Harry left the house through the back door. The weather was nice and the sun was bright. He crossed the meadow, lay down on a garden bench and whispered, "Happy birthday to me...... Happy birthday to me" He stared sadly at the fence, never feeling so lonely before.

Harry misses everything about living at Hogwarts with his best friend, Ron Weasley, and playing Quidditch. Although Ron had invited Harry to stay with him, he had not received any letters from Ron throughout the summer.

Harry had tried countless times to open Hedwig's cage by magic and send it to deliver letters to Ron, but he didn't think it was worth the risk. Underage wizards are not allowed to cast spells outside of school. Harry hadn't told the Dursleys about it, he knew that it was the only thing they feared of him, and if he hadn't turned them into beetles, they would have locked him downstairs in the closet where he kept his wand and broomstick. For the first two weeks back, Harry liked to mumble nonsense under his breath as Dudley dragged his fat legs out of the room.

No year at Hogwarts has been a lot of fun. At the end of the term, he confronted Voldemort himself. Voldemort may not be as good as he once was, but he's still scary, cunning, and trying to regain his energy. Harry escaped Voldemort's clutches for the second time, but this time it was thrilling, and until now, weeks later, Harry would wake up in the night, his sweater soaked, wondering where Voldemort would be now.

Suddenly, Harry sat up straight on the bench with lightning speed. He stared at the fence intently—and the fence stared at him. Two huge green eyes emerged from the leaves.

He was about to go see what it was, but then Aunt Petunia shouted and said, "Harry, where are you?"

"I'm here, I'll be right away"

Then she told him to work, and not to eat until he was done.

While Dudley was lazily leaning on the couch eating ice cream, Harry was cleaning windows, washing cars, mowing lawns, mowing flower beds, cutting and irrigating roses, and repainting the benches in the garden. The sun was shining overhead, scorching the nape of Harry's neck. His back was sore, and sweat was running down his face.

At half past seven in the evening, exhausted, he finally heard Aunt Petunia call him.

"Come here, walk in the newspapers, don't get dirty!"

Harry happily walked through the glowing kitchen, with the dinner pudding on top of the fridge: whipped cream and violet sugar flowers piled high. A large piece of roast meat is sizzling in the oven.

"Eat! The Masons are coming!" said Aunt Penny, pointing to two slices of bread and a small slice of cheese on the table, and said impatiently. She was already wearing a pale pink cocktail evening gown.

Harry washed his hands and devoured his terrible dinner. As soon as he finished eating, Aunt Petunia put away his plate. "Go upstairs!

As he passed the door to the living room, Harry caught a glimpse of Uncle Vernon and Dudley wearing bow ties and dresses. He had barely reached the upper floor when the doorbell rang, and Uncle Vernon's excited face popped up at the bottom of the stairs.

"Remember, Harry—don't make a sound......"

Harry tiptoed back into the room, flashed into the room, closed the door, and collapsed on the bed.

The trouble is that there is already something sitting on the bed.

Harry tried to keep himself from screaming, but nearly smashed. The elf in bed had big, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of a tennis ball. Harry immediately realized that this was the one he had been staring at all morning, outside the garden fence.

As they looked at each other, Harry heard Dudley's voice coming from the hall.

"Mr. and Mrs. Mason, may I get your coat for you?"

The elf slid off the bed and bowed deeply, its long, flat nose almost touching the carpet. Harry noticed that the clothes it was wearing were like a pillowcase with only the hands and feet left.

"Uh-hello. Harry said nervously.

"Harry Potter!" said the elf, Harry sure its octave sound would reach downstairs.

"Sir, Dobi has long admired your name...... It's such an honor......"

"Thanks—thank you," Harry said as he slowly moved along the wall as he ducked under the table and chair next to Hedwig, who was sleeping in the cage. He wanted to ask, "What are you?", but it seemed rude to think about it, so he asked, "Who are you?"

"Dobby, sir, it's Dobby. Dobby, elf. Elf said.

"Oh—really?" said Harry. "Uh- I wasn't mean to be rude or anything, but - it's not a good thing for me to have a pokew in my room right now. “