Despite all the commotion upstairs, Lucius and Narcissa downstairs seemed completely unaware.
Maybe Dobby had cast some kind of muffling spell on the room before he started headbutting the wall?
In any case, once Dobby had calmed down—meaning once he'd stopped slamming his head into solid stone—Draco looked at him with suspicion. Dobby wore an expression that clearly said he had something to say... but couldn't.
Dobby had always been eccentric, but right now, he was acting even more strangely than usual.
It felt like he was holding something back—something difficult to talk about.
"What is it? If it's about that, you know I'm not the head of the family yet. I can't give you the freedom you want."
From the first day they met, Dobby had always brought up wanting to be free.
That desire, however, was something nearly unthinkable among house-elves. To most of them, even daring to think of freedom was a radical, taboo idea—acting on it was even more outrageous.
Draco, well aware of what Dobby truly wanted, sat down on the bed and reminded him gently.
He didn't mind the idea of Dobby earning his freedom by helping him, but the truth was, Draco simply didn't have the authority to grant it yet.
"No, no, no! That's not it, sir… Oh no, kind Draco Malfoy wants to give Dobby freedom, but I have to hide things from him! Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"
...
And there he went again.
If Draco hadn't issued that command earlier, Dobby wouldn't just be tugging on his oversized ears and crying—he'd probably be smashing his fingers in a door by now.
House-elves had a bizarre variety of ways to punish themselves.
The one that stuck in Draco's mind most was when Dobby had once tried to shove his hand into an oven...
Though Dobby hadn't said it outright, Draco had already pieced it together.
"So that's it… Father put a gag order on you."
Just from Dobby's reaction, Draco could immediately tell that even he—his so-called 'young master'—had no clearance on whatever this was.
Aside from being silenced by an order from Lucius, Draco couldn't imagine what else would drive Dobby to hide something and punish himself for disloyalty.
After all, Lucius Malfoy was still the current head of the family. Of course the house-elves answered to him first.
Even so, Dobby was different from the rest—he was infamous among house-elves for his 'rebellious' streak.
So when he saw the doubt in Draco's eyes and thought about what he'd overheard, Dobby, who had both a mind of his own and the courage to go against the norm, finally opened his mouth—albeit hesitantly.
"Dobby can't say… but… sir will be in danger… can't say… but… it's… the servant… has returned."
Draco frowned deeply, watching Dobby tug at his ears, shaking his head as disjointed words spilled from his mouth.
He couldn't fully grasp what Dobby was trying to say, but one word had come through loud and clear—"danger."
But what did he mean by "servant"?
Returned?
Returned where?
Even though Draco had no idea what exactly was going on, he didn't believe his father intended to harm him. Besides, Lucius barely even treated house-elves like people—why would he say something like this to Dobby?
Which meant the issue wasn't with Lucius—it was with this "servant" Dobby spoke of...
"You overheard something, didn't you?"
"Wuuu… couldn't see the face, black robes… Dobby passed by… bad Dobby, eavesdropping!"
Dobby looked absolutely pitiful, torn between wanting to punish himself and being held back by Draco's steady gaze.
"While I was away… did other wizards come to see my father?"
"Ahh… Sir… Dobby can't say…"
Dobby didn't answer the question, but the fear in his huge eyes gave Draco enough of an idea.
Someone had come to see his father while he was away at school. Someone dangerous. Someone who said something—something Dobby had overheard.
And now Dobby was afraid.
Draco didn't know the full story. And from the look of it, Dobby wasn't about to say anything more...
"Danger...?"
Servant?
Returned?
The words echoed ominously in Draco's mind, and a cold, heavy feeling settled in his chest...
...
As a member of the Malfoy family, Draco naturally understood what kind of past his father carried.
To be exact, every wizard knew that Lucius Malfoy had once served the Dark Lord, and was also one of the first Death Eaters to defect to the side of the Light during the First Wizarding War.
Back then, Lucius had joined the ranks of the Death Eaters immediately after graduating from school.
In many ways, as a Death Eater in the late '70s and early '80s, Lucius played a crucial role in expanding Voldemort's influence. While helping to grow the Dark Lord's power, he also secured considerable wealth and status for himself.
So even if Lucius had indeed been the first Death Eater to betray the Dark Lord in the end, it was impossible to overlook the impact he'd had within that camp.
In fact, if Voldemort were ever to return, Lucius would undoubtedly be one of the key pieces in his attempt to regain control—whether loyal or not.
Not that Voldemort ever cared about loyalty.
By the later stages of the war, the Dark Lord ruled not through loyalty, but through sheer power and the fear his madness inspired.
...
Off to the side, Dobby continued to sniffle quietly, sneaking glances at Draco's now grim expression. Despite his teary eyes, a glimmer of joy flickered in Dobby's gaze.
Draco's reaction showed that he understood the seriousness of the situation.
That was enough to make Dobby happily tug on his floppy ears.
Whatever was going through Dobby's mind, Draco had no interest in it now.
He was in a foul mood.
"Hmph. Whether it's loyalty or being someone's pawn—I couldn't care less."
He let out a cold sneer.
With Draco's pride, there was no way he'd ever accept becoming someone's lackey, or taking orders from another wizard.
Not even from the wizard whose very name sent chills through the entire British wizarding world.
Not even from the one who had started the First Wizarding War.
Draco Malfoy had no interest in kneeling to anyone!