Chapter 434: Old Clothes and New Garments
Chapter 434: Old Clothes and New Garments
As Dobby stepped into the Gray residence, he breathed a sigh of relief, while feeling the burning gaze of Kreacher on his back, causing his scalp to tingle.
Kreacher must be thinking, 'House-elves shouldn't act like humans.' But now, he's not a servant; he's Dobby, a free elf.
Dobby reminded himself of this, calming down a bit, and looked up to ask, "Mr. Gray, have you seen any strange people lately? Those people might have kidnapped you to threaten Mr. Weid into cooperation... Please try to recall carefully, as it will greatly help us in finding Mr. Weid."
Dobby had thought about these words all the way here, repeatedly editing them before settling on the phrasing. Now, as he blurted them out, his little heart pounded with nervousness.
Friends... and friends' parents...
This was the first time he had been welcomed by a wizard's family as a "friend"! Every second held epoch-making significance for Dobby.
The nervous house-elf didn't notice that as he finished speaking, Ferdinand, who was pouring tea, trembled and spilled the scalding tea.
Dobby, who had been wandering, was unaware that the wizards had kept the truth of Mr. Gray's disappearance from the Grays, only sending a letter in Mr. Weid's name, stating that he had accepted a friend's invitation and would be staying at his classmate's home for the holidays.
As this had happened frequently before, the Grays initially had no suspicions. It wasn't until Ferdinand realized that Mr. Weid hadn't returned home on Christmas Eve and hadn't contacted them during this time that he began to suspect the truth.
He tried to reach out to Professor Dumbledore or Mad-Eye Moody, who lived next door, but couldn't get in touch with the headmaster or professors at Hogwarts. Moody only advised them to stay indoors, especially avoiding Diagon Alley.
The wizard with the magical eye was always in a hurry and had a bad temper, so Ferdinand never found an opportunity to sit down and talk with him.
In fact, during this time, Moody had been secretly protecting the Grays from next door, but he pretended to be absent, even though he knew Ferdinand wanted to talk to him.
Moody didn't believe that Muggles could be of much help, and he didn't discuss the plans to rescue Mr. Weid with the Grays.
Although the two families had a good relationship, just thinking about the tears and questions that might follow after revealing the truth made Moody's head spin. He wasn't good at comforting people, nor could he lie and say, "Don't worry, we'll definitely bring Mr. Weid back safely."
The retired Auror was actually very pessimistic.
He knew how difficult it was to deal with Grindelwald and the Wizengamot. He didn't believe they could successfully bring Mr. Weid Gray back unharmed and had even prepared to use a Forgetfulness Spell to permanently distance the Grays from the magic world.
After Sirius Black sent Kreacher to protect them, Moody chose to spend more time with the Order of the Phoenix, though he didn't hold much hope. Still, he diligently participated in the rescue plan.
It was because of Moody's absence that Dobby wasn't immediately turned away upon his arrival.
Dobby, who had stumbled in cluelessly, was the only connection Ferdinand had to the magic world during this time.
Ferdinand took a deep breath, wiped the water stains off the kitchen counter, and used this time to calm himself down.
He placed the tea in front of Dobby, watching as the house-elf nervously took it, looking as if he might faint from excitement. Ferdinand recalled the characteristics of house-elves and carefully chose his words.
"How is Mr. Weid doing? As parents, we're very worried after not seeing him for so long. Can you tell me about the progress of the rescue?"
Ferdinand didn't answer but instead asked, his eyes pleading as he looked at Dobby.
Dobby panicked for a moment because his investigation during this time had made no progress. His biggest discovery was what he had overheard from the Hogwarts house-elves and the analysis Michael had shared with him.
The house-elf, not skilled at lying, was led by Ferdinand to inadvertently reveal all the information he had.
"So... Grindelwald... and the Wizengamot... Mr. Weid is in their hands, but no one knows their whereabouts..."
Ferdinand clenched his hands tightly, suppressing his body's involuntary trembling. After a long pause, he said, "Recently, I've seen videos related to them in the Daily Prophet every day. Does that mean the attacks are happening? Are the contents of the videos real?"
"Yes," Dobby replied honestly, nodding.
In an instant, Ferdinand's hands and feet turned cold, and his body shuddered.
Dobby watched Ferdinand anxiously, wondering if he had said too much.
Ferdinand steadied himself on the table and slowly stood up. "Please come with me, Mr. Dobby."
Dobby hurriedly stood up and said, "Dobby! Please... just call me Dobby!"
He followed Ferdinand into the study, watching as the man pulled up a massive curtain, and then he stared in surprise, his eyes widening.
The once-white wall was now covered with clippings and photos, with red and green lines and circles crisscrossing like a giant traffic route map, overwhelming at first glance.
Ferdinand calmly explained, "I've noticed that some dark wizards have been frequently attacking Muggle elites, exposing their involvement in human trafficking, illegal experiments, and other activities. So, I spent money to gather newspapers from various countries in recent years and conducted a detailed data analysis."
Dobby didn't quite understand, and he looked at Ferdinand blankly, wondering if he could ask for a more detailed explanation.
From Ferdinand's unusually large green eyes, it was easy to read his thoughts.
The man smiled helplessly and said, "In simple terms, I'm collecting information on the exposed elites to see which parties and business activities they've attended, what public statements they've made, and finding commonalities and past intersections among them."
Dobby still didn't quite grasp it, but he nodded seriously, deciding to take notes first.
He didn't have to understand everything; he could always seek help from smarter people like Michael.
Ferdinand looked up at the colorful clippings on the wall, sifting through the myriad of information to identify the most probable scenario.
He picked up a pen and circled a person in one of the colored photos.
"The famous billionaire, John Adler. He has connections to most of the people targeted by dark wizards, and there were even rumors early on that he was involved in some... "
Ferdinand turned to see Dobby's childlike expression and left the rest unsaid.
"... some unspeakable deals. So, this person is highly likely to have participated in those illegal activities and become a target of the Wizengamot's attacks. Keeping an eye on him might lead us to the dark wizards."
Dobby nodded earnestly and asked in a low voice, "Can I have this photo?"
"Of course," Ferdinand replied, pulling out a file folder from the bookshelf. "This contains all the information on John Adler. Take it; perhaps it will be useful to you."
Dobby nodded again, placing the photo in the folder and tightly holding the folder, which seemed to have taken a lot of effort to compile.
"Ferdie? Who are you talking to?"
Fiona opened the study door, rubbing her eyes, and immediately spotted Dobby standing in the center of the room. Ferdinand's expression changed, and he hurriedly approached her to explain, but he was interrupted by a scream.
"Ah!"
Fiona's scream wasn't one of fear but of delight.
"House-elf!" she exclaimed.
"Yes, ma'am," Dobby replied, removing his hat and bowing. "House-elf Dobby greets you, Lady Gray."
"Oh my! He's so polite!" Fiona exclaimed, holding her face in surprise. Then, noticing Dobby's tattered clothing, she added, "Wait a moment, Dobby!"
The lady hurriedly ran upstairs, and only then did Ferdinand calm his racing heart, lowering the curtain and instructing Dobby, "Don't tell her about Weid. Fiona knows nothing."
"Understood, sir!" Dobby echoed, his voice also lowered by Ferdinand's concern.
Not long after they left the study, Fiona reappeared, holding a bag. She enthusiastically handed it to Dobby, saying,
"It must be cold to dress like this in winter. These are Weid's childhood clothes, worn only once or twice. I just checked, and they should fit you now. Go and try them on."
"Oh... Okay..."
Dobby entered the changing room with the bag, and only after closing the door did he look up at the light above. He thought to himself, "What am I doing? Why did I come in here?"
But it was too late to back out now, and after some hesitation, he finally changed into Mr. Weid's old clothes.
These were a set of winter clothes for a young boy, and Fiona had thoughtfully included a pair of socks and shoes.
The clothes were a bit oversized for Dobby, so he rolled up the sleeves a bit and looked at the unfamiliar house-elf in the mirror. Dobby struggled to suppress the urge to burst into tears and collapse on the floor.
He hadn't expected his wish to wear decent clothes to be fulfilled so soon.
Dobby, with tears welling up in his eyes, walked out of the changing room. Fiona clapped her hands and said happily, "See, I knew this outfit would look cute on you, but you're too skinny. You need to eat more and gain some weight to look better."
Dobby lowered his head and sniffled, his voice hoarse as he said, "Thank you, Mrs. Gray... I never thought I'd receive such nice clothes."
"It's just an old set of clothes, you're being too polite!" Fiona said with a smile.
As they were about to part ways, Ferdinand looked at Dobby and said in a deep voice, "About that matter... I'm counting on you, Dobby."
Dobby nodded seriously and said, "Dobby understands!"
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers, disappearing from the spot with a 'pop'.
Ferdinand wiped his face and looked at his wife, smiling as he said, "Dobby is Mr. Weid's friend. He delivered a message for Mr. Weid... Mr. Weid won't be coming back before school starts. Tomorrow, he'll be leaving directly from the Black family."
Fiona sighed and said, "He's such a worry-free child... I hope he takes care of himself."
"Don't worry," Ferdinand said, putting his arm around her shoulder. "Mr. Weid has always been sensible. Knowing how worried you are about him, he will definitely... definitely not cause any trouble."
Fiona leaned her head on her husband's shoulder, and after a while, she softly hummed in agreement.
...
"James Adler?"
The voice from the mirror asked in response, the large mirror surface only reflecting a pair of deep blue eyes.
This ancient two-way mirror was not as convenient as a communication bean, and it was much more expensive than both the communication bean and the Frenemy Ledger. However, it had one advantage - even if the mirror were to shatter, each fragment could still connect to the other two-way mirror.
The werewolf Donovan stared directly into the eyes in the mirror without flinching and said in a low voice, "Yes... this is James Adler's estate, and we've all been summoned here. It seems that the Wizengamot is certain that the place will be attacked, and they've prepared an extensive trap to deal with them."
Donovan was a Muggle who had been bitten by a werewolf on purpose. During his first transformation, he lost his sanity and unconsciously killed his parents.
While being pursued by the police, he had to join the organization to save his own life. At first, he thought it was just a big family of werewolves looking out for each other, but later he discovered that his tragedy was caused by this very organization. They were even making more children like he once was.
Donovan lived in a daze until his thirties, hating the organization with a vengeance but lacking the courage to rebel.
It wasn't until one mission that he was captured by Mr. Weid and then handed over to Professor Dumbledore. During his communication with the old man, he finally saw hope for the organization's destruction and even volunteered to be Professor Dumbledore's spy.
However, by that time, the organization had already labeled Donovan a traitor, and returning directly would undoubtedly result in his execution.
So, he was temporarily imprisoned and later "accidentally" rescued a vampire, Glen White, who had been caught by Professor Dumbledore. After testifying for each other and undergoing a thorough review, they were finally able to return to the organization.
Even so, Donovan realized that he still didn't have genuine trust. Important tasks were no longer assigned to him, his so-called companions constantly tested him in subtle ways, and the organization even sent a valuable wizard to examine him several times with strange spells.
Donovan accepted all scrutiny openly because he wasn't under any magical control. His betrayal was his own decision, and Professor Dumbledore had hidden this thought deep within his memory, which the organization's wizards weren't yet capable of uncovering.
Moreover, Donovan had an agreement with Professor Dumbledore. He didn't need to convey trivial messages regularly; he would only be activated during critical moments.
Donovan felt that this time had come.
(End of Chapter)
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