Harry and Hedwig had barely left the Leaky Cauldron when a streak of white magic suddenly shot towards the owl. Harry recognized it as white magic, so he didn't rush to intervene. Hedwig, as if expecting it, dodged the spell, but more curses immediately flew her way.
Harry looked in the direction the spells were coming from and saw a peculiar-looking creature standing in the corner. It had two bat-like ears and bulging green eyes. Without a second thought, Harry silently cast a Petrificus Totalus at the house-elf, then used a Levitation Charm to catch Hedwig as she fell. Hermione quickly reached out and cradled Hedwig, who let out a few soft, distressed hoots.
"There, there, it's alright now..." Hermione whispered, comforting her.
Harry then moved to conceal Dobby under his Invisibility Cloak. The surrounding Muggles stared in surprise at the sudden appearance of two children and a snowy-white owl. Fortunately, they weren't far from the Leaky Cauldron, and soon enough, Ministry of Magic officials arrived.
"Oh, it's two young wizards! But the Trace didn't react," exclaimed a surprised Hogge.
"Shhh, look at the boy's hand, that ring," Bernard quickly whispered a warning.
"Ugh, another pure-blood child. We'd better just obliviate the Muggles around here," Hogge sighed.
The two officials noticed Harry looking at them and quickly offered stiff smiles. Seeing their fawning expressions, Harry decided against explaining he was a half-blood wizard and led Hermione back to the Leaky Cauldron.
---
### A House-Elf's Secret
Once they were back in their room, Harry lifted the Petrificus Totalus from the house-elf's head. Hermione, seeing Harry drop the creature to the floor, asked, "Harry, what is this?"
"A house-elf," Harry simply stated.
Harry knew that house-elves only attacked other wizards when following their master's orders, so he immediately asked, "Who sent you to intercept my mail?"
The house-elf bit its lip, refusing to speak.
"Don't be afraid, we won't hurt you. But why were you stopping Harry's mail?" Hermione asked gently.
"Nobody, Dobby decided himself. Because Dobby overheard... Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"
Seeing the house-elf try to punish itself mid-sentence, Hermione tried to stop it but couldn't. She looked at Harry helplessly, unable to use magic herself outside of school. Harry had no choice but to petrify the house-elf's head again.
After a while, Harry lifted the charm, but Dobby still kept trying to punish himself. "Harry, we can't just keep it petrified forever, can we?"
"Hermione, keep an eye on it. I'll be right back." Harry handed Hermione the ring that could block the Ministry's detection of the Trace, then rushed off towards Diagon Alley.
---
### A Surprise Encounter
He arrived at Slug & Jiggers Apothecary and asked the shop assistant for Veritaserum. "I'm sorry, this is a legitimate apothecary, we don't carry Veritaserum," the assistant immediately refused.
"Blast it, miscalculation," Harry muttered under his breath. Just then, Snape pushed open the door and walked in. The assistant quickly abandoned Harry and eagerly greeted Snape.
"Master Snape, are you here for more ingredients? We just got in some fresh dragon's blood..."
Snape clearly saw Harry but chose to ignore him. Harry, remembering that Snape was the youngest Potions Master, realized he surely had Veritaserum. He tugged hard on Snape's arm.
"Snape, I need a bottle of Veritaserum."
Snape, disinclined to deal with Harry, handed his Galleons to the assistant, picked up his potion ingredients, and started to leave. Harry stepped in front of Snape, once again removing his glasses to meet his gaze. Snape's face twitched. "Enough, Potter! What exactly do you want?"
"I need Veritaserum. I know you must have some."
"Perhaps Mr. Potter believes that if he simply asks, the lowly Potions professor must hand over whatever the Boy-Who-Lived desires," Snape sneered.
"Hermione said you tried to save me at the end of last term, so—"
"When did Mr. Potter become so fond of beating around the bush?"
"Someone sent a house-elf to intercept my mail. I caught it, but I couldn't get anything out of it."
At Harry's words, Snape's face instantly hardened. He stared at Harry for a long moment. "I hope you are not toying with a poor Potions professor."
"So you're willing to provide Veritaserum?" Harry asked excitedly.
"Hah! Mr. Potter's mind is only on Veritaserum, but why would I carry such a potion with me?" Snape instructed Harry to lead the way, stating he had other methods to pry information from a house-elf's mind.
---
### Snape's Intervention
Back in their room at the Leaky Cauldron, Hermione was trying to reason with the house-elf when the door suddenly opened.
"Harry, you're back—Professor Snape?!" Hermione exclaimed in surprise as she turned around.
"Is foolish Miss Granger trying to draw everyone up here? Now, be silent." Snape strode into the room. Dobby, upon seeing Snape, suddenly began to struggle.
"It seems to know you," Harry observed keenly.
Snape said nothing, instead striding purposefully towards Dobby and staring intently into its eyes. Dobby suddenly let out a shriek.
"Perhaps we could try another way," Hermione finally blurted out, but Snape didn't stop.
"Hermione, maybe you should step out for a bit?" Harry suggested. Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but ultimately held her tongue and remained in the room.
The room fell silent until Snape finally lifted his head. Dobby lay unconscious on the floor.
"Who sent it?" Harry asked impatiently.
"Your mail will not be intercepted again." Snape answered evasively, then picked up Dobby, stating he was taking him to Dumbledore.
Watching Snape disapparate with Dobby, Hermione, forgetting to worry about the house-elf's well-being, turned to Harry with a concerned expression. "Harry, Professor Snape..."
"We'll just have to trust him." Both of them understood that Snape had surely discovered something, and that it must be incredibly important, otherwise he wouldn't be going to Dumbledore.
After a moment of silence, Harry suddenly asked, "Hermione, are you still planning on going home for dinner?"
Hermione shrieked and leaped off the bed, practically dragging Harry along as they hurried home.
---
### A Mother's Delight
Mrs. Granger was watching in astonished delight as Hermione performed a Levitation Charm on a chair.
"Wow, that's absolutely marvelous! I know other wizards can do it, of course, but you're my daughter, and it's simply unbelievable!"
Hermione basked proudly in her mother's praise.
Once Mrs. Granger calmed down, she suddenly remembered something Hermione had said and asked anxiously, "Mione, didn't you say underage wizards couldn't do magic outside of school?"
"Don't worry, Mum! As long as I have this, the Ministry won't be able to detect if an underage wizard is doing magic outside of school." Hermione showed Mrs. Granger the ring on her hand, explaining that she had borrowed it from Harry.