cloudy with a Chance of freedom

chapter 36

"What's got you in a foul mood?" asked Skull.

"Hermione found out about house elves and is now all set to 'liberate' them from their oppression," said Verde crossly.

"Oh, right. I forgot about that. Give me a few days and I'll have derailed her so effectively that she'll shut up about it," said Skull.

"Good luck."

"I don't need luck, I have common sense, logic and actual reasoning behind me."

"Dear god, we're doomed!" groaned Verde horrified.

"This I have to see," said Blaise.

"What, me derailing Hermione?"

"No, you using common sense and logic," said Blaise deadpan.

"I get no respect!" bemoaned Skull. "No respect I tell ya!"

Skull promptly cornered Hermione after he had what he needed to make the demonstration. Several of the kitchen elves were all for it when he explained why and how it would keep several of the misinformed first gens from complaining too loudly about their situation while showing how good an elf they were.

"What do you want? Trying to dissuade me from freeing elves?" she said crossly.

"Actually I was going to tell you that while your heart is in the right place, your methodology and planning is only going to get you lynched by the very beings you're attempting to 'help'," said Skull flatly. "Never mind about what the pure bloods would do to you or how it would only ostracize you to everyone else if you were forceful about it."

Hermione glared at him.

"You have exactly ten seconds to explain your reasoning before I hex you to hell and back. And what are you doing here?" demanded Hermione.

"I came to see Harry actually use logic and common sense instead of ignoring it in favor of chaos," said Blaise bluntly. "And I plan to share the memory as evidence since I doubt anyone would believe me otherwise."

Hermione could completely agree to that.

"Let's think this through a simple logical standpoint. You've freed the elves who now have no home, no job and no idea what they're to do with themselves. Case in point, Winky who was disgraced by her longtime master and is now a raging drunk. How do you help them?"

"By getting them new paid employment."

"Ah, but the pure bloods would refuse to pay them on principle, the half-bloods would inevitably follow suit and the new bloods wouldn't be able to maintain one. Just look what they did with the werewolves and centaurs. So you've still got several jobless, miserable elves with no way of sustaining their magic, all of whom will resent you in short order for it."

"That's because they don't know any better...!" started Hermione in an indignant rant.

"Exactly. House elves, by and large, do not know any better. They've been conditioned for years to see magicals as their superiors and are perfectly fine with the current climate within reason. It's like taking a soldier straight out of active combat when he's still perfectly healthy and able to fight and shoving him into a civilian role like an officer clerk and expecting him to suddenly transition to a 'normal' life without believing there would be consequences for it."

Hermione's mouth opened and shut at that comparison.

"There is also the fact that at this time, house elves don't want to be freed. They've been conditioned to think that freedom equals disgrace and will punish themselves severely for disobeying their masters, even if it means inflicting harm upon themselves. Trying to shove freedom down their throats is simply going to end in a lot of needless death and pain," said Skull logically.