At one o'clock in the morning, Draco Malfoy, dressed in light grey pajamas, appeared dumbfounded in the Hogwarts kitchen.
Before him, more than a hundred house-elves dressed in Hogwarts uniforms turned around in unison, their faces beaming with smiles, bowing and curtseying.
This is a disaster. A respectable Malfoy would never appear in public in his pajamas, even in front of house-elves.
This story dates back to two hours earlier.
It was an evening after Easter. He had just finished his lengthy and tedious essay on the magical history of the self-stirring cauldron and was about to go to bed when, with a loud crack, a strangely dressed little creature suddenly appeared before him.
Draco barely recognized Dobby.
Its outfit looked as though it had been haphazardly put together by the most irresponsible child. Whether it was the teapot shaped tea cozy on its head or the bunch of brightly colored badges glittering on its chest, whether it was its horseshoe patterned tie or its mismatched shorts, not to mention the two different socks, everything seemed utterly out of place.
"Dobby has found it!" it shrieked, clutching a thin, black book in its hand.
"Really? Give it to me right now." Draco jumped up, immediately abandoning any attempt to criticize Dobby's outfit.
Dobby respectfully handed the book to Draco and thoughtfully turned it to the proper page for him.
The description of Horcruxes was only a few lines long, but that was enough. This was precisely the part of Draco's knowledge that he lacked.
"If one wishes to create a Horcrux, the caster can use dark magic to seal fragments of the soul into a container that holds the soul..."
Soul fragments... Draco tapped his fingers lightly on the table, lost in thought.
"Geminio." He suddenly waved his wand and duplicated the book. Then he handed the copy, so black that the cover was illegible, back to Dobby.
"Well done, Dobby. Put this copy back where it was." Seeing Dobby's eyes welling up with tears again from the praise, Draco wisely changed the subject. "Where did you find this book?"
But no sooner had he finished speaking than he saw Dobby start banging his head against the wall.
"Dobby is a bad elf! Dobby has betrayed his master's trust!" the elf kept shrieking, as though he had done something heinous.
"Dobby, I order you to stop! Explain all this," Draco commanded immediately. Fortunately, he had had the foresight to cast a Silencing Charm on the entire room before Dobby arrived.
Otherwise, such a commotion would have been noticed by the people in the next dormitory long ago.
Dobby finally stopped his self harming behavior, panting weakly. "Thank you, Master! Dobby searched the entire study! Dobby could not find it!"
It blinked its round, tennis ball sized eyes, looking pitiful. "So Dobby searched and searched, and finally found it in that room—that evil room!"
Draco watched as the little elf regained his swagger, jumping and hopping with delight at his own cleverness, and could not help but ask, "Which room is that?"
"Oh! Master! That is the master's secret room, the one hidden under the drawing room! It is full of evil Dark magic!" Dobby shrieked.
Then it shuddered and charged at Draco's wardrobe again, intending to bash it with its head.
"Stop! Dobby, I command you not to punish yourself without my permission! Why are you punishing yourself?" Draco rubbed his forehead in annoyance and called Dobby, who was bowing and thanking him repeatedly, over.
"Our master does not allow us to go in freely. It is a secret. There are many Dark magic items hidden inside." Dobby shrank back, as though he had been greatly frightened. "But our noble young master wants Dobby to find the book, until he finds it."
"Dobby, you did an excellent job." Draco made up his mind that he would definitely go to that room during the summer holidays.
He knew that room. It was the forbidden collection room at Malfoy Manor.
In his previous life, when he had actually gone inside to take a look, he had already been fifteen or sixteen years old. At that time, the place was almost empty, with nothing special inside.
But what had been placed inside when he was still young was a mystery he had never paid attention to.
That was why he had never thought about this room before. Because in his memory, it had been nothing special.
Moreover, it had later been transformed by the Dark Lord into a prison cell, becoming a filthy, terrifying, and unbearable symbol of horror. He had been unwilling to even go inside unless absolutely necessary.
I do not want to recall it anymore.
At this moment, Draco could not help but feel curious about the room. He decided that once summer holidays started, he would go and see what was in that room, to see if there was anything else strange about it.
Dobby was still standing there, trembling, his face pale.
Draco looked at its pitiful state with an inscrutable expression and began to reassess its value.
Unexpectedly, Dobby had actually managed to find the knowledge about Horcruxes. He had already given up hope.
This little creature is actually quite useful. Although it is annoyingly noisy, it does get things done. Its abilities are stronger than I expected.
"Do you like Chocolate Frogs? Look, they are right on the table. Sit down and have one," he asked it kindly.
Dobby hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Draco discreetly. Seeing that he did not seem to be joking, it decided to follow its young master's instructions.
It quickly grabbed a Chocolate Frog from the very corner, unwrapped it, and ate it with a shaky gait.
"Is it good?" Draco asked.
"Dobby—Dobby feels much better," it said, trembling. At this moment, its face was not so terrible, and its emotions were gradually calming down. It was curiously examining the card taken from the Chocolate Frog with its big eyes.
"Who is on it?" Draco asked.
"Cornelius Agrippa," Dobby said, blinking.
"Not bad. I heard this card is very rare and popular among wizards," Draco said. "You can keep it and collect it."
Hearing him say that, the little elf seemed to cheer up. It looked at its first Chocolate Frog card with great delight, turning it over and over, seemingly forgetting its earlier unpleasantness.
Draco studied Dobby's expression and said to it, "My father told me that you are now my personal house-elf, and from now on, you only need to obey my commands. My requirements will be higher than those of others, so you do not need to punish yourself for these sorts of things."
Dobby nodded happily, bowed, and its big ears drooped onto the carpet.
Draco had long known that Dobby was an unusual house-elf, even an anomaly among house-elves.
As far as I can remember, after Dobby left the Malfoys, he went to many households to apply for work and even asked people for wages.
He had heard about this from Pansy Parkinson, a self proclaimed "gossip queen."
Which conservative, old-school pure-blood wizard would accept such an unorthodox house-elf?
But Dobby was not entirely without merit.
It had the ability to read and could find books about Horcruxes.
It could Apparate, and could even appear out of thin air in Hogwarts Castle, which was supposedly protected against Apparition.
It possessed wisdom that rivaled that of wizards. In its past life, it had rescued Harry and the others right under the noses of the Malfoys.
The most remarkable thing was that it did all this without even using a wand. This meant that its magic might be more powerful than that of many adult wizards, and it could be very useful in crucial moments.
In a way, Dobby's abilities are worth paying for. I am willing to try to compensate Dobby with money. It is better than letting him betray the Malfoys and spill our secrets.
He said carefully, "Dobby, you are a useful elf. I can pay you if you need it." As soon as he finished speaking, Draco saw an undisguised look of surprise in Dobby's eyes.
So he continued, "Ten Galleons a week, how about that?"
"No!" Dobby's eyes instantly changed from surprise to terror, as though these gold coins were a monstrous flood. "Master, there are too many! This will ruin Dobby!"
"All right, how about five Galleons a week?" he asked.
"That is still too much! Little master, Dobby has not fallen to that level yet! Dobby can spend several months on just one Galleon!" the little elf shrieked.
"One Galleon a week, no less. Also, weekends off," Draco said impatiently.
Dobby jumped up and down angrily, tugging at his ears. "My master gave Dobby too much money! Dobby likes freedom, but not too much freedom! Dobby prefers working!"
"Dobby, stop!" Draco said helplessly.
How can there be such bizarre house-elves? They complain about being paid too much. It is incomprehensible.
"Then tell me, what do you want?"
Dobby nervously twisted his long, thin fingers, peering at him. "Dobby wants one Galleon a month, and one day off a month."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "I have no objection. We can accumulate the holidays and use them together, for example, take seven consecutive days off and go on a seaside holiday."
As expected, Dobby shuddered at the mention of holidays, and Draco quickly added, "Assuming you do not want to take holidays, you can accumulate them and convert them into wages."
"Also, if you do a good job of what I asked you to do, I shall give you an extra bonus or a holiday." He waved his wand, and ten Galleons appeared on the table next to Dobby.
"This is your reward for doing an excellent job this time," Draco said.
Dobby looked at the Galleons beside him in disbelief, his lips trembling, and he sobbed, "My great little master... no one has ever treated Dobby like this before..."
Good.
Now Dobby probably will not be clamoring for freedom every day, correct? Draco thought absentmindedly.
"All right, all right, take them. By the way, Dobby, why can you Apparate into Hogwarts?" Draco suddenly remembered this and found it somewhat unbelievable.
Hogwarts, A History clearly stated that wizards were not allowed to Apparate within the grounds of Hogwarts.
"Dobby does not know." Dobby barely stopped crying, shaking his head, his big, pointed ears swaying with the movement.
"Dobby has always been allowed to come to Hogwarts, and he has even visited his friends." He suddenly covered his mouth with his little hand, as though he had said something wrong.
"Your friend? You have a friend?" Draco asked with interest. "Is it also a house-elf?"
Dobby blinked and nodded in fear.
"At Hogwarts?"
"Of course." Dobby breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Draco showed no signs of anger. "They are all in the kitchen, preparing food for the school. They serve Hogwarts. There are hundreds of them."
"You must take me to see it," Draco said, showing keen interest in Dobby's revelation for the first time. "I have been curious about where the kitchens at Hogwarts are for ages."
He had barely finished speaking when he saw Dobby suddenly rush up and grab his arm.
He felt himself being squeezed intensely, his eyes, nose, and eardrums being pushed back deep into his head...
In his previous life, Draco had already been very familiar with spells like Apparition, but he had never been a big fan of Apparition as a mode of transportation.
"We have arrived, little master," Dobby said cheerfully.
"Oh, Dobby," he said, fighting back the nausea brought on by Side-Along Apparition, "I did not say you had to bring me here now."
Two house-elves had thoughtfully placed an armchair behind him, and a table floated before him.
Several other house-elves brought over a large silver tray with a steaming cup of hot chocolate, a large teapot, milk, and a large plate of various cakes and biscuits.
"No, no, no," Draco said hastily as Dobby was about to touch him again. "I cannot endure a second Apparition right now."
He collapsed into the comfortable velvet armchair and took a sip of his hot chocolate.
"Ah, it smells delicious. Thank you," Draco said.
The elves looked very pleased. They bowed slightly, saluted, and retreated.
"All right, I shall rest here for a bit." Draco slowly sipped his hot chocolate, glancing at the house-elves who were secretly watching him. The house-elves wore tea towels emblazoned with the Hogwarts crest and were impeccably dressed.
"Wait a moment—" Draco said.
Upon hearing this, a house-elf stopped in its tracks, curtsied to him, and looked at him timidly.
"How can I find this place?" Draco asked.
It was a female house-elf, whose voice was clearer and brighter than Dobby's.
"Sir, you need to go down one floor below the Great Hall. In the corridor, you will find a large painting of a silver bowl filled with fruit. Just tickle the big, green pear, and it will turn into a door handle. The door will open, sir, and you can come here."
"Thank you, Wendy," Dobby said cheerfully, apparently referring to Wendy as the friend it had been talking about.
"Why have I never seen you before?" Draco asked Wendy.
"We do not usually appear before wizards, sir. We are invisible when we are cleaning the dormitories and common rooms," Wendy said respectfully.
"Can you Apparate at Hogwarts?" he asked again.
"Yes, sir, most Anti-Apparition Charms do not work on us," Wendy said respectfully.
This is truly something new!
Merlin, I seem to have inadvertently discovered a major flaw in Hogwarts Castle.
If the Death Eaters knew the capabilities of the house-elves, Hogwarts Castle would probably be as easy to penetrate as a sieve. I would not have had to painstakingly research the Vanishing Cabinet in my previous life.
However, how many wizards would care about the abilities of lowly house-elves?
Most pure-blood wizards regard them as lowly servants and would never imagine that they possess abilities beyond housework.
Draco nodded to the house-elf, indicating that he had no further questions. The house-elf, very perceptive, bowed to him again and withdrew.
The aroma of hot chocolate rekindled his drowsy mind, prompting him to rethink the dark magic he had just read about and Quirrell's current state.
The Dark Lord probably only possessed him. He probably did not actually imprison a soul fragment on the back of Quirrell's head.
Otherwise, how could he have escaped so easily in my previous life?
"Dobby, from now on, you will keep an eye on Quirrell. Report to me anything unusual he does. Be careful, keep a safe distance, and do not let him discover you," he instructed Dobby.
Dobby puffed out his chest and nodded, seemingly proud that he had been put to use.
With a loud crack, the little creature vanished from the spot.
"Wait—" Draco stood up and reached out to call Dobby back, but it was too late.
Dobby reacted too quickly.
"Never mind, I shall just walk back to my dormitory," he thought absentmindedly.
Draco was not really keen on Apparating again. He finished the last sip of his hot chocolate with satisfaction, feeling much better.
Guided by Wendy's enthusiasm, he walked with great interest through a large room with a high ceiling, as large as the Great Hall above it.
He looked around curiously and found four long, empty wooden tables in the room, exactly the same as the tables for the four houses in the Great Hall, with many copper pots and pans piled up against the wall, and a large brick fireplace.
Perhaps the food that suddenly appears in the Great Hall every day is first placed on the long tables in this room, and then all at once sent upstairs using some sort of transportation charm. Draco thought thoughtfully.
As he was about to open the door and leave, many little elves gathered around and handed him a large pile of packaged cream cakes, biscuits, and pies.
Draco thanked them politely and quietly took his leave, making the house-elves so happy that they bowed and saluted him repeatedly.
If there were an elective course about the Hogwarts kitchen, Crabbe and Goyle would be the first to rush to sign up, would they not? Draco thought drowsily, munching on a chocolate muffin.
For them, this place, with an endless supply of food, is probably paradise.
Who would have thought? I thought stealing food from the kitchen was difficult, but I never imagined it would be so easy.
You do not even need to say anything. The house-elves will just hand it to you so enthusiastically!
He chewed on another muffin, then stealthily climbed the stairs leading to the Entrance Hall along the brightly lit corridor, and then quietly slipped down the other staircase back into the dark corridor where the Slytherin common room was located.