Hermione's hands were secured with black iron cuffs, which were fastened to one end of the stone wall. The chains were long enough that they did not restrict her movements, but they also prevented her from leaving the room.
Her guardian was Dobby, a house-elf she knew well.
Hermione sat quietly on the bed, looking at Dobby.
She wanted to persuade Dobby to release her, but quickly changed her mind.
Almost all house-elves were stubborn. She had already experienced this firsthand at Hogwarts, where her attempts to establish the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare had left her battered and bruised.
Moreover, a master's orders were inviolable.
Even if Dobby were truly moved, the power of the contract would prevent him from directly disobeying those orders. She would need to take a roundabout approach.
She still remembered how she had given clothes to the Hogwarts house-elves.
She had told them, "I'll lend you these clothes, and you can return them to me in a few decades."
After this concept was used successfully, many house-elves had accepted the clothes.
Apart from those stubborn individuals who took pride in being dirty and dishevelled.
Negotiation required skill.
Suddenly, the girl had an idea and began putting her plan into action.
"Cough, cough."
Hermione began coughing violently, her long, delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly.
She lay down on the bed covered with violet sheets and curled up as though she were enduring immense pain.
Dobby was clearly startled.
His nature was still kind, and a look of fear and panic appeared on his face.
Malfoy had only told him to keep an eye on Hermione, not to stand by and watch her die.
"Miss Granger, is there anything Dobby can do to help you?"
Dobby hesitated for a moment, almost wanting to unlock Hermione's cuffs.
"Miss Granger is a wise witch and Draco's companion… Dobby is only an ordinary house-elf. Dobby cannot possibly tell whether what you are saying is true or false."
Dobby timidly lowered his large head.
"Do you know where my bag was taken?"
"Cough, cough… It was a light-pink women's handbag with a pale-golden owl embroidered on it."
"There are several bottles of medicine inside. The golden one. I'll get better if I drink it."
A glimmer of hope began to shine in Hermione's heart as she continued pretending to be a patient who had suddenly fallen ill.
Her voice was weak and almost inaudible.
As a house-elf, Dobby was unaware of the existence of Felix Felicis.
After all, house-elves had never attended Potions lessons.
"You don't need to unlock my cuffs, and you can throw my wand far away."
"I'm in so much pain, please, Dobby."
"Dobby is a free and kind house-elf, isn't he?"
Hermione coughed a few more times, then secretly bit her tongue hard enough to break the skin and coughed up blood.
The blood splattered across the pristine white sheets like blooming plum blossoms.
Hermione could only place her hopes on that magical potion now.
Felix Felicis—a wondrous potion of good fortune that, once consumed, could grant almost any wish and reverse the course of events.
Hermione waited anxiously.
"Is this it?"
Dobby quickly returned, holding up a glass bottle.
The bottle was transparent, and the golden liquid inside bobbed and swayed, appearing strangely lively.
An indescribable sweetness burst across Hermione's tongue.
She could honestly say that it was the most delicious drink she had ever tasted.
But she had no mood to savour it.
On the contrary, she drank it faster and faster, eagerly swallowing every drop.
Her throat bobbed several times.
She drank the entire small bottle of Felix Felicis.
Not a single drop remained.
She waited quietly for a few moments, then smiled, her expression serene, demonstrating the immediate "effect" of the potion.
"That's wonderful! Miss Granger is all right! Dobby is so happy!"
Dobby exclaimed excitedly, gesturing with his hands.
Hermione's apparently "honest" behaviour had earned his trust.
Hermione could only wait quietly for Felix Felicis to take effect.
"Dobby, your master is in danger," Hermione said, feigning anxiety.
She wanted to get to Hogwarts, even if her efforts would be nothing more than a drop in the ocean compared with the entire school.
She could only try to fool Dobby.
Dobby was holding her wand, which looked rather out of place in his hands.
In reality, house-elves were bound by an ancient magical contract and did not actually need wands to cast spells.
Moreover, their magic seemed to operate differently from that of wizards.
Even the magic left behind by the four founders could not prevent house-elves from Apparating within Hogwarts.
Of course, it was also possible that possessing a wand could enhance their spellcasting power.
Dobby was wearing a black cloak like those worn by Death Eaters, which looked ridiculous.
It seemed to have been altered incorrectly and was far too small. The tailoring was poor, and the cloak had been forced onto his body, making him look even more bloated.
"Master Malfoy told me not to believe a word you say."
"Dobby is simply kind. That is why Dobby helped Miss Granger get the medicine."
"Miss Granger, please don't push your luck."
Dobby stared intently at the girl in front of him, trembling with fear.
Although Hermione was one of the few people who treated house-elves kindly, in Dobby's eyes, his master's orders were the most important and took precedence over everything else.
"If you don't believe me, you can go to your master. He's in danger right now."
Hermione spoke with certainty and conviction.
But in reality, she was extremely nervous, her heart pounding.
She had to maintain a confident expression.
She was not a habitual liar.
"Don't try to fool Dobby."
Dobby shook his large head rapidly, his ears swaying like fans as his eyes remained fixed on her.
Ultimately, he was still somewhat simple-minded.
For house-elves, their master was above everything else.
"You can't escape."
With that, Dobby Apparated away to search for his master.
Hermione certainly could not do without him.
With her magical ability, without a wand, the most she could accomplish with wandless magic was perhaps summon a tiny splash of water.
She was not much stronger than an ordinary person.
But if Dobby could be gone for a while, that would be enough.
Under his watchful eye, there had been absolutely no chance of escape.
She was extremely worried and wished she could sprout wings and fly to Hogwarts, but there was no way for her to do so.
She stood up and walked to the door.
"Alohomora!"
The lock shook violently several times, producing soft metallic clanging sounds.
Then it stopped.
The door remained firmly closed.
The cuffs she was wearing were powerful enough to restrain even a formidable Dark wizard, greatly suppressing magical power.
Even with wandless spellcasting, she was unable to open the door.
Half a minute later, a gust of wind swept through the room, and Dobby's small figure reappeared in the bedroom.
Hermione immediately straightened up and turned around, pretending to wander around the room out of sheer boredom.
Her eyes dimmed.
Her hopes had been dashed once again.
Perhaps Felix Felicis wasn't actually that effective?
Hermione couldn't help but begin to doubt it.
House-elves were the most loyal of servants, meticulously carrying out the commands given by their masters.
Dobby, on the other hand, had been somewhat affected and possessed a degree of independent judgement.
For the moment, Hermione had managed to deceive him.
Perhaps this could be considered a small lapse in his loyalty.
But the moment she saw Dobby again, she vaguely sensed that something was wrong.
Dobby's face was filled with terror, and his already enormous eyes seemed to occupy almost his entire face.
"Miss Hermione!"
"Come with me! Something really happened to Master Malfoy!"
Dobby sounded extremely anxious.
The corners of Hermione's lips twitched.
It seemed she had guessed correctly again.
Whether it was her own remarkable intuition or the help of Felix Felicis, no one could say.
All she saw was the boy lying in a pool of blood.
Hermione felt a strange sense of déjà vu at the sight.
She forcibly suppressed the nonsensical thought, and her heart suddenly skipped a beat.
She thought with a hint of satisfaction:
He brought this upon himself. He deserves to die.
But she still couldn't bear to stand by and watch someone die.
And she needed a legitimate reason to convince Dobby to return her wand.
"I don't have a wand. I can't save him."
Hermione shook her head helplessly.
She was lying.
In reality, she had a small pouch sewn into her cuff containing a bottle filled with phoenix tears and a large quantity of medicine.
"Dobby will unlock your cuffs and give you back your wand!"
Dobby spoke excitedly.
However, just as Hermione regained her freedom and grasped her wand, she changed her stance.
Dobby was suddenly struck and knocked unconscious.
His large head slammed hard against the black wall before he collapsed.
But Hermione wasn't going to break her promise.
"No matter what, I can't watch you die."
From the transparent bottle, a mixture of glistening phoenix tears and white medicinal essence gently dripped onto Malfoy's torn wound.
The contaminated flesh was instantly purified, releasing wisps of white smoke.
The black aura quickly disappeared, and new flesh even began growing over the faintly visible white bones.
Malfoy's fingers twitched.
His eyelids began to lift.
He looked as though he were about to regain consciousness.
"They collapsed to the ground, completely petrified."
Hermione quickly swung her wand, firing two spells in rapid succession.
She wasn't that careless.
If she allowed him to wake up and then let him overpower her, wouldn't that be incredibly foolish?
This was a lesson Dobby had taught her—to make sure an opponent was completely subdued.
The servant's actions ultimately brought retribution upon his master.
Malfoy's body was struck.
He shuddered, and the consciousness that had almost returned was abruptly cut off again.
He fell into a deep sleep.
His chest continued rising and falling, indicating that he was still alive.
Finally, Hermione laid him flat on a sofa.
"I hope you can eventually turn over a new leaf, but I have to go now."
Hermione looked at him with a complicated expression for a few moments.
She took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and walked toward the location of the Vanishing Cabinet.
She had overheard Malfoy and Dobby's conversation.
It seemed that the Vanishing Cabinet at Hogwarts had already been repaired.