Encouraged by Newt Scamander, Hermione and Fleur had been all smiles lately. Even with Tver assigning them a mountain of tasks, they greeted everyone they met with bright expressions.
Hermione was one thing. At Hogwarts, she was the kind of top student no one disliked, and being a little friendlier only made her more popular.
But Fleur was different.
She usually smiled, yes, but it was the polite kind.
Now, even someone as dense as Ron could tell she was in an exceptionally good mood.
"Do they really need to be this happy?"
In the library, Ron lowered his voice as he watched Hermione and Fleur chatting across from them, both looking delighted.
Not far away, Viktor, who had already failed several attempts to start a conversation, looked just as confused.
With December approaching, an event of enormous importance, especially for the Champions, was drawing near.
The Yule Ball.
Each Champion was required to have a partner for the opening dance.
Once the news spread, Hogwarts was swept up in a wave of excitement, or perhaps something a little too sweet and dreamy.
That was why Hermione and Fleur's high spirits didn't seem particularly conspicuous in the castle.
Everyone was like this.
Of course, that only applied to students who had already found partners. Champions like Viktor and Harry, who were still worrying about whom to ask, found it much harder to share the joy.
"I guess it's not a bad thing. If we ask them now, our chances might be better," Harry said casually, though his eyes were busy scanning the library.
Ron didn't notice his best mate's distraction. His eyes sparkled as he stared at Fleur, the grin on his face impossible to suppress.
"You're right. This is the perfect timing!"
He shot to his feet, the screech of his chair against the floor drawing every eye in the library.
Harry nearly jumped out of his skin. He grabbed Ron's sleeve and tried to tug him back down.
"What are you doing?"
"You said it. I'm going to ask Fleur to be my dance partner."
Ron sounded completely certain, his grin stretching wider as he clearly imagined himself holding Fleur at the ball.
Harry blinked.
"When did I ever say that?"
"Doesn't matter. I can already see Fleur walking toward me…"
"That's because she actually is walking toward us," Harry said helplessly.
He quickly stood up and gave Fleur a slightly stiff smile.
After the first task, the Champions had grown closer. Still, whenever he faced this Veela who seemed to radiate charm, he couldn't help feeling a little tense.
"What are you two still doing here?" Hermione said irritably.
"Where else would we be?" Ron snapped back, startled.
"You just made that much noise and you think Madam Pince didn't notice? Hurry up. I'll take you somewhere good!"
With that, Hermione turned and left the library with Fleur, the two of them chatting and laughing, leaving Harry and Ron standing there in a daze.
"So… are we going or not?" Ron muttered.
"Let's go. What happened to asking Fleur?" Harry teased, already pulling him after the girls.
"After thinking about it, I get the feeling Fleur would rather go to the ball with Hermione than be my partner."
"How could two girls go to the ball together?!"
"Exactly. Which means she definitely wouldn't choose me."
Ron sounded so utterly convinced that Harry didn't know what to say.
"…"
He glanced around, then followed after them. After heading downstairs, they passed through the Great Hall and continued in the opposite direction from the Dungeon, going further down.
"Strictly speaking, this isn't the basement. It's more like a level between the basement and the ground floor," Hermione explained, glancing back at them.
Harry could see the difference at once.
The basement felt gloomy, like the Potions classroom and the Potions professor's office. But this was just an ordinary corridor, rare in that it was actually bright.
The walls were covered in paintings of food, making it feel completely different from the dungeon-like space below.
"Wait. Is this the kitchen?" Harry finally realized.
"You're not planning to have the house-elves wave knives and forks at us and chase us out of Hogwarts, are you?" Ron asked, beginning to sense something odd.
"Oh please. I'm not that childish!"
Hermione rolled her eyes, walked up to a painting of a large emerald-green pear, and gently tickled it.
"Hee hee hee…"
The pear gave a strange giggle and suddenly turned into a green doorknob.
Hermione and Fleur exchanged an excited look, grabbed it, and pulled hard.
A vast room opened up before them.
Judging by the size, the high ceiling, and the four long House tables set in the middle, Harry almost thought they had stepped into the Great Hall.
But instead of torches or banners lining the stone walls, they were stacked with gleaming copper pots and pans.
At the far end stood an enormous fireplace. Countless small green figures moved briskly through the room, busy yet orderly.
These were the Hogwarts house-elves who cleaned and prepared their meals.
Harry was taking it all in when one small figure suddenly broke away from the crowd.
"Harry Potter, sir! Harry Potter!"
The tiny elf shrieked as he charged straight at Harry.
A second later, the small body slammed into Harry's stomach and wrapped him in a tight hug.
"All right, Dobby. If you keep squeezing like that, Harry won't be able to breathe."
Tver appeared from behind Dobby, slipping a small purse into his pocket as he stepped forward.
"Professor?" Harry said in surprise. "And Dobby? What are you doing here?"
"Dobby works here!" Dobby squealed happily. "Dumbledore gave Dobby a job!"
"A job with wages and holidays," Hermione added firmly.
"Yes! One Galleon a week, and one day off every month!" Dobby said proudly.
Hermione did not look entirely satisfied, but Fleur leaned close and whispered, "It's a start. Don't forget why we came."
Only then did Hermione give a reluctant nod.
The other house-elves did not seem so comfortable with the idea. When they first saw guests arrive, several of them hurried over with the leftover cookies Tver had brought and pumpkin juice.
But after hearing Dobby's words, the warmth in their expressions faded noticeably.
"Please enjoy yourselves!"
A few house-elves wearing tea towels embroidered with the Hogwarts crest pressed trays and teapots into Harry and Ron's hands before scurrying back to work.
"I almost thought they were going to throw the cookies at us," Ron muttered.
"Just eat," Hermione said irritably, stuffing a cookie into her mouth.