"Oh... Chengya will absolutely help Wendis!"
Manually rebooted by Wendis, Chengya's expression shifted into one that clearly said she would willingly walk through fire for her.
"Haha, it's really not that big of a deal." Wendis waved it off and looked over at Richie.
Richie caught the cue and stepped forward. "We're actually looking for something specific, but we aren't entirely sure what it is. All we know is that it should be hidden somewhere in this kitchen."
He then repeated the riddle for her.
Chengya looked at the group, utterly bewildered. "Chengya has never heard of any guardians..."
Hearing that, the group's excitement plummeted. Seeing Wendis let out a disappointed sigh, Chengya instantly panicked.
"Chengya doesn't know, but old Modi definitely knows! Old Modi is the oldest house-elf in the kitchens! He knows everything!"
Without giving anyone time to react, Chengya spun around and sprinted deeper into the kitchen.
"She's incredibly eager to help, isn't she?" Neville noted, looking genuinely impressed. "I guess it makes sense why all those ancient, wealthy wizarding families like keeping house-elves around."
Seamus, however, had a very different perspective. "Actually, my grandpa has a house-elf. But my mom always says it's incredibly annoying and holds a grudge over every little thing. Literally nobody except my grandpa can get it to do anything."
Listening to the two boys talk, Hermione stared quietly at her shoes, completely lost in her own thoughts.
Amid a loud clatter of pots and pans, Chengya reappeared, literally dragging another house-elf toward them. The new elf was clutching a small iron pot to his chest. He looked almost identical to Chengya, just significantly older and far more wrinkled.
"This is old Modi!" Chengya announced, aggressively yanking on the elderly elf's arm.
"Chengya shouldn't treat Modi like this!" Modi squeaked, his high-pitched voice laced with indignation.
"Old Modi never works hard! Chengya looks down on old Modi!" Chengya glared at him. Judging by the sheer venom in her eyes, if the young wizards weren't standing right there, she probably would have jumped him and violently slapped him across the face.
"Modi is old!" Hearing Chengya's insult, Modi looked absolutely devastated. He raised the small iron pot he was holding and started brutally bashing it against his own head. "Modi is useless! Modi is useless!"
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
"Hey!"
"Stop!"
Seeing this, Wendis and Hermione immediately lunged forward. Hermione snatched the iron pot out of Modi's hands, while Wendis grabbed his arms to stop him from further self-harm.
Richie, Neville, and Seamus rushed in to help. After a few seconds of frantic scrambling, they finally managed to restrain the panicking elf.
With Wendis gently talking him down, Modi's emotions slowly stabilized, and the group carefully let go of him.
"Oh, old Modi is just use—" Chengya started to insult him again, but Wendis had lightning-fast reflexes and immediately clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Modi, it's like this: we really need your help." Richie looked at the teary-eyed elderly elf and quickly got to the point. "Is there something hidden in the Hogwarts kitchens? Something left behind specifically for 'seekers of secrets'? Something that might have been here for a very long time, maybe even a thousand years?"
"Oh... the little wizard is asking Modi a question... Modi... Modi needs to answer properly..."
Modi's eyes slowly drifted toward the small iron pot still in Hermione's hands. Seeing his gaze, Hermione instinctively took a step back.
To her surprise, Modi extended a gnarled, bony finger and pointed directly at her. "Modi's little iron pot... It's the Christmas present lovely Freckles gave to Modi..."
Richie immediately understood what he meant and gestured for Hermione to hand the pot back.
Hermione hesitated for a moment but eventually handed it over. "You can't use this to hurt yourself anymore, okay?"
Modi completely ignored her warning. He snatched the pot back and hugged it tightly to his chest like it was the most precious treasure in the world.
"Old Modi can't treat the little wizards like this! Boohoo!"
Seeing Modi aggressively snatch the pot, Chengya instantly snapped again. Wendis had to forcefully keep her hand clamped over the younger elf's mouth.
"Merlin's beard, since when is Chengya this violent?"
"I know, right? I actually feel really bad for old Modi."
Neville and Seamus started whispering to each other again.
Watching the situation completely spiral into chaos, Richie felt a massive headache coming on.
"Guys, don't forget we're here to solve a riddle!" Richie quickly reminded them, then turned his attention back to Modi. "So, can you tell us now? Does this hidden object actually exist?"
Modi hugged his little iron pot, sniffled a few times, and finally spoke. "Modi knows. A wizard left it here a long time ago."
Hearing that, the group's faces lit up.
Richie let out a quiet sigh of relief and looked at Modi, keeping his tone soft. "Could you give it to us?"
Modi looked up, staring intently at Richie. He stared for so long that Richie started to feel slightly uncomfortable before the elf finally answered. "Modi can get the thing for the little wizards. But the little wizards have to do Modi a favor first."
"Old Modi!!!"
"House-elves can't make demands of little wizards! House-elves exist to serve little wizards for free!"
Chengya's furious, muffled shrieks leaked through Wendis's fingers. Chengya started thrashing wildly, desperately trying to break free, nearly knocking the chef's hat clean off her head.
"Oh! Come help me!" Wendis yelled, struggling to hold onto her.
Neville and Seamus immediately stepped up, each grabbing one of Chengya's arms.
Under Wendis's strict threats, Chengya finally stopped thrashing. However, her massive eyes remained locked onto Modi in a deadly glare.
Richie shot Chengya an exasperated look before turning back to Modi. "What kind of favor do you need?"
"Modi wants to give lovely Freckles a Christmas present in return. But Modi doesn't know where Freckles is..."
"A Christmas present?" Neville sounded completely confused. "But it's not even close to Christmas yet. We still have like two months..."
Richie frowned, thought it over for a second, and asked the obvious question. "Who is Freckles? Do you happen to know his actual name?"
"Freckles is just Freckles! Lovely Freckles!" Modi shook his head aggressively. He then started frantically digging through the pockets of his ragged clothes. Eventually, he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.
He carefully unfolded it, and Richie realized it was a heavily worn, old photograph.
In the picture, a handsome man carrying a leather suitcase stood looking incredibly awkward and nervous.
Hermione leaned in for a closer look and immediately gasped. "Newt Scamander?!"
Richie looked up at her in surprise. "You actually know who that is, Hermione?"
Hermione lifted her chin proudly. "He's the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It's the required textbook for our third-year Care of Magical Creatures elective."
Hearing that, the boys just stared at her in stunned silence.
"Wow, Hermione. I can't believe you even know that," Neville said, sounding deeply impressed. "You're literally a know-it-all!"
"The problem is," Hermione added, completely ignoring the compliment, "he wrote that book decades ago!"