[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
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"Amanda! You've finally arrived!"
Amanda only saw the boy from a distance, his messy black hair still untamed.
Harry waved his arms and called her name loudly, the joy in his round green eyes almost overflowing.
After a few days apart, the loneliness and fragility that occasionally shadowed Harry's face had nearly vanished, replaced by the innocence and vitality someone his age should naturally possess.
Amanda felt genuinely happy for him.
Of course, that happiness came tinged with a trace of guilt.
If Harry had truly been sorted into Slytherin under her persuasion, the original storyline might have changed drastically.
Not to mention Voldemort and the old-fashioned wizards, all of whom already believed Harry was destined to be an immensely powerful wizard by nature. That alone could have a serious negative impact on him.
And besides, under Slytherin's influence, would Harry still be the brave, if somewhat reckless, lion he was meant to be?
After all, much of the original story's progress had relied on Harry's courage, to the point of recklessness. Amanda couldn't tell if it was partly because of his "protagonist's halo," but the wizarding world clearly called it fate and luck.
Amanda silently sorted through the narrative in her mind.
If necessary, if Harry were to act unpredictably, she thought she might need to offer guidance, avoid critical mistakes, and never allow Voldemort to return, just as Dumbledore had done.
But Amanda believed she could do better, perhaps even prevent certain deaths.
"...I'm a little worried. I might be the worst student in class. After all, I don't know anything... I grew up in the Muggle world, and there's so much to learn."
Harry's words pulled Amanda back from her wandering thoughts.
She turned her head unconsciously to look at him. Harry seemed anxious, his round green eyes brimming with tears like two glistening emeralds.
"Don't worry, there are plenty of students from Muggle families, and they do excellently. Sure, wizarding families might have a head start, but..."
Amanda was in the middle of comforting him when a slow, arrogant voice sounded from behind them.
"I think Hogwarts should only admit students from old wizarding families. Muggle-borns know nothing about the wizarding world... Think about it, they've never received wizarding education since childhood and don't even know Hogwarts is a school."
Amanda raised her eyebrows and turned around.
For some reason, Draco was wearing formal clothes today, a robe and shirt she considered almost ceremonial, even fastened with a silver snake-shaped brooch at his collar.
But she admired him for barely half a second before arching her brows and firing back.
"If you believe that, then why are you our friend? I mean, Harry and I both grew up in the Muggle world, didn't we?"
Draco's pale cheeks flushed faintly, and he looked away, avoiding Amanda's gaze.
"...Don't forget, the Merlins and the Potters are among the oldest wizarding families."
"No, it's because the Malfoys' interests come first."
Amanda's words struck directly at the truth.
Draco had needed Lucius's permission to come here today.
If Lucius, who despised Muggles so thoroughly, hadn't weighed the various interests at stake, he would never have allowed Draco to visit a Muggle household.
"Making friends with the Merlins and the Potters benefits the Malfoys, and that's why you're here."
"For the future head of the Malfoy family, profit matters more than so-called bloodline and childhood education, doesn't it?"
「...」
Draco's gray-blue eyes wavered in confusion, as though the thought had never crossed his mind before.
"As for the idea that interests outweigh blood... well, you're right. But I don't think my friendship with you is based solely on that."
His words tumbled out unusually fast. He lowered his head, staring at his shoes, and seemed almost nervous.
"In fact, I came here today without telling my father."
"What?!!"
"Oh, poor Dobby... If the esteemed master knew... I brought the young master here without his permission! And to a Muggle settlement he hates the most... Oh, dear! Dobby is such a bad elf! What should Dobby do…"
Only then did Amanda notice the small house-elf standing at Draco's feet. He had two bat-like ears and wore nothing but a ragged gray pillowcase.
Dobby's large green eyes brimmed with pitiful tears as he banged his head on the ground, sobbing and muttering frantically to himself.
"Dobby is bad... Dobby shouldn't have obeyed the young master's order so recklessly..."
Amanda quickly lifted him from the ground, holding his arm to keep him from hurting himself.
"It's all right, Dobby. It's not your fault, and Draco won't tell anyone, will you?"
"Of course not, otherwise..."
Draco didn't finish, but his face had turned pale.
"Well then... it's good to be your friend, Draco." Amanda sighed, trying to give a smile that seemed understanding.
To be honest, Draco's defiance surprised her. In her impression, he had always been the one who obeyed his father most faithfully.
But to come here and meet them today, he had actually chosen to deceive him.
Was this the butterfly effect?
Or perhaps it was simply Draco's true nature.
Amanda knew that in the original timeline, after Voldemort's defeat, Draco had gradually abandoned the idea of pure-blood supremacy.
Draco forced a small, crooked smile in response. It was obvious he couldn't quite understand why he had said those words.
Still, he thought he would choose to follow his heart.
"Hey, who are you?"
"Oh~ This gentleman must be the famous Harry Potter! Such an honor, a true honor to meet you, Mr. Potter!"
"Your name's Dobby? With all due respect, what are you... a goblin?"
"No, no, no, my dear Mr. Potter, I'm a house-elf of the Malfoy family. My name is Dobby. Yes, sir, you may call me that... it's an honor."
「...」
While Amanda and Draco exchanged complicated glances, the two green-eyed were already chatting away cheerfully.
…
Watching Harry crouched down, chatting animatedly with Dobby, Amanda hesitated to interrupt them.
At that moment, a familiar voice spoke beside her.
"Actually, I've already read some of the first-year textbooks. If you have any questions, you can ask me now. Otherwise, you'll embarrass yourself once classes start."
Draco tilted his head slightly as he spoke, a little uneasy but still proud.
"Really?" Amanda raised an eyebrow. "Did you think I did nothing over the last three days?"
「...」
"Three days... you can't accomplish much in that time, can you? Then tell me, what exactly did you do?" Draco asked skeptically.
Amanda mimicked his slow, arrogant tone.
"Nothing special... I only finished all the textbooks."
Draco's jaw dropped in disbelief.
"What did you say?"
"I finished reading every single textbook..."
Amanda touched her chin, thinking aloud.
"There are only eight books, after all... not too many, right?"
"By Merlin's! A History of Magic is enormous... not to mention Magical Theory and One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. I feel dizzy just looking at them..."
Draco's expression screamed disbelief.
Harry paused his conversation with Dobby and turned to them.
"Amanda! You... you really finished all of them?"
"You know, I've been reading a lot these past few days too... but I've only managed about a hundred pages of A History of Magic," Harry admitted, his voice trembling.
Draco shrugged at Amanda.
"See? I'm not the only one who feels that way."
He smirked and narrowed his eyes. "No need to show off in front of me."
Amanda spread her hands. "You don't have to believe me. Or... you could simply test me on the contents."
Now it was Draco's turn to wrestle with himself.
He hesitated for a while before asking a few questions he thought she couldn't possibly answer.
"In which recipe is fluxweed used??"
"Polyjuice Potion," Amanda replied instantly.
"What does quillwort look like, and what is it used for?"
"It's a small herb with round, heart-shaped leaves, covered with soft hairs on both sides and finely serrated edges. It can be used to brew beauty potions."
"Who killed the demon Aymeric?"
"Egbert."
Amanda answered without a second thought. To her, these questions were almost too simple.
Draco looked as though he'd just swallowed a troll's snot.
"For heaven's sake! You really finished them all in just three days?!"
He circled around her twice, suspiciously scanning her from head to toe to make sure no magic had been involved.
"If possible, Master Draco, could you lend me a few books so I can verify in a few days?" Amanda raised an eyebrow, provoking him deliberately.
She was genuinely worried that, having finished all her textbooks, she would have nothing to do for the next twenty days.
Draco called for Dobby, still doubtful.
"Dobby, fetch some books from the family library at Malfoy Manor."
Dobby was about to raise his hand when Draco quickly added, "If Father asks, tell him I was just looking them over. Understood?"
"Yes, young master," Dobby whimpered, hitting his forehead. "Dobby knows the Malfoy family library forbids lending books to outsiders. Dobby doesn't want to deceive the master, but Dobby cannot disobey the young master's order. Bad Dobby, bad Dobby!"
Amanda interrupted quickly. "Draco hasn't done anything wrong, so... you can keep this secret for both him and me, can't you, Dobby?"
Perhaps because so few ever spoke to him so sincerely, Dobby's enormous green eyes filled with tears.
He tugged at the ragged pillowcase he wore and wiped his face with deep emotion. "Dobby knows you are so thoughtful... and Mr. Potter too... you are all so kind..."
"Hurry, Dobby, and make sure Father doesn't notice anything unusual," Draco pressed.
As Dobby vanished into thin air with a snap of his fingers, Harry looked anxiously at Draco.
"Draco, Dobby and I were talking about his ideals."
"Really? What did he say?" Draco replied flatly, clearly unwilling to discuss it.
But Harry, oblivious, looked at him expectantly.
"Draco, Dobby told me he wants freedom! He also said he wants to earn his own wages through work."
Harry obviously didn't realize how rebellious, how shameful, such an idea was for a house-elf. He only felt he was defending Dobby's reasonable wishes.
Draco rubbed his forehead. "He really said that?"
He was genuinely surprised. Dobby had never mentioned anything like that around him. But he quickly muttered, "Well... but I can't make that decision. If Father found out, he would definitely punish me."
He shuddered at the thought of his father's fury if he ever learned Draco had freed a house-elf.
Amanda cut in. "Then... maybe we can find a chance for your father to give Dobby an article of clothing. If I recall, that's what grants a house-elf freedom, right?"
Draco looked reluctant. "But... then I wouldn't have an elf to do my chores."
"...Even coming here, Dobby had to Apparate to bring me. Otherwise, I couldn't have left the house," Draco added.
Amanda thought for a moment. "In that case, perhaps you could pay him a salary so he could continue working for you?"
Draco nodded thoughtfully.
"That's... a good idea."
As they discussed how they might create an opportunity for Lucius to give Dobby clothing, Dobby returned, carrying a pile of books twice his own height.
The stack shook precariously, and Amanda quickly took it from him.
"Thank you, Dobby."
Unexpectedly, Dobby's eyes filled with tears again at those words.
"No one has ever thanked Dobby, Miss Merlin. You are so kind. Dobby has never met anyone kinder or better than you. Dobby is so happy, so content. Dobby has never felt this way before..."
Draco interrupted quickly.
"Dobby, we agreed to seize this opportunity to ask Father to give you clothes. And... I'll pay you a salary afterward. Do you agree?"
Dobby stared at them in wide-eyed shock.
"What... Dobby, Dobby heard correctly? The young master really said such a thing? Is it true? Dobby agrees! Dobby agrees! Dobby cannot think of words to refuse... Dobby, Dobby will be free!"
At those last words, Dobby was so overjoyed that he immediately launched into a ridiculous little dance.
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