BACKSTAIRS AT HOGWARTS

Chapter Seventeen - History is Made

Later that day as Hermione was leaving charms class, Professor McGonagall stopped her. "I've been asked to give you this message, Miss Granger," she said as she handed Hermione a small piece of parchment bearing a wax seal shaped like a phoenix.

"Thank you, professor," Hermione said, then turned towards the door. Before she could take another step, McGonagall stopped her again.

"I think you may find this useful," the professor said as she handed Hermione a very old but neatly folded dress robe. "The hem and sleeves are far too worn now to be of use to me anymore, but I think you will find several yards of still-usable fabric in it."

Mystified, Hermione opened the message and read:

Miss Granger:

I know of your interest in the welfare of house elves, and it is my hope that you will assist Winky and her friends to the best of your ability in planning her wedding.

Please meet Winky outside the hospital wing at 3:00 this afternoon. As you know, the Forbidden Forest is normally off-limits, but in this instance I grant you permission to enter it. Winky will guide you to a location which is completely safe, but I must stress that you are not to stray from the path or the part of the forest where Winky leads you.

Thank you,

Albus Dumbledore

As she approached the hospital wing, Hermione examined the old dress robe Professor McGonagall had given her. It was made of very fine silk, the color of antique ivory, and its possible use began to dawn on her.

"Miss Hermione!" Winky squeaked, "thank you for coming!"

"You're welcome, Winky. Professor Dumbledore said in his note that we're supposed to go somewhere in the forest?"

"Oh yes, miss. 'Tis a very special place!"

Once outside, Winky eagerly seized Hermione's hand and pulled her into the forest so hard she almost had to run. Shortly, they arrived at the House Elf Retirement Village, and Hermione could only stare in amazement.

Her presence caused a flurry of activity among the old elves, who scurried to bring up a human-sized chair. Tilly, Pinky, and Blinky were also there, and despite Hermione's protests, they hurried up with a tea tray. With everyone finally settled down, Hermione spread out the muggle wedding magazines she had received. There were small squeals and titters as the elves looked at the pictures.

Hermione began to go over the major parts of weddings, including the bride's dress, wedding party, flowers, cake, food, music, and guest lists. Some of the retired elves had helped with weddings for the families they served, and they added what they knew to the general discussion.

As she looked through the wedding magazines, Winky kept coming back to the picture of a certain dress, and as Hermione watched she remembered the gift from Professor McGonagall. "Winky," she said, "Professor McGonagall gave me this. It's worn around the edges, but there's more than enough good material to make your wedding dress."

Winky's big brown eyes got even bigger as she ran her fingers over the silk. "Professor… Professor McGonagall is giving this to Winky?" she asked in wonder.

"Yes, Winky," Hermione answered," just before I came to meet you."

"'Tis very fine silk, it is," Blinky said, looking on.

"Is there enough for this dress?" Winky asked as she pointed to the one she had been looking at.

Pinky looked carefully, then said "Oh yes."

"What is we going to do about the lace?" Tilly asked.

Winky's great-aunt spoke. "Zinny can make the lace. With the medicine what Winky is been bringing her, she is now able to do things with her fingers she isn't done in years."

Hermione's voice continued to be interspersed with the squeaks and squeals of the elves as they discussed the dress and many details until it was almost dark. As she, Tilly, Pinky, and Blinky started back towards Hogwarts, Zinny was already back in her room setting up her long-idle lace making kit.

Pinky carried the silk dress robe carefully folded up, along with a list of Winky's measurements.

"Winky," Hermione said, "you still haven't make one of the most important decisions yet."

"What is that, Miss Hermione?"

"The date. You have to set the date as soon as possible so the guests have plenty of time to make plans to attend, and it also gives you a deadline for when everything else has to be ready."

"Yes, miss. Winky is been thinking, but cannot decide," the elf squeaked uncertainly.

"Well Winky, I'd suggest you plan to have it over the Easter vacation. Most of the school will be empty, and the elves won't be as busy as they are over some of the other vacations."

Tilly squeaked "Tilly thinks that is a fine idea miss!"

"Oh yes, miss," Pinky added.

"Winky is thinking so too. She will speak to Dobby about it right away, then let everyone know."

They continued walking towards the castle, chattering happily until it was time for the elves to part ways with Hermione. As she left them she promised to check back with them soon.

In the meantime, Harry and Ron had also been busy with Dobby, Toby, Tunny and Tippy. Dobby was delighted when Harry showed him the pictures of the little morning suit, but as he looked them over he said "but Harry Potter sir, they is all black and gray!"

There followed an extremely long discussion on the subject of colors. Finally, a decision was made, and Harry said he would write to Madame Zorina right away. Other subjects covered were the wedding ring (Dobby was already on this, having had a wedding band made that would fit with the engagement ring), guest list, and honeymoon.

"What is this honeymoon, Harry Potter?" Dobby asked.

"It's a trip you take after the wedding. Just the two of you go somewhere you can be alone together and relax, like the seashore or maybe the mountains."

"For how long?" Dobby asked.

"At least a week, usually two."

"We's to be going somewhere for two weeks and be doing NOTHING?" Dobby squealed, scandalized at the idea of such a long period of inactivity.

"Well, it's something you can think about," Harry said. "Just try to think of someplace you'd like to go, or something you'd like to do."

"Yes, Harry Potter sir," Dobby said uncertainly.

"Blimey," Ron said to Harry as they returned to their dormitory, "I never had any idea that a wedding is so complicated!"

One afternoon a day or two later, Professor McGonagall was working in her office when she heard a soft knock on the door. "Come in," she said.

The door squeaked open to reveal Winky carrying a large flower arrangement. "Winky is thinking Professor McGonagall would be liking some flowers," she squeaked.

"Thank you, Winky. That was very thoughtful. Please put them in that vase on the window ledge."

Winky arranged the flowers, then spoke again. "Winky would also like to thank ma'am for her very kind gift of the robe what is being made into Winky's wedding dress." She then dropped a deep curtsey.

"You're very welcome Winky," the professor answered. "Perhaps you'd like to know the history of that particular robe."

"Oh yes, ma'am," Winky squeaked.

"As you may know," McGonogall answered, "I have been teaching at this school for many, many years. When I first arrived as a teacher, I did not have a very extensive wardrobe. A certain house elf named Tizzy took a great liking to me after I showed her a very small kindness, and apparently she overheard me telling someone that I didn't think I had anything to wear to an upcoming very formal event. The school governors, the Minister of Magic, and many distinguished alumni were going to be there. About two days before the event, Tizzy presented me with the silk dress robe. She must have stayed up several nights to finish it, and I was deeply touched and very grateful.

"After that, Tizzy became very attached to me, and would have spent all of her time serving only me if I had allowed her to. She did actually accompany me on several summer trips and we became rather close. Sadly, she died a number of years ago, and that made the silk robe all the more precious to me. As I'm sure you observed, it has sustained heavy usage and was no longer wearable, but I couldn't bring myself to discard it. Happily, a use for it did arise, and I'm sure Tizzy would approve of what you're doing with it."

Winky thanked Professor McGonagall again, and dropped a deep curtsey. As she hurried away she made a mental note to find Tizzy's grave in the elf cemetery near the retirement village and leave flowers on it.

The next several weeks were even busier than usual for the Hogwarts house elves. As might be expected, some of them were not very keen on the idea of an elf wedding, but a simple word from Professor Dumbledore was enough to make them change their minds; they'd have gladly jumped off a cliff if he asked them to.

Zinny and her friends at the retirement village were up late almost every night, their needles and thimbles flashing in the candlelight. Winky stood for endless fittings during her regular visits to the village because it was necessary to create a pattern from scratch; no one had ever designed a wedding dress for a house elf before, and everyone wanted to make sure that it turned out right.

Back in the kitchens Wonky, the master baker, glared at Winky in disbelief. "You wants a WHAT?" he squealed.

"A Wedding cake," Winky answered as she held up pictures of several wedding cakes from Hermione's magazines.

"A wedding cake for elfs?" he sputtered, "Wonky isn't ever heard of such a thing! And he is much too busy for such nonsense. Master Dumbledore is said Dobby and Winky can get married, but he isn't saying anything about a cake!"

Winky let out an exaggerated sigh. "Winky is sorry to have bothered Wonky about this. She will order the cake from a bakery in Hogsmeade instead. 'Tis needing to be very large, it is, to be enough for all the elfs what is coming to the wedding from all over the country."

"Other elfs is coming from outside of Hogwarts?" Wonky asked.

"Oh yes, lots and lots is coming," Winky answered. "But Wonky is right. He is much too busy to make a cake for so many."

With a squeal of outrage, Wonky drew himself up to his full height of 31 inches and took a huge breath, his big blue eyes blazing. "No bakery cake is coming into Hogwarts as long as Wonky is living! Wonky is the master baker here, and all cakes is to be made by him and his assistants!" He then grabbed the pictures Winky was holding, spread them out on a table, and asked "what one is you liking?"

After a lengthy consultation, Winky walked away with a small self-satisfied smile on her face. She had never intended to order a cake from Hogsmeade at all, but she also knew that Wonky could be extremely temperamental, and the suggestion that he wasn't up to the task of making a cake for so many guests was more than enough to sting him into action.

Elsewhere other elves carefully hand-lettered invitations on tiny squares of parchment that were later whisked away by the smaller Hogwarts owls.

Winky had asked Hermione to be maid of honor, but Hermione gently declined, pointing out that it would be more appropriate to have an elf maid of honor, in this case specifically Nobby, who was also the groom's sister. "Miss isn't wanting to be in Winky's wedding?" she asked, tears forming in her big brown eyes.

Quickly Hermione answered "oh yes Winky, I very much want to be in your wedding! But in this case I think it would be better for me to be a bridesmaid."

"Oh Winky is understanding now, miss," the elf squeaked in reply. Subsequently, it was decided that Hermione was to be "Senior Maid of Honor." Since her dress robes were pale blue, Nobby began to work on a dress in the same shade. Winky asked Pinky and Tilly to be her other bridesmaids.

Wobbly had done a superb job of mounting the Danish elf stone, and the ring was now safely locked away in Winky's wardrobe drawer.

One morning at breakfast Ron spoke up. "I think I have an idea for Dobby and Winky's honeymoon."

"Really? What is it?" Hermione asked.

"Well, my mum and dad are going away to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. Percy's going to be at some conference I don't even want to ask about, and I thought Dobby and Winky might like to house-sit at the Burrow."

"That's not much of a honeymoon!" Hermione said in disgust.

Harry intervened quickly. "Actually, that's a great idea. Dobby was almost horrified at the idea of spending a honeymoon doing nothing."

Hermione remained unconvinced, but when the idea was presented to the bride and groom, Dobby squealed happily "Master and Mistress Wheezy is needing us to look after their house while they is gone? We's very honored to be asked, we is!" Ron tried not to look too smug afterwards, aware that Hermione was scowling at him very hard and looking as if she'd go for her wand at the slightest provocation.

The male contingent of the wedding party was also meeting and planning. Harry was to be Dobby's best man, and Dobby chose Rikky, Tunny and Tippy to be his other supporters. Dobby and Tippy also underwent their share of fittings at Gladrags in Hogsmeade.

In the final weeks before the Easter holiday, activity in the kitchens and elf quarters assumed a frantic pace. The elves happily worked late into the nights to take care of their regular duties as well as prepare for the wedding. At long last, the Hogwarts express carried most of the students away, and the school assumed an almost deserted air. The Great Hall was closed, and the remaining students took their meals in their house common rooms.

On the morning three days later, Winky got out of bed after an almost sleepless night. In the boy's dormitory, where he had been given permission to sleep, Dobby also got up after an equally restless night. Both elves were greatly relieved when their supporters arrived to help them get ready.

Dobby was so nervous and excited that he first tried to put on his trousers backwards and became so agitated that Harry had to grab him and set him on the edge of a bed. "Dobby," he said, "take three deep breaths and try to relax." With Dobby a little calmer, Harry and Ron were able to get him properly dressed.

Elsewhere, in a somewhat exasperated tone Zinny was saying "Winky MUST hold still, else Zinny cannot do her hair!"

Outside, over part of the lawn, a huge canopy hovered with no visible means of support, apparently woven out of thousands of flowers and vines. Under it were rows and rows of little chairs, plus several large enough for humans.

By 11:30 am what looked like hundreds of house elves were seated under the canopy, their makeshift garments creating a mass of moving color as they tittered softly among themselves. The Hogwarts elves were in their customary tea towels, but many of them had been dyed bright colors for the occasion, and numerous female elves had flowers tucked behind their ears.

At precisely 11:45 Binky, resplendent in a brand-new blue pillowcase with satin trim and neatly finished arm and neck holes, carefully escorted Zinny to the front, where she took her seat on the left side. She was wearing a set of lace curtains which had been dyed light yellow. Once she was safely settled, Binky took his place in the front row to the right. He was joined there by Ron and Ginny, Ron in the dress robes he had thought were a gift from his twin brothers.

A few minutes later, Professor Dumbledore arrived and stood at the front facing the guests. Immediately, all the elves jumped to their feet. "Everyone please be seated," he said kindly.

Seconds later, Harry and Dobby took their places next to Dumbledore. Dobby's morning suit was meticulously accurate in every detail, except that it was bright purple in color. On his left foot was one of the orange socks Harry had given him, and on his right was the now rather-worn black sock that had set him free. It was his most cherished possession, and he would of course wear it on this, of all days. Harry had used a color-changing charm to make his dress robes match Dobby's suit.

Near the rear of the canopy a small wooden pipe organ had been set up. The elf Libby sat at it, and two other elves stood ready to operate the organ bellows. At the stroke of noon, Libby began to play. The congregation stood and turned to face the rear.

Taking measured steps, Nobby was the first to appear, wearing a pale blue dress with a large matching hat appropriately modified with ear holes. A few steps behind her came Hermione in her pale blue dress robes. She was holding Tunny's hand, as there was simply no way she could take his arm. Seeing her, Ron had to suppress a gasp; she looked even more stunning than she had at the Yule Ball.

Behind Hermione came Rikky with Tilly holding his arm, and after them were Tippy with Pinky on his arm. Rikky's tea towel had been dyed to match Dobby's suit, and the elf bridesmaids had dyed their tea towels to match Nobby's dress.

There was a pause, then the music increased in volume, and Winky finally came into view. There were muffled gasps and squeaks of amazement as she slowly made her way up the aisle on Toby's arm. The near-miraculous transformation of a house elf into a bride was stunning. Her dress was a triumph of design, showing her admittedly odd (to humans, at least) figure to its best advantage, and her rather sparse hair had been set in a marcel wave, thereby giving it considerable body. Instead of a hat, she wore a garland of pale blue and yellow wildflowers on her head, matching the bouquet she held in her hands. Trailing behind her was an exquisitely-worked lace train, its corners carried carefully by Itsy and Bitsy, who were Nimby and Notty's two children, both wearing brightly-patterned washcloths. Winky was not wearing a veil. Had she done so, her enormous golden-brown eyes would have been obscured, along with her full eyelashes which now seemed three inches long.

Dobby seemed transfixed as he saw Winky, great tears of happiness welling up in his big green eyes. Harry had wisely anticipated this, and the pockets of his robes were stuffed full of handkerchiefs. He neatly slipped one to Dobby so quickly that virtually nobody saw it.

With all the attendants in place, Toby and Winky finally arrived at a spot just in front of Professor Dumbledore. Toby shook Dobby's hand, then took his place next to Zinny. Everyone had been so astonished at Winky's appearance that very few noticed Toby was wearing a morning suit instead of a tea towel. It was exactly like Dobby's but in the normal black and gray.

Winky took Dobby's arm and they both looked up at Professor Dumbledore.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as the spoke. "A very good afternoon to you all, and thank you for coming. Today, we are to witness an event unprecedented in history, but it is my hope that this will not be only a single occurrence. Marriage is an honorable estate, not to be entered into lightly, and if anyone knows of any reason this couple should not be joined in wedlock, speak now or forever hold your peace."

There was no objection. Libby started to play the organ again and a few seconds later Twinky began a solo in a voice so shrill it nearly ruptured the humans' eardrums. Hermione was prepared with her wand, and surreptitiously cast a muffling spell, carefully aimed at just the human ears. It faded just as Twinky finished.

Dumbledore led the two elves through their wedding vows, each of them softly squeaking "I will" at the appropriate times. When the moment came, Harry pulled the tiny wedding band off the front of his dress robes, where he had placed it with an adhesion charm, and handed it to Dobby. Dobby slipped the ring onto Winky's finger, where it matched perfectly with the engagement ring.

Nobby then handed the ring with the Danish elf stone to Winky, who then slid it onto Dobby's finger. In a somewhat odd looking gesture, Winky extended her left hand in front of her, palm facing left. Dobby then raised his left hand, palm facing right. Dumbledore gently guided the two little hands towards each other until the two elf stones touched.

Immediately there was a loud crack, and the bride and groom were surrounded by an extremely bright blue-green aura. In a few seconds it disappeared and Dumbledore spoke. "We have witnessed here today not only the joining of two lives, but also the joining of two powerful sources of elf magic. Dobby and Winky now not only share their own magical powers, they also share the power of two of the greatest elf stones in the world, and it is now my pleasure to pronounce them husband and wife. Dobby, you may kiss the bride."

Winky blushed as Dobby kissed her, raising squeals and applause from the congregation. A moment later, Libby started playing again and Twinky shrieked another solo as the newlyweds lead the wedding party out. They hurried into the castle, followed by most of the Hogwarts elves. For about twenty minutes the guests stood or sat, their voices squeaking in conversation.

Finally, the great front doors of Hogwarts opened, and Toby stepped out saying "everyone please come in."