House-elves on Broomsticks

The House Elf Quidditch League

Chapter Two - Hermione's Idea

Harry stretched and yawned as he made his way upstairs to the Gryffindor common room. He paused in front of the Fat Lady, and gave the password, chocolate covered skrewts. He then walked into the room, expecting to do some studying before he turned in for the night. However, as soon as walked in, Hermione ran up to him.

"Harry!" she exclaimed. "I've been waiting for you for an hour! Where have you been??"

"Sorry, Hermione, I was at Quidditch practice. You know how the finals-"

"Well, never mind that. I was at the library with Ron all day today, researching, and guess what we found out?" she asked.

"I don't know, what did you find out?" Harry asked sleepily.

"We found out that in some parts of the country, there are actually Quidditch leagues with goblins playing on them instead of wizards and witches!"

Harry stared at her blankly. "Oh. That's very interesting. Do you want to help me study for Potions?"

"Oh, Harry, that's not all! There are hundreds of amateur Quidditch leagues for all sorts of creatures! Do you realize what this means?" she asked anxiously.

"No, sorry, I don't. I'm just thinking about how I have to make sure my antidote works for when Snape poisons-"

"Harry!" Hermione interrupted. "Please, just listen to me! You remember the Quidditch game yesterday, right?"

"Of course I do. First time in Hogwarts history a house-elf flew...not to mention caught the Snitch..." Harry remembered.

"Well, now put that together with what I already told you," Hermione ordered.

"Umm...house-elves play Quidditch some places too?" Harry guessed.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well, yes, but only in their masters'...I mean owners'..." Hermione paused to think about a word that wouldn't be offensive. "Their… companions' backyards on breaks...and that's usually only the children. All the adults are too busy or scared to play."

"Oh. So I was right?"

"Well, sort of, but that's not what I wanted you to guess. Ron and I..well, really just I had the idea that we should start..." she paused dramatically. "The House Elf Quidditch League!!!"

Harry looked unimpressed. "HEQL? That's almost as bad as SPEW. And I bet just as few people will join."

Hermione looked very upset. "Well, thank you for the encouragement, Harry."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just am kind of anxious about this test tomorrow. It's making me nervous," Harry explained.

"Well, I'll let it go, if you agree to help coach one of the teams," Hermione offered.

"Me? Coach?" Harry was bewildered. "Oh, come on, Hermione. I'm way too busy as it is, with all these tests and Quidditch practices...and besides, the only position I really know how to play is Seeker."

Hermione smiled. "Yes, I know that, Harry. That's why I only suggested that you HELP coach a team. I already spoke to Dumbledore yesterday, and he said that if I can get enough of the kitchen staff to join, he'll let me do it! I'm supposed to go recruit players tomorrow after classes end."

"Well, Hermione..." Harry paused. "Well, are you sure you'll be able to get enough players? I mean, house-elves love to work..I know you'll be able to get Dobby on a team, but you know how the rest of them are...And what about brooms?"

"Well, just so you know, there are dozens of house-elves who played when they were younger, and we would arrange a practice schedule that would always leave more than enough staff in the kitchen." Hermione said matter-of-factly. "I just know I'll be able to get enough for at least 2 teams. I mean, that's not that many... That would be... 2 Seekers...umm...2 beaters..."

"2 Seekers, 4 Beaters, 6 Chasers, and 2 Keepers." Harry interrupted. "That's-"

"Okay, so 14 players. For two teams. Come on, there are more than 100 elves working here!! I'm sure I can convince at least that many to play," Hermione exclaimed enthusiastically. "And if I get at least 7 more, I'll have enough teams to organize a real league!"

"Well, I guess that's true," Harry agreed uncertainly.

"So, I need your help. Will you help Ron and I recruit players tomorrow? And help coach?" Hermione pleaded.

"Oh, fine," Harry relented. "I'll help recruit, but I'll only help coach if you get enough people...err, elves. And if you do that, I'll try to get some other Quidditch players to help out with coaching."

"Thank you so much!" Hermione gave Harry a kiss on the cheek.

"Err, well, you're welcome." Harry tried to keep himself from blushing. Come on, Harry, he thought to himself. You're even blushing when Hermione, one of your best friends, kisses you?? "Herm, I really need to study before I fall asleep...oh, wait!" he said. "You never answered my question about the brooms!"

"Oh, that's right," Hermione replied. "I knew there was something I forgot. Well, it turns out that there's actually a company which specializes in brooms for creatures other than wizards. It's called Creature Sweepers, and they custom-design brooms for anything that has a sponsored team."

"Wait a second, a sponsored team? Who are we going to get to sponsor a bunch of house-elves??"

Hermione grinned secretively. "Don't worry, I have that taken care of...Until we get the brooms, we can practice on Cleansweeps, that's what Ron said Dobby used. It might take a while, though. There's a lot of forms I'd need to fill out. You see, Creature Sweepers takes tons of safety precautions to make sure that their brooms are only used for Quidditch, and not travel." She looked out the window at the coal black sky. "Well, Harry, you'd better start studying. It's getting late."

"Okay. Good night, Herm."

"Night, Harry."

Harry walked over and sat on the couch with his books, getting ready for a couple hours of cramming for tomorrow's test. However, he had barely begun when Ron sat down next to him.

"Hey, Harry."

"Oh, hey, Ron," Harry said without looking up. "This test tomorrow's going to be really hard. Do you know how to make a proper Tentacle-Sprouting potion?"

"No, sorry. Why don't you go ask Hermione?" Ron asked coolly.

Now Harry looked up. Ron's voice did not sound normal. "Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, come on, Harry," Ron answered harshly. "I was coming down to say hello to you, and I saw her kiss you!"

Harry stared at his friend for a moment, not sure whether to laugh or defend himself. "Oh, Ron, don't be stupid," he said carefully. "She kissed me on the cheek because I agreed to help with the House Elf Quidditch thingie."

Ron paused, and began to blush. "Oh, of course. I knew that, I was just testing you."

Harry decided to drop it. "Well, since you don't know how to make any of these potions, either, you wanna study with me?"

Ron smiled, grateful that Harry didn't question him further. "Sure. You know, you better learn the antidote for that tentacle thing, too. Snape and Malfoy would both love to see you like that."

Harry agreed, and they both studied for about an hour before they stumbled off to bed.