Reborn As A Squib In Harry potter

Even though Lucius Malfoy gave Dobby an article of clothing, it had been hidden in a book, and clearly didn't count since the pureblood hadn't known there was a piece of clothing tucked away. As such, a normal House Elf bond wouldn't register it as being broken. Clothing had to be given willingly and knowingly with the intent to break the union between House Elf and its master. How could the House Elves be told to do laundry otherwise?

Loyalty was a two-way street, even with magical bonds, however, and the mistreatment heaped onto Dobby by the Malfoys, along with Dobby's own rebellious thoughts, had led to a bond so weak it'd been broken by a technicality. Something magic absolutely loathed.

As such, Inky couldn't help but recoil a bit when he took a closer look at Dobby and 'saw' the state he was in, physically and spiritually.

"Oh." That was all Inky could say as he looked at the younger House Elf, before releasing Dobby from his grasp. The amount that went unsaid in that single word was immense, and for a moment, I knew that Inky was seeing himself in Dobby's place. Specifically, when Inky had been forced to serve my father, and had taken quite a few blows of his own when he was deep in his cups. The night I'd killed my father had not been the only time Inky had suffered at Erroneous Hunch Senior's hands. But it had been the last. For both of us.

"Dobby, you want to help Harry Potter, do you not?" I asked the younger House Elf while Inky was distracted by his own thoughts.

"Yes! Yes! More than anything!" he whimpered, crawling over to me on his knees.

"Then trust me. I have Harry's best interests at heart. I will keep him safe, no matter what," I vowed.

"But, but the master… he will make Hogwarts unsafe!" Dobby cried.

"I know," I told him. "I know who your master is, and what he wants to do. But I have a plan to stop him."

That caused Dobby to stiffen, and stare up at me with big, hopeful eyes. "You do?"

"I do," I promised. Dobby stared at me for a long time, before solemnly bowing his head.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, looking back and forth between the House Elves and me.

"Sit down, it'll take some explaining," I said, running a hand over my face.

He did so, plopping down on the couch and looked expectantly at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Dobby and Inky watching as well. They were sitting cross-legged on the floor, ears twitching as they strained themselves to listen.

"So, first off, how do I know who Dobby belongs to? Simple. Only three groups in Magical Britian have House Elves these days serving them. Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic, and Purebloods. And I know Dobby belongs to the latter."

"You say 'belong' as if he's…" Harry began, only to trail off.

"Property? A slave?" I asked, and Harry nodded weakly.

"You're not wrong," I told him, to his horrified astonishment. "House Elves have been more or less enslaved for centuries by wizards. I won't go into how or why, because that's a lot to go over, but suffice to say, a House Elf needs to serve. It is a compulsive, intrinsic desire, as well as the only way to stay alive. A House Elf will wither and die without a magical family to serve, as they survive off of the magic provided by said family through the bond."

"Oh," he muttered slowly. "So, the House Elves at Hogwarts…"

"You've already met them? I should be surprised, but somehow, I'm not," I murmured, before nodding. "Yes, Hogwarts employs dozens of House Elves, keeping them sustained off of the magic of the very castle and its hundreds of inhabitants. Even without anybody living there, though, the House Elves could subsist off of the latent magic in the area for decades. Possibly centuries."

I then raised a hand to forestall any further questions. "Now, before I go off on another tangent, a key aspect of the bond is the Writ of Adornment. Give a House Elf an article of clothing, be it sock or shoe or even a wig, with the intent to sever the bond between elf and master, and the House Elf will be 'freed' from service. Though the freedom will be short lived if they cannot find a new source of magic to sustain themselves."

"Now, back to the main point, Dobby belongs to the Malfoys," I revealed, deciding to just rip that bandaid off. Dobby gasped in shock, and Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Huh… yeah, I can see it," he said, slowly piecing together a few things. Namely, why Dobby was so eager to help somebody who wasn't his master. "If Draco's dad is anything like that poncy git himself, I can't imagine having to live with and serve him."

Harry then continued to extrapolate the data. "And… because you're from a Pureblood Family yourself, you know the families that have House Elves. That's how you know who Dobby belonged to!"

"Good guess," I said, carefully avoiding confirming or denying it. I wanted to tell Harry the truth, but at the same time, some parts I wanted to keep secret. Like where my knowledge actually came from.

"Now it makes sense," Harry muttered, before tilting his head to the side. "But what's this plan of Draco's? Or, I suppose, his father? And how do you know about it?"

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