Dobby in CoS

[hfakhro at nyc.rr.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 21425

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Barbara Purdom <blpurdom at y...> wrote:
> He did?  Where did you read this?  I must have missed
> it.  Also, I always got the
> impression that Dobby was trying to prevent Harry from
> returning to Hogwarts on orders
> from Lucius Malfoy, but was pretending he was really
> looking after Harry's welfare (also
> part of Malfoy's plan).  
> 
> If Dobby was trying to prevent Harry from going to
> really protect Harry, I think it was
> because he hated the Malfoys and working for them,
> pure and simple.  Frankly, what with
> the enslavement and all, were house elves really any
> better off after Voldemort fell than
> before?

Well I read it in CoS, "The Rogue Bludger":

" 'Ah, if Harry Potter only knew!' Dobby groaned, more tears dripping 
onto his ragged pillowcase. 'If he knew what he means to us, to the 
lowly, the enslaved, us dregs of the magical world! Dobby remembers 
how it was when He Who Must Not Be Named was at the height of his 
powers, sir! We house-elves were treated like vermin, sir! Of course, 
Dobby is still treated like that, sir,' he admitted drying his face 
on the pillowcase. 'But mostly, sir, life has improved for my kind 
since you triumphed over He Who Must Not Be Named. Harry Potter 
survived, and the Dark Lord's power was broken, and it was a new 
dawn, sir, and Harry Potter shone like a beacon of hope for those of 
us who thought the dark days would never end, sir...' "

I think Dobby is very selfless here, because although he is not one 
of the lucky ones whose life improved after the fall of Voldemort, he 
is thinking about the wellbeing of all his 'kind.' I never doubted 
for one minute that Dobby was acting of his own accord, and not on 
Lucius Malfoy's orders, and I don't think that he gave Lucius those 
letters from Hermione/Ron. He seems too sincere in his conversations 
with Harry, and he risks his life and his master's temper by warning 
Harry. (Even if you speculate that he does all this on Lucius' 
orders, note the scene in Dumbledore's office when he is trying to 
tell Harry that Lucius was responsible for the diary debacle - that 
is obviously *not* something that Lucius made him do.)

Speaking of that scene, I find no mention of the shoe-polishing that 
other members have brought up as a reason for Dobby's being there. I 
have the British edition of that book; I wonder if this is a case of 
American vs. British editing. Perhaps the American editor added that 
scene so that it would make sense for Dobby to be there? As far as I 
can see, the British edition makes no mention of any reason for 
Dobby's being there.