Chapter 7: House elves
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and don't profit from my writing.
While continuing to work on their classes, puzzle out the riddle of the second task, and continuing their extracurricular training, the trio had very little time for anything else. So Harry was surprised when Hermione grabbed the other two one day and led them to the kitchens. She'd been a little disturbed when she had discovered that Hogwarts had a horde of house elf servants in the background, cooking, cleaning, and maintain the castle. Harry thought she would have been even more upset before their bond, but just as he had become more studious, she had become more relaxed about her pet causes. He could sense she still hadn't decided how she felt about the house elf question. Dobby had been an example of a very badly treated elf, but the Hogwarts elves seemed happy and healthy.
"You two must see this! It's incredible." She told them, dragging them along to a brightly lit, wide stone corridor with pictures of food all along the walls. She reached a picture of a bowl of fruit and tickled a pear, causing the picture to slide aside, just like the fat lady picture in front of the common room.
Inside the kitchen were numerous house elves, eagerly and efficiently cooking, baking, and cleaning up behind earlier cooking. As soon as they were seen, they were mobbed, not to try to push them away, but to offer food. Harry saw one familiar elf, with mismatched socks.
"Dobby?"
"Harry Potter! I has been hoping to see you again, but you're the greatest wizard ever and you came to see Dobby!" the elf flung himself at Harry, grasping his leg in a forceful hug, his giant eyes looking up at Harry with an expression of fervent adoration.
Harry had seen Dobby before. The elf seemed very devoted to Harry and had found them soon after term had started. They had benefitted from his help with the first task, as Dobby had made the tournament robes Hermione had enchanted to be flame resistant and embroidered their other robes with the Potter crest. So Harry knew it wasn't Dobby that Hermione had brought them to the kitchens for. She could sense where his thoughts were leading and gave a subtle jerk of her chin to the side. He wouldn't have needed that, able to follow her attention, but Ron looked over at her movement.
By a giant brick fireplace, Winky sat. Her clothes were filthy and torn and she smelled of butterbeer.
"Whoa." Ron said softly.
"Winky, what's wrong?" Harry asked.
"Harry Potter has to ask what's wrong?" Winky said angrily, "Winky lost her family!" and she broke down in tears.
Dobby shuffled his feet, obviously embarrassed by the house elf's behavior.
"She's been like this, sir. Nothing Dobby has done has helped. Hogwarts took us both in, but Dobby is still looking for a family."
Harry and Hermione shared a look. A quick conference passed between them and Hermione's objections quickly disappeared, seeing how miserable the elf was without her family.
"Winky, would you like to be part of my family?" Harry offered.
"No! Harry Potter is a bad wizard. You cost Winky her family!" she said, bawling.
Harry was surprised. He was used to Dobby, who had seemed devoted to him from the first time they'd met.
"Winky, if you don't feel like working for Harry Potter, maybe you could work for me? I don't have any house elves that work for me and could probably use the help. You could help me while you're here at Hogwarts. At home, we've got a big house and my parents have a dental practice you could maintain, if it wasn't a bother and you could avoid being seen." Hermione offered.
Harry knew she'd realized how much house elves thrived on family and work. The sight of the pitiful elf had overcome her initial Muggle inclinations to reject slavery. How could this be slavery when Winky was so sick without a family?
"You'd take Winky?" the house elf said shyly, looking up at the bushy haired witch. "I could be part of your family?"
"Yes, I'd even be willing to pay you…" Hermione started.
"Winky is no bad elf wanting pay!" the elf wailed, "Winky wants a family!"
"Ok, no pay, but you have to let us know if you need anything, because in our family, we all take care of each other. I'll buy you nice fabric for you to make some uniforms to wear. How's that?"
"That's what I want, Miss Grangy!" Winky said. She knelt down in front of Hermione and put her hands between Hermione's. "Winky promises to be Miss Grangy's house elf and be always loyal and ready to do what Miss Grangy needs!"
"I accept your vow and promise on my part to take care of you as part of my family." Hermione returned, knowing from her studies what she had to say in return.
With a flash of light the magical vow was sealed. Winky immediately looked better. Her drunkenness seemed to disappear instantly. She looked down at her clothes in horror, but with a snap, they were clean and repaired. She smiled at Hermione.
"Winky is going to clean your room. Then I'll clean your house. Then, when it's nighttime, I can fix this 'dental practice'. You'll see, I will be Miss Grangy's good elf!" and she disappeared.
Harry chuckled at the dazed look on Hermione's face. "I guess you've decided the house elf thing isn't so bad after all."
She shook her head. "I guess I have. Or Winky did for me."
Ron just mumbled around a bit of chocolate éclair.
A/N: Short chapter, but it seemed to break there.