This was my entry for the LiveJournal SSHG Promptfest 2017. The prompter was Anonymous Two. I enjoyed writing this because it gave me a chance to create a possible view of the world of house elves, especially what goes on behind the scenes, as it were.

The bits in italics are flashbacks a la television style where a character is telling what happened and the scene wavers a bit and suddenly we're seeing what happened (this technique was used a lot in sit comes of the 70s).

I will tell you that in a few places of this story, Hermione and Severus are remembering some private moments and Teddy is NOT privy to them as he's staring out a window at the time. You'll see.

As well, there are minor mentions of hitting and bullying tatics, but nothing descriptive or violent.

Hermione and Severus Snape walked down the hall toward her office. They were about to attend to a detention together, which was unusual for them, but given the circumstances, felt it was necessary.

"Hermione, you must remember that you're a professor this evening. Teddy knows us from interactions outside of Hogwarts, and the situation is too close to us."

Hermione sighed, "I know, Sev, I know. But Artis is practically our daughter! I can't let someone whom we know and is so young, get away with bullying, especially given who his family is. Now is the time to make sure he understands his behaviour."

Severus stopped and bade Hermione to stop as well. "Ever the advocate," he chided gently. "Come here." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her gently. "I know you love Artis and will go to battle for her. But you must put your personal feelings aside in this case."

Hermione snorted. "You're one to lecture me on putting personal feelings aside."

"Let's not argue, my pet. Indeed, I am probably not the one to lecture about feelings, but time has passed, and you have helped me to grow in that respect."

"I'm sorry. That was wrong of me to bring up. It's just—"

"You're a mother lion fighting for her cub. I can understand that. Now, let's get this over with. Detention was not how I wanted to spend this evening, one of the few we have left before the onslaught of homework takes over our lives."

"What did Minerva do with the other student?"

"The usual," Severus replied glibly, "sent him to Filch."

"That hardly seems enough."

Severus smirked. "Argus was instructed to ensure Mr. Cavendish sees things from a house elf's point of view so far as his punishment is concerned."

The couple arrived at Hermione's office to find Teddy Lupin, trembling slightly, sitting at a desk. Hermione stood in front of her own desk, while Severus sat behind it.

"Mr. Lupin, do you know why you're in detention?" asked Hermione as she leant back against her desk, arms folded across her chest.

Teddy shook his head, his eyes giving away how worried he was.

"You were disrespectful to a member of staff who happens to be an elf. You told her that she was a freak and that she should go back to the kitchens."

"Well, Michael Cavendish said…"

Hermione snorted at the mention of the young pureblood boy whose family was well known but was not given the chance to respond as Severus spoke instead. "We are not here to discuss what Mr. Cavendish said. He has been assigned detention for his part in this. Professor Granger is your Head of House and in charge of your punishment. However, there are extenuating circumstances, and we felt it was important that both of us be present this evening."

"You've been here a grand total of two days and are already in trouble; we find this very disheartening, Teddy. You are normally such a well-mannered boy," Hermione said. "Tell me," she turned and walked to the desk beside Teddy and sat, "what do you think you know about Artis from the few times you've seen her?"

Teddy shifted in his seat and twiddled his clasped fingers. "Well, she's short… she talks funny…her clothes are..."

"Not good enough," interrupted Hermione. "I'm short and depending on where we live in the UK, we all have dialects and accents. Goodness, when Professor Snape and I go to his hometown, he slips into a Mancurian speech pattern, and I can't even understand him. Artis wears the same sort of robes I do as befits a member of staff. Regardless, tell me what else you think you know about her."

The young boy blushed and his hair turned blue. He looked around for something to say. "She lives with you?"

Hermione snorted. "Is that it?"

"What do you know about house elves in general, Mr. Lupin?" asked Severus.

"Gran has one. He's quite old but rather nice. Auntie Cissa gave him to us when I was a baby; he helped Gran raise me."

"And what exactly did Mr. Cavendish tell you about house elves?" asked Severus.

Teddy shifted nervously in his seat. "He said they are beneath us and worthy only of serving."

"That's not entirely true," Hermione corrected. "They are not beneath us, and they are worth so much more than just service. It's only their desire to remain in service that drives the stereotype that they are only worthy of serving." She stood up and offered her hand to Teddy. "Come with me; I want to show you something. Won't you accompany us, Professor Snape?"

Curious as to Hermione's intention, Severus spoke through their Legilimentic bond. "Where are you taking us?"

"To the Astronomy Tower," Hermione replied back through the bond.

"Why?" Severus felt her smile before she responded.

"Because it all began there; don't you remember?"

"How could I forget?" he said sarcastically and then slipped from her mind before she could retaliate.

The three of them arrived at the stairs to the Astronomy Tower in no time.

"Your lessons here will begin next week, I believe. Teddy, you go on ahead. Professor Snape and I will follow behind," said Hermione.

As they climbed, Hermione reached out and pinched Severus' bottom. He jumped slightly and then, using their bond, asked, "What was that for?"

"Your sarcasm, mister."

"There will be retaliation, wife."

"I hope so, husband."

They climbed to the top of the tower and stood, looking out one of the openings. The September sky was dark to the east, stars just starting to twinkle, and the glorious purple-red of the final rays of the sun to the west. Teddy gasped at the sight before him.

"It's so beautiful!"

Hermione smiled. "It is."

Severus walked to one of the other windows. "This tower is the highest spot in the castle and has been the Astronomy Observatory for hundreds of years. There are other reasons that the tower is well known, but you'll learn that in History of Magic," he finished as he walked over and stood near Hermione. He opened the connection again. "I will never forget."

"I know, love," Hermione answered back. "It's in the past, and you are loved and cared for now; you'll always be safe beside me."

Out loud, she addressed Teddy. "I'll never forget the first time I saw the sky from up here. It was breathtaking. Artis told me she felt much the same way when she first came to the tower. In fact, her story begins here. You see, Professor Snape and I are guardians of Artis; did you know that?"

Teddy shook his head.

"The reason she is our ward is what we want to tell you about tonight."

She conjured three comfortable chairs and a tea service, arranging everything so that they were looking at the stars as she began to tell Artis' story.

SSHG SSHG

"As you probably know, house elves come into being in much the same way as human babies do. However, just like baby pigeons, you rarely see a young elf until it leaves its nest. Babies are often placed on display the moment they leave the womb, which is why we know so much about them, but so little about baby house elves.

"Infant elves are cared for by nanny elves as their mothers and fathers must continue to serve their masters, either in private homes or in institutions like St. Mungo's or Hogwarts. The young elves spend much of their time playing and learning to take care of humans by way of simple games the nannies play with them and with each other. They learn enough maths and reading so that they can make sure they are putting the correct ingredient and amount into the food they prepare or the right perfume that a mistress particularly wants in her bedroom. They even learn to change nappies the same way young witches do…by playing with dolls.

Teddy interrupted, "I never knew that!"

"There's a lot people don't know about house elves," Severus answered. "Young elves learn their magic the same way magical folk do; through their parents and by experimenting with their own natural magic."

"The exception being a Muggleborn in a family with no other known magical person in the family, like me," Hermione added.

"The magical core of an elf develops from the moment of conception, as with witches and wizards, so much of their magic is inborn and natural. It develops as they grow, and each elf has their own style of magic, their own strength, and ability. Unlike witches and wizards, a house elf's magic does not need a wand to focus their power as they perform magic. It can be done at will. There are witches and wizards who can learn wandless magic, but it takes a very strong witch or wizard to do so as flawlessly and as effortlessly as an elf."

"Can you perform wandless magic, Auntie Her—I mean Professor Granger?" asked Teddy.

"Yes, I can. And so can Professor Snape. There are a handful of others who can, but it takes a great deal of power, so it's easier to use a wand. Now, where were we? Oh, yes.

"Very young house elves even have nap time. The nanny elves gather them all together into a large, comfy nest and tell them stories. Most of the stories are Aesopian in nature, which furthers their education, but there are also a lot of fairy stories and even stories about famous house elves.

"Artis told me her favourite stories were about Dobby. You have heard of him, I assume?" asked Hermione.

Teddy nodded. "Wasn't he a sort of outcast among the elves?"

"I prefer to think of him has being a revolutionist," Hermione said proudly. "Anyway, whenever it was her turn to choose the story, Artis always chose the ones about Dobby, much to the disgust of the other baby elves and to the dismay of the nanny elf. Nanny tried to tell the story in such a way that the other elves would realize Dobby was not, shall we say, a usual house elf."

"No, he was not your usual elf," Severus agreed. "But he was a hero in his own right."

Hermione beamed at her husband as he spoke and watched him with interest as he continued in teaching mode.

"When enough time has passed and it is determined that the young elves can begin their formal training, they leave the nest and begin to work with a more experienced house elf. Artis' turn had come, and for a couple of months, she diligently worked side by side with Horatio, an older male elf, learning how to care for the professors. Horatio took care of Headmistress McGonagall's rooms as well as our quarters.

"Horatio taught Artis all she needed to know about her duties in the castle. She learned that the tartan bedspread on the headmistress' bed had to be just so and that a tin of shortbread was to remain full at all times and in place on her bedside table. She learned that taking care of Professor Granger and me could be a challenge because I'm so neat, and Professor Granger isn't always as tidy as she appears."

Hermione glared at Severus. "Don't you dare!"

With a smirk, Severus continued, "Professor Granger, while neat and organised in class, will tend to leave her socks and parchments and ink bottles all over. I'm forever taking her to task about it. And she will leave her sweet wrappers lay about!"

Teddy giggled at the pair as Hermione swatted Severus.

"Anyway, as time passed, Artis became very good at her job, and she became the main elf for Professor Snape and me. However, she often seemed sad and resigned whenever we called her. I'll always remember the night she saw this same view," Hermione waved a hand around the tower. "Uncle Severus and I were celebrating our anniversary with a picnic up here on the tower. Artis had been tasked to bring a hamper of food and leave it for us.

"We arrived on the tower, but Artis hadn't heard us coming. We watched quietly as in awe she moved, open-mouthed, from window to window, looking out at the sky... "

"The elf was to leave the basket and then go," Severus whispered.

"Oh, Severus, don't be so growly," responded Hermione. "It's obvious this is her first time up here, just look at her face. Surely you remember your first time? It is an amazing view, you must admit."

Severus grunted, "I suppose. However this is to be our little rendezvous, so could you get her leave?"

Poking him in the ribs, she giggled and then asked, "How are you tonight, Artis?"

The elf jumped a bit, but answered, "I am well, mistress."

"Is everything ready for our picnic?" Hermione inquired.

"It is."

"Then you may go."

With one last look at the sky, Artis popped away.

Hermione noticed Teddy's plate was empty and prodded him to help himself from the trolley. She watched the young lad filled his plate and then wandered to a window to look out, leaving the couple with their thoughts a moment. One glance at each other and each knew the other was remembering that particular night.

Hermione turned to Severus and smiled. "There," she said, "now we can continue our evening."

The couple picked up the hamper and moved so that they were near the window where they had first kissed. With a sly look at his wife, Severus leant down and kissed her.

"I'll never forget the first time I kissed you," he said, running the backs of his fingers along her cheek. "To this day, kissing you is an incredible experience."

Hermione hid her face in his robes. "You're making me blush!"

"It's true, pet."

Hermione gave him a playful shove and said, "Ah, go on wiv ya!"

Laughing, they laid out their picnic. Severus conjured a double wide chaise, low to the ground, so that they could sit comfortably while they ate. Artis has followed their instructions, and their repast consisted of the same foods they had had at their wedding.

As Hermione pulled out the pasta Alfredo, she laughed. "I'll never forget what happened at our wedding. Molly Weasley nearly fainted when the table with the cake collapsed."

Severus chuckled. "She had worked so hard on it, too. I suspect George had something to do with it collapsing, but he has never confessed."

Hermione was giggling madly by now. "And then," she wheezed, "James Potter and Victoire Weasley ran to the mess on the floor, slipped on the frosting and both fell, face first into it. James was stuffing as much of it as he could into his mouth before Ginny was able to snatch him out of it."

Severus was laughing heartily as well. "Do you remember what happened when we tried to cut what was left of the top?"

Hermione chortled. "Of course! George, the rascal, had replaced our knife with one of his trick wands transfigured to look like a knife, and it burst into a chicken when we tried to cut the cake."

"I had to use my wand and a Sectumsempra to cut it," remembered Severus.

Hermione nearly rolled off the chaise. "And you forgot to narrow your range of focus and accidentally cut the braces on Arthur, and his trousers slipped right down!"

Severus pulled Hermione away from the edge of the chaise and into his arms.

"It could have been a disaster, but in the end, our friends had fun." He kissed Hermione. "My pet, these past seven years have been incredible. I love you. I'm so glad I get to share my life with you."

Hermione blushed again. "Oh, go on wiv ya," she whispered and returned his kiss and more.

SSHG SSHG

While the couple was remembering their wedding day, Artis had burst into the kitchen, atwitter with the joy had she felt and tried to speak to some of her friends about the stars. Did they know about the ones that moved, shooting across the sky? Did they see that some were bigger than others or seemed to make shapes? Her friends, busy with their nightly chores could not be interrupted. They told her to get to work and not be bothered with the things of the humans.

Disheartened, Artis finished her chores and went to bed. As she lay in her nest, she thought about the sky and wondered what those stars were doing. How did they move? Why did they move? Where did they go during the day? Her thoughts turned to the human students. There was a class, Artis knew, all about the stars; it took place at night on the very tower she had seen the stars from. How she would love to know what they were learning. Was this the sort of thing Dobby wondered about? Could she learn about the stars?

The next morning, she asked Horatio about it and was roundly and soundly told that stop thinking such nonsense and get to her work. House elves are proud to serve Hogwarts and the professors and that's all Artis needed to know. Horatio insisted she be a good and loyal elf and clean the professors' rooms. She should be proud that she was and someday, she might even get to take care of the headmistress or headmaster!

The weeks went by, and Artis did not give up her relentless questions about the stars and in fact, she began to question everything she did, learned, and how to learn more. She had begun to speak about Dobby and his dreams to any elf that would listen. It wasn't until she began to speak outright about her dissatisfaction—horrifying the other elves who had visions of Dobby reincarnated—that the real problems began.

The snubbing was subtle at first; she would run to her former playmates at the end of the day only to have them turn away and play games without her. The older elves would shoo her away as soon as she began to speak to them about her feelings. It hurt her deeply, but wounded as she was, she still spoke her mind, even though it began to earn her punishments from the head elf.

"We didn't know what truly had happened in the kitchens until Artis told us her side of the story months after she came to stay with us, but," continued Severus, "we had begun to hear rumours that she was not treated well and that the other elves her own age were bullying her."

Hermione said, "You can imagine my surprise when she approached me one morning when I had returned to our quarters to retrieve a book I had forgotten. Artis was there, cleaning the rooms. I noticed she seemed to hang about near my desk and several times, opened her mouth as if to speak and then change her mind. Finally, she did.

"Mistress, how do the stars move?"

Hermione stopped what she was doing. "I'm sorry?"

Artis took advantage of her mistress' attention. "I was up on the tower that night and saw all the stars." She moved closer to the desk and put her hands on it in her eagerness. "There were millions, Missy Hermione! They moved and made patterns!" All of a sudden, her boldness overwhelmed her, and she looked down and mumbled, "I want to learn how they move."

Hermione, ever sympathetic to an elf's plight, knelt down and took Artis' hands in her own. Artis flinched, thinking she was going to be punished. "Sh, sh, sh," Hermione soothed. "I'm not going to harm you. I just want you to repeat what you said."

Artis quietly spoke about the stars and Hermione listened. Finally, she asked, "Are you able to read?"

"Yes, Mistress; some."

"Tomorrow, when you clean my rooms, you will find a small book; I'll leave it right here for you," she pointed to a spot on her desk. "I think you will like it very much. I won't tell you what it is; it will be a surprise and a gift for you."

"Oh, Missy Hermione!" Artis gushed. "Thank you!"

"I must go to class. You're doing a fine job, Artis; Professor Snape and I thank you very much."

The next day, when Artis went to clean the Snape's quarters, she did indeed find a small book, all about the stars, just where Missy Hermione had said it would be. With joy, she finished her work in a snap and fled to the kitchens where she began to show the other elves her treasure. A few took a mild interest, but because it was the middle of the day, she was quickly dismissed by the elves in order to complete their tasks. She shrugged, stowed her book away in her nest and went back to her chores.

"Not long after I gave her the book, we began to notice a change in Artis. She seemed even more unhappy doing her work. She cleaned as neatly as ever, but she also began to make comments as we or the headmistress passed by about someday not doing it anymore. She began to say that she would learn all about things and leave Hogwarts forever."

"But she didn't, did she?" Teddy commented.

Severus snorted, "Obviously."

Hermione added, "Not even for a short time, either. She has never left Hogwarts, but she has found her happiness."

"How so?" asked Teddy

"I admit I feel a bit responsible, to be honest. I had given her a new book, this time about the moon, and I know she was excited to share it with the other elves," replied Hermione. "The other elves had heard about her comments and began to snub her more openly. Prior to that, there had been subtle incidents; most would suddenly 'hear' their miss or master calling and pop away. Others would simply ignore her. Then it began to escalate—name calling, hitting, that sort of thing. Even the nanny elves or Horatio would punish and berate her for her foolishness. Finally, in June of the year, just after the students had left, it came to a head."

With a limited staff presence now that term was over, the elves would finish their chores sooner and gather as a whole in the kitchens for fellowship. Artis had been showing the new book to her friends when an older male elf took the book from her hands and tore it to bits. With shouts of 'freak' and 'Dobby lover', she was teased and taunted. Several other older elves joined in and the bullying was blatant. Finally, as though the elves were of one body, they all turned their backs to her.

Artis gasped in shock. She had heard of this in the stories that Nanny elf told, but she never suspected it was true. In that moment of time, Artis was formally shunned.

Dismissed.

Abandoned.

Blindly, she stumbled from the kitchens and into the hallway outside. She didn't know where to go, so she went to the one place she knew no elf would follow; the Astronomy Tower. Once there, she tucked herself in a corner and cried.

Artis was not sure how long it was until Missy Hermione came to retrieve her. "Come, Artis; we must go the Headmistress' office."

With her head hanging, she followed Hermione out of the tower. As they walked, a hand came into view and Artis shyly took it, feeling a small squeeze that felt comforting.