Chapter 59: Malfoy

When Harry woke in the Sunday sun, he found Zhang Qiu asleep at the foot of his bed—she must have stayed all night, which made him feel awkward. The treatment seemed to have worked well; he felt no pain at all, and his limbs were even more agile than before the injury. After a few simple checks, Madam Pomfrey declared him fit to be discharged.

Yawning, Zhang Qiu said she was returning to her dorm to rest. Harry went alone to the library to investigate house-elves. He noticed that in the modern magical world, only ancient noble families kept house-elves, as these creatures were passed down through generations and had become exceedingly rare. To investigate a particular house-elf, questioning pure-blood nobles was the most convenient approach.

Harry first returned to his dorm to ask his two friends, who barely counted as “pure-blood nobles.” Ron’s family definitely didn’t have a house-elf; Neville said his family didn’t either. Ron only knew the Lovegood family had none, and Neville only knew that the Crouch family’s house-elf was named Winky. These bits of information weren’t entirely useless, but they offered Harry no real help.

With no other options, he turned his attention to Slytherin, where most old pure-blood families sent their children. Harry had only two acquaintances in Slytherin—Cui Ge and Malfoy. Compared to the odd Cui Ge, Harry preferred to seek help from the deceitful Malfoy.

After lunch, Harry walked straight to the Slytherin table. Malfoy was sipping grape juice slowly, while Pan Xi ate a strawberry cake beside him.

Seeing Harry approach, Malfoy smiled and greeted him: “Harry, you look well. Congratulations on your discharge.”

“Thank you,” Harry replied politely. “I’d like to speak with you about something related to noble families.”

“Let’s go outside,” Malfoy said, draining his glass. Pan Xi hesitated slightly, then abandoned her cake and followed them out.

“If it’s about noble families,” Pan Xi said, “I hope I can help you too.”

The three walked to a corridor and sat on an empty bench. Harry hesitated, then spoke: “Actually, I mainly want to ask about house-elves.”

“Oh, are you planning to revive the Potter family?” Malfoy seemed intrigued. “There are no wild house-elves left, but the Black family has fallen on hard times—perhaps their house-elf might be available for transfer.”

“So house-elves today are essentially tied one-to-one to families,” Harry said.

“Exactly,” Malfoy replied. “If a noble visits another’s home and can correctly name their house-elf, it shows the two families are very close.”

“Since you seem to have good connections,” Harry flattered him, “do you know whose house-elf Dobby is?”

“How do you know about Dobby?” Pan Xi asked, tense.

“Wait,” Malfoy stopped her. His expression shifted, then he sighed and said sincerely: “Harry, I know you could find this out yourself, so I won’t beat around the bush. Dobby is my family’s house-elf. I don’t know why you’re asking, but anything I know, I swear I won’t lie to you.”

“Dobby,” Harry hesitated, thinking that if Malfoy was being honest, he had no reason to hide his own situation, “it caused me trouble over the summer, warning me someone was plotting against Hogwarts and telling me not to return. I suspect it was probably Dobby who manipulated the Bludger this time—I think it might know something.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m completely unaware of this. As for the so-called plot, my father was once coerced into serving the Dark Lord—perhaps that’s what sparked Dobby’s wild imaginings.” Malfoy said. “The notebook might have caused the misunderstanding. My father found this magical item at home and suggested I bring it to school to share with classmates.”

“Wait—the notebook was yours?” Harry had always assumed the notebook belonged to Tang Nade. Malfoy’s words made him realize his earlier assumptions were likely all wrong.

“Yes,” Malfoy said. “Technically, it’s just an ordinary magical item. But you seem suspicious of it? Actually, I’ve started to wonder too—could the notebook really be connected to the Chamber?”

Harry had just overturned his previous conclusion and hadn’t yet sorted his thoughts. He fell silent, thinking.

“Perhaps you don’t want to believe me,” Malfoy said. “But no matter how much I despise Mudbloods, I would never joke about Hogwarts. I myself am not entirely sure whether my father reached some secret agreement with the Dark Lord. For now, let’s just accept Dobby’s claim—that the Dark Lord has a plot against Hogwarts.”

“We all know Slytherin wants to purge all Mudbloods. Clearly, the Dark Lord is the one who most wants the Chamber opened. That means the plot you mentioned is likely the opening of the Chamber. And I suspect the diary because it may be connected to the Dark Lord.” Malfoy continued. “My family keeps some of the Dark Lord’s belongings, and the diary was among them. This past summer, he came once and took everything—except this diary. He said it wasn’t his. My father thought it was a good study tool and told me to bring it to school and share it with classmates. He also said Hogwarts might have some problems this year, but I shouldn’t worry—just focus on my studies.”

After speaking, Malfoy looked at Harry with clear eyes, as if seeking his opinion.

“So your family has good relations with the Dark Lord?” Harry asked.

“I don’t like the Dark Lord,” Malfoy said calmly. “But my father’s attitude is complicated—I don’t want to argue with him. For the sake of our friendship, I’d rather not discuss this further.”

“Alright, back to the diary. Zhang Qiu tested a spell on it last time, and we suspect it’s a soul-containing object.” Harry said. “That’s highly suspicious.”

“Regardless,” Malfoy said, “it’s still just an object. Even if it’s the culprit, it can’t grow hands and feet to open the Chamber itself. If it has a soul, at most it can influence or control its user. But the professors checked it and found nothing wrong—we shouldn’t imagine it’s more evil than it is.”

“That’s exactly what I suspect—why would Tang Nade claim it’s harmless?”

“Professor Tang Nade said it’s not a Dark Magic item,” Malfoy said, pulling out the diary again. “But wizards don’t need Dark Magic to do evil.”

“Tom, do you know anything about the Chamber of Slytherin?” Malfoy wrote, then opened the diary and watched with Harry as it responded.

“It’s just a legend. If you really want to know, ask Professor Binns,” the diary replied.

“No—I mean, do you know any other details about the Chamber?” Malfoy wrote again.

“I can’t tell you. I once shared unverified rumors with another student, and the Chamber was opened. I don’t want tragedy to repeat itself,” the diary replied, its words cryptic.

“So the Chamber has been opened before?” Harry snatched the pen and wrote.

“It happened not long ago. Unfortunately, the student who asked me didn’t tell me his name,” the diary wrote, as if aware of Harry’s question.

“We’re investigating this to prevent the Chamber from harming anyone else,” Malfoy wrote. “Just tell us the rumors again.”

“Let me think,” the diary replied. After a long pause, new words appeared.

“What I know is that the creature in the Chamber might be a giant spider, and the entrance may lie in the Forbidden Forest. The Heir of Slytherin isn’t necessarily in Slytherin House, and the Chamber was opened long ago.”

“These are all rumors I heard from students—they may not be true,” the diary added.

“You see, Harry,” Malfoy said. “If someone obtained these details from another source, they might use them to locate the Chamber. I suspect the person who opened it this time is among the eight students who used the notebook.”

“Alright, I believe you didn’t do anything wrong, and you’re telling the truth,” Harry said skeptically. “But even from your honest words, it’s very likely you’re being kept in the dark.”

“Exactly,” Malfoy said. “So I think a more plausible scenario is this: Tom, over generations of students, accidentally learned these details. The Dark Lord knew this, so he had me bring the notebook to school to share with classmates—he wanted the Chamber reopened, but didn’t want a Slytherin student to be the one who opened it. He needed a scapegoat. I didn’t think deeply enough at first, and now, by the time I’m investigating, it might be too late.”

“If the student isn’t being influenced by the diary, but is acting on his own madness to open the Chamber,” Harry said, dissatisfied, “what could he possibly be thinking? Opening the Chamber benefits no one.”

“That’s something you’d have to ask him directly,” Malfoy said. “I plan to hold a self-investigation meeting tonight—I hope you’ll come and observe.”