"We gave her the option, Mum Granger," said Daphne. "It was her choice."
"And people won't see her?" asked a worried muggle mother.
"Not if she doesn't want them to," said Hermione. "And she's very aware of the Statute of Secrecy, and knows to remain invisible to muggles not in the know."
"But, I still don't know if we have enough work for her," she tried.
"Have you seen your gardens, lately?" grinned Harry. "Winky and Dobby did that in one night. I really doubt any one upper middle income muggle family home has 'enough' work for a house elf. However, the elves have this... sort of... network among themselves. They help each other out, as and when necessary.
"Winky's now tapped in to the local house elf network. She'll be fine, work wise. And she now knows how to use all the appliances, as well as not to use too powerful magic around any electronic device that is active; whether 'on' or on 'standby'."
"I'm still amazed at how easily you repaired the television," she said, referring to how Winky had accidentally blown it up when she tried to clean the dust out of its vents.
"So am I," he replied. "I had no idea magic could fix electronic devices so long as the device was unplugged. Nice to know."
"It means, if Winky does accidentally cause something electrical to go on the fritz, it can be magically repaired by unplugging it, first; and probably letting any internal capacitors drain off excess power," added Hermione. "We ready?" asked Ant, walking in to the kitchen.
"Yes," all three of them replied.
"Hello!" called Sirius, walking in from the garage. "We ready?" "Yes," all five replied.
"In the kitchen, Sirius!" called Ant.
Hermione and Daphne rode with Cele in her car, while Sirius and Harry rode with Ant in his.
"I could have magically expanded the interior of one of the cars and we could have all ridden in that," said Sirius.
"Thank you, but its fine," said Ant. "Due to the lease agreements, both cars need to maintain a certain number of miles per year. We're a little low on both for this time of year, so the drive is both necessary and no bother."
Just over an hour later Sirius pointed them to park just inside the inner park on the lawn of Grimmauld Place. When Dan asked why, he explained it was easier on the Notice -me-not field to have pedestrians avoid the area, rather than motorists.
A quick walk across the road and Sirius was leading them up a path to a very well presented 'townhouse' home. Harry had to look to either side to recognise that 12 Grimmauld now looked nothing like it used to in the previous timeline. Of course, neither Hermione nor he could say anything about the appearance as, in this timeline, they'd not been to the house before. However, a quick glance to Hermione and Harry could tell she was thinking exactly the same thing. The change was amazing.
Of course, the drastic changes for the better on the outside were also now reflected on the inside. Gone was the Slytherin snake motif throughout, the faded and peeling wallpaper, the threadbare carpets, the no-longer polished teak floors, the cobwebs, the magical pest infestations, the dark artefacts, and - most noticeably - the elf heads.
That was all replaced with walls painted in bright and cheery colours, deep rich carpets, polished to a high shine teak flooring, rich drapes, and larger windows allowing in far more light. A very large skylight now occupied the ceiling in the stairwell. The kitchen had been 'wizard' modernised, and quality furniture that had remained and was in reasonable condition had been given a rejuvenating makeover and returned to service. That included furniture like the formal dining table and hard wooden chairs though the cushions had been replaced.
After a tour of the 'public' areas of the house, Sirius led them up to the bedrooms. Of course, he led them directly to their room on the floor immediately below his own. With a grin and a flourish, he opened the door and gestured everyone inside.
Inside was a large four-poster bed, doors leading off to a private ensuite bathroom and a walk-in robe, a bureau and a small desk.
"I hope this meets your approval?" he asked. "Oh, yes," said Daphne.
Hermione nodded and said, "It's perfect."
"Dobby! We're here!" called Harry.
Dobby almost immediately popped in with their three trunks. "Yes, Master Harry. Dobby is ready for work."
"Hey, Chuckles!" called Sirius.
A second, apparently much calmer, elf popped in and asked, "Yes, Master Padfoot?"
"Chuckles, this is Dobby. Dobby? Chuckles. Dobby is Master Harry's, Mistress Hermione's and Mistress Daphne's personal elf. He'll be here, helping out, while Harry, Hermione and Daphne are here; alright?" "Yes, Master Padfoot; of course," said the calm little elf.
"Thank you, Chuckles," said Sirius, and the elf popped away again.
"You named your elf 'Chuckles'?" asked Hermione.
"I think it fits," replied Sirius with a grin. Hermione just rolled her eyes at him and said, "I'm sure that's not his real name."
"No," agreed Sirius. "But, it's the only one I call him."
While they left Dobby to unpack for the three bondmates, they all trooped down to the kitchen with its large, informal dining table. "I... thought Madam Black owned a house elf named Kreacher," said Daphne. Harry and Hermione were also wondering what happened to the despicable little fellow.
"He asked I... release him from his torment," replied Sirius. Sirius 'ceremonially' killed him by beheading.
Apparently, Ant and Cele knew of it because they didn't push for further information. And the three bondmates knew not to ask, but Harry and Hermione both knew how.
Once in the kitchen, Chuckles served them all an afternoon tea as they talked.
"Where's Moony?" asked Harry.
"Apparently, his boss is a bit of a hard-arse," grinned Sirius. "He's at work."
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