Chapter 114
With this harvest and in a great mood, Soren was not in a hurry to leave; he stood there chatting casually with Gin.
"Gin, I hope it's not too presumptuous to ask, how are the elders chosen among the house-elves at Hogwarts?" Soren inquired politely.
Gin did not show the same fear as other house-elves might have in response to Soren's courtesy; instead, he answered in a very normal tone: "Don't worry, sir, your question is not presumptuous at all. There is actually no hierarchy among house-elves; the position of elder is not meant to manage other house-elves. This is a rule established by the ancestors of our house elf family tree long ago..."
"Your ancestors? Could it be..." Soren recalled what he had read in the history of Hogwarts. At the time of the school's founding, Rowena Ravenclaw was responsible for the castle's interior design; Salazar Slytherin was in charge of recruiting professors, teaching assistants, and other staff; Godric Gryffindor was responsible for pacifying the intelligent creatures living around the castle, such as centaurs and merpeople, to prevent them from disturbing Hogwarts; Helga Hufflepuff was in charge of the castle's daily maintenance, including cleaning, procurement of materials, kitchen operations, and so on.
By chance, Hufflepuff gained the loyalty of a house-elf, and later, with the help of that house-elf, found more house-elves.
Hufflepuff, sympathizing with the inhumane treatment of house-elves as slaves in the Middle Ages, brought them all to Hogwarts, providing them with a safe place to stay. Although Hufflepuff did not attempt to liberate house-elves like Hermione did in the later original work, she did the greatest thing she could at the time, providing house-elves with the best working and living conditions, which earned her great respect from them.
Soren suspected that the first house-elf to follow Hufflepuff was the ancestor that Gin spoke of.
Soren's guess was soon confirmed by Gin.
"Yes, our ancestor was the first house-elf to follow Lady Hufflepuff, the great Hokey. It was he who established the rule of appointing elders. Before each elder passes away, they must appoint the next heir, and this heir must inherit the secrets of our house-elf family tree. And Hufflepuff's stew pot is one of them."
"Gin, I don't intend to pry into your race's secrets. But I am just curious to ask, what happened to Hokey later? His deeds are recorded in 'Hogwarts: A History'; he helped Hufflepuff sever the magical tree's soul-sucking flower and ultimately opened the greenhouse for cultivating herbs, but the history does not mention his final fate."
Gin fell silent.
His aged face was calm and unruffled, and even with Soren's keen observation, he could not detect any unusual signs.
"Gin, did I ask something I shouldn't have? If it's inconvenient to answer, that's fine; I was just curious and didn't mean to press for an answer," Soren said, feeling the atmosphere becoming awkward, and hurriedly added.
"Fate!" Gin sighed.
Soren did not dare to interrupt Gin's thoughts and quietly waited for him to continue.
"For so many years, you are the first person to ask about the whereabouts of the great Hokey, and you are not even a Hufflepuff..."
Gin's gaze flickered with a hint of brilliance, and he slowly began to speak: "Well, since you have solved the test left by Lady Hufflepuff and asked about Hokey's whereabouts, I will tell you..."
"Our house-elves are actually a branch of the elf race..."
Soren was not particularly surprised by this.
After that day's History of Magic class, he had already known that house-elves were descendants of the ancient elf race. The ancient elf race, like the ancient dragons and ancient giants, had disappeared from the annals of history.
The descendants of the ancient house elf race are diverse and widespread, with house-elves found all over Europe being just one branch. The Erklings that roam the Black Forest in Germany are also part of the house elf race, as are the leprechauns of Ireland, the Yumbo of Africa, and the Tanuki of the East, among others. Strictly speaking, they all belong to the category of Elvish Creatures.
"In ancient times, our oldest ancestors, the ancient house elves, created a secret realm to avoid war, serving as a refuge for their descendants. However, many of the elven descendants were unwilling to spend their lives hiding in this secret realm. They were filled with longing and yearning for the outside world, leading some to sneak out of the realm. This resulted in the existence of the current species: the house-elves, goblins, cloud folk, raccoon people, and us..."
"With the help of lady Hufflepuff, Lord Hokey successfully found a way back to the secret realm. Thus, all the house-elves here at Hogwarts, once they reach an old age, will return to the ancestral land of the elves and welcome death there. As for me, in a few more years, after appointing my next elder, I will also return to the elven ancestral land."
So this is it, the greatest secret passed down through generations of house-elves? It turns out that the ancient elf's secret realm has been preserved until today.
If greedy wizards were to learn of this, it would be disastrous; they would definitely invade to capture more house-elves as slaves. No wonder house-elves keep this matter so secret.
Soren immediately sensed something was off. The selection test for heirs in Ravenclaw is incredibly complex, requiring one to find the crown, repair it, activate it, and then read through a vast collection of books. There's no reason for Hufflepuff, being one of the four founders, to leave such a simple test—just needing to crack an ancient rune.
Although ancient runes are obscure, if it's just about deciphering a single symbol, there are certainly many professors who could do it, and surely there have been many talented students over the past thousand years who could accomplish it.
Soren couldn't help but wonder, could the real test from Hufflepuff actually be at the elven ancestral land? And this cauldron is merely a decoy, perhaps even part of the test; if students are satisfied with it, they would miss the true challenge.
So the question arises, how does one enter the elven ancestral land?
The house-elves might know, but they would definitely guard this secret from the wizards.
Methods like Legilimency, mental hypnosis, and soul control might extract the secret, but Soren no longer wanted to resort to such means. His previous experiences with dark magic left him with lingering fears; he had only just escaped its influence and did not want to plunge back in.
Back in his dormitory, he summoned Dobby.
Dobby had been with him the longest, having watched him grow up, so it was impossible that there were no feelings involved.
Everything changed after he obtained the Soul Chapter of "Abathar." He delved deeply into soul magic and discovered its domineering aspects.
Before meeting Voldemort for the first time during the summer break, he had conducted an experiment on Dobby, casting soul magic that he had not yet mastered fully, implanting the suggestion of "cannot resist" in Dobby's mind, which led Dobby to develop a sense of submission towards him.
It was probably from that moment that his mindset began to swell.
The feeling of being able to control the will and thoughts of others, how should he say it, was truly—exhilarating!
That sense of being above all, controlling everything, was enough to deeply captivate a person, making it hard to extricate oneself.
He had once hesitated, fallen into self-doubt, and felt uneasy due to the rapid growth of his soul magic, but then the incident with Meredith happened inconveniently. Frustration and guilt drove him to pursue power, causing him to let go of caution and vigilance, leading him further down the path of dark magic...
Looking at Dobby's fervent and utterly loyal gaze, recalling their shared past from childhood, and remembering the things he had done to him, Soren sighed and softly said, "Dobby, I'm sorry for what I did to you..."
Dobby was somewhat confused, just standing there foolishly, waiting for Soren's command.
Who would have thought that what he would receive was Soren raising his wand and saying, "Anima sicut!"
Dobby shook his somewhat heavy head, swaying unsteadily, and then lost his balance, sitting down on the ground.
"How do you feel, Dobby?" Soren asked gently.
"Dobby is fine," Dobby was still trying to adjust to the heaviness in his mind; he pointed to his head and said, "It's just a bit dizzy here..."
"I must apologize to you, Dobby," Soren thought for a moment and decided to be honest, "I used some magic on you before, which likely affected your mind, but I just undid it..."
"Master doesn't need to apologize to Dobby," Dobby widened his eyes, "Dobby actually knows that although it was Harry Potter who enabled Dobby to gain his freedom, Master, you also secretly put in a lot of effort, right? And then you gave Dobby a job, Dobby is very grateful to you. In Dobby's heart, he has always regarded Master as his true master..."
House-elves are a very special species, and their loyalty is not entirely based on ancient family contracts. For example, Kreacher can be loyal only to certain members of the family while choosing to feign compliance with others within the same family.
When house-elves do not genuinely submit, they will do everything possible to find loopholes in the commands given by their nominal master. They can even secretly do things that, while not violating their master's orders, can still be detrimental to their master, although they must severely punish themselves afterward.
The only way to win the true loyalty of house-elves is to treat them well. In the original text, Sirius made this mistake, which indirectly led to his death.
Dobby speaking these words now undoubtedly reveals his true feelings for Soren deep down.
Soren shook his head, "Dobby, you have taken care of me a lot since I was young. I have never forgotten what you went through to help me and how you were punished by Crouch. Helping you gain your freedom was something I should have done... As for giving you a job, in the end, I am just using you to help me with tasks..."
"No!" Dobby said loudly, "In Dobby's heart, Master is Dobby's good friend. Being able to help Master is Dobby's happiest and proudest thing!"
Soren's gaze suddenly became sharp, "Dobby, is that really how you feel? Aren't you even a little angry about me casting spells on you?"
"Dobby doesn't know," Dobby stubbornly shook his head, "but Dobby knows that Master would never harm Dobby!"
"Naive!" Soren sneered, his tone suddenly turning cold, "Then, if I cast spells on you again, what do you plan to do?"
"Dobby believes Master won't do that!" Dobby puffed out his chest and said fearlessly.
Dobby... you fool...
You're really silly...
But you're really adorable...
Soren sighed, closed his eyes, and after a while, said softly, "Thank you, Dobby. Truly, thank you."
"Dobby, I need your help— though, this is a request, not an order. You can choose to refuse, and I absolutely won't blame you..."
"Master, please speak," Dobby said firmly, "Dobby will definitely do his best to help you."
Soren told Dobby about the Hufflepuff legacy and expressed his desire for Dobby to take him to the elves' ancestral land. Soren solemnly promised that this time he was truly only interested in the Hufflepuff legacy and had no covetous thoughts regarding the other elf species living in the ancestral land.
Dobby did not hesitate at all and patted his chest in agreement.