Chapter 76
September 2023 through October 2023
The first month of the term was exceedingly difficult for Harry; his grief still very much in the forefront of his mind. As a result, he had once again completely closed himself off from everyone around him (much like he had after he'd first woken up in MaM). Even Hermione, Neville, Fred, George, and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team were given a cold shoulder as he skipped out completely on their long standing study sessions and blew off Quidditch practices.
Instead, he spent his free time during the week days scouring the library once more in search of a way out of the wretched game. The fact that he couldn't even sneak off into the Forbidden Forest (because of the dementors) in order to take his mind off his internal turmoil by fighting the various monsters meant that he had no outlet for his negative emotions.
The moment he finished his last class on Fridays, Harry would disappear down into the Chamber of Secrets to continue the spell casting lessons that Sirius had put together for him (minus the bludgers because Sirius had taken those with him when he'd left as a safety precaution). The depressing atmosphere in the damp cavern didn't help him improve his outlook though; since what he really wanted was to be free to move beneath the trees and sleep under the stars like he had before the dementors had been brought to the school.
The information that those that were in third year or higher were allowed to visit Hogsmeade Village on the third Saturday of every month had been welcome news for Harry; the thirteen year old had seen the prospective outings as a welcome distraction from his imprisonment in the castle. Only, he quickly learned that each student had to have a signed permission slip from their guardian in order to leave the castle. Harry had asked if he would be given permission to visit the village with the rest of the students and Dumbledore had told him flat out that he wasn't allowed to leave the castle or the castle grounds.
Harry saw it as further proof that he was a prisoner within the game.
On the twenty-sixth of September, Dobby started a passive aggressive war campaign with Harry in a bid for more work since Harry rarely ever made any messes. It started with unhappy mutterings that Harry mostly ignored because he was too wrapped up in his own problems and quickly escalated to multiple changes of his bedding each night (usually while he was still in bed) and the cleaning of whatever clothes he was wearing at the time. Harry wouldn't have particularly cared but the elf's nightly interruptions were starting to annoy Hedwig and the last thing he wanted was to have a fight break out between the occamy and the elf in the middle of his bed (while he was in it).
"Dobby, I don't know what is bothering you but you need to stop making the bed five and six times a night and washing the clothes that I'm wearing after I go to sleep. You are annoying Hedwig," Harry stated when he finally confronted the elf down in the Chamber of Secrets on the sixth of October, after the fifth sleepless night in a row.
"Dobby only wants to work. Master James never gives his Dobby enough work to do and the Hogwarts elves is starting to talk. The Hogwarts elves say Dobby is not a proper elf because his master does not give him proper work. Dobby does not have enough to do and the Hogwarts elves don't want to share their work with Dobby."
Harry stared at the elf in disbelief that the reason the elf had been acting up was because he was bored. He then snorted and shook his head as he asked, "Why didn't you just ask me for more work?"
"Dobby did but Master James was not listening to his Dobby."
"I'm sorry, Dobby, I should not have ignored you. I'd never owned a House Elf before I tricked Malfoy into selling you to me and the only other Elves I've had anything to do with are the ones from the castle kitchen. If you like, I can set you free now so that you can find a proper master."
"No. Dobby does not want a different master. Dobby wants work."
Harry sighed in resignation over his latest failed attempt to free the elf before he asked, "What kind of work did you want to do?"
"Dobby should be cooking and cleaning for Master James. Master James does not make enough messes though and he does not eat three proper meals a day like he is supposed to and the meals he does eat are made by the Hogwarts elves. Dobby is supposed to take care of Master James's house too but he doesn't know where he lives."
"Does it really bother you that much that the Castle Elves in the kitchen make my food?" Harry asked with a slight frown as he began to suspect that Dobby was just as prone to jealousy as Hedwig.
"House elves need work and those elves are doing Dobby's work."
"I can't just stop eating in the Great Hall because the professors get right cranky if I skip too many meals; they think I need to spend more time with the other students. But, if it bothers you that much, I will stop going to the Castle Elves for food on the days when I don't eat in the Great Hall with the others."
"Dobby would like that; Dobby will see to it that Master James doesn't miss any more meals."
Harry felt a brief twinge of nervousness over that declaration and promptly instructed, "Just don't make me too much to eat for each meal; I'm not used to eating lots and would not want to waste the food."
"Dobby understands."
"Okay. Was there anything else you wanted?"
"Dobby wants Master James to make more messes for Dobby to clean."
"I'm not very good at making messes because I wasn't allowed to make messes growing up."
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