Chapter 46. House-Elves
The day after classes, instead of going to his usual refuge, the library where Severus spent most of his day, he waited outside the Transfiguration classroom while a lesson was winding down.
A few minutes later the fourth-years began filing out, chatting happily and barely paying attention to him. When the last student left, Minerva appeared as well.
"Mr. Snape, follow me," she said, getting straight to the point. Since they had already had a lesson together that morning, she was not wasting time on formalities.
Severus nodded silently and followed her down toward the living section of the dungeons, where the kitchens were located.
On the way, he kept catching her thoughtful gaze.
"Professor, if you want to ask something, ask."
"I. I am simply surprised by your appearance."
"A side effect of one of my potions," he lied, shyly. She only nodded, still pensive.
"Professor Slughorn already explained that." McGonagall hesitated, then continued. "Mr. Snape, would you tell me why you need a house-elf? I am responsible for them, and I decide whether to hand them over to other witches and wizards. Once I had an unpleasant case: a family took an elf, paid for it. and a month later I found out they had used him as a test subject for dark rituals."
"Professor, just because I am in Slytherin does not mean I am some horrible person flinging Unforgivables left and right, then eating innocent maidens and infants for breakfast, and holding blood-soaked orgies with sacrifices to dark gods," Severus said.
McGonagall's lips actually trembled. Her face went the color of chalk.
"M-Mr. Snape! Where did you.?"
"That is how Muggles imagine dark wizards," he replied with a smile, pulling out a book titled Dark Mage: The Warlock's Testament. "Honestly, this book describes dark wizards properly, and the ones here do not have even a tenth of that charisma. Voldemort, compared to the main character in this book, is just empty space."
And with absolutely no shame, he shoved the book into her hands.
"Read it when you have time. As for the elf, I need a helper for everyday chores. Nothing more."
"M-Mr. Snape!"
"You started it, Professor," he added reproachfully as he walked past her.
"Mr. Snape! Do not you dare speak of such things at Hogwarts, or anywhere else! If someone hears you, you could be accused of practicing Dark Magic, and no one will even consider the case right now. They will throw you straight into Azkaban!"
Seeing McGonagall's genuine righteous fury, Severus could not hide a flicker of surprise. then smiled again, this time more warmly.
"Of course, Professor. I was joking. But I did not lie about the book, read it. It will broaden your horizons, and you might even steal a few ideas. Muggles describe us in a very interesting way."
"You are interested in Muggle writing?"
"I lived in the Muggle world for eleven years before Hogwarts, holidays not included. And in my opinion, our magical world is far behind in development. That is why after Hogwarts I want to travel and watch how their world advances. For example, I am very interested in technology that does not run on magic, but on electricity. I have also started studying chemistry, physics, mathematics, biology, many other sciences."
Listening to him, McGonagall could not hide her shock. Right in front of her was a true oddity: a Slytherin who spoke of Muggles not as trash, but as people a step above wizards.
"Professor?" he prompted, eyebrow raised.
"I. sorry. I drifted off," she said, and the book vanished from her hand. "I will help you choose an elf."
"Thank you, Professor."
At last, after going down the stairs, a few minutes later they reached a three-meter still life painting of smiling fruit. McGonagall reached for a pear and began tickling it. A cheerful laugh rang out; the pear became a green door handle. When she turned it, the painting swung open like a door, and a rather fascinating sight met Severus's eyes.
A huge room the size of the Great Hall bustled with nearly a hundred house-elves. One group prepared ingredients, another cooked countless dishes, and a third washed plates and pots, stacking them on one of three long tables. At the far end stood a massive oven, flanked by tall cupboards packed with food. It all looked like a mechanism polished by centuries; each elf knew their place and worked at full speed.
But the moment McGonagall cleared her throat twice, every elf froze and looked at her in surprise.
"Leave your tasks for a few minutes and form a line," she ordered sharply.
They obeyed instantly, and then all their gazes, holding only two emotions, nervousness and adoration, locked onto a slightly embarrassed Severus.
"Nellie, Tok, and Tomfy, step forward," McGonagall said, and the three named elves immediately stepped out. "These three are among the smartest and most diligent workers."
"Hm." He simply nodded, looking over the three half-naked creatures whose outfits were basically rags. They barely differed from one another, and the worship in their eyes made choosing harder. They all look the same, impossible to tell anything. But I need the smartest one.
He pointed at one of them.
"What can you do?"
"M-master, Nellie can write, read, count, cook, and do housework," Nellie stammered quickly but clearly, far more than Dobby, who had that odd accent.
"I see. Professor, can I take two at once?"
McGonagall looked a bit surprised, but nodded uncertainly.
"Yes, but can you maintain two contracts?"
"Do not worry. I can."
"But we will have to test that before the second contract."
"Then I will choose her." He indicated the trembling Nellie, and then pointed at another elf, a little smaller than the rest, standing near the very end of the line.
"If that is your choice, the rest are dismissed," McGonagall said sternly.
The elves lowered their heads in disappointment, nearly crying, as they returned to work. Only the two chosen remained.
"You two, come with me."
"Yes!" The two creatures looked so ecstatic they hugged each other, and Severus's eye twitched. McGonagall did not react at all, as if this was perfectly normal among house-elves.
The contract was not nearly as interesting as Severus had expected. One side obeyed the other; the other shared vital magic with the first. House-elves were, in a sense, parasites: because of some unknown curse, they could not absorb magic from the air, and so they entered voluntary servitude. Without magic, they simply could not live.
The house-elves at Hogwarts were plugged into the castle's magical core, which supplied the entire castle. In exchange, they maintained order and cooked food.
Of course, removing the curse was easy: simply free an elf by giving them clothes. Then they could absorb magic on their own. The problem was, what sane wizard would give up such useful slaves who required no salary? And the elves themselves did not exactly want to leave this voluntary slavery either. After centuries, they had grown used to it. Worse, for them, freedom was shame and horror, worse than death.
And there were not that many house-elves left. Aside from the colony at Hogwarts, a small number in the Ministry and Gringotts, and a handful in private families, there were only scraps. If they tried to rebel like goblins had a thousand years ago, they would fail. That was why most wizards were wary of freeing them: house-elves were powerful beings, capable of strong wandless magic, a true gift in the wizarding world. And if you gave them wands to focus that magic, they would become killing machines. That was why a law existed forbidding elves from using wands.
After finishing the contracts and paying two thousand galleons, Severus also received a notebook from Dumbledore containing his research on Maledictuses. Then, after thanking him, he took the two house-elves, who stared at him like newborn puppies, and returned to his rooms.
Nagini was already there, thoughtfully examining the newcomers. Nellie and Tobbi stared back at her warily.
"This is Nellie and Tobbi. And she is also one of your mistresses. She is just under a curse and cannot return to human form," Severus said.
He pulled a necklace from his pouch and tried to hand it to Nellie, who recoiled as if he had swung at her. Tears welled in her eyes.
"M-master, you want to free Nellie?! Nellie offended master?! Please forgive Nellie, Nellie is bad! Nellie will punish herself, Nellie."
Now I understand why Slughorn said they are a little emotional and take everything to heart. I am going to suffer with them yet. I will have to train that out of them, but I can already tell it will be a real pain in the ass.
He exhaled, pressed a palm to his face, shook his head, and calmly began explaining what the necklace was, and that it did not grant any freedom.
//===================//