Voldemort's Scheme

[Ding ding ding! Quest [Save the Kindly Servant]]

[The most loyal servant is calling out for the Savior Lord's forgiveness. Please grant them freedom from the [Pointy-Faced Finance Minister]. Reward: 10 EXP, Silver Talent·1]

"I forgive you," Harry said gently.

"Oh! Dobby had heard of your greatness, sir, but your kindness—Dobby had not yet understood it. Dobby, Dobby will jump straight into a cauldron of boiling oil! Dobby will cut off his own nose! Dobby—" At this, Dobby grew even more frantic.

Seeing Harry's look, Draco quickly commanded, "Stop!"

"Dobby does not want to obey the young master's orders. Dobby will later burn his own ears with a hot frying pan." Dobby quieted down, muttering pitifully.

"His freedom?" Harry smoothly dispelled the magic, still smiling gently, as if merely curious.

"You're free from now on!" Draco directly took off his robe and tossed it to Dobby.

"The young master gave Dobby clothes!" The house-elf's eyes went wide as he bounced around, flickering in and out of sight with constant cracking pops of apparition. "Dobby—Dobby is free. Dobby is free!"

"Dobby."

Harry's voice was like a calming draught. The house-elf, who had just been acting nearly mad, instantly stilled, as if hit by a petrification curse.

"I have something I need you to promise, but right now you—"

"Dobby will agree to any request from Harry Potter! This is Dobby's own idea! If Harry Potter wants Dobby to die, Dobby will agree!"

"Go find Dumbledore and ask him for a job," Harry said. "In this magical world, he's the only one willing to pay a house-elf wages."

He could take Dobby in himself, but making Dumbledore spend the money to keep a house-elf who would listen more to Harry was the smarter move.

This was called spending someone else's money to handle your own affairs.

"Dobby trusts Harry Potter's wisdom! At Hogwarts, Dobby can serve Harry Potter even better! Harry Potter can call Dobby's name anytime! Dobby will appear at once!"

With a crisp crack, the free elf vanished from the spot.

"He didn't take my robe." Draco stood up, picked it up, and put it on directly. He noticed Harry's gaze. "Because your common room is so clean, Harry. You could use the floor as a plate."

"Yeah, the common room is clean." Harry smiled.

Instinctive actions couldn't lie.

Draco Malfoy was no longer the bastard who judged people by bloodline and birth.

"Yeah, yeah!" x2

Crabbe and Goyle sat right down on the floor and started eating the cake off it.

"You two—" Draco remembered how they'd instantly cut ties with him earlier.

"That was Harry Potter." "This is Slytherin wisdom." Crabbe and Goyle quickly explained.

In the end, Draco made up with them.

After realizing he really did need two tall bodyguards to fill out the scene.

And time had come to October 30th.

There was only one day left until the Halloween Feast.

"What are you dressing up as? I'm going as a vampire!"

"Then I'll be a werewolf."

"What about you?"

"A troll, of course! It's the simplest and most popular!"

"A troll? Your costume magic..."

"Of course I can! I personally asked Hermione Granger for advice—she's the best at costume magic among Harry Potter's friends!"

Nowadays, the hottest topics at Hogwarts were the costume magic Harry Potter had posted on the Gryffindor Bulletin Board, and the Halloween Feast.

It was an extremely simple spell, requiring only some cotton, paint, and cloth.

Though it couldn't be used for disguise or turning into someone else, it was very effective for creating flashy, elaborate costumes and makeup.

The one with the most successful Halloween costume would also win a one-day date with Harry Potter, with no restrictions on location, and travel funds sponsored by Lord Black.

Everyone was eager to try.

This was Harry Potter, after all—even getting beaten up by him would be worth it!

And Harry, the center of all this buzz, was still quietly reading in the library.

Well, perhaps not so quietly.

Though he himself made no sound even when leaning at a ninety-degree angle to the wall, the pages flipping rapidly around him formed a rather discordant melody.

"Harry, Harry."

As Harry's friend, Ron also had the right to speak in the library.

"What do you think I should dress up as?"

"A member of the Chudley Cannons?"

"Still... a handsome goblin with red hair."

"Goblin." Having accepted the [Red-Haired Retainer's Consultation] quest, Harry left the wall and appeared beside Ron.

Ron had grown accustomed to Harry's ghostly way of appearing. "Goblin... but..."

"Ha, do you even know what a costume is? Dressing up as a monster is a costume!" Draco sneered. "And I, Draco Malfoy, will be playing a Dragonman at the feast!"

"There's no such thing as a Dragonman in the magical world!"

"No, Weasley, that's precisely where my brilliance lies. A mere goblin won't win first place."

"You want to go on a date with Harry?"

"No, it's about enjoying privileges! The professors have all agreed—the winner can leave school with Harry. Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, London, even the other side of the earth, anywhere!"

Draco rose, his right hand clenching as if grasping victory.

This only earned a scornful smile from Ron. "You? Haven't you noticed Hermione's not here today? She's been preparing for this feast for a whole week!"

"I've been preparing for the Halloween Feast for a whole week!"

Inside the Slytherin dormitory, Marcus waved his fist. "I swear, I will sabotage this event—for the injustice I've suffered, the wrongs done to me!"

"Well said! Bole, you truly are our team's ace Beater!"

Bole, who had only sneezed, looked confused: What did I say?

"And here I must thank Harry Potter. His stupid costume event has finally given me my chance!"

"A chance! Harry Potter and his stupid costume ball have given me a chance!"

Inside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, someone else...

Or rather, a mass of black mist was trembling with excitement, roaring for the feast.

"But Master, wouldn't it be better to let the feast proceed smoothly, let Harry Potter leave the school, and then find an opportunity to kill him?"

"No, once I'm resurrected, taking Harry Potter's life will be trivial! What matters is the Philosopher's Stone! Hasn't that dragon egg been given to Rubeus Hagrid yet?"

"No." Quirrell was nearly on his knees.

"Good, good. The sacrifice of the Acromantula will make it hatch early—a new breed, an unprecedented 5x-class creature. It will wreak havoc at the feast and buy us time!"

"Is that so?"

Late at night, Harry pondered, leaning against the transparent glass wall.

Dobby's surveillance had borne fruit.

Wearing mismatched clothes, the elf bounced excitedly around Harry. "Let Dobby handle it! Dobby will never allow an evil troll whelp to ruin Harry Potter's feast!"

"No need. It's just a troll."

Harry's expression was odd.

He hadn't expected Flint's plan to be disguising a troll as himself to sneak into the feast.

Well, Flint did have a face that could pass for a troll's.

But a troll...

As the undisputed Troll King, possessing a Golden-Grade Troll Magic never seen in this world, Harry knew no troll would defy his commands.

And he could speak Troll Language.

Now...

The only problem was Quirrell.

The Dogskin Book's two-faced man, whom Harry had taken out with a single punch.