harrey potter coc | Page 7

wall.

�All right!� cried Harry, grabbing the elf�s arm to stop him. �You can�t tell me. I understand. But why are you warning me?� A sudden, unpleasant thought struck him. �Hang on � this hasn�t got anything to do with Vol � sorry � with You-Know-Who, has it? You could just shake or nod,� he added hastily as Dobby�s head tilted worryingly close to the wall again.

Slowly, Dobby shook his head.

�Not � not He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, sir ��

But Dobby�s eyes were wide and he seemed to be trying to give Harry a hint. Harry, however, was completely lost.

�He hasn�t got a brother, has he?�

Dobby shook his head, his eyes wider than ever.

�Well then, I can�t think who else would have a chance of making horrible things happen at Hogwarts,� said Harry. �I mean, there�s Dumbledore, for one thing � you know who Dumbledore is, don�t you?�

Dobby bowed his head.

�Albus Dumbledore is the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever had. Dobby knows it, sir. Dobby has heard Dumbledore�s powers rival those of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at the height of his strength. But, sir� � Dobby�s voice dropped to an urgent whisper � �there are powers Dumbledore doesn�t� powers no decent wizard��

And before Harry could stop him, Dobby bounded off the bed, seized Harry�s desk lamp, and started beating himself around the head with earsplitting yelps.

A sudden silence fell downstairs. Two seconds later Harry, heart thudding madly, heard Uncle Vernon coming into the hall, calling, �Dudley must have left his television on again, the little tyke!�

�Quick! In the closet!� hissed Harry, stuffing Dobby in, shutting the door, and flinging himself onto the bed just as the door handle turned.

�What � the �devil � are � you � doing?� said Uncle Vernon through gritted teeth, his face horribly close to Harry�s. �You�ve just ruined the punch line of my Japanese golfer joke� One more sound and you�ll wish you�d never been born, boy!�

He stomped flat-footed from the room.

Shaking, Harry let Dobby out of the closet.

�See what it�s like here?� he said. �See why I�ve got to go back to Hogwarts? It�s the only place I�ve got � well, I think I�ve got friends.�

�Friends who don�t even write to Harry Potter?� said Dobby slyly.

�I expect they�ve just been � wait a minute,� said Harry, frowning. �How do you know my friends haven�t been writing to me?�

Dobby shuffled his feet.

�Harry Potter mustn�t be angry with Dobby. Dobby did it for the best ��

�Have you been stopping my letters?�

�Dobby has them here, sir,� said the elf. Stepping nimbly out of Harry�s reach, he pulled a thick wad of envelopes from the inside of the pillowcase he was wearing. Harry could make out Hermione�s neat writing, Ron�s untidy scrawl, and even a scribble that looked as though it was from the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Hagrid.

Dobby blinked anxiously up at Harry.

�Harry Potter mustn�t be angry� Dobby hoped� if Harry Potter thought his friends had forgotten him� Harry Potter might not want to go back to school, sir��

Harry wasn�t listening. He made a grab for the letters, but Dobby jumped out of reach.

�Harry Potter will have them, sir, if he gives Dobby his word that he will not return to Hogwarts. Ah, sir, this is a danger you must not face! Say you won�t go back, sir!�

�No,� said Harry angrily. �Give me my friends� letters!�

�Then Harry Potter leaves Dobby no choice,� said the elf sadly.

Before Harry could move, Dobby had darted to the bedroom