Tested In Fire

Chapter Twenty-Three: A Series of Really Bad Things

"Harry Potter must wake up! Dobby has come to see Harry Potter!"

Harry sat up abruptly in bed and reached for his glasses. He'd become almost used to Dobby's rude awakenings.

"What is it, Dobby?"

"Harry Potter must help Dobby find Winky! It is most important."

Harry blinked. "What?"

"Winky is missing, Harry Potter."

"Why didn't you go to Dumbledore?"

Dobby jumped. "Harry Potter must help Dobby find Winky! Winky wasn't being herself, sir."

"What do you mean?"

"Winky was talking to herself, Harry Potter sir, about things most violent in nature. Dobby is afraid that Winky has hurt herself."

Harry swung his legs over the side of his bed. "All right, Dobby. I'm coming." Then he had a flash of inspiration. "Oy, Ron!"

"Whazzit?"

"Winky's gone missing. We're helping Dobby find her."

"What's this 'we' rubbish?"

"It means you're getting off your arse and helping me. If I have to suffer, I will not suffer alone."

"Right. But if we get caught," he yawned, "I'm telling Snape it's your fault."

They clomped through the dormitory, down the stairs, and out into the corridors. They didn't have to go far to find her, though. She was sitting next to a suit of armor.

Ron cursed loudly. Harry winced, and Dobby sobbed loudly. Winky was sitting up, but her eyes were closed and her head was tilted to the side. She hadn't died peacefully, that much was obvious. Her hands were covered in some reddish liquid that Harry identified as blood.

"We've got to go to Dumbledore's office," Harry decided, trying to hold back the lump of bile that was trying to force its way up his throat.

"WINKY!" Dobby sobbed, and ran towards her body. He swept her up in his small arms and cried bitterly.

Harry took off his glasses and rubbed a hand over his eyes.

"This isn't good, Ron. Look," he said, pointing to a trail of blood that was not quite red. "Whoever killed her didn't use Avada Kedavra. They used an old-fashioned knife."

Dobby let out another howl and buried his head in the dead house-elf's shoulder.

"Poor Winky, poor Winky," he murmured over and over again. "Don't worry, Harry Potter will find out who did this."

Harry felt a tight hand constrict on his heart and throat. "Dobby, I..."

"What is the meaning of all this?" There stood Professor Sirius Black with a dangerous glint in his eye. "What are you doing out of bounds after hours, Harry?"

"Professor, Dobby woke me up to get my aid in finding another house-elf. Well, sir, we found her."

Sirius's face went white, and he echoed Ron's earlier profane statement.

"Come with me to Professor Dumbledore's office. I'll summon the other staff," he instructed Harry and Ron quickly. Then he moved on to Dobby. "Come on, my small friend. Let go of her. Let go of her so we can find out who did this."

"W-w-w-winky! Dobby told her to be careful. Dobby told her that dangerous things were happening. Dobby told her..."

"Come on, Dobby," Harry said, in the best soothing voice he could muster. "If you don't let go of her, we can't find out who did this to her."

Dobby unraveled himself from the body and latched onto Harry's leg. "Harry Potter will find out who killed Winky."

"Yes, Dobby. Yes."

"Come on," Sirius said impatiently. "To Professor Dumbledore's office. I'll have the body sent down so that the other house-elves can take care of it. Dobby, I trust you'll be the primary mourner?"

Dobby nodded, still clinging to Harry. "Winky was Dobby's everything, sir."

"Come on, Dobby," Harry whispered and picked up the small elf. "Let's go see Professor Dumbledore."

The trip to Dumbledore's office was one of the longest of Harry's life. Dobby was sobbing and clinging to Harry's sleeve the whole way there, and Harry could only feel sympathy for his friend.

"Sherbet lemon," he told the gargoyle, and entered Dumbledore's private domain.

"Harry! What is going on?" Both boys were startled, as there was no logical reason for why Dumbledore would be up. Harry wondered if he didn't already know of Winky's death.

"Professor Dumbledore, one of the house-elves, Winky, has been..." Ron gulped, and then forced himself to go on. "Killed, sir."

"Professor Black saw and us and told us to come up here. He's taking the body to the other house-elves. She was stabbed, sir," Harry said, patting Dobby on the back in what he hoped was a consoling manner.

The Headmaster sat back in his chair, stunned for a moment. "I will call all the teachers," he said firmly. "We'll see to it that everything turns out all right, well, as all right as it possibly can be, under the circumstances. Don't worry, we'll find out who killed your friend. They will be dealt with. Harry and Ron, please return to your dormitories. Do not wake your other classmates. An announcement will be made tomorrow morning."

As he left, he tapped Dobby on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, my friend. I shouldn't have allowed this to happen."

"Dobby does not blame you, sir! You did not kill my Winky."

"All the same, my condolences."

Dumbledore's kindness set Dobby off again.

"Dobby wishes Professor Dumbledore would not feel guilty."

"Yeah, me too, Dobby. Me too," Harry agreed.

Professor Snape caught up with Professor Dumbledore as he was heading for Anna Black's private quarters.

"Headmaster, one of my students is gone. Draco Malfoy."

"This will not make Lucius happy," Dumbledore muttered. "There's been a murder, Severus."

"What? One of the students?"

"No. A house-elf. By all reports she was stabbed."

Snape shook his head. "How terrible. This is disturbing."

"Severus, if you could alert Professors Lupin, Sirius and Anna Black, and Sprout to a meeting in my office as soon as possible, I would be in your debt."

"I'm on my way, Professor."

"These are dangerous times. I only hope we can stop Voldemort before it gets much worse."

Severus nearly stopped in his tracks. It was rare for Dumbledore to show anything to the outside world besides his belief that good would conquer in the end.

"That is my worry as well, Headmaster."

They parted quickly, each heading in their separate directions.

Dumbledore headed down into the kitchens, the home of the house-elves. Winky was laid out on a separate table, waiting his examination. For the first time since the young Hufflepuff girl had died there was complete silence from the house-elves. However, preparations for the next day's breakfast were still underway. House-elves were so dedicated, even a death amongst their numbers would not deter them from getting their duties completed.

As he looked at her body, Dumbledore felt the tears well up behind his eyes. He felt no shame in releasing them; after which he wiped them off quickly to get to work.

"A knife," he muttered, "slashed her here, at the throat. She died almost instantly. Why keep going? There was no need to torture her?"

Violence when there wasn't any need to defend oneself had never made any sense to Dumbledore.

He examined the body, and found twenty punctures from the knife. He set his teeth against the rage and anger building up inside of him. Exploding now would do no good for anyone. Still, it was tempting to release it all like he had in the days of his youth. He was not still in his youth, though, so he held it in check.

Time passed by, and slowly he rose. The house-elves turned, countless pairs of eyes watching him, stricken by grief. Even though Winky had never really been one of them, she was still a house-elf. The entire race mourned.

"Don't worry. We'll know soon."

As he left, the clatters and bangs returned to the kitchen. There was something comforting in that continuity, continuing to do what one did every day, he mused as he returned to his office.

The entire staff was already assembled, waiting for his instructions.

"I'm sure Severus has told you all that a house-elf has been killed. What he probably couldn't tell you was that Winky's life was ended by one quick slash across her throat. After Winky had already died, the perpetrator stabbed her a further nineteen times. There was definite hate here."

"Or a punishment," Snape added from the back. "We should look for signs that she was under someone's control. Someone other than you, Headmaster."

Dumbledore nodded. "I agree. Whoever it was that she was committed to, in your theory, Severus, would have had to have minions, because I'd bet my life that the cut that killed Winky was made by a student."

Severus leaned forward a moment, his quick brain working. "Headmaster, you don't think that Mr. Malfoy was responsible, do you?"

"I don't know what else to conclude, Severus. We know that his father was exposing him to more and more of the Dark Arts over the holidays. It is possible that he was even made a Death Eater."

Sirius spoke up. "We have no proof, Headmaster."

"Draco Malfoy left the school without authorization today."

There was complete silence. Sirius rose and began to pace.

"That's convenient, Headmaster," Remus commented. "Winky is killed, Mr. Malfoy mysteriously disappears. It fits together too well, in my opinion."

"In mine as well. Of course, there is the additional information that Mr. Malfoy couldn't have made it outside of school grounds without me knowing about, unless he had help."

"His father?" Professor Sprout guessed.

Professor Dumbledore nodded.

"It's the only thing that makes sense," Professor McGonagall agreed.

"This troubles me deeply. We know from the prophecies that Ms. Weasley and Mr. Potter have been so kind as to find for us that there is a traitor. Winky might have been the one carrying out their instructions, but who was it behind the plot?"

"Pardon me, but couldn't it have been Voldemort?" Anna's tentative reply to Dumbledore's query brought silence to the group once again. "I mean," she continued in a rush, "if he had something to go on, something to threaten, you know how that poor house-elf is. She'd rush to protect it."

"Dobby," Sirius breathed. "It had to have been Dobby."

"Ms. Weasley said something about them being sweet on each other," Anna muttered.

All the staff members looked back and forth. Tension knotted itself.

"Security must increase," Dumbledore said, quite suddenly. "No student is to go to a class without the escort of a teacher, no one is to leave the dormitories. Work on the spell will increase. Ms. Granger will be excused from Arithmancy to complete it so that it is safe for the users. Everyone is to keep an eye out. Sirius, your lessons must become more intense than ever before."

"Understood, Headmaster." Sirius's voice was a little strained, but he nodded in complete agreement.

"The safety of the students is our primary goal. Get them through this term without any more deaths or injuries. You all are dismissed."

**

Harry and Ron headed back down the corridors towards the Gryffindor common room. They were tired and disgusted and sick.

After the Fat Lady let them in, they stood just inside for a few long moments, with Dobby still hanging on to Harry's leg.

"I don't feel much like sleeping," Ron whispered.

"Me either."

"The sofa?"

"All right."

They settled in, staring at the fire that burned twenty-four hours a day in the common room. Dobby lost himself in it, swaying back forth with the flames.

"Harry?"

"What?"

"I just don't understand. There was no reason for Winky to die."

"No," Harry agreed. "There never is with Voldemort."

"You think it's him?"

"Who else could it logically be? I just wish..."

Ron nodded in agreement with Harry's unspoken statement.

"Dobby will take care of Harry Potter. Harry Potter will come to no harm."

The two boys looked at each other.

"Dobby, I don't really need anyone looking after me," Harry objected. "I'll be fine, and I'll be careful."

Dobby shook his head. "Dobby has given his word. Harry Potter will come to no harm."

Ron opened his mouth, and then shut it at the look Harry shot him.

"Look, Dobby, last time you tried to save my life, you got in the way."

"Not this time. Dobby is taking care of Harry Potter."

Tears swam in the house-elf's eyes, and Harry could feel all his objections crumbling.

"As long as you promise to take care of Ginny, too."

Dobby nodded. "Dobby will be taking care of your Ginny Wheezy too."

Harry nearly sighed in relief. At least he wouldn't be the center of the distressed elf's attentions.

"Dobby, don't you think you'd best be going to bed?"

Dobby shook his head mournfully. "Dobby misses Winky!"

The howl was long and painful, filled with despair, and it made Ron's heart tremble. If he ever lost Hermione, he suspected that this would only be a fraction of what he felt.

"Dobby, look, you've got to get some rest," Ron tried futilely. "You won't do Winky any good if you haven't slept."

Harry scanned his eyes over Dobby's body, which was still shaking. "Dobby, why don't you try to sleep here by the fire. It might be safer for you, and for us. We're going to stay with you for a while, okay?"

"Dobby will be taking care of Harry Potter," the tired house-elf insisted.

"We know," Ron said gently. "Go on. Sleep now."

"No harm will come to Harry Potter," Dobby said and let out one last yawn before his eyes closed and his body gave up.