Chapter Twenty-One:
Elizabeth's fellow Hufflepuffs seemed a lot more forgiving of Harry than they did Elizabeth as December rolled in, and Elizabeth was feeling the pressure of it more and more. Cedric had seemed to convince them to lay off Harry, but they didn't seem to think that applied to Elizabeth and her 'betrayal' to help Harry practice. She tried to ignore it, however, and to avoid cold looks and silent treatments, she began eating every meal at the Gryffindor table with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Elizabeth told Alain about what was going on the day after the first task and he was apologetic, but didn't have any advice on how to handle it aside from "I'm sure they'll come around." Elizabeth hoped he was right.
What Elizabeth told no one about, however, was the dream. Thankfully, after that one night, she didn't have it again. It made it easier just to pass it off as a nightmare and leave it at that. There was no point in worrying the others about a one-time nightmare, and as each day wore on, she felt more and more silly at the thought of bringing it up.
A week into December, Elizabeth was in Transfiguration with the rest of the Hufflepuffs. She was seated in the back, at the window, while they were practicing turning guinea fowls into guinea pigs. Elizabeth had already managed to transfigure hers—Transfiguration had always been one of her best classes—and was currently watching out the window where she could see the Gryffindors and Slytherins were having Care of Magical Creatures class by Hagrid's hut. It was times like these—watching half the class take shelter in Hagrid's hut (Elizabeth was sure every one of them was a Slytherin) while others struggled to wrangle in the large creatures—that Elizabeth was glad she didn't take Care of Magical Creatures. She never did well with some animals.
Elizabeth straightened up a bit. She saw a woman with blond hair making her way down to the ongoing class. Who was that, and what was she doing on the school grounds? From Elizabeth's angle, she didn't look like anyone on the Hogwarts staff.
Someone cleared their throat and Elizabeth jumped, turning to see Professor McGonagall standing over her desk.
"And what is so important outside, Miss Martin?" she asked.
"N-nothing, ma'am," Elizabeth said quickly, "I...I just finished with the lesson and—"
"And you thought you wouldn't need to practice more?" McGonagall asked, studying the guinea pig on Elizabeth's desk, "Your guinea pig is too round, and its nose looks more like a beak. I think you do need more practice. Keep your focus on the class, Miss Martin."
With a wave of her wand, McGonagall transfigured the guinea pig back to a guinea fowl and walked off. Elizabeth felt her face flush as several students looked at her, and she kept her head down for the rest of the period.
When lunch came, Elizabeth bypassed the Hufflepuff table as usual and instead went to Gryffindor, sitting with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They were already chatting when Elizabeth sat down, but she still had a question on her mind.
"I saw some woman heading down to your class," she said, "I was by a window in Transfiguration. Who was it?"
"Rita Skeeter," Ron said, "She's talked Hagrid into an interview, said she wanted to do a zoology piece."
"She'll probably just try to pump him for information about Harry," she said, looking to her friend, "You know she's your focus right now."
"I haven't noticed," Harry said scathingly. Elizabeth rolled her eyes.
"Isn't she banned from the Hogwarts grounds, though?" she asked.
"She obviously doesn't care," Ron said.
"I'm more worried about what she'll do to Hagrid," Hermione said, "That woman twists everything."
"It'll be fine, I told you already," Ron said, "Dumbledore's let Hagrid slide several times already. And he's the one who banned Skeeter from the grounds, he wouldn't believe anything she said."
Satisfied that nothing Skeeter could do would cause problems, they finished up lunch and Elizabeth headed on to her next class, which was Muggle Studies. They were beginning to study Muggle entertainment, which Elizabeth found pretty strange. She couldn't really get her mind around the fact that they had programs on their televisions, where you had to turn on at a specific time to be able to enjoy. What was wrong with reading a newspaper, get the news when you want it? Or reading a book whenever you want instead of having your entertainment on a schedule?
Elizabeth left class with an essay on Muggle entertainment and made her way to the entrance hall where she met up with Harry and Ron. They were just about to head to dinner when Hermione came running up from the Hufflepuff basement.
"Harry!" she cried out, grabbing him by the arm, "Harry, you've got to come—you've got to come, the most amazing thing's happened—please—"
"What's the matter?" Harry asked as Hermione started to pull him towards the basement passage.
"I'll show you when we get there—oh come on, quick—" Hermione led all three of them down the corridor, stopping in front of a portrait of fruit that Elizabeth knew all too well.
"Oh no, Hermione!" Elizabeth said, "This is the kitchen! This is about spew!"
"No, no it's not!" Hermione said, "And it's not spew—"
"Changed the name, have you?" Ron asked with a frown, "What are we now, then, the House Elf Liberation Front? I'm not barging into the kitchen and trying to make them stop work, I'm not doing it—"
"I'm not asking you to!" Hermione snapped, "I came down here just now, to talk to them all, and I found—oh come on, Harry, I want to show you!"
Hermione pulled Harry into the kitchen and Elizabeth and Ron followed. Elizabeth had been in the kitchen a few times already, stopping by with some of the girls she roomed with when they had late night cravings, or getting things together for a party in the common room. She was used to the long tables directly under identical ones in the Great Hall above, the wall of pots and pans, and the oversized fireplace. She was also used to the house elves. What she wasn't used to, however, was the way one of them was dressed. Elizabeth barely got a look at the small elf—dressed in shorts, mis-matched socks, and a tie—when the elf rand across the room and hugged Harry tightly. Harry stumbled backwards at the impact, staring down at the house elf.
"Dobby?" he asked uncertainly.
"It is Dobby, sir, it is!" the house elf said happily as he pulled back, "Dobby has been hoping and hoping to see Harry Potter, sir, and Harry Potter has come to see him, sir!"
Elizabeth looked at the house elf, who looked like he was bouncing with joy, to Hermione. She was grinning brightly and looked as if she'd just made the most amazing discovery in history.
"So you're Dobby?" Elizabeth asked, kneeling in front of the elf, "Hi, I'm Elizabeth."
She found it weird chatting with a house elf, but she'd heard of the abuse that Dobby had undergone when he was owned by the Malfoys. She didn't think house elves would do well with freedom overall, but she did believe Dobby, at least, deserved it.
"Dobby, what're you doing here?" Harry asked.
"Dobby has come to work at Hogwarts, sir! Professor Dumbledore gave Dobby and Winky jobs, sir!"
"Winky's here?" Elizabeth asked, remembering the small house elf from the Quidditch World Cup.
"Yes, miss, yes!" Dobby said, though he grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him along. Elizabeth exchanged a look with Hermione and Ron before following. They made their way to the fireplace, where they found another house elf dressed in clothes rather than a tea cozy. Elizabeth noticed this one was Winky, dressed in a tattered and stained blue dress that looked like it might have once been nice. It was ruined now, however, and Winky was gripping to a bottle of butterbeer and looking as if she'd been crying.
"Hello, Winky," Harry said.
For some reason, that seemed to be the wrong way to greet the house elf. She suddenly burst into tears, hiding her face in her long hands. Elizabeth felt uncomfortable watching her.
"Winky, don't cry," Hermione said gently, kneeling by the house elf, "Please don't..."
"Would Harry Potter like a cup of tea?" Dobby asked over Winky's crying.
"Er—yeah, okay."
Instantly, several house elves appeared with a trays of tea, complete with sugar and milk, as well as a tray of biscuits.
"Good service!" Ron said, much to the delight of the elves. Hermione glared at him, however. Elizabeth agreed with Ron. She took the cup of tea when she was offered one, thanking the house elf before looking back to Harry.
"How long have you been here, Dobby?" Harry asked.
"Only a week, Harry Potter, sir! Dobby came to see Professor Dumbledore, sir. You see, sir, it is very difficult for a house elf who has been dismissed to get a new position, sir, very difficult indeed—"
Winky began crying even louder. Elizabeth glanced away, unable to watch the pathetic sight.
"Dobby has traveled the country for two whole years, sor, trying to find work!" Dobby rose his voice to be heard over Winky, "But Dobby hasn't found work, sir, because Dobby wants paying now!"
"Good for you, Dobby!" Hermione said, but Elizabeth could see why Dobby hadn't had any luck finding work. House elves were supposed to be loyal and hard-working. One who had been released from services before meant that there was something wrong. Either the house elf didn't keep its masters secrets, or it was a lazy worker.
Dobby went on to explain how he met with Winky and learned she was free as well, and Dobby thought they should find a job together—Winky was almost howling in tears by this point. They made their way to Hogwarts, where Dumbledore had hired them on a paid employees.
"Dobby gets a galleon a week and one day off a month!" Dobby finished off with a bright grin.
"That's not very much!" Hermione said loudly. Elizabeth rolled her eyes.
"Professor Dumbledore offered Dobby ten galleons a week and weekends off," Dobby said, looking pale, "But Dobby beat him down, miss...Dobby likes freedom, miss, but he isn't wanting too much, miss, he likes work better."
"And how much is Professor Dumbledore paying you, Winky?" Hermione asked the house elf by the fireplace softly.
Winky stopped crying, but only to give Hermione a look as if she thought she were a revolting piece of rotten food.
"Winky is a disgraced elf, but Winky is not yet being paid!" she said, sounding offended, "Winky is not sunk so low as that! Winky is properly ashamed of being freed!"
"Ashamed?" Hermione asked slowly, "But—Winky, come on! It's Mr. Crouch who should be ashamed, not you! Ou didn't do anything wrong, he was really horrible to you—"
"You is not insulting my master, miss!" Winky said loudly, covering her ears like a small child, "You is not insulting Mr. Crouch! Mr. Crouch is a good wizard, miss! Mr. Crouch is right to sack bad Winky!"
"Winky is having trouble adjusting, Harry Potter," Dobby said (Elizabeth thought it was an understatement) "Winky forgets she is not bound to Mr. Crouch anymore; she is allowed to speak her mind now, but she won't do it."
"Can't house elves speak their minds about their masters, then?" Harry asked.
"No, it's part of being bound to the family," Elizabeth explained, "They're supposed to care for the family and keep their secrets, keeping their honor intact. When they're freed, they're no longer bound to the family."
"So you can say what you like about the Malfoys now?" Harry asked, looking back to Dobby, who looked panicked.
"Dobby—Dobby could," he said quietly, looking frightened, "Dobby could tell Harry Potter that his old masters were—were—bad Dark wizards!"
Dobby's large eyes widened even more before he ran for the nearby table. Harry grabbed him before he could reach it, however, holding him back.
"Thank you, Harry Potter, thank you," Dobby said weakly.
"You is ought to be ashamed of yourself, Dobby, talking that way about your masters!" Winky said shrilly.
"They isn't my masters anymore, Winky! Dobby doesn't care what they think anymore!"
"Oh, you is a bad elf, Dobby! My poor Mr. Crouch, what is he doing without Winky? He is needing me, he is needing my help! I is looking after the Crouches all my life, and my mother is doing it before me, and my grandmother is doing it before her...oh what is they saying if they knew Winky was freed?"
Winky broke down sobbing all over again. Elizabeth looked away again and Hermione knelt next to the house elf.
"I'm quite sure Mr. Crouch is getting long perfectly well without you," Hermione said softly, "We've seen him, you know—"
"You is seeing my master?" Winky looked up through her fingers, "You is seeing him here at Hogwarts?"
"Yeah, he's judging the Triwizard Tournament," Elizabeth said, "Him and Mr. Bagman."
"Mt. Bagman comes too?" Winky's voice grew cold as she glared, "Mr. Bagman is a bad wizard! A very bad wizard! My master isn't liking him, oh no, not at all!"
"Bagman—bad?" Harry asked, dumbfounded. Elizabeth couldn't blame him. Mr. Bagman seemed really flighty, yes, but he didn't seem at all the type to be a Dark wizard.
"Oh yes! My master is telling Winky some things! But Winky is not saying...Winky—Winky keeps her master's secrets..."
Winky was in tears again, and nothing they could do was getting any more information from her so Harry decided they needed to leave. Harry promised to visit Dobby again and the other house elves insisted on sharing more food before the four left.
"You know what?" Ron was saying as they started out along the corridor, "All these years I've been really impressed with Fred and George, nicking food from the kitchens—well, it's not really difficult, is it They can't wait to give it away!"
"I've known that for years," Elizabeth said, "The house elves here are always really friendly. Helpful when you're starving and missed dinner."
"I think this is the best thing that could have happened to those elves, you know," Hermione said as they started up for one of their usual hangouts, Elizabeth munching on a biscuit, "Dobby coming to work here, I mean. The other elves will see how happy he is, being free, and slowly it'll dawn on them they want it too!"
"Let's hope they don't look too closely at Winky," Ron said.
"Poor her," Elizabeth shook her head, "It can't be easy, losing her whole family she worked for."
"She's better off," Hermione said, "And once she shock wears off, she'll realize she's better off without that Crouch man."
For Winky's sake, Elizabeth hoped Hermione was right on that one.