Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 103 Dobby's Favorite Socks

"What is this—ah!" Mr. Malfoy's fingers suddenly touched something cold and slippery. He looked down and screamed, throwing the snake away in terror.

Dobby instinctively leaped up and caught what his owner threw at him—

With a soft click, the little snake turned back into a sock and lay quietly in the palm of the house-elf's hand.

“You filthy half-breed! I’m going to—” Mr. Malfoy cursed at Snape angrily.

To his surprise, Dumbledore and Snape showed no reaction to his harsh words, instead staring intently at those beside him. Snape's gaze was expectant, while Dumbledore's was filled with worry.

Mr. Malfoy whirled around, following their gaze—

The little elf trembled as it held a smelly sock, its big eyes gazing at it excitedly, as if it were a priceless treasure.

“Master…” Dobby murmured incredulously, “Master gave Dobby a sock.”

"What?" Mr. Malfoy said angrily. "What did you say? Nonsense! Throw that rag away!"

“The master threw the sock to Dobby, and Dobby caught it,” the little elf took a few steps back, his voice growing more and more determined, “The master gave the sock to Dobby, and Dobby—Dobby is free.”

Dumbledore looked at the elf, his blue eyes filled with surprise. Even this well-traveled old wizard clearly hadn't anticipated this turn of events.

Mr. Malfoy stood there dumbfounded, staring at the elf, trying to understand what was happening before his eyes.

Then, he suddenly lunged at Snape.

“You!” He lunged at Snape, his fingers digging into his shoulders, and began shaking him violently. “You despicable, stupid—”

Snape let the other man shake him. He knew that at this moment, it was best to patiently endure rather than retaliate. Besides, Dumbledore was right there; Malfoy couldn't really do anything to him. He silently counted the days in his mind—three, two, one…

Sure enough, in the blink of an eye, Dumbledore had already stood up and raised his wand—Mr. Malfoy jumped back and released Snape as if he had been burned.

“I will not allow you to treat my student so roughly, Abraxas,” Dumbledore said, his face showing anger for the first time that evening.

“You should calm down, Professor Malfoy,” Snape said, straightening his rumpled robes.

“No, you’ve caused me to lose my servant, boy!” Mr. Malfoy said breathlessly, one hand clenched into a fist, the other reaching into his robes. “You must pay the price—”

"You are not allowed to hurt Severus Snape!" Dobby's shrill voice suddenly rang out, faster than Dumbledore's movements.

With a loud "smack," before Mr. Malfoy could even draw his wand, he was struck by an invisible force and staggered backward.

He stumbled and slumped onto the carpet in the principal's office.

Mr. Malfoy struggled to his feet, his face ashen, and drew his wand.

But the little elf had already raised a long, slender, and very intimidating finger.

“You cannot harm Mr. Snape in front of Dobby,” the elf said in a low voice, pointing at Mr. Malfoy.

Mr. Malfoy's angry gaze swept back and forth between Dobby and Snape, finally settling on Dumbledore:
“Dumbledore, your student has not only disrespected his professor, but has now caused me to lose my servant. You must give me a satisfactory solution, or I will not rest until I have done so.”

Upon hearing this, Dobby took a step toward Mr. Malfoy, who reflexively jumped behind Dumbledore.

“It’s alright, Dobby,” Snape said gently. “Don’t worry, just wait here for a bit.”

“Yes, sir.” Dobby bowed deeply to Snape, clutching the sock tightly in his hand, and retreated to a corner, but his green eyes, as big as tennis balls, still followed Mr. Malfoy’s figure closely.

“Dumbledore,” Mr. Malfoy said, settling into his armchair, still shaken, trying to maintain his composure, “I never imagined that the personal safety of a teacher could be threatened in such an ancient school. If you cannot fulfill the basic duties of a headmaster, I will petition the Board of Trustees to appoint a more suitable headmaster.”

"Rest assured, Abraxas," Dumbledore said coldly. "Your safety at Hogwarts is absolutely guaranteed. Let's get back to the topic for tonight. I will give Severus an appropriate punishment. He will be banned from taking your courses, and Slytherin will have two hundred points deducted."

Upon hearing the deduction, Mr. Malfoy leaned forward slightly for a moment, his lips moving as if he wanted to object. After all, it was a deduction from his own house's points. But in the end, he sat back down.

“Not enough,” he said. “He should be expelled from Hogwarts.”

“No, I cannot expel a student arbitrarily.” Dumbledore shook his head. “Besides, you can’t name any rule that Severus violated that would lead to his expulsion.”

Mr. Malfoy's anger was reignited. He tried to stand up, leaning on the armrest, but a slight noise from Dobby in the corner made him sit back down immediately.

"Pfft—" Snape almost burst out laughing at his ridiculous behavior.

"Alright then, Severus will be confined for another month," Dumbledore continued. "Every night at ten o'clock, in the Forbidden Forest, working with Rubeus Hagrid. Are you satisfied, Abraxas?"

“Very well, Dumbledore, Snape,” Mr. Malfoy’s expression shifted from anger to a terrifying calm, his light-colored eyes flashing with a dangerous light, “Very well, I suppose this is the worst punishment you can imagine.”

He stood up, wrapped himself in his robe, glanced one last time at Snape and Dumbledore, and hurried toward the door.

"Bang!" The oak door slammed shut behind Mr. Malfoy, making the portraits on the wall seem to open their eyes.

After confirming that Mr. Malfoy had left, Dobby emerged from the corner.

"Severus Snape has freed Dobby!" the elf shrieked, looking up at Snape, whose round eyes were illuminated by moonlight streaming in from a window behind the desk. "Severus Snape has set Dobby free!"

“I didn’t do anything, Dobby,” Snape grinned, pointing to the chair Mr. Malfoy had just sat in. “As long as you don’t hate freedom. Sit down, Dobby.”

The elf suddenly burst into tears, startling Snape. Dobby cried so loudly that Fawkes looked up from his perch, peering curiously. "Sit—sit down!" Dobby choked out, "Never…never…never a wizard has ever made Dobby sit down—like an equal—"

“From this day forward, you are free, Dobby.” Snape comforted Dobby, leading him to a chair. “I have never seen an elf so happy to be free.”

Dobby sat there hiccuping, looking like an ugly, big doll. Finally, he managed to control himself and looked at Snape with respectful, teary eyes.

At this moment, Dumbledore spoke.

“Severus,” the principal said, a thoughtful glint in his eyes, “I thought that your actions just now would have no real effect other than disgusting Abraxas.”

“Elves,” he said, “most elves consider being released a disgrace. Even if they are accidentally released, elves will voluntarily choose to re-establish a magical contract with their original owners, or they will find themselves a decent family and 'settle down' properly again.”

"But Dobby loves freedom!" A bright smile suddenly bloomed on the elf's ugly, reddish-brown face, revealing a mouthful of teeth. "Dobby doesn't like bad masters!"

The words had barely left his mouth when Dobby froze, trembling violently, terrified by his own audacity. He jumped up abruptly, frantically pounding his head with his fists, screaming, "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"

"Hey!" Snape quickly grabbed Dobby's old pillowcase, pulled him close, and held his hands firmly down. "Don't hurt yourself!"

"Thank you, Mr. Snape, thank you," Dobby said breathlessly, finally regaining his composure.

“Professor, quite an unusual elf, isn’t he?” Snape put Dobby back in his chair and said to Dumbledore, “But I don’t see anything wrong with it. The world is crazy because it’s always surprised by things that seem normal.”

“A very novel idea,” Dumbledore said approvingly, then looked at the house-elf, “Dobby, now that you are free, would you like to stay in Hogwarts—”

"—Would you be willing to work for me?" Snape quickly picked up where Dumbledore left off. He didn't want the elves he'd worked so hard to free crowding into Hogwarts' kitchen. Besides, the school had plenty of elves.

"A job?" The elf hesitated. "Sir, Dobby wants a job, but—"

“Of course, there will be compensation.” Snape immediately realized Dobby’s concern and added, “Let me tell you the terms for working for me.”

He deliberately put on a stern face and said in the most serious tone, "Your salary will only be five Galleons a week. From now on, you will have to work a full eight hours a day and only be able to rest on weekends. You will only be provided with three meals a day plus snacks, and you will only have milk in the morning. You will only get triple pay for overtime, you will only receive bonuses three times a year, and you will only have two months of annual leave..."

"No!" Dobby shuddered and cried out in terror, "No!"

“House-elves don’t need payment,” Dumbledore shook his head and glanced at Snape. “They don’t need money.”

“Is that so?” Snape scoffed and said to the headmaster, “I don’t think so.”

“Dobby,” he turned to the elf and asked, “is there anything you’re unhappy with about my conditions?”

“So much wealth and leisure time is terrifying…” Dobby said, trembling. “Dobby loves freedom, but, sir, he doesn’t want too much freedom. Dobby prefers to work!”

“Sir,” the elf stood up, “Dobby only needs ten Sickles a week, and gets a day off every six months—”

“That’s too little,” Snape interrupted Dobby without further ado. “One Galleon a week, and one day off a month. That’s my bottom line, Dobby. It would be impolite of you to try to bargain any further. Don’t forget who gave you your freedom.”

“Dobby—” the elf’s eyes widened even more. “Thank you, Mr. Snape!”

“It’s settled then,” Snape said with a smile. “Start work tomorrow. Meet me at the edge of the Forbidden Forest at ten o’clock tonight. You’re free to do as you please until then, such as go to the kitchen and chat with your friends. You should have already seen Mipee there, right?”

“Yes, sir,” Dobby said excitedly. “Dobby has met her, but hasn’t had a chance to have a proper chat with Mipper yet. Dobby doesn’t know why she came to Hogwarts.”

“Then you can go now,” Snape said. “Go, Dobby.”

Dobby stuffed his socks into the pillowcase, walked over to Snape, stretched out his arms, hugged him tightly around the waist.

"See you tomorrow, sir." Dobby let out another loud sob, then it disappeared.

The office suddenly fell silent.

Snape turned to Dumbledore and found the headmaster looking at him with a strange gaze.

“Severus,” Dumbledore said, a gleam of pleasure in his eyes, “sometimes I really wonder how many surprises are still hidden in your head.”

“Probably more than you can imagine.” Snape simply shrugged and asked, “So, what are you sending me to the Forbidden Forest for?”

“Oh,” Dumbledore gestured to the bottle and poured half a glass of deep red liquid for him and Snape, “redcurrant rum, have a taste, you’re a grown wizard now.”

Snape took the glass of wine that floated toward him.

“The werewolves in the Forbidden Forest have been a bit restless lately,” Dumbledore said, holding his wine glass. “There seems to be some quarrel going on among them, and Hagrid wants me to send someone to check on them.”

“I originally intended for Philius to go with him, but he has too many courses and is struggling to keep up. Considering your abilities, well…” Dumbledore looked at Snape with satisfaction, “you have far exceeded my expectations, so I hope you can accompany Hagrid to take a look. Of course, try not to be too harsh in your handling of the situation.”

“Alright,” Snape agreed to the headmaster’s request almost without hesitation. “Today is Dobby’s day of freedom, so you can leave this small matter to me.”

“Yes,” Dumbledore nodded with a smile, “today you have gained the friendship of an interesting little elf.”

“Yes, this is the happiest day of my life.” With that, Snape raised his glass to the headmaster and clinked it lightly against his.

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(End of this chapter)