I walked slowly towards home, while I went through the day moment by moment inside my head, and I cherished every one of them. I stayed longer by some memories before I put them as far back in my brain as possible, where no one could find them. Because it was just as important to stuff the memories away, as it was to actually remember them. I didn’t even want to think about what could happen if he got to know. There was nothing that frightened me more than his cold fury.
Therefore, I tip-toed through the garden and through the kitchen door. My father would never be in the kitchen so I knew that was a safe zone.
When I entered I heard the well-known thudding and the horrible sobbing of Dobby. I rushed towards him and pulled him away from the oven where he’d been standing and banged his head into the stove plates.
”Stop it!”
Since it was an order he stopped immediately.
“Dobby is so sorry young master, but Dobby has to punish himself, because Dobby has been a very bad houself, young master.”
Dobby looked as if the world was about to fall apart, and I looked suspiciously at him.
“What have you done?”
Dobby whined again, it was obvious he didn’t want to talk.
“Tell me! I promise that my father never will get to know.”
Dobby still looked a bit doubtful, so I hurried to add: “You hold my back and I hold yours. A service for a service, right?”
Dobby looked as if he would begin to cry of happiness.
“Oh, young master, Dobby has never been offered a service before. Young master is a…”
“Yes, fine, that’s enough. You helped me with the birthday party, right? Go on now, tell me what you’ve done.”
Suddenly he was all insecurity again, and he shuddered before he whispered:
“Dobby warned Harry Potter.”
He wailed and threw himself towards the oven again. I grabbed him by his collar.
“Stop it! Don’t move and calm down! I forbid you to punish yourself for this.”
I waited until he breathed slower before I kept on.
“Warned him of what?”
“Master says that big, and horrible things will happen at Hogwarts this year. Master says it will be dangerous for mudbloods at Hogwarts.”
“But Harry Potter isn’t a mudblood.”
“But he was the one who brought down He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.”
“Has it got something to do with You-Know-Who?”
“Dobby can’t tell young master, because master told Dobby not to tell anyone. Dobby wasn’t supposed to hear.”
“But you told Potter, right?”
“Dobby only told him that horrible things were happening at Hogwarts, Dobby couldn’t tell him more.”
While Dobby was talking his voice raised until it was just a squeak, and I noticed a change in his attitude that only could mean that he was about to punish himself further.
“Dobby, it’s alright. You don’t have to punish yourself and you don’t have to tell me anything else. It’s fine. I’ll have to go now, but see you later.”
“Dobby is so thankful young master. Young master is so nice to Dobby.”
I gave him a weak smile.
“Well, you’re nice to me to.”
I succeeded in getting to my room without anyone noticing. My room was my harbor. I didn’t have to pretend here. I was my own.
It was a very neutral room. Nothing much on the walls. On my desk there was a pile of papers, a couple of beautiful and expensive quills and a photograph of me and my parents in the garden. It was taken last year, before I went to my first year at Hogwarts.
I had two bookcases, which were filled with books about all different subjects. I pretended to not care very much about studying but in truth, I did. Last year I didn’t study much because I didn’t think my father wanted me too. But then, when he saw my grades, and realized that the best in our year was a muggleborn, he had a very serious talk with me. He told me how very disappointed he was and that he had expected more from me. So this year I’m going to study, because that might make him proud of me. Plus, I also think that all the subjects at Hogwarts are very interesting, so it was really boring not to study. Anyway, my bed is huge, and very comfortable. It has dark green-sheets, even though I would have preferred blue. But all details in my room are green. I guess I’m trying to fool everyone into believing that I do belong in Slytherin. Which I obviously do, since I was sorted there, but anyway. Okay, fine. I wasn’t completely honest with you. I have to pretend in my room too. Nothing on the surface is me. Everything you first see when you enter the room, it is not me. But if you walk into the wardrobe, yes, you actually can walk into it, you’ll find the real me. Because in the darkest corner of the wardrobe I’m keeping a trunk. In that trunk I have collected everything that has got to do with Melissa. All her letters, all photographs we’ve taken, and all her presents. Now I head straight for this trunk, open it up and start unpacking my bag. Today we celebrated our birthdays so I got a book and a new CD from her. Plus a couple of photograph which I have to put in the album. I put the book next to the earlier in the series. It is a muggleserie so my father must not know about it, even though I like a lot. I take out my CD-player from the trunk and change Michel Jackson’s Bad album to this new one. As I press the play-button I pick up the photograph album as well, and start to put in today’s photos.
Therefore, I tip-toed through the garden and through the kitchen door. My father would never be in the kitchen so I knew that was a safe zone.
When I entered I heard the well-known thudding and the horrible sobbing of Dobby. I rushed towards him and pulled him away from the oven where he’d been standing and banged his head into the stove plates.
”Stop it!”
Since it was an order he stopped immediately.
“Dobby is so sorry young master, but Dobby has to punish himself, because Dobby has been a very bad houself, young master.”
Dobby looked as if the world was about to fall apart, and I looked suspiciously at him.
“What have you done?”
Dobby whined again, it was obvious he didn’t want to talk.
“Tell me! I promise that my father never will get to know.”
Dobby still looked a bit doubtful, so I hurried to add: “You hold my back and I hold yours. A service for a service, right?”
Dobby looked as if he would begin to cry of happiness.
“Oh, young master, Dobby has never been offered a service before. Young master is a…”
“Yes, fine, that’s enough. You helped me with the birthday party, right? Go on now, tell me what you’ve done.”
Suddenly he was all insecurity again, and he shuddered before he whispered:
“Dobby warned Harry Potter.”
He wailed and threw himself towards the oven again. I grabbed him by his collar.
“Stop it! Don’t move and calm down! I forbid you to punish yourself for this.”
I waited until he breathed slower before I kept on.
“Warned him of what?”
“Master says that big, and horrible things will happen at Hogwarts this year. Master says it will be dangerous for mudbloods at Hogwarts.”
“But Harry Potter isn’t a mudblood.”
“But he was the one who brought down He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.”
“Has it got something to do with You-Know-Who?”
“Dobby can’t tell young master, because master told Dobby not to tell anyone. Dobby wasn’t supposed to hear.”
“But you told Potter, right?”
“Dobby only told him that horrible things were happening at Hogwarts, Dobby couldn’t tell him more.”
While Dobby was talking his voice raised until it was just a squeak, and I noticed a change in his attitude that only could mean that he was about to punish himself further.
“Dobby, it’s alright. You don’t have to punish yourself and you don’t have to tell me anything else. It’s fine. I’ll have to go now, but see you later.”
“Dobby is so thankful young master. Young master is so nice to Dobby.”
I gave him a weak smile.
“Well, you’re nice to me to.”
I succeeded in getting to my room without anyone noticing. My room was my harbor. I didn’t have to pretend here. I was my own.
It was a very neutral room. Nothing much on the walls. On my desk there was a pile of papers, a couple of beautiful and expensive quills and a photograph of me and my parents in the garden. It was taken last year, before I went to my first year at Hogwarts.
I had two bookcases, which were filled with books about all different subjects. I pretended to not care very much about studying but in truth, I did. Last year I didn’t study much because I didn’t think my father wanted me too. But then, when he saw my grades, and realized that the best in our year was a muggleborn, he had a very serious talk with me. He told me how very disappointed he was and that he had expected more from me. So this year I’m going to study, because that might make him proud of me. Plus, I also think that all the subjects at Hogwarts are very interesting, so it was really boring not to study. Anyway, my bed is huge, and very comfortable. It has dark green-sheets, even though I would have preferred blue. But all details in my room are green. I guess I’m trying to fool everyone into believing that I do belong in Slytherin. Which I obviously do, since I was sorted there, but anyway. Okay, fine. I wasn’t completely honest with you. I have to pretend in my room too. Nothing on the surface is me. Everything you first see when you enter the room, it is not me. But if you walk into the wardrobe, yes, you actually can walk into it, you’ll find the real me. Because in the darkest corner of the wardrobe I’m keeping a trunk. In that trunk I have collected everything that has got to do with Melissa. All her letters, all photographs we’ve taken, and all her presents. Now I head straight for this trunk, open it up and start unpacking my bag. Today we celebrated our birthdays so I got a book and a new CD from her. Plus a couple of photograph which I have to put in the album. I put the book next to the earlier in the series. It is a muggleserie so my father must not know about it, even though I like a lot. I take out my CD-player from the trunk and change Michel Jackson’s Bad album to this new one. As I press the play-button I pick up the photograph album as well, and start to put in today’s photos.
