Chapter 247: Kreacher
Harry never thought that there could be such a distressing little creature.
So pitiful.
What kind of beings were house-elves, really?
The magical creatures Ron described, who took pleasure in serving wizards?
Or the ones written about in books — bound servants of old wizarding families living in ancient manors, compelled to obey all orders unless granted freedom?
But Dobby was nothing like either description.
He was like a child who had never grown up, yet forced to serve others as a slave.
No vacations. No dignity. And always the threat of abuse.
Harry's eyes softened. He saw in Dobby the shadow of his own younger self — three or four years old, unable to resist, enduring wrongs, and suffering in silence.
"Dobby, your little master only told you to replace punishment with cleaning the house a certain number of times, but there's no rule that you must complete it all at once," Harry suggested.
"Oh... Dobby intercepted Harry Potter's letters and hid his gifts. Yet Harry Potter is still worried about Dobby… Dobby always knew of your greatness, sir, but your kindness… Dobby never understood it before…" the elf said, voice trembling.
Then, all of a sudden, he panicked. He thrust the bundle of letters into Harry's hand.
"Harry Potter, it's time for Dobby to go. If you must return to Hogwarts, beware of strangers!"
"Dobby?" Before Harry could say more, there was a loud crack — and the elf vanished.
Harry blinked at the empty air, confused. Had his master called him back?
Shaking his head, Harry turned his attention to the letters clutched in his hand.
---
Meanwhile, in a place outside the flow of ordinary time and space, where the wizard's eye could not reach, the void pressed in from all sides. Suddenly, a beam of light pierced through the darkness.
Just as Dobby was about to Apparate back to Malfoy Manor, a shining human figure appeared before him.
Here, time and sound held no meaning, yet a clear voice echoed in Dobby's ears.
It was the strangest sensation.
Dobby felt weightless, all his fears swept away, leaving only an indescribable joy.
Then the voice spoke:
"Why did you stop persuading Harry Potter so quickly?"
Still dazed, Dobby replied instinctively:
"Harry Potter defeated the Dark Lord one-on-one! If Harry Potter insists on going to Hogwarts, Dobby cannot stop him. Dobby already warned him the teacher is dangerous… Harry Potter understood!"
The shining figure nodded silently — and vanished.
The next second, Dobby reappeared in Malfoy Manor as if nothing had happened. The passage of time felt seamless, as though the missing moment had been stolen away.
That shining figure had been Alexander Smith.
With his current Level 6 "Thinking," Alexander could already sense why Dobby's behavior differed from the original world line, down to the smallest details. But simply knowing wasn't enough — he wanted to intervene, to leave his own mark.
Normally, no magic could interfere with Disapparition except an anti-Apparition ward. Yet Alexander could slip into the void itself, even adjust the flow of time within it.
Today, he finally used that ability — stepping in to confront Dobby.
---
While Alexander reveled in his secret success, Harry, still baffled, was jolted by the sound of an engine outside.
He poked his head out toward Privet Drive — but saw nothing.
"Harry!" three familiar voices called.
Harry looked up, puzzled.
"Ron, you forgot to switch off the Invisibility Booster," came Sirius's voice.
"You idiot!" Draco snapped.
With a pop, a turquoise car shimmered into view and hovered in mid-air.
Ron leaned out of the driver's window, Sirius sat in the front seat, and Draco slouched in the back, glancing at Harry with forced indifference.
Harry's jaw dropped at the sight.
"Harry, what's going on? Why haven't you replied to me? Was it the Dursleys?" Ron asked.
Draco's ears twitched, but he quickly looked away, pretending not to care.
"If it really was that Dursley fellow, I was far too merciful last time," Sirius growled, steering the car down to land.
"Harry, what are you holding? Don't tell me you just got all those letters at once?" Draco couldn't help but blurt, sharp eyes catching the unopened stack in Harry's hands.
"It wasn't Uncle Vernon. Draco, you're… well, you're not entirely wrong," Harry admitted, smiling as he leapt out to hug Ron.
The warmth of reunion lit up Harry's face.
But then his eyes drifted to the backseat. Alongside Draco sat another elf — not Dobby, but an older, thinner one.
He was small and wiry, pale skin sagging, with tufts of white hair sprouting from his bat-like ears. His ragged garment looked like a pillowcase, though cleaner than Dobby's.
"That's Kreacher," Sirius explained quickly, noticing Harry's expression. "Thanks to that Malfoy brat — Miss Cissy's son — Kreacher actually tidied himself up. Before that, he was wrapped in filthy rags."
"Oh, how could Miss Cissy's son end up here, serving alongside the disgusting traitor who broke his mother's heart," Kreacher croaked in a bullfrog-like voice. His mutterings dripped with venom. "The boy with the scar... it must be real. He stopped the Dark Lord... but how, Kreacher doesn't know..."
"Kreacher, don't speak of my friend like that," Draco snapped sharply.
"Yes, young master," Kreacher muttered. But he immediately turned his bitterness back on Sirius:
"Unworthy! Not fit even to clean my mistress's shoes! Oh, how she despised him... oh, my poor mistress, what would she say if she saw Kreacher serving the son of her enemy…"
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