CHAPTER 10: Exit Rat; Sinks the Ship?
Harry and his Hufflepuffs were among the very first students to arrive at the great hall and settled down at their assigned table. A few teachers slumped at the Head Table, semi-awake and glaring into their cups. The headmaster was yet to make an appearance, thank god for small mercies, thought Harry. He examined the spread in the table before him and was not at all pleased with the fare. He would bet his best cloak that none of his friends would like this menu either.
The tables groaned under the weight of the food, all of which seemed greasy and not exactly suitable for folks who had spent the last eight years honing their bodies to respond like warriors gearing up for battles. The only juice seemed a muddy orange and tasted sickeningly sweet. There wasn't a single jug of milk to be seen anywhere. The three Greys turned to look at each other in barely suppressed exasperation and held an unspoken conversation. Neville, sitting right beside Harry, then straightened and called out in a firm voice, "Kitchen Elf, service please?" A staid looking elf, wearing a while pillowcase showcasing the Hogwarts Emblem popped up, bowing low and waited expectantly.
"I'd like a different breakfast please if it's possible?" Neville spoke, ignoring the gasps of the few muggleborns in their year. "Me too!" Harry and Susan piped in together and soon many others across the table were agreeing that this food was probably unhealthily greasy and probably a big reason why they always felt so sleepy and bored in classes. The elf was momentarily taken aback before looking excited, "What be Pipsy bringing you from the kitchen then?"
Fresh fruit cuts and juices, nuts, and dried toast, with boiled beans, mushrooms, spinach, eggs Benedict, cold milk, Greek yogurt, and cereal, were the most popular choices with nearly all muggleborns requesting orange juice instead of pumpkin juice. Harry quietly asked for him and his friends to be served this or similar, less greasy, and more healthy portions and meal options every day. The elf looked rather thrilled and popped away nodding excitedly. Soon most of their dishes were being swapped magically and replaced with the requested breakfasts.
Harry then nudged Susan and with a pointed look at Justin, asked in a carrying voice, "..er Susan, what were those.. um.. persons.. …er.. beings?" "Oh, that's a house-elf. Most traditional magical households have a few. They are creatures who live to serve and help. Their magic thrives on it. Like a different version of the Brownies of the land of the Fae but not really the same." "Most important wizarding families own a few. Hogwarts probably owns a hundred or so at least" Neville chipped in, munching on a lightly buttered toast. "They basically clean and cook and attend to all our needs and serve their masters most devotedly. Delightful, they are!"
Justin looked shocked; "They're your slaves?" Harry adopted a thoughtful look, ''I don't think so. Besides, it's a magical world, unlike the regular world we come from, Justin. Like a foreign country, it's an entirely different culture. The one we just met, Pipsy, didn't look mistreated or sad or anything like I'd imagine a slave to be." He turned to Susan, "Maybe we should ask Pipsy if she could explain about herself... er himself... itself... argh, this is confusing! How is one to know, anyway?" Everyone listening to their chatter just burst out laughing.
Professor Sprout had come up behind them, smiling at how energetic and engaging the discussions at the Badgers' table always was. "I'm proud of your insight, Harry. It's a very smart choice for those new to the magic and wizarding community to treat this like visiting a different country. For all that we share a geography with muggle England, we have our own laws, community, culture, and traditions."
She fixed them with a strict glare, "It would be smarter to watch, learn, figure out the reasons behind many things you'd find different or odd before you judge a new culture. Incidentally, it works both ways. For those born and raised in magic, the world outside of our wards would be just as difficult to grasp. 2 points to each of you for recognizing that every small thing is a chance to learn something new. Here... Your timetables and Set Counseling schedules and other important documents have been filed together. Don't lose this, alright?"
She then turned to Justin and explained, "Elves aren't slaves, more like bonded assistants and trusty companions. They need the bond as much as we need their help. It's very mutual and a relationship based on respect and willingness. without that, the bonds are weak and easily broken. They are magical beings who gain steady magics through the bonds they share with their masters. Without being bonded, they would suffer magical backlash or drain and die a most painful death."
Susan put her two cents in, her eye on Draco Malfoy, who had come in, eyeing their different fare, "Auntie says it's a measure of true nobility and pure favor of Mother Magic herself, how a witch or wizard treats their elf. We have 2 elves who are as much a part of the Bones household as I am. I'd be happy to introduce you to my Nonna, She has been my nanny, playmate, protector, and guard ever since I can remember. Auntie was always busy at the ministry and until I met Hannah and made other new friends, Nonna has always been my constant companion and only friend. I missed her something fierce yesterday night, you know."
There were murmurs of agreement and similar stories of the devoted family elves were soon floating around. Justin seemed thoughtful and not horrified anymore. He softly added, "I had a Nanny and a governess growing up and they weren't slaves but domestics who helped for a salary. I guess house-elves are paid in Magic?" "That's correct!" Professor Sprout beamed at him, proud of her first years for their unbiased and open-minded discussions.
Ernie, meanwhile looked puzzled and asked Neville, ''But, Neville, how did you know the Hogwarts Elves would help us?" "Oh, they aren't going to help all the time and for everything, you know. And even I know the Hogwarts Elves won't be allowed to help with just about anything. Gran is on the Hogwarts Directors' Board and knows a lot about our school. She even had me learn all of the by-laws in the school charter so I wouldn't accidentally break a rule and embarrass her or something, even without really meaning to, you know." Nearly everyone in Wizarding England knew Regent Dowager Longbottom was a scary stickler for rules and Laws and a highly influential witch at the ministry and the Wizengamot.
While the Hufflepuff table had been experiencing an upsurge in interesting conversations and a drastic changing menu card, the great hall had been filling up with students and staff alike. The noise level rose from a gentle murmur to a cacophony of energetic young voices as the latest gossips spread across tables and the house divide blurred again. Dumbledore himself sat at his throne-like chair, stiff, erect and annoyed, a far cry from his normally genial, grandfatherly persona. Harry guessed that he must have needed the rat and detected the worm gone. He chuckled softly, fiercely glad that nothing would go right for the old coot for a long time now.
In a great flurry of a thousand wings, owls upon owls descended on the tables, dropping letters and newspapers everywhere. Harry, Susan, Neville, and many new students stared, bewildered and somewhat horrified, as they tried desperately to detect even a semblance of a method to this morning dose of madness. Susan, the most vocal of the four, primly hissed at the head table in a voice that carried the full weight of her disapproval and exclaimed, ''This is disgusting! now there would be bird feathers and poop everywhere. Why can't the elves collect and deliver the mails like they do, at home?"
Cedric, Dora, and many of the senior students sat up and nodded seriously. "It's a better way to handle morning mail than this. You kids raise this issue at our next set meeting. You came up with the idea, after all." "What's a Set Meeting?" "Once a week, like we did yesterday night, the whole house gathers in the common room and discusses various concerns with Professor Sprout. It's like a parliament with spokespersons and all and we all contribute, discussing our concerns, issues, and brainstorming for solutions together." Dora explained.
Cedric added his two sickles, "The first month every year our Set meets two or more times a week. After that, it's once every alternate weekend in the evenings, so everyone can attend. In the first month, first years usually have a lot of concerns in adjusting to a residential school system and our meeting frequently helps settle the younger kids down faster and more comfortably into life at Hogwarts. I still find it useful."
Neville beamed at Cedric, ''That's actually so very nice! Do all houses have similar Sets? Gran didn't mention anything like that when she explained her Hogwarts experiences to me..." It was a fifth-year who explained, "Neville, your grandmother was a Raven, I believe? And your grandfather and both parents were Gryffindors? As were yours, Harry. What Cedric talked about is a Hufflepuff tradition. Other heads of House aren't so involved in the student lives as our Professor Sprout. But Professor Flitwick and Professor Snape, I've heard, occasionally tutor their students on weekends and hold monthly bi-house meetings and all. They also start career counseling rather early, as we do. Only Gryffindors fifth year students have career talk with McGee once in their entire time at Hogwarts." There were murmurs of assent around the Puff table.
"The Gryffindors are a rowdy bunch and poor Professor McGee is way too overworked as it is. Deputy Headmistress duties, teaching transfiguration for all seven years, head of house duties and representing Hogwarts at Gringotts, ministry and the media... it, frankly, is a wonder she does it all so well!" Anna, a sixth-year' Puff, spoke up. Harry felt angrier at the headmaster. This was another great place to strike while they still had a morning audience of the entire Hogwarts population. "That's criminal, mate! I can't believe my muggle uncle was right about the way things are in this world." "What do you mean?"
Harry took a deep breath and plunged ahead, "…See, it's like juggling. It's easy enough to juggle one ball at one time and do a great job of it. Anyone can even juggle two balls well enough for long enough. Uncle Vernon says, the more balls you juggle, the riskier it is and higher the chances of you dropping a few balls here and there. What if the balls Professor McGee dropped were important and no one even noticed? What if it is impossible to recover the dropped ball?"
Justin nodded and pointed out, "In the muggle world, almost literally no one in power holds more than one position of public service jobs. We consider it nefarious, suspicious, and unprofessional of our community leaders to hold more than one or at the most two important roles at the same time. It's simply not done." "Great!" Harry huffed, looking very let down.
"I can't believe Uncle Vernon was right when he mocked me for choosing to come here. He and Cousin Dud were always at me, ever since I got the letter that I'm going to school at a place where the headmaster is also head of the country's governing body, and the international administration as well. And now, the cherry on top is that even his assistant at school wears multiple hats. Makes me glad I didn't follow my father's lead and go to Gryffindor. I'd have been lost in there. You guys are just great you know! Like a real family!"
He knew he was probably laying it on rather thick. But the risks were high in this game against the headmaster and they would all need every edge and every element of support they could summon against their rather powerful adversaries. He needed the students and therefore, their parents too, to start thinking independently, and be more open to seeing powerful figureheads of their government not as gods but mere men and women.
"It's not just being head of a house in school, you know. It makes me uncomfortable to think that any single person could hold all the reigns. What happens if they decide to go rogue and control all aspects of my life? That's what was wrong with Hitler, Mussolini, Bonaparte, the Tsars of Russia, the Royals of France... pretty much any despot or any country's leaders who went rogue and killed millions through wars. It's all there in muggle history books you know? I had this lovely history teacher in primary school who always told us that we are doomed to repeat centuries-old mistakes if we don't learn from our pasts and correct those situations at the earliest possible. I always thought... I suspect she was right ..."
Justin and Neville were both nodding hard as were others around the table. A thoughtful silence descended around them, only the sounds of cutlery against plates and clinking of goblets. Harry, Neville, Susan, Justin, Ernie, Hannah, and a few others got up and decided to move on to the first class of the day, which was Transfiguration with Gryffindors. The little maps with shortcut tips provided by their senior housemates proved useful and the 'Puffs were among the first to arrive. The doors were wide open and they trickled inside, murmuring silently. A cat sat on the parchment sheaves in the table, but no teachers were seen.
Harry recalled Ciri talking about McGee being a cat Animagus. And here was one sitting right on the teacher's desk, pretty as you please. The 'Puffs settled down all to one section and quietly waited for the Gryffs and the Teacher to present themselves. Gryffindors trickled into the classroom in twos and threes except for the Granger girl who sat all by herself, right at the front and opened a really big book, and began to read. Harry and Neville exchanged a brief, wordless conversation and then Harry turned to his classmates, sitting nearest him and began to entertain them with a small exercise in mental focus, teaching them to get in touch with their magical cores.
Halfway through his explanation, Granger shushed him, saying he wasn't a teacher, and besides what he was describing wasn't in any of the approved texts. McG transformed from cat to human right near them and corrected Granger's misconception. She then asked Harry how he had figured that method out. Harry admitted that he had spent a lot of time, locked in his cupboard, starved, hungry and uncomfortable whenever his relatives felt like punishing him. Sometimes it was days before he was let out. He used to use this method to strengthen himself, stop feeling hungry, and sometimes create games and sketchbooks so he wouldn't go mad.
No one had expected this kind of explanation, least of all, Professor McGonagall. She looked away, struggling to suppress her anger and her tears. She could hardly speak, knowing how much she had let down the son of her two favorite lions. She dreaded her own moment of reckoning in the afterlife. A hushed crowd of listeners felt the sting of guilt dig deeper into their conscience at the careless way their beloved savior had stated the situation he grew up in.
Harry smirked inwardly, even as he blinked like an innocent little child.
Every class, at every opportunity, Harry began to openly communicate how dreadful his life before Hogwarts was and how all the books written about him were nothing more than fantasy tales written by utter strangers for entertainment and money. Soon enough, mutterings against Dumbledore and his lies regarding their savior began to raise into right proper rumblings that began to be heard outside the Hogwarts campus too.
Rita Skeeter had begun a vilification campaign against Dumbledore, questioning his every single decision, public statement, and every bill he supported. Polarizing opinions began to merge from out of the woodworks and haunt Dumbledore in his every waking moment. When Harry Potter commented how dangerous it was for all firsties that they were expected to learn flying on such badly damaged brooms whose enchantments were about to give up any moment, parents, members of the governors' board, well-meaning strangers and philanthropists who previously ignored the situation began a trickle of contributions that became a wave big enough for Coach Hooch to easily afford new cleansweeps for students of all four houses.
Soon, McG had announced in the breakfast assembly, that school had received enough contribution for them to be able to afford one additional thing, and that the contributors had requested that the students vote for what they want. Harry immediately stood up and asked her to hire someone to ease the burdens of her multiple jobs. When the kids and staff too laughed it off, Harry immediately repeated his request, stating that she was an excellent teacher and that the students deserved all her attention. Here was a chance for her to be the teacher and head of the house or hire a new head of the house and let someone else handle that job. She deserved to have downtime, rest, and some time simply hanging out with students who surely loved her?
His request soon became a chant. And Hogwarts began to change right before their eyes.