[HPforGrownups] Do House-Elves Guard Houses?

[Cait Hunter]

No: HPFGUIDX 19961

Sure! Not watchdog in the sense of a guard or protection dog, but certainly 
an alert dog! My two corgis (obedience trained, reasonably well behaved for 
their ages (10 and 7 months) dogs, make the most ferocious sounding noise 
when one of my roommates had to 'break in' to the apartment (by coming over 
the patio fence- we're on the first floor) after locking himself out.

Also, there's the tale of the burgler who got himself cornered in a bathroom 
by a particularly ambitious corgi. When the police arrived to take him away, 
he positively sang about the 'ferocious and dangerous dwarf german shepherd' 
the people were hiding in their house.


Cait and corgis (Taikoubou and Wenna)

Oh yes! Anyone in Austin, San Antonio or central Texas want to get together 
next weekend? We're going down for a flyball tournament in Hutto and it'd be 
cool to have a meet! (Can send details by email if anyone's interested!)


>From: "Caius Marcius" <coriolan at worldnet.att.net>
>Reply-To: HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com
>To: HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [HPforGrownups] Do House-Elves Guard Houses?
>Date: Fri, 01 Jun 2001 13:06:46 -0000
>
>In chapter 35 of GoF, during Barty Crouch's "Veritaserum" confession,
>he states how, after Winky was discharged, he lived alone at home
>with his father.
>
>"'Now it was just Father and I, alone in the house.  And then . . .
>and then . . ." Crouch's head rolled on his neck, and an insane grin
>spread across his face.  "My master came for me.  He arrived at our
>house late one night in the arms of his servant Wormtail."
>
>Is there an implication here that by casting Winky aside, Crouch Sr.
>forfeited protection which might have secured him against Voldemort?
>We know that house-elves get pushed around a lot, but primarily by
>their masters; we've also seen that they have a command of magic
>which often seems more powerful than the magic of human wizards.  In
>addition to their house-keeping chores, do house-elves also serve
>a "watchdog" function? Logically, it would seem that a house-elf
>would make guarding the house a high priority. Would Winky have been
>able to successfully defend the Crouch household against Voldy's
>intrusion had she still been around?
>
>That would make Crouch's dismissal of Winky an even more poignant
>episode if it left him exposed to Voldemort's intrusion.
>
>  - CMC
>
>

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