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Chocolate Frog by L A Moody

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Disclaimer: With humble gratitude to J. K. Rowling for allowing me to build castles in her sandbox once more.




Twenty - Nine
Amos: SPEW’s to You




With the Headmistress setting a brisk pace, the students broke before them as for the prow of a mighty ocean liner. Amos found himself struggling to keep up even though he was a good twenty years younger. Within moments, the cacophony of changing classes faded in the background to be replaced by the grinding of stone against stone as the circular stairs reset themselves.

–Please make yourself comfortable, Amos,” McGonagall instructed as she swept majestically into her circular office.

Instead of situating herself behind the oversized desk, however, she motioned towards a more casual seating area before the curving windows facing the side lawn. The midday rain shower had left the distant heather sparkling like rubies in the slanting afternoon rays.

–You’ll have to excuse the students’ enthusiasm,” she observed dryly. –Sometimes decorum gets shoved aside in favor of curiosity.”

–Don’t worry yourself, Headmistress. As I said from the start, my aim was to spark a lively discussion. Can’t say I was disappointed.”

She cocked her head in consideration. –You don’t think it might’ve helped to leave the question-and-answer portion until the tail end of your presentation?”

–And risk boring them to death? No, thank you!”

–Still, some of those comments were downright confrontational. Why if it hadn’t been for Miss Lovegood’s ethereal tone…” McGonagall shook her head in disapproval. –She can be so outspoken despite her mild manner.”

Luna’s outrage at the hasty solutions favored by his predecessors made her an ideal candidate, but he kept that to himself. Aloud, Amos supplied, –Don’t forget Xenophilius is my neighbor, for all intents and purposes. He’s no different; the thirst for knowledge becomes a driving force. I find it quite refreshing to tell you the truth.”

–You do?”

–Of course. Too much diplomacy creates its own set of roadblocks. Give me an honest response any day.”

The Headmistress gave a wry chuckle. –Then you don’t think Hogwarts is producing a generation of boors?”

–Frankly, it’s often a thankless job my department performs,” Amos supplied with as much finesse as he could muster. –I’d like to do more, but I need people who feel as strongly about things as I do. And the proper response to injustice is outrage-- even anger. From my skewed point of view, quite a few students showed promise.”

He allowed a few moments for the Headmistress to absorb his glowing words before adding, –Truthfully, I wasn’t expecting them to be so adamant about werewolves. Lupin must’ve made quite an impression -- in spite of his short tenure.” He performed a quick calculation in his head. –Even the fifth years --”

– -- were too young for Professor Lupin’s lessons. But they’ve heard countless stories from others. Why Neville Longbottom regularly reassures the more fumble-fingered ones that he was once ten times worse than they. ‘Could barely make it out of the dorm each morning without tripping over the bed curtains -- twice.’ That always gets them to giggling. ‘That is until Professor Lupin made me see that my own self-doubts were bringing me down. On that day, I became a Gryffindor in my own eyes.’”

–Interesting curriculum for a Defense Against the Dark Arts class,” Amos observed.

–You think so? It was a boggart that Neville faced. Remus had him imagine it dressed in his grandmother’s lacy blouse and Victorian skirt.”

Unable to resist being drawn into the tale, Amos posed, –How exactly did the boggart portray Neville’s lack of confidence? As a twisted version of his own self?”

McGonagall chose her words carefully. –It assumed the shape of a teacher whom Neville found overly imposing. Could render him into a gelatinous mass with one scathing look, to be quite honest. Up until then, I assumed Neville’s Gryffindor courage was summed up in getting out of bed each morning to confront his nemesis anew.”

Amos mentally reviewed the friendly faces he’d met in the staffroom and discarded them all. Dumbledore might’ve been a prodigious wizard, but he came across as a slightly dotty grandfather more often than not. Then he remembered the amusing stories his son had recounted and the pieces fell into place.

–Your guarded words are very tactful, Minerva, but I should remind you that Cedric particularly enjoyed making his parents laugh. Until now, I wasn’t wholly certain there hadn’t been some embellishment about Severus Snape’s predicament.”

–I doubt that it was needed,” McGonagall relented. –Word spread through the school like fiendfyre. When Remus made as if to apologize, Dumbledore waved him off, insisting that Severus cultivate a sense of humor.”

–Did that actually work?”

–Not as well as Albus would’ve liked.”

Amos couldn’t help noticing the Headmistress hesitated, her eyes darting to the empty portrait frame above. No doubt she was recalling Snape’s glowering presence during his abortive term as Headmaster.

In a bare whisper, she confided, –It was Severus who made it his duty to inform the students of Remus’ condition. First with none-too-subtle hints and finally more overtly. It seems that only Miss Granger assembled the clues; then much to Severus’ chagrin, she kept her conclusions to herself.”

–Clearly, Lupin was the sort who inspired loyalty.”

–To be perfectly honest, I half-expected Albus to reject the man’s resignation and send him back into the trenches,” the Headmistress recounted with a bittersweet smile.

–How well you know me,” a rich voice pronounced from above. Amos was uncertain whether he’d heard correctly until the portrait spoke once more. –Should’ve taken Severus to task for spreading gossip. Some truths are not for general consumption -- something which Severus himself learned at an early age.”

–Revenge for the boggart incident?” Amos found himself asking of those vibrant blue eyes. He might’ve liked to ask Snape point-blank, but the other man’s portrait remained starkly empty.

–And a host of other grievances, real or imagined,” McGonagall supplied.

–Ancient history that should’ve remained so,” Dumbledore’s portrait elaborated. –Should’ve realized right then just how much the past still had its hold on Severus.” For a split second, the august wizard looked as if he was going to add something else, but then thought better of it. –Nice ceremony in the Hufflepuff Hole this morning, wouldn’t you say?”

Taken aback, Amos could only stammer, –Do you have a likeness hanging there as well?”

–Heavens, no, I was sorted into Gryffindor. In my day, the school only had one wing,” he chuckled.

–Then how, if you’ll forgive my curiosity?”

The portrait looked beyond the frame as if he were listening to others discernable only to himself. –Let’s just say I can always find a peep-hole of sorts.”

–You mean like a cosmic keyhole?” Amos quipped.

The great wizard’s mane rippled like spun silver as he tossed back his head in laughter. –If only… Ah, Minerva, you have a visitor approaching the entrance. Shall I send word to the gargoyles to let her pass?”

McGonagall jumped expectantly to her feet. –Miss Granger?”

Without his iconic half-moon glasses, Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled even more brightly. –Not just yet. Miss Greengrass felt an uncontrollable need to make an impromptu detour, I’m afraid.”

A mumbled apology and the Headmistress hustled down the curving steps to see for herself. With the door partially open, Amos had no trouble following the conversation.

–Asteria,” McGonagall remonstrated in clipped tones, –aren’t you supposed to be in Divination?”

–Usually,” Asteria asserted. –But I so wanted to meet Mr. Diggory.”

–Did you at least get permission from Professor Trelawney?” the Headmistress sighed.

–Oh, yes! She turned me away at the door saying she’d seen it in her crystal ball earlier today.”

From the head of the stairs, McGonagall barely managed to hide the twitch of her lips. –I suppose scheduling the presentation from the Magical Accidents and Catastrophes Unit in Sybill’s tower wasn’t the wisest choice, but she truly was the only one with a free period.”

Amos turned his laugh into a cough at the last minute as the Headmistress ushered the student before her.

Ever alert for hijinks, McGonagall posed, –Did the mighty Seer also tell you where to find Mr. Diggory?”

–Oh no, Headmistress,” Asteria supplied. –I overheard a group of haughty Slytherin girls going on about how the Head Girl was to meet the two of you here.”

Turning towards her guest, the Headmistress offered, –I apologize, Mr. Diggory. Miss Greengrass is already anticipating career decisions for her upcoming year.”

–I don’t mind, really.” He didn’t remind the Headmistress of their earlier conversation about opening up Careers Day presentations to all levels. –I can tell by this young lady’s expression that she has a burning question.”

–Thank you, sir,” Asteria’s maintained with a hint of nervousness.

He nodded towards the glossy pages she clutched in her hand. –I see you’ve been reading our brochures.”

–Yes,” she jumped to attention, –I see it mentions the Vampiric Relations Board but doesn’t elaborate about its function.”

–Ah, yes, the Vampire Office. We don’t really have much call for vampires.” He gave her his most engaging smile. –They detest traveling over water so most hives are located on the continent. Like the remote mountain areas of the Russian-European border.”

–Is that any reason why researchers shouldn’t study them?” Asteria persisted.

–You mean as an anthropological enterprise, to borrow the Muggle term? Or because you wish to emulate their habits?” Amos probed.

Asteria blinked rapidly as if the idea vexed her. –Why would anyone want to join the undead? There are more efficient ways of committing suicide…”

–I hardly think that’s what Mr. Diggory meant!” the Headmistress warned.

–Not exactly,” Amos allowed mildly. –But she’s not that far off the mark. Vampiric magic works by beguiling its victims, enticing them to leave the safety of their own surroundings, travel into the unknown.”

–You make vampire relations sound like a dangerous undertaking,” McGonagall noted.

–It is, most definitely,” Amos concurred. –My department no longer sends researchers to study vampires.” At the bewildered expression on the girl’s face, Amos elaborated, –As long as relations are friendly, there’s no need to send an envoy. If there’s a problem, then a vampire hunter is needed, not a negotiator.”

–But to foster understanding?” Asteria wondered.

–What’s to understand? They prey on us. Vampires are at the top of the food chain. If they could breed among themselves, they’d run the world.” At their shocked faces, Amos softened his words. –Vampires are a singularly insular lot, wary of strangers. And those whom they welcome never return. You’re too serious a young lady for me to sugar-coat the truth.”

Asteria took a moment to ponder his words before returning, –Then how do we know so much about them?”

–A very astute question. I’ve determined it’s because they have such an accomplished public relations machine. It’s how they seduce outsiders; they have no other way to reproduce, you see.” Such dour, humorless creatures, Amos mused inwardly. He couldn’t see how they’d become such a popular force in Muggle literature.

The barest rustling drew Amos’ eyes to the enshrined portraits of the former headmasters. At some point in the course of his discussion with Asteria, Severus Snape had returned to stare disdainfully into the distance.

Could it be true that the perpetually brooding man had ties to the vampire community? It was an age-old rumor likely concocted by the students themselves, yet Amos didn’t doubt that Snape’s ancestors hailed from the same region. Hidden from Asteria’s view by the high back of her chair, Snape’s fathomless eyes jerked in the direction of the door and back again.

–That must be Miss Granger,” the Headmistress acknowledged the wordless message. A flick of her wand and the grinding sound of the stone stairs was audible. –Enter,” she commanded at the knock which followed.

–I hope I didn’t keep you waiting again,” Hermione apologized. –I dressed for dinner see.”

–Excellent choice as usual,” McGonagall allowed. –Those cotton blouses always seem to absorb cauldron fumes.”

The Headmistress had warned him that students were allowed even more liberties with their attire once classes were over for the day, but Amos had not expected the transformation from schoolgirl to young woman before him. He wordlessly motioned towards the chair where McGonagall had been sitting moments before.

Hermione settled her skirt before crossing her nylon-clad legs. With her demure navy sweater set and simple pumps, she reminded Amos of how his wife had dressed when they were courting. All that was missing was the ubiquitous strand of pearls.

–Come, Asteria,” the Headmistress beckoned towards the door. –Why don’t you and I catch the tail end of the presentation from the Department of Mysteries?”

–You mean the department that isn’t allowed to discuss their work with anyone else?” Asteria quipped.

–Exactly,” the Headmistress confided lowly. –Makes you wonder what they’ll find to say, doesn’t it?”

Asteria nodded avidly as she hurried down the steps and into the corridor beyond.

Pitching her voice so that it could still be overheard, McGonagall advised, –Not that it’s anyone’s business, Miss Greengrass, but the Head Girl is not being punished today. Please pass that on should you happen to see those ghouls --I mean, girls --from Slytherin House.”

–That’s a relief!” Hermione gave a tentative smile. –But…”

–You expected the Headmistress to join us?” Amos surmised. –She probably would have if Miss Greengrass hadn’t shown up unexpectedly. Does it bother you that we’re meeting alone?”

–Not if it doesn’t bother you that you’re not the first recruiter who’s tried to bend my ear today,” Hermione laughed.

–I’m surprised you were able to make time in your schedule,” he chuckled.

–Mostly, I didn’t,” she replied. –But an invitation to high tea is considered a bit of a summons, especially coming from the Headmistress.”

–Then by all means, help yourself. I understand prawn canapés are a favorite of yours as well.” He watched with interest as the Head Girl took dainty servings of everything, then somehow managed to situate her chair with the prawns at close hand.

–Actually, Miss Granger, I’ve been wanting to meet you for quite some time,”
Amos began.

–We shared a Portkey to the Quidditch World Cup. Surely you haven’t forgotten?”

–No, but my interest wasn’t piqued until a few months later -- when Cedric wrote home to recount your efforts at inciting an elfish revolt.”

Hermione buried her face in her hands. –Went over like arsenic tea. Surely he told you that as well.”

Amos nodded genially. –Well-meaning, but misguided, or words to that effect. Still, Cedric knew I’d find your antics amusing so he made a point of updating me in his letters home. So avid were his descriptions that I was a bit surprised when he asked someone else to the Yule Ball.”

Hermione blushed self-consciously. –Other than a few Prefect meetings, I can’t say I ever said more than two words to Cedric. Sorry.”

–I understand that now.” Not wanting to embarrass her further, Amos redirected, –Now what exactly did you name your organization? The Elf Liberation Front?”

Hermione took a moment to savor how those initials would’ve formed a simple acronym: ELF. Sheepishly, she noted, –Regretfully, no. After hours, the best I could come up with was: Society for Promoting Elfish Welfare, or S.P.E.W. A bad choice of words all the way around. Even my closest friends thought I was mental.”

–Really? I was going to use the term ‘visionary.’ But then true innovators are always misunderstood.”

That caught her by surprise. –You can’t really think trying to emancipate elves against their wishes is a great idea?”

–Merlin, no!” Amos laughed. –But the fact that you tried such a thing in the first place intrigued me to no end. I’ve been wanting to speak face-to-face with you ever since. Unfortunately, too many things got in the way and now it’s almost four years later.”

–In the meanwhile, I’ve learned that approaching wizarding issues like a Muggle isn’t always a good idea.”

–And other times, it’s absolutely brilliant!”

–Now, I’m certain you’ve lost me…”

–Let me start at the beginning then,” Amos offered. –Have you ever wondered why there’s no counterpart to Muggle Studies for those who’d never heard of Hogwarts prior to receiving their letter? A crash course in wizards and their quixotic view of the universe. I actually suggested such a thing to Dumbledore when I was a student here, amused him prodigiously. Then he told me that ‘Muggleborns are the mirror by which we gauge our progress.’ You know how he liked his riddles.”

–He valued getting an unsullied point of view,” Hermione surmised instantly. –A bolt out of the blue that would rattle everyone’s preconceived notions.”

–See, you understood him better than I ever did. I just thought he enjoyed watching Muggleborns’ tortured progress through this new and challenging world which had been thrust upon them.”

–That’s the Slytherin approach.” She boldly caught the blistering look in Snape’s portrait.

–How utterly perplexing wizarding society must seem to someone viewing it for the first time,” Amos ventured. –Among Muggles, there are humans and lesser creatures; the lines are clearly drawn. But the magical world is full of hybrids, possessing intelligence and verbal skills comparable to witches and wizards. Is it so surprising that our world has become hopelessly stratified?”

–I read a book with a similar premise. Humans engineered to specific job functions.”

–I’m familiar with that disturbing view of utopia, but it doesn’t apply here. Goblins, elves, giants, merpeople and centaurs are all fundamentally different species, many of whom cannot interbreed with one another, let alone humans. But because of their uniqueness, many of these creatures tend to limit their areas of influence. The merpeople have the lakes and oceans, centaurs the forest, and goblins thrive among financial institutions. House-elves have an unsurpassed capacity for domestic chores; drudgery is absolute heaven to them. Left without work, elves tend to think of themselves as worthless and fall into despair.

–Yet through your eyes, this devotion to their duties reminded you of slavery, a concept humans used to oppress others who only seem different on the surface. So you attempted to drag house-elves into the twentieth century whether they wanted it or not.”

–I was convinced a taste of freedom would be like an elixir to them,” she admitted ruefully. –So much so that I knitted hats and socks and hid them about the common room.”

–I suspect the elves out-smarted you.”

–They refused to clean Gryffindor Tower, leaving poor Dobby to do all of it on his own.”

–Did Dobby complain about this?”

She took a moment to consider. –No, he was wreathed in smiles as if it were the greatest honor on earth. About that time I began to suspect I didn’t understand house-elves at all.”

–That’s not true,” Amos countered. –You understood Dobby, applauded his individual spirit.”

–He was the first elf I’d ever met. Didn’t realize he was a renegade.”

–A trail-blazer, I’d like to think. Did you ever stop to think why Dobby latched onto Harry Potter the way he did?”

–His conscience wouldn’t allow him to serve a master as fundamentally evil as Lucius Malfoy,” she returned. –Or is that too simplistic an answer?”

Amos returned a diplomatic reply, –It certainly fails to account why Malfoy Manor continues to enjoy the services of house-elves.”

–Those others are brainwashed to think they enjoy the best of everything -- all because their masters think themselves superior to everyone else. But in many ways, Dobby was still a maverick of sorts.”

–I doubt Dumbledore would’ve agreed. The two of them enjoyed a long philosophical discussion before Dumbledore decided to offer the elf a paying position. Even then, Dobby would only accept a fraction of the offered salary.”

–I admit I’ve always wondered about that. But truly, Mr. Diggory, do you have a spy at Hogwarts to keep you abreast of the goings on?”

–Just a life-long friendship with Dumbledore,” he laughed. –And there was nothing that escaped that man’s notice. Had me all geared up to meet Dobby for myself at the celebratory feast that was to close the Triwizard Tournament …” He drifted off sadly. –I always dreamed Cedric would make Head Boy; being chosen as the Hogwarts champion was just another step in that ladder.”

–I’m sorry things didn’t go the way everyone planned. Cedric, most of all.”

–Thank you, dear.”

Catching his faraway expression, she urged, –You were saying about Dobby?”

With a quick sip of tea, Amos continued, –Unlike many of his brethren, here was an elf dissatisfied with masters who suppressed any ideology other than their own. Then Dobby overhears his masters plotting against a young wizard for the sole reason that the boy continued to exist. A young man who’d been left without options at a young age, oppressed by the ignorance of the others with whom he shared a house. So Dobby begins to identify with young Harry more and more; until one day, he decides to intervene on Harry’s behalf.”

–Set off an avalanche of catastrophes more often than not,” she countered with a wry laugh. –Or at least that’s the version Harry tells.”

–In the end, Dobby’s gambit paid off, though. Not only did he gain a friend, but also an ally who freed him from his chains. So Dobby transferred his loyalty to Harry instead.”

–But why? Why the need to be loyal to anyone but himself?”

–Because he’s a house-elf and they have a different perspective. Why should elves strike out on their own? They have no need for a salary to sustain themselves; room and board are already included in the deal.”

–Unlike Dobby, poor Winky was distressed over being set free. She was the second house-elf I encountered,” Hermione clarified.

Luckily, Amos was well acquainted with that situation as well. –The fundamental difference is that Winky was dismissed by her master; thus she had failed him. It never occurred to her that Crouch Senior was teetering on the edge of nervous collapse. On the other hand, Dobby wanted to leave the Malfoys; he just couldn’t do it on his own. One could say that it was Lucius Malfoy who failed Dobby.”

–You make it sound like a symbiotic relationship.”

–It is. Mutually beneficial to both parties. Which is why house-elves don’t feel the need for freedom. It would mean sacrificing the security they crave.”

–But to accept their hard work without giving them some sort of recompense is just too much like slavery. Even the downstairs staff received salaries in Victorian times.”

–But house-elves aren’t motivated by money. There’s nothing for them to buy that their masters don’t already provide.”

–So what motivates a house-elf?” she wanted to know.

–Can’t say for certain. Never had the pleasure of having any living under my roof. You might try to offer them some sort of trade.”

–Where were you when I needed a cake for my boyfriend’s birthday last week? Still, I might’ve made as much a hash of those negotiations as I did with S.P.E.W.”

–Somehow, I doubt it. Besides, your misguided efforts made lot of people question tenets they’d accepted at face value all their lives. Take Dobby’s heroism --”

–That was his doing, not mine,” Hermione insisted.

–But you and your friends accepted him whole-heartedly in your midst. That gave him the courage to truly shine. The other elves may have called him delusional at first, but who can deny they were inspired by him when they took arms to defend their school? That alone stands as a testament that things are changing slowly, but surely.”

–Forgive me for playing the devil’s advocate, but if wizards aren’t inclined to hire free elves, what function does the Office of House-Elf Relocation serve? I always wondered why Dobby didn’t seek their assistance; he was out of work over a year before Dumbledore took him on.”

Amos gave a deep belly laugh. –Forgive me, your analysis is just so…unique. You see, the Elf Relocation Office serves an entirely different function, namely to allow wizards to divest themselves of extra staff. Granted, elfish children usually bond with the master’s own offspring and they move on to new homes together. But sometimes, there are extras. The Relocation Office allows those elves to be transferred to other households without the indignity of being handed clothes.”

–What about free elves? Dobby couldn’t have been the first.”

–No….” Amos took a few extra heartbeats to choose his words carefully. –But many see a free elf’s search for a paying master to be dishonorable, rather like a mercenary selling his sword to the highest bidder.”

–What utter, self-serving rubbish! Would elves who were freed then be black-balled by their former masters?”

–You’re still thinking of the bad blood between Dobby and Lucius Malfoy.”

–You have to admit the Malfoys were at the height of their influence then. And no one would’ve wanted to risk Lucius’ vengeance by harboring his disgraced house-elf.”

–Your explanation certainly makes sense,” Amos allowed. –There’s no doubt the Elf Relocation Office is not as egalitarian as it should be. Seems the past actions of my department erred far too often on the side of wizards and not the magical creatures they were entrusted to protect.”

–You might want to also consider the plight of elves who are left without masters. Poor Kreacher is a case in point.”

Amos listened attentively as Hermione detailed the tribulations of an elf made senile by abject loneliness, his sole companion a portrait of his deceased mistress. Clearly the Blacks had failed to provide for their house-elf, blithely trusting that one of their sons would inhabit the aging townhouse after they were gone. Like many others, they had underestimated the wide swath of evil from Voldemort’s rampage. One son killed by ruthless collaborators, another dying little by little in Azkaban for a crime he never committed. So the townhouse had languished for twelve years, poor Kreacher despairing more and more of his masters’ return.

Breaking into her narrative, Amos noted, –House-elves and absentee landlords don’t mix. But wouldn’t a venerable wizarding family like the Blacks have a whole slew of relations who might covet some prime real estate?”

–Number twelve was hardly the Edwardian jewel it once was. Not to mention that Bellatrix Black Lestrange was imprisoned about the same time as Sirius. The next in line, Andromeda, would’ve been unsuitable for having married a Muggle. So that left Narcissa Malfoy, the youngest of the three sisters, and she had a lavish estate of her own. What would she want with a decrepit house-elf?”

–But isn’t this same Kreacher now working in the kitchens below?”

She nodded in a way that made her curls bounce. –Dumbledore had Harry order him to do just that to demonstrate that Sirius’ will was valid. I think Harry secretly hoped it wouldn’t work -- if only because that meant his godfather was still alive beyond the veil.”

–Kreacher must’ve hated being separated from his house,” Amos observed.

–He didn’t really have a choice. Dumbledore didn’t want him tortured by any of the Death Eaters who’d cruelly manipulated him to get to Sirius. What was more surprising was that Kreacher returned to Grimmauld Place to care for the three of us when we sought refuge there…” Abruptly, she stopped and clamped her hand over her mouth. –Oh, Mr. Diggory, I see what you mean! All this time I kept insisting that what house-elves crave is a few kind words. But that’s not really it. Or not the whole of it, anyway. The turning point was that Harry gave him another assignment. After fulfilling that admirably well, Kreacher was bustling about, happy as could be. It was hard to imagine he was the same embittered elf who’d denounced us as scum a few years before.”

With a benign smile, Amos supplied, –That’s because his master had finally returned and given him renewed purpose. And by actually taking up residence in Kreacher’s ancestral home, Harry showed himself to be the true heir, at least according to house-elf logic.”

–I worried about Kreacher when we were waylaid by enemies and had to abandon the townhouse. It was unclear whether the Fidelius Charm had been breached.”

–From what I understand, Kreacher returned to Hogwarts’ kitchens once more, to await the return of his master,” Amos supplied. –Elfish intuition can often been uncannily accurate.”

The flush of inspiration lit up Hermione’s face. –So you’re telling me that the Relocation Board wouldn’t entertain a request directly from an elf? Say he was dissatisfied or simply wished a change of scenery.”

–It’s not that the board would turn him away,” Amos proffered with renewed enthusiasm. –No house-elf would allow himself to feel such disloyalty to his master.”

–Not without having to punish himself,” she grimaced. –Dobby seemed to do that on a regular basis. In a rightly over-dramatic fashion.”

Amos chuckled knowingly. –Such is their custom. Had Dobby not recognized his own failings, the other elves would’ve likely ostracized him as a monster in their midst.”

–But surely there are some valid reasons for wishing to relocate. Wanting to be close to family. There’s no blame associated with that.”

–Only because you’re thinking like a human being. Any house-elf who put his personal wishes above those of his master would be committing a egregious act, comparable to treason.”

–Am I correct to conclude that some house-elves feel a loyalty to the house itself? Kreacher’s actions certainly support that.”

–Masters come and go, but land is forever,” Amos recited by rote. –Obviously, that’s true in the absence of suitable heirs as occurred with the Black townhouse. But it also has to do with an elf’s own dynasty: he wishes to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors who also served the same family.”

–In that case, my earlier assertion that house-elves are more akin to slaves than to servants stands,” she harrumphed.

Could it be that she was right? Amos mused. Had wizards been rationalizing that house-elves were like household staff only because it fit more closely with their quaint 19th century customs of candlelight, parchment and quills? Perhaps the situation called for some serious re-evaluation.

In the interim, he offered, –I doubt that any house-elves would agree.”

–And if they don’t see the shackles, they’ll never yearn to break free,” she sighed. –Dobby was just unhappy enough to buck the system.”

–That’s not to say that others might not in the future. My office should be prepared for that eventuality.”

–Even if it’s unlikely?”

–Everything’s unlikely until it actually comes to pass,” Amos asserted. –Wisdom from my late grandmother.”

Hermione chewed her lip in thought. –I never realized how the pieces fit together. Thank you for enlightening me, Mr. Diggory.”

–It’s I who should thank you, my dear. Your unbridled enthusiasm made me see that there’s so much more that my department can do to further its true aims. Like Dumbledore said, sometimes it takes fresh eyes to shine the light of truth.”

They had demolished most of the langoustines in aspic and the gooseberry scones by the time the Headmistress returned to announce that dinner would be served in the Great Hall within the hour.

With true regret, Amos bid farewell to Hermione under the somber gaze of the twin gargoyles. He couldn’t help wondering what she would do with her newfound insight.

The Headmistress led him in the opposite direction towards the newly refurbished Astronomy Tower. The cocktail hour was nigh and there would be a glorious view of the sunset over the Black Lake now that the clouds had fled.

Amos barely contained an impatient sigh. It would be exceedingly rude to tell her that he was more looking forward to taking dinner in the Great Hall. Likely, there would be other students who showed a marked interest in protecting the downtrodden. He smiled at the possibilities.
Chapter Endnotes: About names: While many sites have latched onto the name Astoria Greengrass, I deciphered the handwriting on JKR’s official site to read, Asteria. Granted, Astoria is the sort of hoity-toity name that would appeal to an elitist pure-blood family. However, I prefer that Asteria conforms to two sets of wizarding customs: (1) evokes a flower (aster); and (2) is derived from a heavenly body (asteroid).