Wade flipped through Hermione's Initiative and said, "I've read through this. Your House-elf Rights Promotion Association's short-term goal is... to get House-elves fair wages and good working conditions."
The initiative detailed the remuneration and holidays House-elves should receive for various tasks they were responsible for.
"And your long-term goal," Wade continued, turning to the next page, "is to liberate all House-elves from slavery, improve their legal status, allow them to use wands, and even push for one House-elf to join the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures?"
"That's right." Hermione nodded vigorously. "Of course, I know it's very difficult, so we can achieve the short-term goals first! The primary step is to prohibit wizards from cruelly abusing House-elves!"
After a pause, Hermione stared at everyone and said, "I've found that many wizards still abuse and beat their House-elves. Wasn't that what Dobby went through when he was with the Malfoy family?"
"But Hermione..." Padma said, confused, "It's not like you just found out about this, is it? Why did you suddenly... suddenly have this idea?"
"Yes, yes, but I thought that was an isolated case!" Hermione frowned. "After all, that was Malfoy, right? I honestly wasn't surprised they would treat their House-elves like that. Then I heard Dobby was hired by Wade..."
Her gaze shifted to Wade, her expression a mix of conflicted emotions. "I heard about the working conditions you gave him, and I thought that was normal. I never expected..."
She took a deep breath, very annoyed. "I never expected that other House-elves don't get this treatment! Even Hogwarts is the same! Over a hundred House-elves working day and night, no sick leave or benefits, none of the treatment they deserve!"
Hermione's tone was full of disappointment and disdain, as if to say — Dumbledore wasn't all that great either.
Everyone looked at each other.
Theo said, "But, Hermione, maybe you don't quite understand... House-elves like working for wizards; it's their nature."
"They don't need compensation or freedom. House-elves consider such things an insult," Michael added.
Wade raised his hand, and everyone else fell silent.
"Hermione, I think you're right. The wizarding system of House-elf slavery is indeed a historical problem, and most people turn a blind eye to the House-elves' suffering."
Wade said, "It's very brave and noble of you to propose such an idea. Even if many people will ridicule your idea, history will prove that your fight for equality for other races is correct, even ahead of our current era."
Everyone looked at Wade in surprise. Only Michael pursed his lips and whispered to Padma beside him, "I bet there's a 'but' coming."
Hermione's face flushed from Wade's praise, and she said shyly yet delightedly, "I just feel... this is a serious social injustice. Wrongdoings should be corrected."
"But from your initiative, I only see a description of the current situation of House-elves and the two goals of the association." Wade put down the initiative, looked at Hermione, and asked softly, "What exactly do you plan to do?"
At this, Hermione immediately perked up. She instinctively mimicked Professor McGonagall's teaching demeanor and said with a serious expression:
"Of course I've thought about it!"
"First, we need to recruit members. Participants will pay two Silver Sickles, and we can use this money to print flyers."
"Then, I plan to first convince the Hogwarts House-elves to realize they are enslaved and should demand wages and holidays from the school. They deserve it!"
"Next, we'll free the school's House-elves. I've looked it up, and we students can also be considered masters of Hogwarts. If I give them clothes, they might gain their freedom!"
Upon hearing this, everyone became uneasy — why was every blow aimed at Hogwarts?
Especially the last action of freeing the House-elves; it sounded like it could actually happen!
They exchanged glances, then Harry quietly asked, "Hermione, if the school doesn't have House-elves, who will help us clean and cook?"
"We can do the work ourselves! Or pay to hire people to clean the common areas!" Hermione glared at Harry. "Harry, do you also think we must rely on oppressing House-elves to maintain our lives?"
"N-no," Harry explained weakly. "You know, when I was at the Dursleys, I was pretty much like a House-elf."
"Exactly!" Hermione slammed the table and said loudly, "So you should understand even more that we urgently need to change the House-elves' miserable situation!"
"But directly freeing House-elves, that approach is a bit too radical," Wade said. "Hermione, have you considered — what will House-elves live on after they are free?"
He provided an example to illustrate: "Dobby initially had great difficulty finding work and almost ended up homeless. If one House-elf is like that, what if over a hundred House-elves are liberated at the same time... Have you thought about the consequences for them?"
Hermione was speechless. After thinking for a long time, she stammered, "The world is so big, they should... always be able to find work, right? Wasn't Dobby hired by you?"
"Yes. But assuming they can all find employers, that's taking too much for granted. Without a home, House-elves might starve to death, or turn to crime, or be killed by radical wizards — is that what you want?" Wade said.
Hermione fell silent, her lips pressed together, but her face still showed disagreement.
"How about this," Wade said, "You believe they should be free and not enslaved; I believe rashly freeing them would worsen the House-elves' situation. And most people think House-elves like being enslaved... But no matter which one, it's actually just our own idea."
Hermione's eyes moved, and she looked up at Wade.
"This is still wizarding arrogance, Hermione," Wade said pointedly. "If you want to do something for them, you should first listen to the House-elves' true needs, not make decisions for them directly."
"I suggest you don't rush to recruit members or force wizards to change their minds. Instead, you should first conduct a survey to understand what House-elves need."
"Don't ask them if they want freedom — that will make most House-elves very resentful and affect your subsequent activities. You should ask them —"
"Do you feel tired from work every day? Do you have time to rest? How are you treated after making mistakes? Do you have enough food and shelter? Can you get treatment if you're injured?"
"If you receive your master's thanks, would you be happy? If you could receive some compensation, what would you want to buy with it?"
"If you had the chance to try different jobs, would you want a change? What's your favorite job? What's your least favorite? How do you view Dobby's current life?"
"If they were to leave Hogwarts one day, would their lives improve? Would they want to change their current situation? If one day they could arrange their own lives freely, what would they choose to do?"
"Only by understanding the House-elves' true thoughts can you come up with practical solutions — does that make sense to you, Hermione?" Wade asked.
Hermione looked into those gray eyes. The candlelight cast dappled colors into his eyes, tinting the winter-mist eyes with a warm orange.
She was speechless for a moment, and a hot flush of shame crept up her face. But soon, the light of idealism rekindled on Hermione's face.
"I understand! I need real, reliable data so I can think from the House-elves' perspective!"
She immediately got to work, pulling out a blank roll of parchment from her bag and meticulously and swiftly writing a survey report.
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