Daddy’s Boy

Freeing Dobby

[There are a few paragraphs at the end of this chapter that are taken almost verbatim from the book, with only minor differences caused by the different plot. I simply didn't feel like reinventing the wheel.]

Harry was still wondering how he could free Dobby from Malfoy. There was nothing he could really do, as only the house-elf's master had the power to free it. Since the Potter family owned quite a few house-elves, James had already taught him all he needed to know about these small, helpful creatures. He needed to find a way to trick Malfoy senior into freeing Dobby, but he had no idea how that could be done.

It was actually Draco Malfoy who inadvertently gave him the opportunity he was looking for. Draco used to spout pureblood bigotry at any occasion, and Hermione's presence seemed to enhance this tendency. Whenever he saw her, he used to call her Mudblood and Muggle Filth and other derogatory names. That day, just before going to the potions lesson, Draco noticed Harry and Hermione coming together. This was like waving a red cloth in front of a raging bull. As Draco started his usual tirade, Harry decided to put an end to it. "You may talk all you want, but Hermione, despite your name-calling, is better than you in any way. She's smarter than you, she gets much higher grades than you and is even more powerful than you, both physically and magically. You're nothing compared to her."

"You'll pay for this, Potter. You shall both pay for this," Draco said, grabbing his wand tightly and sending a curse at them both. Harry didn't flinch. He wandlessly conjured a strong shield that reflected the curse back to Draco, who was too surprised to even duck, hitting his chest squarely. Draco fell on the floor, whining like a baby, as his skin became covered with ugly (and evidently painful) boils. Snape opened the class door at that moment, only noticing Draco falling in pain.

"Potter – that would be two weeks detention and twenty points from Gryffindor for cursing another student."

"I can understand why the perpetrator should serve two weeks detention, Professor, but why should you deduct points from Gryffindor when it was a Slytherin that did all the damage?"

"You hit Malfoy, didn't you?"

"I didn't. I only saw his curse rebound back on him. I didn't even take my wand out. It's still in my bag, as you can check."

Snape looked murderous, yet it was clear that neither Harry nor his friend were holding any wand while Draco still kept his wand clutched firmly in his hand. He looked sick when replying, "Then of course, no point deduction from Gryffindor and five point deduction from Slytherin. Crabble, Goyle – take Malfoy to the infirmary. The rest of you – into the class! There's no time to waste!"

Draco was evidently quick to whine to his father, who came a day later to ask for Potter's punishment due to attacking his son, not being bothered by the facts. Harry was summoned to the Headmaster's office soon after dinner.

"This brat had the audacity to attack my son, a pureblood, and harm him for no reason at all. I insist on him being punished severely," Lucius Malfoy said.

"Did you attack Draco?" Dumbledore asked Harry.

"No. It was the other way round. He first attacked my friend verbally, and when I told him that she's better than him in any conceivable way, he tried to attack us. Luckily, his curse rebound back on him. I didn't even take my wand out," Harry insisted on his version of the events.

"I don't believe this half-blood. He's surely lying! He must be punished." Lucius didn't even want to talk to Harry directly.

"I'm willing to repeat this under Veritaserum, if Draco is interrogated the same way," Harry suggested.

Malfoy wanted to object, but Dumbledore responded first. "That's a very good idea. It will let us know who's telling the truth and punish the one who needs to be punished."

Lucius kept his haughty expression, yet Harry could sense his displeasure. Veritaserum was something Lucius was avoiding for more than a decade. He was probably aware of what the results would be.

Draco, who had almost recovered from the boils, was brought in by a house elf that Harry recognized – Dobby. Snape was also called in to administer the truth potion. He first gave Harry three drops of the potion. They waited a moment for it to take effect, and then Dumbledore asked, "Tell me what happened before Potions class, how Draco got injured."

As the question didn't specifically address the way the curse had been reflected, Harry repeated what he had already said, almost verbatim.

Draco was then given the potion and asked the same question.

"That Granger girl, along with Potter are practically destroying the pureblood beliefs, as none is a pureblood and they both surpass all purebloods by so much that it can't be ignored, unlike others who are not much better than most pureblood students. I had to try and belittle them, and then Potter turned it all backwards, pointing for all to see how much better than me Granger was. I needed to punish them and cursed them with boils. The curse almost hit them and then rebounded somehow and hit me."

"Why didn't you move aside?"

"It was my curse, I didn't think it would harm me."

"Did Potter use his wand?"

"No. He only seemed to say something to his friend, and then the curse was reflected back."

Dumbledore looked at Lucius. "As much as I would like to make you happy, it's clear that your son caused the problems to himself. Professor Snape verified that Potter's wand was still in his bag, as was Granger's. There's nothing to punish Potter for, yet your son should learn to keep his bigotry to himself."

Lucius looked ill at hearing this. He glared at Harry and then at Dumbledore and then turned around, pushing his son before him and calling, "We're going, Dobby!"

He wrenched open the door and as the elf came hurrying up to him, he kicked him right through it. They could hear Dobby squealing with pain all the way along the corridor. Harry stood for a moment, thinking hard. Then it came to him – this could give him the opportunity he was looking for.

Harry dashed out of the office. He could hear Dobby's squeals of pain receding around the corner. Quickly, wondering if this plan could possibly work, Harry used the cover of the night to conjure a small book, similar to the one Lucius had dropped in the Weasley cauldron just before school, making it scorched and dirty as well. Harry took off one of his shoes, pulled off his dirty sock, and stuffed that book into it. Then he ran down the dark corridor.

He caught up with them at the top of the stairs.

"Mr. Malfoy," he gasped, skidding to a halt, "I've got something for you –"

And he forced the smelly sock into Lucius Malfoy's hand.

"What the –?"

Mr. Malfoy ripped the sock off the book, threw it aside, then looked furiously from the ruined book to Harry. "You'll meet the same sticky end as your parents one of these days, Harry Potter," he said softly. "They were meddlesome fools, too."

He turned to go.

"Come, Dobby. I said, come."

But Dobby didn't move. He was holding up Harry's disgusting, dirty sock, and looking at it as though it were a priceless treasure.

"Master has given a sock," said the elf in wonderment. "Master gave it to Dobby."

"What's that?" spat Mr. Malfoy. "What did you say?"

"Got a sock," said Dobby in disbelief. "Master threw it, and Dobby caught it, and Dobby – Dobby is free."

Lucius Malfoy stood frozen, staring at the elf, then he lunged at Harry.

"You've lost me my servant, boy!"

But Dobby shouted, "You shall not harm Harry Potter!"

There was a loud bang, and Mr. Malfoy was thrown backward. He crashed down the stairs, three at a time, landing in a crumpled heap on the landing below. He got up, his face livid, and pulled out his wand, but Dobby raised a long, threatening finger.

"You shall go now," he said fiercely, pointing down at Mr. Malfoy. "You shall not touch Harry Potter. You shall go now."

Lucius Malfoy had no choice. With a last, incensed stare at the pair of them, he swung his cloak around him and hurried out of sight.

"Harry Potter freed Dobby!" said the elf shrilly, gazing up at Harry, moonlight from the nearest window reflected in his orb-like eyes. "Harry Potter set Dobby free!"

"Least I could do, Dobby," said Harry, grinning.

The elf's ugly brown face split suddenly into a wide, toothy smile.

"I've just got one question, Dobby," said Harry as Dobby pulled on Harry's sock with shaking hands. "You told me all this had nothing to do with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, remember? Well –"

"It was a clue, sir," said Dobby, his eyes widening, as though this was obvious. "Was giving you a clue. The Dark Lord, before he changed his name, could be freely named, you see?"

"Right," said Harry weakly. "Well, I'd better go. I should be back in the dorms before my friends get too worried."

Dobby threw his arms around Harry's middle and hugged him.

"Harry Potter is greater by far than Dobby knew!" he sobbed. "Farewell, Harry Potter!"

And with a final loud crack, Dobby disappeared.

Harry told everything to Hermione as soon as he could talk privately with her. Hermione listened attentively and seemed proud to hear how well he handled the situation, both with the headmaster and with the house-elf. "You did splendidly!" she told him. "What will Dobby do now, though?"

Harry shrugged. "I really don't know. There aren't many free house-elves, but I don't know why. He may find work for a salary, I assume. I don't care, as long as he doesn't need to suffer."

Hermione kissed his cheek. "I'm sure you gained yourself a very loyal friend in Dobby, if nothing else."