Third Person POV:
Harry, Ron, and Hermione proceeded down to the kitchen to give Dobby his new socks.
The house-elves gave them a very cheery welcome, bowing and curtsying and bustling around making tea again. Dobby was ecstatic about his present.
"Harry Potter is too good to Dobby!" he squeaked, wiping large tears out of his enormous eyes.
"You saved my life with that gillyweed, Dobby, you really did," Harry smiled. Though he wished
"No chance of more of those eclairs, is there?" Ron asked, who was looking around at the beaming and bowing house-elves.
"You've just had breakfast!" Hermione said irritably, but a great silver platter of eclairs was already zooming toward them, supported by four elves.
"We should get some stuff to send up to Snuffles," Harry muttered.
"Good idea," Ron nodded. "Give Pig something to do. You couldn't give us a bit of extra food, could you?" he said to the surrounding elves, and they bowed delightedly and hurried off to get some more.
"Dobby, where's Winky?" Hermione asked, who was looking around.
Harry looked over at the fireplace too. Winky was sitting on the same stool as last time, but she had allowed herself to become so filthy that she was not immediately distinguishable from the smoke-blackened brick behind her. Her clothes were ragged and unwashed. She was clutching a bottle of butterbeer and swaying slightly on her stool, staring into the fire. As they watched her, she gave an enormous hiccup.
"Winky is getting through six bottles a day now," Dobby whispered to Harry.
"Well, it's not strong, that stuff," Harry said. But Dobby shook his head.
" 'Tis strong for a house-elf, sir," he said.
Winky hiccuped again. The elves who had brought the eclairs gave her disapproving looks as they returned to work.
"Winky is pining, Harry Potter," Dobby whispered sadly. "Winky wants to go home. Winky still thinks Mr. Crouch is her master, sir, and nothing Dobby says will persuade her that Professor Dumbledore is her master now."
"Hey, Winky," Harry said, struck by a sudden inspiration, walking over to her, and bending down, "you don't know what Mr. Crouch might be up to, do you? Because he's stopped turning up to judge the Triwizard Tournament."
Winky's eyes flickered. Her enormous pupils focused on Harry. She swayed slightly again and then said, "M — Master is stopped — hic — coming?"
"Yeah," Harry said, "we haven't seen him since the first task. The Daily Prophet's saying he's ill."
Winky swayed some more, staring blurrily at Harry. "Master — hic — ill?"
Her bottom lip began to tremble.
"But we're not sure if that's true," Hermione said quickly.
"Master is needing his — hic — Winky!" whimpered the elf. "Master cannot — hic — manage — hic — all by himself. . . ."
"Other people manage to do their own housework, you know, Winky," Hermione said severely.
"Winky — hic — is not only — hic — doing housework for Mr. Crouch!" Winky squeaked indignantly, swaying worse than ever and slopping butterbeer down her already heavily stained blouse. "Master is — hic — trusting Winky with — hic — the most important — hic — the most secret —"
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A Greater Power
Fanfic**On Hold** Willow Black is the only daughter to a man she has never known. Born to a woman who was a drug abuser, Willow learned how to survive at a young age. Now as a Seventh Year Slytherin, Willow will be tested in ways she never thought possibl...
