"But the Witch Pure Party is difficult to trust a student valued by Dumbledore. To coerce Vid into cooperating or even joining, they might resort to some very despicable methods—such as kidnapping his parents and forcing Vid to comply."
"So first, you can go to Vid's parents' house and see if there are any suspicious individuals lurking around, secretly monitoring them!"
Michael raised one finger, then a second.
"Second, the Witch Pure Party's base is likely in a very cold, sparsely populated area."
"Did you see the videos they filmed? Although their faces weren't shown, those wizards were always dressed thickly, tall and slender, indicating they are likely from cold regions. A place accommodating hundreds of wizards wouldn't have too many Muggles."
"Third, there are at least two or three hundred wizards appearing in the video. So many people, what are they doing when they're not attacking Muggles? They need food and water, need to rest, need help with laundry and cleaning."
Michael looked at Dobby and asked, "So do you understand? The place where they gather must need a lot of House-Elves, maybe even more than at Hogwarts!"
"And you, Dobby, you're a House-Elf looking for work—you can inquire about where a lot of House-Elves have recently gathered. That's much more convenient than for wizards!"
The more Michael spoke, the more ideas kept springing to mind, and he added, "Also, quite a few wizards in the video were injured, so they surely need a large amount of Healing Potion!"
"Even if the potions can be brewed by themselves, what about the raw materials?"
"Healing Potions require Unicorn tail hair, Wormwood, and Dittany, while Blood Replenishing Potions need Unicorn horns and Mandrake."
"The Dittany needs to be within a year, and Mandrakes can't be stored in large quantities... Tracking who recently bought these magic potion materials might reveal their whereabouts!"
"Ah... track, track?" Dobby's eyes almost swirled, he shook his head, clenched his fists to cheer himself up, "Dobby... Dobby will definitely try hard to gather information!"
Michael smiled at this.
"No... you probably can't do that; I'll write to Professor Dumbledore... Of course, they might have already thought of it, but just in case?"
"Dobby, you just need to try investigating from the first three directions!"
Dobby secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said excitedly, "I understand!"
Since leaving Hogwarts, he had been wandering aimlessly, not even knowing if his efforts would make any difference. For the first time, he knew clearly what needed to be done.
Michael couldn't wait to go back and write the letter. He left the Gray family's address with Dobby and hurried off to the Weasley Family.
On the hillside, there was a crisp "pop," and Dobby disappeared.
...
In the small town, some Christmas decorations were still hanging around, but the weather was becoming increasingly cold, and once dusk fell, there were hardly any people on the streets.
Dobby held a piece of paper, stuck to the wall corner, searching along the way.
"Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen... Is it here?"
He looked through the gap in the fence. Through the lamplight, he saw someone passing by the window, but before he could see clearly, a small figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
Before Dobby could react, he was grabbed by the neck and slammed against the wall with a "thud."
He opened his eyes wide in terror, seeing an elderly House-Elf, so old it was almost a fossil, standing before him. Its fingers, slender like bare branches, were gripping his neck.
"Humph, let's see what Kreacher caught? A pesky little brat spying on the master here!"
The elderly House-Elf muttered in a low voice, "What mischief is he up to? Kreacher will take him to the master, and the broke-down master will scoop out his brains and dig out his wicked thoughts..."
"Wa-wait..."
Dobby struggled to pry open its grip, but to no avail. In desperation, he suddenly grabbed his own hat, flipped the edge up, and pulled out a small greeting card from inside, showing it to the other.
[To Dear Dobby:
Merry Christmas!
Your friend, Vid Gray]
Kreacher glanced at it. The familiar handwriting caused his fingers to loosen slightly, and his fierce gaze softened.
"... This strange wild brat is Vid Gray's friend?"
He lightly asked.
"Dobby... Dobby is Mr. Gray's friend," Dobby said between coughs, "Dobby wants to find the missing Vid Gray, so I came here to see if there are any suspicious people around."
Kreacher let go of him but said, "The most suspicious one here is you!"
Dobby looked fearfully at this powerful House-Elf and timidly asked, "Dobby doesn't know who you are..."
"Kreacher, House-Elf of the Black Clan, serving the great and pure Black for generations! Master ordered Kreacher to protect Vid Gray's parents here!"
Kreacher spoke with pride, glancing disdainfully at Dobby's tattered clothes.
—Not even a pillowcase with a crest, clearly thrown out of the house.
Once, Kreacher only had a dirty rag, but now, he wore a decent little suit with the Black family crest pinned to his chest.
House-Elves could not receive clothes from their masters, but accepting a set of clothes as a gift from others was fine.
This outfit was a gift from Vid earlier, and the crest Kreacher found in the attic. Sirius didn't particularly like the crest being flaunted around, but he allowed Kreacher to wear it all the time.
Hearing this, Dobby looked with some envy and sympathy at Kreacher while awkwardly clutching his own ragged clothes, just about to say something when suddenly he heard the sound of a door opening inside.
Both House-Elves fell silent and quickly hid.
Through the fence and snow-covered bushes, Dobby saw a middle-aged Muggle man in pajamas, draped in a coat, walking out the door. He held a very bright lantern, illuminating most of the yard.
"What's wrong, Ferdie?" came a woman's voice from inside the house.
"I just heard a noise..." the Muggle man said, turning back, "Maybe it was a squirrel foraging for food."
"Oh... I'll go back inside then. Don't work too late. Sigh... I wonder if Vid will be home before school starts."
The bedroom light upstairs flickered on and off again. The Muggle man at the door stayed even though his cheeks were turning red from the cold.
He paced around the yard with the lantern, even checking the rooftop and wall top, bending to look under the shrubs. After searching around, he reluctantly prepared to go back inside.
Dobby, crouched outside next to the bushes, breathed a sigh of relief. Just then, a sparrow hopped through the dry branches and leaves, seemingly mistaking Dobby's nearby finger for food, and pecked at it.
Dobby withdrew his hand in pain, setting the bushes jostling and some snow falling off.
The Muggle man turned swiftly, rushed a few steps toward it, and shouted, "Vid? Is that you?"
The lantern lit up a pair of tennis ball-sized eyes in the bushes, making Ferdinand gasp and nearly faint.
He stepped back a couple of strides, clutching his chest, suppressing the urge to bolt or scream loudly. Ferdinand tremblingly extended the lantern a little closer and asked, "What...what are you?"
Unlike most House-Elves, Dobby never hid away, even when at the Malfoy Family.
Seeing that he had been discovered, he thought of the courtesy a human should exhibit when visiting a friend's family. Dobby mustered his courage and, amid Kreacher's surprised gaze, walked out.
"Good evening, sir." Dobby removed his little fawn hat, placing it on his chest, "Dobby is a House-Elf and a friend of Vid Gray, here to search for Vid Gray."
To prove his point, he once again produced the small greeting card.
Looking at this strange little creature, Ferdinand was stunned.
Then he noticed that Dobby's intimidating eyes were actually clear and sincere. Besides the hat, Dobby was in ragged clothes and even barefoot.
Ferdinand remained silent for a moment, then said, "Vid isn't home. But... since you're his friend, do come inside!"