Chapter Four - A Free Elf at Last
It didn't take Winky long to collect her meager belongings, but as she passed the kitchen fireplace she stopped long enough to throw something into the fire. In a few seconds the framed picture of Barty Crouch Senior and Junior was reduced to ash.
A short while later she was back in the hospital wing.
"Please come into my office and take a seat" Madame Pomfrey told her.
Winky had to climb onto the side chair, and once she was sitting down, her short legs stuck straight out in front of her.
"First of all, Winky, Professor Dumbledore asked me to give you this." She handed Winky a small cloth bag closed with a drawstring.
Winky loosened the string and shook the bag's contents into one hand. She stared at the ten gold galleons, then looked up at Madame Pomfrey and squealed "Winky is not wanting paying, Mistress!"
"Winky, listen to me," Madame Pomfrey said. "You are a free elf. I know that Professor Dumbledore has already reminded you that you'd probably be free by now, even if Mr. Crouch hadn't dismissed you. But in truth, you'd probably be DEAD now if he hadn't dismissed you. I don't think I have to remind you of how the Dark Lord treats creatures like you. Your young master would have handed you right over to him as punishment for acting as his jailer all that time."
Winky uttered a sharp squeak when she heard "Dark Lord," and would have hidden her face in her hands if they weren't already holding the coins and bag.
Madame Pomfrey continued "as a free elf, you have more responsibilities to yourself. We will of course provide you with the clothing you need to do your work, but you must provide yourself with clothes to wear when you're not on duty, or have a day off. The money might be useful for other things also. You could re-decorate your room, or buy presents for a friend."
Winky silently stared at the gold coins in her hand. It was more money than she had ever seen in her life. Once in a very great while the Crouch family had given her a bronze knut or two, which she used to buy sweets and a few other things, like the small black slate she sometimes practiced writing on with chalk.
Finally Winky took a deep breath, squared her little shoulders, and said "Winky understands, ma'am, but will not take any more paying than Dobby." Dobby was paid one galleon a week and had one day off a month.
"Very well, Winky," Madame Pomfrey answered, "consider what your have there as your back wages. Now I'll show you where you will be sleeping. Your outfit is on the bed, and when you've had a chance to put your things away, please change into it, then come back to my office."
The tiny cot Winky had slept on in the ward was the standard Hogwarts elf bed, with a comfortable mattress and plenty of thick, warm blankets. It had already been moved into a small room that opened off the far end of the ward. In addition to the bed, the room contained two squashy chairs with a small table between them, a wardrobe cabinet, and a fireplace in one corner. Everything was elf-sized, and the window was low enough for an elf to see out of without standing on something. It gave a view of the Hogwarts grounds and a section of the Forbidden Forest just beyond.
As she took it all in, Winky remembered the cold, dusty attic where she slept in the Crouch house with ragged, cast-off blankets and bedding. She sometimes had to take a hot brick wrapped in rags to bed just to stay warm. Would she REALLY have liked going back to that? Again, as when she had considered the issue of clothes, she didn't think so anymore.
Winky could barely suppress a squeal of delight as she explored her room. She put her slate and few other possessions into a drawer of the wardrobe. One drawer had a key, and she carefully locked her ten galleons in it. As she hung up her regular clothes, she found a dark blue cape with the Hogwarts crest on it hanging in the wardrobe. She correctly guessed it was for outside wear in cold weather.
A few minutes later Winky emerged from her room wearing a well-starched white dress and a long apron with a big red cross in its upper portion. On her head was a small nurse's cap, which had been notched to accommodate her ears.
There were currently no patients in the hospital ward, so Madame Pomfrey was able to spend most of the day showing Winky where things were and what they were used for. There was a golden spark in Winky's big brown eyes as she followed Madame Pomfrey around, taking careful mental notes of everything she was told.
Madame Pomfrey explained that Winky would be in charge of keeping the hospital wing clean, though she could have help from other elves for very big jobs. Winky would also assist in caring for patients, and keep an eye on them when Madame Pomfrey was away from the hospital wing. Winky might be called on to administer first aid, and to apply other treatments under Madame Pomfrey's supervision. When there were patients in the ward, Winky would take her meals there, but if there were no patients she could eat with the other elves in their own dining room. Also, like all Hogwarts elves, she had several hours off each day.
Madame Pomfrey especially wanted Winky to keep an eye on the other elves; many of them had a habit of continuing to work while they were sick instead of seeking treatment. Time passed so quickly that Winky was surprised that it was already early evening. As there were no patients in the ward, Madame Pomfrey gave her permission to go downstairs to eat.
Winky was unsure of her reception in the elf quarters, but she needn't have worried. Everyone there knew how she had handled the scalding accident, and the elves who were hospitalized had described how she tirelessly worked to take care of them.
The first elf to spot her squealed "Winky!" Dobby and several other elves rushed up to greet her, then escort her to a seat at the table. Normally, the elves served themselves buffet-style, but in no time Winky had more food set in front of her than she cold eat in a week.
The food was leftover from the student's dinner, but Hogwarts food was always top-notch, and again Winky made a mental comparison to her old situation. Her food there was adequate, but her diet consisted mostly of bread, cheese, potatoes, a few fruits and vegetables, and once in a very great while, a bit of bacon or ham Mr. Crouch had been so tightfisted that there were seldom any leftovers from the family's meals.
After dinner a number of elves clustered around her.
"Where is you getting this outfit, Winky?" an elf named Blinky asked.
"Madame Pomfrey is giving it to me" Winky explained.
"Too complicated," another elf named Twinky squeaked. "Buttons and pockets. I am liking my tea towel better!"
"You is just jealous, you is" Blinky said to Twinky.
Twinky glared at Blinky, but said nothing.
Winky glanced across the room and noticed an elf called Tunny sitting by himself. His eyes were bleary, his nose was running, his ears drooped, and he alternated between sneezing and coughing.
Winky crossed the room to where he sat. "Tunny, how long has you been like this?" she asked.
"Like whud?" he answered thickly.
"Sneezing, coughing, and feeling bad."
"I isn't feeling bad," Tunny replied.
Winky put her hand on his forehead and instantly knew he was running a high fever. "You is sick, you is!" she squealed.
"I isn't sick," Tunny answered, then started coughing explosively.
Winky grabbed Tunny's ear and dragged him out of the room. He squealed in protest but didn't have the strength to resist.
Tunny was near collapse when Winky helped him into the hospital wing. She was getting him settled in a bed when Madame Pomfrey came to see what was happening.
"What have we here?" She asked Winky.
"This is Tunny, ma'am. Winky thinks he is sick and has brought him from the elf quarters."
Before she had even examined the patient, Madame Pomfrey's practiced eye told her that Winky was correct. She quickly checked his temperature, pulse, and blood pressure. Then, with a small metal tube that had been enchanted to amplify sound, she listened to his chest.
"You have pneumonia!" Madame Pomfrey said sternly. "Why didn't you come in sooner?"
"Tunny is not wanting to cause trouble or work for ma'am" Tunny said in a very dry squeak.
"Winky, please bring me-- " Madame Pomfrey stopped in mid-sentence.
Winky was already standing behind her with a bottle of pepperup potion and a small glass.
"Please give him a glassful now," she continued.
Winky stepped onto a bedside chair, used one hand to help Tunny sit up, and held the glass of potion up to his lips with the other. He sputtered as he swallowed the potion, but once he had finished it, green steam began to pour out of his large bat ears.
A wonderful warmth spread throughout his body. Once he had caught his breath, Tunny asked "may Tunny return to the elf quarters now?"
"Certainly not," snapped Madame Pomfrey. "You have a very severe case of pneumonia, and even pepperup potion won't work instantly on that, especially in an elf."
Winky glared at Tunny with her big brown eyes. "You has to stay here, Tunny. I is going to make sure you stay, I is!"
"Thank you, Winky," Madame Pomfrey said. "He'll need a dose of pepperup potion every two hours. I think I can depend on you to make sure he gets it."
"Yes, ma'am," she answered. "Winky will make sure."
Winky was as good as her word, and in a couple days Tunny was able to return to work, feeling much better, and profuse with his thanks to both Madame Pomfrey and Winky.
The other elves quickly learned that it was difficult to hide illnesses or injuries from Winky, and over the next few days there was a small but steady stream of them moving to and from the hospital wing.
Madame Pomfrey was impressed with Winky's abilities and skills. She spoke to Professor Dumbledore, and shortly after that, she authorized Winky to conduct a daily "sick call" in the elf quarters right after breakfast each day. Winky had supplies and medicine to treat minor illnesses on the spot, but she also determined if an elf needed to go to the hospital wing. Both she and Madame Pomfrey repeatedly told all the elves that in case of serious illness or injury, elves should go directly to the hospital wing.
One morning during sick call, Winky spoke to Dobby. "It is time for Madame Pomfrey to check Dobby's eyes."
Dobby had been careful to wear his sunglasses around bright light. In fact, he was so proud of them, he seldom took them off, and he at the moment had small bandages on both his knees because he had skinned them in dark places when he should have taken his glasses off.
Dobby followed Winky to the hospital wing, where Madame Pomfrey set up an eye chart with the standard rows of letters in decreasing size.
With Dobby sitting twenty feet away she said "now Dobby, please tell me the smallest row you can read."
Dobby focused his huge green eyes and said "'Printed in Great Britain,' ma'am."
"What?!"
"Dobby sees 'Printed in Great Britain.'"
Madame Pomfrey tested him with several other eye charts, all with the same results. Finally she said "Dobby, your eyes are healing very well. I think you can go without your sunglasses in everything but very bright sunlight. You may return to work now."
"Thank you, ma'am," Dobby said politely.
On his way out, he stopped to whisper something in Winky's ear.
She uttered a little squeak, then asked "does we have permission?"
"We isn't needing permission," he answered, "we is free elves, we is!"
With that, Dobby hurried out of the room, leaving Winky with a slightly fearful, yet excited expression on her face.
Madame Pomfrey sat in her office with an extremely puzzled expression on her face as she examined the eye medicine Dr. Augen had sent her. "What is IN this??" she asked herself.
