picture and escape. But he still needed to get Sirius out safely. Knowing what he knew now, he wouldn't put it passed Dumbledore arranging an accident.
Oh no, Sirius was supposed to be released, but a rogue dementor kissed him instead.
Fudge probably wouldn't even cause much of a fuss. Sirius not getting a trial would look horrible once it came to light.
Sirius needed to escape, so Harry could get him somewhere safe. While that is happening, he could get someone to try to find the trial notes for Sirius. Then he could work toward getting his parents will read which would name Wormtail as the secret keeper. Once that came out, Harry could present the traitor, alive and well.
The problem being, how could he get Sirius to escape? Seeing the picture was what drove him to try. Which was odd, since he could have left at any time.
"Fuck." Harry growled.
Sirius was a very… passionate man, a nudge to follow his urges would have been all too easy for a master like Dumbledore. A bit of compulsion to chase after Wormtail, then another dose to keep Sirius feeling guilty enough to stay in prison. Only seeing Wormtail again would kick in the initial drive.
He would have to let things play out as they did the first time. Once Sirius had escaped, and Harry was back at school, then he could capture Wormtail.
"Great Harry Potter sir." Dobby said softly.
"Yes?" Harry turned to see the elf holding a stack of clothes.
"These are for you." Dobby set one pile on a nearby stool. "These are the ones that Dobby likes." The elf stepped closer, showing off the clothes he had picked out.
Harry smiled so wide it hurt his cheeks. Dobby had taken the uniform command literally. There the elf stood in Harry's quidditch jersey, pants, and shoes.
"Great choice." Harry laughed. "Pop over to Madam Malkin's. Order four uniforms in your size. One for daily use, one for warm weather, another for cold weather, and one for formal events."
"Anything else, Harry Potter sir?" Dobby perked up at the praise.
"Could you pack up my things and get them ready to go?" Harry asked.