Chapter 6: Elfish Welfare

A quick chapter for you all!

Chapter 6: Elfish Welfare

The Great Hall was even more crowded and stuffy than it usually was, much to Selene's distaste. She bit her tongue to keep from making a rude comment to one of First Years that was bellowing into her ear, and instead slammed her book shut, making the young boy jump about three feet in the air.

Cedric - of course - looked up as she did, sending her a questioning look as she slipped her work and books back into her bag, glancing behind her at the terrified young Ravenclaw.

Cedric was Cho's current fancy, and he was such a change from the men she had fallen for before. Less like a fuckboy, for one. Selene had known him for years, as the Diggory's were an old Pureblood family and their families operated in the same circles, even if her father never really enjoyed talking to Amos. Did her father enjoy talking to anyone?

They'd fallen out of touch after Selene was sorted into Ravenclaw and him into Hufflepuff, but after a shared Potions lesson in Third Year which ended in a furious Snape and a slightly blackened wall, her and Cedric had become friends again. Admittedly not as close as they had been, but friends all the same.

"Library," she mouthed at him, shifting her bag a little higher on her shoulder. Cedric nodded, not questioning any further, and Selene relaxed considerably.

Thank goodness it had been Cedric and not Cho that had noticed her change of plans. Cho would most certainly have forced her to sit with them and talk about hair products for another half an hour.

She didn't want to push her luck any more than she had to, so Selene turned around, and tried to guess how much work she could get done while everyone else was at dinner.

oOo

Selene bit her bottom lip, sweeping her hair off her shoulder and massaging her temples. Transfiguration never came easily to her, however hard she tried. It didn't click with her like Charms or Ancient Runes did. It was a mess of gobbledegook. Unfortunately not the actual language, because at least she knew how to say 'fuck' in that.

Golpalott's Tenth Law was making less and less sense the more times she read it over, to the point where the words were messed up into a page of black streaks. Selene slammed the book shut instead, before swiftly turning to the work she could do – Charms.

"Are you okay?"

Selene started, looking up into the slightly concerned eyes of Hermione Granger. The girl in question placed a considerably large book in front of Selene, and offered her a cautious smile.

"You looked like you were having a bit of trouble," Hermione explained. "This should help- was it Transfiguration that you were looking at?"

Selene nodded, taking a deep breath as she accepted the book, picking it up and turning it over in her hands, reading the gold lettering inscription on the back with a slightly bemused expression.

"Do you, you know," Hermione continued, gingerly. "Want any help?"

"Granger's an insufferable know-it-all," Draco sighed, glaring down at the pile of Divination holiday homework he had been kindly given by Professor Trelawney. "God, and what is up with her hair?"

"Yes please," Selene answered quickly, before she could change her mind.

Hermione grinned in response, taking the empty seat next to Selene and placing the large wooden box that she had been working with. "Right," she began, suddenly serious. "What is it you were having trouble with?"

"Golpalott's Tenth Law," Selene explained, turning to the needed page. "The one about the assigned mass and its delegations..."

"Oh, that one?" Although it was Sixth Year work, Selene wasn't surprised that Hermione knew of it. She was notoriously smart. The brightest witch of her age. The brightest magical person of her age. "That's simple- you just need to cross-reference the unknown variable, u."

Selene tested this out, her face slowly breaking out into a smile as it worked, and the Tenth Law finally began to make some kind of awkward sense.

"Thanks," Selene nodded, giving Hermione a thankful smile.

"It's really no problem," Hermione insisted, allowing herself a little smile. "Although… Could I ask you something?"

"Ask away," Selene replied easily, dragging her chair back slightly to allow her legs some extra room.

"You're Selene Malfoy, right?" Hermione questioned, looking slightly worried. "Sorry, but you were in the Top Box on the night of the World Cup. With your family."

Selene nodded, ignoring the knawing feeling in her gut. Geez, she really needed to eat something sometime soon. "That's me," she smiled again, slightly wistfully. "I honestly didn't think you'd want to talk to me. My brother has been a bit of a cunt to you."

"A bit," Hermione shrugged. "But no. I just wanted to say - I don't think you're, you know. Like them. Like your family. You seem decent."

Selene laughed, looking up and giving Hermione a smile. "Thank you," she said, honestly. "That's the vibe I try to give off. Magical hippy in a family of loonies. Anything else you want to ask?"

"Actually- could you do me a favour?"

This wasn't what Selene had been expecting. But she nodded all the same, closing the book with one hand. "Anything, within reason," she said, after a second, looking back up at the bushy haired Gryffindor, who had produced a small wooden box from her bag.

"I just decided to found this society," Hermione began, reaching into the wooden box and fishing out a brightly coloured badge with the initials S.P.E.W. inked onto it. "S.P.E.W. It stands for the Society for the Protection of Elfish Welfare."

Selene nodded, pushing the book away and accepting the fluorescent orange badge from Hermione. "So, it's a society for House Elves?" she asked curiously.

Hermione placed a blue-embossed leaflet in the palm of Selene's hand, and grinned. "Everything you want to know is in here," she stated. "That is, of course, if you'll join."

Not a good idea. Her (incredibly annoying) inner voice warned, reaching out from the darkness.

"Um..." Selene began, swallowing her voice as she remembered Dobby. Her inner voice grew stronger, and louder, sounding a little bit too much like her father as it grew and sprouted consciousness. "Yes. Yes I will." For that poor sodding Elf, if nothing else.

If Hermione noted Selene's abrupt acceptance, she didn't comment on it. Instead, she smiled widely, pressing the orange badge into Selene's hand. "Great!" she said cheerily. "I'm planning to ask Harry and Ron to join as well- do you know them? Well, of course you know Harry-"

"Yes, I know them," Selene smiled. She might have been older, and in a different House, but she knew all about Harry Potter and Ron Weasley's escapades, just as much as she knew everything about Hermione Granger's intellect.

"Good!" Hermione grinned again, picking her small wooden box up. "I'm off to go and see them... I guess I'll see you soon!"

Selene smiled, somewhat weakly as Hermione departed. She waited until the younger girl's bushy head of hair had disappeared around the corner before Selene began to pack up her books.

The book Hermione had passed her was still lying on the desk in front of Selene - and, on a whim, she picked it up and carried it over to Madam Pince, ignoring the librarians angry glare as she made a fraction of a bit too much noise. "Can I take this out, please?!

"Certainly," Madam Pince said curtly, looking up from her work, flipping open the front cover and stamping the first page with a magical stamp. "Bring it back on time, or it's enchanted to eat your hands."

The large book wasn't going to fit in Selene's bag, so she just carried it, wrapping her arms around it and slipping the S.P.E.W. badge into her pocket.

Selene checked her watch - she had half an hour until curfew. She relaxed, certain that Mr Filch wouldn't have any reason to catch her out, and set off at a calm pace towards Ravenclaw Tower.

"Ah!"

Selene jumped, almost dropping her book on the floor, turning around and reaching for her wand out of habit. Except her nervousness seemed to be rather misplaced, especially as it turned out to be Neville Longbottom who had startled her, standing upright, precariously balanced on the staircase.

Something in his expression softened Selene's caution outright, and she lowered her guard faster than she would normally. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly, stepping into the full light, so Neville could see her fully.

The younger boy flinched backwards again, Selene's heart missing a beat from its already fast-paced pattern. "W-who are you?" he asked, in terrified fixation.

"Selene, Ravenclaw Prefect," Selene said, tapping the badge emblazoned on her robes. "Why are you out here so late?"

Neville gestured down at his legs, which were completely trapped in a trick step. Selene had never seen the comedy value of them, to be honest. She had been on the receiving end of the practical joke many a time, much to Cho's amusement.

She took hold of Neville's arms and slowly hauled him out of the trick step, pushing her hair away from her face with her elbow.

"You're not the only one, late out tonight," Selene said, offering Neville a little smile, which he returned cautiously. "Now, you'd better get back to your Common Room, before curfew begins."

"Thanks," Neville said, almost tripping over the top step of the staircase in his haste to move. Selene giggled, and watched the younger boy move away, a lot of unanswered questions just on the tip of her tongue.

It had started with George, then spread to Hermione, and now Neville. What was happening to her? There were too many Gryffindors in her path at the moment...

With every passing day, her problems were getting bigger and much, much worse. Selene swallowed, tucking a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear. Then she turned on her heel, walking towards her Common Room with twice the speed she had possessed before.