Popsy had just finished adjusting the water in the bath, as she used to do since the bonding. "Does Master or Mistress need anything else?" she asked, as usual.
"Why do you call us Master and Mistress? We are not your masters, and we could really set our water right by ourselves, you know."
Popsy seemed to be frightened by the idea. "No, Mistress. It would be very unbecoming for you to set the bath. I'm assigned to your quarters and I'll feel very bad if you don't let me do it for you. I wish you would have needed my services more, really. It's not becoming a house elf to be idle."
Hermione wouldn't budge. "But Popsy, we are not your masters. You have nothing to fear even if you do nothing for us."
Popsy shook her head. "Mistress doesn't understand. We, house elves, need to work. If we stay idle we wither and die. There's only so much I can do to keep your apartment clean and tidy and take care of your clothes. I have to spend most of my time in the kitchen to just make myself busy. I'm assigned to you, so you are my masters for as long as you stay at Hogwarts. I only wish you would give me more to do."
Harry was listening to the conversation and he suddenly remembered another house elf. "Popsy, do you know anything about Dobby, the one I helped set free of Malfoy?"
Popsy looked at him scrutinizingly. "Dobby was very glad to leave Malfoy. He was sure The Great Harry Potter would like him enough to bond with him and was very upset finding Master had no such intentions. He thought you may have not trusted him, after seeing how he served the Malfoys. He's working as a free elf at Hogwarts now, but he really wishes to serve The Great Harry Potter and his lady."
"I didn't even know where he went after he was freed," Harry noted. "How can I find him?"
"Just call him, the same way you call me. He'll come gladly."
"Thank you, Popsy. You've been of great help," Harry told her sincerely.
They took the bath first, not wanting it to become cold. When they finished and were once again dry and clothed, Harry called "Dobby!"
He was immediately greeted by the small enthusiastic house elf. "Master called Dobby? Dobby would do anything for The Great Harry Potter Sir and for his lady. Is there anything The Great Harry Potter needs Dobby to do now?"
"Dobby, please calm down. I'm just a thirteen-years old boy, not a great wizard. I was wondering how you were doing since that evening when you were set free."
Dobby was not deterred. "The Great Harry Potter Sir may only be thirteen, but is already a great wizard." His face turned gloomy now. "Dobby was hoping, after being freed from bad master, that The Great Harry Potter would find Dobby worthy to serve him, but maybe Dobby is not really worthy enough for The Great Harry Potter Sir. Dobby now works for Hoggywarts and for long-beard and is being paid nicely, but Dobby wishes to be worthy enough to serve The Great Harry Potter and his Missus."
It was Hermione's turn to ask. "Why, Dobby? Don't you like being free?"
Dobby looked at her as if she was a toddler asking a stupid question. "A house elf needs a master. Master's magic lets house-elves live. A free elf can't live long. Without magic, a free elf loses his magic and his life in a few months. Staying at Hoggyworts, with all the magic within, can let Dobby live a bit more, but without a master Dobby will die in a year or two years."
It only took them a moment to reach a decision without even talking.
"Dobby, would you like to bond with me and with Hermione?"
The little elf's eyes lit like Christmas decorations. "Dobby will love serving The Great Harry Potter Sir and his missus! It is all Dobby dreams about!" he said jumping in place enthusiastically.
"Well, what should we do then?" Harry asked.
"The Great Harry Potter Sir only needs to say he accepts Dobby as his bonded house elf."
"Wouldn't that cause problems with the headmaster?"
"No, Master. Old long-beard told Dobby be free to leave whenever he finds new master. Old Long-beard knows house-elf needs master."
"Then Dobby, I hereby accept you as my bonded house elf," Harry declared solemnly. He could see a few golden sparks pass from his hands to Dobby's shoulders. Dobby seemed to suddenly gain a bit of height and some confidence.
"Can you tell me what has just happened?" Harry asked.
Dobby bowed lightly. "Dobby is happy to tell The Great Harry Potter that by accepting the bond he has just made Dobby bigger and stronger than ever. It just shows how great a wizard Master is."
"We're happy for you, Dobby, but we really don't need much service now, and Popsy is already assigned to our apartment," Hermione said. "It would be unfair to deprive her of that position. What would you do when we don't need your services?"
"Many students bring their own house-elves to Hogwarts. Most of the kitchen staff is actually made of these. They attend to their master's special needs, but help the school otherwise. I can do the same."
Hermione noticed his improved speech. 'Was this also caused by the bond?' she wondered.
Harry thought for a moment. "Well, Dobby, you could do that if you want to. I'd like just one service for now, if you don't mind. Can you check on the Potter possessions and find out if I own any other house-elves?"
Dobby smiled, quite pleased with himself. "Dobby already knows, Master. The Great Harry Potter owns almost as many house-elves as there are at Hogwarts. They tend to all the Potter properties, except for the house where master got that scar, and they are all anxious to meet their master, The Great Harry Potter Sir."
"How do you know that?"
"We, house-elves, know everything important about our masters, their friends and their enemies, and the Potter elves are most respected."
Harry was somewhat surprised to find he owned so many house-elves. He was somewhat afraid that Hermione would not like it, but considering the explanations they got from Popsy and from Dobby, this didn't seem to be a problem right now, yet he had to find out much more about his elves and about house-elves in general.
"Dobby, I want you to prepare a list of all the house-elves we own, their roles and their accommodations. I want to make sure they are all getting all they need and that they are treated fairly. You don't need to hurry, though. We shall only be able to check it during the weekend."
"Yes, Master Harry Potter Sir. I'll have the list ready before the weekend with all the details you may need."
Hermione was looking at Dobby's clothing. He was no longer wearing an old pillowcase, but the assortment of cloth items he was wearing was anything but graceful. "Dobby, I know I should not give you cloth, but can't you replace your clothes with some more... formal uniform, or something similar. As a Potter house elf you must look more dignified."
Dobby smiled again. "I can do this easily. I know the uniforms of the Potter house-elves, but I need to know my exact position for the uniform."
Harry didn't hesitate at all. "I think nobody would be offended if I nominate you as my personal helper. Would that be OK?"
Dobby clicked his fingers, turning the assortment of items he was carrying into a sleek dark-blue uniform with red and gold trimmings, sporting the Potter crest above the left chest-pocket. His feet were now covered in rubber-soled socks – one red and one golden.
"Thank you Dobby. That would be all for tonight," Harry told him with a smile of his own. Dobby bowed and disappeared.
/*\/*\/*\/*\
Spending more time with Hermione than during previous years made Harry a bit more observant and sharpened his mind. That weekend, after getting the weekly report from Dobby, Harry started thinking.
"That's impossible," Hermione told him, once she got the gist of his thoughts.
"No, it's not. House-elves do it all the time. Why can't wizards do the same?" he insisted.
"But it's written in...
"'Hogwarts, A History' – isn't it?"
"Oh, you!..."
"Yet you still love me," he said cheekily.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I just can't help it. Can I?"
After a bit of snogging they went back to the subject at hand. "We know that the house-elves can apparate in Hogwarts and in or out of it quite freely, yet wizards can't. That must mean that they use different techniques. We aren't supposed to learn wizard's apparition until our sixth year, but nobody teaches any other form. Why don't we try to learn the elf way?" Harry asked.
Hermione couldn't find any fault in his logic. "We can ask Dobby to teach us. When do you think it would be best to try?"
Harry looked at the gloomy weather outside. It meant that the corridors leading to the Great Hall would be cold and drafty in the morning, Using apparition to move there seemed quite attractive. "How about... now?"
Dobby was just too eager to help, as usual. Once Hermione posed the question, he needed a few minutes to think about it before he could give an answer.
"From what I've heard about Wizard's apparition it is based on 'Destination, Determination, Deliberation', or the three D's, as they call it. In principle it forces one's magic to move one's body as a whole from one spot to another, and that turn at the beginning is just confusing. House-elves do it differently. While wizard apparition is like jumping, elves' apparition is more like walking."
Dobby stopped again, trying to find a good explanation. "When you walk, you first lift one foot, staying firmly on the other, and put its tip on the new position. You then lower the foot until it is firmly set on the ground, followed by moving your weight from the foot left behind to the one moved forward. Finally, after your weight is on the forward foot, you lift the back foot and move it forward to join the other."
Both Harry and Hermione nodded their understanding, making Dobby continue. "Now, apparition is similar. We first send a bit of magic forward to set it at the new position. We then follow it with enough magic to start transferring some mass as well. We then shift our mass – our bodies – from the point we are to the point we want to be, still keeping some of our magic in place. Once our body is fully transferred we recall that last bit of magic. When done slowly, we seem to fade in or out of places. When done quickly it looks similar to wizard apparition, but is not stoppable by wizard wards."
Dobby demonstrated by apparating slowly from one place in the room to another. He could actually be seen as a semi transparent elf in both places for most of the process, and it made no noise at all. He then did it quickly. It looked like he disappeared from one place and reappeared in another, accompanied by a loud crack since a large amount of air was suddenly displaced.
While the general mechanism was clear from this explanations, the details were not. They spent another hour trying to understand some more. Dobby tried his best, but he just fell short of making them grasp it. Harry was becoming apprehensive, fearing that Dobby might decide to punish himself for failing in this task.
"Dobby, I think we are too tired to properly understand this technique. Do you mind if we continue tomorrow after dinner? I would also advise you to consult with some of the Potter older house-elves about the best way to teach us. They may be more experienced in teaching than you are." Harry added a yawn to be more convincing.
"Of course, Master Harry Potter Sir. I'll consult with the elders and come back after dinner."
"Good night, Dobby. You're just great!" Harry dismissed him.
"That was very kind of you," Hermione told Harry once they were alone.
"Well, the Malfoys used to punish him for practically everything, and made him see punishment as a regular part of his job if he failed even the slightest. I don't want him to feel as if he failed if we are not smart enough to understand..."
"Hey! Speak for yourself!" Hermione told him with a grin.
"Sure. If I am not smart enough," he corrected.
"That's better! Now, I believe we should check the library for any book about apparition before we try learning it with Dobby again," she suggested.
"I actually expected you to say that," he grinned.
"Oh, you're insufferable!" she groaned.
"But you love me still."
"Well, I do. So what?"
"I love you too."
/*\/*\/*\/*\
By the time Dobby came to continue the lessons, they were well versed in all that entailed apparition, wizard's style. Dobby also seemed to have been better prepared. Ten minutes into the lesson they were already trying it. The first times were complete failures, but once they got a few more points right, they were starting to make real progress. An hour later they were already able to apparate freely within their apartment as well as other places within Hogwarts.
They then tried apparating out of Hogwarts, visiting Hosmeade and then popping briefly into Hermione's room at home and back again. Once they were confident using this technique they even found a new use for it: they could do "partial apparition" – move just enough of themselves to the target to be able to see and hear what was happening without really being there. That technique allowed them to spy at their target without being discovered, as the partial apparition was so slight that it was practically undetectable.
"I'd like to teach our friends how to apparate," Harry said.
"I'm not sure this is a good idea," Hermione answered. "We already are much more powerful than them and they will probably be unable to master the technique at this time. Neville is improving very nicely, but he still has a long way to go; Ron doesn't even seem to be interested in learning anything, except studying Lavender's cleavage. And then – we haven't told them about our wandless abilities either, so..."
Harry thought for a bit more. "Well, I hate to admit it, but it may be better if nobody knows. Rumors travel fast at Hogwarts and if I have to fight Voldemort again, I'd rather have some surprises for him."
Harry had no hesitations about using this new ability, though. He used it to spy on the Slytherins, visiting their common room every few days just to make sure they were not plotting against Hermione or against him. He even tried spying on Pansy, knowing she was close to Malfoy, while talking with other girls in the bathroom. This won him a slap from Hermione. He had to promise Hermione to never do it again and assure her that he really wasn't interested in seeing the Slytherin girls naked before she accepted his apologies. The fact that she could sense his thoughts and his feelings came very handy in persuading her.
They also used their new abilities to access the Chamber of Secrets. They could easily apparate into and out of the chamber and nobody could follow them and find their secret, especially if the other end of the apparition was their bedroom. While studying the whole library of the chamber could take years, they soon found some books relevant to their classes, enabling them to excel much more than before.
They studied some advance books as well, finding several obscure spells which could help Harry in battle and some rituals and potions to strengthen their bodies, minds and magic and to give them protection. They even performed some of the easier rituals, and Hermione copied all the potion recipes so she could brew them during the summer.