Winky

Winky is a female House-Elf, currently in the employment of Hogwarts and formerly the servant of the Crouch family.

Employment with the Crouches
She was dedicated to her masters, Barty Crouch Sr., Mrs. Crouch and Barty Crouch Jr.. For years she tended to and took care of Barty Crouch Jr., on the orders of Crouch Sr., in secret. Crouch Jr. was a convicted Death Eater who had been taken out of Azkaban by his father, and replaced by his dying mother as her last wish under the disguise of Polyjuice Potion. It was Winky's duty to take care of Crouch Jr., who had been placed under the Imperius Curse by Crouch Sr. to prevent him from running away.

1994
As a reward for his son's good behaviour, Crouch Sr. reserved a seat for the 1994 Quidditch Cup between Ireland and Bulgaria for Winky and himself, and allowed his son to take his seat under the concealment of an invisibility charm. Winky used her magic so that she and Crouch Jr. were magically attached to one another so he could not escape. Following an attack by Death Eaters at the camp grounds of the Quidditch Cup, Crouch Jr. was able to fight the Imperius curse and gain some control over himself. He was able to drag Winky away with him towards the woods, and cast the Dark Mark (the sign of Lord Voldemort) into the sky during the attack. Winky and Crouch Jr. were then both stunned by Ministry officials. When searching the woods, they could only find Winky's stunned body with the wand Crouch Jr. had used to cast the curse. Crouch Jr. was still under the invisibility charm and out of sight.

The Ministry of Magic Officials then un-stunned Winky and blamed her for casting the Dark Mark with the wand, despite Winky claiming she didn't know how to. Crouch Sr. had no other choice but to fire Winky as his servant by giving her clothes, to avoid associating himself with the Dark Mark, to cover the tracks of his son and because it was apparent to him Winky's guardianship of his son was unreliable. The way Winky was treated by Barty Crouch Sr led Hermione Granger to create the organization S.P.E.W. (Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare).

Depression
Winky fell into a great depression after being fired by her master, and started drinking Butterbeer regularly, which for a house-elf contains a high amount of alcohol. Dobby, a friend of Harry Potter, was able to get her a job at Hogwarts working in the kitchens, though she was still attached to her former masters and had no interest in doing any work. She was happily allowed to stay by Albus Dumbledore anyways. The other House-Elves were embarrassed by her self-pity, though Dobby was friendly with her and looked out for her. Winky was later dismayed to find out her former master Barty Crouch Sr. had been murdered, and it was only made worse after she learned Barty Crouch Jr. had committed the murder himself, then had a Dementor's Kiss performed on him, sucking the soul right out of his body.

Second Battle of Hogwarts
Winky slowly improved over the years but continued to drink heavily. She kept her job at Hogwarts, and even participated in the Second Battle of Hogwarts along with the other House-Elves led by Kreacher.

Post-War
After the war, Winky would continue to work at Hogwarts and would eventually stop her Butterbeer addiction.

Physical Appearance
Being a house-elf, Winky is considerably smaller than humans. She has bat-like ears, a tomato-sized nose and huge brown eyes. Her voice is even higher than Dobby's.

Characteristics
Like all house-elves, she uses all verbs in the third person, singular and refers to herself in the third person. She can do elf magic, a form a wandless magic that differs from the powers of wizards and witches.

When Winky was still working for Barty Crouch Sr, she wore a tea-towel draped like a toga. After her dismissal, she wears a skirt and blouse with a matching blue hat. These clothes are not well cared for, however; there are stains and burns on them.

Despite being dismissed, Winky retained her loyalty towards her old masters, especially Barty Crouch Sr. She has traditional views about house-elves and believes that being set free is a disgrace. She also was very caring to Barty Crouch Jr, being his carer and keeper. In turn, Barty Jr thought she cared for him out of pity and duty. When Winky discovered that Barty Jr killed Barty Sr, she was horrified and devastated.

Winky also suffers from acrophobia, a fear of heights.

Behind the scenes

 * Winky is not in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Notes and references
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