Chapter One

Oh, hi there! I didn't see you. I guess you're wondering who I am and why I'm here right? Well, I'm someone who has been through a difficult life, someone who has endured things I hope no one ever has to. It would be interesting to know that I'm not a normal person; in fact I'm not a person at all. I'm a House Elf. I know, you're probably wondering why a House Elf is writing this: as far as you know we can't write at all. Well not coherently like this. And we always talk as the third-party, but I'm different than the other House Elves. Sure, I used to work for a Wizarding family, a long time ago. I was raised to follow in the footsteps of my parents and their parents before them. But something happened that made all that change. I decided to change my life for the better, and I have. Let me tell you my story of the time before I began my work at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Before I do though, you probably need some background information of how I got to be there, so I will tell you. I was a quiet House Elf as a child. My mother and father were always too busy to speak to me, so I had to find other ways of entertaining myself. I remember growing up trying to find ways to get into trouble. I guess you could say I wanted attention and I never got it I'm afraid. Growing up, I always wondered what it would be like to be free, since my mother and father worked for Mr. Crouch's family, I was destined to as well and personally I didn't like it. I slowly got my magical power as I grew older and began to be mischievous. Ha, I remember one time I felt more lonely than usual, so I snapped my fingers and a cow appeared in my small room. The place was a mess and my mother punished me mercifully when she found out.

Anyway, as I grew older and more mature, I realized I was destined to be under my masters' control. I began to be nicer, more considerate and polite to my masters. I began doing chores and helping my parents with things around the house, and learned new techniques which helped me in later life. Slowly and with time, I began to love my masters; at the time Mr. Crouch Sr. was very young and newly married. He had yet become the hard cold man I knew later in life.

I began working for Mr. Bartemius Crouch senior when my parents died twenty years later. Mr. Crouch Sr. was a wizard who used to work for the Ministry of Magic as the Head of the International Magical Cooperation. Mr. Crouch was a hard man, who had a hard life; his own son was named a Death Eater and he had no choice but to sentence him to Azkaban; a Wizarding prison for life. At the time, he was in charge of the Magical Law Enforcement, which meant he had no choice in charging and issuing the sentence. Mr. Crouch grew cold and hard after that, visiting the prison with his wife and spending time with his son, who was proven later to be a true follower of the Dark Lord.

After a few years, however, his wife began to get ill, so he finally decided to grant her one last wish - to see her son free. To do this, they had to create Polyjuice Potion, a highly dangerous potion if not created right. It allows the drinker to become the person they add to the potion, either by hair or other means. One day, I was in the kitchen cleaning, when I heard Mr. Crouch speaking with his wife, telling her they would make the change that night; I knew something important was going on, but at the time I had no idea of what. They never told me what had happened to Bartemius Junior, only that he was away training for his job. I never believed it of course, but as I was under the house elf 'curse' as I put it, I had no choice but to do whatever they asked of me. If I knew it was going to be freeing their son and hiding him from everyone, and then I would have tried to stop them, though I was unable too.

When they brought his son home, Barty Crouch Jr. as we called him, wanted to leave and return to his master. I won't say the master's name, I'm too terrified to. Even after all these years, it's still fresh in my mind. Mr. Crouch Sr. put an Invisibility cloak on Mr. Crouch Jr. to 'protect his assets' as he put it, if I remember correctly, and to show that everything was still alright according to him. He made me swear not to tell anyone about Mr. Crouch Jr., and I obeyed. I did my job from then on, always watching closely as Mr. Crouch became irritable and moody.

I guess the stress of losing his wife and gaining a son who didn't love him had finally gotten to him. He began to get tired earlier than usual and started misplacing things around the house, then blaming me for stealing them. I knew it was too much for him, I felt pity for him, but I knew there was nothing I could do. My job was to hide Mr. Crouch Jr. and never let anyone know he existed. I failed however to notice that Mr. Crouch Sr. was controlling his son with the Imperious curse all this time. I should have known something was going on, but seeing as how I was too worried about Crouch Sr. to notice his son's strange behavior; it didn't surprise me in the slightest when Crouch Jr. finally broke the curse and hid it from me for the longest time.

I remember the day Crouch finally lost it in my opinion; I was helping Crouch Jr. with his meal when the door rang. I whispered to Crouch Jr. to be quiet so the person at the door wouldn't hear, but she did. She snuck to the doorway of the kitchen and saw my awkward movements of holding him back. My heart raced as I noticed her; we've been caught. However Crouch Sr. was quick on the draw and modified the woman's memory. I knew from that day on, thing would change, I just had no idea of how badly.

I'm ashamed to admit this, but the day I lost Crouch Jr. at the Quidditch World Cup was the saddest day of my short life. Crouch Sr. ordered me to hide Crouch Jr. in the highest box, which was over 150 feet above the ground I might add. I'm terrified of heights, but I went anyway and covered my eyes as soon as I sat down beside my master. He had also ordered me to say I was saving a seat for him, which was not true; Crouch Sr. wouldn't even go to the World Cup, he was too busy with Ministry matters I believe. That was also the day I met Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. Should have been the best day of my life, right? Wrong; it turned out to be the worst. As I was hiding behind my eyes, like a little turtle in its shell, Crouch Jr. stole Mr. Potter's wand out of his pocket and hid it on his person. When the match was over and the cup was in the box with us, along with the Irish team, I left with Crouch beside me and went back to our tents, against orders. I had to punish myself for that, but it was worth it.

That night something happened. A bunch of Death Eaters, followers of the Dark Lord, came and wreaked havoc among the camp, taking poor Muggles and torturing them by making them act like puppets. I panicked and ran away not thinking about the repercussions. Along with Crouch Jr. beside me, who still had Mr. Potter's wand, I ran for the forest where everyone was going. It was pitch black there; no moon was out that night, and there was an eerie silence that made the whole situation more terrifying for me. We made it to the middle of the forest, where there was this clearing. I pulled Crouch Jr. behind a tree, but then he tore away from me and shouted out the Dark Mark's conjuring spell. I won't say it though, it's too frightening to read, let alone write. Out of nowhere Ministry workers began stunning the clearing, and I was hit by the spell and stunned.

When I awoke, I was being held by a Ministry worker. I can't remember who it was now, but his son was Cedric Diggory, the poor soul who perished that year during the Triwizard Tournament. Crouch Jr. was also hit, but since they couldn't see him they caught me, an innocent. Crouch Sr. knew, though and went off to make sure his son was still there, then he apparated him out and came back looking more agitated than normal for appearances sake. They questioned me then, asking all kinds of questions. I was holding Mr. Potter's wand, so they automatically thought I conjured the Mark, but Crouch Sr. knew better. I am ashamed to say that day I was freed by clothes. Mr. Crouch wanted nothing more to do with the Dark Mark or Death Eaters, and since I was the one who conjured the Mark, or so they thought, I was the one punished.

For a while, I traveled alone, sad and depressed, not knowing how I was going to find another family to work for. Usually a House Elf stays with one family forever, if they have children, then they too would work for the family. It was tradition; but no one wanted an axed House Elf. Feeling dejected and lonely, I ran into Dobby one day while sitting on the ground crying, which was normal for me by then.

Dobby once worked for a family as well, the Malfoys and I can tell you now they were the worst family to work for. Always putting poor Dobby down and not giving him anything to eat, this was against the House Elf rule. I can now go on record after all these years and say for certain that Mr. Malfoy was most definitely a Death Eater, along with his young son Draco. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, Dobby and I both decided to try and find a job together. Actually it was he who decided, I was too emotional at the time to really suggest anything. It was Dobby who suggested Hogwarts; he thought it would be best if we went there looking for work. I guess he knew Dumbledore, bless his soul, he would agree to have us. And he was most certainly right. We began right before the term started in September.

Right away I knew it was a terrible idea, and spent all my time crying on a stool beside the roaring fire, with a butterbeer in my hand. Butterbeer is strong for a House Elf, it's not recommended that we drink it, but at the time I was so depressed and lonely I didn't care and was drinking them like Ron Weasley ate his chocolate frogs, which was way too much. As I grew more depressed, I became more and more despondent, never allowing my friends to speak to me, and lashing out with my voice. Poor Hermione Granger, I remember her so well, always being nice to me and trying to help me out. She even started a club called S.P.E.W. Oh, I wish I could remember what it meant. My, how the years have done wonders to my brain, as small as it is. I'm beginning to ramble now, so I'll move on. It was actually Hermione who gave me the courage to start my life over again, and I can't thank her for everything she gave me, either.

So now I'm writing this history, as it were, of my life to show everyone what a House Elf is truly capable of. I feel people should know my life, and the hardships I went through to get to where I am now. So, I'll start out by saying I went to school. Yes, I was the first House Elf to attend a Wizarding school and graduate at the top of my class. I wanted to show everyone what I was capable of, and I have. I am now a highly respected Auror for the Ministry and I have a family. I have always given my all in everything I did after that period in my life. So, since I'm sitting here in my spacious room; the blinds closed and the sun gleaming happily behind them, I will now tell you of how I began my schooling.