Albus Potter, Classmates and Elves

Ch 15 Winter into Spring

I want to thank my Beta Deb for major changes and additions to this.

*

The students arrived back on Wednesday, January second, two thousand and nineteen. Classes started right away, with the first classes Thursday morning.

Thursday, after dinner, the Magic and Elf Language Learners (MELL) students met in the meeting room under the Gryffindor common room. As long as it was before curfew, Gryffindor students could have students from other houses there, and it was the room the Weasley/Potter cousins and friends use for their meetings.

The students spent some time talking about their Christmas break. All of the MELL students had been asked about Galadriel and Luthien and Elf wands, and Thorin and goblin wands.

"I have already been approached by students upset that I have a wand," Thorin announced after the group got down to business, "even though I have been using this wand since I first arrived at Hogwarts."

"We have had some students amazed that we are Elves," Galadriel laughed, looking exasperated at that. "We do not look quite human, thank goodness. We have never tried to hide what we are."

Gabrielle DuMond remarked, "Well, you are much prettier than most Elves." Galadriel just rolled her eyes at the remark.

"Some students want to argue with us, with my sister and Thorin and me," Galadriel continued, shaking her head. "I would expect all of us MELL students would have people trying to argue with us. Please do not argue. Just refuse to talk about wands."

"That is not going to be easy to do," Gabrielle protested.

"I think Galadriel is right," Albus stressed, looking at each of the MELL students. "See if you can put off any discussion of Elves and Goblins and wands until after next summer. We are learning much more about these subjects, but are not ready to talk about them until we learn more and are sure we are right."

Throughout the next few weeks, a number of the students tried to get more information out of Albus and the rest, but no one would say more.

*

Friday night, just before midnight, after two full days of classes, Albus and Scorpius were awakened by a Hogwarts Elf. The Elf told the boys as they quickly got dressed, "Bowman Flint is at the Hogs Head Inn, and we think he will be there for some time. Now is a good time to map all the area around the sewage treatment plant and his house. Rose and Cleo are with another Elf, and will meet us there."

The four friends spent about two hours mapping all the area from the border of the protected area around Hogwarts to the castle, mapping almost all of the side of the castle that had not been previously mapped. When they were finished Albus made a copy of the map and handed it to the Elf. The Elf told Albus, "I will give this to the headmistress." He then took the two boys back to their room to try and get back to sleep until it was time to get up for breakfast.

*

The next morning Albus sent his father an updated copy of the Hogwart's Map. When Harry received it, he looked at the map. He watched as once a week Bowman Flint went up to the two cisterns that fed water to Hogwarts. Earlier Harry had installed a video camera at each cistern to record what Bowman did at the cisterns. He waved his wand over the water several times. Harry saw that at least some of the time he was testing the water, since he produced a parchment that he gave to an Elf to deliver to Minerva every week. The report showed generally very minor contamination, well within any health standards, including extremely low levels of residual potion ingredients. Harry knew that at least once a year a sample of the water was taken to the Ministry where it was tested, and that the tests had agreed for as long as the testing had been done.