Hogsmeade, Lockhart's study.
In the originally dark study room, a circle of sparks suddenly appeared.
Immediately afterwards, Lockhart stepped forward with a small golden bird named Sunny sitting on his shoulder, followed by a house-elf, Coffy.
With Lockhart's gentle wave of his hand, the entire study, including the corridor and living room outside, lit up instantly.
Lockhart looked at Coffy in rags before him, sat on the chair, put Sunny on the desk next to him, and asked directly, "Coffy, tell me about your current situation and the magic you have mastered."
The timid Coffy immediately bent down, made a deep bow, then raised his head sharply and said loudly, "Master, Coffy used to be a house-elf of the Avery family. The only master now is you, and your happiness is the lifelong pursuit of Coffy."
"Coffy will fully obey all its master's commands."
Hearing this, Lockhart frowned slightly, but he also knew that this was the typical character of a house-elf, so he directly ordered, "Don't talk about that, Coffy. First, tell me about the magic you have mastered."
"Okay, Master." Coffy nodded quickly, and then replied loudly, "Master, currently, I have mastered the teleportation spell, the repelling spell, and the invisibility spell."
Hearing the series of magic spells Coffy had mastered, Lockhart raised his eyebrows. After waiting for Coffy to finish, he asked curiously, "Coffy, where did you learn magic?"
"Master, part of it was taught to me by my mother," Coffy replied loudly. "And part of it was learned naturally as I grew up."
"What's the approximate proportion of magic you've comprehended yourself?" Lockhart asked with interest.
Coffy frowned and fiddled with his fingers. After a while, he said with some hesitation, "Master, I have mastered a total of 27 kinds of elf magic, about 70% of it."
What!
Hearing Coffy's answer, Lockhart's heart seemed to stir up a thousand waves.
In an instant, he knew why the house-elves were so oppressed.
The potential is too strong.
Although 27 types of magic may not sound like much, ordinary young wizards can master thirty or forty types after training.
However, students have been trained, and even some young wizards still have difficulty mastering it after years of training.
House-elves, on the other hand, are naturally capable of mastering it.
What does that mean?
A huge threat!
To ancient wizards, even though house-elves sought peace, their potential was sin.
And being weak is the original sin.
Ancient wizards would not let go of any race that might threaten their status.
Especially a race that they could not defeat themselves.
Lockhart asked himself, if he had discovered the potential of house-elves, he would not have let it go.
And the reason why the ancient wizards didn't exterminate them was probably because they saw the potential of house-elves.
No wonder they were so cruel.
At this time, Lockhart's eyes looked at Coffy a little differently, full of a desire to study him.
Being born with the ability to master magic has absolutely nothing to do with blood.
But soon, he suppressed his desire for research.
He is not in a hurry. Coffy is now his house-elf. According to the character of house-elves, he will never refuse any request he makes.
Even if it means suicide!
Lockhart then asked Coffy a few more questions.
Coffy answered truthfully one by one, and Lockhart's understanding of Coffy deepened.
The deeper the understanding, the more pleasantly surprised he felt. This purchase was indeed the right one.
Coffy's fighting ability is no weaker than that of ordinary wizards, and the most important thing is his loyalty, which there is no need to question.
The thoughts, education, and instincts he received all spoke of loyalty—loyalty to his master.
At the thought of this, Lockhart's eyes flashed with excitement.
Looking at Coffy in front of him, Lockhart felt more and more joyful. Then he gently waved his wand and pointed at the rags Coffy was wearing.
In an instant, the originally gray and even dirty rags began to turn into clean black, then quickly transformed and expanded, covering Coffy's entire body.
Finally, Coffy appeared in front of Lockhart, dressed in a black suit, somewhat like a Gringotts goblin.
Seeing this, Lockhart nodded with satisfaction. He still had certain requirements for appearance, and he really couldn't stand Coffy following him in rags every day and doing things for him.
Bang bang bang!
When Coffy looked at his very neat clothes, he felt a little frightened, so he kept hitting his head on the ground with loud bangs.
While smashing it, he shouted loudly, "Master, Coffy is wrong, please don't drive Coffy away. Coffy obeys the master's orders."
"Coffy doesn't want to wear this outfit and wants to wear the original one."
Looking at Coffy's actions, Lockhart frowned slightly, sighed, and directly ordered, "Coffy, raise your head, don't move."
Upon hearing Lockhart's order, Coffy, who was banging his head on the ground, immediately raised his head and remained motionless, fully following Lockhart's instructions.
Seeing such Coffy, Lockhart felt a little headache.
House-elves have some really good habits, such as being loyal, not betraying, obeying orders, taking pride in working, and being ashamed of laziness.
But some of their traditions over the years have been criticized.
For example, just now Coffy kept banging his head on the ground or wall, self-harming.
This made Lockhart quite uncomfortable.
He wasn't much of a Holy Mother, but he simply felt that it would be very difficult to communicate with such a house-elf.
Just changing clothes suddenly triggered their tradition of wearing rags, and they began to mutilate themselves.
If he were an outsider, he would be able to watch the show as if it were nothing. After all, watching the excitement is not a big deal.
But now Coffy is his subordinate and doing nothing would be a headache.
After thinking for a while, he said directly with a commanding tone, "Coffy, you will wear this outfit from now on. Keep it clean and don't embarrass me."
"You have to remember that I am a professor at Hogwarts. When I go out, your dress and behavior will affect my reputation."
"So, I order you to keep your clothes clean from now on, and don't bang your head against the ground or wall."
Upon hearing Lockhart's order, Coffy's wide eyes immediately burst into tears, and he shouted with gratitude, "Thank you, master, thank you, master."
"As long as the master orders it, Coffy will definitely do it."
In house-elf tradition or worldview, clean clothes mean that the owner is disgusted with them.
That's why Coffy's reaction just now was so intense.
But Lockhart's explanation was different.
For Coffy, who had been taught that his master's orders were greater than the sky since he was a child, he immediately abandoned the so-called tradition.
In particular, Lockhart specifically mentioned that his actions would affect his fame.
He instantly knew how important fame was to his master.
For house-elves, there is only one thing they pursue in life, and that is to please their master and increase their status in their master's heart.
This is why Lockhart believes that ancient wizards' methods were a bit ruthless.
Then, Lockhart looked at Coffy in front of him and fell into deep thought, hesitating a little. Should Coffy participate in tonight's plan?
After all, it had just been less than 24 hours.
After thinking about it, he made a decision in his heart.
So he closed his eyes slightly and felt the mark he left on the goblin's body in Gringotts.
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[More Chapter available and More Update 10 chapter Weakly at p@treon.com/goldengaruda]
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