BORN TO DIE ╱ DRACO MALFOY
꒷꒦ · ˚.‧ . written by ella . . . © -lostgardens
029 ━━━━━ ❛ curiouser and curiouser ❜

Olivia was not sleeping soundly as she lay in the hospital wing of Hogwarts. She had tossed and turned ever since she'd arrived there earlier that day, still unconscious after her little incident. It was just like every night she'd sleep and dream. It was exactly the same as all those others.

But just before the faceless man was about to cast the killing curse, a voice broke her out of her nightmare. Her eyes popped open, but she didn't move. "Harry Potter should have listened to Dobby," she heard the voice, slightly whiny and small, say.

Lifting her head slightly—not enough to be noticed, but enough to see what was in front of her—she looked across the room. Potter was sitting up in his bed, staring at a figure in front of him that stood in front of him. A house elf—Dobby, she recalled the name it had said.

"Harry Potter should have gone back home when he missed the train," the house elf continued as Olivia lowered her head back down on her pillow. Ignoring the shooting pain in her side, she continued to listen.

"It was you," Potter stated, his voice low. "You stopped the barrier from letting Ron and me through," he accused, his voice jumping an octave.

"Indeed. Yes, sir," the elf replied, sounding disappointed in himself.

"You nearly got Ron and me expelled," Potter whispered, sounding frustrated.

"At least you would be away from here," the house elf offered. "Harry Potter must go home. Dobby thought his bludger would be enough to make Harry Potter see that—"

Olivia had remembered hearing how Potter and Weasley made their way to Hogwarts via the Weasley family's car, and she recalled the redhead getting the Howler from his very angry mother.

She tried to understand why the house elf had been so adamant that Potter not go to Hogwarts this year—why had he blocked the barrier? And why had he used a bludger against Potter?—but her skull pounded when she thought too hard.

Fighting a pained groan, she stayed quiet as Potter continued. "Your bludger?" Potter muttered. "You made that bludger chase after me?" the boy asked acussingly.

"Dobby feels most aggrieved, sir," the house elf admitted. "Dobby had to iron his hands."

Olivia winced at the elf's words. Iron his hands? Oh, that poor thing. She hated the fact that house elves felt the need to punish themselves whenever they failed. It had been a nasty habit her parents had to break with their own house elves. They wanted them to be there of their own free will, not punish themselves for simple mistakes, and have the option of leaving whenever they wanted. It was the one thing she admired her parents for, and she hated that Dobby, whoever's house elf he was, did that to himself.

Potter took a breath, proably looking at the elves hands. "You'd better clear off before my bones come back, Dobby, or I might strangle you," he threatened, causing the house elf to whimper in fear.

Olivia squeezed her eyes shut. She needed to remind herself that Potter knew a year's worth of knowledge of the Wizarding World and their customs—that he didn't understand what house elves went through and how they were, most of the time, enslaved.

"Dobby is used to death threats, sir," the elf informed Potter as Olivia opened her eyes. She slowly looked down again while trying not to make it obvious that she was awake and eavesdropping. Catching sight of the house elf, who had clambered to the ground, and Potter, who was getting up from his bed, she watched them closely. "Dobby gets them five times a day at home." The elf's voice was cracking in fear, and Olivia grimaced.

She hated the thought of what he went through. Whoever was his master, she'd love to give them an earful. And perhaps a few hexes. Maybe even some curses? Yeah, that seemed suitable enough. Less than they deserved.

"Don't suppose you could tell me why you're trying to kill me?" Potter asked, now standing up, looking down at the elf.

"Not kill you, sir. Never kill you," Dobby whined, clutching onto the side railing of the bed. Potter walked closer to him, causing the elf to back up. "Dobby remembers how it was before Harry Potter triumphed over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." The elf continued around the bed as Potter moved forward. "We house elves were treated like vermin, sir," he added. "Of course, Dobby is still treated like vermin," he whined, beginning to cry.

Olivia quickly shut her eyes as Potter looked back at her, probably checking to make sure Dobby's loud crying and blowing snot into the pillowcase he wore as clothes weren't loud enough to wake her. She felt his peering eyes off of her seconds later, and she peeked back at him, making sure he wasn't still looking.

"Why do you wear that thing, Dobby?" Potter inquired. There was no doubt he was disgusted by the elf blowing his pointy nose; it was very apparent in his tone.

Come on, now, Potter. Read a book. Olivia rolled her eyes.

Dobby sniffled. "This, sir?" he asked, looking up at Potter. "It is a mark of the house elf's enslavement," he explained, taking a few small steps in place. "Dobby could only be freed if his master presents him with clothes."

There was a loud clattering outside the wing that caught the three's attention, and Olivia quickly shut her eyes. Dobby jumped on the bed, causing the springs to quietly squeak. "Listen," he muttered, his voice quiet. "Terrible things are about to happen at Hogwarts." He paused for a moment, thinking of his next words. "Harry Potter must not stay here now that history is to repeat itself," he warned again.

Confusion and curiosity fell upon Olivia. She knew the Chamber of Secrets had supposedly been opened again, like before, but that could also be someone playing games. Only the heir could open it, and there was no bloody way he was there. Right? She hoped.

"Repeat itself?" Potter whispered with the same confusion Olivia would've. "You mean this has happened before?"

Dobby gasped loudly. "I shouldn't have said that," he admitted. A grunt was heard, and then it sounded almost as if he were hitting himself. Olivia peeled her eyes open again, only to see the elf hitting himself on the head with a bottle. She winced with every wack. "Bad Dobby."

"Dobby, stop it. Stop it," Potter told him, grabbing ahold of the bottle. "Stop it, Dobby!" He took the bottle away from the house elf and set it on the end table of his bed. He then grabbed Dobby by his pillowcase to get him to focus. "Tell me, Dobby. When did this happen before? Who's doing it now?"

"Dobby cannot say, sir," Dobby answered. And Olivia could've sworn that the elf looked at her, but after she blinked, his eyes were back on Potter. "Dobby only wants Harry Potter to be safe." The elf patted Potter's hand, which was still clutching onto the pillowcase that he wore.

"No, Dobby. Tell me. Who is it?" Potter repeated this as the door opened.

Olivia shut her eyes as Dobby snapped his fingers and disappeared. She was almost fully convinced that she had been imaging the interaction and that her mind was still foggy from whatever Pomfrey had no doubt given her. But she couldn't help but let that little bit cloud her mind.

She heard footsteps as Potter fell back onto his bed. The footsteps were timid, as if the ones entering were trying to be as quiet as possible. This night had been so strange already that she didn't know if she could handle any more. But she was wide awake and curious, so she kept her eyes shut and her ears open for the words of the ones entering.

"Put him here," a feminine voice whispered—Pomfrey. "What happened?" she asked.

"There's been another attack," the old, aging voice of Dumbledore explained.

"I think..." McGonagall whispered. "I think he's been petrified, Madam Pomfrey." There was silence in between McGonagall's troubled and saddened breaths; no one knew what to say. "Perhaps he managed to take a picture of his attacker," she suggested, hope in her tone.

Olivia heard some fiddling and then a small explosion.

"What can this mean, Albus?" McGonagall inquired, worried.

"It means... that our students are in great danger," the headmaster replied.

"What should I tell the staff?"

"The truth," he said. "Tell them Hogwarts is no longer safe." Olivia's mind was all over the place as she took in the man's words. Hogwarts was no longer safe. Was it ever? "It is as we feared, Minerva," he continued. "The Chamber of Secrets has indeed been opened again," he confirmed, causing Olivia to stop breathing for a moment.

How was that possible? It couldn't be—it shouldn't be. But it was.

History was repeating itself.

The Chamber of Secrets was open.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

━━━━ ella's speaking !
this is pretty much just a filler chapter! there's some importance in chapter for the plot of the book, but overall it's just a filler. i hope you enjoyed nonetheless!

make sure to comment and vote !!

kisses.

━━━━━━━━━━ born to die,
© -LOSTGARDENS,     oct 2023

word count: 1545. written: 10.8.23. published: 10.12.23.