Chapter 327 SPEW

Chapter 327 S.P.E.W.

"Gee, it's a shame I wasn't there. Of course I know what Harry is thinking. Yes, it's natural for a little boy of his age to want to show off that he has a house elf, especially In front of so many classmates. But - I know you will agree with me, Henry - external help is never as good as your own strength. I know a very useful trick to resist the magic of those house elves. If I had been there, I could have taught Harry..."

"Uh-huh," Anthony said.

He was walking with Lockhart down the corridor to the great hall. He knew he should have gone to breakfast earlier.

"I met a few crazy house elves in Somalia who suddenly became interested in treasures. But then again, if they weren't crazy, a good house elf would never dare to attack a wizard... ...No matter what, the wizards there were helpless against them, but I knew what to do as soon as I got there." Lockhart raised his fingers and tapped his temple lightly, "I had an adventurer's intuition at that time. Just like this." He showed a bright smile to several students passing by, nodded, then raised the wand in front of him, danced a dazzling wand flower, and then raised it high above his head, "Pay attention, I Lift your chin and look directly at the house elf..."

"No magic in the corridors, Professor Lockhart," Anthony reminded him.

Lockhart paused and put down his wand nonchalantly: "You're right, Henry, you're right. But if you're curious, I think I mentioned a few lines in "Magical Me" - "

A voice came from behind them: "Did you just say house elf, Professor Lockhart?"

Anthony and Lockhart turned and saw Hermione. She was holding a tin box in her hand and was slightly out of breath as she quickly chased after him. Harry and Ron stood a few steps behind her, both looking awkward.

"Are you talking about house elves, Professor?" Hermione asked in a slightly tight but unflinching tone. "By the way, you've never used house elves in your adventure series!"

Lockhart smiled and slowed down: "Yes, Miss Granger, and I did this intentionally. The joy of adventure lies in experiencing those thrilling moments in person..."

Hermione's cheeks were red and her eyes were bright as she looked at Lockhart and said fervently: "I know that you have always been committed to fighting against the forces of Darkness and hoping to eliminate evil in the world."

Lockhart's smile widened. He said slyly: "Don't forget, there is also the promotion of my hair care series."

Hermione smiled sweetly, and then raised the box that jingled with her footsteps: "So you must be willing to support the house elves in getting the rights they deserve, right? They have been suffering for centuries. Inhuman slavery - we can't let this kind of thing continue! Those arrogant wizards are pampered and enjoy the services of the elves, but they are deliberately unwilling to pay anything, and even beat and scold them. When I think of this, , I just—I just—I feel nauseated!”

She popped open the box, and inside was a bunch of badges that read "S.P.E.W.", which looked rather crude.

"Vomiting?" Lockhart looked at the badge in the box with some confusion, and his pace became slower. Anthony also looked over. Maybe it's some sort of pun about "feeling queasy."

"It's not 'vomiting', S.P.E.W., the Society for the Promotion of House Elf Rights." Hermione explained patiently and skillfully, "This is an association to ensure that house elves are paid reasonably and that they are treated correctly. We believe there is no Every living thing - no intelligent, sentient creature - is born solely to serve another creature! Just spend two Sicos and buy a badge to show your support for this idea!"

She looked at Lockhart expectantly. Lockhart looked a little stunned, but he showed his signature charming smile the next second.

"Oh, dear boy, that's a very interesting point," he said kindly, "but, you see, I don't have a penny on my body now—"

Hermione immediately interrupted him: "It's okay, Professor Lockhart, you can give it later." She raised the box higher, "Wearing a badge is also a way of support, and I believe that the sooner you express your initiative, The better! You can get one first!”

They walked to the hall. Anthony glanced back. Harry and Ron were still not far behind them, snickering and talking about something. Lockhart was walking in front of everyone. His expression suddenly changed dramatically, he stopped and turned around.

"No, Miss Granger, I can't do that." Lockhart's serious look stunned Hermione, who was in high spirits. "I'm not the kind of person who would use my reputation to enjoy privileges. If I don't pay It would be unfair to others just to get the badge, wouldn't it? Can I do that?" He smiled again and winked mischievously at Hermione, "Of course not, enjoy it first. "Breakfast, Miss Granger."

After saying that, he walked quickly to the staff table, the light blue wizard robe swinging elegantly behind him.

Hermione watched him walk away, then suddenly turned to Anthony and reluctantly raised the box: "Professor Anthony——"

"I'll think about it," Anthony promised.

Hermione looked a little disappointed, but she didn't lose her fighting spirit: "After you think about it carefully, you can always buy badges from me, Harry or Ron. There are only twenty badges at the moment, but they are definitely not enough, so I am still making more. "Also, when I master more magic, I plan to update all our badges." She said slightly sheepishly, "I know they don't look worth two Sickles, but it won't always be like this." "

Anthony isn't sure whether people would rather wear the current plain and simple badge or a more beautiful, eye-catching "vomit". But he just said: "When people buy your badge, I'm sure they don't think appearance is the decisive factor, Miss Granger."

"Yes, the most important thing is the concept." Hermione said firmly, "Please think about it carefully." She turned her head and greeted Harry and Ron impatiently, "Okay, don't put on that expression. .”

"Great, I'm starving." Ron breathed a sigh of relief, "What's in store for this morning?"

In the days that followed, Anthony noticed that he saw Hermione wandering in the library more often than before, reading large open books and writing furiously on long volumes of parchment. , undoubtedly still conducting more research on the rights of elves. On several occasions, he overheard Hermione trying to convince Harry to convince Sirius to free Kreacher.

As far as he knew, Lockhart still hadn't purchased the badge. This made Hermione slightly critical of Lockhart, but she would still defend him when Ron mentioned it sarcastically, believing that he just did not express his true support for various reasons. for he felt that it was a great thing that must be carefully considered, because he did not hear clearly, because once again he had no money with him, because he was busy looking for his quill, and because the design of the badge did not suit his fine dress. …

"You don't think we think it looks good, do you, Hermione?" Ron asked in disbelief, pointing to the S.P.E.W. badge on his chest.

Hermione's face turned slightly red: "But...well...it won't be as discordant as at Professor Lockhart's place."

Ron was furious with her.

"Besides," Hermione added briskly, "the most important thing is the idea it conveys. If Professor Lockhart is hesitant to buy it just because of its appearance, I will look down on him."

Anthony left quietly, secretly wondering if Hermione knew that there was a large group of elves living in Hogwarts and listening to their conversation. In any case, except for the day when Hermione sold Anthony the badge by the way, she never urged Anthony to join her association, let alone expected Anthony's two Sickles like she expected Lockhart.

But even though S.P.E.W. wasn't "eagerly awaiting his appearance," as those charity or fund-raising flyers put it, when he returned to the office, he found that something was indeed waiting for him to appear.

A horned owl was standing outside his window, eyes half-closed and neck curled up for a nap. Cats, chickens and mice were on the other side of the window, huddled around fresh white potted plants, staring at the owl.

The moment Anthony closed the door behind him, the three pets and an owl all looked at him. The horned owl fluttered its wings and began tapping its beak rhythmically on his window.

"Go, go." Anthony drove the pets away and opened the window, "Give it to me, thank you - what is it? Do you want something to eat?"

The owl stretched out a leg with a small package tied to it. As soon as Anthony had unhooked it, the owl flew away.

"Oh, okay," Anthony said, closing the window and sitting at his desk. The cat jumped onto the armrest, then slipped under his arm and lay down on his lap. The Wraith Chicken and Wraith Rat also gathered over and stared at the small package.

Anthony opened the outermost wrapping paper and found that it was still wrapped in layers of newspapers. In addition to the newspaper, two notes fell out of the package. He picked up the one at hand, and the familiar font came into his eyes.

"Haha, we are back! To be precise, I am back. Mr. and Mrs. Flamel said they were going back to their secluded place. But before leaving, they said they planned to send you some souvenirs, so I asked them Take this note with you. I hope the owl is really reliable. A lot of things have happened, but I am too tired, so I will talk to you slowly some time. I really need a good bath.

"You're tired, Lind"

Anthony laughed and picked up another note.

"Dear Henry:

"Enclosed is a small souvenir. It's not a nice thing, but it's not too bad. We originally wanted to give it to Albus, but Perenal and I talked it over and thought it might be better to give it to you. More appropriate. Of course, you can show it to Albus.

"Whatever, don't tell anyone we found this thing. Even if it's scrapped. Tell Albus you picked it up on the road, or it suddenly appeared next to your pillow - never mind, I think you can Tell Albus, but no more. The Philosopher's Stone is enough for us. God, dear Perenal, we are such geniuses at playing with stones and causing trouble for ourselves.

“Adventures are really not for us. We would either get bored or get into trouble.

"Correction, I have enclosed a small inconvenience.

“N. F.”

Anthony put the letter down in confusion and unfolded the crumpled newspaper. News from Devonshire, dense rental notices, and an advertisement for a beef price reduction on Wednesday... Finally, a small object rolled out with a jingle.

The cat poked its head out with interest, ears erected, and put its paws on the table, stretching its front paws to grab it. Anthony held the cat down.

It was a ring. As a ring, it was actually quite large, the ring body was heavy, and it was inlaid with a broken black stone. The magic power that had not yet dissipated was entangled with it, making Anthony feel his hair stand on end and his heart fascinated just holding it.

He had a bad feeling: Nicolas Flamel sent him a dark magic item - a dark magic item that was almost scrapped.

“How likely do you think Minerva would like this news?” Anthony asked the wraith chicken, “Well, at least the senior inquisitor would like it.”

He wrapped the ring back in the newspaper and decided to report it to Dumbledore as Nicolas suggested.