[Chapter Size: 1400 Words.]
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The house-elf in front of him was undoubtedly the dirtiest Harry had ever seen.
It seemed to be wearing an old pillowcase with holes in the arms and legs. The whole thing was as worn-out as a piece of tattered cloth.
What worried Harry was that it seemed to have numerous scars on its body. Some were new, others old, covering almost every inch of its exposed skin.
"Who are you? Why are you in my room?" Harry furrowed his brow, looking at the house-elf that had suddenly appeared in front of him, his wand pointed at it, his tone filled with suspicion.
"Hello... hello, Your Excellence Harry Potter." The house-elf hesitated for a moment, then bowed deeply, its long nose touching the carpet. It said in a trembling voice, "It is an honor to meet you. I am a humble house-elf, Dobby."
"Dobby?" Harry hesitated. It seemed like the creature held no ill will toward him, but Harry didn't let his guard down. He kept his wand trained on the elf. "Answer my question, Dobby. Why are you in my room?"
"Yes... yes, Sir Harry Potter." The house-elf's voice shook even more. "Dobby, Dobby wants to prevent Harry Potter from going to Hogwarts."
"Prevent me from going to Hogwarts?" Harry's heart skipped a beat, and then he suddenly thought of something. "Then did you intercept my letter too?"
"Sir Harry Potter... is more alert and wise than Dobby imagined. No wonder, no wonder he was able to defeat that terrible man." At that moment, Dobby's voice carried a touch of joy. But he didn't answer Harry's question.
"Are you talking about Voldemort?" Harry raised an eyebrow slightly. Since his conversation with Dumbledore, he had started using Voldemort's name again.
"No, no!" Dobby seemed horrified when he heard the name. He covered his ears with force. "Please, do not say that name, do not say that terrible name. Harry Potter is great and can defeat this terrible man. He is the only hope of the wizarding world. Dobby, Dobby must protect Harry Potter!"
By the end of his speech, Dobby's voice had become firm.
Harry furrowed his brow, slightly irritated.
If he hadn't realized that this house-elf seemed to hold no malice, he might have been more concerned. Harry had long since developed the ability to sense emotions, a skill that had grown more useful as his mental strength increased. In that moment, Harry could clearly feel Dobby's emotions shifting intensely.
At least for now, the house-elf named Dobby had no intention of causing harm to anyone.
However, although he had no ill intentions, this house-elf seemed to have some mental issues, speaking incoherently. That made Harry quite impatient, and he asked in an irritated tone, "What do you want? Who sent you here?"
"No one, no one sent Dobby. Dobby came here on his own. Dobby cannot let his master know... Dobby, Dobby is a bad elf." At this moment, tears began to well up in Dobby's large eyes.
"Dobby must... must punish himself. Dobby needs, needs to punish himself. Dobby, in fact, hid this from his master." As he spoke, Dobby began banging his head against the wall, and soon his forehead was red and swollen.
"Stop!" Harry shouted.
"Cousin, what happened?" Dudley's voice came from the door. Obviously, he had heard the noise.
"It's nothing, just a little thing. Don't worry, go back to sleep," Harry called out loudly.
"Okay," Dudley said from the other side, and there was no further movement. After Harry stopped him, Dobby ceased his self-punishment and merely stared at Harry with his big eyes.
"Dobby, start now and answer my questions carefully," Harry looked at Dobby with piercing eyes.
Harry had dealt with house-elves before, though not extensively. He understood the general situation and knew how to communicate with these creatures.
His eyes fixed on Dobby, and a special symbol was silently drawn in his mind. Telepathy is a spiritual magic from the Neil. It can influence the emotions of those with weak minds. When mastered at a high level, it can influence and control the mind.
Harry hadn't been able to practice Hogwarts magic during the month he was home, but he had practiced Neil magic. Other types of magic weren't easy to use, but mental magic seemed to be much easier to master once Harry had built up enough mental strength.
This telepathy technique was something he had recently mastered. He had tested it on Dudley with great success. He wasn't sure if it would work as well on a house-elf, but since he hadn't seen the projection of Dobby's soul yet, he figured his spiritual power wasn't too strong.
Under the influence of Harry's magic, Dobby's eyes shimmered with confusion. Harry was pleased and asked his next question. "Now, tell me, did you intercept my correspondence?"
"Yes... yes, Dobby did that. Dobby only wanted..."
Harry immediately waved his hand to stop Dobby's words. House-elves are highly obedient creatures, and with the influence of mental control, a commanding tone was the most appropriate at this moment. It was also the best way for Harry to get what he wanted. "Next question: do you want to prevent me from going back to school?"
"Yes, more than I thought..."
Harry waved his hand again, his tone growing sterner. "Why are you preventing me from going to Hogwarts?"
"Because... because something very dangerous is going to happen at Hogwarts this year..." At that moment, Dobby's face showed an expression of pain. He turned away and seemed ready to bang his head against the wall again. "Dobby bad, Dobby bad!"
"Stop banging your head against the wall!" Harry shouted, making Dobby stop.
House-elves had been domesticated by wizards for generations, and they only obey the orders of wizards. Of course, orders had priorities, and the orders from their true master were always of the highest priority, surpassing even those of ordinary wizards.
However, house-elves generally didn't refuse orders from other wizards, as long as they didn't conflict with their master's orders.
Harry recalled the description of house-elves he had read about in a book before, and when he applied it this time, he realized it was true. The elf always obeyed Harry's commands without question.
Harry spoke again: "Hogwarts will be in danger. What is the danger?"
"Dobby doesn't know either. But, but it would be very dangerous if Dobby knew, very dangerous, Master, Master..." Dobby was about to bang his head against the wall again, but Harry stopped him once more.
"The last question: who is the master you are talking about?" This time, Harry used all his mental power to push his telepathy technique to its limits.
However, Dobby's expression turned extremely pained at that moment: "Dobby can't say, Dobby can't say."
Suddenly, Dobby regained his composure. When he looked at Harry again, his eyes were full of surprise. But then, the surprise turned into joy: "Harry Potter is much more powerful than Dobby expected. Much more powerful!"
With that said, before Harry could do anything else, Dobby snapped his fingers and disappeared from the room.
Harry instinctively reached out his left hand, but this time the special, blessed feeling he had before didn't appear, and the dark magic mark on his hand did not respond at all.
Harry activated his magical senses again and looked around the room, but there was no trace of Dobby.
Worried, Harry activated his magical senses once more and searched the entire house, but he couldn't find any trace of Dobby.
It seems he really left.
"Something's wrong!" Harry clicked his tongue and murmured to himself.
A house-elf from somewhere intercepted his letter and didn't want him to go to Hogwarts, saying that Hogwarts was in danger.
How did he know Hogwarts was in danger?
Harry thought it might be related to the master Dobby mentioned, but who was this master?
Harry had no idea what to do, so he just shook his head and continued packing.
This time, everything went smoothly. Harry quickly packed his things and waited until dawn to head to Ron's house.
He had been looking forward to this for a long time, not only as an opportunity to visit a classmate's home but also as a chance to return to the wizarding world. Though only a year had passed, Harry was already deeply fascinated by that world. In comparison, the world of Muggles seemed much more boring.
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