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"I don't know, Hermione. Dobby, do you think that there is anything that we could do to help Winky?" Harry asked the small elf.
Dobby hesitated but he answered in a small voice that sounded unsure of the reaction that he would get, "Harry Potter, sir. Winky wants to bond to a family again. Hogwarts keeps us busy but Winky has lived her entire life in the service of a family and she misses that terribly."
Harry and Hermione looked at each other in silent communication for a few moments and seemed to come to the same conclusion.
"It's okay, Harry. I think it would really help Winky and she seems to like you better than me anyway." Hermione said.
"Okay." Harry tilted his head to the side, called out "Winky." and with a small pop, a disheveled house-elf in a filthy dress appeared next to Dobby.
"How can I be of, hic, assistance?" asked the obviously drunk house-elf.
Harry knelt down so that he was looking into Winky's eyes and he spoke very gently, "Winky, would you like to be a part of a family again?"
The little elf's eyes went wide with surprise and tears began to stream down her tiny face as she wept into her hands. "Winky would love to but no one wants a bad elf." She said sadly between sobs.
Still speaking in a gentle whisper Harry said, "Winky, would you like to join my family? I am the only Potter left right now but someday I would like to have a family and a home to call my own. Dobby has already bound himself to me and we would be happy to have you join our family."
Whatever reaction Harry was expecting, it was not the one that he received. Winky launched herself at Harry and latched her tiny arms around his neck, crying hysterically. After a few moments, Harry was able to calm her down and she finally looked up into his face, "Winky would love to be a part of a family again, Master Harry."
"Alright; Winky, I welcome you into the Potter Family." With a slight discharge of magic, Harry felt the bond form between them. Turning to Dobby, Harry knelt down and repeated the process, formally welcoming him into the Potter family too. "Please make sure that you take time off for yourselves each day because I don't want to see you sick or injured. If you need anything, please come to me and ask. If I can provide it, I will."
Both of the elves looked up at Harry with adoring smiles and they chimed in unison "Of course, Harry Potter, sir."
"Um, I have one question though. What do you two prefer to wear? I know that the Hogwarts elves all have uniforms with the crest on them, or would you like to pick what you wear on your own?" Harry asked with genuine concern.
"Winky will find out what the Potter family crest looks like and will get the design for you. I would like to have the crest on my clothes to show that I am a proper house-elf." Winky said with pride.
"Dobby would like to wear the crest too, Harry Potter, sir." Dobby said enthusiastically.
"That would be great, Winky, I have never seen my family crest before. Of course, you can both wear the family crest. Do you have to be discreet about that here at Hogwarts? I wouldn't want to cause trouble with the other house-elves." Harry said, voicing his concern.
"Master is too kind." Winky said softly. "The other elves will treat us better because we are part of a Wizarding family again.
"That's great!" Harry said with relief evident in his voice. "I have one more question, do you two know of a room that we can train in secret? I have to get ready for the Triwizard Tournament and Hermione is going to help me train. We don't want anyone finding out what we are doing."
"Dobby knows of just the place, Harry Potter, sir. It is the Come and Go Room, or the Room of Requirement." Dobby said with obvious joy at being able to help. "It is on the seventh floor just opposite of the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy. Walk past the wall three times while thinking of what you need and the room will appear. We elves use it to store things, nasty Mr. Filch has found cleaning supplies there too."
"That sounds perfect Dobby. Thanks. I will call you two if I need anything. Please feel free to help Hermione with anything that she might need, she is very important to me." Harry said while looking at the two elves.
Two small pops later Harry and Hermione were all alone in the tower again. Hermione was beaming at Harry with a look of pride in her eyes. "That was a great thing that you did for Winky. While I don't like the idea of slavery, the change in her was amazing once you bonded and Dobby looked so happy after you formally welcomed him too." With a look of excitement on her face, Hermione pulled Harry to his feet and said, "Now let's go and find the Room of Requirement, I'm dying to see what the room can provide for us and to find out what Snuffles and Remus sent us."
Harry and Hermione arrived at the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy and after a brief discussion decided that Hermione would be the one to ask the room for what they needed. When the door appeared, they stepped inside and the door sealed itself behind them. There were dozens of bookcases that lined one of the walls with a fireplace, a desk, a sofa, and a table arranged in the corner of the small makeshift library. The other side of the room had a dueling area with practice dummies, targets, some workout equipment, and a small changing area with a shower. Harry looked over at Hermione and smiled, "I love magic." He said with quiet reverence.
They walked over to the table in the library area, Harry pulled out the shrunken package from Remus and Sirius, and they read the note together. With a big grin on his face Harry pulled out his wand, tapped the package, and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The package quickly expanded into a small trunk that was surprisingly light.
After they had categorized all of the items in the trunk, and kept a mirror each, Hermione looked deep in thought. "Harry, we can't leave this stuff in here so I think that we will have to shrink the trunk and one of us should carry it around at all times. Some of those books are dark and we could get into trouble if they are in our possession. They definitely would be in the restricted section if they were a part of the Hogwarts Library."
"You're right, of course. It's a very light trunk, even when it's at it's normal size, so I think we could just shrink it and one of us can carry it around in our pocket. I do not want to risk leaving it in our book bags. The trunk is amazing though. How did they get all of this stuff in there? My school trunk holds less stuff and it feels like it weighs a ton." Harry said with a touch of awe in his voice.