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Elves Without Clothes	By : NoThyme Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 3581 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Title: Elves Without Clothes

Author: Whomping Willow

Pairing: HG/DM

Disclaimer: This story is based on situations and characters created by J. K. Rowling.

I receive no money and make no form of profit from this story.

Rating: R

Summary: Hermione doesn't understand Winky. What could be better than being free? She takes extreme measures to find out. Perhaps it's all in having the right master.

Category: Humor/Romance

Warnings: AU, M/F, Solo, Shameless use of puns Unforgivable wand humor

Author�s notes: What can I say . . . I�m a naughty girl

Spoilers: Yes, for the first five books, consider yourself warned.

I own nothing. I am just a house-elf.

FINAL WARNING: Foul language, Silliness and Innuendo lie within . . . You have been warned

Summary: Hermione tries to understand the life of house-elves by stepping into their shoes . . . er
. . . tea towels.

Sitting in Gryffindor common room, Harry politely listened on as Hermione ranted once again
about the House-Elf Liberation Front, formerly known as S.P.E.W. “I still don’t think it’s fair,”
she said. “Even house-elves have rights – or should have. They need representation. They are
entitled to compensation for their work and a life free of the fear of abuse.”

“Aren’t we all?” Harry murmured.

“What was that?” She snapped. “Harry, if you’re not interested in what I have to say, just say
so.”

He flushed slightly and hoped she didn’t notice. &#;I d;I didn’t say that at all Hermione.” Unwilling to
admit what he had said, he decided to redirect her attention. “I do wonder though, have you
talked to any of the house-elves about this? You know, gotten their opinion on the matter?”

She smiled and her eyes lit up as she prepared to speak, but Harry injected, “. . . besides Dobby.”

The spark in her eyes dimmed, and her smile diminished.

“Perhaps if you spoke to Winky about it . . . it might help both of you.R/p>
/p>
“You mean, Barty Crouch’s former house-elf . . . ?”

“Yes Hermione, as you know she works in the kitchen here – with a little persuasion from
Dobby, I’m sure she’ll speak with you about how she feels about being freed. All the house-elves
here are treated extremely well – things were very different for Dobby before I tricked Malfoy
into freeing him, but Winky was happy and as far as I can tell was treated very well in the Crouch
home.”

“I think you’re just trying to get rid of me . . .”

“No – I just think if you get another opinion Rpeoppeople have different opinions, it’s the same with
house-elves. It’s not that anyone is wrong. It’s just that every situation is different . . .”

“Perhaps you’re right Harry. I’ll talk to Dobby about getting some time alone to talk with
Winky.”

“Good – I think you’ll find she’re are agreeable when sober. Now about that Charms project . .
.”

                                                                        ***

A few days later Hermione wastingting in private with Winky. Dobby had convinced the elf of
her good intentions and set up a time to meet in a quiet room. She sat down in one of the
comfortable chairs the Room of Requirement had provided and poured them both some tea.
Winky seemed to be waiting for Hermione to speak. She looked quizzically at her with large
round eyes that matched her filthy dress. She decided to start the ball rolling . . .

“I don’t know what Dobby told you, so I’ll start from the beginning.” Winky smiled
appreciatively, but she said nothing. “In the Muggle world we have come to see that slavery is
wrong. We feel that owning or enslaving another, not providing fair wages and working
conditions is inexcusable. ‘All men are created equal’ no matter their race, color, creed or
religious beliefs. Those freedoms should also transcend species. I cannot understand the way the
wizarding world treats house-elves, because I view it as fundamentally wrong.” Winky looked
even more nervous than when Hermione first walked in. “That led me to start The House-Elf
Liberation Front. It was hard to settle on a name. I originally settled on the S.P.E.W.: Society
for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare, but that wasn’t well received. I spent a lot of time toying
with the name Freedom and Unity for Creatures and all Kinds of Magical Entities. I liked the
way it rolled off the tongue, but when I bounced it off Ron and Harry they just shook their heads.
I suggested they say it once, you know, give it a try, but they refused said it wouldn’t work.
Maybe too subtle?”

Winky blinked owlishly.

“Anyway, when trying to promote Elvish rights I keep running into the same arguments, everyone
tells me you like things the way they are, except Dobby of course. I’ve been told you like being
owned and that you don’t want clothes. I just don’t understand at all. It makes no sense to me
and I was hoping you could explain it.”

Seeing that Hermione was indeed done and awaiting an answer, Winky tried to word her reply.
“Some things I can’t be telling. I’m not a naughty elf. I keep masters’ secrets.”

Hermione nodded, “I understand you are still loyal to Mr. Crouch and won’t ask you for his
secrets. I just need to know why being freed is a terrible thing.” This said, the little elf still
looked nervous, poised and ready to beat her head against the nearest hard object if she slipped
and said something inappropriate.

“Mr. Crouch is a good wizard. Mr. Crouch is always being a good master to Winky.” Her eyes
welled up with tears as she tried to speak again. “I am not liking clothes. I am a bad elf. I am
not deserving a good master like Mr. Crouch.”

“Isn’t it better for you working here at Hogwarts?”asked Hermione. “You get paid and get time
off . . .”

Winky interrupted sharply. “Winky is not taking days off! Winky is properly ashamed of being
freed. Mr. Crouch needed Winky. I is taking care of them all my life, and my mother before me,
and my grandmother before her . . .” She sniffed plaintively.

Hermione thought perhaps she was beginning to understand. “Mr. Crouch treated you well, but
Dobby was treated badly and punished often by the Malfoys; is that the difference? He was like
your family?”

“Oh no miss! Mr. Crouch is being better than family. Family has to love you because that is how
family works, but Mr. Crouch loved better than like family, because I am not.” The tears she was
holding back spilled forth with the memory.

Hermione nodded understanding one thing, there was no way she was getting any more
information from the distraught house-elf that day. “Thank you for your help Winky. Just don’t
forget we need you here too.”

The little elf smiled sadly and thanked Hermione.

When Hermione left, her mind was filled with more questions than answers. Perhaps she’d speak
with Dobby again later.

                                                                        ***

Dobby was of little help to Hermione. He was so proud of his clothes and freedom. He admitted
that on some level he did understand Winky’s views on her former master and previous
ownership, but that he really couldn’t put it into words either. He said that perhaps it was
something that couldn’t be truly understood unless you were a house-elf.

                                                                        ***

Harry was getting concerned. Hermione wasn’t acting like herself at all. She was distant and
distracted. It just wasn’t like her. She was sitting in the common room with a book open in her
lap just staring off into space. He was sure she hadn’t turned a page in twenty minutes. Finally he
just couldn’t take it anymore. He stood and strode across the room. “Hey ‘Mione, you awake?”

She blinked and was back to Earth.

“Have a nice trip?”

“Huh?”she responded.

“You’ve been staring at that same page forever. What’s wrong?”

“Nothings wrong, just thinking, that’s all.”

“No ‘Mione, I’ve known you long enough to know that was more than just thinking. You’re
planning something aren’t you?”

“No, not a plan really. I’m just thinking about the talk I had with Winky. I’m still trying to
understand it, that’s all.”

“Are you sure there isn’t more to it?”

“Yes Harry, I’m fine, but I think I need to talk to Dobby again.”

“Okay, if you’re sure . . . just remember if this affects your studies you’ll never forgive yourself.”

She smiled, closing the book then exited through the portrait hole.

                                                                        ***

On her way to look for Dobby, Hermione kept thinking of Winky. She couldn’t help wondering
about what other rights house-elves were denied. She knew they weren’t allowed to speak ill of
their master or use magic without permission, but what about other things, more common things.
What about family, she wondered idly. Are house-elves ald tod to marry and have babies? Was
Winky sad because when she was freed she had to leave Mr. Winky behind? Hermione hoped
she could remember to ask when she saw her next.

                                                                        ***

She found Dobby in the kitchens. As always, he was very happy to see one of Harry Potter’s
friends. After he had poured her tea and assembled a plate piled dangerously high with chocolate
confections she confessed the reason she had come to visit. “Dobby, I was wondering if I could
ask you a bit about the Malfoys?”

“The Malfoys, Miss?” Dobby looked a little less pleased to see her than he was moments before.
“What is you needing to ask Dobby about the Malfoys?”

“I’m sorry if it’s a difficult subject, but I wanted to know if all the Malfoys treated you badly or if
it was just Lucius.”

Shaking slightly Dobby soon replied, “Draco was treating Dobby good. Draco was not like his
mother and father . . .” With that much said, his eyes went wide and jumped from his seat
preparing to close his fingers in the oven door, but when he suddenly pushed back from the table
he sent a wall of chocolate treats spilling down upon them. When Hermione realized what was
happening she grabbed him away from the dangerous flood of food. “Thank you Miss.
Sometimes I am forgetting I am not bound by enslavement anymore.”

Hermione was surprised by how difficult it still was for Dobby to speak of his former master, as
well as the fact that Draco of all people could be kind to a house-elf. It gave her an idea. Perhaps
it is time I go speak with the Headmaster.

                                                                        ***

“Professor Dumbledore?” She spoke timidly as she stepped in the Headmaster’s office.

“Ah Hermione, come in. What can I do for you child?”

She took a deep breath and steeled herself for what she knew would be a difficult conversation.
“It’s about house-elves sir, specifically Winky. You see, since I started the House-Elf Liberation
Front, I’ve been trying my best to understand how she feels about being freed. We’ve talked
about it a few times, but I’m having difficulty understanding her feelings toward her old ma..”

“I see,” replied the Headmaster, eyes twinkling. “It can be a difficult thing to explain.”

“Yes sir, Dobby said it was something that perhaps couldn’t be understood unless you were a
house-elf.”

“That is in all likeliness, true. Whereas I’ve never been one, I can’t be sure.” He teased.

“Well, I was wondering, sir, if there is a way that I could become a house-elf . . . just for a little
while . . . till I understood a little better?” She gave him a coy look, knowing it was likely the
oddest request the Headmaster had ever received.

He smiled at her sweetly. “That is a most unusual request. You do realize of course what it
would mean? A house-elf is not a true house-elf without a master.”

“I know Headmaster,” she said trying to conceal a blush.

“I don’t believe a physical transfiguration would be necessary.” He pondered. “Perhaps just
taking the role of a house-elf would be enough?”

She agreed quickly after picturing herself with bulging eyes, long nose and floppy ears.

“And that would also mean following orders without question, as well as showing your master
loyalty even a Huffelpuff would be envious of.”

Hermione nodded silently.

“There would also be the matter of finding you a master . . . it would have to be someone with
previous experience owning house-elves . . . that may not be easy to find in Gryffindor.”

“Oh . . .” was all she could say before she was interrupted.

“That would be perfect . . . unify the houses by creating understanding between two members . . .
that would be splendid.”

“but . . .”

“We can do it over the Christmas holidays. I’ll start working on the arrangements immediately.
I’ll contact you when everything is settled.”

Hermione smiled and thanked the Headmaster. As she left his office, she started wondering what
she got herself into. Well there was two weeks till she would find out.

                                              &#                         ***

In the weeks following the meeting, before the Christmas holidays, Hermione grew both nervous
and impatient. She knew the answer to her question was just beyond her grasp, growing nearer
every day and it was getting distracting. It became harder to focus on her studies, but remained at
the top of the class somehow. When finally Christmas holidays arrived she watched her friends
and house mates pack their things and board the train for their homes as she anxiously waited for
word from the Headmaster. It looked as though there wasn’t going to be many students
remaining for Christmas this year.

When the note from the Headmaster arrived, she held it in nervous hands and read it twice.

Ms. Granger:

Please meet with me in my office one hour before lunch.

The password is Canary Creams.

Albus Dumbledore

Nothing, there was no hint of what he was planning. All she could do, was wait and see.

                    &;                                                   ***

Exactly one hour before lunch Hermione stood nervously in front of the Headmaster. She was
blinking slowly, eyes wide with disbelief.

“It’s a simple Charm,” the Headmaster assured. “It will simulate the bond that exists between
house-elf and master and will allow your owner to call you when you’re needed. It creates an
additional measure of trust between you and ensures him that you will keep his secrets even after
the experience is over. It will also prevent any unjust punishment to you, even though that is
normally considered up to the owners discretion.”

Hermione only had one thought, ‘Who?’

The Headmaster continued, “I have convinced the castle to shift a few rooms around. You will
have a room adjoining his for the extent of the holiday. It will save you trips across the castle in
the middle of the night.”

‘Who?’ She thought silently.

“I have also taken the liberty of acquiring you a uniform of sorts.” He handed her the symbol of
her enslavement. In her hands were a bed sheet and a large king-sized pillowcase, with holes cut
for her arms and head.

“The sheet is to be wrapped toga style, for the sake of modesty. Couldn’t have you run around in
a tea towel after all now, could we?” He said with a chuckle.

She blinked owlishly.

“If you were allowed to keep your clothes, you’d be a free house-elf.” The Headmaster explained.
“And that was not the point of this experiment, if I do recall.”

“Who?” She finally managed to squeak.

“Mr. Malfoy.” Dumbledore said with a twinkle. “He will be joining us shortly for his part of the
spell.”

Hermione was stunned. She had thought of Draco briefly when considering who the Headmaster
might choose, but considering his dislike for Muggleborns as well as the rivalry between them, she
was sure he would be out of the question. Now that she thought about it again, it could be no
one else. The Headmaster hoped to put an end to the rivalry that has been tradition between the
Golden trio and the Slytherins, since their first year. This could be really bad, she thought.

“Does he know about this, sir?” She asked.

“He is fully aware. As a matter of fact, he agreed to it without any hesitation.”

Knots started forming in her stomach. If Malfoy was that willing to be involved he was sure to be
up to something, and it wouldn’t be good.

                                                                        ***

   tbc

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Elves Without Clothes