alchemical blurb

[mswoods]

The following day, Sadde has Transfiguration in the morning.

She is all over it at lunch.

"Okay, so, Transfig is just about the coolest thing," she says first thing to the Ravenclaws as soon as she sits at the table.

Comments

[msmaxwell]

"What do they look like?"

[chanuphis]

"House elves - I'm not sure why the adjective; there may be other kinds but if so they're hopelessly obscure - are yea high and they have huge, slightly flappy-looking ears, big eyes, weird noses, and heads too big for their bodies. Wizards use them for domestic tasks, with, by and large, the elves' enthusiastic agreement."

[mswoods]

She raises an eyebrow. "Really? That's... interesting? And really peculiar. Are they artificial?"

[chanuphis]

"I'm not sure. They might be sort of domesticated, like dogs only magical."

[mswoods]

"Are House Elves trained from birth to perform those domestic tasks, like seeing-eye dogs are? Are they sentient?"

[chanuphis]

"They're sentient, and they can talk and everything, and I have no idea how they raise their children but I guess they must train them - probably the parents, not the wizards."

[mswoods]

"Huh. It sounds- kinda weird, that a whole sapient species is used for domestic tasks?"

[chanuphis]

"Yeah, it's very weird, but I've met a couple of them and they are very emphatic that it's what they want to do. I mean, they could be lying but following up on that doesn't seem like the highest priority since they'd need some reason to lie about it, like 'not wanting me to butt in'."

[mswoods]

"I guess," she says uncertainly.

[pleating]

"Hogwarts has elves," Karen says. "I'm not sure how you'd find one, but you could maybe do it and then talk to them if you want."

[mswoods]

"Alright, I guess. I'll go by your words that they're happy."

[pleating]

"There was a scandal when I was little that my cousin's elf thinks is really funny where an elf did want to be freed and got it - his owner had to be tricked though - but he died in the war. The elf not the owner."

[msmaxwell]

"...that doesn't sound very funny," Willow opines.

[pleating]

"Well, my cousin usually leaves out the part where the elf dies later."

[msmaxwell]

"Erm, yeah, still not seeing it."

[mswoods]

Sadde nods.

[pleating]

"I'm probably telling it wrong."

[chanuphis]

"Purebloods are probably more likely to find the concept of free elves inherently hilarious."

[mswoods]

"Alright."

[chanuphis]

"You might be able to meet an elf if it would make you feel better by leaving a note with your laundry."

[mswoods]

She nods. "That might help, yes."

[chanuphis]

"Um, and I could look it over for you so you don't accidentally insult them or something."

[mswoods]

"That might also help."

[chanuphis]

"Although Karen has more house elf experience than I do."

[pleating]

"It's not like we have one, but we might know more people who have them, I guess."