章 215: Elves Everywhere
It turned out that Hermione was indeed still doing the 'spew thing,' as Oleandra had called it. The Greengrass twins were technically members, as they had each purchased a badge.
"We don't get the opportunity to see our little sister very often," Daphne had argued. "We might as well go take a look, if only to say hello."
And that was the end of the discussion; but before the end of the day arrived, they still had to make it through the actual day! After lunch was Divination; but Oleandra and Tracey couldn't concentrate on the lesson very well; now that Harry and Ron had made up and were friends again, they wouldn't stop making quips about the lesson. At any rate, Professor Trelawney was once again predicting death, so it wasn't like they were missing much.
After dinner, Oleandra and Daphne told Tracey not to wait up for them, and they exited the Great Hall through its double doors and entered the Entrance Hall, where Astoria, Hermione, Harry, Ron, Neville Longbottom and Hannah Abott were waiting for them.
"Good!" said Hermione brightly. "I would have hoped to get more members to join, but this will have to do."
"So?" asked Ron in annoyance. "What is it this time? Do you want us to make posters, or something?"
"Today," said Hermione, who was pretending not to have heard, "we are looking for the Hogwarts kitchens, where hundreds of Elves are enslaved."
"And then what?" snorted Ron. "What do we do, trick them into accepting clothes?"
"Maybe," sniffed Hermione. "I'll work out the finer details once we find them. But for now, we'll spread out and look for a painting of a bowl of fruit; it's supposed to be somewhere under the Great Hall."
"How will we know when one of us have found it?" asked Daphne.
"Right," said Hermione, pulling out a stack of paper. "Each of you, take one of these; if you find the painting first, write down your location on your sheet of parchment, and the others' will change accordingly. So keep an eye on yours, everyone!"
"A Protean Charm?" Daphne said, raising an eyebrow. "That's N.E.W.T. level magic, isn't it?"
"To be honest, I wasn't expecting so many people to join S.P.E.W. after the feedback I received at first," admitted Hermione. "But how could I let you down as your leader after receiving so much support?"
"It can't be that hard if she can do it," grumbled Oleandra, observing her sheet of paper with her Mystic Eyes. And sure enough, its magic was steadily ebbing away; in an hour, the Charm would completely fail. Hermione still had some practising to do before fully mastering this Charm!
With that out of the way, the Greengrass twins and Astoria went down a flight of stairs from the Entrance Hall and began exploring while catching up.
"This would be so much easier with the Marauder's Map," remarked Oleandra. "I wonder if Ginny still has it?"
"Probably," shrugged Daphne. "Otherwise, Harry could have just lead us there."
The underground passageways here were much drier and better lit than the dark and damp ones near the dungeons, where the Slytherin common room was hidden.
"There certainly are a lot of Hufflepuffs here," Astoria said. "Do you think their common room is nearby?"
A few moments later, they came across a large group of Hufflepuffs standing in front of a series of barrels. They had clearly been up to something, but now they were just staring uneasily at the Greengrass girls.
"Excuse me," said Daphne. "Have you seen a painting of a bowl of fruit nearby?"
"Are you blind, or something?" said a sixth year Hufflepuff girl in disbelief. "You walked straight past it to get here; it's right behind you."
"Oh," said Daphne, turning around to check. "So it is."
They had walked past it, but the large group of Hufflepuffs shuffling around some barrels had caught their attention, causing them to miss it. Awkward. The Hufflepuffs and the Greengrasses continued standing there, sizing each other up.
"So," said Oleandra, her eyes moving past them to the barrels behind them. "What are you fellows up to?"
"Nothing!" a first-year Hufflepuff said a little too defensively.
"Right…" said Oleandra.
Finally, the group of Hufflepuffs decided to give up whatever it was they'd been up to and walked away, disappearing around a corner. With them out of the way, Astoria quickly wrote down directions to the painting on Hermione's enchanted parchment, and soon enough, the S.P.E.W. members were united once again… minus one person.
"Where's Neville, by the way?" Hermione asked Hannah. The two of them had left together, but only she had returned.
"I think he got lost," Hannah answered succinctly.
"Well, I'm sure he'll turn up eventually," said Hermione unconcernedly, as she walked up to the painting.
If Oleandra was guessing correctly, then the barrels led to the Hufflepuff common room. If that was indeed the case, then Hannah, as a Hufflepuff herself, ought to have known about the gigantic painting of the bowl of fruit, which was nearby. If so, why hadn't she said anything? Was it to spend some time with Neville? Then how had she lost him so easily?
Hermione stretched out her finger and tickled the green pear in the painting. It squirmed, giggling, before morphing into a doorknob. Pulling the door that had just materialized open, Hermione led the march, and the rest of the S.P.E.W. members followed her in.
So, this was where Theo had obtained his baguette! The kitchens were huge, and the air was filled with the smell of British cuisine. Brass pots and pans hung from the ceiling, and there was a large fireplace at the end of the room. But most of all… the place was crawling with House-Elves!
Hannah audibly gasped, while the others just looked on in amazement.
"Bloody hell," murmured Ron. "It's like a hundred Dobbies!"
A small group of House-Elves ran up to them, carrying an assortment of snacks and a pot of piping hot tea. Now this was service!
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