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BELLA WENT TO THE KITCHENS with Ginny, Fred, and George to get food and drinks for the afterparty while Harry talked with the other champions about what she could only assume were stupid champion things.
She hadn't been to the kitchens at all yet that school year, so she was utterly surprised when, after tickling the pear and entering the room, they were greeted by Dobby, the house elf who'd insisted on keeping her brother from Hogwarts her first year.
"Bella Potter!" the house elf squeaked, running up and latching his arms around her legs quite tightly. "Dobby has been waiting to see Bella Potter since he got to Hogwarts! Dobby hasn't yet seen Harry Potter or Bella Potter, but Dobby is now seeing Bella Potter!"
"Dobby, what are you doing here?" Bella asked, ignoring the strange looks the three Weasleys were giving her and gesturing for them to gather what they'd come for.
"Professor Dumbledore has offered to pay Dobby!" the house else absolutely shrieked in excitement. "Dobby has been struggling to find work since Harry Potter freed him, because nobody wants to pay house elves, but then Professor Dumbledore said he would pay Dobby to work at Hogwarts! And Dobby gets to see Bella Potter!"
"Dobby, that's wonderful," Bella grinned at the elf, gently unwrapping his arms from around her legs. "How much is he paying you?"
"One galleon per week," Dobby said proudly.
"That's it? That's not much at all."
Dobby seemed aghast at this. "Well Professor Dumbledore offered more, but Dobby could never take so much money! One galleon a week is alls I need!"
Bella thought about this for a moment, a sly smile overtaking her face as an idea popped into her head. "Dobby, how would you like to join spew?"
It was another twenty minutes before they finally left the kitchens, and Bella was acutely aware of the glares coming from all three of the Weasleys, due to the fact that her long-winded conversation with Dobby was the main – well, only – reason for the holdup.
On the bright side, though, Bella had managed to recruit Dobby to the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, and she was sure Hermione would be thrilled.
"Ginny, it's our duty as historian and parliamentarian to help get new members, or our cause will never get off the ground," Bella defended herself earnestly as they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. "In fact – Fred, George, how would you like to join spew?"
Fred scratched his head. "What is it, again?"
"The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare," Bella supplied quickly, grinning at the obvious manner in which Ginny had just tried to suppress a groan. "Quite a mouthful, though, really, so we just say spew. Or, I do, Hermione hates it, but I don't see why something with a perfectly good, pronounceable acronym should be spelled out letter-by-letter instead."
