45 Petty

I knew that there were only a couple of ways that offering to bond with Mimpsy would go. The little guy would either take it really badly or all but throw himself at me.

As the little elf excitedly thanked me and held on to me the outcome should have been obvious. The little guy was rather too enthusiastic for my tastes but just watching him operate was well worth dealing with his thanks. Not to mention having a servant that would bend to all of my whims was grand.

I had no plans on abusing the guy as that just seemed dumb. Destroying any sort of good will your servant had for you for some momentary satisfaction was foolish. Sure, these little guys were bound to the family that they served tightly but resentment can fester.

It may go against the very purpose of their existence but they were capable of betraying their masters. Dobby was a prime example of that. That one warned Harry about Lucious' plan. If my plastic friend decided to actually treat his elf well such a thought would have never bloomed.

So I was going to treat any servant of mine respectfully. I was not going to bow to their whims as they would still be servants but I was not going to beat the shit out of them for my own amusement.

I had plenty of targets to take my anger out on. I did not need to assign my anger to helpless targets. That was the actions of a foolish and weak man. I was desperately trying to be neither of those options.

So I continued to pat the small creature as it bawled its large eyes out. I understood that they lived to serve but this was really an over reaction.

The other elves in the kitchen were shooting envious glances at the scene. Being able to serve someone is the very reason they exist. So seeing someone that they worked with receiving such a gift would fill any elf with envy.

I gave the elves a look as I thought that over. I had plenty of Mana and having more servants would be good. No, I did not have a place for these guys to actually work in. I would just have them doing nothing as I went about my day. That would be torture to creatures like them.

Not to mention the real reason I wanted Mimpsy was to watch as he performed various tasks. I would not gain anything from having more elves cluttering around me. I could only imagine the non stop sputtering and giggles as they increased in numbers.

I was already having difficulty dealing with a single elf. I did not need another one.

"Alright, I should be getting to bed now. You can initiate the bond Mimpsy." I spoke slowly to the overly excited elf. He let go of me and seemed to vibrate in place.

The elf offered me his tiny hand, I took his hand and felt Mana slowly start to travel out of me. The amount that he was taking was minimal and I recovered a hundred times the amount as he took it.

The already giant pupils of this small creature seemed to expand. It got so wide that it was frankly ridiculous to look at. The focus that Mimpsy had seemed gone and he froze in place. The little guy looked like he was trying to get his bearings after a bender.

The happy vibrating that he was doing previously was now wobbly and unsteady. The little elf definitely looked drunk. 

Beyond the sight of the Mana high elf I learned another neat trick. I could now initiate contracts that would have Mana funneled towards me. I did not have to offer servitude like the house elves had to but as long as it counted as a deal I could do it.

This little trick would have the entire magical world hunting me down. Having more Mana was something everyone sought. Having too much Mana was never a problem for my people. One look at what the elves did and you can see having more Mana was not bad. 

The magical world would eventually be after my head. The things I have done are ludicrous but I may have added another one to the list. This was not a grand secret either I could teach anyone to do the same. If my pupil was particularly sharp they could learn how to do it in a matter of minutes. 

I could have powerful people swear complete and utter loyalty for the chance to learn this trick. Hell, using this trick I could turn a squib into the next Merlin.

That would be hilarious. I could teach Petunia this little trick and suddenly she would be the special one in her family. I did not have a good relationship with her as she had no magic so I treated her just like any other Muggle. Quite badly if I was going to be honest. Still, I knew that she would do anything to have the same gift that her sister did.

I was willing to teach her it just to mess with Lily. The dilemma I would place her in was worth teaching Petunia. Your sister wants to be magical as well but she needs to siphon Mana from people. 

No sane Wizard or Witch would decrease their Mana pool for some Squib girl so she would have to trick people. Sure Lily might offer her some of her own Mana but it would never be enough. Not when Petunia knew she could grow beyond that. So would Lily try to step in seeing the practice as something evil or would she play along and help her sister? The gap that would grow between the sisters would be enormous if she refused to help.

It would be a delightful bitter scene as she would have to choose between her morals and her already difficult relationship with her sister. Well worth the cost of teaching Petunia my little trick.

I would have to have her swear her loyalty to me but that was to be expected. Giving her this trick because I found it amusing was not a good idea. Petunia would do anything to have the chance so getting her to agree should be rather easy.

I could word it in such a way that she would not even be aware of the collar she would be placing on her own neck. General terms can be the dumbest deals you could make in the magical world. Yet, from Petunia's Muggle sensibilities, the vague terms would sound completely fine to her.

Just another trick in my bag to use at my leisure. All it cost me to learn was small amounts of Mana which was clearly too much for the little guy already.

Mimpsy no longer looked quite as high as before but his large eyes were still not completely focused. It was only a matter of time before the guy recovered. I wondered if he had to adjust to the amount of Mana he was receiving or if he took more than his stomach could handle.

"I'm going to go to sleep now Mimpsy, work around in the kitchen for now I will call for you when I need you." I spoke out to the dazed and confused Elf. The little guy just nodded slowly as he wobbled in place. 

I put my hood back up and started to leave the kitchen. I looked around the empty corridors making sure there was no one here. There were only a certain amount of people that would be willing to break curfew. Potter and his crew being on the top of that list.

So I was looking for them. Not because I was worried that they would find me but so I could mess with them. I had a brand new handle on magic and I wanted to mess with those clowns.

Sadly for me, the corridor remained just as empty. I could go around looking for them but I was delaying enough already. Time to face the music.

With a quite little pop I vanished from Hogwarts. Apparition usually felt like being shoved into a far too tight tube. The way elves teleported was a massive improvement in that regard.

Apparition was basically forming a tunnel between two coordinates in space and rapidly pulling yourself through that tunnel.

The elf version eliminated the distance between the two locations. So there was no uncomfortable tube, It was basically just stepping through a door. It cost a decent amount of Mana to create the gate but it was manageable. I truly wondered how a phoenix traveled.

One moment I was looking at the stone walls of the castle and the next I was in front of the same shitty place I grew up in. The same discolored bricks. The same cracked window. The same shitty smell in the air. The small plot of grass in front was overgrown.

It was not a sight I particularly enjoyed. The entire street was in similar conditions to this place. The old mill that brought work to these people has long since been abandoned. The river that ran along here was polluted and emitted a stench that lingered in the air.

No one on this street really bothered to keep up appearances. Everyone knew that they were in a shitty position no one needed to fool their neighbors. It would cost more to fix up their homes than the actual property would be worth.

Still, out of all of these broken houses mine was the worse. These people knew that they were at rock bottom. They still tried to live, they still looked for work, and they still operated like humans. My father was not willing to do the same.

He would rather blame the world and whine about his prospects instead of actually trying to change. He spent hours drinking himself into a stupor every day and that led to him destroying their home in a fit of rage. My mother and I could have solved some of our issues with magic but he would not hear of any of it.

Magic hurt the fragile pride that the petty little man had. He would no longer be the provider. The person whose opinion was heard the loudest. Magic could have brought him a lot of things but his pride would never allow him to see it that way. He would rather spit vile thoughts instead of embracing the changes.

God, looking at it now I hated him even more. Not just because he was such an ugly vile creature. No, the reason I found bile traveling up my throat was because I was just like him. I let my pride rule over so many aspects of my life. The vile nature of my darkest thoughts stemmed from this petty man. 

He made me feel so god damn small because he was a small petty thing himself. It made me feel like I never wanted to be below anyone else. The same habit was beaten into me. I was just as petty as that man and I refused to grovel beneath any other again.

I hated that I was like him. I wish I could have been someone different. That these feelings and emotions did not dominate me. Yet, that was not the cards that were dealt. I would just have to accept that the colors that dyed me were all too familiar.

I walked into the place that should have been my home. A place that I could return to with a bright smile on my face. A place to grow and experience all that the world had to offer.

The door was not even locked. The lock had long since been broken when my Father broke it in a drunken rage as he could not figure out how to use his key. 

I was more than familiar with this small cramped hallway. It did not even take me a moment to find the small sitting room that I was looking for.

The sitting room was a small cramped place. The shadows seemed to cling on to these walls. The air reeked of stale shitty beer. The man I called father was sleeping on the sofa. The tv was on showing some sport that my father must have had money on.

There were a variety of bottles and cans surrounding his resting place. A few of them cracked or even completely smashed. The place was dirty and dusty.

A pathetic sight but not as pathetic as the man that slumbered here. The man had let him self go as he indulged in his vices. The pot belly prominent on his frame. The white shirt he wore had various stains on it more than likely blood. The man had probably not showered or cleaned him self for a long while. His face filled with patchy facial hair.

The man that was Tobias Snape could have been a handsome beast. He was tall, he used to be fit as he was a working man. He once had a charming smile that could light up a room. His personality was so loud that the world had to listen. Maybe that was why he became something like this. The person he was could not accept the failure that laid at his feet.

I imagined so many painful ways to kill this man. A potion that would literally boil his organs. A night filled with his cries as I stripped the skin on his body. A curse that would slowly consume him. So many disturbing ways I could have killed him.

The sight of him brought the same visceral rage. Yet, I could not be bothered to make such a grand effort for this man. He was not worth the effort. 

So with a snap of my fingers, I snapped his neck. 

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