Author's Notes: Finally, I'm back! Sorry for the delay, but as I said in the last chapter, I'm a bit busy these days. Anyway, read, review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Hmm… let's see… oh yeah, Harry Potter is not mine; I'm just playing with it!

Chapter 8: End of the Second Year

"But how is it possible, I mean – Death is not a – a person, right?" protested Harry. Ginny had just finished telling him the tale of the Deathly Hallows. "And you said that the old story never calls them the Deathly Hallows! What if this Lovegood fellow is mistaken? You did say he is not right in his head – and your dad didn't believe him, did he?" Ginny shook her head. "And if my cloak is so special, how come Dumbledore can see through it?" They were walking through the corridor leading to the Great Hall.

"You are forgetting the tracking charms, Harry; he could simply be using them to track you! In any case, I did say they were a myth; it was Salazar who said he has seen them all. Why don't we wait for the next meeting instead of debating their existence!" replied Ginny.

"Let's go tonight," was all Harry said before they parted ways. They had decided to enter the Great Hall with a five minute time difference – to avoid any suspicions.

When Harry reached the Gryffindor table, he found Ginny looking miserable. He was wondering what might have happened when their eyes met for a moment – and he knew it was all an act.

'She's good at playing the distraught little girl,' thought Harry, discreetly checking for magic in his food. He took a careful note of things which showed any signs of magic.

"Where have you been, mate? Hermione says she hasn't seen you since morning." It was Ron who had just arrived with Hermione.

Harry's anger flared up. He barely managed to avoid hexing him. "I was just roaming around the castle," he said. His face must have shown some of his anger, for Hermione didn't question him any further, even though her face showed that she was barely restraining herself. But Ron – being his ever oblivious self – asked, "Roaming around the castle? What for? Where did you go?"

"Oh I don't know, I thought walking might help me lose some weight," Harry replied sarcastically, hoping Ron would get the hint and shut up. Unfortunately, he didn't, "Lose some weight? What are you talking about? You need to gain some!" If Harry didn't know any better, he'd have thought Ron was being stupid on purpose.

This was too much for Ginny; she burst out laughing, along with Hermione. Harry merely scowled at them and went back to eating. Fortunately for him, Ron did the same – still looking confused. Hermione – once she had stopped laughing – had the look on her face which told him that he wasn't off the hook yet.

That night Harry and Ginny found themselves in Salazar's office once again. Harry had managed to avoid Hermione's questioning by telling her the story he'd told Dumbledore. Then he had made a show of going to bed early – under the pretext of being tired – and come back under the invisibility cloak. As per the plan, Ginny had opened the portrait hole and followed him.

"So, back to the business," said Salazar, once they had exchanged pleasantries and taken their seats, "would you like to be my apprentice?" The question was directed towards Harry.

"Err—okay," replied Harry, "but what about Ginny?"

"Unfortunately, I can take only one apprentice at a time. You'll have to teach her – and any other friends you find," replied Salazar. "And one more thing – never bring anybody else to this place without my explicit permission. If you need a room, use the Room of Requirements. Just ask for the kind of room you need – like you did for my office. For non-Parselmouths – they can walk past the blank stretch of wall, thrice, concentrating upon the room they need. But they won't be able to use some of the features I added – like finding the door to this office. You'll get almost any kind of room there – within the limits of magic, of course."

"Wait a moment – even if you can't officially take her as your apprentice, she can still watch and learn the things you teach me, can't she?" asked Harry. He didn't want Ginny to feel left out.

"Of course she can. But most of the time, I won't be teaching you the traditional way. It won't be a good idea to have me around in this form when you are doing magic. I am using your magic to stay in this form, you know!" He pointed towards another shelf, "Bring me that box."

Harry obediently picked up the small, ornately carved wooden box lying on the aid shelf and placed it on the table.

"Open," said Salazar in Parseltongue. The serpents carved on the box moved aside to reveal a small keyhole. "Open it now; any unlocking spell should do the trick."

"Alohomora!" said Harry. The lid popped open. Inside the box was a small snake made of some grey-white metal. Somewhere near its middle was a rather large emerald.

"Is that platinum?" asked Harry in amazement. He had seen Aunt Petunia wearing some jewellery made of it and knew that it was costlier than even gold. He hadn't seen any of it in wizarding world.

"Is that what they call it now? I found some African wizarding tribes using it for making artefacts. They called it Divine Silver, because it doesn't tarnish like regular silver," said Salazar.

"What's so special about this platinum?" asked Ginny, looking a little confused.

"Are you kidding? It's costlier than even gold!" replied Harry.

"Is it now? I didn't think any metal could be costlier than gold!" Salazar was surprised.

"I have heard there are several metals which are costlier than gold but they are too rare to be of any major significance. So what do we do with this serpent?" Harry quickly added in an attempt to drive the conversation back to the matter at hand.

"Place your forefinger on its mouth. We need a drop of your blood."

Harry complied. He felt a sharp pain in his finger which vanished a moment later. The serpent seemed to have come to life. It slithered and coiled itself around his finger. In the end Harry had a serpent shaped platinum ring with a large emerald on the forefinger of his right hand.

"Now, you are officially my apprentice. The ring contains all the knowledge I ever gained – up to the point of my last visit, of course. It is currently bound to you and can't be removed against your wish. It will disappear when you don't want it to be seen. It can call me anywhere in the world. But I must warn you – try and avoid doing so unless absolutely necessary – especially if you are in a battle. It takes a huge amount of magic to call me and create this corporeal body – especially when you are outside Hogwarts. In fact, the further away you are, the more magic it needs. Effectively, I'll only be able to advise you – don't expect me to be able to possess you and fight your battles."

He continued at Harry's nod, "There are several other features – you'll find out about them in due course of time. Now, the ring doesn't mean you gain all the knowledge in no time. It's only your way out of reading books. The learning process will go at its natural rate – depending upon your capabilities. Otherwise you'll go insane from information overload. And gaining power too fast can corrupt even the best of men. However, if you need information about any particular topic, you can get it quickly."

He paused for a moment, "Some of the knowledge it contains is highly dangerous – it's what I call true Dark Magic – magic that requires hideous acts to work – like Horcruxes. You won't be able to access it for now. It'll be unlocked gradually as you mature. Whatever happens – never practise any of it – it will destroy you – and those you care about! You'll become what you hate the most. You'll learn it only so that you can counter it when it's used against you. And you must ensure that this knowledge never falls into wrong hands."

Harry nodded. There was another brief pause before Ginny spoke.

"What do you mean by true Dark Magic?"

"People label anything they don't understand as dark – out of ignorance, fear or jealousy. Take Parseltongue for example – very few people can speak it – so it's considered dark. It's true that serpents are used in some really dark rituals – does that mean every Parselmouth practises them? The same could be said about Natural Occlumency. The blood magic your mother used to protect you would be considered dark by many. And you used the Killing Curse – which is supposedly 'among the worst of the Dark Arts' – according to the Headmaster – to save her life! Do you see it now? Magic in itself is never light or dark! It depends upon what you do with it! The true Dark Arts – as I call them – require such hideous acts to work – or have such hideous effects – that I can't find a reason to justify their use! In order to create a Horcrux – for example – you need to commit cold-blooded murder of an innocent – someone who has got their soul intact – without any hint of remorse – or sadness. You need to enjoy it! I can't find a reason to justify such an act! And that's only the tip of the iceberg! That's why you must – never – practise – them!" Salazar finished in a stern voice.

Harry and Ginny were horrified. They had never thought that such magic could exist. It was Harry who found his voice first.

"Then why are we going to learn them? I mean – you could simply teach us the ways to counter them!"

"You see, even I don't know all forms of magic that could be used against you. If you have some exposure to the inner workings of such magic, you may be able to devise a way to counter even some unknown form of magic. In order to counter something, you need to know exactly how it works! Why do you think there is no shield that can block the Killing Curse? That's because nobody knows about its true nature – there is hardly any literature dealing with it! Anybody found studying it will be automatically labelled as a dark wizard or witch."

"You mean you know how to block it?" asked Harry.

"Unfortunately, I don't. When I came here for the last time, I was working on creating a shield capable of blocking it. But the work was still in its early stages. I did manage to figure out how the Killing Curse works, though – maybe we'll be able to do it together. Besides, you could always conjure some solid object in its path – the shield isn't that important. It'll probably take more power than conjuring anyway! However, if you have the Elder Wand – and you are powerful enough, your shield may just be able to block it – it did for me – once."

The mention of the Elder Wand reminded Harry of the question that had bugged him the whole day, "What exactly are these Deathly Hallows? I mean – the old story sounds rather – rather unbelievable!" Harry blurted out. He found it very hard to believe that such things could exist.

Salazar laughed, "That it does. I once heard a couple of kids discussing it. The story in itself isn't entirely true – Death didn't create them!" His face became serious, "About a century and a half before our time, the Peverell brothers – Antioch, Cadmus and Ignotus – travelled far and wide. During their travels, they came across a country – somewhere in Asia – which was being ruled by a tyrant – by the name of Morgol the Mighty – a very powerful wizard. He took offence at something they did and attacked them. After a long duel, the brothers managed to defeat him. In exchange for sparing his life, he gave them three powerful artefacts he had – the Deathly Hallows. Antioch took the Wand, Cadmus took the Stone and Ignotus, being the youngest – and the wisest – took the Cloak."

"So the whole 'Master of Death' thing is a lie?" asked Ginny.

"I can't say for sure. You see, after the deaths of his brothers, Ignotus set out to investigate the history of the Hallows. The only clue he had was that Morgol had taken them from the tombs of old Egyptian wizards. That's what he had told them..." Salazar closed his eyes, as if trying to remember something.

"After nearly three years of hard work, he managed to find – in a tomb nearly two and a half millennia old – three and a half millennia old now – an inscription that described them. An old witch queen – I think she was called Gloriossa – was buried there. She was apparently the original owner of the Hallows. It didn't say how she got them, though. In any case, from what I have heard of ancient Egyptian sorcerers; I'd say they were more than capable of making them! The last line of the inscription could be roughly translated as, 'The one to unite them shall be the Master of Death.' She had apparently lost them before her death… There were some other tombs which mentioned one or two of them – but nobody, other than Morgol and Gloriossa, has ever had them together – at least not in recorded history. That's why I can't say if there is any truth in those words! It would probably depend upon how you interpret the Master of Death..." he trailed off.

There was a brief pause while the children digested the information.

"You said that you had an unbeatable wand…" began Harry.

Salazar cut him off, "Yes, it was the Elder Wand. And I had the Resurrection Stone for a while too."

"Where did you get them?"

"I took the Wand from one of the Dark Lords I defeated. He was an idiot, actually, boasting he couldn't be defeated because he had an unbeatable wand. And Ignotus himself gave me the stone."

"Ignotus? But why?"

"Ignotus was a very wise man, Harry. He was afraid if one of his sons found out the whole story, they might try and find the remaining Hallows – and die out in the process. I am probably the only one he ever told the whole truth – on his deathbed. He had kept the whole expedition a secret. Only the few people, who had accompanied him, knew anything about it. And even they didn't know that he actually had any of them! The legend was built around the highly exaggerated stories Antioch had told before his death. In any case, he gave me the stone – which he had taken after Cadmus' death – and told me to hide it. That's how I figured out what the Wand actually was."

"And you were trying to duplicate the Elder Wand – that was the special wand you were working upon!" said Ginny excitedly.

Salazar laughed, "Quite sharp, aren't you? Yes, that's what I was working upon. I made an extremely powerful wand too; but the Elder Wand can't be recreated, not without stepping into the forbidden territory of magic… And it is better that way – that wand is enough trouble as it is! We don't want more of them out in the world!"

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"Find out about it in any reliable history book – it crops up under various names – the Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny… Too much blood has been shed over it."

"If the wand is unbeatable, how come the Peverells defeated Morgol?"

"No wand is unbeatable – it's just an exaggeration. No doubt, the wand is very powerful – it can even bend some of the laws of magic. But unbeatable – no! The wand won't cast spells by itself, you know!"

"What about the Stone? How does it work?" asked Ginny.

"I couldn't figure it out completely. Its magic is similar to the one we used to create our imprints – only it creates imprints of the dead." He paused for a while, "I know what you are thinking, Harry. Just remember that it can destroy you, like it destroyed Cadmus – yes, that part of the story is true! That's why I didn't keep it – I gave it to my eldest son – he didn't know what it was! I told him it was a family heirloom."

"'It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.' The old man got at least one thing right!" muttered Harry. "Does the Cloak mean that I am descended from Ignotus Peverell?"

"Yes, it's very likely. The Cloak is special. It will expand to fit more people if needed – within limits of course. You can't be detected if you are under it, unless somebody runs into you. It masks your sounds too. Nobody can summon it from you and there are very few spells that can harm it."

"Then how come Dumbledore could see through it? And why did he give it to me?" protested Harry.

"He was using the tracking charms. And he gave it to you because it works only for its rightful owner. For anyone else, it's just an ordinary invisibility cloak," replied Salazar. "Anyway, I must insist that you keep all this about the Hallows a secret. It would be a disaster if this knowledge were to fall into wrong hands." Harry and Ginny nodded. "Now I think that's enough about the Hallows for now. You can learn more about them from the ring."

"How do I use it?" asked Harry.

"I'll tell you in a moment. How many days do you have before you go home for the summer?" asked Salazar.

"Eleven days," replied the children.

"So this is what we are going to do …"

The last eleven days of the term were a bit too busy for Harry's liking. They brewed antidotes to the potions in Harry's systems. Thankfully they didn't need any rare ingredients. Once the potions were taken care of, they started learning Occlumency. Just as Salazar had predicted, Harry found it very easy. His mental shields – once they had recovered from the effects of the potion – were pretty strong. He found that it also helped enhance his memory and concentration. While sorting his memories, he remembered several long forgotten things. He even tried to get past the memory blocks, but all he got was a splitting headache. By the tenth day, he had sorted out his memories – the ones that were accessible anyway – and built the mental shields completely. He decided to leave the rest for the summer. Thanks to his meditation exercises, he found it easier to control his emotions. It wasn't perfect yet, but he was getting there – slowly but surely. At least, he wasn't itching to hex Ron every time he saw him!

Ginny, on the other hand, was having some trouble with it. She was still doing the basic meditation exercises and sorting out her memories. Salazar had told her to go through her first year books during the summer. Harry was supposed to teach her whatever he had learnt from the ring, when he arrived at the Burrow – Ginny had said she would get her mother to invite him if Ron didn't.

Since they hadn't figured out how to do magic during the summer without getting expelled, they decided to concentrate on the fundamentals of magic – something they should have been taught before anything else. They also learnt several exercises that would help them use their magic optimally – exercises to strengthen their magical cores and connect to them properly. Harry found them somewhat difficult, thanks to the block on his magic – but he did notice the difference – his magic seemed to be less restricted. He wanted to remove another stage before going back, but Salazar refused. He said that the magical core needed time to stabilize properly before another stage could be removed.

To Harry's great surprise, Hermione didn't try to question him again. He had even gone through the trouble of thinking up a cover story for his disappearances! Well, it was a good thing – knowing Hermione, she would have found some loophole for sure.

Harry kept checking for his food and avoiding anything that showed even the faintest signs of magic. What he feared most was that he might be called by Dumbledore – he didn't think his mental shields were strong enough to keep Dumbledore out – not yet anyway. Fortunately for him, no such thing happened.

Salazar had advised him against studying Divination. It turned out that Salazar often chose to attend classes to pass his time. According to him, the teacher was a fraud. He had even led Harry through a series of tests to ensure that he didn't have any Seer talent. That was how it was done in old days, only those with some talent as a Seer were allowed to study Divination. Harry had failed miserably. His Seer abilities were far below those of an average witch or wizard.

Harry had no problems with that. He hadn't really wanted to study it in the first place. He had only opted for it because Ron had told him to. So the day before they were supposed to leave for the summer, he found himself knocking at Professor McGonagall's door. They had decided to do it at the last moment in case it was another one of Dumbledore's brilliant ideas to have Harry study Divination. Though Harry thought it was rather far-fetched, even for Dumbledore. Why would he care about the subjects Harry studied? But it didn't hurt to be cautious – they didn't want to give the Headmaster a chance to try and persuade him out of it.

"Enter!"

"Good evening, Professor."

"Good evening, Mr Potter. What can I do for you?"

"Err—Professor, I was wondering if it's too late to change the electives for the next year…"

McGonagall looked at him with scrutinizing eyes, "Take a seat, Potter." Harry did so. "No, it isn't too late. But you shouldn't have submitted your application without thinking it through."

"I'm sorry, Professor," Harry mumbled, trying to look sheepish, but failing miserably.

McGonagall looked at him disapprovingly, "So, what do you want?"

"Err—I was thinking of dropping Divination and taking Arithmancy – and maybe Ancient Runes…"

McGonagall's expression changed from disapproving to approving within an instant. Apparently, she didn't have much patience for Divination either. "Are you sure? Both of them are rather demanding subjects, you know!"

"I think I'll manage, Professor. Is it possible to drop either History of Magic or Astronomy?"

"No, you can't drop the core subjects, Potter. Well, if you are sure…" she took out Harry's application and threw it into the fireplace. Then she asked him to write a new one. Harry had already written one. McGonagall nodded appreciatively.

"Well, if that's all, you may leave, Potter."

"Thank you, Professor."

"You are welcome, Potter."

Before he turned to leave, Harry could have sworn he saw a faint smile on the stern Professor's face.

At the leaving feast, Harry received a Special Award for Services to the School. The three hundred points he had received a few days ago, for saving Ginny, ensured that Gryffindor won the House Cup by a long shot. Harry had already expected all this – still, he couldn't help but feel happy.

Next day, it was time for the journey home on the Hogwarts Express. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny got a compartment to themselves. They spent the journey playing wizard chess and Exploding Snap. Malfoy and his goons showed their faces sometime during the afternoon, but retreated quickly when they saw that they were outnumbered two to one.

And before they knew it, the train was pulling into the King's Cross. Mrs Weasley greeted them with her usual enthusiasm, hugging the children and saying goodbye to Harry and Hermione. Ginny gave him a hug and a quick peck on the cheek. Harry was about to follow them out to the muggle world when he spotted Malfoy talking to his father. Behind them, Harry spotted a little elf dragging a heavy trunk – it was Dobby. So, Dobby was Malfoys' house-elf! But how did he know about the diary or the Chamber? Realisation hit him – it was Lucius Malfoy who had planted the diary on Ginny – at Flourish and Blotts! He had picked up her old book and insulted Mr Weasley – then the fight had broken out. He had casually thrown the book back into her cauldron! It had all been intentional!

Anger and hatred boiled up inside him. The son of a bitch nearly got Ginny killed! He pulled out his wand, the incantation for the Killing Curse on his lips. Then he remembered what Salazar had said – he couldn't afford to lose control like that. There were too many people around – the curse could hit anybody. And even if he did hit Malfoy, he'd end up in Azkaban. No, the revenge would have to wait. And from what he had heard of Lucius Malfoy, he didn't deserve a quick death anyway. His death would be painful!

Forcing his anger down, he thought furiously for a way to free Dobby. Slowly a plan formed into his mind. He took out his invisibility cloak – which he had taken to carrying in his pocket – and put it on. He quickly moved closer to the Malfoys and removed his smelly socks. Taking careful aim, he levitated one of them above Mr Malfoy's head and dropped it. Lucius' face turned red with anger. He looked around, trying to find the offender. When he couldn't find anyone he could blame, he threw the sock away in anger. Dobby, who had been watching the spectacle with fearful eyes, jumped and caught it.

'Plan successful,' thought Harry. He didn't even need the second sock!

"Master has given Dobby a sock," the little elf said in wonderment.

"What did you say?" It was Draco Malfoy.

"Master Lucius gave Dobby a sock," Dobby repeated, waving the sock around, "Dobby is free!"

Lucius' face turned a deeper shade of red. He pulled out his wand tried to attack Dobby. But the elf was too quick for his liking. He blasted Lucius across the platform.

"Master – no, Lucius Malfoy will not hurt Dobby again! Dobby is a free elf now!" Dobby said threateningly.

Lucius Malfoy gathered whatever was left of his dignity and Disapparated with Draco. Dobby vanished with a loud crack, only a couple of moments later.

Smiling to himself, Harry turned around to leave through the ticket barrier, only to find his way blocked by the Weasleys. They were probably worried that he hadn't followed them. He ran towards the toilet. Once inside, he removed the cloak and came out.

"Oh Harry, where were you? We were so worried!" It was Mrs Weasley.

"I- I needed to go to the toilet," replied Harry. Mrs Weasley, Ron and Percy seemed satisfied; but Fred, George and Ginny's faces clearly said that they were not buying it.

"You won't believe what happened, mate! That weird house-elf, Dopey, or whatever he was called – someone freed him! Someone threw a sock..." Ron launched into a tale of what had transpired during his absence. Harry winked at Ginny, when the other Weasleys were not looking, confirming that it was indeed his doing. She smiled and blew him a kiss.

Once in the muggle world, both Mrs Weasley and Ginny hugged him again. They said their goodbyes and parted ways. Harry was greeted by surly looking Dursleys.

"Took your time, did you? Come on, we are in a hurry!" It was Uncle Vernon.

Harry found out the reason for the hurry when they reached Privet Drive. The Dursleys were going out for a party. Once he had freshened up, Aunt Petunia gave him some bread, cheese and water and sent him to his room. Uncle Vernon promised him a painful death if he touched any of his normal things or did any freaky stuff, before locking his room. How he was supposed to touch the so called 'normal' things, while the door was locked, was beyond him. Well, at least they didn't lock his trunk in his old bedroom this time!

He was lying on his bed, thinking about the events of the last few days, when heard a loud crack. He jumped up, wand in hand, and came face to face with –

"DOBBY! What are you doing here?"

"Dobby is sorry for startling you, sir," the elf twisted his ears, "Dobby has come to thank Harry Potter for his kindness, sir. Yes, Dobby knows it was Harry Potter who freed him from the evil wizards. Dobby recognised the sock, sir. Dobby had heard of your greatness, but your kindness – he sees it now. Dobby is very sorry for all the trouble he caused you, sir. Dobby just wanted you to stay safe. Dobby will take any punishment you want, sir." He looked up anxiously, obviously awaiting punishment.

Harry was too shocked to say anything! Dobby had known it was him, all along! Finally he gathered his wits and asked the first question that came to his mind, "How did you recognise the sock?"

"Dobby recognised your magic and your smell in the sock, sir," replied the elf.

"You mean it can be traced back to me?" asked Harry, alarmed.

"Oh no, sir, magic stays in your clothes only for a few minutes after you remove them," replied Dobby.

Harry was relieved, "It was no problem, Dobby. Besides, I wanted revenge on Lucius Malfoy. He was the one behind the whole mess, wasn't he?"

"Oh yes, sir. Dobby had known of the plan for months. That's why he came to warn you, sir." Dobby hung his head in shame.

"It's all right, Dobby. Just promise me you won't try to save my life again, at least not the way you tried!"

The elf's ugly brown face split suddenly into a wide, toothy smile, "Yes, Harry Potter. Dobby promises."

"So, what are you going to do now, Dobby?" asked Harry.

"Dobby is going to take a vacation for a while, and then he is going to find a nice family to serve!" Dobby said happily.

Harry thought for a moment before he said, "Would you like work for me, Dobby."

Dobby broke into sobs, "Harry Potter is so kind. He frees Dobby from the evil wizards and gives him work." He calmed down after a few minutes of praising Harry. Harry couldn't help but feel very awkward. "Yes, Master Harry Potter, Dobby will work for you." As he said it, a flash of white light passed from Harry to Dobby.

"What was that, Dobby?" asked Harry.

"That was the bonding, sir. A house-elf has to be bound to a wizard – or he wouldn't survive for long. The bond will let Dobby know when master calls, no matter where he is," replied Dobby.

"Could you avoid calling me master? It sounds so awkward!" said Harry.

"Dobby will try, sir," replied the little elf.

"That's all I ask, Dobby. Now, about your payment… let's see… ten Galleons a week? What do you think?"

Dobby burst in fresh sobs, "Harry Potter will pay Dobby! He's so noble! Nobody ever pays an elf!"

Harry was startled, "What do you mean by 'nobody pays an elf'? What do you work for?"

"House-elves is not paid in gold, sir. They is paid in magic. House-elves need a small amount of magic from their master to survive. That's why nobody keeps more house elves than what they need!"

"Hmm… but I'll pay you Dobby..."

"Ten Galleons is too much, Harry Potter, sir. Dobby will work for one Galleon a week," replied the little elf, shuddering at the thought of too much money.

"Alright then, one Galleon a week it is! Here," he took out a Galleon, "this is your first salary! Buy yourself some decent clothes."

"Thank you, sir. What is your order, sir?" asked the elf.

"For now, go and relax, Dobby. I'll call you when I need something. Just make sure my relatives don't know you are here! And don't let anybody know it was me who freed you! I don't want to face the Lucius Malfoy right now." Harry finished darkly.

"Dobby will keep your secrets, sir." The elf turned to leave.

"Wait, Dobby! Could you bring me some food? Here is the money," Harry handed him some coins.

"What would you like to have, sir?"

"Anything that's better than this," he pointed at the food the Dursleys had given him.

Dobby bowed and vanished with a loud crack.

'I'll have to ask him to make a little less noise next time,' thought Harry.

Dobby returned about ten minutes later with a small feast.

"Dobby brought you food, Harry Potter." Then he noticed the worried look on Harry's face. "Something wrong, sir? You looking worried!"

"You just used magic, Dobby. Won't the ministry think it was me?"

"Oh no, they won't, sir. Last time Dobby made his magic look like wizard-magic. They don't detect elf-magic."

"Wait a moment – what do you mean by wizard-magic? Don't they know who actually did the magic?" asked Harry.

"No sir. Dobby heard old master talking about it. He was telling young master Draco – the ministry doesn't know who cast the spell. They only know when and where the magic is done – and the type of spell. They can't detect even that in a wizarding house – there is too much magic in the air. Master Draco does magic whenever he wants!" replied Dobby.

"Another example of discrimination against muggleborns," muttered Harry. "Wait, if an adult wizard uses magic here, they'd think it was me?"

"No sir, they is guessing if the wizard is underage by the amount of magic in the spell. If you is too powerful, they wouldn't know you is underage," replied Dobby.

"The whole system is based on guesswork and lies! They use the students' fear of expulsion to their advantage!" Harry was outraged.

They sat in silence while Harry pondered on how he could use this information to his advantage. His musings were interrupted when Dobby remembered the food, "The food is getting cold, Harry Potter, sir."

Author's Notes: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews!

I hope I made the theory about detection of underage magic a little more logical, while staying canon compliant!

I had a lot of trouble with Dobby-speak. Hope it turned out to be satisfactory!

Next chapter will cover the summer – and maybe the beginning of the third year!

Do you think Ginny should be a Parselmouth? If yes, should it be due to Riddle or the Bond?
I haven't forgotten about the bond, you know. It was Harry who forgot about it. It'll come up later!

Hope you enjoyed it. Please read and review!