"Our short-term goal is to ensure that house-elves receive fair wages and decent working conditions. Our long-term goals include amending the law that prohibits them from using wands, and pushing for the appointment of a house-elf to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, because the current disregard for their rights is frankly shocking…"
Anne and Fanny had just stepped out of the castle and were on their way to Care of Magical Creatures class when they ran into the trio headed to Hagrid's hut. Hermione immediately launched into a passionate explanation of her Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, S.P.E.W., sharing her ideals with Anne and Fanny.
Fanny strongly disagreed with Hermione's views, and the two quickly became embroiled in a heated debate.
"Hermione, house-elves have always lived this way. If you give them clothes or try to free them, they'll be devastated… I once saw a house-elf throw himself into a river after his master gave him clothes…"
"That's different. That's because they've never known freedom before. Once they experience having their own time and earning their own wages, they'll understand how wonderful freedom truly is."
"But house-elves serve the same wizarding families for generations. It's ingrained in them to see servitude as honorable. To them, freedom is terrifying. If a house-elf has nothing to do, it means they've been cast aside…"
"Exactly. Wizards have enslaved house-elves for centuries without a voice speaking on their behalf. That's why they think this way. But it can be changed…"
Anne, like Harry and Ron, stayed silent through the argument, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. For the first time ever, she found herself wishing they could hurry up and get to Hagrid's class already.
When Hermione and Fanny realized they couldn't convince each other, they turned simultaneously to Anne and asked,
"Anne, whose side are you on?"
"Yeah, what do you think?"
At that point, they were still about two minutes' walk from Hagrid's hut.
"Uh…" Anne glanced toward the hut in the distance, feeling deeply uncomfortable under their intense stares. "I don't…"
"No saying 'I don't know'," Hermione and Fanny said in unison, then shot each other a quick glare before turning back to Anne.
Anne looked to Harry and Ron for help, but they only returned helpless expressions. They'd already been roped into S.P.E.W. as treasurer (Ron) and secretary (Harry).
"Alright… I think you both make good points. Fanny's looking at this from a traditional, centuries-old standpoint, and Hermione's coming at it from the angle of elfish rights. Naturally, there's going to be a clash in perspectives. But if we're talking about who's absolutely right… I think both sides still need more supporting evidence," Anne said carefully.
Hermione reacted first, raising her chin and declaring,
"Fine, then I'll find more proof that S.P.E.W. is right."
She flipped her hair and quickly marched ahead of the group.
Harry and Ron exchanged glances with Anne and Fanny before following Hermione. Just before he left, Ron muttered to Fanny,
"Fanny… for what it's worth, I'm actually on your side."
Once they were gone, Anne let out a sigh of relief. But Fanny turned to her and said something cryptic:
"Anne, I just realized something…"
"What is it? Still about house-elves?"
But Fanny only gave her an odd look, shook her head, and continued toward Hagrid's hut.
Do all wizard kids enjoy being so mysterious? Anne wondered, then hurried to catch up.
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In Care of Magical Creatures, Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts were growing quickly. No one could tell what they liked to eat, but Hagrid was thrilled and introduced a new assignment, each student was to visit the skrewts every other day and record their unusual behaviors.
Anne nearly collapsed on the spot. Malfoy immediately said what she was thinking:
"I'm not doing it. I've seen enough of those disgusting things in class, thanks."
But Hagrid growled,
"You'll do as I say, or I'll take a page from Professor Moody. Heard you make a fine white ferret, Malfoy."
The Gryffindors burst into laughter. Malfoy flushed with anger but didn't argue.
Anne mentally resigned herself to three weekly encounters with the creatures, quickly forgetting all about Hermione and Fanny's argument.
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After class, Anne was racing to the Great Hall to reward herself with a feast after wrangling skrewts all period, but found a huge crowd gathered around the noticeboard in the entrance hall.
She glanced at the crowd, hesitated for a second between curiosity and hunger, then chose food.
Fanny, however, gave in to curiosity and went to investigate.
That just made Anne rush faster. "Fanny, you handle the latest gossip. I'll handle quality control on the food," she joked.
By the time Fanny sat beside her, Anne had already polished off a plate of crispy fried bones.
"Try this, it's a new dish," Anne said, sliding a plate over.
Fanny grinned. "Anne, the noticeboard's got info on the Triwizard Tournament! Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are arriving Friday, October 30th at six in the evening. Classes that afternoon will end half an hour early so we can drop off our books and meet them out front. Then there'll be a big welcome feast."
"Hmm, Friday afternoon is Potions… Snape won't like that."
"True, but Gryffindors definitely will… though he'll probably still pick someone from their house to poison. Even if they do have the top student who can make an antidote…"
Anne pretended not to notice Fanny saying "top student" instead of naming Hermione like usual, and nodded in agreement.
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After lunch, Anne and Fanny made their way to the common room. Along the way, they heard constant chatter about the Triwizard Tournament, mostly speculation on who might be chosen as Hogwarts champion.
"Anne, do you think anyone from Slytherin could be chosen?" Fanny asked.
"You really need me to say it?" Anne replied.
"…Yeah, okay. Most of our house isn't even considering entering, and the rest aren't exactly exceptional…"
"Exactly. The real candidates are probably from the other houses."
"Cedric? Who's that?" Ron's voice suddenly carried from up ahead.
"That's Diggory. We met him and his dad before the Quidditch World Cup, his dad works at the Ministry," Harry replied. "He's definitely entering."
"That idiot? He thinks he's champion material?" Ron scoffed.
"He's not an idiot," Hermione said. "You just don't like him because he beat Gryffindor in Quidditch. I've heard he's a great student, and he's a prefect."
"You and Fanny both just like him because he's good-looking," Ron snapped.
Right then, they rounded a corner, and walked straight into Anne and Fanny.
For a second, no one said anything.
"Uh… hey," Anne offered awkwardly. Only Harry gave her a matching awkward wave.
"You guys heard all that?" Ron and Hermione blurted out in unison.
Great timing, Anne thought.
Fanny nodded. Anne waved a hand. "Don't worry. We only caught a tiny bit… Anyway, we've got homework to do. Gotta get to the common room…"
She shot Fanny a look, ready to leave.
"Anne…" Hermione called out. Her cheeks were pink. "I don't like people just because they're good-looking."
"I know," Anne replied with a smile. Well, you're going to end up with Ron anyway. No one's calling him handsome…
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For the next week, Anne couldn't go anywhere without hearing talk about the Triwizard Tournament or potential champions. Even in the greenhouses, when they passed Cedric, younger Hufflepuffs gathered around whispering:
"That's our year's second-best student…"
"He's a sixth-year prefect…"
"He's really good-looking…"
"He's totally entering the tournament…"
Meanwhile, the castle itself was getting a deep clean. Grimy portraits were scrubbed, much to the painted subjects' annoyance. They sulked in their frames. The suits of armor were polished to a blinding shine and stopped creaking when they moved. Caretaker Filch, in a particularly foul mood, snapped viciously at students with muddy shoes, making two first-year girls cry.
The other teachers were also clearly tense. During Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall gave Anne a sharp warning, which earned her a loud, mocking laugh from Malfoy, ruining her mood for the whole day.
"Is there any way to skip Transfiguration?" Anne asked that evening, gloomily stabbing her dinner.
"There is," Fanny said comfortingly. "After the O.W.L.s in fifth year, you can choose not to continue with the subject."
That cheered Anne up slightly.
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That night, on her way back from the greenhouses to the Slytherin common room, Anne encountered Hermione at the bottom of the stairs leading to the dungeons.
Dim candlelight lined the corridor, and it was already late, but Anne recognized Hermione immediately, and clearly, the feeling was mutual.
"Anne! I knew you'd be coming back from the greenhouses tonight." Hermione hurried up to her.
"Yeah, I go almost every Wednesday… What are you doing here?"
"I was waiting for you, this is for you." Hermione smiled and handed her a notebook.
"What's this?" Anne took it, recognizing it instantly. "Wait… Is this for Transfiguration?"
"Yep," Hermione said gently. "I heard about what happened in McGonagall's class today. She wasn't trying to target you, Anne. All the professors are stressed out right now because of the tournament. I marked the tricky spots and common mistakes in red. I also added explanations for the things students usually miss. Gryffindor has Transfiguration a day before you, so I can lend you my notes ahead of time. If you review them, McGonagall's class should be much easier for you."
Anne's smile grew wider the more she heard. By the end, she was practically bouncing.
"That's amazing! Hermione, you're brilliant, why didn't I think of this? You're a total genius!"
Hermione blushed. "I should head back now, you should too."
"Yeah… this really helps a lot," Anne said sincerely. As Hermione climbed the stairs, Anne called after her.
"I'll walk you back to your dorm. It's already past nine, and fourth-years aren't allowed to wander around the castle. If Filch catches you, you know how he's been lately. And you might run into Peeves near the towers…"
"Anne, but if Filch catches you…"
"Heh, only if he can catch me. Besides, Fred and George let off some Dungbombs and Stink Pellets on the second floor this afternoon, he's probably still cleaning up. I'm just worried about Peeves, but if I walk you there, he'll likely steer clear."
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A/N: Cough…Did you notice something? Feelings are becoming clear… Still figuring out how to continue in the next chapter…
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