Vid shook his head, pushed the parchment forward, and said, "Take a look at this contract. If you have no objections, sign your name."
"Okay, okay."
Dobby carefully took the parchment, deciding in his heart that no matter the conditions, he would sign the contract. But when he actually saw the content, he was still shocked.
Not only were the three agreements Vid mentioned earlier included, but also the salary he would receive in the future—ten Galleons per week, weekends off, and with the possibility of further increases.
Dobby shivered slightly, almost tossing the contract away.
"No...it's too much...Dobby doesn't need that much money, nor that much freedom...Dobby likes freedom, but not too much freedom..."
The house-elf said fearfully, as if Vid had offered him terribly frightening conditions.
"Silly Dobby." Vid rubbed his head and said helplessly, "If you don't know how to spend the money, just save it for now; one day it will come in handy."
"As for the rest days, if you like work, you can still work on your day off, but you must keep the right to rest freely."
Seeing Dobby was about to argue, Vid ended his thoughts with one sentence, "Don't bargain with me, Dobby. If the salary I give you is too low, it would be embarrassing for me if word got out—others would think I'm as stingy as Grangai, someone who wouldn't part with a single penny."
Dobby didn't know what a Grangai was, but he still meekly closed his mouth, looking at Vid with gratitude and fear, and finally, under his encouraging gaze, signed his name on the contract.
"That's more like it."
Vid satisfactorily kept two copies of the contract, one for Dobby and the other for himself.
Dobby held the parchment as if it were a precious treasure, unsure of where to put it.
"Come with me."
Vid took his hand, walked out of the room, and said softly, "From now on, you'll be staying in the small bedroom. Tomorrow morning, I'll introduce you formally to my parents."
"Yes, sir."
Dobby answered dizzily; his brain was like mush from all the impact, unable to think, just following whatever Vid said.
…
The small bedroom was a guest room in the Riddle Family, simply furnished with a bed and furniture. Since a Little Demonic Puppet cleaned it regularly, it was still quite tidy.
Dobby touched the soft bedding and the green plaid sheets, then felt the goose-down pillow, pressed it lightly twice, and looked at the desk and cabinet nearby.
He knew this would be his room in the future, but still couldn't believe his good fortune.
Dobby wanted to lie on the bed and feel the happiness of "sleeping in his own bed," but seeing the clean sheets and recalling his dirty feet, he shrank back with his hands and feet.
Remembering the location of the bathroom Vid had just pointed out, Dobby nodded to himself and then earnestly took a bath.
After the bath, the clothes he wore for several days looked too dirty, with a stench.
Dobby washed the clothes clean, and when finished, snapped his fingers. The wet clothes instantly dried up again.
Wearing his clothes, the house-elf looked back at the water stains in the corner without hesitation, picked up the rag beside him, and began cleaning.
After cleaning the bathroom, Dobby found himself too excited to sleep.
So, he cleaned the floor and stairs again, polished the railings until they shone, organized the books on the shelves, wiped the glass, table, and cabinets, and rekindled the hearth.
After all this, dawn was nearly breaking, and Dobby ran to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, but was met by three pairs of resentful eyes.
Three Little Demonic Puppets were sitting by the sink, arms crossed, scrutinizing Dobby, then muttering softly—
"Strange guy."
"Someone trying to steal our job!"
"Is he trying to get us fired?"
Dobby: "..."
An unexpected competitor emerged!
...
Vid arranged a room for Dobby and returned to his own bedroom. Seeing the cup on the floor by the door, he shook his head, gestured casually, and the cup flew into his hand.
Vid placed the cup on the desk, lay down on the bed, and exhaled deeply.
Vid had initially planned to open the Christmas gifts to see what surprise Dumbledore mentioned, but with the day finally over, he was too exhausted to do anything but sleep.
No dreams disturbed him that night.
It wasn't until sunlight touched his eyelids that Vid woke from sleep. Lying in bed for a few more minutes, he finally turned and got up.
When he went downstairs after tidying up, he heard whispering in the kitchen—
"Pay attention to the ratio of sour cream and flour for the blueberry pancakes; Vid likes them crispy, and don't use too much agave syrup..." Fiona said.
"Dobby remembers."
"Did Dobby make this bacon and eggs too?" Ferdinand said in surprise, "The cooking is quite impressive!"
"Yes, Dobby loves cooking!"
"Coco helped too!" the Little Demonic Puppet said loudly.
"Yes, Coco helped a lot, as did Ali and Reina," Dobby said quickly.
"I know, everyone is amazing!" Fiona said with a beaming smile.
"How about adding a roasted mushroom and fried fish cake?" Ferdinand suggested, "Since we have a new member in the family, we should celebrate."
"Great! I'll squeeze some fresh orange juice!" Fiona happily agreed.
"Oh, Ali got flour on his nose!" Reina exclaimed joyfully.
Whatever they did, it made everyone burst into laughter.
Vid leaned on the stair railing, quietly smiling as the scent of baking pancakes wafted from the kitchen.
Suddenly, something flashed outside the window; Vid looked over to see Kreacher standing there, bowing deeply, before disappearing.
Now that Dobby was the house-elf for the Greys, the safety of the Grey couple was under his care. Kreacher had to return to the Black Family, maintain the old house, and look after his troublesome master.
...
The lively celebratory meal requires no further mention, as the Greys wholeheartedly welcomed the new member.
In the afternoon, Vid finally found time to sort through his Christmas presents that could fill half a room.
Books, toys, clothes, and candy were all sorted into categories, and Vid selected some special gifts as well.
Professor Morry had given him a stone inscribed with runes, along with a note in the package:
[The Uagadou School of Magic in Africa sends admissions notifications through the Dream Messenger, leaving a runestone with prospective students. This belonged to a child who declined their admission, and you might find it interesting.]
Vid toyed with the stone for a while but saw no mystery in it, so he set it aside for the time being.
Dumbledore's gift to him was a book titled "Advanced Spell Decryption," which mentioned many advanced methods to resist Dark Magic—an enhanced version of the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class.
Vorvillet's Alchemy notes had already been delivered to him by the Poppet. To Vid's surprise, Grindelwald even sent him a supplemental gift afterward.
It was an old, handcrafted book that Vid quickly skimmed through. The stained, ancient parchments recorded many stories about gods and demons.
Examples include the tale of the God of Death and the three brothers, the Sphinx, the God of Thunder, Medusa, and the three Fates.
It seemed Grindelwald had once devoted a lot of effort to researching these mythological stories and always sought various legends and artifacts left by the gods and demons in the world.
Finally, Vid discovered the surprise Dumbledore had mentioned.
A very small package containing only a handwritten letter, or rather—an invitation.
From Nicolas Flamel.