"...Mr. Potter, Harry Po- Potter?"
...
"Wake up, wake up, Harry—"
...
"Smack—"
"Ouch—"
The boy who was startled awake instinctively raised his hand to cover his cheek. He had a strange feeling just now, simply put, it was a mix of pain and pleasure— He looked around the empty room in confusion, finally fixing his gaze on William's hand—
"Did you... did you just slap me?"
"No, you were having a nightmare."
William shook his head earnestly, saying seriously, "So, you suspect I want to harm this kid? Make him unable to attend school, illegally imprisoned by his Muggle uncle, and then suffer domestic violence, finally leading a miserable life?" He turned to look at Hermione.
The girl who had just been put down, her flush fading gradually, pondered William's words, and finally nodded somewhat uncertainly.
Harry, who was shaking his head trying to clear his thoughts, was also drawn in. He glanced at Dobby standing by the bed, then at Hermione, finally combining the conversation he just overheard, he suddenly looked up in shock at William, "Are you Dobby's master? Why would you..."
"Langlock." (Tongue-tie)
"Mm... Mm..." Harry's tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth, and he stared wide-eyed in terror.
"You explain yourself." Interrupting Harry's babble, William looked down at Dobby.
Having just explained everything to Hermione, Dobby wasn't annoyed. It climbed onto the bed using both hands and feet, standing at Harry's feet, "Everything Dobby did was to save Harry Potter, there are dangers at Hogwarts that you cannot imagine," it paused, glancing up at William, "at least there was, but— but Mr. Richard has easily resolved the plot, he even rescued Dobby from the Malfoy Family, making Dobby a free Elf. Mr. William is truly—"
"Mm?"
Harry felt like he just heard a keyword.
"Get to the point."
William frowned. Ever since he started paying Dobby a Sickle weekly, the little Elf began complimenting him once in every three sentences. It's not a bad thing, but the issue is that these House-Elves have a limited vocabulary...
They can't come up with any new praises, it's not interesting.
"Oh, oh, Dobby just wanted to thank Mr. Richard, not only did he give Dobby a job, he even agreed to pay Dobby wages—"
"That's not the point either."
"Ah, Dobby never intended to harm Harry Potter. You defeated the one whose name cannot be mentioned, also, you rescued beings like us. Harry Potter is like a beacon of hope shining brightly, sir, but— but back at Hogwarts, terrible things are about to happen, Dobby cannot allow Harry Potter to stay here, as history might repeat itself, the Secret Chamber has opened again—"
Secret Chamber!
Harry instinctively widened his eyes, suddenly coming out of Dobby's praises, but because the Charm hadn't worn off, he could only look towards Hermione again.
Hermione just nodded, signaling Harry to keep listening.
"So— so I tried to prevent Harry Potter from returning to Hogwarts, Dobby blocked the passage to the train station," Dobby continued to narrate, flapping its large ears, "but Harry Potter still found another way to return to school, Dobby even manipulated the Bludger—"
"Mm?!"
Harry froze abruptly, his eyes seemed to shoot fire, staring at Dobby with incredulity, anger, and even a direct urge to strangle the creature— nearly driving into the Black Lake, getting hit by the Quaffle and falling off his broom, those were some of the most painful memories of last term.
Now you're telling me the culprit is found?
"...but Mr. Richard caught Dobby, because he thought Dobby wanted to harm Harry Potter, oh, even though Dobby didn't want to do that, but for Harry Potter's safety, Dobby had to make him go back home." Dobby spoke tearfully, using his collar to wipe away the tears at his eye corners, "But now it's no longer necessary, everything is resolved, Mr. Richard has thwarted the plot of the one whose name cannot be mentioned, he simply—"
"Alright, that's enough."
William waved his hand, and Harry felt his tongue finally separate from the roof of his mouth, he stretched out his somewhat numb tongue ...
Okay, now it seems his tongue isn't his anymore.
"Before you start asking questions," William leaned back in the chair, holding the Parchment he seized, "tell me, what is this?"
The two young Wizards exchanged a glance, then Hermione stepped forward to take the Parchment, "I solemnly swear— I'm up to no good." With the girl's words, the Marauder's Map slowly unfolded in front of William.
Oh, what a good thing...
A map displaying real-time locations? Mom won't have to worry about me getting lost in the castle anymore?
Taking the map handed by Hermione, William's eyes lit up— the Wizard Magic that created this map must be very high, the impressive Human Trace Curse and Trace Spell, the advanced Concealment Magic methods...
He also noticed the signatures next to the Marauder's Map, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, so these four people made this map?
"Where did you get this?"
"It..."
"It was retrieved from Filch, probably made by former students used to avoid Professors during night roaming—"
"Oh, this is good, good stuff..."
William nodded, speaking as he tucked the map into his pocket.
"Ahem, okay, well, consider this as payment. Now, you two risked being discovered by a Professor to sneak into my room, what do you want to ask?" William asked with a pleasant mood after acquiring a new tool.
"..."
"...Was Dobby previously the Malfoy Family's Elf?"
After a brief exchange of glances with Hermione, Harry looked at the little Elf still silently wiping its tears, asking his most pressing question.
"...Yes, and then after some trouble, I helped him out of misery."
William nodded, though he was a bit puzzled, as he had thought Harry would ask about things like "The Dark Lord's plot" or "the monster in the Chamber"— is Malfoy so important?
"Then, what's the connection between the Malfoy Family and the Chamber?"
"You can understand that Lucius Malfoy sent the key to the Chamber into Hogwarts—"
"But how does this relate to the Dark Lord?" Hermione asked in confusion.
"Because that key was created by Voldemort."
When William mentioned Voldemort, Harry and Hermione's expressions remained calm, but Dobby's reaction was exaggerated—
It even forgot to cry.
This proves...
Voldemort is similar to Zhang Liao in its effect.