House-elves Like Me!

House-elves Like Me!

"There's only an hour until curfew, so don't go running around, understand? Oh, right, that Sliding Charm was very well cast, and the location was impeccable." Professor Flitwick said the last part quietly to Ted.

He truly admired Ted, his prized student.

Watching their Head of House trot off in high spirits, Ted and the others all laughed.

The three monsters had already been taken away by the professors, and they still had a little free time.

"Should we head back?" Neville asked as he reluctantly slid the longsword, cleaned with a Scouring Charm, back into the armor's hand.

What had happened tonight, especially that strike, had left a deep impression on him. It felt as though something had changed within him.

Ron shrugged, pulling a long face. "I'm not even full! Couldn't Professor Quirrell have shown up later? They were only three monsters. What a fuss~"

Everyone looked at him. You're getting cocky pretty fast, aren't you?

Jerry pulled out a piece of cheese from his pocket. "Want some?"

Ron tossed it straight into his mouth and chewed. "Got any more?"

Jerry rolled his eyes. "What do you think I am, a House-elf from the kitchen?"

Hermione took out the food Ted had given them earlier. There were several meat pies, but one each still was not enough.

Ted simply suggested, "Why don't we go to the kitchens for a meal? We can celebrate our first victory!"

"Yay~" Mention food, and Ron and Jerry would definitely agree.

"You know where the kitchens are?" Harriett asked.

"Follow me. I'll show you something." Ted took the lead, heading toward the Hufflepuff Common Room.

"A Fruit Painting... Ah! Here it is!" Ted found the "legendary Fruit Painting."

Not far away were two rows of oak barrels.

Hermione pointed at the barrels. "I heard the entrance to the Hufflepuff Common Room is hidden behind them."

Harriett said, "I heard you have to tap the barrels in a specific rhythm. If you get it wrong, you'll get sprayed with vinegar."

It seemed tone-deaf people did not have it easy in Hufflepuff either! Ted pointed at the painting. "I heard that if you gently tickle this pear, it'll open the door for us."

Ted reached out and used Eagle Hand~ The pear really could not take it. It trembled harder and harder before suddenly jumping and turning into a doorknob.

Ted grabbed the handle and pulled. The door opened.

Beyond the round archway was the enormous Hogwarts Kitchens. Quite a few House-elves, dressed in pillowcases bearing the Hogwarts crest, were listlessly going about their work.

Then they saw Ted and the others, and all the House-elves became excited. "Little Wizards! Is there anything we can do for the Little Wizards?!"

Their big eyes sparkled as they waited eagerly for an affirmative answer from Ted and the others.

They had prepared for the Halloween Feast for so long, only for Professor Quirrell to ruin it. They were terribly disappointed.

If they could do something else to take their minds off it, that would be wonderful.

In a gentle voice, Ted asked, "For certain reasons, we weren't able to eat our fill. Is there anything edible left here?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Four or five House-elves rushed to answer, while even more were already carrying plates over to set on the Long Table.

"That's enough! That's enough!" Seeing that they were about to lay out another full feast, Ted hurriedly stopped this public-funded indulgence.

"Would you like something to drink?" One House-elf who had failed to get a serving job asked cautiously.

"Oh, some juice would be even better. But it's fine if there isn't any. This is already incredibly plentiful."

"Yes! We have Apple juice, Pumpkin Juice, grape juice, and orange juice!"

The little group had already been conquered by this miniature feast. The feeling was simply too wonderful.

Ron wolfed down chicken legs, while Jerry stuffed huge chunks of cheese into his mouth. Harriett ate with startling ferocity, and Neville had long since been starving. Even Hermione got swept up in it and ate much more.

As he ate, Ted kept praising the food. He could find something to compliment about every dish, repeatedly thanked the House-elves, and even raised his cup to wish them a happy Halloween.

Forty or fifty House-elves gathered around the table, staring wide-eyed at Ted with adoration.

With the Goodwill Technique and his praise, he had won the affection and admiration of every House-elf at Hogwarts.

Ted's relentless compliments left the House-elves lost in wave after wave of praise, so grateful that they were nearly in tears.

This Halloween really was a happy one for them~...

While Ted and the others ate and drank to their hearts' content, the professors were still discussing the matter.

The three monsters had "accidentally" escaped from Professor Quirrell's laboratory.

Two were dead and one was injured, and the professors had already dealt with them.

But Dumbledore certainly could not allow Quirrell to continue conducting magical creature experiments at the school. At the very least, creatures like trolls were out of the question.

Inside the Headmaster's Office, Dumbledore was speaking with a grim-faced Snape.

"I don't understand why you allowed him to become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor!" Snape bitterly resented it.

After all, his long-held wish had been ruined by such a person. His frustration was easy to imagine.

Watching Lily marry James Potter right before his eyes had probably felt like one percent of this.

Dumbledore, however, remained calm. "Severus, I have my reasons."

Faced with that calm old face, Snape was helpless.

In truth, he was deeply dissatisfied with Dumbledore. Back when he had betrayed Voldemort and defected to him, it had been because he hoped to save Lily's life.

Yet just after he learned that Voldemort had planted a spy in the Order of the Phoenix, Lily, whom Dumbledore had promised to protect, was ambushed and killed.

It would be strange if he could give Dumbledore a pleasant look.

Even now, he was only staying at the school because Dumbledore had kept him here on the pretext of protecting Lily's daughter, Harriett.

He truly did not want to deal with this "White Magic King"! He said coldly, "I checked the room on the third floor while I was at it. The door has been opened. Cerberus attacked an intruder."

Dumbledore nodded. "I understand."

Snape snorted and turned to leave. Just as he was about to step out, Dumbledore softly said, "Please keep a closer eye on Professor Quirrell for me."

"You suspect him, yet you still let him stay in the castle as a professor?!" Snape's tone was terrible.

Just think of the monsters released today, then think of those foolish little lions in Gryffindor.

With so many people around Harriett, he did not think she could be called safe at all.

Dumbledore calmly said, "Severus, I have my reasons."

"Damn your reasons!" Snape slammed the door behind him as he left.

The students did not know about the grand spectacle of "Six Little Wizards Versus Three Monsters" yet.

At least, no one in Ravenclaw knew.

As for Gryffindor, do not expect Harriett, Ron, and Jerry not to brag about their "glorious deeds."

But Ted's side remained fairly calm. After parting with Hermione, they each returned to their dormitories.

After washing up, Ted rewarded Anzu with a White Mouse as a snack.

They had only gotten the intelligence in advance tonight, and known both themselves and their enemy, thanks to it.

However, his roommates were frightened out of their wits! Terry Boot in particular was especially interested in Anzu. He had helped Ted feed the White Mice before and had thought they were special "pets" Ted kept!

He had not expected them to be Anzu's "mouse sticks"! The kind it swallowed whole in one bite!

Ah~ His dreams had shattered! You actually eat mice! And you eat them so... so stylishly! You're so cool, Anzu~ Well, Terry adjusted quickly. He even begged Ted to let him feed Anzu one himself.

That night, Ted did not carry out his usual meditation. Instead, he began tallying up his gains from the evening.

The monster-killing experience alone was 150 + 250 + 450, followed by a 500-point quest reward, plus the white card "dropped" by the Quirrell Horned Beast. It was an Experience Card (White): Gain 100 experience upon use.

In other words, he had farmed 1,450 experience points tonight just from experience alone!

Since the start of term, he had only gotten about that much altogether! This was ridiculously lucrative?!

Sure enough, murder and arson made you rich! Pah, no, killing monsters and getting card drops made you rich~ Besides that, Ted had also obtained two more cards...