the_debt_of_time

Frowning, Tilly smacked Dobby on the head. "Dobby is a bad elf! Dobby lies to his
Master abouts being free!"
"Ow!" Dobby covered his head and growled, reaching up and swatting at the other
elf as she continued to hit him. "Tilly lies to her Mistress abouts being Mistress!" he said,
pointing at Mia.
"Tilly knows better than Dobby!"
Dobby scoffed. "Tilly likes to think so."
"This might be the funniest shit I've ever seen in my life," Sirius said with a grin.
"Tilly is a bad elf!" Dobby shot back at her. "Tilly not tell her Mistress who she is!
Young Miss grows up thinking she's Muggle!"
"Tilly not supposed to! Dobby not even supposed to know about Mistress, but
Dobby nasty snoop!"
"Dobby, did you know who I was this whole time?" Mia asked him.
The house-elf turned, worrying his hat in his hands as he faced her, slowly nodding
his large head. "Dobby knew."
"Did you know that giving elves clothes wouldn't free them? All throughout
Hogwarts, all those hats and scarves I knitted."
"Clothes is... complicated," he said quietly with a shrug. "Elves pass down in
families. Clothes free elves from bad wizards. Then elves goes back to good wizards. Young
Miss liked to knit. Dobby likes to wear hats and scarves. Hogwarts house-elves not know
better."
"You let Dumbledore pay you," Mia pointed out.
Tilly's eyes widened in absolute horror. "Dobby did what?"
Dobby flushed and ran to hide behind Harry.
"Dobby!" Harry looked down at him. "Did you...? Am I your Master?"
The little elf bit his lip anxiously. "Dobby is always happy to serve Harry Potter,
sir."
Harry sighed in clear frustration. "Dobby, I don't want you to serve me. I
thought... I thought we were friends."
Dobby's large eyes widened further and tears prickled the edges. "Harry Potter
thinks... thinks that Dobby is... his friend?" He sniffled once before he started crying.