Ginny swept through the hallways, her friends scattered around her. For the first time this school year, they'd all managed to be free at the same time. Roni was absolutely terrified of Hermione at first, which Hermione had apparently found baffling. She kept trying to draw the younger girl into conversations. Roni, for her part, seemed awestruck to just be near her, and couldn't get out a coherent sentence.
She was better by far than Ginny had been around Harry, back when she'd harbored a crush on him, but not by much. Luna watched the whole charade as they walked with a smile in her eyes, until eventually Ginny took pity on the two of them.
"She's nervous around you." Ginny whispered as Luna dragged Roni up ahead a little ways to look for something; probably more Migrating Rock Beetles, if Ginny had her guess. Luna still hadn't let up on those.
"Nervous? Why would she be nervous?"
"Do you know how intimidating you are? To the younger years especially." Ginny tread lightly around this whole conversation. She was walking a fine line, fraught with bludgers coming at her from every direction.
"Me? Intimidating? No one has ever said anything up in the Common Room. I helped some of the younger years with their homework last year!" She gave a small grimace. "I'd have helped you too, if only you'd ever asked, or seemed like you needed it."
"I had my own personal tutor last year, thanks." Ginny mumbled. Why did it always come back to Tom? "But no, our little lion cubs are a bit nervous around you, buy you're OURS, so they get over it. Hermione, you're Harry Potter's best friend, not to mention the top of your class. Some of the younger years are definitely intimidated by you." Hermione still seemed incredulous, and Ginny sighed. Of course, she wouldn't believe it right away.
"No one is going to approach Harry for anything, he's the bloody Boy Who Lived. But you're just the right amount of intimidating to be scary, but not so scary as to be insurmountable because you're in their house. So instead, the firstie's dare each other to go up and ask you for help."
A look of horror overcame Hermione's face as Ginny explained the light hazing ritual that she'd seen all the first years this year, and a few from last year, put each other through.
"They do the same with Ron. They ask you for help and ask him for games of chess. Although, they all give up on him pretty quick when he thrashes them. He's never known how to go easy on someone in chess." Ginny rolled her eyes.
"And I've been turning most of them away all year. I've been so busy, and I haven't really had time, they must be so terrified, so devastated. What must they think of me?" Hermione's eyes shone as she came to a realization.
"Eh, they'll get over it." Ginny shrugged.
"But I don't want them to think I'm terrifying! I want them to come to me for help! I don't… I don't want anyone to feel like I did my first few months here." She murmured. "But I'm taking so many classes this year, and I have so little free time. Trying to keep Harry away from Sirius Black has been no easy task either. There's just so much to do. I want to do it all!" she wailed. "What about the other Houses? Are they terrified of me too?"
Well shoot. Now Ginny felt bad. Better to face the truth early on, though, she supposed.
"Well, yeah? Hermione, you're pretty amazing." Ginny supposed a bit of flattery never went amiss. "You're smart, and brave, and always busy doing something awesome." The girl ducked behind her bushy curls, Ginny guessed to hide her blush. "They see you helping the Boy Who Lived with his homework and think 'wow, how smart must she be that she has something to teach the guy who defeated Tom as a baby?' So of course they're terrified of you. I mean, for Merlin's sake, Hermione, you're working on an appeal for Buckbeak. Do you know how many of the Slytherins have parents in the ministry? You're basically throwing yourselves against their parents, which you just, you don't do."
"The older kids tell us, explicitly, to leave you, Ron Weasley, and the Boy Who Lived alone. They tell us that if we see you, we should keep our heads down and not bother you at all. Malfoy is the only one in his grade who's allowed to have a go at you three, and that's because he's got a feud with the Weasley's, and probably with the Potter's now too, if he's to be believed." Roni and Luna had caught up to Ginny and Hermione and Roni decided to add her own two cents.
"He hates that name. The whole 'Boy Who Lived' nonsense? Harry doesn't like it." Hermione muttered, Ginny guessed for lack of anything else to say.
"Why? That's who he is, isn't he?"
"No. He's Harry Potter, who grew up with his Muggle aunt and uncle, who loves treacle tart, who hates potions but loves Defense, and loves Quidditich even more. He thinks his Mum, or maybe his Dad, is the one who really defeated You-Know-Who. He's kind, and brave, and loyal, and wonderful, and none of that has to do with being the Boy Who Lived, which he hates."
They all stood in silence for a moment as Hermione just nodded in satisfaction at her rant.
"And she's Hermione Granger," murmured Luna. "She's brave, and intelligent, and she always has ink on her fingers. She's stubborn sometimes, and always likes to have an answer. She loves raspberry jam, and hates when her foods touch each other on her plate. And I believe, if I'm not mistaken, that she'd like to be your friend."
Ginny almost let out a laugh at how similar the two girls looked, Roni and Hermione both standing there sheepishly and very firmly not staring at each other. She rolled her eyes at them.
"Ugh, get over it. We don't have time for this. I've class in an hour, and Hermione wants to talk to the house elves. Who knows how long that'll take?"
"Why do you want to talk to the house elves?" Even when she mumbled, Roni's diction was perfect, Ginny thought.
"Well, we met this one named Dobby, and he was a bit crazy, but that's to be expected, I suppose. He was a slave! He was being forced to harm himself! I'd think I'd go a bit spare if I was magically forced to harm myself. We freed him, or Harry did anyway, but I realized recently that I don't know much about house elves, or how many there are, or if they're all enslaved. I want to help them, of course, but Luna suggested I talk to them first to see what kind of help they want, so as to not accidentally offend them in the process."
"What am I, dragon dung?" Ginny asked. "I was there too!"
"I recall you being there. I also recall you complaining about them, and generally not being very helpful."
"Look, I'm the one who found them, and I'm the only one who knows how to get in to the kitchens because I weaseled it out of Fred and George, so I deserve at least a smidge of credit. Otherwise, Roni and I can go in the kitchens, and you two can stay out here." Ginny stuck out her tongue.
Luna smiled, Hermione rolled her eyes, and Roni laughed. Everything was more comfortable after that, and Roni wasn't quite so afraid of Hermione anymore, which the she definitely seemed to appreciate.
As they came upon the large painting that hid the kitchens, Ginny reached in and gave the pear a little tickle. It giggled happily at her, reminding her of a squirming child as it wriggled, and the painting swung open.
The four girls were assaulted by the smells wafting out from the kitchen. Roasted meats, fresh fruits, slowly simmering soups, it was almost too much. It was just the right side of being a mess; enough to make it more mouthwatering, rather than distracting.
The four girls stood for a few moments, in awe of the scene before them. A veritable legion of house-elves hustled and bustled around the kitchen, levitating and stirring and chopping and wrapping and taste testing. It was like a dance, each little body moving in perfect harmony within, around, and through the sea of other elves. Ginny had seen it before, the last time she'd come down to the kitchens, but it never failed to take her breath away.
One of the house elves noticed them standing there and let out a loud squeal. He was of average height with most of the other elves, or so it seemed. He had an almost green pallor to his greyish skin, with large bat like ears and bulbous brown eyes. "Students is being in the kitchen! Is the students hungry? Come, come, come and sit, Roobey will be fetching you some snacks. Is you wanting anything special?"
Hermione looked decidedly uncomfortable with the way the house elf was acting, but Ginny didn't let it get to her. Because she had come here for something specific, and anyways, the little guy had offered, hadn't he?
"Yes, please, Roobey. Whatever you have is fine, but could Luna and I get some bread,and maybe something to drink packed up to go? We're having a bit of a mini party tonight, and we wanted some snacks."
He lifted an eyebrow at her and peered deeply. "You isn't wanting sweets? How late is you be staying up? Students needs to be asleep to go to classes, and they has a curfew for a reason."
"Not that late! We just wouldn't want to bother you later at night, in case food wasn't ready. We figured, if we came before dinner, you'd have so much food you were getting ready for dinner we could have a bit of that. We didn't want to make any extra work for you, you see." She smiled blindingly at him and hoped desperately her distraction worked.
"Pah," he muttered "is no such thing as too much work. But students is being very kind to think of being nice to house elves. Roobey is appreciating it." He looked to the left and to the right, as though checking to make sure no one else was paying them any mind. "Roobey will be bringing you four some desserts left over from lunch, cakes and the likes, so you can be enjoying them before your next classes."
"Roobey?" Hermione started before the elf ambled away. "Is there someone who has a bit of free time to talk to me about house elves? It's only, I couldn't find any books on elvish society or culture in our library. I'm really quite interested, and would love to learn more."
A strange look came over the elf's face at Hermione's questions, and he peered at her. "Why is you asking questions?"
"Well, my friend met a house elf last year. His name was Dobby. Dobby had a bad master, a very bad master who didn't treat him very well at all. My friend helped Dobby get free, and I realized I didn't know what became of him. I want to help him, but I don't-. Well." Hermione took a deep breath. "I don't know how. So I want to learn about your culture, to make sure that when I do finally find him, and help him, I don't accidentally offend him, or anyone." Her voice wavered at the end, and Ginny could see just how hard she bit her lip to stop herself from saying any more.
"Roobey is knowing a house elf named Dobby. Roobey is fetching him now. You is staying here and not moving until Roobey gets back."
With that the little elf wandered into the throng of house elves cooking and working throughout the kitchen.
"Well, I think that went quite well. Roobey seems lovely." Luna ventured.
"Yes he does, doesn't he? Oh, do you really think it went well? I do hope I didn't offend him at all." Hermione was frantically looking around as they waited for Roobey to return, staring at the elves as they worked.
"They're smiling." She muttered. "Oh, I do so hope that means they're being paid. How could I have been in this castle so long, and not even known they were here! I know food can't be Transfigured or Conjured, and we've never heard even a mention of any cooks." She worried at her hair as she babbled on and on, and they all just left her too it. She'd have her answers soon enough.
Eventually the small elf came back, with another one trailing behind him. Grey skin, almost papery thing, with large blue eyes and a nose thinner than Roobey, the small elf marched up to them. Stranger than his looks, though, was what he was wearing.
It wasn't until she'd noticed a house elf wearing something different that Ginny had noticed how rest wore identical outfits. A toga style garment wrapped around them, with the Hogwarts crest on it. This elf, however, had some extra accoutrements. He had the tea towel wrap, but he was also wearing a bright, paisley hat. Upon closer inspection, Ginny realized it was a tea cozy. He had on two socks, one plain black one, and a large green one that didn't seem to really fit them.
"Students is asking for Dobby? How can Dobby be helping yous?" He said this as he and Roobey both started handing out plates with small cakes around the table that Roobey had sat them at earlier.
"Hello, Dobby. My name is Hermione Granger. It's a pleasure to meet you." Hermione started. She held out her hand to shake.
"Miss Granger, ma'am, is offering to shake Dobby's hand? Surely she is a great, great witch." Dobby said this breathlessly as he reached out to tentatively shake her hand.
"Well, that's kind of you to say. Would you happen to be the Dobby that helped," Hermione sounded strained as she said that word "my friend Harry? Harry Potter?"
Roobey muttered "Oh noes, not again," at about the same time that Dobby yelped "The Great Harry Potter, Sir! Yous is a friend to the Great Harry Potter, Sir, Miss? Oh, Dobby did not know, Miss! Dobby is so sorry, Miss! Can Dobby be getting you anything? Drinks, more snacks?"
The pure excitement and exuberance coming off the little guy was enough to throw Ginny off balance. He started bustling forward as though he might clean the table in front of Hermione, just to be sure she wasn't near anything dirty at all.
"Ah, no, Dobby, I'm quite alright." Hermione declined. "I was just wondering how things were for you? You were freed, is that right? From Mr. Malfoy? Do you have a place to work now, or are you working at Hogwarts? Are you well taken care of, do you need anything?"
"Miss is asking after Dobby's health? The Great Harry Potter, Sir's Miss Granger is concerned for Dobby? What a wonderful witch she must be!" The elf looked likely to swoon. "Yes, Dobby is working for Hogwarts now, Miss. Dobby is quite happy. Dobby is… Dobby is…" He stuttered and vibrated as he attempted to speak. "Dobby is being PAID, miss!"
Ginny saw Hermione's smile break out for a brief moment, but it faltered when she saw Roobey sneer behind him. "Dobby," she started again "could you tell me about house elves? Your life, your beliefs, your culture?"
Dobby, for the first time since Ginny had seen him, looked less than excited. "Dobby couldn't say, Miss. Dobby is sorry! Harry Potter, Sir's Miss Granger is certainly a wonderful witch, but she is not a house elf. Dobby can't be telling a not-house-elf things that only a house elf should be knowing. Bad Dobby! Dobby can't be helping, even with simple things, bad! Bad Dobby!"
The small elf started tugging on one of his ears, and with his other hand began to mercilessly pound his fist into his skull. Loud, hollow thumping noises accompanied each smack, and each one caused Dobby to wince fiercely.
"Stop." Hermione whispered with wide eyes. Ginny noticed that Roobey stood behind him with a pinched look on his face, eyes lidded while wringing his hands.
"Stop, Dobby!" Hermione urged, getting louder. The house elf did not stop. He only began repeating his mantra more fervently while he battered himself. Ginny stared in shock, a deep sadness welling up inside her as watched this poor, kind elf debase and harm himself. It was too much for her, and she had to look away. Hermione, wonderful witch that she was, did not.
"I. Said. STOP!" She shouted at Dobby, and lo and behold, it worked. Ginny couldn't hear the pounding anymore. In fact, she couldn't hear anything. The sounds of the kitchen had halted as well, and when Ginny peeked around she saw a sea of large eyes staring at them. Not a single house elf moved; they had all stopped. They stared at the four girls, wide eyed, as Hermione stood there heaving, red in the face.
Hermione got down on her knees, to be eye level with Dobby, and said "You didn't do anything wrong, Dobby. It was just a question. It's okay." Hermione spoke as though she was comforting a wild animal, Ginny thought. The way she spoke to the chickens when one of them got hurt and she needed to corral them into her arms before her Mum healed them up again.
Dobby was shaking where he stood, clearly at odds with himself. His hands twitched as though he wanted to keep up his self-imposed punishment, but his body was still in response to Hermione's command.
Slowly, as they realized Hermione wasn't paying them any mind, the other house elves all began to pick up their work again.
"Dobby could," Roobey started "see if Fimsy is free? If any house elf was being allowed to tell a non-elf about house elf things, Fimsy would know if it was being okay."
Dobby's hands calmed as he shook his head, and then began to wipe tears from his eyes. "Dobby will go find Fimsy and ask her." He nodded to himself once, twice, then a third time more firmly. "Dobby will be right back, Miss Granger, ma'am."
They all watched the elf leave, weaving through the crowd, perhaps a bit less fluid and graceful than Roobey had. They all looked at the remaining elf as he sighed.
"Dobby is being sick, Miss," he told Hermione. "Thinking being paids is a good thing, taking more than he should be for his work. Wearing clothes, and socks, and not only his uniforms. House elves isn't supposed to be saying bad things about their Masters, but even Fimsy be saying that Dobby's old family was bad wizards. That why she be letting Headmaster Dumbledore be paying Dobby. Old family be messing him up, and now he be sick, right here." Roobey pointed to his own head as he said so, and Ginny felt her heart breaking, just a bit more for the poor house elf.
"Oh, that's just so awful." Luna murmured.
"I don't know if I'll be able to listen to any of my housemates talk about their house elves anymore. That's just so… wrong." Roni murmured.
They all sat for a while in silence, the clatter and clamor of the kitchen a soft din in the background as they pondered. Shortly, Dobby came back. He was helping an older and stooped, wizened looking house elf. Supported by Dobby under one arm, the house elf held a small wooden twig in the other hand, using it as a cane. Their large bat like ears drooped dangerously low, threatening to cover their eyes as they flopped back and forth. Frail would be the word Ginny would use to describe this creature upon first glance.
"I be Fimsy." The elf spoke, voice warbling slightly. "Yous be asking for me? Why's is students not in classes, learnings spells?"
"Hello, Fimsy. My name is Hermione Granger. None of us have class right now, so we're not missing anything important. It's wonderful to meet you."
"Oh dearie, wonderful to meet Fimsy? What a kind witch this students is. It be very nice to meet you, yes it is." She leaned more heavily on her cane. "How can Fimsy be helping yous all today?"
"We were hoping you could tell us more about yourself, and all the other house elves?" Luna spoke up. "My friends and I are all very curious; you do such a wonderful job caring for us and the castle, we thought it best to get to know you better."
"Oh no, that not be right. A good elf be an elf that wizards and witches is not knowing they is there. Is you knowing about my elves? Is you seeing them in the towers and the hallways?" She narrowed her eyes. "Come, tell Fimsy which elves is being seen and I be fixing it."
"Oh no," Roni exclaimed "nothing like that! You know, we didn't even realize house elves were in charge of taking care of so much until recently? You're all very inconspicuous, quite out of mind. We just happened to come upon the idea on our own and wanted to express our gratitude." Hermione didn't look happy; in fact she looked to be getting progressively more upset the longer the conversation went on.
Ginny figured Hermione might explode at any minute, with the way things were going, and tried to jump in to defuse some of the tension.
"Our friend here," she gestured to Hermione "was born in the Muggle world and has never met a house elf before. She was very happy to learn about you and was saddened that it took her so long after joining the magical word to even hear about you all!"
Hermione's lips were pursed, when she finally spoke up for herself. "Roobey, here, mentioned that Dobby gets paid for his work. Does anyone else get paid for their work at Hogwarts?"
"They best not be, or Fimsy be not letting them works at all!" With a sudden surge of steel in her voice, and a glint to her eyes, the aging house elf worked herself up in to a rant. "All of Fimsy's elves is good elves. They is knowing to do their work, and not be seen, and only take what they's is allowed to take. They won't be faffing about with heads in the clouds, thinking about pay." She spat the last word with a vitriol that impressed even Ginny.
Hermione, however, only looked distraught. "But, but why? Where I come from, being forced to do work without being paid is wrong. It's immoral. It's evil. It's wrong."
The little creature cocked an eyebrow at them all, but it seemed to be mostly directed at Hermione. "Whos is saying house elves is being forced to work? House elves is loving to work. It is our… our… Ar'Akh'Tel'Quessir."
Both Dobby and Roobey gasped as she spoke, and Dobby once again began pulling on his ears furiously. "Elves is not supposed to be speakings like elves in front of wizards and witches. But Fimsy is in charge." Roobey informed Ginny with a whisper.
"I don't understand." Hermione said softly. "But I'd like to. Please, can you teach me?"
Fimsy tilted her head and stared at the four of them, squinting her eyes. For a moment, Ginny was concerned she might lose her balance and fall over, but the little elf was made of sterner stuff than that. "Fimsy be telling you, only so you don't be trying silly things like trying to free house elves. Being free is being bad, and bad things happen to bad elves," she muttered darkly. She snapped her fingers, and a small, elf sized chair appeared, and she slowly descended into it, creaking all the while. Dobby helped her down, supporting her by the arm still.
"Elves is not having magic in us like witches and wizards. But elves is needing magic to live. What is elves to do?" She asked from her chair. She snapped again, and a pipe appeared in her hand, filled with some kind of herb. Fimsy noticed Roni's eyes go wide and chuckled before giving Roni a little wink. "Even house elves be needing medicine sometimes."
"How do elves use magic if they don't have any?" Hermione asked, gleaming eyes eager to learn something new.
"Elves isn't having magic." Fimsy snapped. "Elves is being magic. But they is needing lots, just to be. So where do elves get it? From working. Cleaning, cooking, laundry, fetching, serving."
"How does cleaning and serving give elves the magic that they need?" Hermione questioned, voice dripping with disdain.
"Wizards and witches is having lots of magic. Everything they be doing, they be putting bits of magic in. Standing, sitting, laying, sleeping, eating, living; always magic. So a witches house is being magic, too. A house elf is going in, and being bound to a family. They serve the house, which is good for house elves; in serving the house and the family, they is soaking up the magics. Witches isn't using it anymore, isn't even noticing it's missing. Everybody be winning."
"But that isn't fair! You shouldn't have to be subjected to servitude, to slavery, just to get what you need to survive! Wizards and witches shouldn't be able to force you to do anything you don't want to do. You can't own another being, even if you do have a symbiotic relationship."
"House elves can't just be going into a witches house will-nilly and be taking magic without giving anythings back. Fimsy doesn't know about symbi-whatsists, but Fimsy knows that. Because then they be bad house elves."
"Has it always been this way?" Luna asked. "There was a law in a book we read, a very, very, very old law, that allowed wizards and witches to bind house elves for 'safety purposes.' That must mean there was a time when house elves weren't bound to families, right?"
"No." Like a thunderclap, the strength of her voice was shocking and unexpected, and it shook the girls to their core. She smacked her pipe in her palm as she said it, and the embers of the pipe flared causing a puff of smoke. "House elves is being bound to families. Always and always. Roobey, Dobby, yous is going back to work now."
"Yes, Fimsy!" They chorused as they rushed off. They'd been sitting, fidgeting slightly but listening with rapt attention. Even still, they seemed eager to get back to work.
She narrowed her eyes at them. "I hear a story once. Long, long ago, about house elves who is working in houses but not bound to their families. These house elves is going crazy, and hurting their witches and wizards. They be hurting themselves, too. Dobby is already crazy, so we is not binding him to Hogwarts. But if yous be thinking of bad talk like that, I be telling Headmaster Dumbledore on you. Witches is curious, Fimsy knows. But they best also be good witches, not bad witches. Right?" She raised an eyebrow at them.
"Brownies." Hermione murmured, pale faced and thin lipped.
"How is you knowing that word?" Fimsy cocked her head again as she puffed on her pipe. "Wizards be forgetting old Muggle name for house elves."
"I'm Muggle-born. I've read about it in our fantasy and history books. All the Muggles thinks it's make-believe, but it's real. You're real."
"Of course Fimsy is real. So now you know. House elves is needing work, and working is being good for house elves. Bindings to family is making it safe for house elves to work, and is so they is always knowing they has work."
"But wouldn't it be better if you didn't have to be bound? If you could work for whoever you wanted?"
"If house elves isn't being bound, then they is being turned crazy by bad masters which is insulting them by not knowing all the rules. Being bound means house elves and masters both know all the rules; the rules is whatever the master says they is. Being bound means less crazy house elves. Being bound to Hogwarts is safe for many house elves. Not quite as good as a family, but a safe Hogwarts is better than a dangerous family."
"Dobby wouldn't have gone crazy if he had stayed with his old family, would he have?" Roni spoke up, softly.
"Dobby be special case. Dobby have bad master. Dark wizards, they is. Even with bad masters, Dobby not go crazy. He go sick in the head, but not crazy, because binding wouldn't let him. And now Dobby has no family, and wants to be free, so he won't be going crazy. He is a bad elf for wanting to be free, but binding him to a new family he isn't trusting is maybe breaking him and making him go crazy before he is being bound. Dobby doesn't know it, but Dobby is very lucky Headmaster Dumbledore is such a great wizard, breaking the laws and letting Dobby work without bindings. Could be very dangerous for the Headmaster"
After one final puff on her pipe, the elf slowly picked herself up from her chair, and snapped it away. "Students is needing to go back to class now. You is taking your desserts, and your snacks for later, and you is going to learn about wands and spells and what not. Fimsy is staying here, and doing her work of keeping all her house elves in line. They is a rowdy bunch." She smiled as she looked back over at all the house elves behind her, cooking and working and chatting with each other.
"May I come back and speak with you again sometime?" Hermione pleaded. "I'd be ever so grateful. I'm fascinated, and I'd love to learn more about you, your history, and your culture."
Fimsy pursed her lips. "Maybe. Fimsy has told you too much already, most probably. Witches isn't house elves, and so yous isn't supposed to be knowing too much house elf."
"Oh, I don't want to intrude, I'm just ever so curious."
"I am, as well. Is there anything we could do to, I don't know, become honorary house elves?" Luna asked. Ginny rolled her eyes at her, because of course that would be her answer, and Luna stuck out her tongue when she saw.
Fimsy let out a raspy chuckle and pretended to wipe a tear from her eye. "Silly witches, telling jokes." When she realized none of the girls were laughing with her, she narrowed her eyes again. "Or maybe crazy witches? Hmmmm. Fimsy isn't sure. Let Fimsy look at you."
She snapped, and appeared abruptly on the table, still stooped over. She reached out, lightning quick, and grasped Hermione by the chin, staring into her eyes, examining her. Then she did the same to Luna. "Hmmm. Maybe. Maybe. If you is spending the summer at home, doing all the working and the cleaning and the cooking, Fimsy will check you again next year. All day, everyday for at least one whole month, two be better. Now off! Off with you! There is learning to be done, and meals to cook!" She smiled at them as she shooed them out, then leaned over her cane again to hobble her way back into the crowd of house elves.
Ginny was sure to snag their extra food, which Roobey had brought before wrapped up in a picnic basket. None of them spoke as they left the kitchens. Hermione looked pensive, Luna curious, and Roni confused. Ginny wasn't sure how she felt.
She knew, intellectually, that she should feel something for the elves. She recognized that their situation was terrible. Either as a necessity of their existence, or due to conditioning, they needed to be bound into slavery. Ginny knew full well in her mind that it was wrong.
But her heart just couldn't seem to care. She couldn't muster up the energy to feel more than distantly upset by the whole scenario. She'd felt more fiercely for dobby as he punished himself than he did for the elves' general situation. Those problems all seemed so large and grandiose, and she had much more pressing, immediate concerns. She felt a deep, throbbing guilt over her lack of passion for their plight.
"It's wrong. They might not know it," Hermione whispered eventually "but it's wrong that they're bound like that. They deserve to be free, and happy, and to work without the fear of being ordered to do things they don't want. There should be laws, and rules protecting them. If they really need the binding, then there needs to be more oversight on people who own house elves. They need help. They don't know it, but they do."
She looked up at them all, and Ginny was in awe of the fervor burning bright in her eyes. "I'm going to help them. I'm going to help them all."
"Yes." Luna murmured, light and dreamy. "Yes, I do believe you will. I look forward to seeing it and helping you if you need it." She reached over and hugged her. That seemed to be the breaking point for Hermione, who broke down into Luna's shoulder. Ginny broke out in a smile as Hermione sobbed into Luna and reached over to hug her as well. Her grin stretched wider as she felt the tentative hands of Roni circle around them as she included herself in their impromptu group hug.
Ginny sighed to herself, cursing her brother, Harry, and Hermione for having access to an Invisibility Cloak. She could Silence her footsteps, sure, but she still had to keep to the shadows and dart from alcove to alcove to sneak around at night. An Invisibility Cloak would have been brilliant.
She hefted the picnic basket she'd received from the elves earlier in the day, as she finally got outside the castle. It was filled with delicious food and drink; she'd checked and maybe sampled a bit of it. The basket also had all the additional materials she'd pilfered over the last week or so which they would need for the ritual.
Once outside the castle, it was a much safer walk. Well, relatively safer, anyway, as she was far less likely to be caught by Filch, but the Dementors were still supposed to be wandering around. Oh, sure, they were supposed to stay well away from the castle and the grounds, but if the Dementors thought they could interrupt a Quidditch game, where else did they think they could go?
It hadn't been intentional, but the protections that they'd laid on Hagrid's hut were going to work in their favor. A safe space that they could be relatively sure would be Dementor free, with a hut to hide in if the worst happened? It was perfect. They'd spend most of the night right near the hut, only leaving for a short period to visit the lake.
Fang would be no help, and it wasn't like Hagrid could cast a Patronus, but Hagrid had mentioned in an offhand way that he'd been sleeping far better since they'd cast the ritual near his hut, although he certainly didn't call it a ritual. They still hadn't told him, and they didn't plan on it.
Ginny grinned as she saw Luna saunter up towards her, coming from a totally different direction. They were doing this. They were really doing this, after so many months of planning. Anticipation thrummed through Ginny's body like their bonfire from Imbolc. Large, and dancing, and powerful, she tapped her fingers against the basket as she grinned, waving with her free arm.
"We're doing this. We're really doing this." She smiled at Luna as she spoke her thoughts aloud.
"We are." Luna smiled back.
"And you're sure? This is permanent. There's no backing out; its forever. We'll be forever."
"I read the same books you did Ginny. I showed you half of them and skimmed the important bits before you did. Yes, I want this. You came back, Ginny, and I don't want to ever lose you again. You're my best friend." She said this fiercely, and Ginny dropped the basket to the ground to pull Luna into a deep hug.
"Thank you. You're my best friend too." She pulled back, and just stared at Luna for a few moments. "Let's go, then."
They unpacked their picnic basket, pulling everything out one by one. Butterbeer, bread, and desserts were first and foremost. Merlin smile upon that little house elf, he'd gone all out for them. Biscuits, with mini custard cups as well! The Butterbeer was warm, which was a nice surprise. It must have been under a Warming Charm, or maybe in Stasis. They set the food down on the plates they'd been given but waited to pop open the Butterbeer. Ginny took out the short wooden object, no longer than a wooden spoon, and set it on the ground. "Engorgio," she cast at it, and it grew back into its original height.
"I'm so glad we learned the Shrinking and Engorgement Charm this year. I'd not have looked forward to sneaking out a spear."
"Mmm, me neither." Luna murmured as she fiddled with trying to get everything to fit on the upside-down picnic basket. "Oh, sod it," she cursed. "Engorgio."
The picnic basket grew to the size of a table, and suddenly there was more than enough room to lay out all the plates and the food, and to pour out the Butterbeer.
They puttered around for a few more minutes, until finally there was nothing left to distract themselves with. Luna looked up into the sky. "Waning crescent on the Vernal Equinox. Not a bad sign at all."
Ginny nodded, then gestured. "Are you ready?" she asked.
At Luna's answering nod, the two of them headed towards the lake. As they walked Ginny felt her nerves creep up her back, tingling on her skin, until she couldn't hold it in anymore. "Are you sure it'll be alright?" she asked Luna. "We aren't… we aren't doing it right."
"Just because we aren't doing it right, doesn't mean we're doing it wrong." Luna replied, voice light as she trailed beside Ginny.
"Every book we read said this was supposed to be a sacrificial holiday, and they always mentioned the same kind of sacrifice. We could just skip this bit." Ginny detested the weakness of her voice as she spoke, the fear and uncertainty she could hear quivering in each word, sure that Luna could hear it as well. She'd never speak such doubts in front of anyone else. She wouldn't even really admit them to herself. But to Luna, she'd always speak her mind.
"We could." Luna allowed. "But you don't really want to."
"I don't," Ginny agreed, "but I also don't want this to go wrong, or for there to be any unexpected backlash."
"I don't think the specifics are important so much. Do you?"
"No, I don't." She agreed. Ginny understood, in a way she hadn't expected she would, the underlying principles of the ritual they were preparing, she understood how they were changing what they were changing, why they were changing it, knew that theoretically it would work.
That didn't alleviate her fears, however. Because that was the problem with theory, wasn't it? You could never truly be sure until you tested it.
"Thousands of years," Ginny murmured. "For thousands of years, people have sacrificed animals at this time of year, and we're just going to decide to change that? Because we're pretty sure it'll work?"
"I doubt we're the first people to ever change it. But lots of people probably just forgot to write about it. Or didn't know how to write." She shrugged. "But if it doesn't work, what's the worst that will happen?"
"Do I need to explain again all the terrible, horrible ways that rituals can go wrong?
"No, but if our offering isn't satisfactory, we're not asking for so much that it would negatively impact our work, would it?"
"Remember what Professor Flitwick said about a miscast spell. Rituals are even more strict than spells are."
For the first time that night, Luna looked pensive and unsure. "That's a good point," she demurred. She fingered the cork necklace adorned along her neck. "I won't sacrifice an animal. I won't."
"I won't make you. I would never." Ginny said. "I just want to make sure you know what we're getting in to. You focused on trying to find that hidden room, and I focused on this. So now you're trusting me to get this right, and I just wanted you to know: I'm not completely sure I'm right."
Luna looked at her, still playing with her cork necklace. It was one Ginny hadn't seen before, older and more worn. It used the older style of cork, and Ginny noticed it was from one of her favorite drinks growing up, Swigging Whizzbees. A failed attempt at a branching out from the creator of Fizzing Whizzbees, Ginny had fallen in love with the strawberry flavor; she'd spend most of an entire month a few inches off the ground, she drank so much.
Luna looked up at Ginny, and simply smiled. "I trust you." She reached out her hand, and Ginny took it in hers.
It was enough.