Is it a house elf?

Harry's heart moved, and he remembered what Hermione said in Gringotts. The house elves of Future World and Hogwarts agreed to join the Pan-Magic Alliance. The next step is that the Ministry of Magic will gradually clean up the house elves in the hands of the old families, especially those who are being abused...

The mental state of these house elves in Future World Company is surprisingly good. It may be related to the smiles on their faces, or it may be because the clothes they wear are close to the aesthetics of normal people. They are not just wearing a pillowcase, but can distinguish between tops, pants and strange strips of cloth used for decoration. This is better than Hogwarts. For a moment, Harry suddenly understood Hermione's long-standing persistence.

He raised his head and looked at the lively little guys on the second floor, trying to identify a familiar individual from them. This is not easy. He looked back and forth twice and didn't find Dobby. While he was wondering, he felt a hand grabbing his pants and pulling them.

Harry lowered his head.

"Dobby?"

"Harry Potter, sir! Hello!" A house-elf looked up at him with big round eyes. He was dressed similarly to Professor Flitwick at school. It was the familiar Dobby. His eyes were filled with tears of reunion.

Harry had a bad feeling. Dobby took two steps back and flew into his arms. His two thin arms tightly held him. His thin nose poked his stomach and hurt. Harry struggled to break free. "Hello to you too, Dobby." He said breathlessly.

Dobby took a few steps back and looked at Harry with a smile on his face.

"Harry Potter, sir!"

Harry looked at Dobby. He was in good spirits, and his clothes showed his unique preferences in many details. For example, the magenta sweater under his coat seemed to be a gift from Ron on Christmas Day. He wore a tie outside the sweater, and a green circle with two black dots was embroidered on the tie clip. Harry guessed that it was Dobby's work, but he didn't know what it meant. The house-elf also wore two thick socks of different colors on his feet, and he walked without making any sound.

"Mr. Harry Potter, please follow me."

The house-elf grabbed Harry's hand, pulled him through the crowd, and walked up the spiral staircase with a large arc.

"Wait, wait, Dobby, I'm not here alone, I have some friends with me, Ron, Neville, Hermione." Harry said, looking back and found that Ron was being watched by his two twin brothers, Neville was with Mr. Ollivander, and seemed to be asking Mr. Ollivander to check his wand; Hermione was gone, but she was still here just now.

"Dobby knows, it was Dobby who called Miss Granger away, and Dobby has something to give to Mr. Harry Potter!"

"You called Hermione away?" Harry said in surprise.

"Yes, Dobby followed Mr. Lupin's advice, Dobby is willing to help." The house elf walking in front said, they came to the second floor, "Dobby prepared Mr. Harry Potter's coming-of-age gift"

"Oh, well, thank you, Dobby." Harry was stunned for a moment, and suddenly realized that he was only a few days away from his seventeenth birthday, and this month passed quickly. But he immediately realized that Bill and Fleur's original wedding date was also in these few days, but it was not clear whether it would be held on time. And why did Lupin look for Hermione?

Harry had all sorts of thoughts in his mind, but all his questions changed when he saw a house-elf wearing a pink lace pillowcase, "Dobby, is that Winky?" He recognized Winky's big brown eyes and nose that looked like a squashed tomato. To be precise, he was more impressed by the latter feature.

But what really made him distinguish her from a bunch of house-elves was that she was one of the few who still wore a pillowcase as clothing.

"It's Winky." Dobby said. They walked forward along the escalator. Downstairs was the hall of Sword Castle. Harry could see the back of people's heads downstairs from a high place.

"But she's still wearing a pillowcase, why? Isn't she free?"

Dobby slowed down his pace, "Winky can't forget Mr. Crouch. Winky has been counting the days, saving money while counting the days, three years, two years, and now there is only half a year left."

So Barty Crouch still has half a year left to be released from prison? Harry thought.

They passed more than a dozen doors along the way. On both sides of the door stood ten-foot-tall magic puppets. These puppets came in handy when the Death Eaters attacked in large numbers. Some were also placed in the lobby of the Ministry of Magic and more important corridors. They stopped in front of a door. If there was anything special, it was that this door had two door handles, one of which was surprisingly low.

When Harry saw Dobby turning the handle effortlessly, his doubts were answered.

Inside the door was a huge and spacious circular space. Harry took a quick look and found that it was divided into several areas. In addition to the two rows of small benches on the work area, there was also a place for the house elves to rest. All the furniture was pocket-sized. Harry thought he had grown taller.

He turned his head subconsciously, and Hermione's figure flashed on the fifth floor in his sight.

...

"Professor, you are here too?" When Hermione closed the door from the room, she was surprised to see Felix there. Dobby only told her that Lupin was looking for her, and did not mention anyone else. Therefore, although the Sword Castle was theoretically Professor Hepp's property, she had no confidence in meeting the professor here.

Sometimes Hermione clearly had a feeling that if the professor resigned from the school one day, he might hide in a place where no one could find him (such as the moon) to study magic. After three or five years, he would suddenly remember that he still had a group of friends, so he would come out to visit relatives and friends. But the professor was actually not good at dealing with people at all. Many of his reactions were prepared in advance and he would use them directly when encountering different situations. This secret could only be discovered by the closest people. In addition, the professor was not a passionate person to begin with, and there were very few things that could move him, so he gave people the impression of being calm and unhurried.

Felix certainly didn't know what Hermione was thinking at the moment. He nodded at her and motioned Hermione to come over. There were other people in the spacious office. Hermione looked at them one by one, Lupin, Snape, and

"Professor Slughorn?"

Hermione's tone rose slightly, and she looked at the short and fat old wizard who was curled up on the sofa in surprise. His round figure was covered in exquisite and gorgeous robes, and his walrus-like beard was wagging. It was Slughorn, the professor of potions at Hogwarts.

"Come here, Miss Granger, we were just talking about simplifying potions." Slughorn said kindly. Hermione picked a seat and sat down, and he continued, "Felix mentioned that you had similar experience, combining students from four colleges last school year, right? In order to cope with O.Ls exams..."

"That is different from what we are discussing to do." Snape said coldly. He did not forget that the source of those simplified formulas was the textbooks he had used before, and the content above was essentially a trick. He was very proud of this in his early years, but later gave up these practices because they were not conducive to the improvement of potion learning.

"You are quite right, Severus," Slughorn said absentmindedly, "but I think the cleverness and leadership skills shown here are worthy of recognition... Of course, what we are going to talk about is more difficult. My suggestion is to start with the simple part, which is written in the textbook!"

Hermione listened for a while and found that they were talking about how to let ordinary people use potions. Snape had warned in class not to try to let Muggles take potions, because you can't be sure which potions require the participation of the wizard's own magic power, and no potion master has ever counted them. Snape and

Slughorn chatted casually, and many potion theories that were not written in the textbooks were casually mentioned by the two. Hermione seemed to understand what she heard, and she wished that they would speak slower so that she could take a notebook to write it down. At this moment, she heard a chuckle.

Hermione looked at Felix woodenly.

Felix lowered his head, and the curved arc of the corners of his mouth was revealed from his side face. He coughed twice, took out a silver pocket watch from his bosom, and said calmly: "If you don't plan to develop in the field of potions, there is actually no need to listen. I have summarized a comparison table of spells and potions, and the effects are similar... I am looking for you today because of another matter, and I need to ask for your opinion. Oh, I recommended you, and I think you are suitable..."

Before Hermione could speak, Snape suddenly looked at Felix and said sarcastically: "The subtlety of potions lies in the subtle differences. Some people gave up this subject early, so they naturally cannot appreciate the subtlety and the beauty that is enough to make people excited."

Hermione blinked. Is this saying that Professor Hep doesn't understand potions? She looked at Professor Slughorn again.

Although Slughorn was not as direct as Snape, he also expressed the same meaning in a tactful way. Hermione's time-tested ability to summarize came into play again. In summary, the two people's meanings are similar. Don't listen to the nonsense of laymen.

Felix rolled his eyes and opened the cover of the watch. Valen came out from inside, ducked his head to avoid the devil's hand, ran to Hermione, and gestured with his hands. Hermione's heart moved. Golden card? She looked at Felix, and Felix turned his head away stiffly.

At this time, the door opened from the outside, and Ms. Bones and Mr. Weasley walked in. Both of them looked tired.

"You look tired. Did the negotiations go badly?" Lupin asked gently.

Mr. Weasley took off his glasses, lowered his head and wiped the lenses with the corner of his clothes. He was a little bald, which made people worry that he might have a hairstyle similar to Slughorn in a few years. Mr. Weasley muttered, "It's terrible. The Muggle Prime Minister brought in a bunch of legal experts to pick on us with all kinds of words. All in all, we made limited progress after a morning."

"We don't have the advantage in numbers," Lupin said, "which prevents us from developing in many areas, such as law. Of course, it doesn't have to be exactly the same. I always think that the meaning of the existence of law is to use limited words to explain our expectations of this society." He paused, then continued, "We have a plan to deal with this situation, right?"

"Of course we do." Ms. Bones forced a smile and cast an admiring look at Felix. "Because of the existence of the Pan-Magic Alliance, they have no excuse to order wizards, but they want to restrict wizards' freedom through cumbersome laws. We proposed the concept of joint law enforcement and external window at the right time, which caught them off guard. Negotiations will continue tomorrow."

According to Felix and her ideas, wizards will not completely lift restrictions for a long time, and they will be managed separately. Only when the two sides intersect will they jointly enforce the law. Moreover, it is not designed from the beginning, but a strategy of one case and one judgment is adopted, and small amounts will accumulate to form provisions.

Joint law enforcement is to deal with emergencies, and both sides need a stable window for communication. There are currently two options on paper. One is a store that sells special wizard items, and the second is to establish a fixed location where both sides can freely communicate and interact within a certain range, including but not limited to cooperation and contact in science and technology and magic, so that ordinary people can also have the opportunity to contact magic, etc.

They chatted for a while, and Ms. Bones talked about business, "Law is the focus of the next negotiation, which determines the right of both parties to speak. I don't think it will be easy to reach an agreement. It happened that the issue of trade was mentioned this morning. If there is still no progress tomorrow, I plan to discuss this aspect first."

"Let them see the possible benefits of magic, which is conducive to striving for better results." Felix nodded in agreement, and then asked, "Has Babajide Abaginde contacted you?"

Ms. Bones sighed. "No, he just sends representatives every day to ask for a record of the day's negotiations. To be fair, he is a very capable person, but he is now facing a completely unfamiliar field and is responsible for dozens of magical ministries. He cannot and dare not make decisions easily."

She shook her head. If she hadn't had the help of others, she would be helpless in that tricky position.

"You hit the nail on the head," Lupin pointed out incisively, "He himself doesn't understand it and is worried about making mistakes. So the opportunity is delayed."

"Find an appropriate opportunity to invite him to meet." Felix said.

"The right time?" Ms. Bones thought for a while, and seemed to have thought of something. "I'll arrange it. There are two more things. The first one" she looked at Snape and Slughorn, "is related to potions. First potions, then medical treatment. Magic is still very advantageous in this regard."

"I need manpower," Snape said calmly, "a lot of manpower."

"Okay." Ms. Bones nodded and said, "There is a group of potion masters temporarily living in Diagon Alley. I will invite them on behalf of the Ministry of Magic. Professor Slughorn, I know you are old and have the right to enjoy a peaceful life, but at this moment, we need your strength. Even if it's just some suggestions."

"Oh, of course, that's no problem." Slughorn said, "I've been retired for decades, and finally found that school is the most suitable for me. I think I will stay in Hogwarts, but if students are completely in no mood to study, I, as a professor, will have nothing to do."

He said thoughtfully:

"Speaking of which, it was Dumbledore who reminded me... Well, in his last days... He said that school is the safest place and the most suitable place to live in old age. If even school loses its peace, other places will only be in a worse state."

Everyone in the room fell silent, as if they suddenly remembered something. If there is anything in common among these people, it is that in the past few months, there have been several times when Dumbledore talked to them... Although the reasons used were different.

"The second thing is..." After a moment of silence, Ms. Bones adjusted her monocle and continued.

...

"Accepting a TV interview?" Ron looked at Hermione in surprise, as if she was talking about something out of the ordinary.

"What's going on?" Harry asked.

"It can be understood as a way for both parties to enhance trust. You should know that the Ministry of Magic is going to select some non-magical people to visit the wizarding society. The principle is the same." Hermione explained, "It's not just me. Mr. Weasley and Professor Slughorn are on the list."

"My dad is going to be on TV?" Ron said with a little excitement, "He hasn't told the family yet. Oh, well, he's been too busy lately."

"So I have to get ready. There are only a few days left," Hermione said hastily, "I have to go to the library to look up information."

"The library probably doesn't have what you're looking for." Harry reminded her.

"How could it not? Wizard history, wizard culture... it must be there." Hermione rolled up her sleeves, looking like she was going to do something big.