Chapter 239: House-elves
After Harry struggled to make a sound, the excited house-elf responded, "It's Dobby, sir, it's Dobby!" The voice screamed from near his navel, "Dobby has been looking forward to seeing Harry Potter, sir, and Harry Potter has come to see him himself, sir!" β
Dobby let go of his hand and took a few steps back, and Darren saw that the house-elf was looking up at Harry with a smile on his face, his big green eyes like ping-pong balls with tears of joy in them, and a teapot thermos with a large number of colorful badges pinned to his head; ** wears a horseshoe tie on his chest, a pair of what resembles children's soccer shorts, and two mismatched socks on his feet, one black and the other with pink and orange stripes printed on it. γFengyun Reading Network. γ
"Dobby, what are you doing here?" Harry asked, surprised.
"Dobby has come to work at Hogwarts, sir!" Dobby screamed excitedly, "Professor Dumbledore gave Dobby a job, sir!" β
At this time, Darren looked around and saw that there were four long tables in the room, exactly the same as the tables of the four colleges in the auditorium above.
"Work?" Harry said, "You work here? β
"Yes, sir, yes!" Dobby said, grabbing Harry's hand and pulling him through the four long wooden tables and into the back of the room, where Darren followed them, the Hogwarts kitchen.
There were at least a hundred elves standing in the kitchen, and as Dobby led Harry past them, they were all laughing, bowing, and curtsy, all wearing the same uniform, a tea towel with the Hogwarts crest on it, which Darren had seen before. Dobby stopped in front of the brick fireplace and pointed it out to Harry.
"There are so many house-elves at Hogwarts!" Hermione said in surprise.
"Don't you know? They, oh, you fainted then," Darren shrugged, it was when Peter Pettigrew blew up the Gryffindor Tower, and the house-elves had gone out of their way to fight the fire, but at that time Darren and his team had an accident with the mandrake, and all but himself were wiped out and stunned......
"Didn't you come to us to see this?"
"No, I just found this room and thought it was a new secret passage, so I asked you to take a look."
"Well, it's not a secret passage, but you've found the Hogwarts kitchen, so it would be nice to do it sooner," Darren touched his chin and whispered to Hermione, "When you used the time turner last year, you didn't have to nibble on sandwiches all the time." β
"I never thought there were house-elves at Hogwarts," Hermione, apparently, had a different focus than Darren, "I've never seen them." β
"Oh, I suppose it's because they rarely leave the kitchen," said Darren, "and the Black family Kreacher has said that the mark of a good house-elf is that you don't even know he exists, and he's always been ashamed of it ever since, ah, whatever, that we're not used to seeing him when he's out there. β
"After what"
"It's nothing," Darren tried to change the subject, "Dobby, you're the elf who 'protected' Harry two years ago. β
"Ah, yes, I'm honored," Dobby bowed to Darren, "Hello! Darren returned the favor to Dobby, thankfully he didn't get the "honor".
Dobby looked up at Harry with joy, "Harry Potter, would you like a cup of tea?" He asked in a shrill voice.
"Well, okay, okay.
Immediately, six house-elves hurried up from behind him, carrying a large silver tray with a teapot on it, and Harry, Ron, Darren, and Hermione's cups, a jug of milk, and a large plate of biscuits.
"It's so hearty!" Ron said in a very excited voice, and the elves looked happy, and they bowed low and retreated.
"How long have you been here, Dobby?" Harry asked as Dobby handed over the tea.
"Just a week, Harry Potter, sir!" Dobby said cheerfully, "Dobby came to see Mr. Dumbledore, sir, you know, sir, it's hard for a house-elf to get a new job, sir, it's really hard to ......"
"Dobby has been wandering around for two years, sir, just to get a job!" Dobby said sharply, "But Dobby didn't get a job, sir, because Dobby is getting paid now!" β
The house-elves in the kitchen had been watching them with interest and listening to them, but when they heard this, they all looked away, as if Dobby had said something rude and embarrassing.
"Because you want to be paid?" Hermione wondered, "That's normal, why didn't they hire you?" β
"Because in the eyes of the domestic elves, they shouldn't be paid!" Darren whispered to Hermione, the Hogwarts house-elves around him staring at Dobby with a frown.
"What! Don't? Hermione covered her mouth and looked around, "Don't these house-elves get paid?" β
Now, the house-elves at Hogwarts didn't just stare at Dobby, they added Hermione, Darren thought, but it wasn't a friendly look.
"Thank you, Miss!" Dobby said, smiling at Hermione, baring a lot of teeth, "But most wizards don't want a house-elf who gets paid, miss." That's not the quality of a house-elf. They said, and then they slammed the door shut against Dobby! Dobby loves to work, but he also wants to get dressed and get paid, Harry Potter...... Dobby loves freedom! β
The house-elves at Hogwarts began to quietly move away from Dobby, as if he was carrying some kind of infectious germ......
"Later, Harry Potter, Dobby suddenly had an idea, Harry Potter, sir!" Hogwarts! Dobby is coming to Professor Dumbledore, sir! Professor Dumbledore took me in! β
Dobby had a very bright smile on his face, and tears of joy filled his eyes again.
"Professor Dumbledore said that since Dobby wanted to be paid, he could pay Dobby! So, Dobby is a free elf, sir, Dobby gets a Galleon a week and a day off every month! β
"That's not a lot!"