Work Text:
May, 2008
“Alright Dott, Piper, are you sure about this?”
The small elves looked up at Theo and nodded, their batlike ears flapping so much it looked as if they could have taken flight.
“We needs to save our friend. He didn’t deserve to die—especially in such an awful way,” Dott squeaked.
“Yes, we really misses him, and Harry Potter does too!” Piper added.
Theo sighed and took in the pair of elves. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would be in this position.
Breaking about a hundred laws? Sure, just another Tuesday. Risking both losing his job and an Azkaban sentence if he was caught? Whatever, he had done a six month stint after the war- it wasn’t that bad (Draco had a very different opinion on this, but alas, he wasn’t there to stop Theo’s highjinks this time).
Would his brooding, pretentious, best friend beat him to a pulp if he found out? Undoubtedly. Not only for risking fucking up the world as they knew it, but also for roping the Malfoy elves into his plan:
Dott and Piper.
The pair were inseparable, two peas in a pod. They weren’t sisters, but they practically acted like it. And they were also the ones who helped Theo get Draco and Hermione together. Now the couple were only a month away from their wedding, and could barely keep their hands off each other.
Because of the enemies turned lovers, their friend group mixed, and Theo realized he had a thing for a certain bespeckled, messy dark haired bloke with a lightning bolt scar. Unfortunately for Theo, he was married to Ginny Weasley.
Happily? Theo couldn’t be sure. What he did know was that he and Harry had gotten completely pissed one pub night, and he could have sworn that Harry’s entrancing emerald eyes lingered on Theo’s lips.
He had wanked to the memory once, maybe twice.
It wasn’t just a physical attraction, Theo genuinely enjoyed spending time with Harry. They seemed to have a connection, both having troublesome upbringings. Harry wasn’t the attention seeking wizard that Skeeter made him out to be. He was somewhat shy, but when he learned to trust you he opened up like a flower on a sunny day. He had a deep love of Quidditch because it made him feel connected to his father. He remained in Grimmauld Place because he couldn’t bear the thought of selling his Godfather's house, and he absolutely adored his Godson, Teddy.
All in all, Harry had many layers, like an onion. (Theo had recently watched Shrek for the first time, and enjoyed quoting muggle movies incessantly just to annoy Draco. He also told his freakishly blonde friend that there was a dragon and donkey pairing that were best friends, like them, and Draco seemed to enjoy the idea that he was being compared to a dragon. Theo wasn’t sure if he was more excited or terrified for when Draco eventually found out it was not a friendship, but a relationship between the two characters).
One thing Harry had mentioned more than once was the guilt he felt for all the lives lost during the war. Especially the more helpless ones, like his beloved owl Hedwig, and the little rascal of an elf, Dobby.
Theo had known Dobby too, having spent a lot of time at Malfoy Manor. He always hated how Lucius had treated him — and almost interfered once when they were ten — but Draco held Theo back and said it would be even worse if they tried to stop his father.
Draco knew from experience.
So it wasn’t just for Harry that this plan came to be. Also for Draco, himself, Dott and Piper, who missed their friend.
Theo was now an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries. He loved his job and was able to have free reign to do wild experiments. His boss was aware he was tinkering with Time Turners, but Theo had not yet mentioned how successful he had been with fixing them. He tested them out himself a few times, but only going back an hour, a day, and a week. Never years.
His contract said he was not allowed to speak of his work to any magical people. It did not specify elves. So when he told the pair his plan, they demanded to not only help, but to be the ones to go back.
“No offence, Mr. Theo, but we thinks it would be best for us to save him. You might… cause problems,” Dott said when he spoke to them.
“He is a problem,” Piper muttered.
The cheek!
They were free, obviously. Hermione would have put Draco’s head on a pike if he owned enslaved elves. Their dresses had magically hidden pockets for them to hold the Time Turner and healing potions, amongst other things.
“Alright, and you have everything you need?”
“Yes, Mr. Theo! We have potions and the Time Turner-”
“And Dott brought weapons, just in case.” She smiled proudly.
“Weapons? What kind of weapons?” Theo asked incredulously.
From one of her hidden pockets she pulled out a wooden spoon, along with a cast iron frying pan and a ladle.
Theo bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing, knowing that if he did, one of said weapons would likely be used on him.
“Dott, I’m not sure-”
“You aren’t coming with us, Mr. Theo, so you don’t get a say! We are more than capable of handling this ourselves. Master Draco was looking for some letter late one night in his study. It was very dark and I didn’t know it was him, so I bashed him on the head with my pan thinking it was an intruder. He wents down like a sack of potatoes!” Dott grinned proudly while Piper happily nodded along.
Am I really letting two elves time travel to save their friend with only a few healing potions and kitchen utensils for weapons? Just for a man I’ll never get to be with?
Theo looked down at their innocent, yet determined eyes.
I suppose I am.
“Alright. Well just be careful. Don’t-”
“Be seen, kills anyone, or interfere with the timesline except for saving Dobby, and making sure Mr. Harry Potter, Mistress Hermione, and the ginger monstrosity are safe,” Piper finished. Theo couldn’t hold in his snort.
He placed the long, gold chain around their tiny necks and patted them on the shoulders.
“If this really changes things, I won’t know I did this. I would love it if you told me though. Until we meet again,” he pulled them in for a hug, their tiny arms wrapping around his neck.
A minute later they were gone, and Theo prayed to Salazar that this all worked out.
Malfoy Manor, March 1998
The pair arrived in Mistress Narcissa's quarters, knowing it would be empty. They quickly snapped their fingers and their dresses turned into worn looking pillowcases to fit in better.
Neither of them had been at the manor the day all of this occured. Mistress Narcissa had sent them away months prior for their own protection. They both hated it, but they weren’t free at the time and were unable to refuse her order.
Dott pulled the Time Turner from their necks and tucked it carefully into one of the magically hidden pockets that remained, snapping her fingers to ensure it was protected in case things went badly.
“Okay, Pipes, yous ready for this?” Dott asked her friend, and Piper nodded with determination. They didn’t exactly have a solid plan, but they both agreed they would do whatever it took to get everyone out of the manor alive, Mister Theo’s rules be damned.
A scream echoed throughout the manor and both elves froze, their eyes widening in tandem. They had heard Mistress Hermione scream before when her and Master Draco spent alone time together, although this scream had a distinct cadence that was much different than what they knew.
She was in pain and terrified, it was obvious.
Piper looked toward the door and took a step, but Dott wrapped her hand around her arm to stop her.
“We can’t saves her, Pipes. You heard Mister Theo. Even what we are doing now could change everything. We haves to be smart about this.”
Mister Theo had told them how the events of this day had unfolded so they knew what to expect, but he had obviously heard the story through others. Hearing the screams, and feeling the darkness in the manor themselves, was very different.
Piper hesitated, but nodded anyway. Dott was the more level headed elf between the two of them.
They left a letter on Mistress Narcissa’s dressing table. Dott and Piper needed to stay hidden until the very last moment, but knew they would be seen eventually. The letter explained very vaguely that they were saving lives today, and to not discuss it with them when they eventually reunited after the war. It was a huge risk, but Mistress Narcissa was very smart, and they hoped she would understand.
They slowly made their way down the stairs and hid in a shadowy alcove outside the drawing room. The pair observed Master Draco levitate some unconscious snatchers out back, his face riddled with tension.
The elves peered into the room and watched as Mistress Hermione lay bloodied and broken on the floor. Piper felt her eyes fill with tears at the sight, and Dott held her arm again to stop her from entering the room.
They heard the loud cracks from the dungeons which they knew to be Dobby making trips to save the prisoners. Lucius Malfoy's voice sounded loudly, ordering Peter Pettigrew to go check what was going on.
“Can’t we’s at least push Lucius Malfoy into the fire of the drawing room? Or trip Pettigrew down the stairs of the dungeons?” Piper whined.
“No! We can’t change the timeline too much and risk everything. We’s are not even knowing how saving Dobby will change the future!”
“Fine,” Piper pouted. They watched Pettigrew scurry away.
“Pettigrew dies down there’s anyways!” Dott added happily, which did help Piper's mood. It quickly changed back when Mistress Hermione screamed once more.
After a short time Mister Harry Potter and The Weasel arrived at the top of the stairs. They had debated earlier if they should interfere at this point, but decided it was best to let them charge in as they did before. They were going to sneak into the room when the chaos began, and help where they could.
Although they were going to let Dobby know first.
“Dobby?” Dott whispered. Piper snapped her fingers to put a silencing charm up to block the loud crack of apparition just before he appeared.
“Dott? Piper? What are yous doing here? It’s not safe! You’s must leave!” Dobby exclaimed in a panicked voice.
“Dobby!” Piper squealed, as they both threw themselves at their friend.
“We’s is saving you of course!” Dott said into his bony shoulder.
“Me? No, I’m here to save Harry Potter and his friends!”
Piper and Dott pulled back.
“We’s know. We don’t have time to explain right now, but we’s came a long way to saves—to helps you today,” Piper finished.
Just then Mister Weasel yelled and bounded into the room, Mister Harry Potter quickly on his heels.
“Dobby, I’m going to go to the chandelier and unscrew it, as it starts to fall, you apparate Mistress Hermione and the goblin to wherever you took the others, Dott will protect Mister Harry Potter and Mister Weasel,” Piper explained.
“Mistress Hermione?" Dobby asked in confusion.
“It doesn’t matter! Wheres are you taking them?” Dott asked.
“Shell Cottage on the outskirts of Tinworth. It belongs to the Weasley family,” he replied.
“Okay, do not come back after you leave here with Mistress Hermione and the goblin! It is imperative you stay away!” Piper cried.
“But-” he tried.
“Just go!” Dott yelled, and after a moment of looking at them strangely, he snapped his fingers and disappeared.
They were running out of time. Dott turned to Piper and pulled her in for a tight hug.
“Be careful, I can’t lose yous.”
“Me either,” Piper replied before she snapped her fingers, suddenly sitting atop the large crystal chandelier.
Piper watched the chaos unfold. She spotted Dobby lingering behind a settee near Bellatrix, and watched Dott slip in the room and make her way towards Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. She began working on the chandelier, loosening the screws just enough to keep it held up.
The two boys dropped their wands on the floor, and she unscrewed the chandelier more, the sound loud enough to catch everyone’s attention. They all looked up, and Piper smiled wide at Bellatrix before it dropped. Just as they planned, Dobby had just enough time to grab Mistress Hermione and the goblin and disappear.
Piper managed to get across the room to Dott. They were told it was imperative that Harry Potter still be the one to take the wands away from Master Draco.
“Who the hell are you?” Ronald Weasley asked the little elves.
“We’s is friends with Dobby! Here to help save you all!” Dott squeaked.
Harry Potter was able to run back to them all after acquiring the wands. It was going to work! They were going to make it!
“You filthy little creatures! You almost killed me!”
“We’s didn’t means to kill, only maim or seriously injure!” Piper tried to explain.
Bellatrix attempted to get Narcissa to use her wand against them, but she just stared at the two elves with wide eyes, looking both uncertain and a little betrayed.
“Fine, I’ll do it myself!”
The evil witch hurled the dagger towards them. Without Dobby and Mistress Hermione, it flew directly towards Harry Potter. The war would absolutely be lost without him. So Piper did the only thing she could think of and threw herself in the path of the dagger.
At the same time, she noticed something flying towards the dagger, and realized with a jolt it was… Dott’s wooden spoon!
The spoon hit the dagger. Due to it being so light, it didn’t stop the blade, but pushed it off course. At the last moment, Piper grabbed Harry Potter, Dott grabbed Ronald Weasley, and they apparated away.
They landed on a wet sandy beach, and heard a man crying out in pain.
The dagger was lodged into Ronald Weasleys thigh. Dobby appeared with a crack, and gaped at the sight of the dagger.
“No! Ronald Weasley!”
He performed a diagnostic over the redhead. While there were some red glowing orbs, it was clear that he was going to be ok once the knife was removed.
Harry Potter helped his friend to stand and they began to hobble away towards a nearby cottage.
“Wait!” Dott cried, and Harry Potter turned back. “Um, Mister Theodore Nott is a goods man, yes he is! A very good man with a very kinds heart!”
Harry Potter gave her a puzzled look. “Okay?”
Dott simply nodded and the boys turned back, making their way to the cottage.
Piper and Dott both took heaving breaths, and Dobby turned to them with an expectant look.
They weren’t supposed to explain to him what happened, Mister Theo said. But as they stared at their elf friend—who in the old world they knew had been dead for ten years—Piper looked at Dott and they nodded at each other.
They explained to Dobby what had happened, how they had used a Time Turner from Theodore Nott to come back and save him. Dobby's jaw dropped open as they took turns explaining what happened.
“Yous-yous did all of this for me?” He asked, tears shining in his large eyes.
“Yes! We’s missed you so much. So did Harry Potter and his friends, and Master Draco and Mister Theo!”
He hurled himself at the two female elves, and they all cried together. After a time, they pulled away.
“We needs to be going. You’s need to be staying safe, don’t make this be for nothing!” Dott sternly told him.
Dobby nodded seriously.
“We are from May 2008, so we will see you then!”
They all hugged and transfigured the pillowcases back into their pretty dresses. Dott gently removed the Time Turner and put it around their necks.
“Wait!” Dobby said and they paused. “Why dids you say what you did about Mister Theodore to Harry Potter?”
“Mister Theo is in love with Harry Potter, of course. From our original time though, Harry Potter marries Ginny Weasley. I was just trying to make him see that he belongs with Mister Theo!”
Dobby nodded seriously. “Okay. Be safe!”
The little elves nodded and Dott turned the Time Turner and they disappeared.
May 2008
They appeared on the beach and quickly apparated to Malfoy Manor, but stayed in the tree line of the nearby forest. They needed to be sure that everything worked out and the war had been won.
They spotted Mistress Narcissa in the rose garden, looking peaceful and content, kneeling down with a small curly haired girl with locks as bright as hers. They made their way over to them.
“Hello, girls. What have you two been up to?”
“Um, well, saving Dobby the elf?” Dott said tentatively.
Her head snapped up and she stared at them with wide eyes. Then her face broke into a wide grin.
“Merlin! You are back! Oh girls, you did such a wonderful job!” She pulled them both into a tight hug.
“So the war was still won?” Piper asked hopefully as they pulled away.
Mistress Narcissa laughed lightly.
“Yes, everything worked out,” then she turned to the little girl with her. “This is Lyra Luna Granger-Malfoy.”
The elves gasped simultaneously.
“Mistress Granger and Master Draco had a baby?!” Piper cried.
“Nana, why are Pipes and Dottie being so siwwy?” The little girl asked with a giggle.
“Well they’ve just returned from a very big adventure, Lyra,” she replied with a smile. “You two should go see Dobby. He lives at Grimmauld Place with Harry Potter.”
The elves nodded and disappeared with a crack, reappearing in the sitting room of the old house.
“Dobby?” Piper said. With a crack he appeared.
“Hi, Piper, Dott. I didn’t think we were going shoppings until later today?” He asked curiously. Dott and Piper pulled him in tightly for a hug.
“It’s us!” Dott whispered in his ear. Dobby tensed for a moment before he burst into tears and squeezed them so hard that Piper almost lost the ability to breathe.
“Oh yay! I’m so happy you are back! Let me tell you everything!”
They all sat on the sofa and Dobby began to speak. He told them how he helped in the final battle—Dott promptly scolded him for taking such a risk after they saved him—but he assured them he was very careful. He said he even saved a few lives himself during the battle, Fred Weasley and Lavender Brown most notably.
“But there is one thing yous will both be very excited about,” he explained, and levitated a framed photo from the roaring hearth. He showed it to them, and they both gasped at he sight.
It was Harry Potter and Mister Theo in suits and kissing in what Piper recognized as the Malfoy garden.
“Mister Theo and Harry Potter are married?!” Dott shrieked.
“Woohoo!” Piper exclaimed as she stood and began jumping up and down on the sofa.
Dobby laughed.
“Yes, after what you said to him on the beach—and maybe with me whispering into Harry Potter’s ear—he realized he was unhappy with Ginevra Weasley, and he and Theo Nott started dating a few years after the war. There’s more news too!”
He levitated another frame over. It was of Mister Theo and Harry Potter each holding a baby.
“They got a surrogate and have babies! Twin boys, their names are James Sirius Potter-Nott and Rubeus Remus Potter- Nott!”
Just then a pecking noise sounded from the window, and Dobby ran over and opened it. A snowy owl flew in and dropped a letter before landing on a perch in the corner.
“Oh! That’s another thing. We’s may have gone on another time travel adventure, and I joined this time,” Dobby said sheepishly.
“Who did we save?” Piper asked.
“Harry Potter's owl, Hedwig. It was rather tricky, as she died in flight during a battle in the sky. We borrowed a broom, went back in time, and Dott bashed the Death Eater who sent the curse over the head with a cast iron pan. Then we instructed her to go far away and not return until it was safe. She’s a very smart owl and did as she was told! Harry Potter was very happy, but he took the Time Turner away from us so we can’t do anything else,” he mumbled the last sentence.
Dobby began telling them other things they missed, and Dott caught Piper's eye. They both smiled widely, both feeling elated at how well everything had turned out.
FIN.