Chapter 155: The Truth Brought by Dobby
Chapter 155: The Truth Brought by Dobby
That evening, Harry tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep despite the snores of his roommates filling the room.
He couldn’t stop thinking about the events of the day—whether it was their decisive victory over Slytherin or seeing his arch-rival, Draco Malfoy, being scolded by his father, everything had left him feeling elated.
But a sudden wave of loneliness washed over him. He wished he could experience the feeling of being scolded by his parents, just once.
Everyone was looking forward to the summer holidays, but Harry was resisting the idea. He even considered staying behind to keep Hagrid company or perhaps visiting the Burrow.
“Harry~Potter!”
A faint whisper echoed, and Harry recognized the voice. He quickly put on his glasses and looked towards the door, where a small, thin figure stood.
It had enormous brown eyes and a nose that looked like a large tomato.
“Dobby, is it really you?”
Harry glanced around hurriedly. Everyone was sound asleep, even Ron’s pet, the fat gray rat Scabbers, was nestled comfortably on its owner’s pillow.
He quietly slipped out of bed, hesitated for a moment, and then grabbed his wand.
“Lumos.”
Harry led Dobby to the common room, where a faint light illuminated the room. He chose a chair with a soft cushion and sat down.
“Please sit, Dobby. You have something to tell me, don’t you?”
As he got closer, he noticed that Dobby was wearing the same old pillowcase, but it now had two sleeves and what looked like pant legs.
“You’ve changed your clothes—no, wait! Dobby, you, you...” Harry pointed at Dobby, unable to finish his sentence. He remembered from Ron that house-elves couldn’t wear regular clothes, which meant only one thing—
“Yes, Mr. Potter, Dobby, Dobby is free!” The house-elf’s large eyes were brimming with tears of joy as he exclaimed.
“How—oh, I mean, congratulations, Dobby.” Harry said, “But you were with Lucius Malfoy earlier today?”
“Dobby doesn’t know, perhaps Master’s failure in the match put him in a bad mood. When he returned home, he scolded Dobby harshly... Dobby is used to it, but he never expected that he would want to get rid of Dobby!”
Harry opened his mouth to say something, but Dobby continued excitedly, “Dobby never thought... this is what Dobby has always dreamed of.”
He opened his hand, revealing a beautiful button resting in his thin palm.
“Master, no, Lucius Malfoy gave Dobby this button, which he tore from his own clothes... He angrily ordered Dobby to leave the Malfoy Manor forever.”
“So you’re free, and you belong to no one.” Harry said.
“Yes, Dobby is now a free elf.” Dobby blinked his large eyes. “All of this is thanks to you, the great Harry Potter, for defeating Draco Malfoy on the Quidditch pitch!”
Harry felt a sense of the unpredictable nature of life. His victory over Slytherin had such a profound impact on Dobby.
“I didn’t expect that, but I’m honored.” Harry said humbly. “By the way, Dobby, now that you’re free, you’re not bound by your status anymore, right? I have many questions I want to ask you.”
“Please, ask anything, and Dobby will do his best.”
“Here’s the thing, was the Chamber incident really Lucius Malfoy’s scheme?” Harry asked, bringing up the doubts they had discussed earlier.
“Yes, he brought the Dark Lord’s artifact, a cursed diary, to Hogwarts, using Ginny Weasley as a tool.”
“Wait! Ginny?”
“...Yes, at Flourish and Blotts.”
A flash of insight struck Harry. He spoke with certainty, “He had a fight with Mr. Weasley, and I remember he picked up Ginny’s textbook and mocked her! Lucius must have secretly slipped the diary inside, right?”
“Exactly, Mr. Potter.” Dobby bowed.
“So, you tried to stop me from returning to school and attacked me on the pitch because of that artifact, which opened the Chamber?”
Dobby lowered his head and whispered, “You are correct, Mr. Potter. Dobby overheard Malfoy’s conversation. You don’t know what life was like for house-elves during the Dark Lord’s reign. Things are much better now...”
Harry found it hard to imagine the darkness that house-elves had endured back then.
He comforted Dobby, “You’ve certainly come a long way, haven’t you?” But then Harry thought of something and nearly jumped up. He asked in a trembling voice, “Then, is that diary still with Ginny now?”
“Is she in danger?”
Dobby whispered, “No, the diary has passed through the hands of three people. It was initially with Miss Weasley, then somehow ended up with Draco Malfoy, and finally, it is in the possession of the equally great Felix Hep.”
"Professor Heap?" Harry stared in disbelief.
"Yes, but Mr. Heap realized the diary's evil and destroyed it, completely and utterly! Right in front of Dobby's eyes..."
Harry felt his brain couldn't keep up. The shocking news of the night left him at a loss, his face a mask of confusion.
...
The next morning.
"Are you saying that the root of all this was Lucius Malfoy? He hid the diary in Ginny's textbook, and Ginny, under its control, opened the Chamber and released the Basilisk, causing Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey to be petrified! Then the diary ended up in his son's hands. Merlin's beard, he truly reaped what he sowed! But the most outrageous part is that the diary has now been destroyed by Professor Heap!"
Ron had never spoken so much in one breath. He chugged a few large gulps of Pumpkin Juice.
"That's right", Harry nodded. A thought struck him, and he recounted his encounter with Draco during the rescue of Justin. "He looked dazed, but I didn't have time to think much about it. So much happened afterward, and I completely forgot about this clue."
"Professor Heap didn't let a single word slip!" Ron said, unsure if he was complaining or admiring.
Hermione fell into a thoughtful silence before adding, "Do you remember when I was in the hospital? Professor Heap warned us that the danger was over and told us to stop investigating. I think he must have already obtained the diary and possibly destroyed it."
"Moreover", the young witch counted on her fingers, "Professor Heap must have informed Dumbledore, who might have told your parents, Ron." She sounded a bit disappointed as she continued, "Although, he didn't tell us."
"Wow, so the adults were keeping a lot of secrets from us", Ron said.
"What does Dobby plan to do now?" Hermione asked.
"I'm not sure. I guess he might visit some friends?" Harry said uncertainly.
Ron hurried through his breakfast and was eager to leave.
"Where are you going, Ron?"
"I need to ask Ginny. I just thought of something—what if the diary had any lingering effects on her—"
"You're right!"
...
From Ginny's stammering account, they learned more details.
"You left the diary in the abandoned bathroom?" Harry stared into Ginny's eyes, surprised.
Ginny blushed and lowered her head, a bright red flush on her face. "Y-Yes, Fred and George Weasley told me some scary stories, and I realized it was wrong."
"It all fits together! Malfoy followed us, but we had already moved the potion. He missed it but found the diary instead", Harry said.
He broke out in a cold sweat. The vague shadow he had seen must have been Ginny discarding the diary, but he didn't have time to look closely because he discovered Malfoy.
If Malfoy had picked up the diary and been controlled by it, he could have been caught on the way to opening the Chamber, leaving him with no defense. After all, he had already been misunderstood by everyone because of his Parseltongue ability.
"Ginny, do you feel any discomfort?" Ron asked.
Ginny shook her head. "I followed Luna's advice and went to the Hospital Wing. Apart from being a bit weak, I had no other problems. Madam Pomfrey gave me two potions, and I recovered quickly."
"Right, she mentioned that a boy had similar symptoms..."
The three of them looked at each other and said in unison, "Draco Malfoy!"
They spent most of Sunday piecing together the complete truth—
From Lucius's revenge, to Ginny being controlled to open the Chamber and causing two attacks, to her realizing the danger and discarding the diary, which was then picked up by Draco Malfoy. Draco was caught by Harry while trying to open the Chamber, leading to the rescue of Justin. Following that, they ventured into the Chamber and killed the Basilisk. The diary ended up in Professor Heap's hands and was completely destroyed, bringing the Chamber incident to a close.
"It's strange how much Professor Heap was involved in this whole affair."
"That shows he really uncovered the entire truth."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione lounged by the Black Lake, feeling a sense of relief and satisfaction at solving a long-standing mystery.
They also put their minds at ease and focused on preparing for their exams.
The month passed quickly, and the rainy season arrived along with the exam period.
(End of Chapter)
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