Chapter 200. The Perfect Employee
Lucius Malfoy fled the office without looking back.
He didn't even spare a glance for Dobby beside him.
Dobby stood frozen where he was, staring at his master's panicked back as he fled, at a loss for what to do.
Only when Lucius vanished through the doorway did he come back to himself.
And the first thing he did was bow deeply to Adrian Wesson.
"Mr Wesson!" Dobby's voice carried a hint of a sob. "Dobby… Dobby doesn't know how to thank you! You saved Harry Potter! You didn't lie to Dobby..."
Adrian did not reply; he merely smiled a little and reminded him, "That diary, Dobby—Lucius still has it on him. You should go after your current master."
Dobby nodded and hurriedly scurried off.
"Poor little thing," said Professor Sprout anxiously. "The Malfoys will certainly torment him—look at those wounds all over him—every one of them is fresh."
"That won't be a worry for long," Adrian said with a smile.
Thanks to the interruptions from Fudge and Lucius, the small meeting ran longer than planned.
When Adrian left Professor McGonagall's office, it was already close to eight o'clock in the evening.
He pushed open his own office door and, with a flick of his wand, the sconces along the wall lit one by one.
Suddenly, he realised something, paused mid-movement, and called, "Dobby?"
A small, thin figure slowly emerged from behind the desk.
It was Dobby.
At the moment, Dobby was trembling, holding the counterfeit diary.
Conspicuously, his hands were now encased in an oversized pair of green gloves.
Yes—the gloves were what Adrian had tucked into the diary in advance.
He had gone to great lengths to prepare a replica of the diary precisely to free Dobby from the Malfoy family.
The method was almost exactly the same as in the original events.
Thus Dobby had smoothly won his freedom.
"Looks like you're a free House-elf now, Dobby," Adrian's lips quirked. "Congratulations."
At Adrian's words, Dobby shook all over with excitement, great tears rolling from his eyes. "Mr Wesson! Dobby… master… no… when Mr Malfoy threw the diary to Dobby, this pair of gloves fell out, and Dobby caught them!"
Looking at the little creature rambling incoherently, Adrian said with a laugh, "Calm down, Dobby. You no longer need to concern yourself with the Malfoys."
"Dobby hates them."
Dobby suddenly muttered under his breath.
"So do I." Adrian waved his wand, and a steaming cup of tea floated into Dobby's hands.
Dobby took the cup with trembling fingers and wiped his eyes. "Mr Wesson, Dobby is so happy… this is the first time in years anyone has made Dobby tea."
Watching Dobby cradle the cup, Adrian asked, "Dobby, now that you're free, what are your plans?"
Dobby's large eyes blinked; it was as if he had never considered the question.
"Dobby will look for a job!" he burst out, excited. "Yes, a job! A job! With wages! With days off! Dobby needs a job!"
"Good idea."
Adrian thought this might be the first time he had met someone so impassioned about work.
"Do you think Hogwarts could offer me a job?" Dobby looked at him hopefully. "Dobby only needs a meagre wage, and not even any time off."
Look! Look!
What a model worker!
Adrian decided on the spot—he had to bring Dobby into his plantation.
An employee who was low-cost, quick and efficient, steadfastly loyal, and even highly capable with magic—someone who could double as a bodyguard at critical moments.
"I'm afraid not, Dobby," Adrian said with a shake of the head. "There have never been salaried House-elves at Hogwarts. You'd be ostracised here."
"Then Dobby will look elsewhere. There must be somewhere that needs Dobby!"
"Perhaps there's no need, Dobby," Adrian said, eyes crinkling. "No need to look elsewhere. Would you like to work for me?"
Dobby stopped dead. The teacup fell with a "crack" onto the floor.
"Of course Dobby would!" He nodded vigorously, almost weeping with joy. "Mr Wesson is willing to employ Dobby! Willing to employ Dobby! Mr Wesson is the kindest wizard Dobby has ever met, and he stopped the Dark Lord's evil plan! Dobby has always longed to work for him!"
"It's settled, then," Adrian smiled, producing a roll of parchment as if by sleight of hand and holding it up before Dobby. "This is the contract."
Dobby didn't wonder why Adrian had prepared a contract so early.
He merely skimmed it and pressed his handprint upon it.
"Excellent," Adrian said with satisfaction, putting away the agreement. "You can start this summer holiday. I have a large plantation that's always in need of hands to tend it."
"What about now?" Dobby asked in confusion. "Where should Dobby go?"
"You're free now, Dobby. You don't have to obey anyone's orders. You can decide for yourself," Adrian said gently.
Dobby blinked and suddenly looked a little lost.
Freedom…
He had never known freedom could leave him so at sea.
Freedom was hard work.
Time slipped by.
In fact, there were only a few days left in the term.
The crisis at Hogwarts being resolved meant the students could settle down to prepare for their final examinations.
All at once, everyone at Hogwarts became busy.
Fudge had not been lying—Hagrid returned to Hogwarts two days after Fudge left.
While Adrian was teaching Care of Magical Creatures, showing the students a Bowtruckle, Hagrid came lumbering in from who-knew-where and grabbed Adrian in a bear hug.
"Thank yeh so much, Adrian," Hagrid's voice shook with emotion. "That amulet o' yours was a real help—yeh've no idea how desperate I was."
Adrian finally managed to extricate himself from Hagrid's arms and rubbed his shoulder. "Ahem—don't mention it, Hagrid. I'm glad to see you back safe."
"Azkaban's a terrible place," Hagrid said, still shaken. "Those Dementors were already right on top o' me, but when I held the amulet in me hand, they looked at me like I was a skunk and all backed off. By the way, I heard the business at school's all sorted?"
"The real culprit has been caught. You don't have to worry any more, Hagrid. For the details, you can ask Professor McGonagall."
As Adrian spoke, he suddenly turned to a student at the side. "Hey, Mr Cox, don't try feeding the Bowtruckle a steak—it doesn't eat that."
Seeing Adrian was busy, Hagrid waved goodbye.
And Adrian continued teaching Care of Magical Creatures.
He still had two periods of Defence Against the Dark Arts to teach after this.
Adrian couldn't help shaking his head—his free time was almost completely taken up.
Let's hope Professor Dumbledore can find a suitable Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher next year…
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