Window into the Past

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Harry had caught Ron up on everything Sirius had told us. About Karkaroff.

"It has to be him, Malfoy's dad know him, that has shade all over it," Ron said as Harry was trying to tie a letter to Biscuit's leg. "Stay still," I scolded Biscuit.

"Why does he hate me?" Harry complained. "Because I'm the evil witch who took his early retirement away," I grumbled.

"Could your mum be linked to him?" Ron wondered. "I have no idea," I admitted. "Oh Biscuit! You bastard, stop being so frustrating!"

I held him down as Harry finished tying the knot. "Now take this to Sirius, you annoying bird," I muttered impatiently.

"If that was the first task, I'm worried about what's going to come next," Hermione mumbled, leaning against the wall of the Owlery.

"Trust me, so am I," Harry shuddered. "Okay, let's bring positivity back into the room shall we?" I clapped my hands together. "Party!"

The four of us left and headed to the common room. It was a proper buffet there, mountains of food and drinks spread out over the table. I opened a bottle of Butterbeer and started chugging it.

"Harry!" Lee Jordan shouted. "Are you going open the egg?"

"He has to figure it out by himself," Hermione reminded him. "Well, I didn't get by that dragon alone," Harry smiled at me. "If it wasn't for Joy, I'd be a goner."

"Open it, Harry!" Fred encouraged him. "Open it! Open it!" the entire common room began chanting.

Harry opened the egg and this horrible wailing noise came out. I covered my ears and I winced. "CLOSE IT!" I shouted. I wasn't sure how loud I was.

Harry shut the egg. "You're going to face a banshee!" Seamus predicted. "Or the Cruciatus Curse," Neville pointed out. "That's illegal," George pointed out.

"Jam tart anyone?" Fred offered. "Where did you get these?" Hermione asked Fred. "I didn't do anything, I got them from the kitchens, the house elves are very helpful."

"How did you get in?" Hermione wondered. "Simple, tickle the pear on the painting," George told her. "You going to start a strike or something?"

A few people laughed. "You going to force clothes and salaries on them?" Fred wondered.

I knew house elves found that as an insult.

***

Winter was finally here. Snow dusting all over the entire school. I had a black beanie on my head as we walked to Care of Magical Creatures.

"Ooh, this looks like fun," a high voice said. "Oh not her, hide me," Harry came closer to me and hid his face with my scarf.

"Who are you?" Hagrid asked her. "Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet reporter," she introduced herself.

"Didn't Dumbledore say you weren't allowed in the school anymore?" Hagrid grumbled.

"What are these?" she asked him, completely ignoring his last remark. "Blast-Ended Skrewts," Hagrid told her. "They're very interesting," Hermione piped up. "Right Harry?"

Harry glared at her, after she gave him away. "Harry! You're here!" she beamed. "Is this one of your favourite lessons?"

"Yes," Harry answered her. "Lovely," Rita muttered. She looked at Hagrid. "Been teaching here long?"

"It's my second year," he told her. "Don't suppose you'd want to do an interview would you? About these Bang-Ended Scoots?"

"Er yeah, why not?"

"That's not going to end well," Ron whispered in my ear.

I went back to the common room after that class and flopped down onto the huge couch. I turned my head towards the fire and I closed my eyes. I felt drained, but it wasn't the full moon, I just felt like a pile of crap.

"You have questions," I heard a familiar voice. "Mum?" I muttered. "You're wondering why your father is shielding you from my mission, correct?"

"Something like that," I muttered. "Well, it'd be easier if you could just tell me."

"Joy, I'm a figment of your imagination," Mum pointed out. "Meaning I don't have that information. Your conscience says hello, by the way."

"I need to know," I insisted. "Again, I'm just a dream, the real me is nothing but a pile of ash under a grave in Inverness," she gave me the difficult truth.

"Then why are you here?" I asked her, rather bitterly. "If you aren't here to help to me."

"I am here to help you," she told me. "I'm doing what I have been since the day you were born, protecting you, because you're my child!"

"Why did you leave me?" I asked her. "Why?"

She sighed. "They wanted me gone, because I knew how to kill him."

***

"JOY! JOY!"

"What?!" I moaned, waking up. "Come on," Hermione was tugging my arm. "Why do you hate sleep?" I complained. "Or me sleeping?"

"Don't be a drama queen," Hermione muttered and she literally dragged me out of the common room.

"Oh, Hermione, can it not wait until the morning?" I grumbled, in a very bad mood that I was disturbed from my couch coma.

Hermione brought me to the kitchens where Harry and Ron were. "Found her," Hermione piped up.

They were sitting on stools drinking tea and I joined them. "Dobby this is Joy," Harry introduced us. "Ooh, I know Miss Joy, Miss Joy was kind to Dobby, Miss Joy's family were a very honourable family, they treat our kind very well," Dobby said.

Mitzy handed me a cup of tea. "Professor Dumbledore took us on recently," Dobby told Harry. "He pays Dobby a Galleon a month and Dobby gets a day off too."

"That's not much," Hermione grumbled. "No miss, Dobby insists on it," Dobby told her. "Professor Dumbledore offered more but Dobby beat him down," he told her.

I heard wailing coming from behind me. "Is that Winky?" I wondered.

A very loud strangled wail nearly burst my eardrums, so I'll take that as a yes.

"Is Winky getting paid too?" Hermione wondered. Winky cried even harder but she spoke. "Winky is a disgraced house elf! Winky is ashamed of being free!"

"But it's Crouch who should feel that way," Hermione insisted. Winky covered her ears. "You is not insulting my master miss! Master is right to sack Winky!"

"So, you can't speak ill of your old masters?" I wondered.

Dobby shook his head. "We have to keep their secrets miss, we never speak ill of them. But the Malfoy family are bad wizards!"

Dobby's eyes widened but I grabbed him so he wouldn't hurt himself. "Thank you, Miss Joy," he gulped.

"You just need practice," Harry told him. "Do not encourage him sir!" Winky scolded him. "He should not talk ill of his master."

"They are not my masters, not anymore," Dobby told her. "You is a bad elf Dobby!" Winky stated. "Oh, my master needs me. Mr Crouch needs Winky."

"Well, we see him around," Hermione told her. "You is seeing my master?" Winky asked her. "Yes," I nodded. "And Mr Bagman."

"Mr Bagman?! No! He is a bad wizard, my master likes him not!"

"Why?" Harry frowned.

"Winky must not say, Winky must keep her master's secrets!"

It was obvious that Winky wasn't exactly going to tell us anything else.

We left the kitchen but Mitzy gave me some cream cakes to take with me. "See you, Dobby," Harry said. "Can Dobby visit Harry Potter?" he wondered.

"Course you can," Harry told him. The four of us left the kitchen and went back to the common room, where I hoped to continue with my nap.