Dobby nearly lets slip something negative about his wizard family, causing him to immediately punish himself by banging his head against the window. Harry is alarmed and tries to stop him. Dobby reveals that his family makes him punish himself for any mistakes and that they are cruel to him, but he is bound to serve them for life.
Dobby shook his head. Then, without warning, he leapt up and started banging his head furiously on the window, shouting, “Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!”
“Don’t—what are you doing?” Harry hissed, springing up and pulling Dobby back onto the bed—Hedwig had woken up with a particularly loud screech and was beating her wings wildly against the bars of her cage.
“Dobby had to punish himself, sir,” said the elf, who had gone slightly cross eyed. “Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, sir...”
“Your family?”
“The wizard family Dobby serves, sir... Dobby’s is a house-elf—bound to serve one house and one family forever...”
“Do they know you’re here?” asked Harry curiously.
Dobby shuddered.
“Oh, no, sir, no... Dobby will have to punish himself most grievously for coming to see you, sir. Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven door for this. If they ever knew, sir—”
“But won’t they notice if you shut your ears in the oven door?”
“Dobby doubts it, sir. Dobby is always having to punish himself for something, sir. They lets Dobby get on with it, sir. Sometimes they reminds me to do extra punishments...”
“But why don’t you leave? Escape?”
“A house-elf must be set free, sir. And the family will never set Dobby free... Dobby will serve the family until he dies, sir...”
Harry stared.
“And I thought I had it bad staying here for another four weeks,”
[PAGE 15]
he said. “This makes the Dursleys sound almost human. Can’t anyone help you? Can’t I?”
Almost at once, Harry wished he hadn’t spoken. Dobby dissolved again into wails of gratitude.
“Please,” Harry whispered frantically, “please be quiet. If the Dursleys hear anything, if they know you’re here—”
“Harry Potter asks if he can help Dobby... Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, but of your goodness, Dobby never knew...”
Harry, who was feeling distinctly hot in the face, said, “Whatever you’ve heard about my greatness is a load of rubbish. I’m not even top of my year at Hogwarts; that’s Hermione, she—”
But he stopped quickly, because thinking about Hermione was painful.
“Harry Potter is humble and modest,” said Dobby reverently, his orblike eyes aglow. “Harry Potter speaks not of his triumph over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.”
“Voldemort?” said Harry.
Dobby clapped his hands over his bat ears and moaned, “Ah, speak not the name, sir! Speak not the name!”
“Sorry” said Harry quickly. “I know lots of people don’t like it. My friend Ron—”
He stopped again. Thinking about Ron was painful, too.