Chapter 84

Oliver,

You are good friend. You are right. Hermione (I see how she spell her name. She spell out for me when we first meet and I call her Herm-own-ninny as she spell out for me. Fortunate for me, she is nice and not care that I still call her Herm-own-ninny as she spell as I can not pronounce as she spell. Understand?) is nice. She is not like other girls here. She not care for me being famous Quidditch player, but care about me.

When first meet and talked morning after I arrive at Hogwarts, she worry that snake students (Not sure of name or how to spell) shun me should they see me talking with a lion student. She explain that snake students and lions students long time rivals. Sometime I wish rivals to make peace. Sometime I wish that my headmaster sit us with lion students instead. Would make talking with her simple. I think my headmaster friends with snake students head teacher though, so we sit there.

How you suggest get to know her? What to talk about? Most girls are easy, I just talk about me. She is not like other girls. Not sure about your plan at present time.

Viktor

Viktor folded the note and put it in his pocket to send later. He sighed and sat back, watching the girl in question, Her-my-oh-knee, as she had called herself that he had a hard time saying, glance his way out of the corner of her eye before going back to taking notes from her book. It wasn't all that long before she finished taking her notes in the first book of the eight she had told him about. He raised his brow when he saw that she was already nearly half way through it.

"You read very fast," he said.

The girl looked up at him and her lips twitched into a smile making her eyes sparkle. "Yes," she said. "I love reading - if you didn't notice yesterday."

"I notice, I notice," Viktor replied. "It is just -" He paused and sighed, shaking his head. "Never mind," he said when he continued. "It is not important now."

"Just what?" Hermione asked, looking at him in confusion.

"You say you vant to help these spirits - these House Elves?" he corrected himself quickly.

"Yes," Hermione said and nodded in confirmation. "They're treated horribly by many. Its not right."

Viktor nodded and leaned forward. "How you do this?" he asked, looking at her seriously.

Viktor watched her eyes flash with anger.

"You don't think I can?" she asked.

Viktor sighed and sat back in his chair again. "That iz not it," he said.

"Then whatisit?" Hermione asked.

"You say you vish to help thesehouse elves," he said, and she nodded again. "That iz long term goal," he said.

Again, Hermione nodded.

"I ask how you get to goal," Viktor said. "How you get from here to zere? Vhat iz plan?"

Viktor watched as Hermione sat back in her chair as well.

"Well..." she said. "To be completely honest... I hadn't really thought about that part."

"So..." Viktor asked. "How vould you raise awareness to their plight?"

"I - I guess I could start a club or something," Hermione said looking at him hopefully. "Share what I've learned with them."

"Zat iz a good start," Viktor agreed with a smile.

"I would probably have to start with Gryffindor members," Hermione said. "It would be easier since it's my own house."

"Vhat vould you call this club?" Viktor asked. "Vho vould you approach to be members? Anyone in particular?"

"Well, I guess, I would ask Harry and Ron," Hermione said. "They might be able to help me get others interested. And then of course, there's Dobby. As for what to call it..."

"Vho iz Dobbie?" Viktor asked.

"Oh, that's right," Hermione said. "You wouldn't know who I'm talking about."

For the rest of the time till lunch, Viktor listened intently as Hermione told him about how she first met Harry and Ron and while he appreciated the fact that Harry's fame didn't bother her either, he couldn't help wondering if Oliver was wrong and that they were more than friends. He decided to watch when he could and see, and perhaps talk with Harry himself.

"So you see," Hermione concluded just before lunch. "Dobby was the house elf that belonged to the Malfoy family. Like I said, he originally tried to stop Harry from coming back to school, but when Harry got here, the tried to get him sent home with a Quidditch accident, but in the end, Harry was able to defeat the basilisk and helped free Dobby from the Malfoys. Now he works here as a free elf, I saw him last year. I'msurehe could help."

"But vhat vill you call it?" Viktor asked.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Want to meet after lunch and maybe we could come up with something?"

"Zat vould be good," Viktor said with a smile.

"I should probably soak my ankle again," Hermione said thoughtfully.

"I vill be here," Viktor said.

"Coalition for Elvish Welfare Reform?" Hermione muttered thoughtfully and then shook her head.

"Um, Hermione?" Harry asked, hearing her muttering to herself.

"Hum?" Hermione asked, looking up at him from where she had scratched out the name. "The Party for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare Reform?No!"

"What are you doing?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, you're acting weirder than normal," Ron said.

Hermione looked up at him sharply, glaring. "I'm looking for a name."

"For what?" Ron asked.

"A group I'm making," Hermione replied.

"A group for what?" Harry asked.

"I - I'd rather not say just now, at least not until I have everything planned out," Hermione said, nervous about being put on the spot and afraid of being rejected before everything was planned out to be presented as she hoped. "I really should be going, but is it all right to talk to you about it later when I have everything set?"

She watched Harry and Ron look at her, exchanging looks of puzzlement and shrugs.

"Yeah, sure," Harry said.

"All right, I guess," Ron added with a defeated tone.

Hermione smiled and headed off to the Prefect's bathroom to soak her ankle before she was to meet Viktor in the library again.

"Hmm," Hermione murmured to herself as she soaked in the large bath in the Prefect's bathroom. "Let's see... House Elf Welfare Block? No... Sect For House Elf Welfare Reform? No... Those all sound too authoritarian."

Shaking her head she got out of the tub and toweled off then got dressed and was heading for the door when she heard a giggle that made her pause and look around. It took her a moment before she saw Moaning Myrtle sitting on the ledge above the row of toilets nearby.

"Hello, Myrtle," she said and sighed. "Can I help you with something?"

"No one can helpme," Myrtle said.

"Oh, all right," Hermione said and turned to go again.

"But perhaps I can helpyou," Myrtle called down.

Hermione turned and gave a start to see the ghost was no hovering a short distance from her face. She hated when the ghost did that.

"What do you mean," Hermione asked once she collected herself and a little wary. She knew that Myrtle didn't particularly like her after what happened in her second year with Harry and Ron when they attended Nearly Headless Nick's death day party and Peeves caused trouble, telling Myrtle that they were talking about her. Hermione hadn't wanted to hurt Myrtle's feelings, and had fibbed about what she'd told Harry and Ron about her when they had seen her there, but Myrtle hadn't believed her. It had been better after that, when brewing the Poly Juice Potion, to make sure she wasn't around before she entered and checked on the potion. "Why would you want to help me?"

"It's true I don't like you," Myrtle said, recalling the same incident that Hermione had. "But you talk to Harry."

Hermione nodded. "Harry's my friend."

"I want to be his friend, too," Myrtle said.

Hermione smiled slightly. "That's nice."

"How did you do it?" Myrtle asked, backing away a bit so that Hermione was more comfortable, and shuffled her floating feet shyly.

"How did I do what?" Hermione asked, confused.

"How did you become Harry's friend?" Myrtle asked.

"Oh," Hermione said. "Well, to be honest, it wasn't easy. We met on the train in our first year, but we weren't friends, not really, until Halloween that year."

"What happened?" Myrtle asked curiously. She'd not really cared before what students came an went at Hogwarts, and mostly kept to her own bathroom, but death had become rather boring, and she was trying to expand her horizons.

"Well, someone let a mountain troll into the castle as a joke," Hermione said and swallowed. She really didn't want to lie to Myrtle again, but she didn't like thinking about what really happened either. "No, that's not true, but its what we thought at the time... We didn't learn till later on toward the end of the year what really happened. Anyway, wethoughtsomeone had let the troll in as a joke. And really, I didn't know about it at all until I came across it myself."

"Oooh," Myrtle said intrigued. "Did you almost die?"

Hermione swallowed again feeling sick as the color drained from her face and she nodded.

"Too bad you didn't, it would have been nice to have someone to talk to," Myrtle said. "A friend..."

Hermione tried to smile again, but it felt forced.

"So what happened?" Myrtle pressed.

"Harry and Ron came and found me in the first floor bathroom," Hermione said. "They saved me from the troll and knocked it out. Professor McGonagall came in with Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell afterwards, and found us. I knew that if Harry and Ron got in trouble again, they could be expelled, so I - I took the blame and covered for them. We were friends after that."

"So... I - have to do something heroic?" Myrtle asked in confusion.

Hermione smiled, this time a genuine smile. "Not at all," she said gently. "Just... be nice."

"Kind of hard to do that," Myrtle complained. "I never see him."

"Oh, well..." Hermione said thoughtfully. "I can let him know you want to talk to him - if you like..."

"Would you?" Myrtle asked, looking skeptical.

"Sure I would," Hermione said honestly. "But," she continued with warning. "It will be up to him to come talk to you, if he can even find the time to do it."

Myrtle looked thoughtful for a moment, and then nodded. "If you agree to at least tell Harry I would like to talk to him, I will help you."

Hermione nodded. "Fair enough," she said. "I'll let Harry know."

"You are looking for a name for something to do with House elves?" Myrtle asked.

"That's right," Hermione said. "I want to start a club that brings awareness to how poorly they are treated and effect change."

"You are not like other witches or wizards," Myrtle said.

"No, I - I guess I'm not," Hermione admitted.

"I did not like how they were treated when I came here either," Myrtle replied.

"You're not from a wizarding family?" Hermione asked curiously.

Myrtle shook her head. "No, I was from a Muggle family," the ghost replied. "When Harry and his friend came to ask me about how I died, you were not with them."

Hermione shook her head. "I was petrified by the basilisk," Hermione admitted. "So I was in the hospital wing."

"Oh," Myrtle said.

"Myrtle," Hermione said. "Do you mind my asking, if you're from a Muggle family, how did you become a ghost?"

"I don't know really, I just wanted to haunt Olive Hornby for teasing me about my glasses," Myrtle replied. "I did too, until her dying day. After that, she became a ghost as well and went to the ministry and had me confined to Hogwarts so I couldn't follow her off the grounds."

Hermione swallowed. She hoped that she remained on the ghost's good side until she was out of school.

"Well, thank you, Myrtle," she said after a moment. "I'll be sure to let Harry know when I see him."

"Wait," Myrtle said when she went to leave again and Hermione stopped once more. "I still have to help you, don't I?"

Hermione hesitated and gave a slight smile to the ghost, apprehensive about what her 'help' would entail.

"You don't happen to know any house elves, do you?" Myrtle asked.

"I know one," Hermione said. "His name is Dobby, he works here at Hogwarts."

"Well," Myrtle said. "Why don't you ask him?"

Hermione thought about it a moment, she'd planned on talking to him at some point, but the ghost was right, and she smiled genuinely. "That's a great idea, thanks, Myrtle, I'll do that. I'd better get going now. I'll see you later and let you know how it goes, okay?"

"All right," Myrtle said. "Don't forget to tell Harry."

"I won't," Hermione said, and waited for Myrtle to zoom off before she sighed in relief and exited the Prefects bathroom much later than she had planned.