Originally Posted by Antarctica!

Public speaking... It was only going to be in front of her classmates, so it was not even that public, but Kiri was still nervous. The podium at the front of the room made everything worse. Because of it, the debate setting looked much more serious and official. But it was a final exam, she'd studied hard - and even though the side Kiri had picked was not one she necessarily supported, it was nevertheless going to be an interesting thought experiment. Thinking, Kiri had gathered, was high on the list for Professor Truebridge.

She'd prepared some notes, too, and very nervously, she got up and walked to the front of the room on shaky legs. The floor didn't seem to want to cooperate, either. It felt like she was walking on rubber. Only when she reached the podium had it solidified like it was supposed to. The podium itself, however, didn't help much. It was big. Kiri was barely able to peer over the top of it. If she had to stand on tiptoe...
She put down her notes and flattened them carefully. Grabbing the podium's sides for support, she looked up at the other students - and the professor in the back - and began.

"Er... h-hi," she stammered. "I'm Kiri, and... and I'm representing witches and wizards who do not support house-elf rights. I, erm, realise that... sounds very harsh, but we think there are good reasons for it." She looked at her notes, trying to remember to breathe. "F-first, though, I want to stress that... that we, um, do think that house-elves should not be mistreated. It, it is probably safe to say that they are creatures with feelings of their own, and not mindless tools. Um, but..." Kiri glanced at her notes again, "but we think it is up to the individual witch or wizard to decide about this. House-elves are our servants. They are even called house-elves, after all. They work for us, and we think that most of them are happy with how things are run. You have heard the elves here at Hogwarts. They don't want wages, or... or holidays. They are insulted, in fact, if we, er, offer that to them. We had an expert on it right here in class who said the same things.
"And as much as they work for us, we also take care of them. Because they are not mindless tools - if the house-elves themselves are fine with the, er... status quo," Kiri said, a little proud she'd been able to keep that word in mind, "then it is immoral for groups such as S.P.E.W. to go against their wishes and try to force freedom on them. Or wages or days off or other things that are, we think, human. They are not meant for elves. Erm... thank you."

She was done. Kiri collected her notes and walked back to her seat.