Seeing that Wade had successfully redirected Hermione's attention, the others all gave him relaxed smiles—except for Michael and Padma, who both wore thoughtful frowns.
Theo whispered to Ryan, "Once the survey's done, Hermione will see—the house-elves at Hogwarts are actually the happiest ones around. They don't want to leave at all."
Ryan nodded, then added, "If change is needed, it should really start with those old pure-blood families like the Malfoys. Their treatment is genuinely cruel."
"Most families aren't like that. My grandfather has a house-elf, and we treat him like part of the family," said Theo.
"And sometimes house-elves punish themselves," he continued. "You have to actually command them to stop harming themselves."
Ryan nodded again.
Although his family didn't have house-elves, Ryan felt that from the story of the Black family alone, it was clear that some wizards did genuinely care about their elves. Regulus Black chose to die rather than harm Kreacher.
While Hermione was absorbed in her survey, Padma and Michael made their way over to Wade's desk.
Pretending to discuss homework, Michael held up his book like a screen and whispered, "Is it just me, Wade, or… have you actually thought seriously about freeing the house-elves?"
"If you'd studied Muggle history, you'd know—the awakening of slaves' consciousness and the struggle for resistance have lasted for thousands of years. From gladiator Spartacus leading a slave revolt to the abolitionist movements in modern times— it can be considered a natural progression, doesn't it?" Wade replied casually.
Padma also lowered her voice and asked, "So you do support Hermione? You just don't agree with how she's doing it?"
She glanced at Michael, and they exchanged a subtle look.
Even though… even though Padma wasn't exactly ready to give up the convenience of being served by house-elves… if Wade thought Hermione was right… then maybe they were the ones in the wrong… right?
Friendship made them feel like they could endure inconvenience, even walk through fire, for a friend's ideals.
But Wade sighed and shook his head.
"If I truly supported Hermione," he said, "I'd tell her this: The most effective method isn't handing out clothes to elves, and it isn't distributing surveys—because we all know, Hermione's not going to get the answers she wants."
"Then what do you think should be done?" Michael pressed.
But this time, Wade didn't answer. He simply gave a helpless smile.
There are countless examples in history of how to awaken slaves' consciousness and help the oppressed realize the truth of their exploitation.
The house-elves at Hogwarts were not ideal candidates for liberation. They lived comfortable lives. No beatings, no abuse, no hunger. The staff and students treated them well enough.
They were content—and had no desire for change.
It was house-elves like Dobby, who lived in dire, oppressive conditions, that should be Hermione's focus.
To truly change a house-elf's perspective, you would have to guide them toward awakening—educate them about right and wrong, help them realize that their rights have been stripped away, their dignity trampled, and even their survival and reproduction is controlled and threatened by wizards…
You would have to help them see that this life is tragic and unjust.
You would have to get them to talk about their pain with others of their kind, to share their suffering, to help one another. Only in a community of shared experience could they find the emotional support, the motivation, and the strength to begin changing their reality.
To help them, it must start with the basics—food, clothing, and small rights of choice. Gradually improve their quality of life. Then, when those small freedoms are disrupted by external events, it may spark the idea—and the courage—for house-elves to begin fighting for their own rights.
Some of them need the chance to experience a truly safe environment, where they are given love, respect, equality, and justice. Only then will they begin to understand just how painful their past was—and awaken to the self-awareness of being "sentient beings."
But such change is destined to be slow and painful, inevitably accompanied by conflict and sacrifice. When house-elves truly awaken… disaster will come for the wizards.
And those who possess clear-headed reason and understand the dangers of letting hatred run wild—such individuals are rare. Once house-elves awaken, they may come to hate all humanoid creatures. They may ally with centaurs, werewolves, giants, goblins, and other beings to take revenge on humanity.
Even though Wade is against slavery in his heart, he could never be the one to personally ignite a war in the Wizarding world.
...
In the days that followed, Hermione no longer went around pestering Wade and the others with her "S.P.E.W." campaign. Instead, she wrangled a few strong Gryffindors to help her conduct surveys and tally results.
Several times, when Wade returned to the dorm late at night, he saw Neville, Harry, Ron, and Hermione dragging themselves out of the kitchen entrance, exhausted and weighed down with thick stacks of parchment.
Hermione revised her survey questions several times to try and get more desirable responses—but her mood steadily darkened, and she completely lost interest in discussing the topic with others.
Because the house-elves' answers were always the same—
"Amy isn't tired. Amy loves to work! Amy is very happy!"
"Only bad elves make mistakes! Good elves shouldn't make mistakes. If they do, they should punish themselves! That's the right thing to do!"
"Oh, don't talk about Dobby. Dobby is a disgrace! A fallen elf! He should be ashamed!"
"Without the master's permission, house-elves shouldn't have children! But Becky's great-great-great-great-grandfather once served the great Godric Gryffindor himself!"
"That idea is terrifying! House-elves don't need freedom—Hogwarts is our home! Lola… Lola loves this place! Lola never wants to leave!"
Only a tiny number of house-elves, with visible guilt and as if doing something shameful, secretly expressed a desire for compensation.
But even then, it wasn't for themselves.
"Zoe… Zoe wants to buy a gift…" the elf said nervously, twisting the corner of her tea towel. "Zoe can only give Wade things she picks up outside, but the crystal ball in the shop would be a better gift…"
Another elf said: "If I get paid, I'd like to buy some Bloodroot. Madam Pomfrey always complains there isn't enough Bloodroot…"
"I told you—they like being slaves. But Hermione just won't believe it," Ron grumbled. "Now when we go to the kitchens, the elves practically treat us like villains!"
Hermione was feeling frustrated, but she tried hard not to show her negative emotions. Holding the data she had compiled, she said to Wade:
"My work does have meaning. Maybe I should start small—like trying to get a usable fund set aside for the house-elves at school…"
"Sure, why not give it a try?" Wade said encouragingly.
After one dinner, Hermione mustered up the courage and sent a letter to Dumbledore. To her delight, when she went to the kitchens the next day, she discovered that the funding had already been approved.
Hogwarts would now provide the kitchens with 10 Galleons per month, which the house-elves could use to buy anything they needed. Of course, most of the house-elves were very self-restrained—they didn't even glance at it.
"The house-elves at Hogwarts are very satisfied with their lives, but there are still many out there who are suffering."
Buoyed by her first success, Hermione said excitedly, "My next goal is to find a way to reduce—or even prohibit—the abuse of house-elves."
"Then you'll first need the authority to make laws and punish those who break them," Wade poured some cold water on her enthusiasm.
"In fact, the Ministry of Magic already has regulations about how house-elves should be treated—but they've never been enforced."
"There are actual laws about that?" Hermione asked, shocked.
Wade nodded. "There really are."
Hermione was not the first witch to sympathize with house-elves.
Upon hearing that, Hermione immediately rushed to the library to borrow books that contained the relevant legal codes.
Wade was genuinely impressed by her drive and initiative. Then he twirled his quill and started jotting down plans for the next Spells Study Group meeting.
Time flew by, and by the next week, the schools participating in the tournament would begin arriving at Hogwarts.
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