Chapter 68: Speculation
"He spent ten years working for me after graduation before this could happen," George said casually.
"Ha ha ha ha," everyone laughed.
"That little creature, Dobby… is it really Voldemort's house-elf? Voldemort is gone now. Whose orders would it be following?" Fred stared at Harry and asked.
"I don't know. The creature couldn't speak its master's name. Whenever it accidentally let it slip, it would immediately bang its head against the wall," Harry said, pausing for a moment to recall the scene. "It was me… when it guessed Voldemort's name, it screamed, 'Don't say the name!'"
Fred was silent for a moment, then said, "So, we can't be certain it's actually Voldemort's house-elf. It could have been sent by someone to stop you from returning to school, or simply to mess with you… an enemy?"
"Yes," Harry and Ron said in unison.
"Draco Malfoy," Harry explained. "We're classmates. He really hates me."
"Draco Malfoy… his father is Lucius Malfoy, right?" Fred turned to George.
"That's right. They're father and son," George said, turning to Harry. "Lucius was one of Voldemort's followers. When Voldemort was rampant, his main base was at Malfoy Manor."
"The Malfoy family is extremely wealthy and used to be Voldemort's headquarters. They must have had many house-elves. These elves obeyed Voldemort when he was alive, and now they obey Lucius," Harry said. "I've found a clue connecting my two enemies."
"Lucius might still be in contact with Voldemort and plotting something," Ron added urgently.
Another long silence filled the car.
"All right, don't worry about Lucius, Voldemort, or their house-elves for now. Let's talk about something else," George broke the silence. "These things won't be solved quickly. Right now, we just have to be more careful."
"Lots happened, and I didn't really help, but I'm glad we came to get you today," Ron said, patting Harry on the shoulder. Harry had had a rough last holiday. Ron felt proud of his decision to pick Harry up today.
"You didn't reply to my letters, I was worried sick. At first, I thought my Eero had a problem. It's a bit old and sometimes runs out of power when sending letters. I thought I'd borrow Hemei S—"
"WHO?"
"Percy got this new owl after he was made Head Boy," Fred explained to Harry.
"But Percy wouldn't lend it to me!" Ron said in frustration. "He's too stingy, so I had to let Eero deliver letters to George. George replied quickly. He said, 'That crow is really pretty.'"
Ron looked at George with envy. That crow made him love this setup. It was far smarter and more capable than Percy's Hermes, and far better than his Eero.
"Actually, I'd rather make a phone call. Messengers can be intercepted too easily, so I specifically trained a raven. Even then, I can't guarantee it won't be intercepted multiple times," George shrugged. The raven was much better than an owl. But unless he could find a way to make the raven fully adept at magic, messengers would never be as effective as phone calls or texting.
"What phone?" Fred and Ron asked curiously. Apparently, this 'phone' was even better at transmitting information than George's raven.
"This isn't a magical creature. It's a Muggle communication device. It's very convenient—you can transmit your voice just like talking face to face," Harry said, noticing Ron and Fred's puzzled expressions. "I'll explain it to them."
Even after Harry's explanation, Ron and Fred didn't fully understand what a phone was. George, meanwhile, felt a strange sense of amusement.
"In two days, I'll send a few phones over. As long as I'm not in a school or other restricted area, we can use them for daily contact. Owls are just too inconvenient," George said with a mischievous smile, as if joking. He planned to send phones to Ron's house too, so Ron could call Harry directly.
"That's great. We'll be able to call each other. No more worrying about owls being intercepted," Harry said excitedly. Over the past few weeks, he had never been able to stay in contact with the magical world. He refused to endure that again.
Hearing Harry talk about the convenience and benefits of phones, Ron and Fred became eager, thinking the phones might arrive soon.
"After you get out of the car… did UU read www.uukanshu.com? Does your dad know?" Harry asked, thinking of another important detail.
"Oh, he doesn't. He's working late tonight. I hope we can sneak the car into the garage without my mom noticing," Ron said casually, as if this were a regular occurrence.
"What does your dad do at the Ministry?" Harry asked curiously. Do wizards need to work overtime too? Would it affect efficiency?
"His department is boring," Ron said strangely, clearly not fond of the job. "The Muggle Artifacts Misuse Department is illegal."
"What?" Harry heard a long string of words he didn't understand.
"It's forbidden to use magic on objects made by Muggles, in case they end up back in Muggle stores or homes and cause trouble."
"Like last year, when an old witch died, and her tea set was sold as an antique. Later, a Muggle girl bought it and invited friends for tea. That was not a pleasant experience. Because of that, my dad has spent the past few weeks using memory charms and other methods to cover it up," Ron said, rubbing his head in frustration.
"That's no easy task," Harry thought, feeling his own head throb.
"Of course. One man ended up in the hospital, yelling at doctors and nurses that the teapot would spray water and the tongs would bite. My dad was busy at the time. Most importantly, there was only him and another old wizard, Perkins, at home. He couldn't always make the old wizard work overtime," Ron recalled helplessly.
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