The Return to Hogwarts

Chapter 530 How to deal with it

2023-10-12

Hermione glanced at the new house-elves at her feet, then at Professor Blaine, speechless with astonishment. In the quiet, dark classroom, only the elves' faint pleas and the howling of the night wind outside the window could be heard.

"But... but what am I supposed to do with it, Professor Blaine?"

Hermione tried to pull her foot away, but the elf, afraid of being abandoned, held her foot tightly.

“I can’t take care of it, Professor, I have to go to class.”

Hermione said, on the verge of tears.

“Oh, you don’t need to take care of it, Hermione—”

Seeing Hermione completely at a loss, Professor Blaine's lips twitched.

"House-elves are incredibly resilient. Don't let their newborn status fool you; they're perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. Moreover, they possess the complete bloodline magic of elves, so—"

Professor Blaine thought for a moment before speaking.

"You just need to give it commands—"

"Give an order"

Hermione repeated blankly, while the little house-elf at her feet practically lit up with joy upon hearing the word 'command.' It finally loosened Hermione's shoelaces, stood up unsteadily, raised its little head, and stared with its clear eyes, which took up almost a third of its face.

"Master Granger, command. Service!"

“It knows my name!” Hermione exclaimed in surprise.

"Of course it knows your name. When you gave the clothes to this little guy, a mysterious contract was formed between you. In a way, you should name this little guy; it's your duty."

Professor Blaine stepped back a few paces, leaving Hermione to face the newborn elf alone.

Hermione instinctively wanted to refuse; naming the little creature wasn't her duty, it was its mother's. But the thought of leaving Riga without a second thought made Hermione's lips tighten. The way house-elves were raised far exceeded her expectations; these little creatures were far more pitiful than she had imagined, suffering far more severe enslavement.

"Okay, a name, let me think of one—"

Hermione gasped as she stared at the elf, who seemed to know by nature how to express humility to a wizard, her orange eyes flashing with anger.

"Dum--"

After a few seconds of contemplation, Hermione suddenly spoke.

"If you don't mind, you can call me that—"

Amosta raised an eyebrow.

Dom – the pronunciation of 'freedom' in ancient runes.

"Dong-mu--"

The little elf imitated the word with unclear pronunciation, its back bent even deeper, but its two large, perked-up ears still conveyed the little creature's excitement.

"The great and kind Master Granger bestowed upon me a name, Don-m--, Master!"

Dom tilted his head, only daring to stare at Hermione's knees.

"What can Dom do to serve the great Mistress Granger? Dom will always belong to the great Mistress Granger!"

"Don't say that!"

Hermione shouted angrily and fiercely.

"I am not your master, Dom. I... I just gave you clothes and a name, that's all. You don't belong to anyone, understand? You are free. You can do whatever you want. Of course, if you want to go find your mother, that's fine too. I will help you find her!"

However, Hermione's intense reaction only elicited an even more intense response from Doom. The little guy, whose speech was still not very clear, immediately pounced at Hermione's feet, and tears streamed from his clear eyes, soaking Hermione's trouser legs.

"Oh, don't cry, Dom, I—"

"Master Granger has given the order!"

Dom, who had just been crying her eyes out, immediately jumped up and stared excitedly at Hermione.

Hermione opened her mouth, looking at Professor Blaine with a blank expression.

“Serving wizards is the destiny of house-elves, this idea is deeply ingrained—” Amostall said calmly, noticing Hermione’s attempt to object, “but it’s not as simple as you think. This enslavement is deeply rooted in the souls of house-elves, passed down through bloodlines to the next generation.”

"But this is not a reason for us to ignore the injustices they have suffered!"

Hermione stubbornly insisted,

"I can't believe the wizards would treat them like this. They are independent beings, they should work for themselves, they should have holidays and be paid. They, they, oh, Hogwarts actually made a house-elf who was about to give birth do heavy housework!"

Hermione glared angrily at Professor Blaine.

“The school should pay them, Professor Blaine, and they should also enjoy various holidays; these are their due rights!”

Professor Blaine looked a little helpless as he watched the little witch with her hair standing on end.

“In my heart, I think you have a point, Miss Granger, but in reality, it’s not as simple as you think. First of all, well, you want to fight for the rights of house-elves, so first you have to convince them to accept it, right?”

Hermione frowned and began to think seriously.

“I must go back, Miss Granger—”

Having successfully silenced Hermione, Amostah breathed a sigh of relief, rubbed his stomach, and muttered...

"I missed two meals today, I have to find something to eat--"

“Wait, Professor Blaine—”

Hermione looked up, her tone becoming flustered again.

“But what about the little elf Dom? I… I can’t find a place… I mean, I have to go to school, Professor…”

"what--"

Amostella stopped in her tracks. It was indeed a bit inappropriate for a student to be constantly followed by a house-elf, who would call out "Master, serve!" After a moment's thought, Amostella pondered and said...

"If you don't want it to follow you, I suggest you let it go to the kitchen to work with other house-elves. There are many companions there, and I believe it will be very happy there."

"Work? Dom was less than half an hour old, Professor Blaine!"

Seeing the little witch determined to portray herself as a cruel exploiter, Amosta shrugged.

"In that case, you can keep it in your dorm. The school rules don't say that students aren't allowed to keep house-elves, do they?"

After saying that, Amosta left the classroom, leaving behind a frantic little witch and a house-elf whose eyes were glued to her.

Where did Hermione go?

As night deepened, Harry and Ron were doing their homework at a table near the fireplace in the common room. They spent two hours rambling on and on before finally finishing the horoscope that Professor Trelawney had assigned for next month. Then Ron had nothing to do, but Harry pulled out another brand-new piece of parchment and, sucking on his quill, pondered his physical education paper.

There was no paper on dueling at Hogwarts before, and there were no precedents to follow. Harry had to do it all himself. However, Harry felt that he had some talent in dueling and didn't need anyone else's help. After listening to Professor Blaine's theory, he did have some thoughts.

After a moment of contemplation, Harry began to write, while Ron's eyes darted around, surveying the vast common room. Suddenly, he asked,

"I haven't seen her all night. Even if she were in the library, Mrs. Pince should have kicked her out by now—"

Harry was surprised that Ron still remembered the librarian's name, because it took him a few seconds to remember who Mrs. Pince was, even though they met every day at dinner.

"have no idea--"

Harry casually remarked that he thought Hermione had simply lost track of time while reading and there was nothing to worry about; it wasn't the first time.

Ron glanced at Harry, knowing he was working on his physical education paper. Neville, on the other side of the common room, was doing the same thing, having chewed the bristles off his quill pen all night without finishing.

Just then, the portrait of the fat lady suddenly opened, and Ron immediately turned his gaze toward it. Sure enough, it was Hermione returning from the library. Ron raised an eyebrow, preparing to greet Hermione, but his hand froze in mid-air as he raised it halfway, and his brow furrowed.

"Oh, what's wrong with her?"

Hermione looked very unusual; a large section of the hem of her robe was torn, and the satchel she usually carried on her back was now clutched in her arms. Hermione looked as if she had just stolen something, and her eyes showed great panic.

Harry glanced at it casually, then his gaze froze, clearly realizing that something was wrong with Hermione.

Hermione, upon entering the common room, immediately spotted Harry and Ron near the fireplace. She walked towards the two boys, pretending nothing had happened, but Neville, who was lost in thought, also noticed that Hermione was hiding something.

"what happened?"

As soon as Hermione, covered in sweat, sat down, Ron couldn't wait to ask, staring at the backpack Hermione was clutching with a suspicious look.

"Don't tell us you went to steal something!"

Hermione glared at Ron. This guy had no idea that she had gone to see Professor Blaine for him tonight, and then she had gotten herself into big trouble.

"I need help!"

Hermione looked around guiltily, then took a deep breath and said.

Chapter 531 Asking for help

2023-10-13

Harry and Ron exchanged glances, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes. They had known Hermione for so long, and they had never seen her speak in such a tone.

"what's wrong?"

Harry immediately realized Hermione was in big trouble, and she didn't seem to want anyone to know. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, Harry lowered his voice and asked,

"what's going on?"

"You must keep this a secret from me."

Hermione said seriously.