Winky

Winky

Alias: None

Age: Unknown

House: None

Special Abilities: As a house-elf, Winky has the powerful, ancient magic inherent to all her kind. She mainly used this magic in the service of her former master, Bartemius Crouch, and his son, Barty Crouch Jr. She now uses it to perform menial cooking and cleaning duties at Hogwarts.

Distinguishing Characteristics: Like all house-elves Winky is diminutive in stature with large, bat-like ears. She has enormous brown eyes and her nose is the same size and shape as a large tomato. Although a female house-elf, Winky is not easily distinguishable from her male counter-parts; her voice is a bit more high pitched and squeaky. While a servant of the Crouch family, Winky wore a tea-towel draped around her like a toga. She was given a matching blue skirt and blouse set when she was dismissed, but she allowed it to become heavily soiled in her depression.

Heritage: House-elf.

Family: Formerly a servant of the Crouch family, Winky considered them her family and felt disgraced when she was dismissed. Some of her elfin ancestors (her mother and grandmother, at least) also served the Crouch family. Even after her dismissal, Winky remained loyal to the Crouch family, unwilling to tell their secrets and concerned for the welfare of her former masters.

First Mention: Goblet of Fire, chapter eight.

General: First introduced at the Quidditch World Cup (QWC), Winky was a highly devoted house-elf who prided herself on her loyalty and service to the Crouch family. Despite her obvious fear of heights, Winky stayed in the top box at the QWC, supposedly saving a seat for her Master, Barty Crouch Sr., who never arrived. While waiting, Winky spoke with Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley. She told Harry she knew Dobby the house-elf, who Harry had freed, but confided in him that she thought freedom had gone to Dobby's head. When Harry questioned her further, Winky stated angrily that "house-elves is not supposed to have fun…house-elves does what they is told" (GoF, p98-9). Winky felt it was her duty to serve the Crouch family with blind obedience, whether it caused her personal discomfort or not.

When trouble erupted after the QWC, Winky was seen struggling to walk away from the commotion into the safety of the forest. While Hermione assumed Winky was merely trying to save herself, it was later discovered that Winky was actually trying to protect her young master, Barty Crouch Jr., by forcefully dragging him away from the dark wizards parading outside of the forest. Crouch Jr. was a former Death Eater believed dead by the Wizarding World. Kept under an Invisibility Cloak and the Imperius Curse, he was sitting in one of the seats Winky said she was reserving. It was Winky's responsibility to monitor Crouch Jr. as he watched the Quidditch match.

Shortly after Winky was seen struggling through the forest with her invisible master, Crouch Jr. conjured the Dark Mark (a sign associated with Voldemort and the Death Eaters) using the wand he had stolen from Harry while in the top box. Knocked unconscious by a series of stunning spells intended to disable the wizard who cast the Dark Mark, Winky was disgraced when she was found holding this wand, having taken it off of Crouch Jr. Still hidden under the Invisibility Cloak, Crouch Jr. could not be seen, leaving Winky to answer for the Mark and the stolen wand. Implicated in the dark activities, Winky was questioned by assembled Ministry workers, including Mr. Weasley and Crouch Sr. She tearfully asserted her innocence, but the damage to Crouch Sr.'s ego and reputation was done. Infuriated by what he saw as negligence and disobedience, Crouch Sr. gave Winky clothing, thus freeing her of her enslavement to the Crouch family.

Winky was humiliated by her freedom, believing herself a failure and a disgrace. Unlike Dobby, who reveled in his freedom, Winky felt she would never overcome the shame she had brought upon herself and the Crouch family.

Both Winky and Dobby found employment at Hogwarts during the 1994-1995 school year. While Dobby requested payment for his services, Winky was outraged by the very idea of monetary compensation, saying, "Winky is a disgraced elf, but Winky is not yet getting paid!...Winky is not sunk so low as that! Winky is properly ashamed of being freed!" (GoF, p 379). Although Dobby was happy with his working arrangements at Hogwarts, Winky remained depressed. She spent her evenings sitting by the fire, drinking excessive amounts of butterbeer. Butterbeer does not have much of an effect on humans, but house-elves apparently find it very strong. Winky neglected her appearance, letting her clothing become heavily soiled and frayed. She also sobbed often, miserable and depressed, lamenting the turn her life had taken.

Winky was present at the questioning of Barty Crouch Jr. after he was found impersonating Alastor "Mad-Eye'" Moody in June of 1995. During the questioning it became apparent that Winky was the one who had cared for Crouch Jr. after his escape from Azkaban and kept his existence a secret. She had also been the one to convince Crouch Sr. to allow Barty to attend the QWC under the Invisibility Cloak. Winky was heartbroken when she discovered Crouch Jr. had killed his father, showing that she remained faithful to her master despite her dismissal. She was a loyal house-elf through it all.