People in Hogwarts, holding scripts and systems

Chapter 223 Saving the House-Elves

Colin's face turned red as he couldn't open his mouth. He sat obediently in his seat waiting for the sorting ceremony to end.

Hermione worriedly advised Colin to go find Madam Pomfrey now, but the twins patted their chests and assured him that there was nothing wrong with the candy, except that it would temporarily make people speechless.

"Oh, okay - no problem." Harry responded perfunctorily, and Afro suspected that he didn't even hear what they were saying.

At the top of the auditorium is the fifth table, which is where the school professors sit.

The seat to Snape's right was empty.

Last semester it belonged to Professor Lupin, but he was revealed to be a werewolf at the end of the semester and was forced to resign.

"Why can't I see the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?" Hermione counted the empty seats. Excluding Professor McGonagall, who was leading the freshmen and Hagrid in the entrance hall, there was still one empty seat.

Afro looked across the crowd and towards Professor Dumbledore who was sitting in the middle.

During the holidays she wrote many letters to Dumbledore but received no reply.

It is not known whether Dumbledore had read those letters, which contained information about Grindelwald and the Deathly Hallows and euphemistically mentioned the Horcruxes.

Dumbledore touched the fingertips of his hands together, and when he noticed Avro's gaze, his blue eyes looked at her through his half-moon glasses, and his meaningful smile hid many things.

"Oh, hurry up!" Harry held his stomach and groaned in pain. He hadn't eaten for a day, not counting the snacks on the train.

As soon as he finished speaking, Professor McGonagall came in with a large roll of parchment and a four-corner stool. The sorting ceremony lasted for half an hour before it ended.

Ron eagerly grabbed a fork in his hand, his eyes fixed on the golden plate in front of him.

Smiling Dumbledore stood up, opened his arms, and welcomed all the children who joined Hogwarts. "I only have two words. Eat."

The young wizards in the hall watched helplessly as the food piled up on the empty plates.

George took Avro's plate and put some food on it that she couldn't reach.

Harry brought her a glass filled with juice and placed it considerately next to her hand.

Nico, who was almost headless, crawled out from the plate of mashed potatoes, and when he saw this scene, he made a sound that was not sure whether it was envy or ridicule.

"You're lucky. Peeves nearly flooded the kitchen, and the house-elf was so scared that he almost died—"

"What!" Hermione knocked over the goblet in her hand, and the pumpkin juice in the cup spilled onto the table, staining the white tablecloth with a large patch of orange. "There are house-elves in Hogwarts?!"

Afro picked up the goblets and cleaned up the mess on the table while saying, "Yes, they take care of our food and clothes."

"But I haven't seen any -" Hermione said, looking down thoughtfully.

"Because they seldom leave the kitchen during the day," explained Nearly Headless Nick, eyeing the children's food with envy. He had not eaten it for a long time.

He was about to forget what mashed potatoes tasted like.

"This is slave labor!" Hermione slammed the table indignantly and pushed the plate forward, showing that she didn't want to eat.

Afro took a bite of the strawberry cake and said, "Hermione, you can't fight for their interests on an empty stomach."

She picked up a piece of plum pudding and dangled it under Hermione's nose, trying to get her to fill up first.

Hermione couldn't resist the temptation, took the pudding and ate it fiercely, "You are right, Aphrodite, will you help me?"

Afro remembered that in the book, Hermione accidentally messed things up while trying to help the house elves. She hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed to Hermione's request.

"I will help you... But we must guide you step by step, and don't expect to achieve it all at once—"

"Why?" Hermione didn't understand. This was obviously a good thing for the elves, so why did they have to do it slowly and secretly?

"Can you imagine the chaos Hogwarts would be in if we suddenly gave every elf in the school a piece of clothing?"

"Besides, the professors in the school will hunt you down when they find out." Fred waved one hand in front of his neck and smiled slyly.

George went on to add, "Even the elves won't let you go."

"They love working here," Ron mumbled, chewing a piece of chicken.