It was soon enough entering the month of December, and with it came cold winds and sleet. This, of course, made Care of Magical Creatures barely tolerable from the powerful bites the winds always had this time of year. At least with Herbology they were in Greenhouses, but every class time for Care of Magical Creatures put them not too far away from the Beauxbatons Carriage as they weren't stationed that far from their Horses, and Jake was sure that the Beauxbatons students were watching them every now and then whenever class was, just to see what goes on during it.
Hagrid had been taking great care of the Elephant-sized Horses, keeping them happy with their preferred drink of Single-Malt Whiskey; the fumes of it constantly wafted through the air towards the class, and Jake thought that, while stifling, it was nothing unbearable. The rest of the class looked light-headed, which was not good considering they were looking after Blast-Ended Skrewts.
"I'm not sure whether they hibernate or not," Hagrid told his shivering class in the windy pumpkin patch the next lesson, "thought we'd jus' try an' see if they fancied a kip... we'll just settle 'em down in these boxes."
It bothered Jake that Hagrid knew very little about the Skrewts, and putting his class at risk just to figure them out seemed haphazard at best, and outright endangering at worst. The Skrewts themselves had killed off even more of themselves, and now there were only ten left. Their desire to kill one another had not been walked out of them, and Jake was wishing they'd hurry up and just completely off themselves. Each of them had now grown to be almost six feet in length; their thick gray armor; their powerful, scuttling legs; their fire-blasting ends; their stings and suckers, all combined to make the Skrewts one of the most unpleasant creatures Jake or Hermione had ever seen. Hermione especially did not like the look of them at all.
The entire class looked dispiritedly at the enormous boxes Hagrid had brought out, all lined with pillows and fluffy blankets, "We'll jus' lead 'em in here," Hagrid said, "an' put the lids on, and we'll see what happens."
That was Hagrid's motto with the Skrewts, 'See what happens,' and it annoyed Jake, because as it turned out, the Skrewts didn't hibernate, and hated being cramped into the boxes and nailed in.
Hermione was ever so glad that Jake was there, because only he had been capable of stopping all of the Skrewts at once when they started rampaging around the Pumpkin Patch, which had just been strewn with smoldering wreckage from the wooden crates they destroyed.
She saw Jake standing there with his eye glowing red, allowing Hagrid to round up the Skrewts one at a time, releasing his hold on each one as Hagrid grabbed it himself, 'He's got such amazing control over his magic... he is truly amazing,' Hermione thought to herself. She accepted that her love for him would never go away, and that hurt her to her soul.
"Thank you, Jake, fer yer help," Hagrid said.
"Don't thank me, I barely held back the urge to kill them," he said, looking at Hagrid, "so don't thank me."
"Well, well, well..." a piercing voice said, coming up to them, "this does look like fun."
Rita Skeeter was approaching them, and seemed to have admired the minor destruction caused by the Skrewts.
"Who're you?" Hagrid asked the woman.
"Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet reporter," Skeeter said, beaming at him, her golden teeth gleaming in the light.
"Thought Dumbledore said you weren' allowed inside the school anymore?" Hagrid asked, frowning slightly at her.
Skeeter acted as though she hadn't heard him, "What are these delightful looking creatures?"
"Blast-Ended Skrewts," Hagrid said heartily.
"Really? I've never heard of them before, where do they come from?" She asked, her interest growing by the second.
Hermione was panicking slightly. They were an illegally bred creature, and Hagrid technically wasn't supposed to have them, "They're very fascinating, aren't they, Harry?" Hermione quickly said and asked.
"Oh, yes, very fascinating," Harry said, seeming to have caught on to what she was getting at.
"Ah! You're here, Harry," Skeeter said as she looked around, "Tell me, do you like Care of Magical Creatures? Is it one of your favorite lessons?"
"Absolutely," Harry answered at once.
"Wonderful news," Skeeter said, but Jake caught the venom in her voice. She had ill intentions, like she usually did.
He let her drone on for a little longer, until he'd heard enough. He whipped his wand out and pointed it right at Skeeter, " Oscausi !"
The sound of Skeeter's voice suddenly went away as her mouth completely disappeared from her face. She felt where it used to be and looked panicked that it was no longer there.
"I got tired of hearing you talk, nothing personal," he said, looking at her loathingly.
Rita Skeeter gave her best dignified action she could before she walked off haughtily.
"Ya better hope you don' go gettin' in trouble because of her," Hagrid said, but only because he was their teacher.
"Yeah... I don't think anyone will care that she can't speak," Jake said, grabbing his stuff as class ended, signaling the start of lunch period.
*******
After all classes had ended for the day, Hermione had gotten the bright idea of wanting to go to the Kitchens to see the House Elves, "Jake, come on, let's go see how it is for them down in there."
"Alright, let's go," he agreed and they walked to where the twins said the door was. Upon getting past the painting, they were met with a hundred House-Elves, give or take, working tirelessly to prepare for dinner and keeping the Kitchen spotless, "Woah... the kitchen is much larger than I expected it to be."
The ceiling was roughly as high as the Great Hall, and the walls were gleaming from the brass pots and pans that lined the walls. There was a great brick fireplace on the far side of the kitchen, keeping the entire room warm.
"Oh... well... the Kitchen looks nice..." Hermione sounded almost disappointed to Jake.
"Is that all?" He asked her.
"They are definitely happy, but it's unknowingly blissful ignorance. If they are made aware of the truth... that might change," Hermione said confidently.
"It could, we should just talk with them first, see how things are down here," Jake suggested, and Hermione agreed. When they did talk for a couple of hours, they didn't learn anything that they didn't already know, but Jake found out that both Winky and Dobby were working in the Kitchens, and they both decided Harry would like to know about it.
It was now after Dinner Time, Jake couldn't believe they spent so long down in the Kitchens talking with the House Elves. They hurried up to Gryffindor Tower and made it just in time to stop Harry and Ron from going in, "Harry!" Hermione said, panting as she ran up to him. "Harry, you've - you've got to come and see - what Jake and I found!" She grabbed him by the arm and started pulling, but he was a bit reluctant to follow.
"What's the matter, Hermione?" He asked her.
"It's better if we show you, come on!" She urged and he relented, following them both, with Ron behind him.
"Hermione, where are we going?" He asked, just as they got down to the Marble Staircase.
"You'll see, better if you see it with your own eyes," she said quickly and excitedly.
Hermione dragged Harry to the broad stone corridor that was brightly lit with Torches, and decorated with cheerful paintings of nothing but food, "Hermione... hang on, are we-"
"Just wait until we are inside!" She said rather loudly, and tickled the huge green pear with her forefinger. It began to squirm, chuckled, and then turned into a large green door handle. She opened the door and she practically forced Harry inside, even though he willingly walked in.
"Harry Potter, sir! Harry Potter !" Came the voice of Dobby as he full-on sprinted to their location. Dobby tackled Harry in his midriff, knocking the air right out of him by the looks of it, and hugged him uncomfortably tight.
"D-Dobby?" Harry gasped out.
"It is Dobby, sir, it is!" Dobby's voice was muffled as his face was buried into Harry's stomach, "Dobby has been hoping and hoping to see Harry Potter, sir, and Harry Potter has come to see him, sir!"
Dobby let go and stepped back a few paces, beaming up at Harry, his enormous, green, tennis-ball-shaped eyes brimming with tears of happiness.
"Dobby, what're you doing here?" Harry asked in amazement.
"Dobby has come to work at Hogwarts, sir!" Dobby squealed excitedly, "Professor Dumbledore gave Dobby and Winky jobs, sir!"
"Winky? She's here too?"
"Yes, sir, yes!" Dobby said and seized Harry's hand and pulled, leading him elsewhere in the Kitchen. The other three followed Harry and Dobby, and they found Winky to be in the same place she was before they left, sitting on a stool by the brick fireplace, "Winky, sir!"
"Hello, Winky," Harry said politely, but she suddenly burst into tears.
"Oh dear... not again..." Hermione said as it had happened back when they talked to Winky a little while ago.
"Would Harry Potter like a cup of tea?" Dobby asked loudly over Winky's wailing.
"Er - yeah, okay," Harry said.
In an instant, Six House Elves came trotting up behind them, bearing a large silver tray laden with a teapot, cups for the four of them, a milk jug, and a large plate of cookies.
"Good service!" Ron said in an impressed voice, but Hermione scowled at him. The House Elves all looked delighted at being able to please, bowed low, and retreated back to what they had previously been doing.
"How long have you been here, Dobby?" Harry asked as Dobby poured and handed out tea.
"Only a week, Harry Potter, sir!" Dobby said happily, "Dobby came to see Professor Dumbledore, sir. You see, sir, it is very difficult for a House-Elf who has been dismissed to get a new position, sir, very difficult indeed-" Winky howled even louder with her sobs, "-especially when Dobby is asking for pay now, sir!"
"Good for you, Dobby," Hermione said, beaming at him, but the other House Elves who had been listening in on their conversation all turned away immediately, as though Dobby had just insulted them all greatly.
"Thank you, Miss!" Dobby grinned toothily at her, "But most Wizards doesn't want a House-Elf who wants paying, miss. 'That's not the point of a House-Elf,' they says, and they slammed the door in Dobby's face! Dobby likes work, but he wants to wear clothes and he wants to be paid, Harry Potter... Dobby likes being free!"
The other House-Elves around them now started edging away from Dobby like he had the plague. Winky, however, remained where she was, though there was a definite increase in the volume of her crying.
"And then, Harry Potter, Dobby goes to visit Winky, and finds out Winky has been freed too, sir!" Dobby said delightedly.
Winky flung herself forward off the stool, beating her hands, curled into tiny fists, upon the flagged stone floor, positively screaming with misery, " Silencio ," Jake said after pulling his wand out and aiming it at Winky, "Sorry, I couldn't handle the crying and screaming anymore."
Hermione wasn't sure how to feel. She was glad the loud screeching sound was gone, but the use of a spell on a House-Elf just because she was being annoying, which Hermione would not argue against, didn't sit right with her. She watched on as Winky continued hitting her fists against the floor, knowing that nothing she did would help the poor little Elf.
"And then Dobby had the idea, Harry Potter, sir! 'Why doesn't Dobby and Winky find work together?' Dobby says. 'Where is there enough work for two House-Elves?' Says Winky. And Dobby thinks, and it comes to him, sir! Hogwarts ! So Dobby and Winky came to see Professor Dumbledore, sir, and Professor Dumbledore took us on!" Dobby explained in as normal a tone Dobby can have with Winky's wailing silenced. Dobby beamed brightly and tears then welled up in his eyes again, "And Professor Dumbledore says he will pay Dobby, sir, if Dobby wants paying! So Dobby is a free elf, sir, and Dobby gets a Galleon a week and one day off a month!"
"Really? Good for you, Dobby!" Hermione beamed happily at the little Elf. It wasn't much, she thought, but it was definitely on the right path for House-Elves.
"Thank you, Miss!" Dobby beamed up at her.
"And do you know how much he's paying Winky?" Hermione asked him.
"Winky did not take pay, Miss, she says she will not sink so low as to accept pay," Dobby explained.
"What I want to know..." Jake said, getting their attention, including the attention of a few Elves nearby, "do House-Elves know that they once used to be a Free Species?"
"Used to be Free, sir?" Dobby asked, wondering if it were true. Dobby seemed to understand that House-Elves were enslaved, but he seemed to not know that that wasn't always the case.
"About Eighteen Hundred years ago, House-Elves were free, before Wizardkind waged war on them and enslaved them," he said and Dobby gasped. To his surprise, some Elves around them stopped what they were doing to listen. They might have rejected Dobby for his love of being free and wanting pay, but they may have been like him and not known about it, "Over centuries, House-Elves were beaten by Witches and Wizards, until all they knew was to Obey their Masters every command. More laws were added over time until it has become what it is now. Elfkind was once free," he said to the Kitchen as a whole, "I just thought you should know."
He was met with silence for a solid minute, before the previous sound of House-Elves working was heard again.
"Jake Kidd, sir?" Dobby got his attention, "Winky looks as though she has something to say, sir."
He looked and sure enough, Winky had stopped wailing and wanted to speak. He removed the Silencing Charm from her and her panting was heard before she spoke, "House-Elves is supposed to care for and obey their Masters! Winky can't imagine how bad Mr. Crouch is without Winky there!"
"Really?" Hermione asked, "Because he looked like he was getting on just fine without you."
"You is seeing my Master? You is seeing him here at Hogwarts?" Winky asked breathlessly, her tear-stained face looking pitiful.
"Yes, he and Mr. Bagman are judges in the Triwizard Tournament," Hermione said to Winky.
"Mr. Bagman comes too?" Winky squealed, and to all four of their surprise, she had a suddenly angry look on her face, "Mr. Bagman is a bad Wizard! A very bad Wizard! My Master is not liking him very much, oh no, not all!"
"Bagman - bad?" Harry asked, dumbfounded.
"Oh, yes!" Winky nodded her head furiously, "My Master is telling Winky things, but - Winky is not revealing her Masters secrets! Winky is a Good Elf!" She then dissolved back into her crying.
Not being able to get another sensible word out of Winky, they left her to her crying while they finished their Tea and Dobby chatted happily with Harry about his life as a free elf and his plans for his wages, "Dobby is saving up to buy a sweater next, Harry Potter, sir!"
"Tell you what, Dobby," Ron said, and it seemed like he had taken a liking to the Elf, "I'll give you the one my Mum knits me this Christmas, I always get one from her. You don't mind Maroon, do you?"
"Dobby is not minding colors, sir! Dobby is a humble Elf!" Dobby said happily.
"We might have to shrink it a bit to fit you, but it'll go well with your Tea Cozy," Ron said.
They all four then prepared to take their leave, and as they did, many surrounding Elves pressed upon them, offering snacks to take back upstairs. Hermione and Jake refused politely, but had to say so, many times. Harry and Ron loaded their pockets with cream cakes and pies, however.
"Thanks a lot!" Harry said to the Elves, who had all clustered around the door to say good night, "see you, Dobby!"
"Harry Potter... Can Dobby come and see you sometimes, sir?" Dobby asked tentatively.
" 'Course you can," Harry said, and Dobby beamed with happiness.
"You know what?" Ron got their attention once the four had left the Kitchens behind and were climbing the steps into the Entrance Hall again, "All these years I've been really impressed with Fred and George, nicking food from the kitchens - well, it's not exactly difficult, is it? They can't wait to give it away!"
"I think this is the best thing that could happen for Dobby, honestly," Hermione said, "maybe if the other House-Elves see that Dobby is free and getting paid, they'll consider it as well? Plus what Jake said, it seemed to get some of the Elves at least thinking about it."
"Let's just hope they don't look too closely at Winky," Harry said.
"She'll come around," Hermione said, but she was doubtful, "Once the shock's worn off, and she's gotten used to Hogwarts, she'll see how much better off she is without that Crouch man."
"She seems to love him," Ron said seconds before biting into one of the cream cakes. Hermione stared at him disgustedly as he ate.
"Doesn't think much of Bagman, though, does she?" Harry mentioned, "Wonder what Crouch says at home about him?"
"Probably says he's not a very good Head of Department," Hermione huffed, "and let's face it... he's got a point, hasn't he?"
"I'd still rather work for him than old Crouch," Ron said, "At least Bagman's got a sense of humor."
"Ah, yes, such a sense of Humor he has. That aloof moron probably thought it was real funny watching that Peruvian Vipertooth almost kill Fleur, or that Hungarian Horntail raging free as it flew after Harry," Jake said spitefully.
"Er - well-" Ron was at a loss for words.
"Exactly. Whatever you think of Crouch, at least he knows when to draw a line and not cross it," Jake said as they made it back to the Tower. Jake bid Hermione goodnight and went upstairs with Harry and Ron, going to bed after them so he could take one of his Sleeping Draughts.