Chapter 283 Extra: Dobby's Christmas (Also Bedtime Story 85)

Chapter 283 Extra: Dobby’s Christmas (also Bedtime Story 8.5)

Dobby is a house elf. Becoming a house elf means that you have no dignity or rights, and must obey everything your master says; becoming a house elf means that you must stay awake at all times, waiting for your master's call...

"Dobby!" his master called.

Being a house elf means that your name is also a command.

With a snap, Dobby immediately appeared in front of his master. He hunched over so hard that the tip of his nose almost touched the ground. He could see the dust lurking in the middle of the long plush carpet.

He sniffed, vaguely smelling their scent. An urge to clean them seeped through his bones, but Dobby tensed, still bowing stiffly.

"Why hasn't Draco's bedroom been packed away yet?" his master asked coldly.

Dobby raised his head and looked at his master, Lucius Malfoy. The other person didn't even look at him, he just lowered his head and put a hand on the shoulder of his young master, Draco Malfoy. Mistress Narcissa Malfoy slowly combed her little master's hair with her hands.

Dobby said tremblingly: "Master Draco, Master Draco asked that no one touch his bedroom -" He turned his head and glanced quickly at the young master. Draco, like his father, didn't look at Dobby at all.

Lucius said a smooth "Oh," and Dobby shivered violently.

"So, it's Draco's fault?" Lucius asked coldly and smoothly, and then kicked him sharply.

Huge pain shot through Dobby's head.

He had pissed off his master, he was a bad elf, he was bad Dobby, he had pissed off his master - and Dobby banged his head against the wall, hoping to dull the sharp pain.

"That's enough, stop." Lucius ordered impatiently, "Close the room, hurry up. Don't let me hear any more excuses."

"Yes, Master," said Dobby, bowing deeply. He hunched backwards into Draco Malfoy's bedroom.

There wasn't much in Draco's room that needed tidying up. Dobby dusted the carpets, made sure every corner was clean under the bed, made the curtains fold perfectly on the sides of the windows, polished the chandeliers until they sparkled, and made the air smell fresh and clean. , ensuring that the bed, pillows, and quilts are all filled with air and expand. All this took him just a snap of his fingers.

Dobby wanted to stay in the room for a while, but the master said "Hurry up", so he appeared in front of the master again and said in panic: "Master Draco's room has been tidied up, master."

His master said "hmm" with his nose, then frowned and waved his hand, telling him to disappear quickly. Dobby heard the young master complaining to his mistress about the venerable Mr. Harry Potter.

"...It's like everything revolves around him, that Potter. Oh, and by the way, he didn't stay at school this year - Black House, they say, Mum - leaving Weasley at school. How funny, He finally understands the value of Weasley... that is to be abandoned. From people's attitudes, you would think that they are inseparable friends! I really hope that other people can understand that Potter is not who they say they are! That way..."

Dobby disappeared, still listening nearby. Mr. Harry Potter is not who the young master says he is at all. Mr. Harry Potter was great and kind, and never gave up on his friends. Even though Dobby had warned Mr. Potter of the dire dangers in Hogwarts, Mr. Potter still refused to stay safely in his. His relatives were unwilling to leave Hogwarts.

"Draco." Lucius stopped him in a deep voice, "What did I tell you before school started? If most people like Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, then wise people will not express this. be opposed to."

"Don't be so harsh, Lucius, it's Christmas. Draco has just come back." Narcissa said softly, giving Draco a slight push on the back with an unconvinced look on his face, "Okay, De Laco, go and have a good rest. We will be a guest at Knott Manor tomorrow, and the Parkinson family will visit us in the afternoon."

"If I had known, I would have really stayed in school. Pansy-" Draco stopped and thought for a moment, "Okay."

Dobby left quietly. He didn't care about the Malfoys' planned visit. For him, it just means he might be able to have more freedom during the day...

Oh, freedom. Dobby thought the word in his mind and felt a shiver of excitement pass through his body. free. free. He read it over and over in his mind.

…

"You should have tidied Master Draco's room earlier."

When Dobby got into the cabinet in the old warehouse, he heard Poppy say this hoarsely.

Poppy is another house elf of the Malfoy family. He was so old that no one wanted to see his old, wrinkled face and hands, so he was ordered not to appear in front of anyone. From then on, Poppy seemed to be forgotten by the Malfoy family, just growing older day by day in the warehouse.

Dobby once tried to suggest that Poppy sneak out of the Malfoy house.

"They don't remember you anymore!" Dobby said enviously, "and they told you to 'never see you again', but they didn't say you had to stay in Malfoy Manor! You can go out quietly - you can be free !”

Poppy's reaction was to look at Dobby with resentment from his cloudy eyes, lift the lamp in the warehouse, and bang Dobby's head in the dark.

Poppy liked Malfoy Manor - or rather, Poppy was loyal to Malfoy Manor, just like any normal house elf. He never wanted to leave the manor in his life, and would always look forward to the day when his master would remember his name.

Dobby sometimes knew that he was not normal. He was willing to tell anyone who would hear his voice in a very small voice that he did not like his master, he did not like Malfoy Manor, the person he respected most was Mr. Harry Potter, and he also liked Mr. Albus Dumbledore, because the elves at Hogwarts looked more dignified and more like human beings than Poppy.

Dignity. Dobby repeated the word in his heart again.

"If the master allows me to clean up Master Draco's room..." Poppy muttered in a low voice.

Dignity, Dobby thought, and climbed into the cabinet. Freedom.

He turned his head and heard Master Draco's breathing gradually slowing down and lengthening through magic, knowing that his little master had fallen asleep. After the young master asked for a house elf to accompany him to school, the mistress asked Dobby to "serve Draco well", and from then on he had to meet any request of Master Draco.

But Dobby had to say that he would rather be with the young master than stay in Malfoy Manor forever like Purby, waiting for the call of the master or death in the dark. When he was with the young master, he could enter Hogwarts and secretly visit Harry Potter when the young master did not call him.

However - Dobby thought with regret - after the Quidditch match, the young master forbade him to contact Mr. Harry Potter. Maybe he needed to find a way to remind Mr. Potter...

After Christmas, Dobby could return to Hogwarts again. In Hogwarts, the elves had clean beds of their own. Dobby once asked them if they had any salary, and then he said that he did not like the work of the Malfoy family - since then, no elf talked to him anymore.

But it didn't matter, Dobby still liked Hogwarts. He would stand at the kitchen door and listen to the elves happily and respectfully delivering food to the professors.

In the cold warehouse, Dobby crawled into the pile of papers with hope and fell asleep.