[[ House-elves names may be wrong, please ignore that ]]
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Chapter 469 Dobby Is Willing!!
It was obvious that the house-elves were conflicted.
On one hand, they had been taught all their lives to obey their masters without question.
On the other hand, Paige had filled their heads with ideas about equality—about the possibility that all life truly was equal, and that maybe Darren was right.
As a little Holy Father, Darren felt he should comfort them.
"I think you could receive a small wage… That won't make you bad elves. After all, a wizard who earns a salary isn't a bad wizard, right?
And if you have wages, you could even buy gifts for your masters."
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding…]
"Yes, yes! We can buy gifts for our masters!"
"Why didn't I think of that before?"
"Mr. Darren is so wise!"
"Flash can buy a gift for Mr. Crouch!"
In the sea of elves, Darren suddenly caught a familiar name.
Flash.
That was the elf from the original book—the Crouch family's house-elf.
He was the one blamed after Harry's wand disappeared and the Dark Mark appeared. Cedric Diggory's father had nearly attacked Harry for it.
Harry's wand ended up found in Flash's hands, so Flash had been dismissed.
This time, because of Darren's interference, Harry never lost his wand.
But Barty Crouch Jr. had secretly thrown the wand that cast the Dark Mark into Flash's hands again.
So Flash had been fired once more.
Of course, Crouch Jr. claimed he was "releasing" Flash, but it was more likely he wanted Flash to hide in Hogwarts' kitchens—close enough to serve him food, and loyal enough to never reveal anything.
Darren had no way of knowing the full story.
At the moment, Hermione tugged him toward another elf.
"Darren, this is Dobby! Dobby wanted to meet you!"
Hermione said brightly.
Dobby looked at Darren shyly.
"Dobby wants to thank Mr. Darren in person… for defeating the wizard-who-must-not-be-named in second year. And for saving Mr. Harry Potter. Dobby is so grateful."
Dobby's ears quivered as he continued.
"When Dobby thought he would die—when his master learned what Dobby had done—he wanted to kill Dobby. But Dobby said that if the master killed Dobby, Mr. Darren would destroy the Dark Lord one day. The master became frightened."
"So instead of killing Dobby… he gave Dobby clothes and ordered Dobby to leave."
"Just a week ago, while wandering outside… Dobby met Professor Dumbledore. Professor Dumbledore said Mr. Darren had arranged wages for the Hogwarts elves, and asked if Dobby wanted to work."
"Of course Dobby did! Dobby was so happy! Everything was because of you—Mr. Darren!"
Dobby gazed at him with overwhelming gratitude.
Darren quickly waved his hands, embarrassed.
"This is the least I should do. You cook for us, wash our clothes… If Hermione hadn't told me, I wouldn't have noticed the problem at all."
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding…]
Darren realized something alarming.
House-elves were too pure.
Every sentence he said maxed out his Holy Father value.
Their praise and frantic self-punishments made his skin crawl.
Their contradictions could kill a man.
So, money was hard to earn, food was hard to eat, and being a Holy Father was not worth it.
"Huh? This is Dobby?"
Harry's voice came from behind.
Darren turned—Harry and Ron had finally made it inside.
"Hermione, why didn't you tell us we had to wait a while after going in once before we could open the door again?"
Ron complained.
They'd been stuck outside, nearly discovered by Filch.
Hermione had been completely unreliable—not even warning them beforehand.
"How would I know?"
Hermione said innocently.
Ron was certain she was lying.
But he had no proof.
So he switched targets and glared at Dobby.
"This is the elf who almost killed Harry in second year?"
"Dobby is sorry, Mr. Harry Potter," Dobby said earnestly. "At that time, Dobby only knew one way—to keep Mr. Harry Potter away from school."
Harry sighed.
So to save his life, Dobby had nearly ended it first.
But Harry was a kind boy; he didn't voice the thought.
He simply asked, "Dobby, I had Paige check before—whose house-elf were you? Malfoy's?"
Dobby gave a sly, guilty smile.
"Dobby cannot speak ill of his masters. But if Mr. Harry Potter guessed it, then it has nothing to do with Dobby."
"I knew it!" Ron burst out. "The Malfoys are awful!"
Harry nodded firmly.
By the end of second year, Ginny had told them the diary had appeared suddenly in her cauldron. The only ones who touched her things were Paige and Lucius Malfoy.
Everyone knew Lucius had done it.
But they could not get direct confirmation from Dobby.
"Dobby! How dare you speak ill of your former master!"
A shrill voice sliced through Harry's thoughts.
Flash.
Harry recognized him at once—the Crouches' former elf, dismissed after the Dark Mark incident.
"Why can't he say it?" Hermione shot back angrily. "You were fired too!"
But Flash wailed dramatically.
"Mr. Crouch fired Flash… Mr. Crouch will never care for Flash again. How is Flash supposed to live? Flash is miserable… Flash wants to go back! Sparkle's ancestors served the Crouch family for generations!"
"If Sparkle's grandmother knew Flash had been expelled… she would think Flash was a disgrace to the family!"
The loyalty of elves was astonishing.
Darren sighed.
What was the point of raising animals?
House-elves were far more useful.
Take care of them, and they never ate idly. Even better, they only needed one Galleon per week.
House-elves should be mass-produced.
One of the greatest achievements in wizarding history was taming them.
They brainwashed themselves and stayed loyal without supervision.
More reliable than actual wizards…
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