The kitchens were almost deserted when Jemmy finished up with the dishes. She had a heavy load today, a little more than usual to do, so the dishes were a little late in getting done. She pulled off the dust cap she wore over her hair letting it loose, several strands had come loose while she was working and just pushing the bright red strands out of the way was bothering her. She patted her neck and forehead off with a towel, closing her eyes for a moment. She was so tired and just wanted to get to bed when, "You're very beautiful."
Her eyes flew open and she turned looking to see who had spoken, the only one in sight was Dobby. He was relatively new around here and the others sort of gave him a wide berth because he was just…strange. He worked there for actual money and he wore an odd assortment of clothing, different colored socks, shorts, a sleeveless t-shirt, sometimes a whole bunch of knobby, badly knitted hats… She looked around, but he seemed to be staring at her. "Are-are you talking to me?" she asked him blinking.
"Yes, Dobby can't help but watch you. You are very beautiful. I've been watching you for awhile. I guess you get that a lot though."
"No, actually you're the first one to ever say that to me." She told him pulling her hair back into a ponytail. She wasn't sure if he was just teasing her or if he was mad. Either way… she definitely was not interested in this, whatever this was. "I have to get to bed." She told him moving past him. And then a second later she felt his lips on hers. For a moment she considered pushing him away, screaming and hitting him, and then…well, it was nice. It only lasted a moment and Dobby was smiling and then he bowed to her before leaving the kitchens. She touched her lips looking after him. That was…unexpected.
Jemmy lay in her bed in the girls' dormitory staring up at the ceiling. She had her own room at least. It was just big enough for a tiny bed. There were a few pegs on the back on the door where her towel, washcloth, and two uniforms were kept. Her nightgown hung there during the day. She didn't have many personal items. She had a cup and a tooth brush as well as a small vanity set that belonged to her grandmother. It was tarnished and once would have been beautiful, now only she thought it was, but that was okay. She couldn't sleep though. She just kept thinking about that kiss. Did he really like her? She hated sleeping here alone. She wanted to get married and having little elves of her own. She had the chance to get married once…her parents wanted to promise her to a little boy she grew up with. Certain families were closer than others here. She couldn't though. She knew her sister was in love with him. They were now married with three little ones. She was happy for her, but sad for herself as well. What if this was her last chance?
House elves didn't have long courtships, if they liked each other they got married. Or they were promised to each other. It was just one of those things. They moved in together and were true to each other. She knew that humans made things way too complicated in that respect. They were just different. And Dobby thought she was beautiful…no one thought she was beautiful. So what if he was a little odd? Or a lot odd…
In the morning she was up helping with the breakfast rush. She turned with a tray and found Dobby there. Again he bowed to her flourishing one of his hats. "My lady," he said before continuing on. She felt her cheeks grow warm and she looked after him until she heard the giggling and turned back to her task.
Her sister, June, pulled her off as soon as she could. June had her curly pinkish blonde hair pulled up on her head today. "He likes you!" She squealed holding onto her hands excitedly. "Do you like him? Do you think you'll get married?"
"I don't know," she said. "He said he was beautiful last night."
"Really? Oh! That's so exciting." She paused looking behind her.
Jemmy looked around confused until she saw their cousin Tuey talking to Dobby. She was giggling and touching him. The elf seemed self-conscious and not sure what she was even doing. Jemmy was seeing red. It was just like Tuey to see an elf pay attention to her and then try to steal him away! Jemmy was off like a shot and tackled Tuey right to the ground. She barely registered hearing the shrieks and the breaking of dishes as she and her cousin tussled on the ground shouting insults at each other.
"Jemmy!" Someone called her name and she felt someone take her by the waist trying to pull her off. She struggled still cursing her cousin and trying to get back at her.
"That's ENOUGH!" Her grandmother was there and didn't look happy. "You girls go and cool off. And get back here to work! This is shameful! Fighting over an elf!"
Jemmy was pulled away even as she glared daggers at Tuey. Before she knew it she was outside in the cool autumn air. The leaves were changing color and the falling to the ground. It even took a few minutes to realize it was Dobby beside her as they walked in the small secluded courtyard. There were no windows on the cold stone walls, so the students didn't know this even existed. There was a small door leading out onto the grounds and there were benches out there small enough for them to sit on.
Now she was embarrassed. She couldn't believe she had done that. That wasn't like her at all! He must have thought she was mad! "I don't like her," Dobby finally said. "I don't like her at all."
"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to do that. I don't know why I did."
"I thought it was wonderful." He told her blushing a little, "Never had someone willing to tackle someone else just for me."
Jemmy finally giggled looking up at him. "I never had anyone that called me beautiful before…"
"Well, you are, I've never seen anyone so beautiful. I really like red."
"I really like your socks." She admitted. And she really did.