CHAPTER TWO: S.P.E.W, Part Two

BAYLEY

As a muggle-born, Bayley was still constantly amazed by the magic around her. She'd read all the books on Hogwarts as soon as she'd gotten her letter and she got excited by every single person and creature she met. She was pretty sure if she ever met Harry Potter, she'd die! Today, however, she was about to meet someone else who was equally exciting in her mind.

The woman stood at the door looking far less nervous than most people who met the Headmaster were. Professor Undertaker was an extremely intimidating man, but it was clear this woman was too jaded to be frightened. Her eyes were slightly weary, but her body language and tone of voice were quite in-charge.

"Sir, I'm here on behalf of the Order of the Phoenix," she said urgently. "It's quite important we speak with you immediately."

Bayley noticed the redheaded man standing beside her. He looked properly intimidated by the Headmaster, who seemed to be considering them as he stood in absolute silence.

"Very well, Miss Granger," Professor Undertaker finally said. "You and Mr. Weasley may join me in my office."

"Thank you, Sir, although it's Ms. Granger-Weasley," she corrected him.

Bayley nearly dropped dead on the spot. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley? Oh my God! She fangirled. It took her a moment to wonder what might have brought the famous best friends and loyal sidekicks of Harry Potter back to Hogwarts. Curiosity got the better of her and Bayley followed them as far as she could.

"We have received word of a credible threat to the school," Hermione said in a hushed tone. "The Order feels it would be best if you accepted our help until this issue is resolved."

"Not that you can't protect the school on your own or anything!" Ron added quickly. "I mean, of course you can! It's just... well, a little help never hurt anyone, right? Only if you want it, of course..." He rambled on. The Headmaster didn't say a word. Finally, Ron said, "Right then. We'll just see ourselves out."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Ronald, calm down," she said.

"Calm down? Have you seen him?!"

"Mr. Weasley, if I might get a word in?" Professor Undertaker asked.

"Right," Ron said sheepishly. "Sorry."

"There are young ears listening. We might do better to take this conversation inside the walls of my office now."

"Spooky how he does that," Ron mumbled. "Just like Dumbledore."

They vanished from sight. Bayley might have walked away, but she spotted a sad-looking creature standing nearby. He was too thin and looked sickly, and Bayley immediately felt sorry for him. She knelt beside him.

"Hello," she greeted him cheerfully. "I'm Bayley. Are you alright?"

The creature looked at her in surprise. "Punky must not talk to strangers," he said.

"Punky?"

"CM Punk, Ma'am, otherwise known as Punky the House Elf. Pleasure to meet you." He bowed.

"Do you live here?" Bayley asked.

"Live at Hogwarts? No, Ma'am. Punky serves the McMahons. Punky is a good elf. Punky must not talk to strangers. Good day." He turned to leave, but Bayley was too worried about him to let him go.

"Wait! Do you need help?"

"A good elf has no needs. Punky need only to serve his masters."

Stephanie appeared in the hallway then. "Punky! My father's been looking for you for twenty minutes! What are you doing here?" She demanded. She noticed Bayley then. "Ugh, and hanging out with some mudblood Hufflepuff at that?"

Bayley wasn't offended by the slur. After all, Stephanie had been raised that way. It wasn't really her fault. What did concern her was the way Punky began trembling at Stephanie's words. The poor little elf was terrified.

"I was just passing through," Bayley said quickly. "I stopped him. I'm sorry. I'm sure he was heading back to your dad."

"Stay out of this, Mudblood," Stephanie said sharply. "Come on, Punky. My father will decide your punishment."

"Punishment? Oh, no, please, he didn't do anything wrong-"

"I said butt out! Stupid, worthless, filthy little mudblood. You're too dumb to follow orders. No wonder you're in Hufflepuff!"

"Hufflepuff is the house of the loyal, Stephanie, not the dumb. If it were the latter, you'd be there for sure. I understand your confusion, though. Loyalty is a foreign concept to a Slytherin," a familiar voice said. Bayley spun and her heart fluttered as she saw who'd come to her rescue. Roman Reigns stood tall, staring Stephanie down.

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said. "Come on, Punky. We're leaving." She dragged the elf away by his ear.

"Are you okay?" Roman asked.

"Yeah, thanks!" Bayley said. She paused as she watched Punky being dragged away. "Poor thing... There must be something we can do for him."

"What, the elf?" Roman looked confused. "He's their servant, so there isn't much we can do."

"There ought to be rules so elves are treated fairly... It isn't right! He's helpless!"

A gentle voice chuckled and said, "You remind me of me at your age." Bayley turned and saw Hermione standing behind her. She smiled kindly and added, "Never stop fighting for what you believe in." She handed her a faded old pamphlet that read, "S.P.E.W: The Society for the Protection of Elfish Welfare." Bayley smiled back.

"Wow, thank you! It's an honor to meet you, Ms. Granger-Weasley," Bayley said.

"The honor is mine," Hermione said. "Please, call me Hermione. And you are?"

Bayley blushed. "I'm Bayley, and this is Roman."

"Don't ever change, Bayley," Hermione said. She nodded at Roman before walking back toward the Headmaster's office.

"Come on, Bayley," Roman said. "Let me walk you back so no one else bothers you."

"Thanks, but it's okay. I'm sure you have better things to do," Bayley replied.

"I don't mind." He smiled at her kindly and Bayley swooned a little inside.

"Okay," she said. "I appreciate it." She walked by Roman's side, happy to have his company as a hundred thoughts raced through her mind. How could she help Punky? Why were Hermione and Ron at the school? What possible threat were they worried about? She hoped she'd find answers to all of these questions. (Hufflepuffs were, after all, particularly good finders.)

SASHA

It wasn't easy being Sasha Banks. She was a halfblood wizard who didn't always like to follow rules. She was a proud Gryffindor, as brave as she was fierce. She'd gladly fight to the death to protect the ones she loved and she had a passion for adventures. She was a Chaser on the Quidditch team and found that the sport helped her work out some of her natural aggression.

When she spotted the rest of her team at practice, she hurried over to them. "Where's Roman?" She asked.

Beth Phoenix rolled her eyes. "Probably rescuing puppies from burning buildings or something," she said. One of the only female Beaters Sasha had ever met, Beth was angry pretty much twenty-four-seven, but Sasha was used to this and typically ignored her. Roman, however, was the other Beater and he was rarely late.

"Calm it down, lass," Becky Lynch said. Becky was one of the other Chasers on the team, along with Mickie James.

"We'll just have to start without him," John Cena, the Keeper and Quidditch Captain, said.

Daniel Bryan, the Seeker, enthusiastically shouted, "Yes!" Then he added, "Let's get started already!"

Because of the popularity of Quidditch, the Gryffindor team was made up entirely of seventh years. The few who weren't on it watched the practice. Lita was flirting with Jeff Hardy, who was too busy painting to pay much attention to the game. Dean sat nearby, looking concerned. Sasha suspected he was worried about Roman. The two were like brothers.

All of Sasha's attention shifted to the game as Quidditch practice began. Professor Minerva McGonagall was mostly retired these days, but she still oversaw Quidditch practice and looked after the students in Griffindor House. Sasha knew that under her watchful eye, their team got better with every match. She also knew the professor had little patience for lateness. When Roman finally arrived, even though she was up in the air, she could hear McGonagall chewing him out.

Two minutes later, Roman joined the rest of his team in the air, and Sasha focused purely on the rush she felt every time she played. She didn't know what she would do without Quidditch and hoped she would never have to find out.

HUNTER

As Punky the Pitiful cowered behind Stephanie, Hunter gave him a kick to the leg, just for the hell of it. "Pssst, Punky," he called.

Punky looked up in terror. Hunter softened his expression as he said, "Come eat this." He handed Punky one of his Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

The elf looked confused, but he took the candy in his hand and ate it. He made a face that implied the "treat" was as nasty as Hunter had guessed. "Thank you, Sir," Punky forced himself to say. "Sardines. Very thoughtful of you."

"If I come across a vomit flavored one, I'll be sure to pass it your way as well," Hunter said with a laugh. He enjoyed tormenting the house elf. After all, Punky would one day belong to him, like everything else the McMahons owned. Hunter and Stephanie had been dating since their third year at Hogwarts. He was from a powerful pureblood family. She was from an even stronger one. It just made sense that they'd end up married, bringing their lines together.

He watched Stephanie as she smoothed her robes and fixed her hair nervously. Her father's visits always made her a little more tense than usual. He studied her, this girl he'd been drawn to purely for power. Stephanie was beautiful, and once upon a time, she'd been kind. He'd asked her out because she was naive, sheltered, and an easy mark to help him gain power, but soon enough, he'd fallen for her for real. Stephanie had changed, growing harder over the years, but he still knew they were meant to be.

"Steph... You okay?" He asked.

Stephanie immediately plastered a practiced, perfect, extremely fake smile on her face. "Of course. Hunter, Daddy is expecting us. Come," she said. "We mustn't keep him waiting."

Heaven forbid they keep that man waiting! Hunter knew enough to realize Vince might have a mood swing and cast the killing curse on him if he made his princess late to meet up with him.

"Right. Let's go," he said. He linked his arm through hers and guided her away. Punky followed obediently behind them. They arrived at the designated meeting place minutes later.

"Stephanie, Princess, come here," Vince McMahon greeted his daughter with open arms. He hugged her tightly before looking down his nose at Hunter. "Ah. You," he added.

"Hunter," Hunter reminded him.

"Yes, yes, of course. Good to see you, my boy." Vince turned back to Stephanie. "Did you get it for me?"

Stephanie nodded. "Of course, Daddy." She handed him several strands of hair.

"Excellent! That's my girl." He tucked the hair safely into his cloak. "The time is coming, my daughter. Are you up to the challenge?"

"Always, Daddy. Anything for you."

Hunter thought Stephanie sounded uncertain. She was usually so confident. What was her father up to? He hoped they would let him in on the big secret soon. He was getting sick and tired of feeling like an outsider.