The Prisoners of Hogwarts

Chapter 13 Factories and House-Elves

In Lancashire, a small to medium-sized factory of less than 3,000 square meters is hidden on the edge of the Muggle industrial area.

The factory's outer walls were enchanted with numerous spells: a Muggle-repelling spell to ensure that Muggles would leave when they approached, and a Disillusionment spell so that Muggles would only see a dangerous ruin from the outside.

At this point, if someone were to enter the factory, they would find that all the machines had stopped, and the air was still filled with the smell of ink and pulp.

In a dimly lit corner of the factory, the shadows of more than thirty pointed ears flickered violently on the wall.

These are more than thirty house-elves.

Some of them were old, some were young, and some of the little elves had obvious physical disabilities.

Surprisingly, all of these house-elves were wearing uniform gray robes made of coarse cotton cloth, with some key parts patched with dragon skin for added protection.

Anyone familiar with house-elves would gasp in surprise upon seeing this.

For house-elves, wearing clothes is a great disgrace, as it means becoming a stray house-elves, which is the most terrifying thing for all house-elves.

Now, every house-elves in this factory is wearing a smock, the same gray shoes, and some even have gloves on their hands.

Each house-elf's robe has a small clenched fist pointing to the sky badge pinned to the chest.

At this moment, the thirty-odd house-elves gathered together, screaming in panic.

The elderly house-elf, Gropp, shrieked and banged his head against the wall: "Bad Gropp! I've said it so many times! The contract is fake! The adults didn't abandon us, and that person has no token!"

The young house-elf Popplio yelled and reached out to Ragrop, "Stop! Lord Reggie said our bodies are the property of adults! You can't damage the property of adults!"

Toto spun around hysterically, screaming, "But it has the Ministry of Magic's mark on it! We've been handed over to a new master!"

Brighton grabbed Toto by the neck and shook him violently, shouting, "No new master! We will always! Always! Be loyal to you, sir! You will never abandon us!"

With only one eye left, Kragg leaped onto the machine platform in a rage, waving his arms wildly: "Stop arguing! Lord Reggie has already said! He'll be back in a few days! We'll see him! Until then! No matter who we're loyal to! We still have work to do! Now! Get to work! Don't stop!"

Upon hearing Kragg's shout, all the house-elves fell silent for a moment.

"Aaaaah, Toto hasn't done any work for thirty minutes! Bad Toto! Bad Toto!" Toto screamed and ran away.

Immediately afterwards, the other house-elves also scattered with screams.

Soon, the machines in the factory started running again, and busy house-elves ran between them.

......

Hogwarts, a clearing in the Forbidden Forest.

Lynch's voice remained calm: "You used emergency contact methods, so I guess the problem is serious. In what way?"

The Galleon floating in front of him trembled violently, carrying Reggie's flat voice.

"It's about house-elves. I underestimated the shamelessness of those pure-blood families. They produced a contract transfer document notarized by the Ministry of Magic, which shook my control over house-elves."

"What contractual transfer document?" Lin Qi asked.

"Ownership transfer documents for those house-elves."

Lynch felt things were getting interesting. "Those house-elves belong to me."

"Yes."

"Now, the Ministry of Magic has awarded them to those pure-blood families?"

"That's right."

"How did they do that? They transferred my property without my consent."

Reggie's voice remained steady and flat: "They held a hearing at the Ministry of Magic and presented evidence that the house-elves originally belonged to them. Since the current owner, that is, you, did not object on the spot, the house-elves were naturally awarded to their 'original owner'."

"Were we notified of this so-called hearing before it was held?"

"The Chamber of Commerce office received a notification letter from the Ministry of Magic the morning after the hearing, instructing them to attend the hearing on time."

"Haha." Lin Qi chuckled.

Reggie looked puzzled. "What's so funny?"

"Isn't this absurdly laughable?" Lynch retorted, then added, "And the fact that we're seeing the diversity of the human species again. Either of those things is laughable."

After chuckling a few times, Lin Qi continued, "Have the house-elves confirmed their loyalty to their new master?"

"No," Reggie replied. "I arrived just as they were announcing the legality of the contract transfer, went up on stage to announce that you would be returning in seven days, and the people who came to take over the factory were scared away by your name. The house-elves are still in our hands for the time being."

After a pause, Reggie continued, "There's one thing I don't understand. They were so frightened and fled just because they heard you were coming back, so why did they have the guts to try and seize your property in the first place?"

Lynch looked up at the sky, where the dark clouds had previously covered most of the sky. "The answer is simple, Reggie. Only a handful of people know anything about me. To the world, 'The Mist Hangman' is a shooting star from the war era, a thug who only knows how to use brutal methods to hunt down dark wizards. He may be very strong, but after the war, he started a business guild and became a business tycoon, which doesn't fit their perception. In addition, I haven't shown my face all these years, so they think you're just like them, a swindler. It's just that you're bolder and dare to use my name."

"So after I announced that you were going to make a public appearance and showed that the Stone Pagoda Chamber of Commerce was indeed your property, they ran away. So that's how it was."

"That's right, they thought it was all a lie, but they didn't expect you to be serious, haha, it's really funny."

"It's certainly ridiculous, but the impact is very real. The house-elves are very uneasy. If you don't show up in seven days, we could very well lose our most important factory!"

"No problem," Lynch replied. "I will arrive at the factory at 10 p.m. on the seventh night."

"From now on, I will dedicate a whole day every Sunday to handling the affairs of the Chamber of Commerce. You have shouldered this responsibility all these years, thank you for your hard work."

Lin Qi continued, "Send me the information of those directors first. Perhaps I should take some time to personally visit them and express my gratitude for their wholehearted dedication to the development of the Chamber of Commerce."

Ending the call and putting away the Galleons, Lynch continued walking along the border of Hogwarts.

After walking for an unknown distance, a vast expanse of water appeared before Lin Qi; it was Black Lake.

The black lake surface was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the sky obscured by dark clouds.

Feeling the unbreakable oath's response at the boundaries of Hogwarts, Lynch lifted his leg, his foot landing on the lake's surface, creating ripples, and continued walking towards the center of the Black Lake.

at the same time.

Hogwarts Castle, at the top of the tower, the Headmaster's office.

Standing by the window, through the glass, Dumbledore watched Lynch walking on the lake in the distance, his gaze behind his half-moon spectacles distant and profound.

Suddenly, the door to the principal's office was pushed open from the outside, and a young man with greasy black hair and a hooked nose slid in like a bat.

Indistinct words came out of his mouth.

"You want to see me?"