Chapter 16: Snape's Concerns
Snape's POV
"Headmaster, are you going to let that… child talk to you that way?" Snape questioned, completely floored by the messy-haired teen's attitude. While he had always thought the boy was arrogant, this was beyond the pale. If the amnesiac ever got his memory back, then he was in very deep trouble if that brat maintained this personality. There was no way this new boy would be intimidated into compliance. The Potions Master just hoped and prayed the teen never recovered.
"Alas, there is little I can do," Albus said as he watched his students walk away. "In my haste to cure him, I have lost his trust. He now looks upon me as an enemy," he stated remorsefully. His mind was calculating as to how he could get the girls to make the unruly teen see that he, Albus Dumbledore, was Harry's idol.
Then the child would follow along with what was needed. Miss Granger would be of great help, Miss Lovegood however might be problem. While he had never be vilified in the Quibbler, he was not looked up favorably either. The Lovegoods were a very honest and controversial family and never cowed to pressure.
"Nevertheless, you should not let him get away with such disrespect," Severus snarled as he glared at his most hated student's back.
"What would you have me do, Severus? I cannot discipline a child who does not know who he is, or that he is doing wrong," the Headmaster said as he glanced at his protégé. "He is merely a victim of an illness. It could have been the shock of being called as a champion. Or he somehow, he had his memory wiped like poor Gilderoy," the old man stated as he watched his teacher's reaction to that comment.
"If you let him get away with such behavior now, he will never learn," was the rebuttal as Snape did his best not to look at the Bloody Baron, who was smugly sneering from behind the Headmaster. 'Sneaky apparition,' was his thought as he tried to come up with a story about that night. "We have no way of knowing what caused the bra… child's memory loss. Though, him being feebleminded enough for shock to make it happen is not out of the realm of possibilities," he sneered, only to pale a bit when the ghost glared at him.
"I will do my upmost to make sure the child is well cared for, that is all I can do. Now, as to Halloween night…," the voices trailed off as the two men and one ghost moved in the opposite direction.
Harry's POV
Harry heard them talking and ignored the, to him, meaningless words. He tightened his arm around Hermione when she tried to turn back. Luna all but skipped along and led the way. When they got to the kitchens, Luna tickled the pear, and they went through the door that appeared.
The three students stood for a second and watched the mass organized chaos. The house elves that greeted them were very busy making dinner for the masses, so they let Dobby tend to the kids. The teens were soon hustled to a table off to the side by Harry's elf friend.
"What can Dobby be getting for the Master and his friends?" the hyper elf asked as he bounced in his sock clad feet. He was just so excited that he could serve Harry Potter. He had many ideas on how to make Master regain his memories. Then again, from what little he had seen of the teen, he liked this new man.
This Harry Potter did not seem to need to be saved as much as the old one did. He stood up to old little Master, the greasy Potions Master, and the Headmaster. If this was true then maybe Dobby didn't need to watch him as closely, then Dobby could start to really serve him.
"Hey, Dobby, good to see you again," Harry stated, patting the little guy on the back. "Can we get dinner? Whatever's already prepared is fine. Although, I think Luna wants some sweets," he added, giving the blonde a wink, and was very happy to see she was taking off those cumbersome robes. Her cute little ruffled blouse still hid most of her assets, but he could finally make out some of her curves, which was enough to fuel his teenage imagination.
"Dobby can be doing that," the tiny being said as he snapped his fingers, making platters and plates appeared on the table. There was three types of meat, potatoes of every kind, and a great deal of vegetables. Harry chose ham, potatoes au gratin, and some asparagus.
Hermione went with pork chops, baked potatoes, and salads, making Harry roll his eyes at the thought that she thought that she needed to diet. Luna, on the other hand, decided to have a greasier fare. She loaded her plate with roast beef, buttered and gravied mashed potatoes, and candied carrots.
"Thanks, Dobby, but where's the pudding?" the messy-haired wizard asked slyly, glancing at Luna.
"Afters will be served when Master and his friends is being done with the main meal," the elf said stubbornly with a small stomp of his foot. When he had heard the cat professor and the hospital witch say that his master had been eating garbage for the last week, he was horrified. Now he was going to do whatever it took to make sure the teen ate right. He may be a free elf, but he wanted his master to be healthy.
"It is alright, Dobby," Luna said airily as she cut her meat. "I can wait."
"Good," he said with a firm nod in her direction, and then popped away.
"I've been meaning to ask, what is Dobby?" Harry asked between bites, which he took quickly. He was starving, and he didn't remember ever having such a nice meal. The stuff from the Leaky Cauldron's rubbish tip was good, but it was always cold and bland. This was hot and spiced just right. He was going to eat as much as he could. Though, he would stop when he felt full.
"He's a house elf," Hermione stated with a great deal of contempt in her voice, which startled Harry because he didn't think she was the type to discriminate. She saw his confused look and sighed. "I'm not angry with them; I am disgusted that they're slaves. I even started an organization to free them. It is called Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. You're the treasurer," she said happily, jumping up and down in her seat.
"Spew? You called your organization Spew?" Harry laughed, while he watched her chest bounce.
"It is not spew, it is S.P.E.W," she snapped, slamming her flatware on the table.
"You can call it that all you want, but others are going to call it Spew," our hero stated firmly, glaring at her.
"Not all the elves are slaves," came the dreamy voice from the blonde Ravenclaw.
"How can you say that?" Hermione spat angrily, turning her irate gaze to Luna. "They are bought and paid for, therefore they are slaves," she added with finality.
"Yes, I do concede the point that most are purchased. However, you are under the impression that the ones here are Hogwarts were such. They are as free as Dobby. The only reason they shun the poor elf is because they don't know he's already bonded, and he let the Headmaster pay him for his time since his master doesn't need him at the moment. They need to work and keep busy or they go insane. Hermione, they are quite happy the way things are," Luna stated, narrowing her eyes at the know-it-all.
Being raised in the Wizarding World, Luna had a better idea on how things were, and she didn't like when someone who was not raised here came and told her she was wrong. Though, it made her sound like the bigoted Purebloods, in this they had a point. She didn't know Hermione, but she could see the girl was a bit closedminded.
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