harrey potter coc | Page 5

He had only just reached the upstairs landing when the door bell rang and Uncle Vernon�s furious face appeared at the foot of the stairs.

�Remember, boy�one sound��

Harry crossed to his bedroom on tiptoe slipped inside, closed the door, and turned to collapse on his bed. The trouble was, there was already someone sitting on it.

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CHAPTER TWO: Dobby�s Warning

Harry managed not to shout out, but it was a close thing. The little creature on the bed had large, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls. Harry knew instantly that this was what had been watching him out of the garden hedge that morning.

As they stared at each other, Harry heard Dudley�s voice from the hall.

�May I take your coats, Mr. and Mrs. Mason?�

The creature slipped off the bed and bowed so low that the end of its long, thin nose touched the carpet. Harry noticed that it was wearing what looked like an old pillowcase, with rips for arm- and leg-holes.

�Er � hello,� said Harry nervously.

�Harry Potter!� said the creature in a high-pitched voice Harry was sure would carry down the stairs. �So long has Dobby wanted to meet you, sir� Such an honor it is��

�Th-thank you,� said Harry, edging along the wall and sinking into his desk chair, next to Hedwig, who was asleep in her large cage. He wanted to ask, �What are you?� but thought it would sound too rude, so instead he said, �Who are you?�

�Dobby, sir. Just Dobby. Dobby the house-elf,� said the creature.

�Oh � really?� said Harry. �Er � I don�t want to be rude or anything, but � this isn�t a great time for me to have a house-elf in my bedroom.�

Aunt Petunias high, false laugh sounded from the living room. The elf hung his head.

�Not that I�m not pleased to meet you,� said Harry quickly, �but, er, is there any particular reason you�re here?�

�Oh, yes, sir,� said Dobby earnestly. �Dobby has come to tell you, sir� it is difficult, sir� Dobby wonders where to begin��

�Sit down,� said Harry politely, pointing at the bed.

To his horror, the elf burst into tears � very noisy tears.

�S-sit down!� he wailed. �Never� never ever��

Harry thought he heard the voices downstairs falter.
�I�m sorry,� he whispered, �I didn�t mean to offend you or anything ��

�Offend Dobby!� choked the elf. �Dobby has never been asked to sit down by a wizard � like an equal ��

Harry, trying to say �Shh!� and look comforting at the same time, ushered Dobby back onto the bed where he sat hiccoughing, looking like a large and very ugly doll. At last he managed to control himself, and sat with his great eyes fixed on Harry in an expression of watery adoration.

�You can�t have met many decent wizards,� said Harry, trying to cheer him up.

Dobby shook his head. Then, without warning, he leapt up and started banging his head furiously on the window, shouting, �Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!�

�Don�t � what are you doing?� Harry hissed, springing up and pulling Dobby back onto the bed � Hedwig had woken up with a particularly loud screech and was beating her wings wildly against the bars of her cage.

�Dobby had to punish himself, sir,� said the elf, who had gone slightly cross-eyed. �Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, sir��

�Your family?�

�The wizard family Dobby serves, sir� Dobby is a house-elf � bound to serve one house and one family forever��

�Do they know you�re here?� asked Harry curiously.