After solving the problem of Voldemort and returning to the regular school life, the extremely bored vampire Count has recently found a new hobby -
That is to use the monitoring function of the Hogwarts title deed to remotely observe the actions of the house-elf Dobby, watch him preach the beauty of freedom to other elves, and guess that he will be driven away by his fellow house-elfs in a few minutes.
According to Dracula's observation, Dobby spent a relatively long time in the Hogwarts kitchens.
In order to work, this progressive-minded house-elf went to the Hogwarts infirmary, the astronomy tower, the owl tower, the castle dungeon, Professor Sprout's greenhouse and other places to participate in the work of house-elfs and help his counterparts in Hogwarts.
But Dobby would often be kicked out by the house-elf supervisor on duty before he could even work for a day.
The fastest record for Dobby being kicked out was when he was cleaning the Slytherin common room - he only took two minutes. As soon as he opened his mouth, the conservative elves loyal to Slytherin College noticed something was wrong and immediately kicked him out...
A "bang" sound was heard.
This is the iconic sound that represents Apparition.
Dracula looked up from the Hogwarts title deed on his desk and looked at Dobby, who looked dejected.
"Ostracized by the other house-elves?" he asked with interest.
"Other house-elves are unwilling to work with Dobby. They think Dobby is a fallen elf..." Dobby wiped his tears and said sadly, "They... They think that house-elves without masters are evil and unreasonable heretics."
"That's normal. After all, you're the first house elf to eat tomatoes." Dracula chuckled as he peeled a bloody lollipop and leaned back on the soft chair. "The first person to try new things will always be tabooed by his peers."
"Mr. Dracula, but Dobby doesn't eat tomatoes..." Dobby wiped his eyes and said in confusion, "And... why are elves who eat tomatoes tabooed by their own kind?"
What Dracula wanted to say got stuck in his throat and he almost swallowed the lollipop in one gulp.
"Ahem... the tomato is just a metaphor. It doesn't matter." Dracula coughed out the lollipop and looked at Dobby helplessly. "'The first person to eat a tomato' is an idiom used to describe the first person who dares to do something."
"But, but tomatoes are such a normal thing, is there anyone who doesn't dare to eat them? The first person who dares to eat tomatoes can't be that great, right?" Dobby asked in surprise.
Then, the elf seemed to suddenly think of something and began to wipe away tears again, "Dobby knows that Mr. Dracula must also think that Dobby is a corrupt and evil house-elf, so he uses something like tomatoes to describe Dobby..."
"… "
Dracula's words paused again.
"If you keep thinking too much, I'll give you a raise, Dobby!" He gritted his teeth and bit the candy into pieces with his sharp teeth, then glared at Dobby coldly, "I told you, this is just an idiom, it doesn't have any meaning!"
Dobby was so frightened that he immediately stopped crying.
He hurriedly wiped his hands across his big eyeballs to wipe away the tears, and subconsciously wanted to rub his wet hands dry on his clothes.
However, he soon discovered that he was no longer wearing the dirty old pillowcase, but an exquisite small dress suit.
Dobby immediately withdrew his wet hands and put them behind his back at a loss.
"Mr. Dracula, you can scold me, but don't give me a raise!" Dobby said pitifully, "A raise is terrible!"
Dracula rubbed his brow and sighed.
"Forget it. I'm sorry to embarrass you. After all, these idioms are not commonly used in the wizarding world." He explained, "In Europe, many Muggles and a small number of wizards often use tomatoes to refer to the first warrior to take action."
"Also, as far as I know, unlike the term used in Europe, the East prefers to use the term 'the first person to eat crabs' to describe it."
"Well, let me tell you the story of the first person to eat a tomato—"
Dobby quickly moved a small stool and sat in front of Dracula's desk and began to listen carefully.
"If I remember correctly, three or four hundred years ago, around the 16th century... there was a British knight who traveled to South America. I forgot his name, but he saw the tomato plant."
While Dracula was recalling the interesting things that happened in the past thousand years, he told Dobby the story of "the first person to eat a tomato".
Just three or four hundred years ago, Dracula had a sudden impulse to attend a meeting - that was the first joint meeting of great nobles he participated in after he was given the title of earl by the Grand Duke of England.
It was also at that meeting that he met the gentleman who saw the tomatoes.
In fact, tomatoes were originally a wild plant native to South America, and their original name was "wolf peach".
At that time, wolfberry was an ornamental plant and humans did not discover its edible value.
Because people at that time learned a lesson from fungi, and they all knew that the brighter the color, the more toxic the plant is. For example, poisonous crops such as poisonous mushrooms and colorful poisonous spiders...
So there is a saying in the local area -
Tomatoes, also known as tomatoes, were considered poisonous by experts at the time.
According to local people, people who eat wolf peaches will soon develop bumps and tumors on their bodies, and in more serious cases, they may even be life-threatening!
Although the wolf peach is bright red when ripe, and the red fruit and green leaves are very beautiful and attractive, just as the colorful mushrooms are highly poisonous, people are still very afraid of it. No one has ever dared to try to eat it, and they just treat it as an ornamental plant.
"I seem to have a little impression of that knight." Dracula put the lollipop stick on his fangs to scrape out the last taste and said to Dobby, "I remember that he was not only a nobleman, but also a wizard who was quite good at magic—"
"Without a proper way to preserve the tomatoes, the knight used magic to bring them to England."
"Because the tomatoes were bright and shiny, the knight gave them to the queen at the time... Well, it seems that the queen at the time was little Elizabeth."
"In short, the knight took tomatoes as a gift of love to express his love to little Yin Lisabeth... Since then, tomatoes have been called 'love fruit' and 'lover fruit' by people at that time."
"But even though the fruit has become well-known, no one wants to eat tomatoes. They just continue to grow tomatoes on their farms as ornamental plants or give them to their loved ones as gifts to symbolize love."
"As for taking it as a food? Sorry, no one has ever dared to eat it..."
Listening to Dracula's story, Dobby was amused and burst into laughter.
"They don't even dare to eat tomatoes. They are dumber than Dobby!" Dobby's spirits really recovered, and he shouted happily, "So did they eat tomatoes in the end?"
"Well... tomatoes really became food about two or three hundred years ago." Dracula said thoughtfully, "There was a person who thought tomatoes were so beautiful, bright, and fresh, and they looked so delicious that he couldn't control his desire to eat them..."
"And so that man tasted the world's first tomato." Dracula shrugged.
The first person to eat a tomato was a French painter. He had painted tomatoes many times with his brush. Faced with such a beautiful and lovely but "poisonous" fruit, he could not resist its temptation, so he came up with the idea of tasting it himself to see what it tasted like.
All I can say is that the painter from France is a typical foodie who loves eating to the point of risking his life.
He risked his life to eat the first tomato, but after eating it he only tasted the sour and sweet delicious feeling and did not feel any discomfort.
But he still firmly believed in the toxicity of tomatoes, and after eating them, he lay in bed waiting for death to come.
It is easy to guess what happened next. The painter lay quietly on the bed. He did not die for a long time until he could not bear the gluttony and ate another tomato...
It turns out that the red plant, tomato, is non-toxic and harmless and can be eaten as a delicious fruit or vegetable.
The French painter recalled the delicious feeling when chewing tomatoes, and told his friends the news that tomatoes are non-toxic and can be eaten. Soon after, the news of tomatoes being non-toxic shocked many places and quickly spread all over the world...
"From then on, hundreds of millions of people around the world enjoyed the delicious food brought by this brave man who risked his life to be the first to eat a tomato."
Dracula finished the story slowly, looking a little dazed.
He told Dobby the story of "The First Man to Eat a Tomato" just to comfort Dobby's wounded little heart and cheer Dobby up so that he could continue to maintain the title of a progressive free elf.
But when Dracula was halfway through his story, mentioning the knight who brought tomatoes from South America and the first French painter who tasted tomatoes... he suddenly thought of all the friends he had met hundreds of years ago, all of whom have returned to dust.
Now, only Dracula himself and Nicolas Flamel, who possesses the elixir of immortality, are still living in boredom in this boring world.
Throughout, Dracula has no real enemies.
Even though there were so many brilliant wizards, magical creatures who regarded him as their mortal enemy, and the light of justice who wanted to sweep away the darkness... Dracula never really cared.
Because he knows that these people who lead an era will eventually disappear in the long river of history with the passage of time.
Even wizards as powerful as the four founders of Hogwarts, after the passage of a thousand years, have gradually turned into a pale symbol, and no one remembers their voices, appearances, and smiles anymore.
When wizards mention Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin, they only think of the four colleges of Hogwarts, and not the four brilliant wizards.
Dracula's only enemy from beginning to end is time.
"…Mr…Mr. Dracula!"
Dobby's voice interrupted Dracula's thoughts.
Dracula's eye child regained focus and saw Dobby's big green eyeball blocking his face without blinking. It looked a little scary for some reason...
"What are you doing here, Dobby?" Dracula angrily pressed his index finger against Dobby's forehead and pushed him away from him.
"Mr. Dracula, you just scared me!" Dobby was pushed aside by Dracula's finger, but his mood became happy. "Sir, your expression just now was too cold. I almost thought you were going to turn into a devil in the next second!"
Dobby shuddered as he spoke.
"Mr. Dracula, are you really okay?" Even though he was still a little scared, Dobby still said with concern, "Why not go see Madam Pomfrey in the school infirmary? She took good care of me when I was helping out in the infirmary..."
"I'm fine, don't worry about me." Dracula shook his head and threw away the indifference in his heart.
He stood up from his office chair and walked to the window of the office.
Now, Dobby has placed very delicate and beautiful black porcelain tiles on the windowsill. The smooth tiles reflect the quiet moonlight outside the window, adding a sense of tranquility to the office.
On the edge of the windowsill, there is a pot of bright red flowers blooming in the moonlight, looking particularly gorgeous.
Looking at the bright flowers in front of him, Dracula suddenly thought of another guy who could be called a friend in his long life, besides Flamel.
"If we're talking about that guy, he should still be alive."
Dracula stared at the flowers in front of him thoughtfully, then suddenly turned to look at Dobby, who looked concerned.
"Dobby, I'm going to be out for a few days. You stay here." Dracula said, "Go and tell Riddle to let him teach the Defense Against the Dark Arts class for me in the next few days."
"This...isn't this a bit bad..." Dobby hesitated.
"I remember that Riddle has been looking forward to this for a long time, and he also wrote the syllabus, so it's no problem." Dracula chuckled, "If Dumbledore asks, you can say that if I continue to be so bored, I might blow up Hogwarts. He will understand me."
As he spoke, he stepped on the porcelain tile on the windowsill, leaped out, spread his wings, and disappeared into the silent night.
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