The sickly, iron-fisted beauty in Harry Potter

"I can't go into details right now, but since you're going to serve me, I think I might be able to customize some food to my own taste."

"Of course, this will mean less help from you in the Hogwarts kitchen. In return, I will pay for the raw materials myself, and you can leave the rest to Dumbledore."

"Even if it's the price I pay for hiring you from Hogwarts, can you understand that?"

Dian Dian opened her mouth wide, and even the sausage in her mouth didn't taste good anymore.

It always felt that something was wrong, but it couldn't quite put its finger on what the problem was.

After all, house-elves have a lower level of understanding than even wizards, and they simply cannot comprehend how Dolly's actions have transformed them from a lifelong, unpaid employee of Hogwarts into a hired waiter by Dolly's side.

Clearly, this almost caused Dian Dian to cross two lines.

As a magical creature bound to Hogwarts Castle, Spot has now become Dolly's employee and has effectively broken free from Hogwarts' control, but it has not actually broken the magical contract on itself.

The other is Spot, who was hired by Dory as a house-elf. Dory did pay her a salary, but the salary was given to Dumbledore, and Spot did not receive it herself.

If either of these two conditions is fully triggered, Dian Dian will enter a hysterical state.

Kodori's move finally made Dot nod in confusion, accepting this set of behavioral guidelines.

After all, the headmaster gave permission, it still works at Hogwarts, and it can serve its favorite Miss Dursley. It seems like the perfect choice, right?

Dolly watched Dot's performance with great interest, and nodded in satisfaction after confirming that there was no control magic on Dot.

This at least proves that the contract between house-elves and Hogwarts is neither that intelligent nor that strict, and that house-elves will not trigger the thought imprint passed down through generations in the absence of sufficient understanding.

This gives Dolly a lot of room to maneuver.

Of course, Dolly doesn't plan to do that now; she needs to continue observing Dot to gather more information.

Moreover, Hermione will get involved in this matter in the future, and once she realizes the situation of the house-elves, she will be unable to resist freeing them.

It's not too late for Dolly and Hermione to deal with all of this later.

Dolly had eaten and drunk her fill when the sun had just risen.

She first saw Mrs. Pomfrey, who examined Dolly's arm and, after confirming that Dolly had fully recovered, removed the cast.

Dolly was also warned that her arm bone was only able to move normally, and that she would need at least a week of rest to return to its original strength.

This also aligns with Dolly's guess; bones grown by the Bone Spirits are ultimately flawed, but they are powerful enough.

After thanking Madam Pomfrey, Dolly changed into her own clothes—which Madam Pomfrey had done some basic repairs on, although one sleeve was still missing and the garment was completely ruined.

Then she left the school hospital, but just as she turned the corner, Dolly called Spot out.

Dolly said excitedly, "Uh, Dot, can you teleport me... oh no, I mean apparition?"

Hogwarts forbids all wizards from Apparating, but living beings can disregard this restriction because their magic is not entirely the same as that of wizards.

For example, Dumbledore's phoenix, or the house-elves before us.

"I'm physically weak and want to go straight back to my dorm. Can you help me?"

Chapter 88, Part 2: Sleeping in with Hermione

Dots immediately agreed, which was a very ordinary thing for him, since they could use Apparition freely at Hogwarts.

This is also why young wizards rarely see them; it's not entirely because they are instructed to avoid contact with the young wizards.

Dot said respectfully, "Master Dursley, please put your hand on my shoulder. It might dirty your hands, but..."

Dolly interrupted Dian Dian directly, saying, "I'll put my handkerchief on your shoulder, and then you can wash it and bring it back to me."

Dot quickly thanked Dolly, as this would protect Dolly's hands from getting dirty from his filthy shoulders, and he would also have another chance to serve Dolly.

Although something still felt off, Dolly's handkerchief was already draped over Dolly's shoulder, like a small epaulette.

The next second, Dolly snapped her fingers, and Dolly disappeared from her spot, appearing directly in her bedroom.

Crookshanks, who was still sleeping next to Hermione, was so frightened that he leaped to the ground and immediately bent over towards Dolly, looking as if he was ready to fight her to the death.

But Crookshan, who was half-bent over and could see clearly in the darkness, immediately recognized the person as Dolly.

A hint of human-like surprise flashed in its eyes; it clearly wanted to pounce on Dolly and act cute, as it could understand that Dolly was injured.

Because Dolly was injured and went to the hospital, Hermione was distracted, couldn't sleep well, and wasn't in the mood to play with her.

Worst of all, Hermione would sometimes forget to feed her cat food and clean up after her, which made Crookshanks feel like he was being abused.

Thankfully, Dolly is back now, and everything can get back on track.

However, it sniffed at Dolly's companion with disdain, finding the half-grown bipedal humanoid creature rather ugly.

Dian Dian also looked at the big cat with concern, worried that it might pounce on her and bite her throat at any moment.

Comparing their sizes, Dot's encounter with Crook Mountain is like a human encountering a lion.

However, it quickly breathed a sigh of relief, because Crookshanks was clearly not interested in it, and only meowed softly at Dolly as a greeting.

Dolly held up a finger to signal Crook Mountain to be quiet, then looked at the familiar surroundings and marveled at how useful Apparition really was.

The reason why using Apparition is a major taboo at Hogwarts is ultimately because the founders used an anti-Apparition spell on the entire castle to protect the young wizards.

Otherwise, if adult dark wizards use Apparition to randomly kill people, or if young wizards recklessly use Apparition, the entire Hogwarts will be thrown into chaos.

In contrast, house-elves wouldn't be targeted in this way, since no one would believe that a house-elves would harm a wizard.

Having understood these things, Dolly couldn't help but start thinking.

If house-elves were ever truly freed, Hogwarts would probably have to create a new spell to prevent them from Apparating.

After all, who knows what kind of things someone with ulterior motives might do with house-elves?

Dolly could only be thankful that not many people knew that house-elves could Apparate within Hogwarts.

Voldemort also disdained contact with creatures like house-elves. As long as Dolly didn't let Spots demonstrate this skill in front of everyone, the secret could be kept at least in the short term.

Dolly waved to Dots, then pointed to Hermione, who was still sleeping.

Dot Dot immediately understood, and disappeared with Dolly's handkerchief in her hand.

The room returned to silence; the sun had not yet risen, so the room remained dim.

Only Crookshank's big eyes were fixed expectantly on Dolly, wanting her to give him the cat treats he hadn't had in days.

Unfortunately, Dolly only had eyes for Hermione, completely ignoring Crookshanks who was rolling around in the blankets trying to look cute, and then gently slipped under Hermione's blanket.

Then Dolly lay down behind Hermione, gently hugging Hermione's waist, her chest against Hermione's back, and closed her eyes contentedly.

Hermione's warmth was like the most delicious dessert after a meal, giving Dolly a taste of happiness.

Hermione's furrowed brow, which she had been keeping in her sleep, slowly relaxed.

It was as if the nightmare of Dolly being hunted was over, and the two of them returned to their carefree lives, able to enjoy every moment together reading or playing by the Black Lake.

Hermione even took Dolly's hand, held it in her arms, and brought it to her mouth, subconsciously biting into it like she was eating fries... Hmm?

Still half asleep, Hermione finally realized something was wrong. Wasn't Dolly still at the school hospital?

She jumped up as if electrocuted, grabbed her wand from the bedside table, and cast a freezing spell on Dolly with a backhand.

In an instant, Dolly's body stiffened completely and she couldn't move, her face still showing surprise at Hermione's sudden jump.

Hermione used Fluorescent Blink to light up the room, only to see that the person she had frozen was Dolly. She immediately and frantically unfroze Dolly.

Seeing Dolly's pitiful look, he felt both annoyed and amused, and raised his hand to teach Dolly a lesson with a powerful punch.

Why did Dolly's first act upon returning from the school hospital be to crawl into her bed?

Although Hermione didn't mind the incident, she had no idea Dolly was back, and Dolly was responsible for being startled.

But Hermione realized Dolly's injury and finally pulled Dolly to sit down with her, lit the oil lamp with her wand, and then lifted Dolly's arm to examine her carefully.

She started by touching and pinching Dolly's index fingertip, inch by inch, and then moved upwards, kneading all the way to Dolly's shoulder.

She didn't even seem to be sparing Hermione's armpits, and Dolly finally couldn't resist anymore, playfully reaching back to tickle Hermione's weak spot.

Hermione finally smiled with relief and began her counterattack against Dolly.

The two immediately burst into laughter and playful banter until the sun rose, its orange-red rays streaming through the window onto the bedside and onto them, illuminating their slightly disheveled hair and flushed cheeks.

Dolly and Hermione lay on the bed, hand in hand, facing each other, looking at each other's faces, which were faintly covered in sweat, and the atmosphere returned to calm.

Looking at the energetic Dolly in front of her, Hermione smiled, but then her eyes reddened again, as if she were recalling Dolly's dying moments.

After all, this incident only happened two or three days ago.

Dolly suffered immense pain, and those around her who cared for her, especially Hermione and Cho Chang, also endured tremendous mental stress.

This is clearly not something 11 or 12-year-olds should be dealing with, as are Dolly, Hermione, and Cho Chang.

Seeing that Hermione looked like she was about to burst into tears, Dolly was about to comfort her when Hermione suddenly pulled her away.

The two approached each other rapidly, their noses about to collide, when Hermione abruptly lowered her head.

The crisp sound of their foreheads colliding startled Crookshan, who was scanning his territory under the morning light from the window, and Dolly cried out.

"Ouch, Hermione!"

"You still feel pain!"

Hermione finally snapped, saying, "You fought a troll all by yourself, you killed a troll all by yourself, your body was almost broken, how could you be so brave!"

"You kill giants today, are you going to kill dragons tomorrow, and with your fists too?!"

"Dolly, you're just a first-year wizard, can you please stop making your school life so terrifying!"

Dolly touched her forehead and gently rubbed Hermione's forehead with her newly recovered hand, saying, "Don't use the word 'horrible,' how about 'colorful and diverse'?"

"no!"

Hermione was even angrier, just like Crookshanks had been in a rage, and said, "It's horror, that's not part of our colorful world. I don't want to see you lying in a pool of blood again, can you understand?"

Dolly nodded repeatedly, widening her eyes and mimicking Crookshanks' cute manner, hoping Hermione would forgive her.

However, Hermione doesn't need to forgive Dolly now, because she also needs to apologize to Dolly.

"And I should also apologize to you. Because of some reasons of my own, I tried to separate from you, and the result of my temper tantrum was that I almost lost my best friend."

"Dolly, if I ever lose my temper again, you'll have to use a spell to make me realize I'm wrong, understand?"

Dolly was intrigued and said excitedly, "Just like before, use the Freeze Charm, then find a feather and aim it at your palm..."