Chapter 4: A Feast in the garden and house elves
The four friends headed down to the kitchen to eat dinner. Mrs.Weasley was bustling around putting more and more food on to the already groaning table. "Boys," she said to Ron and Harry. "Could you please get the plates, I need to extend the table so that there will be room for everyone."
"Mum, why don't we just eat in shifts?" Ron asked. "Or Hermione, Ginny, Harry and I could take our plates out to the garden, so that there's room for the people that are setting the wards."
Molly looked at her youngest son, "That's a good idea, I'll have the twins set up a table in the garden for the six of you. That way everyone will have room to eat."
The back door opened and Bill and Charlie came into the kitchen. "Do you need any help, Mum?" Charlie asked, looking at the heavily laden table.
"I'm going to have Fred and George set up a table in the garden for them, Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione. That way there will be room for everyone else in here," she told them, gesturing toward the table.
"Charlie and I will set up a few tables in the garden. Then we can come in and help with bringing out the food, we can all eat outside. It will make for less of a mess, and less of a crowd in the kitchen," Bill told her opening the door. "Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Harry can clear off the table after we eat, and Fred and George can do the dishes."
She hugged Bill and Charlie, "What would I do without my wonderful children?" she asked them, giving them both a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll just finish cooking and leave everything else up to you kids."
Ron walked to the bottom of the steps, "Fred-George," he shouted up the steps, "Come down and give us a hand, will you?"
Fred and George came running down the steps, "What can we help with?" George asked, looking around the room.
"Just follow us, we'll fill you in while we work," Charlie told them, as he walked out the back door.
Twenty five minutes later, they had seating set up for thirty witches and wizards, and everyone was just sitting down at the tables, staring at the wonderful feast Molly had prepared. "Molly, you have outdone yourself," Dumbledore told her. "Everything looks wonderful."
She blushed and patted his arm, "Thank you, Albus. I had to make it a large meal, Merlin only knows when Harry last had a good meal, living with those horrible muggles. They would starve the boy, I'm just glad that Ginny was sending him food, or he would probably be in horrible shape," she told him. She looked over at the table where her children were sitting. "Thank you again, Albus. Harry deserves a real family, and I'm happy that you are allowing us to provide that for him. I just wish that it had been sooner."
Albus smiled at her, his blue eyes twinkling. "I should have listened to you from the beginning, Molly. I have no doubt that you and Arthur would have given Harry all that he needed, and I have thought about what you asked me earlier, Arthur. I will begin looking into it as soon as I get back to Hogwarts."
Molly looked at the two men, the question evident in her eyes.
"I will explain it to you later, Molly dear. It's just a little formality that I have asked Albus to look into, nothing to worry about," he assured his wife. "It's something that we will have to discuss with Harry before we proceed, if it's even possible."
Fred and George were preparing for a display of their fireworks. Ron, Harry, Ginny and Hermione were still eating, Ron and Harry reaching for extra helpings of Mrs.Weasley's Shepard's Pie. "Ron, your mum is the best cook," Harry told him. "Eating here is better than the meals at Hogwarts," he said, his mouth full of chicken.
"There's enough food here for the welcoming feast, and no house elves were exploited in making it," Hermione said, taking a dainty bite from her plate.
"Oy, Hermione. The house elves like to serve, it's what they do," Ron told her.
"They took all of the hats and socks that I put around last year," she told them, a look of triumph on her face.
"Uh, Hermione," Harry said, not wanting to hurt his friend's feelings, but wanting to help Dobby. "The house elves stopped cleaning Gryffindor Tower right after you started hiding your hats. Dobby cleaned the tower by himself all year, none of the other elves would even come in because of the hats and socks," he told her quickly. "Most of them don't want their freedom. Dobby worked for Malfoy, he was happy to be free because he didn't have to work for them any more."
Hermione's face fell, "Dobby had to clean the whole tower by himself?" she asked, Harry nodded his head. "I feel terrible," she told him, covering her face with her hands.
"Don't Hermione. Dobby was thrilled with all of the hats and socks. But he liked the socks the best," he told her, smiling. "Socks are his favorite."
"I guess that I'll stop making them," she told them.
"Maybe you could just make some socks for Dobby, and leave them out, clearly marked for him," Harry told her. He looked over at Ron and Ginny who were sitting with their faces covered, shaking with the effort to keep their laughing quiet.
"Oh go ahead and laugh, you two," Hermione told them. "I wish that you had told me before, Harry."
"You wouldn't have listened, Hermione," Ron told her. "If Dobby didn't love Harry so much, the tower would have looked horrible, and you would have known."
Dumbledore put his hand on Hermione's shoulder, "Yes, Miss.Granger. Dobby's affection for Harry is the only reason that I didn't find out about your attempt to free all of Hogwarts house elves before the end of the year," he told her. "The entire staff of house elves at Hogwarts are paid, so I would like to ask you to stop trying to free them." He smiled at the four students, "I should have made that clear to you, so that you wouldn't worry about it."
"I'm sorry sir. I just didn't want to see them enslaved," she answered.
"Miss.Granger, you will be a force to be reckoned with when you graduate. I have no doubt that by the end of the year, you will start to receive your first job offers," he told her. "Just be sure that you bring them to the attention of Professor McGonagall or myself."
"I will, Professor Dumbledore," she said.
He nodded his head and turned toward Harry and Ginny. "If the two of you have a moment, I have something that I would like to speak to you about," he said, smiling at them.
"Okay," Harry told him. He looked over at Ron and shrugged his shoulders, and followed Ginny and Professor Dumbledore away from the rest of the people in the garden.
"This morning, I had a visit from two of Hogwarts house elves," he told them. "And being the only two truly free house elves at Hogwarts, I had to take what they said seriously. Both Dobby and Winky wish to work for individuals, instead of for the school." He looked at the two young people standing in front of him. "Now, generally I wouldn't even consider allowing students to have personal house elves at school, but they made it clear that they would leave and do nothing until the said students graduated." Harry and Ginny looked at each other.
"What does that have to do with me, Headmaster?" Ginny asked.
He smiled at her, "Well Miss.Weasley, Winky has expressed her desire to serve you. She wants to be an 'owned elf' again, and she has chosen you to serve. She doesn't want to be paid anymore and she has taken quite a liking to you," he told her.
"But Professor Dumbledore, I can't own a house elf," she said, looking sheepish.
"Ah, Miss.Weasley, I have already spoken with your parents, and they have no problem with Winky serving you. They feel that her choice shows that you are a wonderful, caring witch," he explained. "As you know, she was devastated when Mr.Crouch let her go. She has been looking for someone to take care of for almost two years, and now she feels that she has found the person that she should be serving. Will you accept, Miss.Weasley?" he asked her.
"I guess so, but I don't know what to do with a house elf," she told him.
"Don't worry, I'm sure that you will adjust quickly," he answered. "Now that Winky is settled, How about you, Harry? Are you willing to take Dobby, I am sure that if he is serving you, he will happier."
"Of course, Professor Dumbledore. I would be happy to employ Dobby, and maybe I can get him to take his days off," Harry told him laughing.
Dumbledore smiled, and with a wave of his hand there were two quick pops and Dobby and Winky appeared. Dobby was toting a case, and Winky had a small bag clutched to her chest. When she saw Ginny she ran forward and hugged her legs.
"Thank you, Miss.Ginny, Winky will take good care of you," the small elf told her, looking up at Ginny with tears in her large eyes.
"It's alright Winky. Until I go back to school, would you mind helping my Mum with things around the house?" she asked.
"Winky would love to help Miss.Ginny's Mum with the house, Winky will get started right now," she said, dropping her bag and heading toward Mrs.Weasley.
Dobby was standing with his bag, staring at Harry. "Thank you, Harry Potter sir. Dobby will do everything for Harry Potter," he said.
"Well, since I'm going to be living here, why don't you help Mr. and Mrs.Weasley until we go back to school," Harry said.
"Dobby would be happy to help Mr. and Mrs.Wheezey until Harry Potter goes back to Hogwarts," Dobby said, dropping his bag and running for Mrs.Weasley and Winky.
"Harry, you and Ginny have made two house elves very happy," he told them. He lead them back to the table where the deserts had just been put out.
Ginny leaned over and whispered to Harry, "And we've made my Mum very happy too. Having two house elves to help her all summer is going to make things easier for her."
The four friends headed down to the kitchen to eat dinner. Mrs.Weasley was bustling around putting more and more food on to the already groaning table. "Boys," she said to Ron and Harry. "Could you please get the plates, I need to extend the table so that there will be room for everyone."
"Mum, why don't we just eat in shifts?" Ron asked. "Or Hermione, Ginny, Harry and I could take our plates out to the garden, so that there's room for the people that are setting the wards."
Molly looked at her youngest son, "That's a good idea, I'll have the twins set up a table in the garden for the six of you. That way everyone will have room to eat."
The back door opened and Bill and Charlie came into the kitchen. "Do you need any help, Mum?" Charlie asked, looking at the heavily laden table.
"I'm going to have Fred and George set up a table in the garden for them, Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione. That way there will be room for everyone else in here," she told them, gesturing toward the table.
"Charlie and I will set up a few tables in the garden. Then we can come in and help with bringing out the food, we can all eat outside. It will make for less of a mess, and less of a crowd in the kitchen," Bill told her opening the door. "Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Harry can clear off the table after we eat, and Fred and George can do the dishes."
She hugged Bill and Charlie, "What would I do without my wonderful children?" she asked them, giving them both a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll just finish cooking and leave everything else up to you kids."
Ron walked to the bottom of the steps, "Fred-George," he shouted up the steps, "Come down and give us a hand, will you?"
Fred and George came running down the steps, "What can we help with?" George asked, looking around the room.
"Just follow us, we'll fill you in while we work," Charlie told them, as he walked out the back door.
Twenty five minutes later, they had seating set up for thirty witches and wizards, and everyone was just sitting down at the tables, staring at the wonderful feast Molly had prepared. "Molly, you have outdone yourself," Dumbledore told her. "Everything looks wonderful."
She blushed and patted his arm, "Thank you, Albus. I had to make it a large meal, Merlin only knows when Harry last had a good meal, living with those horrible muggles. They would starve the boy, I'm just glad that Ginny was sending him food, or he would probably be in horrible shape," she told him. She looked over at the table where her children were sitting. "Thank you again, Albus. Harry deserves a real family, and I'm happy that you are allowing us to provide that for him. I just wish that it had been sooner."
Albus smiled at her, his blue eyes twinkling. "I should have listened to you from the beginning, Molly. I have no doubt that you and Arthur would have given Harry all that he needed, and I have thought about what you asked me earlier, Arthur. I will begin looking into it as soon as I get back to Hogwarts."
Molly looked at the two men, the question evident in her eyes.
"I will explain it to you later, Molly dear. It's just a little formality that I have asked Albus to look into, nothing to worry about," he assured his wife. "It's something that we will have to discuss with Harry before we proceed, if it's even possible."
Fred and George were preparing for a display of their fireworks. Ron, Harry, Ginny and Hermione were still eating, Ron and Harry reaching for extra helpings of Mrs.Weasley's Shepard's Pie. "Ron, your mum is the best cook," Harry told him. "Eating here is better than the meals at Hogwarts," he said, his mouth full of chicken.
"There's enough food here for the welcoming feast, and no house elves were exploited in making it," Hermione said, taking a dainty bite from her plate.
"Oy, Hermione. The house elves like to serve, it's what they do," Ron told her.
"They took all of the hats and socks that I put around last year," she told them, a look of triumph on her face.
"Uh, Hermione," Harry said, not wanting to hurt his friend's feelings, but wanting to help Dobby. "The house elves stopped cleaning Gryffindor Tower right after you started hiding your hats. Dobby cleaned the tower by himself all year, none of the other elves would even come in because of the hats and socks," he told her quickly. "Most of them don't want their freedom. Dobby worked for Malfoy, he was happy to be free because he didn't have to work for them any more."
Hermione's face fell, "Dobby had to clean the whole tower by himself?" she asked, Harry nodded his head. "I feel terrible," she told him, covering her face with her hands.
"Don't Hermione. Dobby was thrilled with all of the hats and socks. But he liked the socks the best," he told her, smiling. "Socks are his favorite."
"I guess that I'll stop making them," she told them.
"Maybe you could just make some socks for Dobby, and leave them out, clearly marked for him," Harry told her. He looked over at Ron and Ginny who were sitting with their faces covered, shaking with the effort to keep their laughing quiet.
"Oh go ahead and laugh, you two," Hermione told them. "I wish that you had told me before, Harry."
"You wouldn't have listened, Hermione," Ron told her. "If Dobby didn't love Harry so much, the tower would have looked horrible, and you would have known."
Dumbledore put his hand on Hermione's shoulder, "Yes, Miss.Granger. Dobby's affection for Harry is the only reason that I didn't find out about your attempt to free all of Hogwarts house elves before the end of the year," he told her. "The entire staff of house elves at Hogwarts are paid, so I would like to ask you to stop trying to free them." He smiled at the four students, "I should have made that clear to you, so that you wouldn't worry about it."
"I'm sorry sir. I just didn't want to see them enslaved," she answered.
"Miss.Granger, you will be a force to be reckoned with when you graduate. I have no doubt that by the end of the year, you will start to receive your first job offers," he told her. "Just be sure that you bring them to the attention of Professor McGonagall or myself."
"I will, Professor Dumbledore," she said.
He nodded his head and turned toward Harry and Ginny. "If the two of you have a moment, I have something that I would like to speak to you about," he said, smiling at them.
"Okay," Harry told him. He looked over at Ron and shrugged his shoulders, and followed Ginny and Professor Dumbledore away from the rest of the people in the garden.
"This morning, I had a visit from two of Hogwarts house elves," he told them. "And being the only two truly free house elves at Hogwarts, I had to take what they said seriously. Both Dobby and Winky wish to work for individuals, instead of for the school." He looked at the two young people standing in front of him. "Now, generally I wouldn't even consider allowing students to have personal house elves at school, but they made it clear that they would leave and do nothing until the said students graduated." Harry and Ginny looked at each other.
"What does that have to do with me, Headmaster?" Ginny asked.
He smiled at her, "Well Miss.Weasley, Winky has expressed her desire to serve you. She wants to be an 'owned elf' again, and she has chosen you to serve. She doesn't want to be paid anymore and she has taken quite a liking to you," he told her.
"But Professor Dumbledore, I can't own a house elf," she said, looking sheepish.
"Ah, Miss.Weasley, I have already spoken with your parents, and they have no problem with Winky serving you. They feel that her choice shows that you are a wonderful, caring witch," he explained. "As you know, she was devastated when Mr.Crouch let her go. She has been looking for someone to take care of for almost two years, and now she feels that she has found the person that she should be serving. Will you accept, Miss.Weasley?" he asked her.
"I guess so, but I don't know what to do with a house elf," she told him.
"Don't worry, I'm sure that you will adjust quickly," he answered. "Now that Winky is settled, How about you, Harry? Are you willing to take Dobby, I am sure that if he is serving you, he will happier."
"Of course, Professor Dumbledore. I would be happy to employ Dobby, and maybe I can get him to take his days off," Harry told him laughing.
Dumbledore smiled, and with a wave of his hand there were two quick pops and Dobby and Winky appeared. Dobby was toting a case, and Winky had a small bag clutched to her chest. When she saw Ginny she ran forward and hugged her legs.
"Thank you, Miss.Ginny, Winky will take good care of you," the small elf told her, looking up at Ginny with tears in her large eyes.
"It's alright Winky. Until I go back to school, would you mind helping my Mum with things around the house?" she asked.
"Winky would love to help Miss.Ginny's Mum with the house, Winky will get started right now," she said, dropping her bag and heading toward Mrs.Weasley.
Dobby was standing with his bag, staring at Harry. "Thank you, Harry Potter sir. Dobby will do everything for Harry Potter," he said.
"Well, since I'm going to be living here, why don't you help Mr. and Mrs.Weasley until we go back to school," Harry said.
"Dobby would be happy to help Mr. and Mrs.Wheezey until Harry Potter goes back to Hogwarts," Dobby said, dropping his bag and running for Mrs.Weasley and Winky.
"Harry, you and Ginny have made two house elves very happy," he told them. He lead them back to the table where the deserts had just been put out.
Ginny leaned over and whispered to Harry, "And we've made my Mum very happy too. Having two house elves to help her all summer is going to make things easier for her."