Very sensibly (in his own opinion) not mentioning the time turners which may or may not have been restocked since the DoM disaster, he says grimly, "Difficult, yes. But, you know, while it's rarely worth dealing in might-have-beens, the sudden termination of his predations is more likely than anything else to indicate that he was stopped--either by a sensible assessment that the chase had become too hot, or by what's alternately called happenstance, divine justice, and karma."
"Nor so extraordinary?" he fires back, an eyebrow quirking.
Severus groans at it, explaining, "They can make the unaccustomed dizzy, portkeys, and house elves generally move under their own power, once they know where to go. I set it for the hall; didn't want anyone seeing her..." and sets off to see what she's knocked over.
It was the coatrack. A broken-off tusk is still on the ground, and Winky's crouched over the trunk, re-attaching it to the elephant's face. When she sees them approach, she jumps up with drooping ears, wringing her hands.