147: Dobby: I'm a free elf, b!tch!

Boom!

A surge of violent magic burst out from Dobby, blasting Lucius into the air.

Fortunately, Lucius's reflexes weren't entirely useless. He quickly pulled out his wand from his sleeve and gave it a sharp wave, managing to land on the ground in a somewhat stable position—rather than being plastered against the wall.

"Dobby! You little—!" he shouted, glaring at the elf with fury.

But Dobby stood his ground and declared without flinching, "I'm a free elf, bitch!!"

"Aye, Dobby, language." Kasen quipped but he looked quite happy.

"E-Ehm.." Lucius silently straightened his robes, gave a cold snort, and with a wave of his wand, vanished from this place of trouble.

Once Lucius had left, Harry finally let out a breath of relief.

And it wasn't because he feared Lucius might hurt him or the Dursleys. No, it was more that he worried Lucius would get mouthy again and someone else would end up as a pile of ash in the living room.

Sure, when school started again, it would be immensely satisfying to tell Draco Malfoy, "Your dad's dead," but little angel Harry was truly a naturally kind-hearted person.

In his eyes, most villains didn't need to die. To him, someone like Lucius Malfoy was just a sleazy, unpleasant, silver-tongued middle-aged wizard.

And Draco Malfoy? Just an annoyingly masochistic classmate.

As for Greyback...

"Professor, this pile..." Harry pointed to the ashes on the floor.

"Oh, that... I'm not very good with household magic. Mrs. Dursley, where's the vacuum cleaner? I'll help you clean up," Kasenhis said instinctively.

"No, no… that won't be necessary. I'll take care of it later," Petunia stammered.

"No need, no need, Dobby can do it!" Dobby snapped his fingers, and a gentle breeze swirled up the ashes from the floor. Then he picked up the silk scarf, gave it a quick shake, and it practically gleamed like new again.

Petunia, however, still didn't want to take the scarf back… after all, it had been tainted.

"Professor, I meant—why… why did you kill him?" Harry asked again, this time clearly.

"Oh... he was a man not worth mourning. As for the details, Remus can explain them to you." Kasenhis lowered his eyes, already thinking things over.

Harry had given up a silk scarf just to grant Dobby his freedom… and now that scarf had ended up with a soul mark on it…

Still my student, he thought.

His parents had died fighting Voldemort. Dumbledore didn't seem to care much, and no other friends or relatives were really by his side. If Kasenhis didn't step up to help him, who would?

He reached into his pocket and fumbled around for a while… only to come up empty.

"Uh… Mrs. Dursley, how much did that scarf cost?" Kasenhis asked a little ruefully, pulling out his wallet stuffed with British pounds.

"No, no, no… really, it's fine!" Petunia quickly shook her head, terrified that if she hesitated even a second, she'd end up a pile of ash too.

Kasenhis sighed helplessly and picked up the scarf himself.

Wow, just fucking Great! Burberry. A proper high-end British silk scarf.

Retail prices ranged anywhere from a hundred to eight hundred pounds.

"Sigh…" Kasenhis hesitated, then with a pained expression, counted out around £800 from his wallet and placed the stack on the table, pressing it down with a teacup.

"Alright then. Mr. Dursley, Mrs. Dursley, and… young Master Dursley, I hope we didn't frighten you too much. This is compensation for the scarf. We'll be leaving now… Harry will come with us for about half a day, and we'll return him before dinner."

As he spoke, Kasenhis gestured for Harry to hurry upstairs and change. Lupin, along with Dobby, cleaned up the mess that Greyback had made of the room. Soon enough, Harry came running back down with his coat on, rushed out the door, and only then stopped to wait for them.

"May god bless you," Kasenhis said as a parting phrase, using the kind of farewell a normal person might say to normal people.

It wasn't until Kasenhis, Lupin, Dobby, and Harry had all fully left that the Dursleys—still huddled in the corner—finally stood up on shaky legs.

Dudley was the first to speak. "He was kinda fancy, wasn't he?"

"Mhm. A real gentleman. Would've been better if he were, you know, normal," Vernon Dursley muttered with a nod.

"What do you think, Mum?"

"…Indeed. At the very least, he's the most refined wizard I've ever seen."

....

"How about we go to Diagon Alley?" Kasenhis suggested to the others. "You guys must be bored of my office by now."

"Sure."

"Alright then, everyone on their own—we'll meet at the ice cream shop. I can't bring people along with my teleportation... Lupin, take Harry and Dobby." 

With that, Kasenhis disappeared on the spot via Ender Shift.

Arriving a moment earlier, Kasenhis ordered four servings of ice cream. Not long after, Lupin and the other two walked into the shop.

"Come on over," Kasenhis waved them over.

"There's one for Dobby too!" Dobby squeaked excitedly as Kasenhis slid a serving toward him.

"Obviously, yes. Don't worry, eat up," Kasenhis said.

Harry suddenly seemed to remember something. "Oh right, Professor, I need to use the restroom." With that, he darted out of the shop.

"…What's up with him?" Lupin asked, a bit puzzled.

"Told you—restroom," Kasenhis replied casually.

"I'm saying... oh, I think I know what he's up to now." Lupin suddenly had a realization. He remembered back at the Dursleys' when Kasenhis had reluctantly pulled out a wad of pounds to compensate Petunia for that silk scarf.

And Harry must've taken note of that scene. He probably left to withdraw money from Gringotts.

"Damn.. You figured that out already?" Kasenhis scratched his chin in confusion. "How come you can see it and I can't?"

"Maybe different people have different talent points," Lupin said, then turned to Dobby across from him. "You're Dobby, right? Can you tell what Harry went off to do?"

Dobby nodded earnestly. "Of course Dobby can tell. Sir Harry Potter is a good child, a great person. He repays kindness—of course he would choose to—"

"Eh, eh, no need to say it out loud," Lupin interrupted with a chuckle, waving his hand to stop him.

Even a house-elf could tell, yet Kasenhis was completely oblivious.

Lupin glanced over at Kasenhis, who was focused solely on his ice cream, and couldn't help but chuckle. How someone with such a low EQ could be so well-liked was beyond him.

But then again, thinking about it more, it made sense.

It was exactly this kind of unfiltered, unpolished kindness that made it so rare and precious.

Whether it was sincere praise or sharp-tongued sarcasm, when it came straight from the heart, it often meant more than any sugar-coated words wrapped in social finesse.

Kasenhis, still completely absorbed in eating his ice cream, sneezed.

_________

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