Harry Potter and the Obscurus

Chapter 21 Dobby the House-Elf

After returning "home" from Hogwarts, Harry immediately began his second round of pre-school preparation. He was under immense pressure; besides the school's basic curriculum, he also had to dedicate a significant amount of time to studying the various languages ​​Nicolas Flamel had mentioned. This was driving Mo Ran crazy. As a transmigrator, he had no complaints about learning magic, but learning foreign languages? And more than one? This was practically killing him!

Fortunately, having experienced the Obscurus crisis, Uncle Vernon had become much more timid. He dared not touch Harry's wand and spellbook, nor did he want to bring up those "special abilities" he hated anymore. Although his family still regarded magic as a disgrace, Harry could at least wear the Invisibility Cloak and ride the Nimbus 2000 in the sky to relax when it was quiet at night.

Days passed, and Harry would sometimes send Hedwig to deliver letters to Ron and Hermione, but strangely, he never received a reply. On July 31st, Harry's twelfth birthday, Uncle Vernon hosted the most important family gathering of his life. A wealthy local construction couple—Mr. and Mrs. Mason—would be considering placing a large order with Uncle Vernon's company (which made drilling rigs).

“If everything goes according to plan, we can go buy a villa in Mallorca tomorrow. Quick! Penny! Dudley! Go over tonight’s schedule with me! It’s eight o’clock now, let’s all get into our positions, Penny?”

"I will be ready in the living room to welcome Mr. and Mrs. Mason!"

"Very good, then what about Dudley?"

"I'll wait at the door to open it for them."

As Dudley made the motion of opening the door, he forced a sickeningly obsequious smile onto his face and said in a high-pitched voice:

"May I get your clothes for you, Mr. Mason? Mrs. Mason?"

Aunt Penny's lips curled into a wide smile. She ran happily to Dudley and kissed his round, chubby head, then said with a proud look:

"What a perfect little gentleman! They'll love you! Oh, my darling Dada, Mommy's about to cry!"

Harry, standing to the side, was naturally disgusted by the scene. He sighed and asked his Uncle Vernon one last time:

"Are you sure you don't need me to cast a spell on them, or put some magic potion in the red tea or something? I mean, that would be very efficient, and you wouldn't need to..."

You are not allowed to use magic outside of school!

Uncle Vernon yelled before Harry could finish speaking.

"Stop talking about your...your world's messy stuff! You'll ruin Dudley's life!"

Harry didn't care what his Uncle Vernon was saying. Knowing the fat man as he did, as long as the man's face didn't turn red or purple, it meant he wasn't angry at all. On the contrary, he could sense that his suggestion had more than made Uncle Vernon's heart flutter.

"Ok."

Harry shrugged and said:

"I really want to help you, after all, I haven't been bothered much this summer and it's been quite pleasant, but since you don't need it..."

I said I don't need it!

Uncle Vernon shouted, his eyes darting around:

"Just go back to your bedroom and pretend you're not in this house, I'll be thankful!"

Harry nodded and went straight up the stairs. Watching Harry's retreating figure, Uncle Vernon composed himself and then discussed with his wife and children again what compliments to offer at the dinner table.

……

"Harry Potter! The great savior! Dobby has always dreamed of seeing your face one day!"

The little monster that had suddenly appeared on his bed spoke as the door was pushed open. Harry instinctively braced himself to unleash the Obscurus, but seeing that the monster didn't seem inclined to attack, he cautiously asked:

"You said your name is... Dobby? Are you... a house-elf?"

Hearing Harry call his name, Dobby's two large, bat-like ears perked up. He crossed his arms, his large, watery green eyes gazing at Harry with longing, and said:

"Sir! You are truly learned! Dobby is indeed a house-elf!"

Harry hated this kind of empty flattery, especially after witnessing Dudley's true colors; he found it even more offensive.

Jingle Bell!

Hearing the doorbell ring downstairs, Harry lowered his voice and said:

"We're hosting other guests in this house today. If you don't mind, please sit on my bed for a while. We'll go to the living room after the Masons downstairs leave."

"sit?"

Dobby's expression first showed surprise, and then he immediately began to burst into tears.

"Wow, never before..."

"Silencio." (Silently)

Harry reacted very quickly, reaching out to stop Dobby before Dobby's crying could get any louder.

Dobby was clearly caught off guard by Harry's wandless spell, and his eyes widened even more.

"Shh, Dobby, I just said there are other guests in this house now. If you can understand what I'm saying and promise not to make any more noise, I'll break the spell on you."

Dobby nodded respectfully, and then, without Harry needing to recite the dispel, he broke free of the silent spell with a snap of his fingers.

"sharp."

Harry instinctively praised:

“Professor Scamander told me that all house-elves are skilled wandless spellcasters, and that they can even use Apparate and Disappear on the Hogwarts campus. It seems that this is not an exaggeration!”

Dobby, feeling a little flattered by the praise, scratched his bald head sheepishly and said:

"Harry Potter, you flatter me. A wizard your age who can cast spells without a wand is a genius among geniuses! No wonder you deserve the title of savior, unlike..."

He was only halfway through his sentence when he suddenly went berserk again. But this time Harry was prepared and pulled Dobby back before he could bang his head against the window.

Dobby!

Harry shouted sternly:

"What are you doing? If you keep fooling around like this, I'll use other magic on you!"

Harry's threat was actually a bluff. Firstly, his wandless spellcasting ability was limited; he couldn't cast spells other than the Silent Charm, Levitation Charm, or other everyday spells. Even if he could now use a wand to cast other spells, he would have to consider the serious consequences of being detected by the Tracking Wire. (The Tracking Wire can only detect whether someone is using magic in a certain area; unless a murder occurs, it's usually not used to detect wands. Therefore, as long as Harry ensured his wand's record was clean, he could shift all magical fluctuations onto the Obscurus, thus getting Dumbledore to help him escape the Ministry of Magic's supervision.)

"Waaaaah, Dobby almost said something bad about our master! Dobby has to punish himself!"

"Your master? Who is he?"

"Dobby must not speak! Dobby must not speak!"

The house-elf was no match for Harry's strength, and no matter how hard he tried to break free, he couldn't manage to smash his head against the glass or the bed frame. And looking at this strange fellow whose purpose was unknown, Harry gradually lost his patience.

"Ha... okay..."

The atmosphere in the bedroom suddenly turned cold. Dobby, not knowing what was going on, hurriedly turned around, only to find that Harry Potter's expression had somehow changed to that of another person.

"Dobby, is it? Fine... Who told you where I live? Your master? And who sent you to spy on me? How long have you been doing this!"

Mo Ran and Harry were like police officers playing the roles of good cop and bad cop, leaving Dobby completely bewildered.

“Sir, Dobby can’t say much, but Dobby was definitely not sent by his master. Because Dobby came to see you on his own, he will be severely punished when he gets back. Dobby must put his ears in the oven.”

"Put your ears in the oven? Liar! Your ears are perfectly fine!"

“Oh sir, Dobby has punished himself many times, but Dobby’s injuries heal very quickly.”

Harry (Mo Ran) deliberately feigned a look of sudden realization and said:

"This has happened many times. So you've been spying on me for a long time now... Then I think I understand why my friends haven't been writing to me. Don't you think so, Dobby?"

Suddenly exposed, Dobby, like a child who had done something wrong, pulled a thick stack of letters from the old pillowcase and clothes he was wearing, and said with great remorse:

"Harry Potter was particularly angry with Dobby, who wanted Harry Potter to think that his friends had forgotten him, so that he wouldn't want to go back to school."

Harry (Mo Ran) rolled his eyes at Dobby.

"You won't let me go back to school? So you don't want me to learn magic and live as an ordinary person in a Muggle family? Is your master Voldemort?"

Dobby covered his ears in anguish and said:

"Sir! No, sir! Please, please don't say that name!"

"Then how do I know if you're lying to me? Otherwise, why won't you let me go back to Hogwarts?"

"Because the most terrible thing is going to happen at Hogwarts this year, Dobby has been trying to protect Harry Potter ever since he found out. Sir, you are too important for me; Dobby can't let Harry Potter take such a risk!"

Harry (Mo Ran) burst out laughing.

"Ha, I'm important? Then tell me, when do you think it's not dangerous to be Voldemort's enemy? Even if I listen to you and hide this year, what about next year? The year after? When will I be ready?"

"Besides, I already know your name. All I have to do is find out whose house-elf is named Dobby, and I'll be able to find out who your owner is. I know house-elves have amazing magic, but you can't usually use magic without your owner's permission, so whether this is your owner's conspiracy or not, there will always be someone who's interested in you!"

The little elf, with tears in its eyes, couldn't utter a single word. Part of Dobby agreed with Moran's explanation, but another part of it still insisted on its own opinion, wanting Harry not to go to Hogwarts.

Having already revealed most of the details, Mo Ran once again switched body control with Harry. He was genuinely worried that if he stayed with Dobby any longer, he might do something bad.

"Alright, Dobby, you don't need to worry about my affairs anymore. Now give me back my friend's letter."

Harry's sudden change in demeanor failed to break through the house-elf's defenses. Before he could even reach out to take the stack of letters from Dobby's arms, the dirty little monster sadly shook his head and said:

"No, Harry Potter can't go back to Hogwarts!"

"But what gives you the right to decide for me?"

"Then Dobby has no other choice!"

"Immobulus!" (Everyone freezes)

Before Dobby could even open the door, a powerful magical force immobilized him. This was Harry's first time using a wandless spell with such strong control effects; although it was still some distance from an offensive spell, it was undoubtedly a significant improvement. He snatched the letters from Dobby's hand and sat back down on his mattress, reading them one by one.

To Harry