A/N: QLFC. Captain of the Wimbourne Wasps. Chosen creature: House-Elf.
Round 4 - Creature Comforts
There are non-humans galore in Harry Potter, but they're often overlooked or take the back seat. That's just not fair, though, is it? Creatures deserve love, too! So, this round they get the spotlight.
xOx
This is the story of a sweet, quiet and timid little house-elf called Hinky. Along with the rest of her kind, she was hardworking and extremely dutiful to the family she served. The family loved her back—especially their son. Hinky was never treated as a servant, which made her situation very different from that of other house-elves. Most were treated like vermin, but Hinky was a very lucky elf; she had a clean and neat little uniform to wear every day, along with a Sunday off every month. The family often asked her to not work as hard as she did. She never listened, always finding something more to do.
"Hinky? A moment, please," called Mrs Potter from the living room.
"You is calling, Mistress?" said Hinky as she appeared with a pop from the hall, where she'd been mopping the floor.
"We'll be having company at dinner tonight. Can you please add two more people to the list? Nothing fancy, though—it's only my sister and her husband," laughed Mrs Potter.
"As Mistress wishes," said Hinky as she bobbed a curtsy. "Will that be all, Mistress?"
"Yes, thank you, Hinky," said Mrs Potter with a smile.
Hinky disappeared with a pop, back to the hall to finish the cleaning she had started. Once that was done, she apparated to the kitchen to see what provisions she had to make dinner with. Upon further inspection, Hinky found that they had a nice bit of beef, which she decided she would roast until it was tender enough that it just fell apart, add crispy roast potatoes and a lots of vegetables—especially carrots as they were the young Master's favourite. It was at this point that James came skidding into the kitchen.
"Hey, Hinky, can I help myself to a glass of juice, please?"
"You is sitting down, young Master, Hinky will get you a glass of juice," she said squeakily.
"Aw, c'mon, Hinky, this is something I can do for myself, y'know. I'm a big boy now," said James with a sweet little grin on his young face.
"No, young Master, you is sitting down, or you is getting nothing."
James rolled his eyes and sat down on one of the bar stools that stood in front of the breakfast bar. Hinky, with a click of her fingers, had a glass of juice gently floating towards James in no time. James watched mesmerized as the glass lowered down in front of him.
"You know, Hinky, I can't wait to go to Hogwarts next year," said James as he took a large gulp of the cold and refreshing liquid; he loved the way the sweetness of the juice spilled down his throat.
Thankfully, Hinky had her back to the boy as he spoke, as she had to swallow a lump that appeared in her throat. Despite the fact he could be a little toad at times, she was going to miss him and his cheekiness.
She heard James place his glass down heavier than he should have done, and quickly scooted over to the breakfast bar to make sure that the lad hadn't accidentally gone and broken it. Thankfully, the glass was still in one piece.
"If young Master is finished, I is having to make sure the cleaning is done as Mistress is having company tonight, and I is needing to clean the sitting room and dining room. So, shoo."
"Who's coming over?" asked James curiously.
"Young Master must go and ask the Mistress, I is far too busy to gossip." With that, James knew himself dismissed. He flew out of the kitchen with the force of a fired cannonball.
Hinky marched toward the supply closet and gathered up all that she would need to make sure the ground floor reception rooms were sparkling clean and tidy before company arrived later in the day.
She worked hard throughout the rest of the day. Well before noon, every surface in the large dining room shone, including the windows; Hinky had a way of making it look like there wasn't actually any glass there at all, it was only as you got closer to it that you could see the glass. She had siphoned any dust out of the large, dark green velvet curtains, the padded seats of the dining room chairs and the carpet. After that, she'd made sure there were no webs covering the chandelier. When that was done, she apparated straight to the sitting room to find James playing with his magical train set.
"Young Master, I is needing to clean in here now," squeaked Hinky nervously. She didn't necessarily like to chuck James out if she could help it, but she knew that if he remained in the room, she would have to awkwardly try and work around him, which she didn't have the time to do.
"I'm sorry, Hinky, I'll just leave." Slowly, James got up. Dragging his feet, he moved towards the door. Hinky's heart went out to the poor boy; he didn't really have any friends he could play with, especially as the Potter family wasn't exactly the most popular amongst the other wizarding families. So, poor James didn't have any playmates, all because his parents didn't believe in all the Pureblood mania, even families like the Prewett's and Bones shied away from them. She sighed and got on with the job in hand.
Once the ground floor receptions rooms were spotless, Hinky was back in the kitchen to prepare lunch for Mrs Potter and James. They would eat in the kitchen together as Mr Potter was at work. They preferred it that way.
As soon as lunch was over, Hinky set about making sure the kitchen was clean and tidy before preparing the beef for the oven. With a click of her fingers, the potatoes were peeled and left in a pan to soak; with another click of her fingers, a chopping board, knife, and half a dozen carrots landed gently in front of her and she set to work. There was something wholly satisfying about peeling and chopping carrots; Hinky found, she didn't really know why either. The same feeling of satisfaction would always come over her whenever she shelled peas.
Early evening, and Hinky was helping Mrs Potter with the hooks and eyes on the back of her dress. The dress itself was of a simple cut—a lovely primrose colour that would accentuate her dark brown hair and bright hazel eyes
"How do I look, Hinky?" asked Mrs Potter as she gave a little twirl.
"You is looking lovely, Mistress. If Mistress is no longer needing me, I must return to the kitchen," said Hinky as she curtsied politely and waited to be dismissed.
"I hope you haven't overdone yourself, Hinky," said Mrs Potter suddenly.
"No, Mistress, it's only roast beef," replied Hinky squeakily.
"Thank you, that's lovely, I do love your roast beef—it's always so tender and it positively melts in your mouth," said Mrs Potter, complimenting the elf. Hinky could feel the heat starting to rise in her sallow cheeks, and it seemed to travel its way up to the tips of her large floppy ears. Curtsying again, Hinky took leave of the bedroom, popping back to the kitchen to finish making the horseradish sauce that would accompany the beef.
When company arrived, Hinky was there to answer the door. Mrs Potter's sister and her husband hardly took any notice of Hinky as she granted them access. The only time they acknowledged her was when they were firmly inside the house, and demanded that she take their coats and hang them up. Once their backs were turned, Hinky allowed a scowl to cross her face for a moment; she'd always hated Mrs Potter's sister and brother-in-law. They were so rude towards her. It was at times like this she was grateful that she worked where she did. Silently, she led them into the sitting room where the Potters were waiting.
Hinky was glad to escape back to the kitchen for a moment. She'd been asked to bring up a bottle of Mr Potter's oak-matured mead and a bottle of pumpkin juice for James. The glasses resided in a glass-fronted cabinet in the sitting room that Hinky had to clean and polish at least once a week. Once the job of delivering the bottles was done, Hinky once more returned to the kitchen to finish making the trifle for dessert.
Exactly half an hour later, Hinky sent the starter up to the dining room through the kitchen ceiling, much like at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As a starter, she'd made a prawn cocktail on a bed of lettuce and a creamy seafood sauce. After that, she returned the empty bowls from the first course, and she sent up the plated main course. Whilst she waited for the plates and silverware, she set about washing up and drying up everything before putting it away again. She gave it an hour before she sent for the dirty dishes from the main, and sent up the bowls of trifle. Again, she repeated the process of washing up and drying up, but this time, it was a much quicker job.
Whilst she waited for the dessert bowls, Hinky quickly apparated upstairs to check on the fires in the bedrooms. She found that James' had started to dampen down, so she added some more logs and waited for it to roar into life again. Once it did, it crackled merrily in the grate. Next, she went to check the fire in Mr and Mrs Potter's room. She found it to be satisfactory. She checked the fire in James' nursery to make sure that was entirely out as he wouldn't be returning to the room for the rest of the night now.
With that job completed, Hinky once again returned to the kitchen and recalled all the dessert dishes and set about washing and drying them. A little while later, the Potter's guests departed, and Mr Potter appeared with a tray of glasses and a smile on his face.
"Thank you, Hinky for a wonderful meal, that beef was absolutely delicious," said Mr Potter as his smile widened.
Hinky kept her head bowed, so he couldn't see the heat that had returned to her cheeks. Diffidently, she took the tray from him and set it down by the sink, ready to wash them with her own brand of magic. These she couldn't afford to break—especially as they were a wedding gift from Mr Potter's now deceased parents. She squeaked out a thank you, and felt relief when Mr Potter left. She'd always been especially shy around Mr Potter; she wasn't sure exactly what it was about him that made her so nervous, but it was certainly worse than when she dealt with Mrs Potter.
Finally, her day was drawing to close. After she'd cleaned the glasses, she returned them to the cabinet in the sitting room; she dampened down the already dying fire, and did the same in the dining room. She made sure all the curtains were closed, and the lights were off. Once she was completely satisfied, she made her way to the alcove up in the attic. She quickly changed into a nightgown, shivering slightly as she did. She brushed her short muddy brown hair, and burrowed her way under her blanket where she curled up, completely exhausted after another very busy day.