Generally speaking, when dealing with the house-elves in Hogwarts' kitchens, as long as you avoid saying things like "I didn't eat enough today," "Your food isn't tasty," or "You look tired, do you need a rest?"—as long as you steer clear of those kinds of remarks, the house-elves, aside from being overly enthusiastic, won't do anything too outrageous.
But if you do say something like that, the house-elves will instantly go mad. They'll scream, cry, tug at their ears, or slam their heads against walls or floors until they feel they've punished themselves enough.
Even though certain trigger words can send Hogwarts' house-elves into a frenzy, most of the time they manage to stay composed... unlike the house-elf standing before Harry now, who seemed exceptionally neurotic from the moment they met.
"Enough!" Harry hissed, narrowing his eyes slightly, frustrated that he couldn't use a Silencing Charm in this situation. If this house-elf kept making noise, someone might notice the commotion.
His words worked. The house-elf abruptly clamped its hands over its mouth, staring at him with wide eyes, as if awaiting his next command.
"Are you called Dobby?" Harry asked, a touch of confusion in his voice. "Are you the one who's been intercepting my letters for the past three days?"
"Harry Potter remembers Dobby's name!" Dobby's already large eyes grew even wider, tears shimmering in them. "And he found out Dobby hid his letters!"
Dobby looked so moved he might cry, though Harry had no idea what was so touching about it.
"It sounds like you're some kind of fan of mine?" Harry said softly. "But stealing my letters is hostile. Why are you doing this? Who sent you?"
"No one sent Dobby! Dobby did this on his own!" Dobby puffed out his chest proudly, but then suddenly threw himself to the ground, banging his head against it. "Dobby disobeyed his master's orders! Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"
As if trying to knock himself out, Dobby slammed his head against the ground until Harry shouted for him to stop.
"Dobby didn't steal Harry Potter's letters!" Blood trickled down Dobby's forehead, but he seemed oblivious, staring intently at Harry. "Dobby only wanted to give them to Harry Potter later! Dobby would never hurt Harry Potter!"
It was exactly the kind of twisted logic Harry expected from a house-elf, convincing itself with such reasoning.
"I don't need your protection," Harry said flatly. "I know nothing about you or who's behind you. Most importantly, you're a house-elf. You have a master, and you can't disobey their orders. If you won't tell me anything, at least leave my letters alone."
"Otherwise, you're my enemy."
The air grew heavy. Harry's words were just a delay tactic. He'd chosen to interrogate this house-elf slowly after catching it, but he had to be cautious—
Pop!
Dobby vanished from the roadside, only to reappear instantly on a nearby railing.
At the same moment, a wind elemental appeared where Dobby had been, its arms outstretched as if to grab him. It looked almost embarrassed, having missed its target.
"Harry Potter is clever!" Dobby squealed with delight. "He tried to catch Dobby! But Dobby was ready! This is good! Very good! Only a clever Harry Potter is safe! But it's not enough. Harry Potter must stay away from danger! He must not return to Hogwarts!"
Watching Dobby shout and bounce on the railing, Harry felt a pang of exasperation. House-elf magic was different from wizard magic.
Hogwarts and its surrounding areas were protected by Anti-Apparition Charms to prevent outside wizards from appearing inside the castle or its grounds and to ensure students didn't end up in strange places. Yet house-elves could freely teleport through these wards, using their own unique magic—likely designed to let them serve discreetly. Wizards seemed to overlook this, as if house-elves could never pose a threat, never considering the possibility of betrayal.
These factors were now Harry's problem. He couldn't catch this nimble house-elf.
Even if he recklessly used spells from this world, he couldn't manage it. His studies of magic were still limited to wizarding spells, not the peculiar magic of house-elves.
"What's going to happen at Hogwarts now?" Harry sighed, asking.
He was starting to believe Dobby wasn't sent by anyone, but honestly, a house-elf defying its master's orders to protect him didn't match anything he'd read about them in books.
Was he dealing with an outright anomaly?
Harry couldn't help but wonder.
"Dobby cannot say!" Dobby's shrill voice rang out. "This year, Hogwarts will face very, very terrible danger! Dobby cannot let Harry Potter be in danger—Dobby heard rumors, he's already faced You-Know-Who twice!"
"I don't think that's dangerous," Harry sighed. "If your information was better, you'd know You-Know-Who failed again. I even turned him into a trinket and gave it to Dumbledore. So can you calm down?"
Harry had to raise his voice suddenly, as the house-elf's frenzy escalated. Dobby was laughing and crying, snot and tears smearing his face.
"Oh, Merlin! Merlin!" Dobby wailed. "Harry Potter defeated You-Know-Who again! He saved us, saved the wizarding world!" Without a shred of doubt, Dobby believed Harry instantly. "As expected of Harry Potter! Our hero!"
"It's because of the great Harry Potter that evil cannot—oh, bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!" The house-elf began punishing itself again.
"So, you're serving a Death Eater family?" Harry tried to piece together Dobby's fragmented words. "Voldemort… or some part of him, is planning an attack on Hogwarts this year?"
"No! Don't say that name, sir! Don't!" Dobby clutched his head, screaming.
Harry was reminded of Ron, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Dobby's reaction was identical to Ron's back then, leaving Harry speechless.
Was Voldemort really that terrifying?
"So it's him?"
"No, no!" Dobby shook his head vigorously. "Not the man whose name must not be spoken."
"Then you should trust my strength," Harry said seriously. "Hogwarts has both Dumbledore and me. It's the defeated dark forces that should fear us, not us hiding from them. Don't get it twisted, Dobby."
"So brave, so bold," Dobby's eyes welled up again. "In places no one knows, he defeated You-Know-Who again, protecting the wizarding world… But even Harry Potter can be in danger. This time, Dobby must protect him."
Honestly, Harry was getting irritated. Dobby's words made him realize something: convincing a neurotic fanatic with words alone was impossible. They'd act on their own convictions.
In Azeroth, whenever Harry encountered such people, it usually took a passionate fight to make them listen, to make them reasonable.
Harry decided to skip to that part.
"So you still don't want me to return to Hogwarts?" he asked. "Because of some vague threat you can't even explain, that isn't even Voldemort?"
"No, no, Hogwarts is too dangerous!" Dobby shook his head, his ears flapping. "Dobby must protect Harry Potter! Dobby can do it! Even if Dobby must punish himself, even if Dobby must clamp his ears in the oven door—"
"I'll say it again, Dobby. I don't need your protection," Harry said firmly. "I don't need someone deciding what's best for me without my input. Until this afternoon, I didn't even know you."
"Oh, Merlin! Harry Potter called Dobby a person!" Dobby shouted in delight. "Dobby has never been spoken to like that by a wizard! Like an equal—"
This conversation was going nowhere.
Harry gave up on reasoning with a deranged house-elf.
"Fawkes!" he shouted suddenly, calling for Dumbledore's phoenix.
In the next instant, with a flash of fire, Fawkes appeared on Harry's shoulder, as per their prior arrangement.
The moment Fawkes appeared, Dobby vanished from the railing.
"Catch it, Fawkes!"
With no time to explain, Harry pointed to where Dobby had been. Fawkes, ever intelligent, understood. Harry felt the familiar sensation of being transported by the phoenix.
Not just smart—reliable.
When Harry landed amidst dissipating flames, he immediately saw Dobby, wide-eyed with shock.
The obsessive house-elf hadn't expected Harry to track him through his Apparition. Honestly, Harry hadn't expected it either—he'd called Fawkes on a whim.
As it turned out, a phoenix's teleportation was far superior to house-elf magic.
"Harry Potter!" Dobby screeched, vanishing again. Fawkes pecked Harry's hair lightly, asking if they should pursue.
"Wait," Harry shook his head, standing upright. He needed to figure out where he was.
Apparition had no distance limit. Dobby's instinctive escape would likely lead to his home—or his master's.
Harry stood on a meticulously manicured lawn, almost pristine. Nearby was a clean cobblestone path. Looking around, this was likely the interior of an estate. In the distance, black iron fences were partially entwined with vines.
At what seemed to be the estate's main entrance stood a grand gate, likely forged from black iron, adorned with intricate patterns and topped with elegant spikes. What caught Harry's attention was the massive crest in the gate's center—two silver serpents coiled around a shield, their emerald eyes glinting coldly in the sunlight.
And then there was the prominent letter "M." Combined with the name mentioned repeatedly in wizarding history, Harry had a good guess where he was.
The Malfoy family. Malfoy Manor.
An uninvited, sudden visit—truly sudden. Malfoy Manor would undoubtedly have Anti-Apparition Charms, but unfortunately for them, Harry had arrived via Fawkes. Wizarding wards couldn't stop a phoenix.
In front of Harry was an ornate fountain, its centerpiece a serpent sculpture, head raised high, spraying water that sparkled in the sunlight, a faint rainbow visible behind it.
Harry even noticed a few elegant white peacocks strutting leisurely on the lawn, undisturbed by his sudden arrival.
He heard a door open. To his right stood a grand Gothic manor, its towering spires piercing the sky. The walls were built of dark gray stone, reflecting soft light in the sun. The windows were tall and narrow, each fitted with heavy stained glass that shimmered with colorful patterns.
And there, at the entrance of this Gothic manor, stood a man with pale blond hair. He held a cane topped with a serpent's head, his gray eyes flashing with cold fury. His face was sharp and pale.
In Harry's memory, Draco Malfoy's features bore a faint resemblance to this man.
Fawkes was frantically pecking Harry's hair. This was a first for the phoenix—though it had teleported Dumbledore directly to other estates before, it had never seen a manor lord react so intensely.
Yes, intensely.
Malfoy Manor's alarms blared.
Statues lining the paths sprang to life, wielding stone weapons and advancing toward Harry. A translucent shield enveloped the Gothic manor, and even the gray stone walls seemed to glow faintly.
The pristine lawn churned, as if something—snakes? Vines?—slithered beneath.
Harry watched it all with a blank expression. He glanced up as a black owl swooped overhead, dropping a letter into his hands.
A letter? Now?
No rush. Draco Malfoy's father was clearly panicking, his strategies defensive, meant to intimidate. He was shocked someone had breached Malfoy Manor's defenses and entered the grounds.
How had they bypassed the external wards?
Unfazed by the manor's activated defenses, Harry took a deep breath and opened the letter.
Dear Mr. Potter,
We have received a report that at 4:26 p.m. today, you performed an Apparition Charm in the Muggle neighborhood where you reside.
As you are aware, underage wizards are prohibited from casting spells outside of school. Further spellcasting may result in expulsion from Hogwarts (Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, Paragraph C).
We must also remind you that any magical activity likely to be noticed by non-magical persons (Muggles) violates Article 13 of the International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy and constitutes a serious offense.
Wishing you a pleasant holiday!
Yours sincerely,
Mafalda Hopkirk
Improper Use of Magic Office
Ministry of Magic
Harry crumpled the letter without expression, then smoothed it out and tucked it into his dragonhide pouch.
Evidence.
Evidence for a protest to the Ministry.
Harry now wanted nothing more than to skin that house-elf named Dobby.
That wretched creature had set him up. No wonder Fawkes' pursuit had landed them at the manor's entrance rather than inside. In his final escape, Dobby had used wizarding Apparition.
Of course, that meant he couldn't enter the manor directly.
It was all to trigger the Trace on Harry, landing him in trouble with the Ministry. If that wretched elf kept using magic, per the letter's terms, Harry could be expelled from Hogwarts on the spot!
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