Chapter 77

Dobby visibly wilted in response to Harry's words and the thirteen year old felt terrible but he couldn't just forget eight years of conditioning (even Agil had failed to get Harry to break his need to keep everything neat and organized). He didn't want the elf to grow bored again though and even he knew that cooking a mere two or three small meals a day wasn't enough to keep any one busy (let alone a hyper active elf) and so he racked his brain for other 'jobs' he could give the elf. After a minute he came up with one idea that might work; so long as he could convince the elf to go along with it.

"You know, Dobby, Gaki is a rather messy bird; the other boys that sleep in my dorm complained about him stinking up the room all last year because the other owls kept chasing him out of the Owlry. I try to keep his perch clean but Hedwig doesn't like it when I pay too much attention to the owl. If you'd like, I could let you clean up after him instead. I'd even be willing to let you take over feeding and watering him. I bet you'd do a much better job than I ever could and Hedwig would be happier that I'm not spending quite as much time with Gaki."

"Dobby would be happy to take care of Master James's grumpy owl," Dobby quickly agreed as he went from depressed to delighted in the blink of an eye. "Dobby can even make homemade owl treats."

"Wonderful! Hedwig will even be pleased," Harry crowed softly as he felt just a little of his own depression lifting in response to the elf's enthusiasm. "Will that be enough to keep you busy now?"

"Dobby was hoping Master James would tell him where he lives so Dobby can clean his house and take care of the garden."

"I don't have a home," Harry replied in a pained voice as the destruction of Aincrad flashed through his mind. "The place I called home was destroyed two years ago and I've been locked up here in this castle ever since."

"Master James lives in Hogwarts all year long?"

"Not by choice. I would much rather live in the forest but it isn't safe for me right now with the dementors running loose in the Forbidden Forest because I don't know how to fight them yet. I hate being stuck inside all of the time. If I thought they'd let me, I'd rather move down here permanently than be forced to stay up in the castle all the time."

Harry froze in shock as he registered what he'd just said as he let his eyes take in the damp, dark, and depressing cavern he was sitting in. He then slowly nodded as he realized that he'd already claimed the Chamber of Secrets as his private hideaway for when he needed to escape from all of the NPCs that surrounded him day in and day out. If he was going to be forced to remain in the castle for another five years (if he couldn't find a way to escape sooner), then having a livable refuge he could retreat to when he couldn't slip off into the forest would make his imprisonment a little more bearable.

"Say, Dobby, how good are you at redecorating?" Harry asked as he let his eyes fall on the elf once more. "I think the Chamber of Secrets is going to need a new look if I'm going to be spending a lot of time down here until the dementors are removed from the grounds or I find a way to escape the game. Do you think maybe we could turn this place into an underground garden?"

"It will take Dobby a long time to clean up Master James's Secret Hiding Chambers," Dobby replied with wide eyes as he darted forward to wrap his arms around Harry's legs and Harry blinked in surprise as the Elf's NPC halo morphed into a gold Health Bar, a green HP Bar, and a blue MP Bar much like Hedwig's had a few weeks after he'd purchased her. "Dobby will have lots and lots of hard work to do to turn the Secret Hiding Chambers into a proper garden for Master James. Dobby will need to find lots of dirt, plants, lights, and proper furniture. Where will Master James sleep while Dobby makes his garden?"

"I can sleep in the Basilisk's nest or in one of the hidden rooms behind the statue where I found the treasure on the weekends and in my dorm during the week."

"Master James will let his Dobby make him a proper apartment in the hidden rooms?" Dobby half ordered and half demanded as he narrowed his eyes at Harry. "One with a real kitchen, a proper bedroom, and a bathroom?"

"I suppose it will need a dining room, a living room, and a library as well?" Harry asked with a small wry grin as he opened his Player Menu and withdrew two hundred galleons that he handed to the elf while the elf enthusiastically nodded in agreement and tucked the money into the red and gold pillow case the elf wore that had replaced the former tattered pillow case he'd worn when Harry first purchased him. "Well, I guess that means you'll have plenty of work to keep you busy for a while, ne? Let me know if you need more money to purchase whatever you need to get the job done."

Dobby eagerly agreed before he popped away to purchase cleaning supplies. Harry hoped he wouldn't regret encouraging the little elf to work himself to death before he snorted as he recalled just how troublesome the elf had been when he'd not had enough work to keep him occupied. It was far safer (for both his health and his sanity) to keep the little bugger happy and busy.

Harry would have two days of peace after dealing with Dobby's boredom before he found himself being confronted by an upset Hermione Granger with Neville Longbottom in tow while exiting the Chamber of Secrets to attend supper in the Great Hall (as required by his guardian and the school's staff) on Sunday evening. Harry had barely stepped up into the bathroom where the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets was located when he found himself face to face with Hermione and he'd nearly tumbled backwards into the open pipe behind him in shock. Once he got over the unexpectedness of his fellow third years waiting for him, Harry schooled his face back into its customary blank mask and made to brush by the pair only for Hermione to latch onto his arm and spin him around.

"Why, James? Why do you keep ignoring us? What did we do to you to make you hate us?" Hermione demanded as she held him in place.

"Let me go."

"No. Not until you tell us why. We've tried to be patient but you've been giving us the cold shoulder for over a month now and we have a right to know what it was we did to deserve you treating us worse than lepers."

"Let. Go."

"Why are you acting like this? Would it kill you to tell us what is going on?"

"If you don't tell us what we did to offend you, then we can't apologize to you for it and we won't know not to do it again," Neville added from where he was standing just a few feet behind Hermione.

Harry let out a low growl as he felt a spike of irritation; despite his relatively good weekend, he was in no mood to deal with pushy NPCs right now. Hedwig quickly reacted to the change in his emotions and shimmered into view in her customary place sitting on his shoulder, spread her wings wide in a show of aggression, and let out an angry hiss as she lifted her head off of Harry's hair. Both Neville and Hermione flinched in response but to her credit, Hermione's grip on Harry's arm never faltered.

"Let. Go. Now."

"Please, James…?" Hermione implored as her brown eyes filled with unshed tears that shimmered in the torchlight that filled the bathroom. "I thought… I thought we were friends…"

"I have no friends here. My friends are dead or lost to me because you people stole me away from them and forced me into this stupid world and refuse to let me leave," Harry spat back heatedly as his grief and fury slipped free from his rigid control because of the terrible memories of Aincrad's final moments still hovering so close to the surface after the dementor stirred them up at the end of the summer. "I never wanted to be here and I sure as hell don't want to stay here. All I want it is for all of you to leave me the hell alone and let me go."

Hermione's tears burst free and streamed down her face in response to Harry's harsh words and the moment he felt her grip on his arm loosen, he yanked his arm free of her hold. He made to leave at that point but found his way blocked by Neville's fist as the taller boy decked him in the mouth hard enough to split his lip and knock him back towards the still open entrance to the Chamber of Secrets behind him. Hedwig immediately let out a startled squawk and launched herself into the air when Harry lost his balance and floundered on the edge of the pipe.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

👀The novel is available in PDF, visit my Patreon store👀

🚬Patreon.com/BlackGoku222🚬