"Dobby, Dobby is so happy! Now Dobby has clothes to wear, a room of his own, wages, and even fresh food. Dobby is so happy!"
"Mr. Sear, thank you! What would you like to know? If Dobby knows it, he'll tell you every last word!"
Crunch! Crunch!
There was no denying it: Hogwarts-grown white radishes were delicious!
"I want to know how the Fudgey Sisters, Lucius, and the person who brought Salasha to Malfoy Manor are connected. What secret do they share?"
Crunch! Crun—
Dobby froze mid-bite. He held the radish for a long moment, then sniffed hard and said, "The Malfoy family may be Dobby's former masters, but the rules say a House-elf must never reveal a master's secrets to outsiders, or face severe punishment."
"But Lucius Malfoy is Dobby's former master. Dobby won't be punished for revealing his secrets."
Luo Bin sat down and brought Dobby a stool. "Tell me. This matters. My life is at stake. This time it was the Half-Orc sisters. Who knows what it'll be next time?"
Dobby hopped onto the stool. "Dobby will never forget that day. Dobby didn't break that teacup. He just happened to pass by, but no one—no one believed him. Dobby was punished with cleaning the Stable and forbidden to use magic."
"The horse manure stank, and the horses had terrible tempers. A hoof broke five of Dobby's ribs, but Dobby still had to shovel manure through the pain."
"While Dobby was shoveling, he sensed a powerful presence—so powerful it made his soul tremble. Dobby was so frightened he crawled into a feeding trough. Even when a horse bit his ear, he didn't dare make a sound."
"About thirty minutes later, the presence vanished. It took Dobby a long time to recover before he climbed out and went back