Dobby was proving himself to be a veritable gold mine of information. During his time at Malfoy Manor, You-Know-Who's base of operations before the fall of the Ministry, Dobby had overheard a great many important details about the Death Eaters' plans… as well as many salacious facts she would rather he had not told her.
Indeed, men like the Death Eaters hardly paid attention to their servile House-Elves, little more worthy of notice than any other piece of the décor. They simply kept blabbing about their plans in front of their servants, without a care in the world! Exceedingly prideful about the purity of their bloodline, for all the good that did them, most pure-bloods looked down even more on non-humans than the average Witch or Wizard, and Oleandra fully intended to capitalise on this blind spot.
Even a man as intelligent and cunning as You-Know-Who had failed to take into account the little Elf's discontent, and the fact that he might one day betray the Malfoys. It just went to show there was no such thing as an invincible wand or a perfect Wizard; even the seemingly invincible You-Know-Who had his weaknesses.
"I want to know what Draco and Daphne have been up to," Oleandra said to Dobby. "Any detail, no matter how small or insignificant, might help. I want to know where they've been, what they've been eating, whether they slept well, who they've been talking to, what they've been talking about, and what magic they practised in their free time, during their time at Malfoy Manor."
Oleandra knew it was a lot to ask of Dobby, but she had to know. House-Elves weren't renowned for their intelligence, but the spark in his eyes told her that he had more of a head on his shoulders than ten of his brethren combined.
Or at least, she hoped that was the case.
"Young master Dra…" Dobby bit his tongue until a thin line of blood trickled down the corner of his mouth. "Dobby means, the little… g-g-g…"
"Go on," Oleandra said encouragingly.
Dobby's servile instincts ran deep. He was having trouble speaking ill of his previous master. He took a deep breath, resisted the urge to bash Oleandra's bedside lamp against his head. "The little git is planning to betray He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but Dobby mustn't tell anyone!!"
The House-Elf reached for Oleandra's lamp, but she snatched it out of his hands before he could bludgeon himself with it.
"Oh really?" Oleandra asked in interest. "What's his plan? Did he tell you?"
Dobby nodded vigorously.
"Then, what are you waiting for?" Oleandra asked. "Tell me what it is! It might be salvageable."
Dobby shook his head. He opened his mouth and tried to speak, but only choking sounds emerged. He pointed at his throat, and Oleandra opened her weary Mystic Eyes, giving him another look. House-elf slaves had been bred for their magical ability, so if any spell was concealed in his throat, Oleandra was struggling to discern it through his own dense aura.
"Hang on, what's this?"
There was a thin thread of magic, not unlike the Fairy-magic threads she used to steal attributes from others, linking Oleandra to Dobby. Upon closer inspection, a second thread appeared on her person, much fainter but almost identical, stretching through the wall of her room into empty space.
"What's what, Mistress?" Dobby asked, tilting his head quizzically.
Oleandra chewed her lip thoughtfully, before calling out, "Spoopey! Come here, please!"
The nearly transparent thread of magic pulsed, sending emerald light along its length. Within a heartbeat, it grew opaque, and with a loud pop, the Greengrass family's House-Elf appeared before Oleandra, bowing deeply. "Milady called?"
"Oh, hello, Spoopey!" Dobby said brightly.
"So, this is where you were, Dobby?" Spoopey said reproachfully. "I do hope you're not skiving off work again."
Oleandra observed her family's servant closely.
In addition to the thread linking Spoopey to Oleandra, three more threads emerged from the top of the House-Elf's head. Two appeared almost solid in their transparency, while the third was far, far fainter.
"Daphne, Astoria, and Mother…" Oleandra murmured.
She then looked at Dobby, and her heart skipped a beat. Dobby had two magical threads sticking out of his head.
"Dobby, are you certain Draco gave you your freedom?" Oleandra asked urgently.
Dobby nodded vigorously, and upon hearing and seeing this, Spoopey's friendly expression twisted into one of disgust. She turned her nose up at Dobby and looked away, as if refusing to acknowledge his existence.
"Draco ordered you to keep his plans secret, didn't he?" Oleandra asked uncertainly. "If you're no longer his… then why can't you go against his orders?"
"We House-Elves are magically bound to our owners by virtue of blood and law," chirped Spoopey. "If the Malfoy family's young master gave Dobby, eurgh—" Here, Spoopey looked like she might throw up on her raggedy dress, "—clothes, then Dobby is no longer bound to any of the Malfoys."
Oleandra's eyes widened. The thread was moving.
"How could I forget! The Aesir were the ones who enslaved your kind in the first place!" she groaned. "Of course they would have countermeasures against Light-Elves, in case they rebelled!"
The Aesir had risen above their eternal rivals, the Vanir, by creating Archway Travel to exploit the worlds that would later come to be known as the Nine Realms— ransacking Alfheim, seizing the Light-Elves who possessed magic while leaving the useless Elf Muggles behind, and selling them as slaves on Earth to other Wizarding clans to raise funds for further expeditions!
Oleandra couldn't think of any combination of runes that might free Dobby from his link to Loki on the spot. The Galdr ensuring his submission were woven into his blood, into his soul, into his very being. Unravelling the spell might very well kill him on the spot.
"Does that mean… Dobby isn't free?"
The thread linking Dobby to Loki was different in colour, so Oleandra was uncertain of the precise nature of this particular magic. Would Dobby still be forced to obey Loki's orders as they came, or was he simply unable to act against his interests? If the Wizarding clans of old had agreed to buy House-Elves from the Aesir, surely they would not have tolerated their slaves remaining bound to those who had sold them…
The thread was moving quickly through the wall, drawing a wide arc towards the door. Oleandra had no doubt Loki had defeated the magic preventing boys from entering the girls' dormitories.
"Spoopey, take Dobby with you and hide," Oleandra ordered. "Do not let him leave your sight under any circumstances until I give the word. And Dobby, if you think Draco's about to call you, go to Spoopey and have her knock you out first."
"Your will is mine, Milady," Spoopey said, bowing deeply.
She grabbed Dobby by the collar before he could protest, and the two House-Elves vanished with a loud pop just as the door burst open.