"Finished signing autographs for all of them?" Hermione said tartly when Jerry sat down beside her. There was an unmistakable hint of jealousy in her voice.
"Want me to sign one for you, too?" Jerry teased with a smile.
"Hmph!" Hermione huffed, pouting as she shot Jerry a glare.
"Jerry, I went to see Dobby in the kitchen last night!" Harry said from across the table.
"Oh? How's Dobby? Is he doing all right?" Jerry asked after taking a spoonful of porridge.
"Dobby's doing great. He's thrilled Professor Dumbledore let him work at Hogwarts. He gets paid a Galleon a week, and he even has a day off every month!" Harry was happy for him.
"I told you Hogwarts was different from other places." Hermione was surprised to hear Dobby received wages and time off. "Dumbledore really is the greatest white wizard of the century!"
Harry's brow furrowed slightly, though, as if he had remembered something unpleasant. "But when I saw Mr. Crouch's House-elf Winky last night, something seemed wrong with her..."
"She kept crying when we saw her. She just kept saying, 'Poor master, Winky can't help him anymore.' Over and over."
"What's so pitiful about Mr. Crouch? He's the head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, with all those people working under him. What could he possibly need a House-elf to do?" Ron shook his head in confusion. "Percy works for Mr. Crouch. I bet all Mr. Crouch has to do is say the word, and Percy would happily run himself ragged for him!"
"Winky probably hasn't adjusted to her new life," Neville explained. "House-elves like her are born loyal servants of the Crouch family. Her grandmother lived that way, then her mother, generation after generation."
December brought howling winds, rain, and snow to Hogwarts. Drafts