The Magical Principles of Natural Philosophy at Hogwarts

He thought this kind of talk would make the elves breathe a sigh of relief, but unexpectedly found that the expressions of the elves were very stiff.

"You want him to betray his master?" Pancake Pan's tone was terrified.

Erwin suddenly realized that he had made a mistake. Obviously, in the concept of house elves, betraying their master is the most morally immoral thing.

It's interesting that house-elves' current status is not determined by their inability to fight or being oppressed by wizards, but by their minds.

"Just try it, if it doesn't work, forget it." Erwin said lightly: "I'm a little curious, how did you capture him?"

All the house-elves looked at Chef Cookie.

After listening to Cookie tell the story, Erwin felt even more amazing, a house elf version of a beauty trap?

There are unique individuals in each race, and Cookie is more intelligent than other house-elves.

Judging from Dobby's performance, he should also belong to a different individual.

"In this state, he can't use Apparation, right?" Erwin noticed the chains and shackles on Dobby's body with a sense of age.

"Yes, sir, a house-elf is not allowed to Apparate with something heavier than his body. And these shackles are specially made. After wearing them, the house-elf basically has no ability to use magic." Song Qi replied.

There is such a thing in Hogwarts?But it is also understandable, after all, this castle has the need to manage house elves, so it should be equipped with tools to control and restrain them.

After bidding farewell to the elves in the kitchen, Erwin took the unconscious Dobby into the underground secret room.After checking his physical condition, he just passed out from a severe blow to the head, and there is nothing serious overall.

The vitality of the house elves is quite tenacious.

Now, just wait for him to wake up.

Half an hour later, Dobby slowly opened his eyes, "Where am I?"

Erwin sat across from him, drinking the last glass of pumpkin juice, which he brought out of the kitchen.

"Dobby the house elf, do you still know me?" Erwin asked with his head tilted.

Dobby looked dazed.

It seems that this little guy has forgotten that he met Erwin in the Quidditch match.

"Are you a house elf loyal to the Malfoy family?" Erwin asked directly.

"Yes, they are Dobby's masters." The elf replied honestly.

He twisted, the heavy shackles making him uncomfortable.

"Don't worry too much, as long as you answer my question truthfully, you will regain your freedom." Erwin said, "What order did Lucius Malfoy give you?"

"Dobby has no way of answering that question."

"Then let me ask this question in another way. Is Lucius Malfoy planning against Hogwarts, with Dumbledore as his ultimate goal? You just need to answer yes or no."

"Dobby has no way of answering that question."

"You can just nod or shake your head."

"No." Dobby seemed stubborn.

Erwin said without emotion, "So, is there anything you can reveal about the Malfoy family itself?"

Dobby still shook his head.

"Why can't you answer the above questions?" Erwin continued to ask.

"Because Master Lucius ordered Dobby not to reveal a word to outsiders." Dobby's expression flashed a trace of sadness, "Dobby must obey the master's order."

"Why do you obey the master's order? What will happen if you disobey the order?"

"I will be severely punished by my master. I will be beaten, scolded, starved, or even executed..."

"But if you don't agree with him as your master, avoid him, or even...kill him, then you don't need to face punishment?" Erwin said while observing the elf's reaction.

Dobby was stunned, it seemed that he had never thought about it, but suddenly his thin body trembled, his wrinkled face huddled together, and he shouted hysterically, "Dobby must never violate The will of the master! The house-elf must never betray the master!"

It's not like his normal reaction at all.

Erwin had already understood a little bit, "What do you think?" he asked Riddle.

"Inherited blood curse or soul contract? Let them abide by certain rules... I haven't studied the origin of this servant race, so I can only guess." Riddle said.

In any case, it's not at all feasible to give house-elves independent minds through words alone; something deeper is governing their minds.

"But you have actually disobeyed your master." After Dobby calmed down, Erwin said suddenly: "Have you ever tried to prevent Harry Potter from going to Hogwarts? This is what your master ordered you to do." ?"

Dobby shuddered, "This is Dobby's presumptuous assertion, and Dobby has already severely punished himself."

"Your master shouldn't know about this, right?"

Dobby was silent.

"So you punished yourself for hiding something from your master, not because you took the initiative to contact Harry. Your master didn't give an order in this regard, and he didn't explicitly order you not to contact Harry, right? As long as you don't let the master If you know, you don’t count as violating his will, and you don’t count as committing a fault.”

"Pfft," Riddle sneered, "It's really a huge logical loophole."

Dobby showed a shocked expression and looked over with disbelief. Erwin knew that his analysis was right.

House elves must abide by the following rules:

House-elves must obey their masters unconditionally.

House-elves cannot use wands.

House-elves cannot learn and use offensive magic.

House-elves are not allowed to harm any human wizards in any way.

While it's still unclear exactly what enforces these rules on elves, the rules themselves are loopy and don't cover every situation.

And Dobby has already discovered a loophole. As long as the master doesn't give clear instructions on a certain aspect, he can act according to his own ideas, and he only needs to punish himself for the crime of concealment.

"Dobby has always longed for freedom." Facing such a wise man, Dobby confided subconsciously, "As long as the master gives Dobby clothes, Dobby will be free, but the Malfoys are very careful and never let Dobby be free." Than have a chance to touch any clothing."

"Another one-sentence rule?" Erwin couldn't help shaking his head.

"Is there a specific definition for clothes?" He asked, "What should it look like? Are there any special requirements?"

Dobby looked very dazed, "House elves can wear anything, sir! Socks and scarves are fine."

That is, the definition of clothing should be expanded to include textiles.

"So, are there any requirements for the giver? Do all members of the Malfoy family have the right to give you freedom?"

"Yes, sir."

"The last question, regarding the form of bestowal, according to what you mean, as long as the weaving is from the owner's hand to yours, it can be regarded as a bestowal?"

"It should be like this." Dobby hesitated.

"I've always thought that these non-human races are unreliable, and it turns out that I'm not wrong." Riddle said in a contemptuous tone. Of course, only Erwin could hear what he said.

Erwin ignored him, "In this case, it would be too easy for you to be free," he said to Dobby.