Ravenclaw's Sapphire

"House-elf?" Hermione's exaggerated reaction pleased Rosmerta. She just wanted to see what other people's expressions would show when they heard the news.

"That's a house elf?" Hermione couldn't believe it. It's not that she has never seen these small, ugly creatures. Just before, she went to the Hogwarts kitchen to ask for some sandwiches and found There are at least dozens of elves there.They were all wearing old pillowcases or wrapped in rags, like savages from some primitive tribe somewhere.

But the one sitting in front of the bar now, although he was wrapped up tightly and his body was indeed short like a house elf, he looked completely indistinguishable from a human wizard.Hermione looked it up and down several times, paying close attention to the details, but still couldn't see any difference between it and the other humans drinking here.

"It doesn't look like it, right. I was shocked when I saw that face for the first time." Rosmerta giggled, "I thought he was a dwarf, so I made fun of him, who knows He takes off his hood while drinking, and he's a house-elf!"

"A house-elf dressed like a human showed up at a bar and said 'a glass of mead,' and I thought it was looking for work," she said in a dreamy tone, as if that Incredible.

"Is that rare?" asked Hermione hastily. "Don't house-elves haunt the pub a lot?"

"You must be of Muggle origin." Rosmerta said with certainty.

Hermione nodded, and Rosmerta continued: "As long as you are a wizard, you should know that house elves never go to bars or other places of entertainment. They don't do things that are not related to work, and they don't need entertainment. Activities, house-elves are everything to their masters, they don't need freedom."

"No need for freedom!" cried Hermione.She frowned, remembering the conversation with Zoe, who also told her that "house elves don't need to be paid, they like to work".

But wouldn't they be like slaves in that case?Hermione couldn't understand what happiness there was in such a life, even if every wizard and even the house-elves themselves took such a life for granted.

She couldn't agree with what Zoe and Rosmerta said, and even she couldn't find sufficient reasons to refute them, because she really didn't know the true feelings of the house elves.But she thinks that any intelligent creature should yearn for freedom and dignity, rather than being passively enslaved, which is what she has always believed in.

So she continued to push the topic subconsciously, "But if according to what you said, the house elf should not need vacations and entertainment, then what's going on with it? It just sits there and rests like a human. ! Doesn't this mean that house-elves deserve special treatment too?"

"I'm not surprised at all, little guy." Rosmerta shrugged and said relaxedly: "I've been running Three Broomsticks for several years, and it's not like I haven't encountered strange guys in these years. Being naked is just a low-level problem...Each group may have one or two weirdos who don't fit in with the normal people around you, you have to get used to it, this kind of situation is very common."

Just as Hermione was about to continue to refute, there was a harsh and loud sound from the bar, and Rosmerta gasped. She saw all the polished glasses she had put on the bar shatter, even though you could use Restoration spells will still cause a lot of trouble—Rosmerta is not very good at spells, and she once mistook the pieces when chanting the spell, making the repaired cup nondescript.

The uproar was caused by a heavyset man, flushed, staggering, cursing and utterly drunk.He was wearing a decent robe, but he looked completely lacking in self-cultivation. I don't know if it was his nature or he couldn't control himself after being drunk.

As he wobbled toward Rosmerta (because he needed to pay) he bumped his shoulder into the house-elf sitting at the side of the bar. Falling off the chair, she stood up with great difficulty, and Hermione finally saw the face that was tightly hidden—this house elf was indeed no different from other elves in appearance, with big ears and a big nose , the face is small, the skin is still wrinkled, and it looks quite old.

But this elf was obviously different from any one Hermione had seen before: at least she had never seen an elf not only wearing a robe that a wizard would wear, but also wearing a monocle on his nose , she even felt a kind of pure tranquility from those big eyes that almost protruded from the eyelids.

The house-elf was knocked off the chair and straightened his robes first. Hermione noticed that its movements were somewhat deliberate, as if imitating something.Then it stood in front of the drunken burly man, and called out in that squeaky elf voice, "Sir, I need your apology."

"What, what, what... Dong, thing." The man looked around in a daze, but there was no one around, he scratched his head in trouble, and wanted to move on.

"Sir, I'm here."

This time the man finally followed the instructions of the voice to look down, and then burst out laughing: "Little, little elf? It's so weird to dress up—hey, your master is, really, a weird, weird person." ..." Annoyed that his tongue didn't work, he even put his hand in his mouth and pulled it out, then punched the air angrily.

"Get out, get out, get in the way!"

But the house elf seemed to be unable to understand what he said, and stood still like a pillar: "Sir, I haven't heard your apology before you leave."

it repeated stubbornly.

"Heh, heh, what, you want me to apologize? Impossible!" The man pushed the elf on the thin shoulder, watched the elf staggering back, and laughed loudly, "I, I, why should I And, apologizing to an elf?"

The elf is clearly angry too, but he's still trying to act like a polite gentleman, even though his fists are clenched

"If you don't apologize, I won't walk away. Isn't it a matter of course to apologize to the person who was offended?"

"But that's talking about human beings, not, not elves!" The man growled irritably, his face almost turning purple, he raised his hand and pulled out his wand, "Get out of the way, little thing! Or I'll explode Rotten, blast your nose!"

"...if you're going to use a duel to solve all this." The elf flinched at first, as if afraid of the wizard's wand.But it still pretended to be strong in the end.You know that elves can also use magic, and they don't need a wand.It's just that their owners usually forbid them to do so.

"Oh, my dear Mr. Carpenter, you are a respected person, why don't you let this respect continue to the end? I really hope you can do this." Rosmerta walked to the man Come forward, said with a smile.

"But this, this damn beast (the elf's face sank all of a sudden) it was the first, the first to provoke me..." The man still wanted to be reluctant, but Rosmerta can drive here for so long The Three Broomsticks, not just because of her delicate appearance.

"What you should know is that the minister is also a regular visitor here." There was a cold tone in her voice, but she was still very polite on the whole, "Mr. Let me reveal a little about his subordinates' usual words and deeds, such as making trouble in a certain lady's shop?"

Carpenter smacked his lips in reluctance, restrained by the last sliver of consciousness he had left.No matter what kind of image Cornelius Fudge has in the hearts of each subordinate, he has indeed gained power in the Ministry of Magic. In any case, the consequences of offending his superiors still need to be carefully weighed.

When Carpenter staggered away from the three broomsticks, Rosmerta looked grimly at the little house-elf.

"Thank you for your help, ma'am." The elf was relieved. If it could, it certainly didn't want to have a conflict with the wizard, because it would remind it of bad memories from the past.

Rosmerta didn't appreciate it at all. Her attitude towards the house-elf was even harsher than she was towards Carpenter: "I need to remind you that you will never be welcome on the three broomsticks in the future."

"I think I was the one who got involved. It's not fair of you, ma'am."

"Hehe, although Carpenter will become a fool when he is drunk, at least he has one thing right. Elf, why don't you go find a family and settle down? Or find a solid job, not so Free and undisciplined." Rosmerta sighed and advised.

"I've been a long way and a lot, ma'am. Of course I need a place to settle down, and a job, what could be better than that?" The elf sighed, "There's no place I'd take I."

"You're kidding, elf—"

"Please call me Crocker."

"Well, Crocker," Rosmerta continued, "there are countless families who need you, not to mention you are the best workers, even the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts-yes, I can do it for you." Let me introduce you to this lady."

She pulled Hermione over: "You can go to Hogwarts to work, and I have a good friendship with Dumbledore. He often comes to me to buy mead... But I think this enthusiastic lady will Would like to chat with you for a while, she is studying at Hogwarts."