Did he just what, Anya Phillips? Vinteren slowly turned those icy blue eyes of his on the girl blurting out questions and not answering his own.

He shook his head at her ever so subtly. "Do try to stay on topic, Ms. Phillips." That was as good a non answer as she was going to get.

How cute, the first years were in agreement with each other. "Good reasoning, boys," Erik shrugged at their answers. For all he was pretending to know knew, the Hufflepuffs could be correct. "Maybe we can buy vhem or new ones back. Sure, vhy not. Ve'd just haff to find vhem first." House elves were bought and sold all the time.

It wasn't Erik's decision what was to be done about them though. No he was just a lowly little Governor, just doing his duty to help the school.

"We probably should do exactly vhat," Erik wondered if the girl would be surprised by his agreeing with her. "Shame vhe MLE is taking so long to investigate vhis little case though...."

Must be because...they could find no evidence? What a pity.

It was amusing to watch Alexa put all the pieces together, slowly and out loud as usual. She was no Ravenclaw, that much was certain. But despite all that, and despite her wild habits of lying and jumping to conclusions, Erik still liked the girl....a tiny bit.

"I vouldn't start making plans of vhat to do vith vhe thieves until we've caught vhem, Alexa," Erik chuckled dryly, "but I do like your reasoning regarding Toddles. He's more of an adopted Hogwarts elf vhan he is one owned by vhe school. Vhat vould make sense as to vhy he vas left behind. If vhat is vot happened, of course." Because this was all hypothetical, see. Alllllllll hypothetical.

"Solid logic," Erik complimented the Slytherin. One would think that as attached and loyal as house elves are in general...at least one would have tried to return to the castle, if they could have? No?

The truth serum question was trickier. "It does," he answered more hesitantly. "But is vhat truly vhe right thing to do here? Why would Toddles be withholding information?" What did they stand to gain by shoving a potion down the elf's throat, in other words?

"Vhis is all true," Vinteren replied thoughtfully. "Unless vhere is a more powerful type of magic holding vhe house elves vherever vhey currently are....?" He did a good job of making that sound like an innocent guess. Just saying.

...

"Nooo, noooo, vhe school isn't lost," the professor shook his head impatiently, "just vhe official document vhich states legal ownership to it." That's all, kids, nothing to worry about here.

"Vhe only freed elves I haff ever had vhe pleasure of knowing," Erik answered slowly, "found work for pay in other places." So it wasn't like they all went off and formed a colony somewhere. "If ve could find vhem, in theory I suppose we could buy vhem or persuade vhem to come back. IF vhey have been freed." And that was working on a lot of assumptions here.

"I don't know," he answered the Hufflepuff captain with a pitying expression. "One could only hope..." that Hogwarts' elves weren't so cruel as to just abandon one of their own...

"Vhis is an excellent theory," Erik praised the boy. And one so very off the mark. "I vonder vhy vhe press never heard about vheir strike vhough. Headmistress Truebridge must be very adept at covering things up." And that wasn't a direct insinuation of anything at all either, nooooo nooooo.

Well well, looked like Cambridge had some competition in the Department of Conspiracy Theorists. Was that an actual division in the British Ministry of Magic? Because if so Vinteren would willingly write letters of recommendation for these two.

"Vhat is also an excellent theory," he informed her, very serious and deadpan. "I actually vhink vhis should be looked into, if not by vhe Board of Governors vhan certainly by Magical Law Enforcement at vhe least." It was all a scam, a big cover-up! Clearly!

So, in retrospect...."Vhat is correct," Erik nodded, following the Slytherin with his suspicious blue eyes, "and yet incorrect. Vhe school's deed is not public record as far as I, and I believe I can speak for vhe entire Board of Governors here, are aware. Othervise ve vould have looked into taking action vith vhat by now." But he was right that he who held the deed held the power.

Um.....and this girl was......? Erik blinked at her jumping and shouting. Was she even old enough to go to this school?

"Sorry," he blinked at her blankly, "you father is...?" And he could help how?

"Right," he finally had to acknowledge the scary Captain again, "he who holds vhe deed holds vhe power, but to use it against vhe school vould be to come out into vhe open and more or less admit to robbing vhe Board's Gringott's vault." He shrugged yet again. "Vhat is how I understand vhis problem, anyhow."

"I don't know vhe technicalities of vhe school's elves, I'm afraid, as I do not own vhem myself." Erik flashed a bitter smile toward the Ravenclaw. "But you know, some of vhe most far-fetched vheories turn out to be vhe ones most correct in vhe end. I vhink perhaps vhe Headmistress needs to answer to some of vhese questions." Rather than him, poor, innocent Erik Vinteren.

"Sounds plausible," Erik answered dryly, turning to the next person. The less attention this accuser received the better for him.

"And surely it vas," Erik pointed out, "right up until it mysteriously disappeared from Hogwarts' vault in Gringotts." The bank with the world's worst security, let it be known. "Who do vhink elfnapped Hogwarts' elves though? Any guesses?"

He would laugh if someone said Santa Claus now. HAH.

"I see..." Another vote for the deed thing...good to know the Head Girl had a capable head on her shoulders.

This was the Hufflepuff with all the questions, Erik was starting to realise. "Vhat is vhat I'm hoping, Mr. Summers," he told the boy with a tilted head. "And I do haff an idea as to how we can accomplish that..." One of those ideas that was so far-fetched it just might work...

Hmmmmmmmm..."Vhat could be," Erik answered, his scepticism coming through his response rather strongly, "but I fail to see vhe connection here. Strange vhings have happened at Hogwarts for as long as vhe book Hogwarts, a History has existed." And even before then. Just look at who the bloody school had for founders: four arguing nutcases.

Also, "I didn't realise we had an expert on repossession in vhe room." Round of applause for Sour Sarah Powerpuff, everyone.



He had managed to spark a real debate in his last lesson of the year, look at that. Erik didn't intervene in the girls' discussion at first, mostly because it was entertaining educational, but when there was a pause he held up a hand to stop them both without actually agreeing with one side or the other.

"I don't vhink it's necessary to force Toddles to do anyvhing, at vhis point," Erik spoke up. "I haff told you everything vhe staff and vhe Board of Governors know regarding vhe school's missing deed and missing elves. And regarding Toddles...ve haff already determined vhat he is friendly toward vhe students and forthcoming vith information regarding his fellow elves' whereabouts. Correct?" Erik looked toward Penelope and Alexa specifically. "Vhy don't ve try contacting vhe other elves instead?"

It was time to move on with the lesson anyway. Erik strolled around to his desk and opened a drawer in the centre of it with his wand. He took out a thick stack of blank parchments and returned to the centre aisle, where he started moving down the rows and passing out enough parchment for each student to have at least one piece. When he was finished, he returned to the front of the room and dropped the extras lightly on top of his desk.

"Vhe beauty of wizard communication is vhat ve have an intelligent creature delivering our mail for us." He gave the class a look. "Haff you ever wondered how it is vhat owls alvays, or almost always, know where to deliver your letters? Vhey don't need addresses to find a person. I vould like to vhink vhe same works for elves, considering vhat vhey, too, are classified as intelligent beings."

He paused. "Today you haff a few options: one, you may write a letter on vhis specially charmed parchment to one of Hogwarts' house elves, asking vhem vhere vhey have gone, why, vhen vhey plan to return, vhat sort of vhing, and trust vhat I vill do everyvhing in my power to see it delivered to vhem. Two, you may write to whomever you vhink took vhe elves, or sold or freed vhem, and ask for vhem back. Or three, you may come up vith your own option and write your own theory of vhat happened to vhe elves and vhat you think you could do to help bring vhem home to Hogwarts."

Another paaaaause. "Any questions? Before you get started, I vould recommend having a class discussion about vhe elves ve are missing here. It vould help if you knew vheir names as you're writing to vhem." If the students even knew this information. He did, but he was a Governor, and a staff member at present. Of course he knew these things.