Chapter 196
Free Will
Chapter 196 Free Will
Wade knew that this house-elf was a bit stubborn, so he didn't bother Dobby about Harry Potter's safety. Instead, he asked:
"I heard from Harry that you wanted to be free?"
Dobby's excited expression suddenly froze. He slowly lowered his arms, his big eyes rolling around, looking at Wade in horror.
"Don't be afraid, I won't tell Malfoy." Wade said seriously: "What I want to say is, if you really want to, then I can help you."
"Help... help Dobby?" Dobby sniffed, his voice trembling: "Why, sir? Dobby is a slave. Dobby doesn't know you, and you don't know Dobby."
"why?"
Wade smiled softly and said, "Maybe it's because you are the first house-elf I have ever seen who longs for freedom? Tell me, do you want freedom? Do you want me to help you?"
Dobby clutched the old pillowcase tightly with both hands. His body trembled slightly, and his eyes seemed to tremble as well. After a long time, he finally closed his eyes and said loudly:
"Yes!"
"Dobby longs for freedom! Dobby wants to leave their home forever!"
After he finished speaking, he seemed to be frightened by his own voice. After a moment of silence, he said cautiously and fearfully:
"But...but...the master will not let Dobby go free! Everyone in the house is very careful and won't even hand over a pair of socks to Dobby."
The conditions for a house-elf to gain freedom are both simple and difficult. As long as the master gives him clothes to wear, he can gain freedom.
But clothes thrown on the floor, thrown into the laundry basket, or just taken to be washed by him do not count. Clothes must be expressly given to him for safekeeping or given to him as a gift.
The wizard's inner thoughts determine the direction in which the magic works.
"Don't worry about that. I'll find a way." Wade asked, "Are you willing to trust me?"
Dobby looked up at him for a long moment before he said, "Yes, I believe you."
This was the first wizard who would squat down and talk to him, how could he not believe it?
Wade smiled and said, "Well, before that, please wait patiently. I don't think it will take long..."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly heard a "gurgling" sound and couldn't help being a little surprised.
Dobby clutched his stomach pitifully.
Wade glanced at the candies and exquisite pastries on the table and understood something. He said in a normal voice, "McGee, could you please bring us some food?"
With a soft "pop" sound, a round tray appeared on the floor.
There was bread, baked potatoes, fried sausages and a large bottle of black tea on the plate.
"Thank you, McGee."
Vader pushed the plate towards Dobby and said, "Eat quickly, Malfoy may be back soon."
"Also, McGee is the elf in charge of the Slytherin common room in the castle. Although your master won't allow him to enter the dormitory, if you need help, you can ask McGee for help, or ask McGee to tell me. He will hear it."
Dobby stared at him blankly, his lips quivering, but he said nothing, and did not touch the steaming food.
"Then I shall be leaving now."
Vader stood up and said with a smile, "Goodbye, Dobby. I hope that when we meet next time, you will be a free elf."
He tapped his wand on his forehead and disappeared from the room.
Dobby heard the sound of footsteps walking out of the dormitory, the wooden door was closed, and then the sound gradually faded away.
……
"Ved Grey is going to help that house-elf gain freedom?"
McGee asked quietly as Vader emerged from the Slytherin common room and walked down the deserted corridor.
"Yes," said Vader, "as you can see, his master was very cruel to him."
"I do not like him."
After a while, McGee suddenly said, "He's weird, like an alien."
Vader asked, "Because he wants freedom?"
"He betrayed his master." McGee thought about it and felt that this statement was a bit imprecise, so he corrected it:
"He appears to be obeying his master's orders, but in reality he is betraying him. No one will accept such a house-elf! He will become a homeless ghost and wander until he dies!"
"I will." Wade said calmly, "If I don't prepare him for a better life, I won't help him escape from his current environment."
McGee was stunned. He looked at Wade and emphasized again: "Dobby is a bad elf who would betray his master."
"Does McGee think he did something wrong?" Wade asked.
——Of course!
McGee thought so in his mind, but he blinked his eyes and opened his mouth, but couldn't say such simple words.
Although he had not witnessed it himself, he often heard how Draco Malfoy treated Dobby.
Dobby often punished himself cruelly, even burning his fingers with an iron and roasting his ears in the oven.
In the dead of night, he would find some discarded old clothes, tear them into strips and use them as bandages to wrap around his wounds.
McGee was confused.
Wade didn't mean to force him to answer immediately, but asked, "Did he eat the food you sent?"
"He's crying!" said McKee. "He's crying horribly."
"Help him, okay, McGee?" Wade said softly, "Send him some food every day. I put some burn ointment and white moss in the umbrella house, you can also take two bottles and send them to him."
"……All right."
McGee said reluctantly:
"Since Vid Grey said so, McGee can help him. But McGee is different from him!"
He said seriously: "McGee will not betray!"
"Of course, I know," Vader said.
He thought that Malfoy might not agree with this statement.
But in McGee's heart, Malfoy... and those Slytherin students could probably only be considered as the people he served, not the people he was loyal to.
McGee's self-awareness is actually no less than Dobby's, but he doesn't realize it.
Life at Hogwarts was peaceful and happy for the house-elves here. In such an environment, it was difficult for them to have any extreme rebellious ideas.
If McGee and Dobby were in each other's shoes, his actions might be even more drastic - just like Kreacher of the Black family, he would actively look for ways to kill his master.
But when Vader thought of Draco Malfoy, McGee also talked about him.
"He joined this club called the Order of the Dead, and he asked them if the president was a Death Eater? They said no."
"They also gave him a ring that could convey a simple message, saying…"
McGee looked at Vader.
"They say it was inspired by the Book of Friends."
"Well, I see."
Vader was not surprised.
The Book of Friends provides convenience for the wizard. This convenience certainly does not only exist between his friends and ordinary people. Evil people can also make full use of it.
This is a double-edged sword.
(End of this chapter)