Honey Bee

Chapter 12

Gryffindor.

The hat wouldn't listen to me.

I expected everyone to be in shock and silence.

But I got the opposite.

I got the loudest cheer out of everyone, it might of helped that the Slytherins were clapping as well.

I walked to the Gryffindor table and sat next to JJ.

"Hey Mel." Fred joked.

"Hello Fred." I said rolling my eyes.

Dumbledore stood up and silence fell.

"I have only two words to say to you," he told them us."Tuck in."

An array of food appeared and everyone cheered. I was amazing of the variety of food, on one plate you had Chinese and the next cheese burgers.

I got a small portion of chips, two prawn crackers, a piece of chicken and a coke cola.

"Do you eat much?" JJ asked looking at my plate, she was cutting up a burger because it was to big for her to pick up.

"I feel a little sick still from the sorting." I made up, nobody here knew of my diet style.

"You're lucky there's a feast at all tonight, you know," said a ghost who's head was almost falling off, hence the Nearly part of his name. "There was trouble in the kitchens earlier."

"Why? Wha' 'appened?" said Potter, while chewing a massive piece of steak.

"Don't speak with your mouthful Potter. It's disgusting." I snapped. I got a glare off Granger but he muttered sorry when his mouth was empty.

"Peeves, of course, The usual argument, you know. He wanted to attend the feast - well, it's quite out of the question, you know what he's like, utterly uncivilized, can't see a plate of food without throwing it. We held a ghost's council - the Fat Friar was all for giving him the chance - but most wisely, in my opinion, the Bloody Baron put his foot down."

"You mean the ghost I met outside?" I asked. "He was dropping water balloons on people so I shouted at him."

"Wait! You shouted at Peeves? Your life's going to be hell!" George warned.

"Oh no, we made a deal." I said with a little smug smile.

"Yeah, we thought Peeves seemed hacked off about something," said Weasley darkly, ignoring my presents. "So what did he do in the kitchens?"

"Oh the usual," said Nick shrugging. "Wreaked havoc and mayhem. Pots and pans everywhere. Place swimming in soup. Terrified the house-elves out of their wits -"

Clang.

Granger had knocked over her goblet. Juice poured everywhere but she couldn't care less.

"There are house-elves here?" she said, staring, horror-struck. "Here at Hogwarts?"

"Certainly," said Nick looking surprised. "The largest number in any dwelling in Britain, I believe. Over a hundred."

"I've never seen one!" said Granger still with a horror struck look.

"Well, they hardly ever leave the kitchen by day, do they? They come out at night to do a bit of cleaning...see to the fires and so on....I mean, you're not supposed to see them, are you? That's the mark of a good house-elf, isn't it, that you don't know it's there?"

"But they get paid?" she said. "They get holidays, don't they? And - and sick leave, and pensions, and everything?"

I chocked on my drink. "House-elves don't want sick leave and pensions! They like working." I said remembering my conversation with the Malfoy's house-elfs.