Chapter 32: Notebook

Dumbledore calmly watches all this, and after Dobby cries for a while, steps forward, "Dobby, is that your name?"

"Dumbledore!" Dobby stops crying, his big eyes still watery, but seeing Dumbledore seems happy, "They say you're the greatest wizard, even the Dark Lord fears you."

"Oh oh, that's just everyone praising too much, you don't have to take it seriously." Dumbledore smiles gently, "Dobby, I know you're a loyal House-elf. But loyalty can have many meanings."

"Dobby, for example, if your master asks you to kill him. Would you do it?"

"No no! Of course not! Dobby would never hurt his master!"

"Even if his order is to kill him, would it be the same?"

"Yes, yes…"

"See, loyalty also has different directions and choices. Dobby, you can blindly follow your master's orders, but you can also choose a course of action that's better for him."

"Now is the time to make that choice, Dobby. Will you choose the action that's better for your master?"

"Dobby will! Dobby will make his master better!"

"Very good, Dobby, then please answer this gentleman's question truthfully."

No wonder he's the Headmaster.

Dumbledore never disappoints.

Murphy suppresses his lingering admiration for the Headmaster and brings the House-elf to the witness stand.

Then asks, "Dobby, you are the Malfoy Family's House-elf, right?"

"Yes, Dobby is."

"The Malfoy Family has a Cellar, and the Cellar hides many wines and some strange items, right?"

"Yes, yes, how did you know…"

"Can you describe them?"

"Alright, Dobby can. There are huge wooden barrels filled with a lot of red wine; the master says those wines are for entertaining lower‑class guests, and there are some glass bottles for entertaining distinguished guests…"

"Ahem, I'm not talking about the wine; I'm referring to those odd items on the shelves, can you describe them?"

"Okay, okay, sorry. Those things are all placed in glass boxes; the master forbids touching them, saying they're precious treasures. But Dobby thinks they're dangerous. Once a goblin slipped into the Cellar, knocked over a glass box, and a glove inside touched it, then it went 'Bang!', and Dobby spent an entire day cleaning those things up."

"Very good, Dobby." Murphy says, picking up that Notebook, "Have you seen this thing before?"

Dobby watches for a moment, nods, "I have. It's the master's treasure. But…"

"Alright, Dobby, thank you."

After speaking, Murphy also puts a glove on his left hand, then opens the Notebook and displays it to everyone.

"Everyone, look, this Notebook is blank now."

"In fact, if you don't know the specific method, you can't see the contents of this Notebook, can you, Lucius?"

But Lucius now has his mouth sealed by magic, unable to answer him.

"However, as long as you use certain means, you can restore it to its original appearance."

Saying that, Murphy has a Judge bring over a lit alcohol lamp, then heats the Notebook on it for a while.

Sure enough, characters begin to appear on the blank pages.

Murphy hands the Notebook to the Judge, who places it on a tray for the wizards to peruse.

It shows that the Notebook contains several diaries.

The first entry reads like a travelogue, recording the diary owner's quest for an ancient magical ruin.

The second entry is gibberish; the diary owner's mind seems unstable, but it contains obvious phrases such as "I have already transcended death."

The third entry is the core of this Diary, listing the names of those who turned to him, including Barty Crouch Jr., Antonin Dolohov, Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and many others not yet captured, such as Goyle, Crabbe, Karkaroff, Walden Macnair, Avery, etc.

Among them, Lucius Malfoy's name is mentioned.

Moreover, it's clear that Lucius is still the Dark Lord's favored servant; his name appears more times than all the others combined.

Finally, there is a fourth entry documenting the subsequent ownership of this Notebook.

It reads: "I will leave this Notebook to Lucius, hoping it will serve its purpose when discord arises. I will write down what he must do should an unacceptable event occur. My most loyal servant, he should be able to bear this heavy responsibility. Whenever the time comes, I shall return again!"

Lastly, the fifth entry is clearly torn away; faintly one can still see some magical symbols at the edge, evidently a Spell or a Magic Ritual description.

The wizards in violet robes whisper, "If what's recorded in this Notebook is true, it won't just be Lucius; even more hidden the Death Eaters will be brought to justice!"

And even scarier, Murphy Darkholm's accusation might be true: Lucius Malfoy really resurrected Voldemort!

"Lucius! Is everything written in this Notebook true?!" a wizard at the Judgment Seat can't help but ask.

Dumbledore lifts the Silencing Charm on Lucius, who immediately shouts, "No! It's not true! It's fake! Forged! This isn't his Diary! It's fake!"

Lucius was initially terrified, but after hearing the wizards' discussion, he became bewildered.

"That can't be right; the Dark Lord's own Notebook would be from his youth, and back then Lucius wasn't even born, let alone following Voldemort! How could the Notebook possibly list Death Eater names?!"

He also recalls Murphy's method of heating the Notebook to reveal the script—although Lucius truly never found a way to develop the Notebook, nor knows if the method is correct, but isn't heating it too reckless?

"Shameless liar! Lying! All slander! This is not the Dark Lord's Diary! Dark… ahem," Lucius, agitated, nearly blurted out the true nature of the Notebook, but stopped in time and corrected, "I have never been a Death Eater! These are naked accusations!"

He glares at Murphy: "You are the Black Wizard! You broke into my house! Otherwise how would you know the Cellar so well?! You even burned my home, killed my friends, and almost caused my family and me to perish in flames!"

"Judges! Professor Dumbledore! I charge Murphy Darkholm! He violated the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy! He sold Magic Potion to Muggles!"

The judges on the Judgment Seat look at Murphy again, and a chorus of discussion erupts, the whole courtroom buzzing with conversation.

"Silence! Silence!" Finally Dumbledore roars twice, finally quieting everyone; he takes the Notebook's tray, studies it carefully for a while, then suddenly pokes a finger into the Notebook.

"Careful!" many warn.

But the expected terrifying Black Magic did not appear; Dumbledore twirled the pages, crumpled them a few times, then lifted it and flipped through it casually.

After a while, Dumbledore placed the Notebook down again, looking at Murphy, "Where did you get this Notebook?"

(End of chapter)