The Unusually Clean Malfoy Home

Outside the window, white peacocks were howling, while Draco Malfoy sat on a chaise lounge by the window, watching it all with annoyance.

He never understood why such a beautiful bird could sing so awfully.

Draco rubbed his eyes. Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the floor and reflecting off his forehead. "How come it's so clean?"

His house has been much cleaner ever since he last couldn't help Dobby to hurt himself.

It's far cleaner than it used to be, just the right amount of clean.

His parents even praised him, saying, "Draco, my good son, Malfoy's pride, you just said one sentence and Dobby became so diligent."

But now, it's so clean!

Even the ground can be used as a mirror.

Draco understood that Dobby was a mediocre, crazy House-elf.

He was different from his kind—he wanted freedom.

Every time he has such a rebellious thought, he hurts himself; now he's cleaning.

But judging from the cleanliness of his house lately, Dobby probably thinks about freedom all the time.

Draco hesitated, unsure whether he should set Dobby free.

His father once said, "We're doing this for the Dobby. It's hard for a House-elf who's been fired to find a new job, let alone a House-elf who wants money."

Such a thought flashed through Draco's mind, but soon he began to think about what was really bothering him.

Harry Potter, the Chosen One of the Wizarding World, is good-looking, academically excellent, and a highly popular Seeker. These qualities alone are enough to make people eager to be his friend.

Draco also knows that Harry Potter is the next Ravenclaw Quidditch Team captain, and that he defeated Voldemort in a one-on-one fight!

This sometimes makes Draco wonder, "Am I really worthy to be Harry's friend?"

"My father was Death Eaters, Voldemort's henchman."

"Unlike Ron's father, who was not only a member of the Order of the Phoenix, but also a great pioneer in the wizarding world."

"I wish I were Ron."

Recently, he hasn't received a letter from Harry for 10 days since they last parted ways at the Dudley Dursley's house.

Even Ron's letter made Draco, who was already insecure, even more frustrated and uneasy.

Harry and Ron must have forgotten about him and left him aside.

What Draco didn't know was that Ron, whom he considered worthy of being Harry's friend and who also hadn't written to him, was equally anxious.

Ron didn't think he was qualified to be Harry's friend just because his father was the great Arthur Weasley, as Draco had imagined.

On the contrary, because of his father's greatness and Harry's extraordinary qualities, his own mediocrity seemed all the more glaring.

Ron felt the same way as Draco; he also suspected that Harry had abandoned him and was contacting Draco alone.

But Ron is different from Draco. Draco only has his parents at home, and he can't tell them these thoughts. Otherwise, wouldn't that confirm his relationship with Harry?

Ron's family may not have the right amount of money, but they have a lot of children.

With Charlie and Bill not home, Ron had nothing to say to his troubles.

Ron couldn't bring himself to tell Ginny. After all, he was Ginny older brother, and he couldn't show his vulnerability, especially since Ginny had cried before because she thought he had stolen Harry from her. That's why his mother went home after picking up Fred, George, and Percy. And that's why Ginny didn't come—she was crying at home.

Percy, on the other hand, was a guy who was still studying hard even during his vacation. He was rarely seen going out, so Ron couldn't confide in him.

As for his parents, their energy was divided among work, housework, hobbies, Ginny, and they rarely paid attention to Ron, so his depression naturally went unnoticed.

But Fred and George were different; they astutely noticed something— Hedwig hadn't visited the Burrow for several days. They gave Ron another idea, jolting him out of his self-doubt. Could it be the Dursley family, who had blocked Harry's connection to the Wizarding World —after all, they had a history of preventing Harry from going to Hogwarts.

And so, a letter was delivered by the family's new owl, Pigwidgeon (Errol was too old, and Sirius and Arthur had given him an owl under the pretext of leaving it at his house when they were discussing the technology of modifying Muggle items). The letter was delivered to the Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire.

Hello, Draco:

We agreed to go to Sirius's house together on the 21st, with Harry, right? Harry's birthday is on the 31st of this month, and I'm wondering if you've discussed this with Harry. I haven't communicated with Harry by letter recently. I'm wondering if you have. If you haven't either, I suspect the Dursley family might be up to something. Please reply as soon as possible; if necessary, I think we should contact Sirius.

Your Hogwarts classmate Ron Weasley

"Haha, he didn't receive the letter either!"

"How come I'm not even as good as Ron!"

"How could I not have thought of that? It might still be because of the Dursley family!"

"I want to reply, Dobby!" Draco laughed heartily, his pale cheeks turning red.

As he finished speaking, a creature with large, bat-like ears and bulbous eyes appeared before him.

He prostrated himself respectfully, and with a snap of his fingers, a parchment, an envelope, a quill pen, and ink appeared on a luxurious wooden table not far away.

Then he disappeared.

Draco, meanwhile, excitedly replied to Ron's letter.

At that moment, Harry was lying in the flowerbed outside 4 Privet Drive.

Just as Harry was imagining what it would be like to see Ron and the others in three days, or at the end of the month...

A soft crackling sound reached his ears, and Harry looked up at the road to see if any car had a flat tire.

The next second, Harry was so scared he almost screamed.

It's House-elf!

If Ron and the others hadn't mentioned that he was curious about why slavery still existed, and hadn't looked it up himself later, he would have definitely thought it was some kind of little monster.

He knew that only ancient and wealthy wizarding families possessed such a thing, and in his memory, the only ones who met both conditions were Sirius, Draco, and Ryan.

Ron's family didn't have any. His mother had always hoped that a House-elf could help them iron their clothes, but unfortunately, elves only existed in old manors and castles, and they couldn't find one in their house.

Harry composed himself and said to the little guy who looked like he was about to cry, "Hello, are you sent by Sirius?"

After all, Draco and Ryan wouldn't send the House-elf to contact him; the only possibility would be Sirius, who he didn't know what to say to him.