Ivan's words caused Hermione to pause. Seventy or eighty thousand Galleons seemed like an astronomical sum to her.
After a long pause, the witch stammered, "But house-elves work so hard, isn't it worth it? It would cost more to hire a wizard!"
"That's true. They have to take care of the whole school in a way that most wizards can't!" Ivan said with a smile, not entirely disagreeing with Hermione.
Before the witch could rejoice, Ivan continued, "And have you ever wondered how so many house-elves are going to live without their masters? No wizard would want to hire them!"
"Besides, you should go to the kitchens and ask the house-elves what they think before you make a decision. If you really want to protect them, you should listen to what they have to say!" Ivan advised.
In fact, he did not want Hermione to waste her time on such a thing, as it was a thankless task.
As magical creatures that had been enslaved by wizards for thousands of years, house-elves had long since lost their sense of resistance. All that was left was a morbid notion of slavery, and their loyalty to their masters was ingrained in their bones!
Any house-elf who made a mistake would punish themselves without their master having to lift a finger.
Ivan's words reminded Hermione of Winky's fate, as no wizard would take her in after she was abandoned by her master, Crouch, and it was Sirius who suggested that she stay with the Black family.
"And if you really want to change anything, you might as well take a look at this!" Ivan said, suddenly thinking of something. He took a book out of his extended-charm pocket and handed it to the witch.
"From junior clerk to Minister for Magic—how do wizards reach the height of their power?" Hermione asked, taking the book from him.
Hermione looked at Ivan strangely, wondering why he would give her such a book.
"When you become Minister for Magic, you will truly change the situation for house-elves!" Ivan suggested earnestly.
He felt that Hermione's concern for the current state of the house-elf, aside from a sudden burst of compassion, was ultimately because she had too much time on her hands!
Therefore, it would be better to give her something to do and set a big goal for herself. She might forget about it after a while.
"You don't have to tell me, I'll get it!" Hermione said confidently, hugging the book to her chest.
She saw too much in the wizarding world over the years to fix, such as the mistreatment of house-elves, or the discrimination of pure-blood wizards against Muggles…
Looking at the high-spirited little witch in front of her, Ivan remembered that Hermione had really become Minister for Magic in the original timeline!
The liberation of house-elves was probably not something to be taken lightly.
Hermione really intended to live up to her ideals!
Of course, from what Ivan had been told, even if Hermione did become Minister for Magic, freeing the house-elves would be impossible.
This meant going up against the majority of the wizarding establishment, and eventually passing decrees that would make life better for house-elves.
"Then you'll have to work hard!" Ivan said encouragingly, not wanting to dampen Hermione's spirits.
He disapproved of the idea of making house-elves equal to wizards, but he did not object to improving their living conditions, or he would not have paid Dobby.
In contrast, some extreme pure-blood families enjoy the convenience of having house-elves, and at the same time abuse them, treating them like vermin.
Even Muggle slave owners knew to look after their slaves from time to time to ensure that their personal possessions lasted longer, but some arrogant wizards simply did not understand this.
Even as Ivan thought this, a faint noise upstairs interrupted his thoughts.
Yvonne turned instinctively to look down the stairs.
"What's the matter?" Hermione asked, not noticing Ivan's odd movements.
"Shhh…" Ivan put his index finger to his lips and made a silencing gesture. With a thought, he took out the Marauder's Map and opened it.
Ivan's mouth twitched when he saw the names stacked next to the Gryffindor Lounge.
Hermione looked at it too, and then her face turned red.
Ivan stood up and pointed his wand at the dark stairway above.
A scarlet magical beam of light shot out from the tip of the wand and collided with the steps, exploding with a loud crack and a shower of sparks.
George and the others, who were crouching there eavesdropping, were frightened out of their wits and were thrown into chaos. Some of them even rolled down the stairs in a sorry state.
"Why are you spying on us instead of sleeping at night?"
Ivan looked at George and Fred, who had fallen badly, and the witches and wizards who had only met in the lounge.
"We were just passing… passing through!" George said sheepishly, rubbing his chest, which still hurt.
George scowled at Fred, who was standing behind him. They would not have been spotted if he had not changed his position due to his discomfort.
"Right! Hungry at night, we were just going to the kitchen to get something to eat!" Fred quickly explained.
They had previously heard that Yvonne and Hermione would be having a date in the Gryffindor Lounge tonight, so they were restless and eager to learn.
Who knew Ivan and Hermione would spend the evening talking about house-elves!
This is so strange!
If he had known this would happen, Fred would have slept in his room!
Other wizards and witches came up with various excuses to prove that they had just happened to pass through.
"House-elves also need to rest, and I advise you not to bother them at night!" Hermione glared at George and the others, then looked at Ivan, hesitated, and finally whispered, "I'm going back to bed now!"
Without waiting for Ivan to respond, Hermione hurried back to the girls' dormitory with her books.
Seeing that there was nothing to see, George, Fred, and the others fled as fast as rabbits, afraid of being intercepted by Ivan.