chapter 9

The evening bustled with activity in both Muggle and magical worlds. Everyone was busy in a pre-Christmas rush, leaving their footprints across the soul of the city. This state of affairs suited Lin who preferred activity to stillness. She left Mr Snape's house after dinner in good spirits, feeling that her well being was restored. Her trained body usually recovered quickly, but this time she knew her thanks lay with the Potions Master. She never got to use his first name throughout her visit, nor could she have claimed friendship or even a casual acquaintance with him afterwards. Their meeting was intriguing to her. They parted on good terms without any promises for the future, although she felt a strong pull of events bringing them together again and again, ignoring their resistance.

Lin found that Mr Snape had a sharp perception of the social events past numerous daily stereotypes. He was judgemental, with a running streak to be prepared for the worst, but it didn't mean he lacked irony. His likes and dislikes often coloured his manner of expressing his opinions. He was unapologetic for his views, and they had to be either accepted or left alone. Lin appreciated how he could get to the heart of the matter without surrounding it by a superficial shroud to appear to be kinder. She was doing the same quite often, but she knew the weakness of this relationship with the world that they had set up. It lacked flexibility. What happened when two people like that clashed in encountering a problem where their views opposed? Still, it would have been interesting to speak to him again.

A car went past Lin, its wheel fighting against a slippery road. Lin shook herself at the sound. She had more important things to do. On the steps of her house lay a newspaper. Right beside it lay a present also left for her by a delivery owl. The present smelled bad. That must have been for forgetting to replenish her mailbox with the owl treats again. Lin removed it, regretting her lack of dedication to spending a few minutes each day to oversee such matters. She wiped some snow off the front page, revealing a headline. 'Revolutionary change, and freedom for the house-elves,' it read. Lin found it like all other loud statements inaccurate as she scanned the article:

The "Revolutionary statement" had been made by Kingsley Shacklebolt, currently the favourite candidate to be elected to the post of the Minister of Magic. During his public meeting with a representative for the Rights and Liberties of the House-Elves Union, H. Granger, Mr Shacklebolt had announced his intentions to introduce a new article to the Code of Laws. The wizards or witches who have house-elves in their service will be held responsible for any violent abuse, whether verbal or physical, of their servants. Violators of this law will be held accountable either by heavy fines or imprisonment. His statement was welcomed by H. Granger who promised on behalf of the Union to support him as the running candidate. "We understand that house-elves wish to stay in servitude, which has in the past had a long history of abuse," she stated with determination blazing in her eyes. "Our Union members will do our best to bring the message to the house-elves that we have no intention of taking away what they desire to have, their work, but they must be convinced to report any abuse to the authorities because their Masters have an obligation to treat their servants well. There are many house-elves who have yet to realise that freedom does not imply loss of work for them, but instead it would bring improved conditions in their working environment."

It looked like the group was going to get their opportunity to advance their project, Lin thought. There were many politicians talking about the right steps their government must take for the betterment of society. Shacklebolt was made of a different material. He was actually going to take these steps. The huge improvement in efficiency within the executive branch, especially the Auror department, stood as a monumental proof of his organisational skills.

Lin pushed the door open and was met by the unpleasant chill. That was the least of her concerns, however, because two luminescent orange globes stared at her from the darkness.

"Mistress!" Lin heard a high-pitch squeak. The eyes shifted closer, and a small shape like a lollipop with a large head and a wiry body, appeared. The house-elf bowed to Lin very low, nearly scraping its forehead on the floor.

"Who are you?" Lin asked strictly to cover up how startled she had been.

"I am Totty, Mistress." The house-elf bowed again.

"All right, Totty, I am used to greeting my guests when I am inside my house and they are coming with some warning from the outside. Surprises like this in my residence can get a newspaper thrown in your face."

The house-elf trembled so much that even her floppy ears shook. She tried gracelessly to take the newspapers out of Lin's hand. "Totty understands. Old Master beat her every day. Newspaper is nice. It's softer than the hitting stick."

Only now Lin noticed numerous bruises on a skinny body visible under the rags. "I am not going to beat you," she said. "I don't like it when something jumps out at me from the darkness. If you were a bandit trying to attack me, I would have to defend myself."

"Oh! Totty understands now! Totty was very bad scaring Mistress. She will not do it again." She finally pried the newspaper from Lin and began hitting herself with the thick package. "Bad Totty! Bad!"

Dealing with the unpredictable mood swings and twisted thinking of the house-elf was frustrating.

"Firstly, give me back the newspaper please," Lin tried to get her world back in order. "Secondly, tell me what you mean by 'again'. It sounds like you are planning to live with me."

"Yes!" said Totty suddenly excited. She returned the tattered paper to Lin. "Mistress freed me from my old Master. Now, Totty will live with you."

"I don't think that fall had tampered with my head so much that I would forget about freeing someone," Lin argued. "Are you sure you are addressing the right person?"

"Yes! Totty felt your magic through her bond with Master Nocultist. Yesterday your magic hit him and then he died. Totty is sorry she didn't come to Mistress earlier. It was hard to find you."

Totty's tangled up statements finally began to form an explanation in Lin's mind. "Hold on," she said in disbelief, recalling a cloaked wizard talking about his house-elf before their confrontation. "Are you talking about the criminal I fought with at the warehouses? I only Stunned him. His friends are the ones responsible for hexing him it seems to death."

The house-elf looked at her unblinkingly. "The Mistress freed me," she repeated.

"Fine," Lin capitulated, seeing that this was a dead set point. "I still have no idea why you came to me. I thought you would become a servant of your Master's blood relatives."

Totty hesitated. She shifted from foot to foot, whining a little like a puppy.

"Are you sure someone didn't send you here just to spy on me?" Lin grew suspicious.

"No! Totty will not spy on Mistress!" she yelped. The house-elves could not act that convincingly, so it seemed she was telling the truth. Totty spread out on the floor, grabbing Lin's leg. "Bad Totty, saying bad things about her Old Master, but she will tell Mistress. He cursed them all because he didn't want relatives. It is a horrible, horrible curse, and it broke his connection with his family, so Totty cannot go to them."

Lin sighed. "I only heard about the Elder Wand being transferred to a new Master in the outcome of a duel. I didn't know it was possible with the house-elves. What am I suppose to do with you now?"

"Totty can do a lot of things!" Totty said happily. "She is a very good elf!"

"Maybe you can cook."

"Yes, I will make very tasty meals," Totty assured her.

Lin decided to deal with Totty's situation on Monday. She was going to find out more about it by talking to the professionals in the related law department at the Ministry. The house-elf was not going to leave her alone even if she ordered her out of her house. The logic of gaining this servant so unexpectedly was unconvincing. It seemed that Totty randomly had chosen a new owner that she liked, but made up an explanation from the scrapes of the rules that she knew. The law of being transferred down the blood line seemed like it existed only in the house-elves' mind, rather than being a magical-bound contract, Lin suspected. Lin also realised that Totty's appearance was fortunate, even if it was inconvenient. "Totty, I have a very important question for you, and you must answer it very, very honestly in as much detail as you can remember," Lin said candidly.

"Totty cannot lie to her Mistress," the house-elf responded.

"When you lived with your previous Master, did he have friends?" Lin asked hopefully.

"No." Totty disappointed her.

"Ok, did he have acquaintances: wizards or witches who would come to visit him, perhaps to discuss something important?"

"Rarely, Master had visitors. Totty was scared of them. They were very bad to Totty if they saw her. Master sent me away when they came."

"What did they look like?"

"Totty does not know. They were wearing capes and hoods."

"Do they at least have names?"

Totty wrung her hands desperate to remember. "Stun, Anap, Serpen..."

"I get it. They all have abbreviation of curses for their nicknames." Lin's disappointment was clear. "I suppose there are no associates you can tell me about."

Totty hit her forehead with a fist, trying to be more useful. "There is one witch," she said suddenly. "Master told me her name or Totty could not find her. Totty is very ashamed she had to look at what this woman was doing."

A lover perhaps, Lin considered. "All right, start from the beginning," Lin ordered. "What is her name?"

Totty sat down on the floor, feeling the importance of the moment. "Her name is Arpina Belsmock."