Dobby arose to the smell of rich soil sneaking into his nostrils. Unable to stretch in his cramped position underneath Hagrid's wooden steps, he made low grunting noises to satisfy his urge to elongate his limbs.
Dobby patted his nest down, fondly recalling the screeching noises he'd made while burrowing into Hagrid's neat stacks of hay to find the soggiests grains at the bottom for his nest.
Squirming out from under Hagrid's stairs, he mused to himself on how he would assist or cause joy with Hagrid today. Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, the idea came into his head: he would decorate Hagrid's cabin. Inside and out. He could see it now: Baubles shaped like Dobby's head hanging artistically near the windows. A floral rendering of Hagrid on the roof. It would be perfect.
He was interrupted in his thoughts by someone clearing his throat.
Dobby whirled. Behind him, Hagrid's door was open, and standing in the doorframe was Hagrid himself, looking bemused.
"Dobby... did yeh just crawl out from under my house?"
Dobby's forehead twitched. He slowly elongated his arms so they were prone above his head. He opened his clenched fists and let the rich dirt rain upon him.
Hagrid just stood in his doorway, the wood creaking beneath his feet. "Righ', Dobby, well... I'd best be goin,'" he mumbled, shutting his front door behind him firmly.
Once Hagrid had edged his way around Dobby and into the Forbidden Forest, glancing behind his shoulder anxiously at the dirt-encrusted house-elf, Dobby sprang into action.
First, he burrowed deeply into Hagrid's pumpkin patch. He found the ripest, juiciest pumpkin that grew in the patch, and straddled it with his bony legs. Bracing himself with his forearms on the earth, he catapulted the pumpkin through the air so it impaled itself on the peak of Hagrid's cabin. Pumpkin juice trickled down the sides, leaving a nice garnish. Dobby licked a few drops off the grass, then continued his work.
Once he was done wrapping thick ivy around the entire cabin and adorning it with beauteous red flowers, he threw a small pumpkin through the window so he could slither in.
Unfortunately, he lost a hat on the shards of glass framing the window. But it was no matter to Dobby, who was already tipping over the flobberworm barrel and watching as the maggots writhed on the now-soggy floor of the cabin.
Dobby launched himself into Hagrid's bathroom and crawled inside the toilet bowl. He lowered the lid and waited with extreme anticipation.
