The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 377: Promoting the Rights of House-Elves

The Quidditch World Cup should have been a grand event in the wizarding world, and the Irish team's celebrations and carnival should have just begun, but everything came to an abrupt halt because of a parade suspected to be organized by Death Eaters.

The grounds were in chaos, with burnt tents and people screaming in panic. Apart from two or three kittens, the Ministry of Magic had not caught any important figures in the Death Eater parade, although everyone knew who might be in the group.

The Dark Mark appeared in the sky over England again after more than a decade. Not only the Ministry of Magic and the general public were afraid, but even the Death Eaters who took part in the parade were panicked. They ran away as soon as the Dark Mark appeared, running faster than anyone else.

The Ministry of Magic also didn't catch the person who cast the Dark Mark, but they found the person who took the blame. No, it should be the house-elf who took the blame. Ada didn't know what kind of punishment Winky would receive, but a piece of "clothes" should be indispensable.

Barty Crouch, the former Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Magic who once sacrificed his own family for the sake of justice, left a very bad impression on Ada.

In Ada's opinion, Cornelius Fudge and Barty Crouch were no different. Fudge was a politician whose mind was full of political struggles, while Crouch was a paranoid radical. No matter which of them sat in the position of Minister of Magic, it would be a disaster.

The hand-smear incident on the World Cup field was "properly" resolved, and the "bad guys" got the punishment they deserved, but Ada felt a chill in her bones. She always felt that the Dark Mark was just the beginning, and everything was far from over, and this time it might be even darker.

On the way back to the tent, everyone was in a bad mood because of what had just happened. It would be hard for anyone to be happy after having their face washed with twenty Stunning Spells.

Hermione's reaction was the biggest among the group. The kind girl was furious about the unfortunate experience of the house-elf Winky.

"How could they treat her like that!" Hermione said angrily, "Mr. Diggory kept calling her a 'little goblin'... and Mr. Crouch! He knew she wasn't the one who did it, but he still sacked her! He didn't care how scared and upset she was - he didn't even treat her as a human being!"

"Well, she's not a human being." Ron added rudely, and then he took over from Barty Crouch to bear Hermione's fire.

Sometimes Ida wondered if Ron's emotional intelligence was what he ate while eating. In the entire Weasley family, the two people with the lowest emotional intelligence were Percy and Ron. Ida guessed that their emotional intelligence should be negative.

Mr. Weasley and Lupin agreed with Hermione's opinion that the wizarding world was indeed too unfair to house-elves and exploited them too much, but the issue of house-elves' rights was a joke and the house-elves themselves didn't care.

"Mr. Weasley, I don't understand! House-elves obviously have feelings and can live like humans, but Mr. Diggory and Mr. Crouch...why do they still do...such disgusting..." Hermione couldn't go on, and paused for a while before continuing, "Don't they have any sympathy!"

"Good girl, let me tell you why." Sirius took over the conversation and said, "Because house-elves were conquered by wizards, and they have been indoctrinated with the idea of ​​serving their masters and not disobeying their masters' orders for generations. Now, slavery has already flowed in their blood and cannot be changed."

Hermione, who grew up in Muggle society and was born into a happy family, found it difficult to understand such a thought. She continued to refute: "But shouldn't we improve their conditions? Let them no longer be so humble, at least not let them be treated like they are today!"

Hermione was so stubborn that no one could convince her. After returning to the tent, Hermione had a quarrel with Percy because Percy thought there was nothing wrong with the way Crouch treated Winky, and that was what everyone in the wizarding world did.

"Does everyone think that what is right is right?" Hermione loudly refuted Percy, "We once thought that taking a bath was a dangerous thing that would make people sick, but what happened?"

Hermione was talking about the most famous dark history of Europe, that is, people did not take baths. People in the Middle Ages believed that taking baths would expand pores and make people sick, so in order to avoid getting sick, people simply did not take baths.

From the nobility and church to the common people, no one bathed. Now it sounds like a tearful experience, but people at that time did so and were proud of not bathing. It was precisely because of this situation that perfume became popular.

"Hermione, it's good to be compassionate, but don't abuse your compassion." said Ada, who was sitting in the corner.

This somewhat accusatory remark stopped Hermione's rapid advance. If she had continued, the "House-Elf Welfare Promotion Association" would have been born tonight.

"Ada, don't house-elves deserve sympathy?" Hermione asked. She couldn't understand Ada's thoughts. They all came from the Muggle world to the magical world, so why could Ada turn a blind eye to such exploitation and oppression?

"They deserve sympathy, but they don't deserve sympathy." Ada's answer was ambiguous. She continued, "There were people like you who had wild ideas and wanted to improve the status of house-elves and give them more rights and interests. But do you know what the house-elves said?"

Ada did not wait for Hermione to answer her question, but said to herself: "Let me tell you, the house-elves think that this person who wants to give them welfare, wants to give them freedom, and wants to liberate them is the biggest villain in the world! He is a complete lunatic!"

"How could this be? He is helping them!" said Hermione. "But, but Dobby..."

"Dobby is just an exception. Have you ever seen any other house-elf yearning for freedom besides Dobby?" Ada continued, "If I give my house-elf a piece of 'clothes', Agnes will chop off her head at night. She will think she is an unforgivable evil elf."

Sirius Black suddenly interrupted and asked with interest, "I always thought that only the Black family's house-elves had this hobby. It turns out that the Rosier family also has this hobby?"

"No, Sirius." Ada said helplessly, "I was just giving an example, a metaphor."

Hermione reorganized her words and tried to struggle one last time. She said, "That's because of the ideas instilled in them by wizards. If we can... if we can eliminate the slave mentality in them..."

"Stop it, Hermione. You can't do it. No one can do it." Ada said with a smile, "God helps those who help themselves. Only they can do it. Only they can save themselves."

Ida sympathizes with the plight of the house elves, but she will not take the trouble to help the house elves, because they are not worth it. If Ida really does this, she will only be regarded as a scourge by the house elves, rather than someone who leads them out of darkness.

Even without a wand, house elves can still cast spells, and their magic is even better than that of many wizards. They can always resist and have the ability to resist, but they have never thought about resisting.

They regarded help from the outside as a scourge, and the house-elves themselves chose not to resist, so they could only continue to be slaves of the wizards, being beaten and scolded, bound by their masters, and giving up everything they had, even their lives.

Just like Winky tonight, it was clearly not her who cast the Dark Mark, but she was thrown out by her master Barty Crouch like a chamber pot and became a scapegoat.

The only ones who can help the house-elves are themselves. Only if they awaken themselves and choose to fight, can they get rid of their current status and breathe freely.

(End of this chapter)