Disclaimer 1: This is fanfic. That means I do not own any of it. I just borrow it to play with for a little while and let people see the pathetic results if they really want to.

Disclaimer 2: I'm not making any money from it. It's just for fun.

Disclaimer 3: What isn't borrowed is all made up. None of this is real or most likely at all realistic. Please don't trust any of the information in here. Most likely you know more about whatever I'm writing about than I do.

Disclaimer 4: Attitudes, views and opinions expressed by the characters or in the story are not necessarily those of the author. Even when writing Science Fiction or Fantasy I do not tend to attempt to create perfect/better worlds in which everybody gets a happy end ... or whatever is best for them. Please accept that some characters will have a bad ending or be unhappy.

Disclaimer 5: I intend no insult to anyone. If I offend anyone I'm very sorry. Please understand that it was an accident as I tend to be very clumsy in these things.

Notes: No trip to Diagon Alley for Harry and his friends, so how does Lucius get the diary to Hogwarts? ... Hmmm ... ;)

Chapter 4: At Flourish and Blotts

"This Dobby really wasn't a Hogwarts elf," Hermione remarked. "Just think of that dirty old rag he was wearing and compare it to the neat uniforms with the institutes's crest the ones that take our birthday pictures have."

"Yes," Draco agreed. "I doubt the headmaster would let any of his staff be dressed that shabbily. It would reflect badly on the institute. He must be a privately owned elf."

"But only really rich people have the sort of houses that come with house elves," Ron said. "They don't need to dress their elves in rags either."

"Maybe," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Maybe Dobby didn't want us to see his uniform and the rag was the only other thing to wear he could find in a hurry?"

"Why wouldn't he want us to see it?" Harry asked. "It can't look worse than the rag."

"Because he doesn't want us to know who sent him," Draco said. "Most likely there is a crest on his uniform that could give away his owner, if we happen to recognise it."

"What makes you so sure someone sent him?" Hermione asked once again surprising Harry by knowing something Harry didn't realise had been said.

"Well, house elves have powerful magic," Draco explained. "But usually they can only use it to serve their owners. And Dobby must have used it to apparate on Hogwarts grounds."

"Unless he is a Hogwarts elf anyway," Hermione said. "Then he'd already have permission to apparate within the wards."

"But if he were a Hogwarts elf, he would have had no reason to hide his uniform," Draco returned. "He must be a stranger."

"Unless for some reason he wanted us to assume that he is a stranger," Hermione challenged.

It sounded like the argument would keep going in circles for a while, but luckily Ron had a good idea.

"Why don't we ask Hagrid whether he knows a house elf called Dobby?" he suggested. "He probably knows all the Hogwarts staff."

"But he's gone with the teachers. They're getting the new first years," Harry reminded them. Hagrid had fetched him and Hermione last year.

"I didn't see him go and he isn't a teacher, but even if he has he might be back by now," Ron replied. "Let's go to his hut and look."

As Harry had expected nobody answered the door when they knocked. They waited for a while, but then got bored and decided to take a walk around the lake instead.

No sooner had they started than they saw Hagrid's massive form appear on the path from the school to his hut.

They ran towards him.

"Hagrid! Hagrid! Where were you?"

"Me? Well, I just returned from London. Had to go to Knockturn Alley to get some flesh-eating slug repellent. And you'll never believe what happened when I passed Flourish and Blotts."

"Knockturn Alley?" Gregory asked worriedly. "But that's a really bad place."

"Yes, Hagrid," Vincent added eagerly. "You shouldn't go there. It's dangerous."

"Oh, why is it dangerous?" Harry asked. He'd never heard of the place.

"Ah, because it's full of dark arts stuff and dark wizards and creatures," Hagrid explained. "I never go if I can avoid it, but you can't get flesh-eating slug repellent in Diagon Alley. I tried. And I need it for my giant pumpkins. Can't let the slugs eat up all our decorations for Halloween, can we?"

"But Hagrid!" Hermione exclaimed. "Some silly decorations for a feast aren't worth risking your life for! I'm sure you could have come up with something else to use. Or bought pumpkins!"

"Why yes, but it wasn't that much of a risk," Hagrid assured her. "I didn't go in very far, you see, and I'm such a big, dangerous looking guy that they don't dare mess with me. It'd be very different if you went in there. You're just children and everybody would know at a glance that you don't know much magic yet. They'd think you're easy prey."

"But you don't have a wand at all!" Ron pointed out. "We can do more magic than you."

"Ah, but they don't know that," Hagrid said with a grin. "Besides, I have my trusty old umbrella. It can do a lot more than you'd think."

Harry gave the umbrella a doubtful look. It didn't seem all that impressive.

"Now, how would you like to see my pumpkins?" Hagrid asked. "Come on, I'll show you. And then we'll have tea. I'm out of rock cakes I'm afraid, but there's still some bread and honey left."

They agreed happily and accompanied Hagrid back to his hut.

"Say, Hagrid," Hermione asked as he was putting on the kettle. "Do you know an elf called Dobby?"

"Dobby? No, can't think of one. Is he a Hogwarts elf? There are a lot of them and they hardly ever come out here, so I don't know all the younger ones by name."

"Oh, could you ask someone maybe?" Hermione begged. "Just casually, because ... well, this Dobby came and said something odd to Harry and he wasn't dressed like a Hogwarts elf, so we'd like to know whether we can trust him."

"He said something odd to Harry? What did he say?" Hagrid demanded worriedly.

"That I must leave the institute," Harry replied. "But he didn't say where I can go."

"Why!" Hagrid exclaimed looking scandalised. "The nerve! No Harry, that never was no Hogwarts elf. You'd best stay clear of him. Now that I think of it, I think that arrogant bastard Malfoy has an elf that might be called Dobby. It'd be just like him, too. Why only today I saw him come out of Flourish and Blotts just when Professor Lockhart was leading his group of transferees past. And that bastard actually insulted the children even though they are the group from the wizarding primary institute. But I suppose Malfoy didn't know that. Knows so little about Muggles he didn't even notice the kids weren't wearing Muggle clothes."

"Who's Malfoy?" Draco asked.

"Why he's the biggest a..." but at that moment Hagrid actually looked at Draco and finally seemed to remember his manners and that he was talking to children.

He blushed and then said: "Well, no, of course not. I'm just upset about the things he said to the children, that's all. Actually Lucius Malfoy is ... um ... a very elegant and talented wizard who has done a lot of good for our society. He is very rich, too, and of a really old pureblood family and ... Well, that's exactly what the trouble with him is. While he's a perfectly fine and great wizard in every other way back when he was still young and easily influenced he fell in with You-Know-Who's Death Eaters. They say he was put under the imperius curse and forced to do whatever they wanted him to, but ... well, some people doubt it, but the Wizengamot believed it in any case. Me and Dumbledore, we think ... well, that he was sort of brainwashed. Those Death Eaters made nice to him and told him how purebloods are superior to Muggles and that Muggle-borns are bad for society, you see. They kept telling him those lies until he believed them. Wanted all his money to support their horrible cause I bet. So now You-Know-Who's gone and most of the really bad Death Eaters are in Azkaban, but some got away and some, like Malfoy, still believe the lies they told them and that makes them dangerous. Malfoy thinks that Muggle-borns are inferior, you see, and that they hold the pureblood children back, because they don't learn as quickly and the teachers always have to wait for them to master the last spell before teaching the next one. So he's against letting children from Muggle institutes into Hogwarts together with the pureblood and half-blood children. It'd be just like him to send his elf to tell all the children from Muggle institutes to leave."

"But both my parents were wizards!" Harry protested. "My old headmaster said they both went to Hogwarts institute!"

"Well, that Dobby was probably just told to tell children that came here from Muggle institutes," Draco said. "He didn't check who your parents are at all."

"But then why didn't he tell Neville and me as well?" Hermione wondered. "We were right there with Harry, but he only wanted to talk with him."

Hagrid shrugged, but Draco had an answer to that, too: "Maybe that horrid Malfoy didn't tell him why at all. Maybe he has a list and only ever tells Dobby the name of the next child on the list."

"That's possible," Hagrid agreed. "Malfoy is one of the school governors, so it wouldn't be all that difficult for him to get his hands on some transfer lists. The family information would be harder to get, because that's highly restricted. Only your parents have any business knowing that until you turn sixteen."

"I hate Malfoy," Draco declared on the way back to the castle for lunch. "He's such a bastard."

The others all nodded in agreement. As if it even mattered how talented one was or how quickly one learned magic, or how much one knew. That wouldn't make you happy. Only being productive could do that.