78 ch 78 Authority

1:12 pm, Outside the new greenhouse

-Third-person POV-

"Wigby!" Marshall called out, and the head of the castle's house elves appeared by the door.

After hearing Witcherly's instructions, the elf snapped his fingers and seven more of its kind appeared and encircled the greenhouse.

From their faces, they looked ready for a fight, and Wigby even looked in the direction of the castle, eyeing a particular tower where Dumbledore and other teachers were observing.

The other Hufflepuffs and the teachers, watching from the castle, were again surprised by how compliant the house elves had become to Witcherly's request… No. At some point, those requests had gained a tone of authority and can be considered 'polite commands'.

In the tower, McGonagall noticed Marshall's interaction with the house elf and asked the Headmaster, "Albus, the elves… Did you tell them to follow Marshall's commands?"

"Definitely not…" A frowning Dumbledore replied, "... I just asked them to listen and consider the lad's idea regarding the menu last year. But from how Wigby and the older elves are acting, it seems Marshall can compete with me for authority over them."

Sprout was skeptical, "Surely that can't happen, Headmaster? Marshall is just a student…"

"Uhm..." Flitwick hesitated for a second before saying, "... I believe it's important to keep in mind that the binding magic that's enslaving the house elves is both strong and weak at the same time."

"... Strong, since it can limit the elves, who undeniably have stronger magic prowess. Weak, since it can be canceled by simply violating the rules, like giving them clothes."

Looking at the group of elves guarding the greenhouse, Snape argued, "But the elves are under the control of Hogwarts. As the one who has the highest authority here, they should be following the Headmaster, not a student. Even more so, a first year at that."

Flitwick pointed out, "As you said, Serverus, they are under the control of Hogwarts. If Peeves can exist as a manifestation of the students' mischief, the castle might be sentient in some degree as well, and response positively to the students' satisfaction."

Dumbledore stroked his beard and said, "Following your train of thought, are you saying that Witcherly gained the favor of Hogwarts itself. Hence, the elves' obedience to him?"

*cough* The Head of Ravenclaw House shakes his head and simply said, "This is just my theory. Another guess of mine is that Marshall is specially blessed with an affinity with magical creatures and beings. Remember, he is friends with the merpeople, centaurs and from what I heard from my friends in Gringotts, the goblins talk highly of the lad."

Everyone in the room went silent as they pondered the implications of both theory. Regardless which they choose to believe, it only solidifies Marshall Witcherly as a high-profile individual that they need to be wary of and never cross.

As they continued to observe, the greenhouse started to glow.

"What's happening?" Sprout panicked.

Flitwick adjusted his glasses and said, "The sudden wave of magic definitely came from the greenhouse, and it feels like something is going to burst out from it. We should evacuate those students away from it..."

Without waiting for orders, McGonagall and Snape apparated from the tower and appeared behind the group of Hufflepuffs watching.

Whoosh ~ Whoosh ~

"Children, get away from here." McGonagall yelled to the kids. She and Snape came forward with their wands out and placed themselves between the kids and the greenhouse, that's glowing more intense every second that passes.

Susan panicked and yelled, "What's happening, Professor?"

Unfortunately, her question went unanswered as the two teachers were focusing on the glowing greenhouse.

A moment later, Dumbledore, Flitwick and Sprout came as well.

Wigby saw Dumbledore and came forward and said, "No need to panic, Headmaster. The same thing happened when Young Master Witcherly created new warehouses for pre-prepared dishes."

Dumbledore's brow twitched a bit when the elf said 'Young Master Witcherly'. It only reinforced their guess that the Hogwarts' elves recognized Marshall as someone with authority in the castle.

McGonagall quickly asked, "Then why didn't those warehouses cause such… violent phenomenon?"

The head elf politely replied, "Because those warehouses were inside our secret elf village that was built for us by Lady Helga. But I assure you, that same 'violent phenomenon' happened back then…"

Pointing at the greenhouse, Wigby explained, "If you look closely, the whole building is covered by runes that Young Master painstakingly engraved himself to contain the magic that is pushing and expanding the space inside."

Dumbledore thought for a bit and asked, "Those warehouses, how small were they from outside and how large were they inside after Witcherly was done with them?"

After thinking for a few seconds, Wigby replied, "Young Master used the old houses we have that are no bigger than the fireplace in the Great Hall and expanded the space inside to be as big as the Great Hall itself. Young Master created three such warehouses."

Silence ~

Everyone present was astonished by the elf said. When they compared the glowing greenhouse to the fireplace, a question formed in their minds, 'How big will the space inside be?'

Thankfully, they didn't have to wait for long as the glow started to dim down and the magic that wanted to come out from the greenhouse subsided.

The wide front door opens, and Marshall came out. He saw Dumbledore and the other teachers from the expression he's making, he was not surprised.

Wigby happily trotted over as well as the other elves and looked behind Marshall trying to see the inside.

Marshall stepped aside and let them in before waving to his friends and the teachers who were standing far away. He shouted, "What are you doing all the way there?"

When they came back to their senses, the teachers, led by Dumbledore, walked over, followed by the Hufflepuffs.

As they passed the rock fence, they could already see the inside and the elves who were jumping around far away… as in … very far away.

Marshall greeted them, "Welcome Headmaster, …professors. I present to you the new vegetable greenhouse."

The group entered and looked around, and they spread out a bit, Dumbledore was besides Marshall looking over the place.

Marshall proudly describes the parameters inside, "What do you think, Headmaster? I first planned to make it a hectare and 25 meters high, but I was not satisfied, so I doubled the area and raised the roof up to 35 meters."

The others heard him and were shocked.

"Is it stable?" was the first question Dumbledore asked.

Marshall nodded, "It sure is. It already has a failsafe to expel anything and everyone out if ever the space collapse safely. But before that happens, the initial structure must be 60% destroy, which is almost an impossible feat given the defenses I put in placed."

Dumbledore stroked his beard, "Defenses?"

"Don't worry, Sir. They can't be trigger easily and can judge whether someone has ill intentions or not. They prioritize giving off warning, then capture, before being... heavy-handed." Witcherly said.

*cough* "Who will have control over those defenses?" the Headmaster asked.

Though it might sound a bit shameless for Dumbledore to ask, as part of the school, it would be laughable if the Headmaster didn't have control over the new facility.

"Oh?…" Marshall paused before saying, "The greenhouse will be under the total control of Lady Helena and Fat Fryer, then followed by the Headmaster and whoever is teaching Herbology class. Everyone can come in during the morning, but outsiders or those who wants to enter during nighttime needs permission from any of the first four. Though they don't have any control, the Hogwarts house elves can freely come and go w/o notifying anyone."

Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape frowned. Flitwick didn't mind. Sprout was the only one with a smile on her face.

"Witcherly..." Snape looked straight at Marshall and said, "... Explain your reasoning."

Witcherly quickly said, "Though a ghost, Lady Helena is the daughter of a Hogwarts founder. By right, she has the highest authority in the castle..."

"...Since I'm a Hufflepuff, it is only proper to designate our house as the keeper of the greenhouse, hence Fryer..."

"...Sir Nicholas don't have any interest with plants and The Barron always play pranks..."

"... The Headmaster and the Herbology Professor's authority over the place is self-explanatory. Everyone else has no reason to have control of the greenhouse..."

Flitwick and Sprout nodded with Witcherly's reasoning. McGonagall and Snape can't seem to refute the kid.

Dumbledore was also dumbfounded, hearing Marshall's explanation. He narrowed in on what the kid said, 'By right, Helena Ravenclaw has the highest authority in the castle.'

If it is true, then it explains why the elves listen to Witcherly's instructions. When Helena had a favorable impression regarding the kid and expressed her dissatisfaction with Dumbledore, the castle responded to her inner thoughts.

For a moment there, Dumbledore was afraid that Helena can remove him as the school's Headmaster. But then he remembered that the position is overseen by the Hogwarts Board of Governors, which was a rule set by the founders themselves.

But the connection with Helena Ravenclaw and the Castle is undeniable to Dumbledore. He told himself, 'I better thread carefully when talking to the Gray Lady.'

~end chapter ~