Beneath the Great Hall at Hogwarts, an interesting scene was unfolding.
If the setting hadn't been so utterly inappropriate, the sight before them might have looked quite beautiful.
Even House-elves could sense the sweetness of young love.
But for House-elves who had never encountered anything like this before, it was simply overwhelming.
Faced with the two wizards' various blush-inducing displays, they genuinely had no idea whether they should look or look away.
If they didn't look, it felt impolite. But if they stared at the affectionate interaction between the two, that also seemed inappropriate.
And so, more than a hundred House-elves stood there, hesitant to step forward, their eyes darting everywhere but at the pair.
It wasn't until a House-elf dressed in a piece of faded cloth, impossible to tell whether it had once been a sock or cut from somewhere else, slowly stepped out from the line that the others silently let out a breath of relief.
It was clear that this particular House-elf held a certain standing among them.
"Welcome. Is there anything you require?"
Hermione!!!!!
Draco: ??
Draco looked at the small figure before him in mild surprise. On the surface, this House-elf looked no different from the others.
Beside him, Hermione hurriedly stepped away from Draco's embrace, her expression stiff with embarrassment. The little foot that had been resting on top of Draco's shoe quietly withdrew, her toes curling in mortification.
Everything just now had been seen.
As that realization sank in, and with the surrounding House-elves deliberately avoiding eye contact, Hermione was struck by the sudden, very real temptation to kill Draco first and then herself.
...
In contrast to Hermione's mortification, Draco, who saw nothing particularly wrong with what had happened, tapped his chin thoughtfully.
If it had been any other wizard interrupted by a House-elf mid-conversation, there would likely have been anger, perhaps even punishment.
But Draco felt no irritation. If anything, his interest had been piqued.
Unlike the usual timid and servile impression House-elves gave, the one now standing near their feet appeared far calmer beneath that wrinkled face.
No. More accurately, it did not seem to think Draco would be angry at all.
And this was clearly their first meeting.
He couldn't possibly be unaware of the Malfoys. More importantly, this demeanor was hardly typical of a House-elf. Why? Confidence? Exceptional courage? Or... another Dobby?
While Draco was turning the possibilities over in his mind, the House-elf shifted its gaze to the now unusually quiet Hermione.
Its large ears twitched.
"Kind witch, have you come to seek Millie's help?"
"Eh... ah, long time no see. Have you been well? And please, just call me Hermione."
Hermione's instinctive reply caused the other House-elves who had overheard to collectively gasp. The more emotional ones even began to sniffle.
The reaction left Hermione completely at a loss. Thinking she had said something wrong, she looked to Draco for help.
The faint murmurs drifting through the kitchen made Draco twitch at the corner of his mouth. The scene reminded him of a certain House-elf at home who would slam his head into a wall at the slightest provocation.
Come to think of it, Hermione didn't seem to have met Dobby before.
But compared to the others' so-called normal reactions, Draco was far more interested in how the House-elf before him, Millie, would respond.
"Thank you, but Millie truly cannot accept that. Your kindness is as noble as the great Hufflepuff."
As expected, although Millie looked nervous and flustered, she was far more composed than the other House-elves. The fact that she could restrain herself and answer properly was already remarkable.
From the exchange, Draco also realized that when Hermione had come here last time, she must have met Millie. More than that, Millie seemed to hold Hermione in almost the same regard as the founder of Hufflepuff House.
What on earth had Hermione done?
Was it because of that Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare?
At first, Draco assumed that was what gave Millie the courage to step forward and speak to him.
But in the next moment, he understood the real reason.
"Sir, Dobby has told me everything about you. Millie is very fortunate to be able to speak with you."
"Dobby?"
"Yes, sir... please do not punish Dobby. Dobby only wished to share that he has a good master."
"No, you misunderstand. I'm not..."
He hadn't even finished his sentence when the air seemed to freeze.
Realizing what he had just said, Draco immediately regretted it and lightly patted the small head beside him.
The sudden, unprovoked "attack" made Hermione bare her teeth at him in embarrassed annoyance.
But her attention was quickly drawn away by the voices rising around them.
"He said misunderstand?!"
"Ahhh!"
"It's just like Dobby said!"
"Dobby's master is really... too..."
Just as Draco had anticipated, the House-elves who had caught only that one word erupted into chaos.
With their magic spiraling out of control, pots and pans clattered to the floor. The suppressed sniffles from earlier turned into full-blown sobs.
Hermione had never seen anything like this before. Her face went rigid as she tugged at Draco's robe.
"What... what's happening?"
Completely unprepared, she instinctively shrank back a little.
This was her first time encountering such a situation.
The last time she had come down here, she had only been scouting the place. She hadn't spoken much with the House-elves.
And as a Muggle-born, she had never had the chance to interact with House-elves growing up. The finer details of their mindset certainly weren't written in textbooks.
So she had no way of understanding their worldview, nor what had just triggered such a reaction.
Under Hermione's pleading gaze, Draco, the true cause of the commotion, answered with a pained expression.
"Misunderstand."
"A misunderstanding? If it's just a misunderstanding, then..."
"I mean the word itself. Saying 'misunderstand' is what made them like this."
"..."
Hermione: You're joking.
Draco: I absolutely am not.
The silent exchange left Hermione blinking blankly.
Only now did she begin to understand why Pansy and Astoria had looked at her with such strange expressions before.