Monday 13th January 1986.
Harry had never been so excited to go to school.
Over the weekend he had been having trouble focusing on his studies. His grandfather had told him off multiple times during his classes, but it had not been able to break Harry's mood. He was ecstatic that he finally had a real friend.
Mipsy had made a strange face the first time Harry had voiced that thought aloud in front of her. But quickly cheered up as he wrapped her in a warm hug and reminded her there was a difference between friends and family. Watching a house-elf blush is always a funny sight but seeing her do so while being spun around by a laughing child was something else altogether.
Harry by no means had a sad childhood. Mipsy had made sure he played and had fun. But for the last few years, his idea of fun had been reading. It had become such a strange occurrence for a child's laughter to fill these halls that many of the portraits would probably have let Harry get away with anything, just to keep the sound coming.
Now he was following Tybalt as he moved about the kitchen preparing the lad's lunch. He was constantly asking if it was ready yet, as it was the final thing keeping him from heading off to school. But every time Tybalt was ready to say it was done, Harry would ask him to add something else. He wanted to share his lunch with his friend but had no idea what she liked to eat.
Mipsy finally had enough, as she was unfamiliar with this version of Harry and wasn't sure how to handle him. She put her hand on his shoulder, stopping him from following her brother and turning him to face her.
"Master Harry, if you keep changing your mind, we'll never get you to school. Is that what you want?"
Shock suddenly flew across Harry's face at the idea of being late. "No, Mipsy. I'm ready to go."
Tybalt silently thanked his sister, handing over the well-overstuffed lunch bag for her to tuck into Harry's bag.
Harry was so excited that he forgot that his parents were waiting for them in the study to wish him a good day, and he grabbed Mipsy's hand firmly.
"Let's go, Mipsy, I want to get there as quickly as possible."
Unable to ignore the request, Mipsy sighed and popped them from the Manor.
ϟ
Harry could not contain himself. He had begun running for school the moment they had materialised in the small park a few blocks away. Mipsy had chosen it because the trees offered a great deal of natural cover for her appearance. Anyone seeing a child suddenly pop out from behind a tree in the park would just write it off as them having been hiding as they approached.
And it gave her the time needed to vanish herself. Mipsy could not hide herself while popping with Harry and if someone spotted her before she could become invisible, it would cause trouble. Though again, someone catching a momentary glimpse of her holding a child's hand before she vanished behind another tree would likely be mistaken for a child with a large stuffed toy.
Now though, she was having trouble keeping up with the exuberant youth as he tore past strangers rushing down the pathways he had long since memorised. She couldn't help but smile at the difference between him now and his first day. He had been so hesitant to go that first time, slowly puttering beside her as she guided him, invisible hands on his shoulders guiding him forward. It had taken almost half an hour to make the walk that first day, but this time they would arrive in moments.
As the school came into view over the roadway she watched the boy charge ahead, others watching as he swept past them towards the same destination.
Unfortunately, Harry had become too single-minded in his rush to arrive at the school and did not stop at the edge of the road to wait for Mipsy as he crossed. It was a moment of forgetfulness that would cost him dearly as he stepped onto the street and was immediately struck by the car he had paid no attention to.
Mipsy froze in horror as her young master was flung backwards down the road and came to a rest a few feet in front of the skidding vehicle. Every eye in the area was now fixed on the still body of the boy lying in the street.
She silently popped to his side and cast a notice-me-not charm over his body. She could see he was still breathing, but there were very obvious injuries over his entire figure. Mipsy didn't know what to do. She was trained in basic first aid, all house-elves were if they were to be a personal elf. But this was beyond what anyone had taught her.
And despite the charm, people were still gathering nearby. The charm stopped them from directly seeing Harry's body now, but they were aware that something major had just happened in front of them. The skid marks laid out behind the car gave a very clear indicator of what sort of event had occurred, but right now the Muggles could no longer see what the car had hit.
Mipsy looked about and noticed a hubcap had come off the car as it stopped and lay not two metres from Harry's prone form. She quickly cast another notice-me-not on it before transforming it into a small dog. It was a sad distraction to leave outside a school, but she needed something to keep people from noticing Harry. With the intensity with which they were all looking, her charm would not last for long.
She pulled the notice-me-not from the transfigured dog and reaching gingerly out she pressed her hand to Harry's forehead. He did not react to her touch in the slightest and she began to fear the worst. She laid her other hand on his chest and his body groaned in pain at the contact. She could feel the shattered bones under her touch and knew he was far too wounded to move. She would only cause more injury. But she had none of the materials needed to treat such wounds.
Which left her only one recourse. The most dangerous of all, and the one that would surely see her given clothes.
Mipsy pressed both hands back onto Harry, one on his head and the other on his chest. The soft groan came once more, but Mipsy ignored it as she pushed her magic out and just willed it to repair the damage to her young master.
It was one of the deepest secrets of house-elf magic. That magic itself was not so regimented and cautious as the wizards claimed in their classes and books. Children showed that it was not every time they cast accidental magic. The energy they released was unformed and caused random accidents.
But if one simply pushed with enough intent, they could often force their magic to do things that many thought to be impossible. The trouble with such magic was it was very rarely repeatable. And it could not be taught. It was pure instinct and willpower made real. True unformed magic.
Mipsy could feel the bones clicking back together as Harry moaned out in pain. He was still unconscious, but pain like this could still be felt, even through such boundaries. She could feel her magic coursing up and down the small body, repairing bones and soothing the developing bruising on his organs. Time began to blur as the people around them disappeared into nothingness. Mipsy focused her entire being on fixing Harry.
Her magic began to falter as she pushed all of it into Harry, willing his injuries away with all of her strength. And as she began to black out from the strain Harry's eyes shot open and a scream of pain shot past his lips.
Every one of the gathered Muggles currently trying to keep their young children from seeing the wounded dog in the road heard the horrid screech of pain, but before anyone could notice the odd pair laid on the pavement, a soft flash shot out and both bodies were gone.
ϟ
Hermione walked towards the gathered group with trepidation. Crowds were not her friends. They often hid those who most wanted to do her harm. But unfortunately, this one was gathered in front of her school, so tightly packed she had to push through it to get to the gates.
As she passed she heard the parents whispering about the poor dog who had been hit by the car on the road. He'd shot out from the footpath and been struck dead in a moment. She had no desire to see such a thing and was glad that she had been running a little late that morning.
All she wanted now was to be free of the crowd and see if her hope had come true. That she still had someone at this school who wished to call her a friend.
Finally breaking through the group and rushing to her classroom, Hermione put away her things and settled into her desk, awaiting Harry and the start of class.
She was a little surprised when the teacher called the class to order and the bell sounded. Harry had yet to arrive. She was seated right by the door. It made for the fastest getaway from the bullies and was close enough to the teacher to answer questions. Surely, he could not have made it inside without her noticing. She glanced about the room and saw the many gossiping faces. All were surely discussing the scene outside the gates. But not one of them was his.
The teacher drew her attention once more and the class got underway, but throughout the entire day, Hermione found herself wondering what could have happened to Harry that he would skip class. He seemed as keen to learn as she was, and she was sure she'd never miss a day of school unless something terrible had happened.
But beneath it all was the doubt. The voice in her head telling her it was her fault. Harry had not wanted to come back to this school and be friends with a weirdo like her. And the teasing and bullying from the other students did nothing to ease her suffering. By the time the final bell rang, Hermione was in tears rushing to retreat from the pain that school had suddenly become.
She burst in through the front door and shot up to her room, discarding her things and launching at the bed. Her entire body was racked with the sobs that consumed her. She had known it was too good to be true.
She would never have a true friend.
ϟ
Harry groaned as his eyes opened slowly.
The bright light washing over him was blinding and his head throbbed heavily. His whole body ached, and he had no idea where he was. The last thing he could remember was rushing to school. Why was he suddenly here instead of there? His eyes began to focus, and he began to recognise the features of the room. He had been in here often. It was Mipsy's personal room in the attic. She had refused to take a normal room as he had requested, instead settling here.
Harry loved visiting her room. It had the best view over the whole grounds, and that very window was where the bright light of the near noonday sun was pouring in, hitting him directly in the face. He groaned again and closed his eyes to protect them from the bright light. He tested his other senses and could feel something heavy on his chest. Peeking downwards he saw Mipsy. Her head was resting on his chest and she looked utterly exhausted. He had never seen her so pale before and it chilled him.
"Tybalt!" He called in fear.
The little elf popped into place beside him with a look of utter confusion on his face. "Master Harry?"
"Something is wrong with Mipsy, Tybalt. Help her" he yelled.
Tybalt rushed over and rolled his twin sister off his master. She was indeed very pale, she looked sickly and unwell. He pressed his hand to her head and gasped. She was almost completely exhausted of magic, a death sentence for a house-elf if not rectified quickly.
He glanced at his master and a moment of indecision froze him. He knew what needed to be done, but only a wizard could provide what she needed. Normally the master of the house would slowly have all present contribute a little magic to the elf to trigger its own body to absorb the ambient magic around it, but in this house, there was only one wizard. And he was far too young to ask such a thing of. But if he did nothing, his sister would die.
"What? What is it, Tybalt? Tell me now!" Harry screamed, afraid he was losing his oldest friend. His family.
"She is not well, young master. She needs magic, but I cannot ask it of you."
Harry shook his head as she leant forward over his Mipsy. "What do I need to do?" He asked, his eyes fixed on the sickly elf.
Tybalt hesitated again, afraid of what the other masters would say when they learned of this. Harry tore his eyes from Mipsy to glare at Tybalt. A lump formed in the small elf's throat at the intensity of the look and he took Harry's hand and laid it over Mipsy's forehead.
"Just will a little magic into her master. Only a little, or you'll be in the same state she is."
Harry had not been trained in magic yet. The one or two small accidental outbursts had been quickly dealt with by the elves, so his parents had not thought it necessary to bother him with such training. And given most accidental magic was the result of intense emotion, Harry hardly had to deal with it at all, his home life was calm and peaceful.
With no experience to draw upon, Harry instead went upon instinct. He knew he didn't want his family to die, so he followed the instructions and felt a warm surge rush up his arm and into the prone elf.
A pale glow began to surround Mipsy as Harry's magic surged through her small form. Tybalt watched as the magic did its work, and he felt his sister becoming stronger for the sharing.
"That is enough, little master. You must stop now."
Tybalt reached out and lifted Harry's hand from his sister and received a jolt of Harry's magic through his body as he did, throwing him back against Mipsy's bed.
"I'm sorry, Tybalt, are you ok?"
Tybalt shook himself off and felt amazing as he stood. "Yes, Master Harry, we elves live off the magic of our masters, it's just not often we get it so directly. Bit of a shock to the system."
He moved back over to check on his sister and found her colour had returned and she was now resting comfortably. He clicked his fingers and she rose into the air and hovered over to her bed. The covers enfolded about her as he settled her in and tucked them down around her.
"Rest. That is what she needs now. And you too master. You gave her a lot more magic than you should have. Please, come lie down."
Tybalt guided Harry through the house back to his own room where he quickly collapsed into his own bed, snoring softly before his face hit the pillow.
ϟ
When he woke again, it was dark in the room. Except for a pair of pale blue eyes staring at him from the darkness, well within arm's reach. Harry grinned internally as he would recognise those eyes anywhere.
"Hello, Mipsy."
He rolled onto his back and groaned. His body was still stiff and sore, but he still couldn't remember why. Surely it wasn't from sharing his magic.
"HARRY JAMES POTTER!"
Harry sprung back into the bed head as he saw his mother fuming in the portrait opposite him. This was the original portrait painted of them. It had rested above his bed ever since this had become his room, only changing sides once he had outgrown the crib and gotten his current double bed. He had never seen his mother so angry in all his life and he was afraid of her for the first time he could ever remember.
"I'm sorry, mummy," he cried, tears falling freely from his face, "I couldn't let Mipsy die."
Harry was sure he was in trouble for helping her, but what else could he have done? His family was dying.
"Harry Potter, you know full well that is not what you are in trouble for!"
He looked up at his mother stunned, turning to see if Mipsy could shed any light on the argument, but she was looking fixedly at the floor, refusing to meet his gaze. It was almost as if she was waiting for him to yell at her for something.
"I don't understand Mum. What did I do wrong?"
"YOU STEPPED INTO TRAFFIC!"
Harry sat gobsmacked as he struggled to remember any such event. He could remember rushing towards the school and being so excited to see Hermione…
"Oh no, Hermione!" Harry yelled. "Does she know?"
Lily smiled softly at the comment, unable to help herself. Her boy's first thought after being told he was hit by a car was concern for his new friend. She was going to have to find a way to meet this girl for herself. But that was a discussion for another time.
"Don't change the subject, mister. What were you thinking? You know you are supposed to wait for Mipsy before crossing the street."
Harry became bashful once more as his mother yelled at him. He knew why he hadn't waited, he was eager to get to school. He wanted to talk with Hermione before classes started and instead had left her alone with the bullies all day long.
He felt terrible, not only had he let his friend down, but he had upset his mum, and he was sure he was somehow responsible for Mipsy's condition earlier as well. Harry had never felt like this before in his life. Not since the day his parents had been murdered.
"I'm sorry, mum. I wasn't thinking."
"Well, that much we can clearly agree. Gryffindor indeed. No Ravenclaw would do something so stupid."
Lily was still angry, but now it was fading behind the concern. Mipsy had told her what had happened after she'd been summoned. James and Lily had been worried when they hadn't seen either Mipsy or Harry before school, but when neither one appeared long after school should have finished, she became panicked and summoned the elf.
Mipsy had cried and bowed and apologised profusely for her part in things, but Lily had been so afraid for her son that the conversation had ended, and she had stood watch in this portrait ever since.
"You are grounded," Lily growled, James chuckled softly behind her, drawing her gaze before putting up both hands and backing out of the frame. "No library for a month. And you are to help Mipsy and Tybalt with all their chores for a month as well."
"Mipsy is not fired?" She squeaked her first words since the conversation with Lily.
"Mipsy, why on earth would you be fired?" She asked, her anger suddenly cooled at the look in the poor elf's eyes.
"Mipsy was a bad elf, she failed to protect Master Harry." She whispered. "And when he got hurt, I couldn't help. All I could do was…"
She trailed off, unable to say what had transpired. No one had yet interrogated her properly, so they had no idea how she had healed Harry. When they knew, she would be out. House-elves did not corrupt wizards with their magic.
"What's wrong Mipsy," Harry pleaded.
"I am so sorry, Master Harry. You were so badly hurt, and I didn't have the supplies and there was no time." Mipsy was rambling as she stared at the boy she loved more dearly than anything in this world. "I had to."
"Had to what?"
"I healed you with elf magic." Mipsy buried her face in her hands and began to sob in earnest. She was a disgrace to her family and she was about to be sent away.
"Thank you, Mipsy." Harry's arms wrapped around the crying elf delicately. She flung herself into his arms and cried on his shoulder, soaking his tattered shirt.
"Mipsy," Lily called, "Why on earth would you think we would care how you saved Harry?"
James stepped back into the frame and there was a deep frown on his face.
"She shouldn't have done that, Lily. It's not right."
Lily rounded on her husband once more, the anger spiking at the comment. "You'd rather she watched our son die on the pavement?"
James cowered under her gaze, but he knew this was a case of her being a muggle-born. She didn't understand what had transpired.
"Of course not, Lily. But you don't understand. For an elf to push so much magic into a wizard, it changes them. He's lucky he didn't die altogether from the shock." James defended, stepping towards the angry redhead. "Harry will never be the same again."
"I don't care, dad. I'm proud of what Mipsy did." Harry glared at his father. Never had he been so angry at his father. Mipsy was in tears over this and he was making it worse. She needed their support, not anger. "She was so tired after she needed my magic just to survive."
Both parents turned back again with a strange look in their eyes. "What did you say?" James asked.
"Tybalt said she was dying. She needed magic. He told me how."
"TYBALT!" James roared.
The small male elf popped into the room cowering under the gaze of his current master.
"What the hell did you do?!"
"Tybalt is sorry Master, sister was dying. Master could not help, only Master Harry could save her. My sister was dying."
Lily softened at the waterworks in front of her. She'd had enough of this pureblood nonsense. "James, go. NOW!" Her voice remained soft and quiet, but James stared at her with hard eyes. Harry had never seen his parents fight like this before. He knew something serious was going on but not what. "Go. We'll talk in the library later. GO."
He glared at her for a moment before ducking out of the portrait and storming off to the library. Lily looked down at the three youngest members of her household. Mipsy was still crying hard into Harry's shoulder and Tybalt looked about ready to flee out the window, despite being on the second floor.
"I want the whole story. Slowly, calmly and from all three of you. Go sit on the end of the bed and let's talk."
ϟ
A few hours later, once Harry was again tucked into bed sleeping and the two elves were not fearing for their very lives, much less their positions, Lily stepped into the frame in the library to find the entire Potter family present and waiting for her. She sighed and stepped over to the table.
James turned on her, anger still visible at his dismissal from such an important conversation.
Lily just pointed at the chairs and the family gradually settled at the table.
"So, what are we to do with those two?" James demanded.
"Mipsy and Tybalt are resting after a trying day. Tomorrow, Tybalt will return to his tasks and Mipsy shall escort Harry to school again." Lily replied calmly.
James looked about to pop like her sister's husband at the first sign of magic. A vein was throbbing in his temple and his lip was twitching. If he weren't already dead, Lily would fear he was having an aneurysm.
"That's it? They corrupted our son, Lily."
"No James, they saved his life. Our son charged like a Gryffindor into the road with oncoming traffic. He was flung 10 metres by the impact and had so many broken bones and busted organs he'd have been dead within 5 minutes.
"Mipsy did the only thing she could at that moment and healed our son. Even Poppy would have lost him to the sheer number of injuries he received."
James's head of steam seemed to lessen somewhat as the extent of the damage was made clear to him. "But, that elf corrupted Harry's magic. He'll never be a proper wizard now."
"Rubbish, James. That will be more pureblood arrogant nonsense, like most things when it comes to house-elves." James looked ready to interrupt again. "No, shut up and listen. That poor elf just about gave her life saving your boy and you want to give her clothes. No matter how cruel that is, to begin with, she would then have to go out into the world. With no obligation to keep your family secrets anymore. Think about that James."
James rocked back in his chair as the obvious finally sunk through his mind. While it was possible for a house-elf of her age to live alone, house-elves generally lived with wizards in order to share the magic of their environment, and when part of a family the wizards and witches of it.
It was supposedly one of the main reasons for their service, they syphoned off small amounts of the family's magic and in return served the family. If he were to dismiss Mipsy, with her magic in flux after this incident, she would likely have to seek out another family to survive, or somewhere magically potent like Hogwarts.
Once there, the new master could potentially convince their new elf to talk. And learn all about their previous family's secrets, including that Harry Potter was alive and well. There was a reason his friend's family beheaded their elves rather than give them clothes. Dead men tell no tales after all.
If they were to keep Harry a secret, the elves would have to stay. But years of pureblood teachings and rumours were still warring with this knowledge in his head.
Seeing James was finally starting to calm slightly, Lily continued, "Now as for corrupting his magic, Mipsy did no such thing. Harry's magic will be just fine. He performed a simple test for me and his magic worked as expected. There will likely be some outbursts as his body adapts to the change, but he is very much still able to cast magic. He is not a squib if that's your fear."
James had the decency to look bashful at the thought. His family was long thought to be one of the kinder members of magical society, but they still suffered the rumours and whisperings of most pureblood families. One of the dangers of interacting with other purebloods. The fear was always there that the family would fall to nothing, die out into non-magical bloodlines and be lost forever.
"Now I have grounded Harry and for the next month, he is not allowed to step foot in this library and will actively help the elves with their tasks. If you see him shirking these tasks or standing about doing nothing, get Pops to find him something to do. That is the only punishment that will be taking place because of this. Any questions."
It was a testament to the fiery temper of the Evans girl that not one member of the extensive Potter family portraits dared to question her on this. All felt cowed at what she had said. Many were obviously questioning what they 'knew' to be true when it came to elves and magic.
But in the end, they all truly cared for both Harry and the elves. And no one present really wanted to hurt any of them by sending away the one elf that Harry was closer to than anyone else on the planet. Mostly due to their own actions, or lack of ability to perform outside their painted existence.
"Good," Lily said as no one argued further, "now if we're done, I'm going back to Harry's room. I'm still scared he still might disappear." She added softly as she departed the frame.