Chapter 600: House Elves Need a Wage

After Dobby was expelled by the Malfoys, Ivan always kept him close.

He only wanted to help Dobby. In fact, there was nothing to do.

At the height of Hogwarts Magic, Ivan had asked Dobby to help Fred and George take care of the printing job.

When Professor Lupin took over, Dobby was once again idle, tasked mostly with taking care of Ivan's life.

This amount of work was really nothing for a house elf. He needed more work.

Ivan could only let him help in the kitchen and live with his companions, which was the best arrangement for him.

"Master Ivan, do you need food here?" squeaked Dobby eagerly. "You don't need to come down in person. All you have to do is summon Dobby. Dobby can send it to you at any time. You know how to summon Dobby..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the house elves surrounding Ivan and Hermione began to busy themselves.

They brought out all sorts of ingredients at once, ready to give them something to eat.

"Don't prepare anything, we don't need to eat!" Ivan hastened to say, looking at the house elves with a headache. "Dobby, Hermione and I just came to see how you are doing here."

"Oh, Master Ivan is so kind!" Dobby's big green eyes were moist with tears. He looked at Ivan and Hermione with teary eyes. "Young Master Ivan has taken his friend to visit Dobby! Dobby and Winky..."

"What, Winky's here too?" said Hermione in surprise.

After the World Cup, they hadn't seen Winky again.

Ivan had heard from Sirius that, after an investigation, the Ministry of Magic had declared Winky innocent and released her. But she could no longer return to Crouch House. After leaving the Ministry of Magic, he didn't know where to go.

"Yes, miss, yes, Winky works here too!" said Dobby, grabbing Ivan and Hermione's hands.

He dragged them into the kitchen, between the four long wooden tables there.

Each of those tables was set exactly underneath the four house tables that were upstairs in the Great Dining Room.

At the moment, they were free of food, as dinner was over, but they had not long since been laden with dishes that were being sent overhead to their counterparts upstairs.

At that moment, at least a hundred pixies were standing around the kitchen, smiling, bowing and curtsying as Dobby led Ivan and Hermione past them.

They were all wearing the same uniform: a tea towel printed with the Hogwarts crest and tied, as before, like a robe.

A few minutes later, Dobby stopped in front of the brick fireplace and pointed.

"Winky, look, Miss, Master Ivan!" he said.

Winky was sitting on a stool by the fire. Unlike Dobby, it was evident that she had not been looking for clothes. She was wearing a neat little skirt and blouse with a matching blue hat, which had holes for her large ears

However, while all the clothes in Dobby's odd collection were so clean and well cared for that they looked new, Winky was clearly not taking care of her clothes at all. She had soup stains all over her blouse and a burn on her skirt.

"Winky!" said Hermione.

At the sight of her, he lifted his head and shivered slightly. Her lips trembled as well. Then she burst into tears, which spilled out of her big brown eyes and splashed down her forehead, just as she had done at the Quidditch World Cup.

"Oh, dear," Hermione said sadly, "Winky, don't cry, please don't..."

But Winky cried harder than ever. Dobby, on the other hand, smiled at Ivan.

"Would Master Ivan like a cup of tea?" he squeaked loudly, above Winky's sobs.

"Oh... okay," Ivan said.

He looked at the layout of the kitchen and compared it to the plan of the castle he had found.

But no, everything was totally different, and everything had changed too much.

Overhearing the conversation between Ivan and Dobby, about six house elves came, instantly trotting up behind him, carrying a large silver tray laden with a teapot, cups for Ivan and Hermione, a jug of milk and a large plate of cookies.

"Thank you, this looks good!" said Ivan.

The elves were very pleased to hear him; they bowed very low and withdrew.

"How long has Winky been here, Dobby?" asked Hermione.

"Over a month, give or take. No one wanted to take her in. You see, it's very difficult for a house elf who's been fired to get a new position, very difficult indeed..."

Hearing this, Winky howled even louder, and her squashed tomato nose dripped all over the place, though she made no effort to stem the flow.

"Dobby was going to ask Master Ivan for help, and let him hire Winky and pay him like he does," Dobby squeaked, "but Dobby isn't sure if he should bother Great Master Ivan about this. Dobby knows he's already very busy; he shouldn't be distracted by this trifle. And he has hired Dobby. He doesn't have that many jobs and he can't afford to pay another house elf for anything..."

The house elves around the kitchen, who had been listening and watching with interest, looked away at these words, as if Dobby had said something rude and disgraceful. In their opinion, asking for remuneration was a very shameful act, which was nothing more than an insult to house elves.

Ivan convinced Dobby that he shouldn't worry about it. Even though he didn't have that many jobs, he was willing to hire Winky and pay him.

However, Dobby kept shaking his head. He thought it was disgraceful to collect a salary without working. It was totally unacceptable and he would not allow Ivan to hire Winky.

Hermione was very appreciative of Dobby's demand for remuneration for work. She even took out her quill and set about recording it, and was prepared to put it in the newspaper as a new incident to point out the qualities of house elves that made them worthy of remuneration. A free house elf who demanded a wage was a model that she and the Society for the Promotion of Elven Welfare needed.

She needed to let the magical world know that not all house elves were willing to be exploited and enslaved, and she wanted wizards to know what they thought.

This was the original intent behind the creation of the Society for the Promotion of Elven Welfare, to help the house elves make their voices heard.

Hermione was very excited. She was going to interview other elves for a while and listen to their opinions.