Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

Inside the kitchen, accompanied by a crisp popping sound, Dobby knew his masters had returned.

"The master has returned from Mr. Black's factory."

Curled up in a dark corner, Dobby's already melancholy mood deepened a bit. As he spoke, his large, fan-like ears drooped down, almost covering his eyes.

"Dobby!!"

However, just as he was grieving alone, Lucius's voice from the front hall suddenly pulled him back. As if by reflex, he almost catapulted to his feet, and with a "whoosh," he vanished from the spot, appearing before Lucius.

"Great master, is there anything Dobby can do…?"

He groveled at Lucius's feet, inquiring with the usual obsequiousness and fear, his heart instinctively tightening, afraid of doing something wrong and provoking a barrage of kicks and punches.

However, this time, unlike before, Lucius didn't speak.

After a moment, Dobby heard a gentle voice coming from above him.

"Alright, Dobby, get up. The floor is cold."

As he spoke, Lucius even bent down himself, unhesitatingly taking Dobby's arms in his hands, smiling as he helped him up.

"M-Master?"

Lucius's actions made Dobby shudder. It seemed so magical that even in his dreams, he had never imagined such a scene. After stuttering out the word 'master,' he couldn't say anything else, only staring wide-eyed at Lucius Malfoy, as if confirming whether the person before him was truly his master, and not Mr. Black using Polyjuice Potion.

"Come, come here."

Lucius supported Dobby's arm, leading him shakily to the sofa in the front hall of the manor.

"Sit down."

Lucius gestured with a smile, but Dobby interpreted it differently.

He trembled even more violently, almost collapsing, his thin legs about to give way.

"N-No… This, this is Master's sofa. Master ordered that Dobby must never use Master's sofa, or else he would… be beaten."

Hearing this, Lucius paused, subconsciously raising his head to look at his wife, Narcissa, who was about to go upstairs.

Narcissa's expression remained unchanged, and she slowly shook her head, as if saying she had forgotten when the order had been given.

Helpless, Lucius could only cough twice, take a deep breath, and continue, "Alright… Let's just get straight to the point, Dobby… Based on your many years of service to the Malfoy family, that is, myself, Narcissa, and Draco, after careful consideration, I have decided… to grant you your freedom.♦♦     ♦♦"

As he spoke, Lucius took off the cloak he was wearing and shook it gently.

Then, under Dobby's shocked and trembling gaze, he once again bent down and solemnly draped the cloak slowly over Dobby's shoulders.

After placing the cloak on him, Lucius didn't immediately stand up but whispered in his ear.

"Alright, now you are free."

At that moment, faced with a beautiful scene that had never even appeared in his dreams, Dobby's brain completely crashed.

He stared blankly, wide-eyed, at his master… or rather, his former master.

His hands instinctively grabbed the corners of the cloak behind him. His fingers ran over the surface, desperately feeling the delicate fabric and the extremely fine stitches—a sensation he had never experienced before.

After the two stared at each other for about two or three minutes, Dobby finally forced his brain to recover from the crash.

His large eyes instantly filled with tears, and then he slowly raised his arms, trembling, and grasped Lucius's large hand, which was still supporting him.

"Master… gave Dobby freedom?"

Dobby opened his mouth and murmured. His already thin voice contained a sob, making it sound even sharper.

"Master… Master, you…"

He gripped Lucius's hands even tighter, and under the surge of emotions, he couldn't speak for a moment.

Lucius smiled, completely devoid of his usual harshness and arrogance towards Dobby. Instead, from the inside out, he exuded an aura of "Charlie Black."

"Just call me Mr. Malfoy. You are free now. I am no longer your master."

As soon as these words were spoken, Dobby's already surging emotions could no longer be contained. The hot tears that had accumulated in his eyes burst forth, scattering like rain on the manor's expensive carpet.

"Mr. Malfoy, you are such a good person… You are the best person in the world… Dobby never, never imagined that such a day would come. Oh my goodness… You are like Mr. Black, a great wizard worthy of sincere respect… I'm sorry, I'm so sorry that Dobby once expressed dissatisfaction with you behind your back. Dobby is really a wretched little elf… …"

In an instant, countless words filled with all sorts of emotions flew from his mouth, but most of them were inseparable from praise for his former master, Lucius Malfoy.

Yes… this is a house-elf. Even if you have treated him badly in the past, as long as you think of him at a crucial moment or help him once, he will completely forget all his unhappiness and sincerely express his praise to you.

Even a dark and scheming person like Lucius almost couldn't maintain his feigned composure under Dobby's gratitude.

Helpless, he had to interrupt the other party's outpouring of emotions, stood up, sat on the sofa, and continued softly, "Alright, Dobby… Actually, there is one more thing I want to ask you to help me with."

Hearing Lucius's sincere tone, Dobby didn't care about saying anything else. He hurriedly used the cloak Lucius had given him to wipe the snot and tears from his face, causing the cloak's former owner to twitch the corner of his eye.

After his emotions calmed down, he patted his thin chest eagerly, adopted a righteous attitude, and said loudly, "Mr. Malfoy, please leave everything to me!! I will definitely complete it for you!!"

Hearing this, Lucius breathed a sigh of relief, and the smile on his face grew even wider.

Pointing in the direction of the study, he continued, "There is a box there, a gift I plan to give to Charlie. I hope you can help me deliver it."

"No problem—"

As soon as he heard this, Dobby immediately agreed without hesitation. However, just as he was about to leave impatiently, Lucius quickly continued, as if thinking of something, "When you see Charlie, don't forget to tell him…"

"Tell him what?"

"Tell them more about how you are a free elf now."

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