"Hello!" Dumbledore said happily.
"Hello, Professor!" They came to Dumbledore's side.
"Don't stand there. Sit down. The house-elves are always too enthusiastic. They try their best to do something for us. They are really the best creatures in the world. We'd better not refuse their kindness." Dumbledore said with a smile. "What would you like to eat? I suggest you try this cookie. "
They sat on the chairs next to Dumbledore. The house-elves around them immediately served drinks and desserts, filling up most of the table. This scene looked like a party, but no one was in the mood to eat dessert except for Dumbledore.
"Professor, are we going to summon the demon now?"
"Oh, yes." Dumbledore said. "I don't think the five of you want to stay in the empty Hogwarts for Christmas. Molly also reminded me to let you go back, so it's best to do this quickly."
"Did you find any information?" Elwyn asked. "About the demon altar and Hufflepuff …"
"There's no direct evidence that Helga Hufflepuff left a demon altar in the school." "There's no direct evidence that Hufflepuff left a demon altar in the school." Dumbledore said softly. "We can only guess that in the castle's original plan, this area belonged to Hufflepuff. Only Hufflepuff herself and her students were allowed to enter, just like Slytherin's secret room. The demon altar that appeared here was passed down from that period, so there must be a connection between the two. What's more, it's a demon altar related to the house-elves. We all know that Hufflepuff and the house-elves have a good relationship. "
"And the hint she left behind is also related to the house-elves," Elwyn said.
The hint of the secret treasure key left by Hufflepuff was: The benevolent Hufflepuff, from the open valley! She treated everyone equally, and everyone had the opportunity to obtain her treasures! The key to opening the treasure is integrity and loyalty. All you need to do is to trust your most humble friend!
The humblest friend here, if I'm not mistaken, is the house-elf.
This was because the creatures in the hints left by Gryffindor and Ravenclaw all corresponded to the creatures around the Hogwarts.
Gryffindor's arrogant follower's recognition was referring to the centaurs in the forbidden forest. Ravenclaw's intelligent allies were referring to the mermaids in the lake in front of the castle. From these creatures that had lived around the Hogwarts for generations, Elwyn obtained important information about the treasure key.
Therefore, the clues left by Hufflepuff should correspond to the house-elf in the kitchen.
Elwyn had investigated before, the house-elves in the kitchen did not preserve anything like the centaurs or mermaids.
They did not know anything, the only suspicious place was the demon altar.
That demon was also an elf, it might know something.
"Everything can only be confirmed after the summoning." Dumbledore said, "Looks like you don't want dessert. Let's go then. Take out your wands. Although the power of the demon altar below isn't very strong, and I don't think there will be any powerful demons, we still can't let our guard down. Of course, there's no need to be too nervous. "
Harry and Hermione seemed to want to ask more, after all they were about to face a demon.
This was a field they did not understand, and nervousness and unease were unavoidable, even with Dumbledore around.
But because they did not understand, they did not have much to ask.
Previously, Elwyn had already said everything that needed to be said, and they came here today mainly to increase their knowledge.
Even for wizards, summoning demons was not a magic that could be seen casually.
The group passed through the kitchen to the cold storage at the back, specks of golden light emitted from the tip of their wands, dispelling the darkness.
There were all kinds of food piled up on the surrounding shelves, and at the deepest part of the shelves was the blue brick wall.
Through the brick wall, the wall of the back room was covered with the heads of house-elves, thousands of them. They were all wrinkled, maintaining the appearance of death in the low temperature. They were lifelike, but at the same time looked strange and terrifying. Their huge, empty eyes looked coldly ahead, giving people a strong sense of stimulation.
Elwyn heard Ron gasp next to him, and then it was quickly quiet again.
It was an ancient custom to hang the heads of dead house-elves on the wall. The elves did not think there was anything wrong with it, but they were proud of it, thinking that it was the greatest affirmation and reward for house-elves.
Separated by a wall, on one side was the kitchen of the Hogwarts and the cold storage where the food was stored, and the meals that the students ate every day were cooked here. On the other side was a hellish museum of skulls, the walls were full of the dried heads of house-elves.
Fortunately, the students of the Hogwarts did not know about this, or else no one would be able to eat it.
This was the "holy land" in the eyes of traditional house-elves, but since the discovery of the demon altar, the house-elves no longer dared to approach this area.
They walked through the corridor full of house-elves. Although the environment was not very suitable, Harry could not help but tell them the conversation he had overheard last night.
He had held it in for a long time, and it was not easy for him to say it as soon as he saw Dumbledore.
"Professor, I have something to tell you, about Snape and Malfoy," he said.
"It's Professor Snape, Harry." Dumbledore corrected him. He had been telling them about the history of the house-elves at the Hogwarts.
Since the establishment of the school, there had always been house-elves working here. Under the advocacy and influence of Hufflepuff, the Hogwarts had once become the last refuge for the house-elves who had lost their homeland. It was the place with the largest number of house-elves in the entire United Kingdom.
"Yes, Professor Snape," said Harry. "Last night, Elwyn, Hermione, and I overheard their conversation at Professor Slughorn's party."
"Actually, we followed them," Elwyn added.
"Oh, what did they say?" Dumbledore asked softly, not seeming very surprised.
Harry repeated the story, and Dumbledore listened quietly. When he finished, he was silent for a while, then said, "Thank you for telling me this, Harry, but I suggest you don't take it to heart. The most important thing right now is to summon the demon. Well, I don't think what you said is very important. "
"Not very important?" Harry said in disbelief, "Professor, you really understand …"
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