Soul as Before

In high spirits after his success, Skylar didn't rush to leave; he stood there chatting with Gubby.

"Gubby, I don't know if it's presumptuous of me to ask this, but how do the Sprite at Hogwarts choose the elders?" Skylar asked politely.

Unlike the other Sprite, Gubby did not feel intimidated by Skylar's courteous treatment. Instead, he replied in a very normal tone, "Rest assured, sir, your question is not presumptuous at all. There is actually no distinction of rank among Sprite, and the position of elder is not used to manage other Sprite. This is actually a rule established by our ancestors..."

"Your ancestors? Could it be..." Skylar recalled the history of Hogwarts he had read. When Hogwarts was founded, Rowena Ravenclaw was in charge of the castle's interior design; Salazar Slytherin was in charge of recruiting professors, teaching assistants, and other staff; Godric Gryffindor was in charge of pacifying the intelligent beings living around the castle, such as Centaur and Merpeople, to prevent them from disturbing Hogwarts; Helga Hufflepuff was in charge of the castle's daily maintenance, such as cleaning, purchasing raw materials, and operating the kitchen.

By chance, Hufflepuff gained the allegiance of a House Elf, and later, with the help of that House Elf, found more House Elf.

Hufflepuff, moved by the inhumane slavery suffered by House Elf in the Middle Ages, brought them all to Hogwarts, giving them a safe haven. Although Hufflepuff did not attempt to liberate the House Elf like Hermione later in the books, she did the greatest thing she could at the time, providing House Elf with the best work and living conditions, and thus she was deeply respected by House Elf.

Skylar suspected that the first House Elf to follow Hufflepuff was the ancestor that Gubby claimed to be.

Skylar's conjecture was quickly confirmed by Gubby.

"Yes, our ancestor was the first house- Sprite to follow Lord Hufflepuff, the great Hokey. It was he who established the rule of appointing elders. Before each elder passes away, a successor must be appointed, and this Sprite who inherits the position will inherit the secrets of our House Elf. And the Hufflepuff Hufflepuff's Cauldron is one of them."

"Gubby, I have no intention of prying into your race's secrets. But I'm just curious, what happened to Hokey after that? Hokey's deeds are recorded in <Hogwarts: Hogwarts, A History>, where he helped Hufflepuff cut down the Soul-Devouring Magic Tree Flower and eventually established the greenhouse for cultivating herbs, but the history doesn't mention his final whereabouts at all."

Gubby fell silent.

His aged face remained expressionless; even with Skylar's keen observation, he could not detect anything amiss.

"Gubby, did I ask a question I shouldn't have? If it's inconvenient to answer, that's fine. I was just curious, I didn't necessarily need to know." Skylar sensed the awkward atmosphere and quickly said.

"Fate!" Gubby sighed.

Skylar dared not interrupt Gubby's thoughts and waited quietly for him to continue.

"In all these years, you're the first person to ask about the whereabouts of the great Lord Hokey, and you're not even a Hufflepuff..."

A glint of shrewdness flashed in Gubby's eyes as he slowly spoke, "Very well, since you've solved the test left by Lord Hufflepuff and inquired about Lord Hokey's whereabouts, I'll tell you..."

"Our House Elf; they're actually a branch of the elf race..."

Skylar wasn't particularly surprised by this.

After that day's History of Magic class, he already knew that the Sprite were descended from the Ancient Elf of the distant past. The Ancient Elves, like the Ancient Divine Dragon and Ancient Giant, had vanished into the annals of history.

The descendants of the Ancient Elf are numerous and diverse. The House Elf that are found throughout Europe are just one example. The Erkling that roam the Black Forest in Germany are also part of the elf race. Others include the Ireland Goblin, the Yumbo of Africa, and the Tanuki Man of the East. Strictly speaking, they all belong to the Elvish Creatures.

"In ancient times, our oldest ancestors, the Ancient Elf, created a secret realm to avoid war, as a refuge for their descendants. However, many of these elves were unwilling to remain confined within the realm forever. They yearned for the outside world, and so some secretly slipped out, giving rise to the present-day Erkling, Goblin, Yumbo, Tanuki Man, and us..."

"With Lord Hufflepuff's help, Lord Hokey successfully found a way back to the Secret Realm. Therefore, all the House Elf at Hogwarts, once they reach old age, will return to their ancestral homeland to face death. Even I, after appointing my next Elder in a few years, will return to the Elf Ancestral Land."

So that's it! Is this the biggest secret passed down through generations of House Elf? It turns out the Ancient Elf realm has been preserved to this day.

If the greedy wizards found out, they would surely storm in and kidnap even more Sprite as slaves. No wonder the House Elf are so tight-lipped about this.

Skylar immediately sensed something was wrong. Ravenclaw's test for selecting a successor was incredibly complex: finding the Diadem, repairing the Diadem, activating the Diadem, and then reading through a vast collection of books. There was no reason for Hufflepuff, one of the Four Founders, to leave such a simple test—merely deciphering an Ancient Runic Magic Symbols.

Although Nicolaitan script is obscure, if it were just a matter of deciphering a single symbol, he was certain that there were many professors who could do it, and even many genius students over the past thousand years who could.

Skylar couldn't help but wonder if Hufflepuff's real test was actually in the Elf Ancestral Land of the elves, and that this cauldron was merely a decoy, part of the test. If the students were satisfied with this, they would miss out on the real test.

So the question is, how do you enter the Elf Ancestral Land?

The Sprite may know, but they will surely keep this secret from the wizard to the death.

Techniques Legilimency, hypnosis, and soul manipulation might be able to extract secrets, but Skylar never wanted to do that again. His previous experience of being ensnared by Dark Arts haunted him; he had barely escaped its influence, and he didn't want to fall back into it.

Back in his dorm room, he summoned Dobby to his side.

Dobby been with him the longest, Dobby him grow up from childhood; it's impossible to say there was no affection between them.

All of this changed after he obtained the Soul Chapter of Abatair. He studied soul magic in depth and discovered its domineering nature.

During the summer holidays, before his first meeting with Voldemort, he used what was then an experiment on Dobby, casting a spell on him that he was not yet fully proficient in, planting the idea that "there is no way to resist" in Dobby's mind, which caused Dobby to submit to him.

That's probably when I started to get arrogant.

The feeling of being able to control other people's will and thoughts at will... how should I put it... it's really... awesome!

That feeling of being high above and in control of everything is enough to fascinate people and make them unable to extricate themselves.

He had hesitated and doubted himself, and was once uneasy about the rapid growth of his soul magic. But then, the tragedy of Meredith happened. Regret and guilt drove him to pursue power, causing him to lower his guard and stray further and further down the path of Dark Arts...

Looking into Dobby's fervent and absolutely loyal eyes, recalling the many things he and Dobby had done to him in their childhood, Skylar sighed and whispered, "Dobby, I'm sorry..."

Dobby somewhat confused and just stood there dumbfounded, waiting for Skylar's orders.

To his surprise, Skylar raised his wand, pointed it at him, and uttered, "Soul as Before!"

Dobby shook his heavy head, swaying unsteadily, and then fell to the ground with a thud.

"How are you feeling, Dobby?" Skylar asked softly.

"Dobby's fine," Dobby, still trying to adjust to the dizziness in his head. He pointed to his head and said, "It's just a little dizzy here..."

"I must apologize to you, Dobby," Skylar thought for a moment, then decided to tell the truth, "I used some magic on you before, which may have affected your mind, but I just undoed it..."

"Master, there's no need to apologize to Dobby," Dobby said, his eyes Dobby. "Dobby actually knows that while Harry Potter did it, you, Master, also secretly contributed a Dobby's freedom, didn't you? And you even gave Dobby a job. Dobby is very grateful to you. In Dobby's heart, I've always considered you my true master..."

House Elf are a very special species; their loyalty is not entirely based on ancient family contracts. For example, Kreacher can be loyal only to certain members of his family, while remaining insincere towards others in the same family.

When House Elf are not truly submissive, they will go to great lengths to find loopholes in the commands given by their nominal masters. They may even secretly do things that are detrimental to their masters without disobeying their commands, although they must severely punish themselves afterward.

There is only one way to win the true loyalty of House Elf: treat them well. Sirius Black in the original story made this mistake, which indirectly led to his death.

Dobby's words now undoubtedly reveal the true feelings he harbors for Skylar deep within his heart.

Skylar shook his head. "Dobby, you've taken good care of me since I was little. I've never forgotten how you got punished by Kakarot for covering for me. Regaining your freedom was something I should do for you... As for giving you a job, in the end, I was just using you to do things for me..."

"No!" Dobby exclaimed, "In Dobby's heart, my little master is my Dobby friend, and being able to help him is what Dobby happiest and proudest!"

Skylar's gaze suddenly sharpened. "Dobby, is that really what you think? Aren't you even a little angry that I cast a spell on you?"

"Dobby doesn't know," Dobby stubbornly shook his head, "But Dobby knows that you, little master, would never harm Dobby!"

"Naive!" Skylar sneered, his tone suddenly turning cold. "So, if I cast a spell on you again, what do you plan to do?"

"Dobby believes his little master wouldn't do that!" Dobby said, puffing out his chest without fear.

Dobby... you bastard...

You're so silly...

But you're so cute...

Skylar sighed, closed his eyes, and after a long while said softly, "Thank you, Dobby. Thank you so much."

"Dobby, I need your help—note, this is a request, not a command. You can choose to refuse, and I absolutely won't blame you..."

"Little master, please speak," Dobby said firmly. "Dobby will do his best to help you."

Skylar told Dobby about the Hufflepuff legacy and asked Dobby to take him to the Elf Ancestral Land. Skylar solemnly promised that this time he was truly only after the Hufflepuff legacy and had no desire for the other elven races living in the Elf Ancestral Land.

Dobby agreed without any hesitation, patting his chest.