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"She remembered putting something in her mistress's cocoa that turned out not to be sugar, but a lethal and little-known poison, It was concluded that she had not meant to do it, but being old and confused —"
— Hokey's false memory of having killed her mistress[src]

Hokey was a female house-elf that belonged to Hepzibah Smith. She was framed in the murder of her mistress by Tom Riddle.[3]

Biography[]

Serving Hepzibah Smith[]

Hepzibah Smith: "How do I look?"
Hokey: "Lovely, Madam."
— Hokey flattering her mistress[src]

Hokey was an old house-elf that served Hepzibah Smith. She used to flatter her mistress, and it was speculated (albeit sarcastically) that this was among her tasks as a house-elf.[3]

Hepzibah Smith's death[]

Hepzibah Smith's memory

Dumbledore and Harry watch the memory

Sometime after 1945, Hokey met Tom Riddle, a handsome boy who appeared to be friendly with Hokey's mistress. Tom visited many times.[3]

On one such visit, Hepzibah ordered Hokey to bring out her two most valuable magical antiques: Helga Hufflepuff's Cup and Salazar Slytherin's Locket, to show to Tom as a treat. This proved to be a fatal mistake on Hepzibah's behalf, as Riddle could barely hide his true nature when seeing such rare artefacts, especially the locket which once belonged to his family.[3]

Two days after Hepzibah's death, Hokey was accused of poisoning her mistress's evening cocoa. Hokey later remembered putting something into the cocoa that turned out not to be sugar, but a little-known lethal poison. The Ministry decided it was an accident given the fact that Hokey was old and probably confused. However, it was actually Tom Riddle who poisoned Hepzibah (in order to steal Helga Hufflepuff's Cup and Salazar Slytherin's Locket), and then magically changed Hokey's memory with a spell to implant false memories, to make her look like the guilty party.[3]

Death[]

The Ministry convicted Hokey of manslaughter. It was concluded that Hokey's superannuated state had caused forgetfulness and lack of mental alertness. The Wizengamot believed that Hokey's loyalty to her mistress was never in doubt and there was never any signs of malice to Hepzibah; rather Hokey's weakened mind was not able to discriminate the poison from sugar. What happened to her work as a house-elf after that incident is unknown, but before she died, Albus Dumbledore found her and took a memory from her, in which Tom Riddle showed his interest towards Hepzibah's magical antiques. This memory was not sufficient to show Hokey's innocence, as it only proved that Riddle was aware of the artefacts' existence and that Hepzibah had them.[3]

The Ministry's investigation into Hokey was not exactly detailed as they concluded it upon her false confession, due to both their own sloppiness and their lack of respect for house-elves. Harry Potter, upon learning of this via his private lessons with Dumbledore, felt more sympathy for the organisation Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, which he rarely before took too seriously, while simultaneously increasing his contempt for the corrupt wizarding government system.[3]

Hokey's ruined reputation would ultimately be avenged when Harry defeated Voldemort in the Battle of Hogwarts, where Voldemort's own Killing Curse rebounded and killed him.[4]

Physical appearance[]

In a memory seen through the Pensieve, Harry Potter describes Hokey as "the tiniest and oldest house-elf [he] had ever seen." Her head did not reach the seat of Mrs Smith's chair and when she carried Hepzibah's most precious heirlooms the boxes went over her head. She had papery skin and wore a linen sheet as a toga.[3]

Personality and traits[]

Hokey was devoted to her mistress, Hepzibah, as befitting that of a dutiful house-elf. Perhaps due to her magical contract as a servant, Hokey would outright "lie through her teeth" to flatter Hepzibah, such as calling her lovely when Harry saw that was far from the truth. Hokey, being very elderly, would become confused from time to time, which allowed Tom Riddle to use this to his advantage by spiking Hepzibah's evening cocoa with poison and made it appear (via an implanted memory) as though Hokey accidentally mixed it up with sugar instead.[3]

Behind the scenes[]

Appearances[]

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Notes and references[]

  1. Harry describes Hokey as "the oldest house elf he'd ever seen"; at this point, Harry has seen Kreacher, whose latest date of birth is 1978, and he does not refer to Kreacher in the same tones, implying that Hokey was older in the 1950s-1960s than Kreacher was in the 1990s.
  2. Hepzibah Smith was killed sometime between 1955 to 1961. It is not known how long Hokey lived but she died not long after then.
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 20 (Lord Voldemort's Request)
  4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 36 (The Flaw in the Plan)
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