booktalesy Chapter 179 Dobby
Chapter 179 Dobby
Chapter 179 Dobby
Lin Qi remained silent, his right hand moving extremely discreetly beneath the cuff of his black coat. His fingertips almost imperceptibly traced the path to dispel the curse, and a subtle fluctuation of magical energy silently shot towards the crazed, wandering ball.
However, the anticipated scene of the spell being lifted and the ball returning to normal did not occur.
The iron ball trembled slightly, as if blown by a gentle breeze, before hurtling towards Harry again with even greater force, forcing Harry to make a dangerous dive to barely avoid it.
Lynch's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
His attempt to break the curse failed.
The magic attached to the sphere was a confusion spell that no ordinary student or even a typical adult wizard could cast.
That feeling is more primal... closer to instinct...
Lin Qi closed his eyes, ignoring the deafening noise outside, and focused all his attention on one point.
The next moment, a thin, almost invisible gray mist began to quietly spread through the air above the Quidditch pitch. This mist, like countless tiny tentacles, silently filled the airspace above the pitch.
As the out-of-control ball roared through the magical mist once more, hurtling towards Harry, the mist and the magic clinging to the ball's surface underwent a subtle collision and fusion.
In that instant, Lynch "saw" it clearly—the magical structure was simple yet exceptionally solid, carrying a unique ancient magical charm, and full of traces completely different from those of human wizards.
It's the magic of house-elves.
Lin Qi suddenly opened his eyes, and the gray mist vanished instantly, as if it had never existed.
His gaze was sharp as a knife. He no longer looked at Harry, who was dodging in mid-air with great difficulty, but quickly scanned the shadowy areas at the bottom of the observation towers at the edge of the stadium.
The caster must be around this stadium. House-elves are good at hiding, and they are most likely hiding in corners that are easy to observe but not easy to find.
He tilted his head slightly and called out in a barely audible voice, "Tortz."
The slight explosion was drowned out by cheers, and Totz appeared at his feet.
"There's a house-elf causing trouble," Lynch said rapidly. "Search the base of the towers to the east and north. Find him, subdue him. Be quick!"
"Tortz understands!" A look of seriousness flashed in the little elf's big eyes, and his figure disappeared instantly.
As Totz disappeared, a sharp glint, indistinguishable from a human's, flashed in the dark eyes of the raven perched on Lynch's shoulder.
It silently took flight, blending into the noisy air above the stadium, and like a black lightning bolt, shot first towards the shadows at the base of the towers on the south and west sides. The crow's flight path is adept at darting and concealing itself, using the blind spots of flagpoles, arches, and the crowd's line of sight; its sharp eyes, like the most sophisticated detectors, scan every possible hiding corner.
Soon, the crow completed its reconnaissance of the west and south sides, but found no trace of any house-elves.
Suddenly, the fabric at the base of the east tower bulged out strangely, and Lin Qi's gaze instantly locked onto the east tower.
The crow immediately turned and silently glided towards the east tower.
In the narrow, dark corner formed by the base of the tower and the foundation of the grandstand, it saw two small figures wrestling together.
To be precise, it wasn't a close fight.
A little elf wearing a dirty, tattered pillowcase clearly had the upper hand. It pinned Torts to the ground, shoving Torts' face fiercely with one hand and pinching Torts' ear hard with the other, trying to make him let go.
Despite being at a complete disadvantage and with a face full of pain, Totz gritted his teeth and held onto his opponent's legs tightly with his arms like iron hoops, refusing to let go no matter how his opponent struck him, sacrificing his own body to prevent his opponent from Apparating and escaping.
Without the slightest hesitation, the crow swooped down. Just before landing, its black wings suddenly expanded and deformed, accompanied by a slight spatial distortion. Lin Qi's figure had already replaced the crow, standing steadily in front of the two entangled sprites.
Lin Qi raised his right hand and pressed it down in mid-air.
Several invisible ropes descended instantly, forming the strongest yet gentlest shackles, easily detaching the strange little elf pressing against them from Totz, binding him up like a dumpling and suspending him in mid-air.
The little elf's tennis ball-sized eyes were filled with terror and disbelief. It struggled futilely with its limbs, but could not move an inch.
"Sir!" Totz immediately scrambled to his feet, his ears bright red and his face marked with pinch marks, but his first instinct was to lower his head in shame. "Totz is incompetent; I couldn't subdue him—"
Lynch pointed at Thors, smoothed out the wrinkles in his tuxedo, and brushed the dust off his clothes: "Don't blame yourself, you've done very well."
After saying that, his gaze fell on the bound, strange little elf, who was struggling incessantly.
"Quiet."
His voice wasn't loud, but it instantly stopped the other person from all movement.
Lynch stared at the little elf suspended in mid-air by the magic rope. The elf's huge, tennis ball-sized eyes were filled with terror, yet also with a hint of stubbornness.
"What's your name?" Lin Qi's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable air of authority, echoing in the small space.
The bound elf trembled violently, its lips quivering, as if uttering its own name would bring immense pain.
It gripped its tattered pillowcase tightly with its sharp fingers, finally managing to squeeze out a few words from its throat: "Mr. Do-Dobby, the house-elf Dobby—"
"Dobby," Lynch repeated, his tone flat, "why would you cast a spell on the Walking Ball in an attempt to harm Harry Potter?"
Upon hearing Harry's name, Dobby became instantly agitated, shaking its head frantically, its large ears flapping like fans.
"No! No! I don't mean to hurt Harry Potter!"
It shrieked, its voice trembling with tears: "Harry Potter must leave Hogwarts! He must! There's danger here! Huge danger!"
Dobby, a house-elf, tried to headbutt the stone wall of the tower next to him, but invisible ropes restricted his movements, leaving him only to writhe in vain in the air.
"By hurting him?" Lynch countered.
Dobby became agitated: "Dobby doesn't want to hurt Harry Potter! Dobby wants to save him!"
It shrieked and began digging its nails into its body: "Harry Potter must leave Hogwarts! It's dangerous here! Dobby must hurt him—break his bones—so he'll be sent home—and safe!"
Dobby sobbed, tears welling in his huge eyes: "This is the only way to get Harry Potter out of here! Hogwarts is too dangerous for Harry Potter this year! There's a conspiracy! A terrible conspiracy!"