Author's note: Here's another chapter. It's great to see that there are people who like what I wrote, thank you! I hope this one does not disappoint you.

You'd think a real life magical kitchen, where all the tasty food for the school came from, prepared by small, devoted, magical helpers, would be an amazing, beautiful place that inspired hunger in you. Harry would have certainly thought that. But over his life, he had managed to build a good, calm reaction to being disappointed, especially when it came to things like food, so he had no trouble accepting reality. Ron, on the other hand, was not so lucky.

"Yuck! This smells horrible, like a deceased gnome in here. Wait, is that blood? What kind of blood? Oh my…"

Hermione, finally, was positively delighted to get entrance into an area so secret that none of the books about the school could say anything about it other than "There's also a kitchen". She was frantically scribbling notes down for what Harry assumed would one day become her own book on the subject. Which might actually be an interesting book, come to think of it, because underneath a layer of chaos and gooey stuff that might one day become their supper, the kitchen was a pretty impressive operation. House elves with towel-tunics of various colors ran around, not all the same as he had seen previously. Small corners were full of elves busy managing the various parts of the operation. There was even a lone elf in a dark-green towel underneath a sign that read "Marketing". As far as Harry could see, that elf seemed relatively bored.

Their first stop was the unloading station, where two freight cars were waiting on a short piece of track while a number of elves were unloading anchovies. Dobby introduced them to the loading manager, a small elf wearing a bright, yellow towel with reflective stripes on the back. His name was Casey, and although he complained that he was currently completely overworked due to an elf being ill, he was absolutely delighted to tell them all about the operations of their small branch of the North Magical Main Line from London to Hogsmeade in great detail. Hogwarts was apparently importing several tons of ingredients per day, many of which vanished in stockpiles for bad situations, as Dobby explained. For this reason, owls, brooms or apparition were really only used for special spices and other light stuff that needed to be transported fast. While Hermione and Ron listened to this with great interest, Harry decided to wander around and chat with some of the working elves.

That proved difficult, as it always is when you try to casually chat with someone who considers you to be the greatest wizard who ever lived. Still, the results were clear enough: None of them had actual contact to the food. It was always delivered in crates or barrels, and the first and only time they would see it in the open was when they were eating it in the elf dining hall. He was walking back to the others when his eye fell on some wooden boards, presumably from a damaged crate. They seemed to be pointing at something, so he turned to and noticed something weird about a part of the wall. The stones just happened to end so that a perfect rectangle appeared. Harry carefully knocked on some of the stones, and suddenly the wall swung inwards. Casey saw what he was doing and hurried towards him, screaming "Don't Master Harry!" at the top of his lungs. But it was too late. Harry was already inside.

Ten minutes later, Ron, Hermione, Harry, Dobby and Casey were sitting together in Casey's office-corner, not the easiest of tasks considering that all chairs were elf-sized. Casey was bound by a couple of quick spells, while Dobby interrogated him.

"So Casey has only taken food for the stockpile, replaced it with rocks, and sold again? Yes, Dobby can see how this is much better." Harry was not aware that Dobby was physically capable of sarcasm before, but there was a first time for everything.

"Please, sir Dobby! Casey is a bad elf and will punish himself if you let him, but Casey is no murderer! Casey did not order the poison. Please, Lady Hermione, will you help me? You see, Casey owed some money to some bad people…"

Hermione seemed to soften up, but Ron would have none of it.

"You should know how often Dad has heard that one. 'Oh please, I just sold these jumping street lights to pay money back to some evil wizards…'"

"Jumping street lights?" Harry was intrigued.

"Nasty stuff. When a car passes by and nobody is around to see it, they jump right onto the street. Killed ten muggles last year, and hundreds more were hurt. And of course they won't pay with their insolence… or something like that."

"You mean insurance? Anyway, I wouldn't be so hard on him. He is just another oppressed creature trying to…" Hermione was interrupted by Dobby.

"Casey not oppressed. Casey has done his five years of service and could have had clothes at any time. But Casey chose to stay and steal from the school!"

Now Hermione was confused. "Five years of service…"

"A Hogwarts house elf can ask for clothes after five years of work. But if you want to stay here, there is no point, so most don't. Surely Madame Granger knew this?"

She suddenly blushed and stammered, "Well, I… of course, I mean…"

Harry decided that a change of topics would be best.

"Wait a second. Casey, for your scam to work, you would have to fake the spice sheets and whatever else, otherwise it would have been noticed, wouldn't it? So if you had truly tried to poison the school, Dobby would not have noticed it."

All nodded, Dobby grudgingly, Casey enthusiastically.

"That is right, kind, great Master Harry! Casey knew how to modify the lists. Casey or one of the the relves has to check the list, and if it was Casey's turn…"

"Alright. So whose turn was it for this delivery with the poison?"

Ron suddenly spoke up. "Let me guess, the one who didn't turn up today?"

Casey looked surprised. "Indeed, Master Ron, Viola did not show up for work today. How did Master Ron know that?"

"Well, isn't that the standard in every Johnathan Brutal novel?" Seeing Harry and Hermione's looked, Ron rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you never heard of the adventures of Chudley Stills, junior auror? I gotta lend you some books, those are awesome! Like how he defeated the Oker valley killer…"

"Later, maybe. First of all, we have to find Viola."

As a matter of fact, that was quite easy, but not all that helpful. Viola lay in her bed, cut neatly into two halves by probably a separation spell, one that every house elf needed to know to cut big slices of meat. As Harry and the others stared in shock, Casey actually threw up. It took a few minutes before Harry spoke again.

"Okay, so this might not be as easy as we thought…"