great-warnovel Chapter 154 Loyalty and Freedom
Chapter 154 Loyalty and Freedom
Chapter 154 Loyalty and Freedom
Because of the return to Hogwarts, Lockhart was able to reuse previously unused outdoor locations.
Last time we were here, apart from the second graders who encountered the spirit cat, classes for the other grades were temporarily canceled due to the basilisk's presence.
The students were quite excited to be back in their usual spot; last time, they hadn't managed to pet any of the cats.
This time, we must avenge this defeat.
Only Lockhart, Draco, and Hermione knew tacitly that this lesson had another purpose.
"Since we already covered most of the key points about the civet cat last time, most of this lesson will be dedicated to..."
"We'll leave it to you to do your own thing," Lockhart shouted.
"Everyone come here to get chalk, then spread out. There are plenty of civets, so there's no need to fight over it." This was him deliberately creating an opportunity for Draco to act alone.
Hermione, on the other hand, claimed that she had been able to do this skillfully before, and thus shook off Harry and the others. She said she was just wandering around, but in reality, she was using her invisibility to protect Malfoy. There was no way around it; Lockhart's self-identity was too obvious, and it was difficult to escape the children's sight.
However, Draco was unaware of all this. The less information he had, the safer he was. Even if his Occlumency was broken, his enemies wouldn't discover much about him.
With a timid and uneasy heart, he deliberately put on a dejected appearance and returned to the crevice where he had first met the Carlo siblings.
Unlike before, he wore a pointed wizard's hat today to cover his dazzling blond hair. He thought that the extra layer of fabric might weaken the effect of Legilimency to some extent, but Lockhart had already told him that this was just a placebo.
As if unwilling to give up, he tentatively called out again, "Dobby! Mr. Carlo? Ms. Carlo?"
But there was still no response.
He tried to hide his inner emotions, making himself look even more self-destructive, as if he had completely given up. He sat on a large rock, picked up a pebble, and threw it far away.
The pebbles rolled through the cracks in the rocks, creating a hollow echo.
"Because of your stupidity, the cursed artifact was found, and you, including us, were almost discovered." A cold male voice sounded from behind.
Draco whirled around and saw Amicus Caro standing behind him, carrying a weakened Dobby.
"Little master, you weren't caught, that's great." Dobby struggled to lift his eyelids; he had even more wounds on his body.
"What did you do to him! Didn't I cooperate with you?!" Draco became inexplicably angry.
Despite being just a house-elf, when he suffered so much yet still cared for him, his heart, which had been isolated for a year, seemed to find a little warmth.
"Since when have pure-blooded nobles started caring about elves?" A laugh rang out from behind him.
Alector: Carlo walked in from outside the crack in the rock at some unknown time.
"There is no ambush, there is no danger."
She tossed a booklet into Draco's arms: "Although you failed to hide the cursed object properly, causing our plan to fail, in the spirit of the contract, this is the incantation and technique of the Cruciatus Curse."
She spoke with feigned kindness, creating the impression of keeping her promise, in order to further lower Draco's guard.
Draco stared blankly at the words written in bright red ink in his arms, but he was actually trying to compose himself so that he wouldn't lose control of his brain due to his anger.
From Alector's perspective, the little boy's mind was filled with anger and fear, and he couldn't see any other thoughts.
Seeing that Draco was still in a daze, she couldn't help but chide him, "You're not really going to hold a grudge against us because of a little elf, are you?"
Amicus's laughter resembled a smoky, blocked piece of meat.
Alecto laughed. "Because of his loyalty? Or some worthless pity?"
"Do you know that these filthy bastards only obey the wizard's orders because of the mark etched in their blood? If they had a choice, do you think they would want to be bossed around like this?"
"Those so-called loyalty and obedience are nothing more than distorted and alienated thoughts under the magical contract." She leaned closer to Draco and gently patted his shoulder.
You don't deserve to be angry at him. Deep down, he probably wishes the Malfoy family were all wiped out; then he'd be a free little elf.
"Dobby is loyal—" the shrill voice hadn't finished speaking.
"Shut up!" The little elf struggled to speak, but was punched on the back of the head by Amycus.
Alexios chuckled. "Magic, twisting people's minds is a piece of cake, let alone sprites. The Imperius Curse, what a magnificent invention!"
"If you don't believe me, ask him as the master: setting aside the contract, is he truly willing to be your family's little elf?"
Amycus threw Dobby hard in front of Draco, making him unable to get up.
Draco looked at Dobby on the ground, then at Alecto, who was looking at him with encouraging eyes.
He took a deep breath: "Dobby, I command you to tell the truth: are you loyal?"
Dobby struggled to sit up and looked at his little master: "Dobby—Dobby is of course loyal."
Behind them, Amicus and Alecto burst into cheerful laughter.
Draco continued sternly, "Don't lie! Tell me what's really on your mind! Do you like being a Malfoy elf?!"
Dobby opened his mouth, as if he wanted to speak but couldn't get the words out.
"Answer me! Dobby! Say it! This is an order!" Draco pressed again, his brow furrowed.
Dobby's breathing became more and more rapid. Looking at the three humans in front of him, he felt a suffocating fear. His big eyes helplessly pleaded for help from his little master, but it was meaningless. He had to obey orders, even if the orders themselves violated the contract in his blood.
Finally, unable to resist Draco's urging, and under the pressure of his master's command, he closed his eyes and shouted, "Dobby—Dobby doesn't like obeying his master's orders! Dobby doesn't like killing! He doesn't like moneylenders and fraud! Dobby doesn't like the Malfoys either!"
Over the years, under Lucius's orders, he did too many things against his will. He safeguarded Gringotts' astonishing wealth while following old Malfoy's instructions to drain other people's life savings with flawed contracts and exorbitant loans. In the end, he was even ordered to kill people!
He didn't want to do these things. His kind nature was constantly tormented. Perhaps deliberately chasing Hermione into the radiation-free zone was a form of punishment for himself. He hoped to die in the radiation so that he wouldn't kill innocent little wizards. But no one ever asked him what he thought. No one cared, and it didn't matter.
The Carlo siblings burst into laughter, finding the scene particularly delightful.
Draco fell into a deathly silence, while Dobby cried and began to self-harm, banging his head against the ground as if his broken body would truly die at any moment.
"Dobby is a bad elf! Dobby deserves to die! Dobby deserves to die!"
No one stopped him; they let it all happen.
Draco didn't know if he was truly angry or trying to cover up a secret. He felt a mix of emotions swirling in his mind. He had only just begun to show some sincerity to Dobby, only just begun to feel a little warmth, only just begun to feel a little confidence because he had successfully deceived Alecto.
But all the positive, beneficial emotions seemed to be destroyed the moment Dobby spoke the truth.
He thought that even if his family was despised by everyone, at least there were still elves who would not betray him. His family was not completely ruined, and his life was not completely ruined. He could continue to live with the Malfoy surname. But little did he know that all of this was still a lie.
His mind was buzzing, but he couldn't tell whether it was anger or sadness. He could even clearly and rationally remember that he still had to maintain the brain-sealing technique. His thoughts seemed to be detached from the present world and isolated from everything outside.
"Smack."
A pointed wizard's hat was thrown into Dobby's arms.
"You are free, Dobby. In the name of the Malfoy family heir, I terminate your contract with our family. You are free," he said in a hoarse voice.