"Hey, what does he mean by this?" Ron cautiously asked until Ora's figure completely disappeared, "He's leaving us here, just like that?"
Harry was silent for a moment, then guessed, "Maybe he's just hungry and went to dinner."
"Damn it, does that mean it's going to torture us when it comes back for dinner?" Ron's face showed worry and fear. He took a breath. "This is really the end of us."
"I don't think it's that cruel," Hermione said, looking around the meeting room, the furnishings of which were a bit simple.
There were no luxurious decorations here, nor any pleasing oil paintings. Aside from the necessary tables, chairs, and lamps on the wall, there were no superfluous facilities.
So, it was just for practicality?
Standing up, she looked out the window again. The house-elves were still dancing around the campfire, while others were busy with their own tasks, chatting and laughing.
"It looks like they've truly adapted to this independent life," Hermione concluded after a long while.
"What did you say?" Ron looked up, his face full of confusion.
"Those house-elves, their existence was originally just to serve wizards," Hermione sighed. "But here, they seem to have found a new meaning in life."
"But they're all criminals, they even attacked their masters!" Ron shouted. "Have you forgotten what the newspapers said, how miserable those wizards were who were attacked? They were even put on trial by the rebellious house-elves!"
"It was indeed miserable," Hermione turned her head. "But as we also saw, didn't those wizards who were judged do very bad things to the house-elves? Even so, those house-elves didn't kill them."
"That's true, those wizards did do very bad things first," Harry nodded in agreement. "Especially that house-elf named Lola, her experience was the most tragic."
Not only were her parents abused to death by that woman from the Polajge family, but she herself was treated like a toy for over a decade. This was unimaginable for Harry; compared to this house-elf, his own experience at the Dursleys' could be considered living in paradise.
"Alright, I admit the house-elves have a point in this conflict," Ron said, convinced by his two companions, and sighed. "But what does this have to do with us? Why are we involved? And what is that damn key?"
"Instead of thinking about these things, I think it's better to think about how we can get out of this," Harry reminded them.
"What's bound to you is some kind of magical creation, and I have no idea how to remove it," Hermione said, looking closely at Harry and Ron for a long time, her face full of distress. "If only we had brought Professor Zickrein with us."
Ron sighed dejectedly. "If you had told him about this earlier, we wouldn't have been able to leave Hogwarts. Like this, we wouldn't be suffering here."
"We were too arrogant," Harry shook his head. "We thought every house-elf was like the house-elves we'd met, but we didn't expect there to be truly special individuals."
"I don't think it's as simple as just special individuals," Hermione gasped. "Did you hear what it said earlier, four hundred years ago... could house-elves live for four hundred years?"
"Not in books, but I don't know now," Ron replied with a sigh.
Ora's appearance had completely shattered his perception of house-elves. A house-elf that could rival Dumbledore, he had never seen such a thing, not even in his dreams.
"By the way, have you seen Dobby?" Harry suddenly asked.
"It seems it wasn't brought here from the beginning," Ron frowned, deep in thought. "That house-elf in the tailcoat, it seems to have completely ignored it. As expected, that guy is a traitor!"
"I don't think so," Hermione shook her head. "If it were truly a traitor, it wouldn't have denied it at that earlier point."
*Crash.*
As if to confirm Hermione's words, a milky white beam of light suddenly descended from mid-air to the house-elves' settlement. And when the light faded, the figures of Dumbledore and Dobby appeared in the center of the camp.
"Hey, we're saved!" Ron exclaimed excitedly, "It's Dumbledore, Dobby called Dumbledore to save us!"
"It's that house-elf?" Harry also saw Dumbledore, his expression equally excited. But at the same time, he saw Ora appear opposite Dumbledore as if teleporting. "It doesn't seem surprised by Dumbledore's arrival?"
"I think I understand what the key means," Hermione murmured to herself, looking at the scene. "So that's how it's used."
Dobby was definitely let go by Ora on purpose, just so it could go back and deliver a message to Dumbledore. And they were left behind as hostages, so that Ora could negotiate with Dumbledore?
The whole incident, they, these little wizards, had walked right into their pre-arranged trap from head to toe. And they thought they were so clever, it was embarrassing to even think about it.
Hopefully, this house-elf's conditions aren't too harsh.
At this moment, Hermione could only pray like this. And besides praying, there was nothing else she could do.
Powerless!
This deep sense of powerlessness pierced the young witch's heart. Always proud, she truly couldn't accept such a defeat. Whether it was in wisdom, strategy, or combat strength, it was a complete and utter defeat!
Seeing the frustrated expression on her face, Gerard, in front of the screen, smiled playfully.
He approved of the gift Ora had carefully prepared for him this time. The expression on the girl's face indeed amused him. Moreover, he believed that after this incident, Hermione would definitely make great progress and grow, which would be very beneficial for her.
Closing the screen, Gerard gently closed his eyes. Several brightly colored, irregularly pulsing spheres gradually appeared behind his head.
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