Dobby stared at the tiny outfit in front of him with his big green eyes in disbelief.
This is a small dress suit - a white shirt, a black jacket, skinny trousers, and a matching small hat. It can be said that "small but complete".
The dress seemed to fit Dobby perfectly, or rather, it could be said to be the first house-elf dress in the wizarding world to be tailor-made - its measurements were taken for Dobby using Narcissa Malfoy's magic tape measure.
For this reason, Narcissa decided not to use this tape measure to measure clothes anymore...
"The master gave Dobby a set of clothes," the house-elf said, taking the small dress in a trembling voice, extremely excited, "The master gave Dobby clothes!"
"I get it. You don't have to repeat it twice!" Lucius said through gritted teeth, "Take your clothes and leave before I change my mind!"
Although Lucius Malfoy is a typical pure-blood who ignores house-elves, his house-elves are not just random arrivals.
Magical creatures like house-elves cannot be hired just by having money.
The magical families that can own house-elves are either upper-class people with extremely high social status in the magical world, or pure-blood families with a long history and heritage. Only a very few wizards can rely on luck to pick up those lone house-elves abandoned by their owners.
Moreover, as they are born experts at doing housework and using various types of magic, they do not need any salary or wages at all. They can handle the tasks assigned by the wizards in an orderly manner and rarely make their masters dissatisfied.
This rare magical creature, even in the wealthy Malfoy family, there is only one, Dobby.
Lucius' heart was bleeding when he handed the clothes to Dobby!
Dobby subconsciously turned his gaze towards Dracula, who had single-handedly led the whole thing, and saw the handsome professor nodding at him with a chuckle.
So Dobby made up his mind and took the exquisite dress from Lucius.
"Dobby—Dobby is free!" Dobby shouted excitedly.
He was so excited that he even started crying.
Tears as big as beans flowed from his big eyes, ran across his pointed, long nose, and dripped from the tip of his nose.
While crying bitterly, Dobby carefully protected his first set of clothes, not letting his tears stain the exquisite dress.
"Lucius, how bad are you to him normally?" Dracula looked at Lucius Malfoy with a stiff expression in surprise. "It's not something that ordinary people can do to make a house-elf who has left his owner so happy, right?"
Lucius coughed dryly and avoided Dracula's gaze awkwardly.
Lucius couldn't help but feel embarrassed by Dobby's performance.
Because house-elves are one of the magical creatures that are most obedient to their masters and have the deepest feelings for wizards, they are often not very happy when they get the clothes.
Because when they gain freedom, it also means that they are abandoned by their masters and become an unwanted elf. This is not a relief for house elves, but a shame, a sign of incompetence, and they will be looked down upon by their fellow house elves.
Even many house-elves who have suffered a lot of abuse will not blame their masters, and will feel sad when they are given clothes and "fired".
For example, the corpses of house-elves that Dracula had seen in the Black family's house - the pure-blood wizards of the Black family were accustomed to cutting off the heads of dead house-elves and hanging them on the wall next to the stairs.
However, the Black family's actions did not cause the house-elves to be disgusted. Instead, they were regarded as the greatest honor in their lives by elves like Kreacher...
This shows the distorted thinking of magical creatures such as house-elves.
Because of this, Dobby's behavior seems even more strange.
Anyone could see that Dobby's expression was clearly that of someone who was so happy that he was crying. He did not have the reluctance and attachment to his master that a proper house elf would have, and all he had was the joy of being free!
Lucius was naturally ashamed to have raised such a unique house-elf, and was speechless when faced with Dracula's questioning.
"Lucius, if you really want to get away from Voldemort, I'll give you a piece of advice—" Dracula stood up, took a step forward slowly, and stared into Lucius's gray eyes, "Put away those habits left over from Voldemort's reign, as well as your so-called bad behavior as a noble."
Dracula said softly, "I can't stand it."
The cold sweat on Lucius's body instantly soaked the clothes on his back, and his face became paler than usual.
"I understand, Professor Dracula." He lowered his head, his knees bent involuntarily, and then he forced them to straighten back up, suppressing his habitual urge to kneel down and beg for mercy.
"Very good, it seems you do understand." Dracula curled his lips, drank the wine in the goblet, and then casually placed the glass on the long table beside him with a crisp sound.
Lucius picked up the bottle with great tact and poured Dracula a glass of bright red wine.
Dracula smiled with satisfaction, pulled out a chair and sat down, then picked up the slender stem of the cup again and shook it gently.
The bright red wine was swirling in the glass. The vortex on the surface of the liquid shattered the reflections of Dracula and Lucius, and the color of the wine gradually became deeper.
Lucius stared blankly at his messy figure in the wine, as if he saw his complicated emotions.
"Tell me, what compensation do you want?"
Dracula's voice interrupted Lucius's chaotic thoughts, "After all, I have caused you to lose a precious house-elf. You can think carefully about what compensation you need."
Lucius was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously wanted to say some clichés to refuse, such as "Being able to help Professor Dracula is the best reward" and "Working for Professor Dracula is what I should do".
He said these words often when facing the Dark Lord, and he was so skilled at it that he couldn't be more skilled.
However, just as Lucius was about to say those polite words, the following scene suddenly appeared in his sight—
The same living room of Malfoy Manor, the same seats, but the scene was not as magnificent as it is today. Instead, it was very dark and gloomy.
A hoarse, deep voice sounded from the seat at the front of the living room.
"You did well, Lucius." The figure with scarlet eyes and a gaze as cold as a snake said coldly, "I have always been clear about rewards and punishments. Tell me, is there any reward you want?"
"Being able to serve the master is the reward I want most!" Lucius said in a flattering tone, and he spoke without hesitation the same clichés he had said countless times before.
However, this time, he didn't seem to be as lucky as usual.
"I suddenly thought of an interesting idea," Voldemort said with a hideous and terrifying smile, "Let your son join the Death Eaters, Lucius."
…
Lucius suddenly opened his eyes wide, looked at Dracula who was shaking the wine glass in front of him, and swallowed the clichés that were about to come out of his throat.
"Professor Dracula, I do have a request." He took a deep breath and changed the topic.
"Tell me about it." Dracula answered casually, looking at the wine glass in his hand.
"I have a son who is studying at Hogwarts..." Lucius said after careful consideration, "If it is convenient, please take care of him for a while."
After saying this, Lucius raised his head and looked at Dracula, hoping to discern his intention from his expression.
Dracula stopped shaking the wine glass, turned his head with a little surprise, and looked at Lucius's anxious expression.
"Draco Malfoy, right? I remember him." Dracula chuckled, "It's a simple thing. Are you sure you want me to take this little thing as compensation for you?"
"No, Professor Dracula, Draco is not a trivial matter to me." Lucius said, "He is the most important thing in Narcissa and I's life."
"Okay, I understand." Dracula still held the stem of the goblet and stood up from the chair.
He walked towards the open space in front of the living room and waved to Dobby, who was still wiping tears of excitement.
Dobby hurriedly hugged his little dress and ran to Dracula in small steps.
A dark moon quietly emerged from behind Dracula. The moonlight was cold, but it made the magnificent living room of Malfoy Manor dim.
Dracula gently shook the wine glass and walked into the moonlight with the elf.
"Don't worry, I will take good care of Draco."
Dracula's voice faded away along with the moonlight, and the lights in the hall became brighter again, shining into Lucius's gray pupil.
Lucius heaved a sigh of relief and slumped against the back of his chair.
He knew that his actions today were not in vain.
Since Dracula agreed to look after Draco, it meant that he didn't mind providing some shelter for the descendants of the Malfoy family, and Draco would no longer be forced to become a Death Eater.
In this way, even if Voldemort resurrected and came back, even if Lucius angered the cruel Dark Lord, the Malfoy family would not be cut off from all inheritance...
…
The dark moonlight filled the Defense Against the Dark Arts office.
Dracula walked out of the moonlight, shaking his wine glass, followed by a house elf holding a small dress.
Unlike the weather in Wiltshire, England, where Malfoy Manor is located, it is still raining heavily in the Scottish Highlands where Hogwarts is located.
Accompanied by strong wind, raindrops hit the window glass of the office, leaving behind mysterious streaks of water.
Dracula leaned against the cold window, took a sip of his drink, and turned to look at Dobby, who had just stopped crying.
"Are you finally stopping crying?" he asked.
"Dobby... Dobby is just too excited!" Dobby wiped his eyes again, rubbed his wet palms on the old pillowcase he was wearing, held the little dress in his arms very carefully, and looked up at Dracula.
"Thank you, Mr. Dracula, you freed Dobby!" He said gratefully in a shrill, sharp voice, "Mr. Dracula set Dobby free! You are as great as Harry Potter who defeated the Dark Lord!"
Dracula chuckled and shook his head.
He didn't expect that even if he set Dobby free, he would only be able to reach the same level as Harry Potter. It is conceivable how high the status of his savior student is in the eyes of the house-elf!
"So... before I rescued Dobby, my status was not as high as a student's?" He shrugged with a smile.
"Dobby, I'm actually very curious." Dracula then looked at Dobby and asked curiously, "As a house-elf, why do you yearn for freedom so much? Is it just because Lucius and the others treated you badly?"
"Because... Dobby is a unique house-elf!" A brilliant smile suddenly broke out on the elf's ugly brown-red face, revealing a mouthful of teeth. "Dobby has never been willing to be submissive like other elves, and Dobby has never been willing to go back to the past and live under the rule of He Who Must Not Be Named!"
"So Dobby wants to be a free house-elf!"
At this point, Dobby became excited and jumped up and down on the spot.
"But if Dobby was still controlled by his master, he would never be able to become a free elf..." he said, "Fortunately, the great Mr. Dracula helped Dobby gain freedom!"
"Then you are truly a house elf with your own ideas," Dracula chuckled, "What should this be called, the progressive elf of the new century in the wizarding world?"
"It's not as exaggerated as Mr. Dracula said..." Dobby lowered his head shyly and said in a low voice, "Dobby... Dobby is just doing what he wants to do."
"So what are your plans next, Dobby?" Dracula asked thoughtfully, "Speaking of which, I have lived for so many years, but I have never seen a free house-elf. I am not sure what you can do..."
"Sir, Dobby has made up his mind." Dobby's eyes widened, and there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. "Dobby is going to wear new clothes to meet the great Harry Potter and apologize to him in person... Dobby almost caused Harry Potter to fall off his broom and almost broke his bones..."
"Harry Potter will never forgive the very bad Dobby..."
Dobby lowered his head, looking somewhat lonely.
"I think Potter will forgive you." Dracula said with a smile.
At this time, he had already taken out the title deed of Hogwarts and saw what the little wizards in various parts of the castle were doing -
The Quidditch match had only just finished a few hours ago, and the celebrations that had ensued were far from over.
Countless little wizards in red-collared school robes gathered in the Gryffindor common room, surrounding a little wizard wearing round-frame glasses in the middle, and celebrated the Gryffindor team's victory over Slytherin.
Among them, the two red-haired twins set off two huge fireworks in the common room, filling the entire space with flames.
Another red-haired student wearing the prefect badge arrived in time to put out the fire from the fireworks with a water-making spell, then started chasing the twins around...
"Dobby, you can go to the Gryffindor dormitory later." Dracula smiled with interest and said to Dobby, "The Harry Potter you've been thinking about is having a celebration party in the common room!"
"I'm exhausted from the game this morning. When their party is almost over, Porter should go back to his dormitory to take a nap. You can go to his dormitory and seek his forgiveness then."
Dracula gave Dobby an encouraging look.
"Having just won the game, Porter must be in a good mood. You don't have any bad intentions. Based on his personality, he shouldn't make things difficult for you."
Hearing Dracula's comfort, Dobby's expression became much happier and his mood became cheerful.
"It would be great if Harry Potter could really forgive Dobby!" He smiled brilliantly, his big pointed ears standing up. "When the great Harry Potter forgives Dobby, Dobby can go find a job without any worries!"
"Wait, what did you say... looking for a job?" Dracula's mouth twitched, and he looked at Dobby in confusion, "You just became a free elf, why are you looking for a job in the blink of an eye?"
Dobby's unique train of thought is indeed hilarious, but it always makes Dracula a little unable to keep up.
"No, Dobby is a free house-elf, but not a lazy, negative house-elf!" Dobby carefully explained to Dracula the difference between the two types of house-elves. "House-elves cannot live without work. The life of a house-elf without work is meaningless!"
"So you want to find another master?" Dracula frowned.
If Dobby really gave Dracula a positive answer, it would only mean that he had misjudged this unique elf. This also meant that Dracula's interest in Dobby would no longer exist.
Dracula naturally didn't want to let this house-elf, who was unique in the history of magic and had voluntarily gained freedom, to look for a master again.
Fortunately, Dobby did not disappoint Dracula.
"Dobby doesn't want to find another master." Dobby said shyly, "Dobby wants to find a real job... the kind that can get paid!"
"A house elf who needs a salary?" Dracula's eyes lit up and he immediately became interested. "Why don't you work for me? Two hundred Galleons a month, with ten days of vacation. Is this salary acceptable?"
However, what Dracula didn't expect was that Dobby suddenly screamed loudly:
"Mr. Dracula is looking down on Dobby!"
"Don't you think it's not enough?" Dracula frowned slightly.
The salary he offered was already quite good in the wizarding world. I'm afraid even the Minister of Magic might not have such a high salary.
"No! This salary is too high and it will shame Dobby!" Dobby said loudly.
Dracula: “…”
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