Dobby to the rescue
Disclaimer: Harry Potter & all HP characters are copyright J.K. Rowling.
A/N: Remember I said that this chapter will come out in 2 days time? And it didn't. Actually I uploaded the file but forgotten to add the chapters. SORRY!
heavengurl899: About what Draco said, I've explained it in chapter 6. And um... no English's not my first language. Sorry that you have to put up with my rotten grammar skills. ^^;;
mulderluva: Thank you very much! :D
Marille and Deeta: Thanks for reviewing, and yes, I will keep on writing. ^.^
Hogwarts
Harry and Ron were walking in the corridor after Potions, heading towards their dorm. Both of them wore a dreadful expression, ever
since Malfoy dissapeared, Snape was in a horrible bad mood. It was made worse when the Weasley twins performed the Instant
Scalping hex on Snape, and scalped him bore on the spot while he was teaching Harry's class potion. The whole class ended up getting
detention for nothing.
"Chocolate frogs", said Ron to the Fat Lady and the portrait swung open. They entered their room and gathered up some thing, sudden
ly, something morphed in front of them. It was Dobby.
"Harry Potter", squeaked the elf as he tugged on Harry sleeves. This made Harry jumped, Ron too. When Harry saw that it was Dobby,
he let out a sigh of relief.
"Dobby, don't frighten me like that!" exclaimed Harry.
"Sorry, but Dobby have to see Harry Potter about something.."
"What is it?"
"It's about Master Draco…." Replied Dobby. Harry gave him a weird look. "Master Draco", Dobby paused and swallowed, "is he missing
too? With Miss Granger?"
Once again, Harry gave Dobby weird looks, Ron joined in. Dobby said nothing more but looked at both of them with his big blue watery
eyes, demanding for an answer. Afetr a long pause, Harry finally nodded, as he passed Dobby the copy of the Daily Prophet. "Read
this," said Harry.
After reading the newspaper, Dobby finally said "Dobby's got a feeling, a really bad feeling about this…. It's like Master Malfoy knew
these people, these dark wizards…." Dobby's voice trailed, as he swallowed again, not daring to speak more.
"Go on Dobby, you're not Malfoy's house elf anymore," persisted Ron.
After some hesitation, Dobby continued.
"Bofore the downfall of you-know-who, Master Malfoy was his follower, besides, there is also another group of dark wizards, they too
were you-know-who followers, but started earlier than Master Malfoy. But Master Malfoy got into you-know-who's inner circle, and
those wizards did not, you-know-who didn't like them, he fears that they might turn their backs on him. He thought that Master Malfoy
was loyal," Dobby stopped. He swallowed a lot and shivered when mentioning you-know-who.
"After the downfall of you-know-who," Dobby trembled some more before continuing, "Dobby was brought from the House of Death by
Master Malfoy to look after Master Draco. Dobby used to work there and he heard you-know-who said that Master Malfoy should take
ovre his place if…." Dobby stopped there. Looking more terrified than ever. Harry gave Dobby a rather demanding look, as if asking to
know more.
"I think Hermione might be there," added Ron. Harry turned to Ron, measuring his words, he nodded in agreement. "She and Malfoy
went missing at the same time," Harry supplied.
Dobby looked down, with one of his skinny hands covering his face, "Ask no more Harry Potter," he said shaking his head. Then
suddenly, he turned back at them, "Dobby must ask Harry Potter not to go looking for Miss Granger, let the Ministry handle it," he
finished shakily. Then with a click on his fingers, Dobby disappeared in thin air.
The House of Death, that was something that left Harry thinking. What excactly is the House of Death? After gathering up the
things they needed, they headed straight toward Hagrid's hut, skipping Divination. There was no one in the school who could provide
any information about it except Hagrid, even though he may not tell them but he may let it slip by chance.
Outside Hagrid's hut
The hut was shut, windows closed, but they could hear Hagrid humming. Not wanting to waste time, Harry banged hard on the door.
"Hagrid! Open up! We have something important to ask you!"
"Tell us about the House of Death…" added Ron, but then the door flew open, it was Snape. Harry and Ron looked at him in horror,
but Snape just gave them a cold glare.
"What are you two doing here?" Snape asked in a chilly manner.
"Oh hi Harry!" said Hagrid, suddenly appearing behind Snape. He was holding a tray with some cakes in it and Fang was jumping up
and down to reach it.
"No Fang! Yer bad boy! Down!" ordered Hagrid, but Fang wasn't listening, he was much more persistent. He jumped up again, higher
than before, Hargrid edged, Fang missed. Soon Fang was jumping again, this time it was so high Hagrid leaned forward and he slipped,
of all people, he landed on Snape, squashing him badly. While the cake in the tray fell on Snape's greasy hair, and broke into small
pieces. But Fang doesn't seem to mind the added greasiness to the cake; instead he rushed towards Snape and started licking the cake
off his hair hungrily.
The two boys laughed hysterically. Ron face was so red from laughing while Harry stomach ached but neither of them cared to conceal
their laughter.
"Get off me dog!" ordered Snape, with his teeth gritted as he pushed Fang away. Hagrid stood up and straightened himself and said "Sorry
professor, are yer a'right?"
He helped Snape up, by the looks of it, Snape ought to have a few broken bones, well, who'd survive being squashed by Hagrid? But to
everyone's surprise (especially Harry and Ron) he didn't. All he got was an aching back.
Moments later, Dumbledore came out from Hagrid's hut. "What's going on? I'm sorry I missed what's happening," he smiled politely to
Harry and Ron. All of them went into the hut, Hagrid surveyed the surrounding carefully, making sure that there was no one else
around before shutting the door. "Been to busy checking on the cake, haven't been cooking for quite some times," continued
Dumbledore as he sliced the cake for Harry and Ron. It was a chocolate zucchini loaf, and the boys took a bite carefully into it. They
had, afterall, experienced Hagrid's cooking.
Looking at their cautious look, Dumbledore said "Ah, I baked that, how does it taste?" Harry took a bigger bite and it tasted rather
good.
Snape was looking at everyone impatiently. "Can we continue our discussion now?" he asked, finally. "Oh, I almost forgetten,"
Dumbledore replied. He then turned towards Harry and Ron, then said, "There is one thing that I must tell you two, that is the both of
you must not interfere with Miss Granger's sudden disappearance as it is very dangerous."
"But.." Harry butted in.
"No buts Mr. Potter, you may get into grave trouble or you may endanger your friend, therefore I FOREBADE you!" finished Snape
sternly. Then he spotted Ron, who was eyeing him furiously. "The same goes for you too Mr. Weasley. If I ever caught any of you
trying to meddle with this matter, I'll have a hundred points taken off your house, EACH!"
"Alright," Ron answered simply. "But can we ask a question?" asked Ron innocently.
"Go on," said Dumbledore.
"Where is the House of Death?" asked Harry, sounding plainly innocent, as if he wanted to know the direction to the Great Hall.
"Oh, it's in the Forbidden Forest," answered Hagrid effortlessly. Snape's eyes darted toward Hagrid, Dumbledore turned to his direction
too, but Hagrid was in totally oblivion as his back was facing them, busy fixing a meal for Fang. "Better not go there I tell yeh, it wasn't
called House 'o Death fer nothin', it was once you-know-who's mansion…..." then he looked up suddenly. "O no…" said Hagrid, his
mouth hanging agape, forming a large O.
"Goodbye!" said Harry, as they both rushed out the hut, back to the Hogwarts building.
"Hu…" sighed Dobby.
He was standing at the Astronomy Tower's balcony, looking out towards the Forbidden Forest. Tears bordering his huge eyes. A huge
one tickled down his cheeks as he sniffs.
"The time has come Dobby, Dobby must accept his fate.." he said to himself. After taking one last look at the Forbidden Forest, he
snapped his fingers and vanished.
Back at the study(In the mansion)
Kehyrdius look at his watch and exclaimed , "Oh I've got to go, have some unfinished business with Albus Dumbledore." Whatever
unfinished business he had with Dumbledore wasn't mentioned, but Hermione got a very bad feeling about it. "Wooster, get them
something to eat, and check the girl's leg, cure it if the wound is fatal, let it be otherwise. Remember, I want them ALIVE."
Then he turned away to take leave, suddenly, he looked back at Hermione, "Miss Granger, if I'm not mistaken, a muggle down there
wearing a yellow shirt is your father," a malicious smile played wide on his lips as they curved upwards. "If you know what's good, you
better give me what I want, well of course, we do know that humans die, but in what way and when? You choose for your dear father
then. Tut - tut - tut - pity…."
Suddenly, he let out a spine-chilling laugh, so cold that it could break your fiery spirit at once. Tears start swelling in Hermione's eyes
as she thought of her father's fate. What should she do now?
Wooster didn't say anything, he took out his wand silently and lifted Hermione in the air again. Directing them into a dining room. The
dining room was spectacular, like those in a Russian Palace, it was grand. In the middle, there stood a dining table as long as those in
Hogwarts, maybe longer. The table however, was made out of more expensive materials, edges of the table were plated in gold, it
shimmered once in a while, reflecting the candlelights that surrounded the place.
Wooster sat Hermione at an end of the table, while he sat beside her. Draco however, was left at the other end of the table. (For some
reasons, Hermione thought that Wooster has his eyes slithering all over her.) With a tap of Wooster's wand, lavish assortment of
dishes served on silverware appeared on the dining table, indeed, it was impossible to finish those.
In a table piled full with delicacies (in front of Hermione), there was none for Draco. Draco stared at the table, his eyes stormy, he has
not eaten for two days and was very hungry. Hermione saw that and called him over, but Wooster stood up and said, "Nah, for him, I
guess a stale bread will do."
Instantly, a loaf of stale looking bread apparated in front of him. Wooster let out a sinister laugh, and he smirked broadly at Draco.
Deep down inside Draco felt insulted, he had never been insulted like this in his entire life, and that rooster had just crossed the border.
Draco stood up, advance towards Wooster with his fist, then…. WHAM! Wooster got a black eye. Hermione looked in awe, she never
approved of fighting before, but for this particular one, she thought that Wooster deserved it. Wooster was sprawling on the floor, his
hand covering his bruised eye. He struggled to get up when Draco fists him again on his cheek. ("Ouch!" yelled Wooster.) He soon got
to his feet and kicked Draco hard on his stomach, leaving him on the floor. Then, Wooster drawled out his wand, pointed it at Draco
and yelled "CRUCIO!"
"NO!" gasps Hermione, she tried to get up to stop it, but fallen back and also landed on the ground.
A white hot pain erupted from no where and send itself all over Draco's body. He felt like he was on fire, but the heat was more than
intense. There were something like electricity binding all over him, burning his every skin. His head ached as if it was splitting half; he
felt his skull cracking. Draco rolled around the floor, screaming in pain, perennially. A sensational feeling of his bones being bend was
coming on and off, making him feel like being coiled and crushed by a giant serpent. As if all these weren't painful enough, he felt like
an iron hand was clutching tight on his heart, squeezing it, milking for blood.
Looking at Draco, Wooster's smile broaden. Bemused, he walked closer to have a better look. Hermione on the other hand, was on the
verge of crying, she was still on the floor, trying to get near Draco by pulling herself with her hands, but her legs were burdening her.
After what seems like eternity, the screaming finally stopped. Tears were smeared all over Hermione once dry face, Draco was still on
the floor, motionless, it was unknown whether he is still conscious or not, and Wooster, he was smiling smugly at the situation. To be
more exact, he looked like a psychopath smiling with satisfaction at his tortured victim. Malice gleaming in his very eyes.
He clapped his hands twice and some hooded figures came out from no where. "Take this shit to the dungeon," he ordered. Then he
walked toward Hermione and scooped her in his arms. "Sorry dear, but you gotta go too," he said, not looking sorry at all. Hermione
struggled to free herself from his grip but he was holding on too tight. Wooster than landed a kiss on Hermione's cheek which gave her
goosebumps all over…
At the dungeon
Draco was asleep on the bed while Hermione was sitting beside the bed. Lost in her whirlpool of thoughts. Her eyes were red and
blotted from crying while her body shivered of hunger and the coldness in the dungeon.
Suddenly Draco started screaming again as he tossed and turned around. Hermione figured that he was having a nightmare, or was it
the aftereffect of the Cruciatus Curse. Hermione then moved closer, for no apparent reason, she looked at him. Then she remembered
what he told her, about his mother.
Hermione pitied him, there were rumours about the elderly Malfoy couple getting divorced, and it seemed quite true. She leaned
forward as he turned some more, she pat him softly on the shoulder, trying to wake him, but it didn't work. Then she sung him a
lullaby, it worked, only for a while. At last, in order to calm him down, she went nearer, their faces merely and inch away, her heart
raced up as they got closer, then she gave him a peck on his left cheek.
As her lips brushed over his smooth skin, Draco woke up. He lifted his heavy lids and saw Hermione Granger, his nemesis' girlfriend,
leaning forward for a kiss (or had she?)
"What do you want now Granger?" questioned Draco as he sat up instanly. Hermione looked flushed and she was so stunned that she
couldn't answer it.
"I never knew you were such a loose women. Without Pottyhead here, you just go kissing anyone available," he was smirking slightly while
saying this. "Can't resist my charm eh?"
"Dammit," cursed Hermione. She didn't know why did she ever care about that git or why did she even kissed him. It was just
moments ago that he was yelping in pain and rolling on the ground, and the next second he was mocking at her. Her pity for him
vanished suddenly and she thought that it serves him right for being kicked by Wooster, but the curse was a bit too much.
"No no no," said a voice from no where.
It made Draco spun around, looking for the speaker. It was Dobby and he was sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Dobby?" said both Draco and Hermione at once.
"Miss me?" Dobby said jokingly, trying to relieve the tenseness.
"What are you doing here?" asked Draco as he moved nearer Dobby.
"To rescue you!" exclaimed Dobby, with pride shining in his voice.