Speak Up - Female Deaf Harry Potter AU

Slave Labour!

Hari joined the twins and Ginny on the train, Ron and Hermione arrived after a minute, dragging their luggage into the compartment. 

The thick rain splattering the windows and the dark clouds didn't even remotly darken the lively mood in the compartment. Ron went to get some food out of his trunk and Hari saw a corner of maroon and lace. Before Ron could stop her she snagged a corner of it. 

"Hey!" Ron said as she pulled what looked like a long, maroon velvet dress. It had a moldy-looking lace frill at the collar and matching lace cuffs.

#) What's this? (#

"His dress robes!" Ginny said, as the twins laughed their heads off.

•   •   •

As they entered the entrance hall, a large red water balloon had dropped from out of the ceiling onto Ron's head and exploded. Drenched and sputtering, Ron staggered sideways into Hari, just as a second water bomb dropped, sending a wave of cold water onto her, soaking her to the bone. Hari looked up and saw, floating twenty feet above them, Peeves the Poltergeist, a little man in a bell-covered hat and orange bow tie, his wide, malicious face contorted with concentration as he took aim again. She gave the poltergeist a descrite thumbs up, then dried herself with her wand.

After McGonagall shooed Peeves out the hall as he lobbed even more waters bombs.

Hari slipped and slid across the entrance hall and through the double doors on the right, Hari glanced at the stalf table, wondering who the new defence against the dark arts teacher was. She saw no one new.

• • •

When dinner was served there was way less food than usual. Ron, as hungry as usual

#)What's with the food?(# Hari asked,

"You're lucky there's a feast at all tonight, you know," Formerly Nearly Headless Nick replied. "There was trouble in the kitchens earlier."

"Why? What happened?" asked Hari, picking at a potato.

"Peeves, of course," said Headless Nick, shaking his head, which wobbled dangerously almost falling off. He pulled his ruff a little higher up on his neck. "The usual argument, you know. He wanted to attend the feast - well, it's quite out of the question, you know what he's like, utterly uncivilized, can't see a plate of food without throwing it. We held a ghost's council - the Fat Friar was all for giving him the chance - but most wisely, in my opinion, the Bloody Baron put his foot down."

#) What did he do in the kitchens? (#

"Oh the usual," said Headless Nick, shrugging. "Wreaked havoc and mayhem. Pots and pans everywhere. Place swimming in soup. Terrified the house-elves out of their wits--"

Hermione knocked over her golden goblet. Pumpkin juice spread steadily over the tablecloth, staining several feet of white linen orange, only not spilling into peoples laps because Hari cast a shield; however Hermione paid no attention to the orange stain that the house elves would now have to deal with.

"There are house-elves here?" she said, staring, horror-struck, at Headless Nick. "Here at Hogwarts?"

"Certainly," said Headless Nick, looking surprised at her reaction. "The largest number in any dwelling in Britain, I believe. Over a hundred."

"But- but I've never seen one!" said Hermione.

"Well, they hardly ever leave the kitchen by day, do they?" said Headless Nick. "They come out at night to do a bit of cleaning.. . see to the fires and so on.. . . I mean, you're not supposed to see them, are you? That's the mark of a good house-elf, isn't it, that you don't know it's there?"

Hermione stared at him. "But they get paid? They get holidays, don't they? And - and sick leave, and pensions, and everything?"

Headless Nick chortled, his head flopping off, he caught it before it hit the floor. "Sick leave and pensions?" he said, pushing his head back onto his shoulders and securing it once more with his ruff. "House-elves don't want sick leave and pensions!"

Hermione looked down at her hardly touched plate of food, then put her knife and fork down upon it and pushed it away from her.

#) Hermione... you need to eat. (# Hari said, inconsistant from the fact that she was still picking at the same potato. #)You won't get them sick leave by starving yourself!(#

"Slave labor," said Hermione, crossing her arms. "That's what made this dinner. Slave labor." And she refused to eat another bite. 

Sorry for taking so long with this chapter, school has been rather hectic.