A Certain Scientific Harry Potter 38

"Can you stand up first?" Harry gently held the House-elf's hand, his gaze and tone exceptionally gentle.

"Oh... is this, a handshake?" The House-elf stood up, dazed, following Harry's lead, as if still unable to believe his situation. "I... I am actually shaking hands with Harry Potter? This is simply incredible!"

"My name is Harry Granger~" Harry earnestly corrected the other's mistake, while kindly asking in return, "And you, what is your name?"

"Dobby, a House-elf..."

"Dobby, is it? You might have to endure a little bit, I need to treat the wounds on your body, so it will hurt a little later~"

As he spoke, Harry roughly checked Dobby's injuries while taking out a series of medicines he carried with him.

"He... is so pitiful!"

Looking at Dobby's hands and the various scars on his exposed skin, Hermione frowned deeply.

She hadn't seen the creature's appearance when she was abducted, nor when Dobby used Apparition to take her to the Girls' Bathroom, so she had no idea that this House-elf could be in such a miserable state!

Not only was he covered in wounds, but he was also wearing nothing but a dirty pillowcase, without even a decent set of clothes...

"Hmph." Snape, seeing this, let out a thoughtful cold snort.

He wasn't surprised by Harry's act of treating the creature's wounds; after all, from the start of the school year until now, Harry had displayed his personality thoroughly.

Compared to his classmates, the high-and-mighty professors, or the Headmaster, Harry valued people like Filch and his cat, or the gamekeeper Hagrid—people whom students usually ignored—much more.

This kid had practically divided all his patience among them.

Oh right, and there was also Hermione Granger, who could be considered his reverse scale!

Therefore, Snape was not at all surprised that he would extend his kindness to a House-elf.

What he was curious about was Harry's pocket; he had seen Harry pull out a pile of things from it more than once, so he naturally wouldn't be foolish enough to believe they were really packed in there beforehand.

However, he didn't ask any questions about it.

And Harry, of course, didn't mind letting him see.

Ever since the Rabies Vaccine incident brought things out into the open, Harry and Snape could be considered to have figured out each other's character.

For Harry, although Snape never gave him a pleasant look, he was definitely as trustworthy as Scamander.

And you have to say, these two really had quite a few similarities.

They were both willing to provide unconditional help to Harry; at the same time, Scamander allowed Harry to choose freely, while Snape allowed Harry to keep his secrets.

Additionally, they both had the surname S, bracket smile~

"Treatment? Is this true? Potter... no, Dobby means Mr. Granger, he is actually kind enough to treat Dobby?!"

Hearing that Harry wanted to help him treat his wounds, Dobby was so moved he became incoherent, even panicking to the point where he didn't know where to put his hands.

But when Harry truly began to clean and disinfect his wounds, Dobby appeared exceptionally quiet.

"Dobby, you can tell me if it hurts..." Dobby's demeanor made Harry feel a bit heartbroken.

"Thank you for your care, sir, but Dobby can endure it. Dobby always punishes himself, and the master's family always makes Dobby punish himself, Dobby is already used to it..."

Looking at Dobby, whose expression was flat and who was clearly accustomed to his wounds, Harry felt a bit uneasy in his heart.

Beside him, Hermione frowned even deeper.

"Dobby, I am very sorry... if it weren't for me and Hermione, you wouldn't have had to go through this."

The crisscrossing wounds on Dobby's body were truly shocking; anyone who saw them couldn't help but feel heartache...

"Sorry? Oh, Dobby can hardly believe it, no wizard has ever said such things to Dobby! Mr. Granger is even greater than the legends say, he is so kind, willing to treat Dobby this way! By comparison, the master's family is... no! No!!"

Dobby had been screaming incoherently with emotion, but then suddenly lost control. He fell to his knees with a thud, slamming his head against the floor frantically, and even kept slapping his own cheeks.

"Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby! Dobby must punish himself, he almost spoke ill of the master's family just now!!"

Self-abuse...

This was the source of the new wounds on Dobby's body, and also the reason Harry felt sorry.

He could have followed the master's orders to retaliate against Harry and Hermione, but in the end, he didn't do so.

And as the price for violating the House-elf prohibition, even without anyone from the master's family watching, he had been punishing himself through self-harm...

Chapter 71: Pure-blood Families Dare Not Retaliate (4/10)

"Dobby, calm down first!"

Seeing Dobby continuously abusing himself, Harry hurriedly spoke to stop him and placed his hand under Dobby's forehead, barely managing to halt the self-harm.

"Listen, Dobby, I need you to tell me some information, so you must be calm. Only by being calm can we find the loopholes in your master's orders, understand?" Harry gently stroked Dobby's back, patiently soothing his emotions.

"Oh... okay, Dobby will try his best!"

Dobby managed to stop his crying, though his body was still trembling slightly.

"Dobby, why help me and Hermione?" Seeing that the other's emotions had stabilized slightly, Harry began to get to the point.

"Because Harry Potter... no, it is Harry Granger, I hope you know what you mean to us lowly, enslaved little people in the magical world!"

Dobby nervously rubbed the dirty pillowcase on his body: "Dobby cannot forget, when the dark lord whose name cannot be mentioned was at his most powerful, people treated us House-elves like pests. Sir, it was because you defeated him that our lives improved greatly. So when..."

"Alright Dobby, you don't have to answer the rest!" Before Dobby's expression could change drastically, Harry spoke up to stop him immediately.

When communicating with a House-elf like Dobby, one must be extremely careful with their choice of words, as a single sentence could easily cause them to lose emotional control.

"So... why did you let Hermione go?" Harry continued to guide him once Dobby had calmed down.

"That is because... after Dobby snuck into Hogwarts, Dobby has been secretly watching over your life, sir. In Dobby's eyes, there truly are no people better than you and Miss Granger. So... Dobby did not want to hurt Miss Granger, and even less did Dobby want to make you sad because of it!"

"Dobby, I really must thank you properly!" To Dobby's astonishment, Harry stepped forward and gave him a big hug. "Not only did you not hurt Hermione, but you even sent her to my side at a critical moment. I truly don't know how I can ever repay you!"

"Repay... Mr. Granger says he wants to repay Dobby? Oh, Dobby has no idea what to do!"

Dobby cried out in excitement, large tears even soaking Harry's robes, but Harry didn't mind at all.

"Of course I must repay you properly, because... the person you didn't hurt is truly too important to me."

It was just an offhand remark, yet it left all three people present stunned.

Dobby was flattered, for he realized that Harry wasn't joking; he was truly, deeply grateful to him.

Snape, meanwhile, was lost in thought, a trace of gloomy regret appearing on his face.

Once upon a time, he had also had such an incredibly important person by his side.

That person was also very clever, also a witch from a Muggle family, and for a very long time, she had been inseparable from him...

Yet... he had failed to recognize her importance in time!

As for Hermione, she simply stared blankly at Harry, her mind filled with a thousand thoughts.

She knew that what Harry said was by no means empty flattery, because over these past days, he had proven the truth of those words countless times through his own actions!

So... what about her?

Was Harry also very important to her?

Hermione had once felt she could answer that question without a second thought, but the subsequent self-reflection left her completely lost in deep contemplation.

Was the value they placed on each other, this devotion to an 'important person,' truly equal?

Harry could agree to come to Hogwarts to attend school for her sake and had always stood firmly by her side to protect her, but what about herself?

Now that Harry had spoken his heart, could she, for his sake, choose to leave Hogwarts, this place of trouble...

"Dobby, you're sure you don't know the specific situation of the Crabbe and Goyle families, right?"

Setting aside the secret reflections of Hermione and Snape, Harry had already used the process of elimination to determine Dobby's origin.

House-elves couldn't talk about their own masters' affairs, but there was no rule against talking about other people's. Since Dobby could even tell Harry about Voldemort, he could certainly talk about other Pure-blood Families besides his own.

In any case, among the Pure-blood Families in Slytherin House, there were only a few that were worth mentioning. Once you removed families like Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson, the only one left was the Malfoy family.

Harry could even deduce from Dobby's reaction that the person who sent him definitely wasn't Lucius!

Honestly, as the master of a Pure-blood Family, no matter how stupid Lucius might be, he would never send his own House-elf to deal with Harry.

Because if the plan failed, the risk of it being traced back to him was simply too great!

This was also the reason why Harry wasn't worried that he or those 'big shots' among the Pure-blood Families would go to the real world to deal with his foster parents.

Any form of conspiracy carried the possibility of exposure, and given Harry's unique nature, if anything happened to the people around him, there would definitely be a whole crowd of people in both the real world and the magical world who would investigate it to the end!

Would these selfish blood-supremacists really gamble the so-called glory inherited from their ancestors just to deal with two 'humble Muggles'?!

Therefore, as long as the Pure-blood Families led by Lucius had even a shred of brainpower, they should be praying that Mr. and Mrs. Granger remained safe and sound!

"Professor, I heard you have a good relationship with that family," after fully confirming Dobby's origin, Harry turned back to look at Snape. "How about... I just let this matter end here?"

Malfoy had bragged many times before about how good the relationship between Snape and his father was. Therefore, even though Harry followed the principle of an eye for an eye, he could let it slide this time so as not to make things difficult for Snape.

"That is merely hearsay."

However, Snape clearly did not want to let it go.

"Then I'll thank you in advance~" With no other choice, Harry could only accept it half-heartedly.

Harry didn't need to guess the result of Snape going to the Malfoy family; in any case, Draco Malfoy was definitely going to get a beating, because he was certainly the one who summoned Dobby.

He couldn't swallow his previous resentment, but he couldn't beat Harry, so the only solution he could think of was to write home and call for backup, letting his doting mother send Dobby to cause trouble for Harry and Hermione!

Heh, truly, a doting mother ruins her child.

That was why Dobby's instructions were nothing more than a vague 'revenge.'

Because Draco Malfoy was just a spoiled brat; he didn't dare to cause anything too big, nor could he think of any specific instructions!

But even so, the whole affair was enough to make Harry feel a lingering fear.

He wasn't afraid because he had impulsively angered a Pure-blood Family, but because the Old Bee hadn't intervened at all, taking it for granted that this was just a 'clash of egos' between him and Malfoy!

Hmm... because he knew Dobby was a kind House-elf who wouldn't hurt Hermione, so this 'children's farce' wouldn't lead to any major disaster...

Pfft, what a load of nonsense.

"Then for the last question, Dobby..." After silently complaining about the Old Bee in his heart, Harry finally asked, "Where exactly did you take Hermione before, and why couldn't I find her?"

(p.s. Where will the next chapter transition to~)

Chapter 72: A Certain Room is the Room of Requirement (5/10)

"It is a very special room, sir... That room is on the eighth floor; Dobby discovered it by accident. You and the caretaker found traces of Dobby stealing food in the kitchen, and Dobby was so scared at the time, just wanting to find a place to hide, and so I happened to find it..."

Dobby whispered his explanation in response to Harry's question, yet his body hunched lower and lower, the timidity and apology on his face becoming increasingly apparent.

"Sir, Dobby truly did not want to do that! Dobby did not want to hurt Miss Granger, and even less did he want to make you anxious, sir, but the young master's orders, Dobby simply... no!!"

"That's enough, Dobby!" Harry once again precisely intercepted the turning point of Dobby's emotional shift. "Would you mind taking me to see that room, please?"

On the eve of Halloween, Harry had nearly run his legs off and still hadn't managed to find the hidden Hermione, which showed just how secretive that room must be.

And lately, he happened to be in need of just such a secretive room.

"Of course, it is Dobby's honor, sir~" Dobby nodded hurriedly, leading the group away from the Fifth Underground Classroom.

A moment later, the party of four arrived on the eighth floor of Hogwarts castle.

There was a stretch of empty corridor here, with a tapestry depicting 'Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls to dance' hanging on one of the walls. After Dobby muttered to himself and paced back and forth in front of this tapestry three times, a miraculous thing happened.

Opposite the tapestry, on the previously bare white wall, a smooth, narrow door suddenly appeared in a bizarre fashion!

"Ha, it appeared! Sir, this is the place!" Dobby pushed the door open and walked in excitedly.

"It is quite secretive... it's just a bit too crude."

Harry looked around, discovering that the entire room had almost no decorations, and the furniture consisted only of a small bed and a worn-out chair; it could be described as nothing more than a hovel.

"This is the Room of Requirement, Granger. What you see now is merely the inner needs of this House-elf, not the true appearance of the room itself." Behind Harry, Snape's voice drifted over eerily.

"The Room of Requirement? That's an impressive name... Professor, you know about this place?" Harry turned back to ask.

"I do." Snape nodded silently, then began to speak in a dry tone about the history of the room.