Query re CoS: Platform 9&3/4, magic, and Dobby

[caliburncy at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 27406

Amy sort of already answered this with the following:

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Amy Z" <aiz24 at h...> wrote:
> House elves do have powerful magic (CoS 3) and are allowed to use at 
> least some of it (things they do for their jobs, e.g. send food up 
> from the kitchens to the tables).  They aren't allowed wands, but 
> they have other ways of doing magic.  They can clearly do some 
> things that humans can't, e.g. Apparate (or the equivalent) in 
> Hogwarts.

but I wanted to clarify some specifics of dittany's questions.

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., lake4fam at e... wrote:
>   IIRC, in PoA we are told that house elves cannot do magic, because 
> they are not allowed wands.

No, house elves can do magic (both in terms of physical capability 
and legally) and they don't generally require wands to do it (they are 
actually forbidden wands under wizarding regulations).  So they're 
only forbidden wands under the law, not magic, and unlike wizards they 
can perform all kinds of magic without wands at all.  In fact, I think 
there was some comment that they actually had *more* powerful innate 
magic than wizards (no, it's not the comment Amy referred to in COS 3, 
but I can't find it so maybe I dreamed it up).  But the limitation is 
that, generally, they can't do magic without their master's permission 
. . . at least according to Gred and Forge.  The more likely truth is 
not that they can't, but simply that they won't.  Dobby clearly did 
not have to seek out the Malfoys' permission to do any of his magic, 
but most house-elves would choose to do so for the sake of their duty 
and honor.

> Winky is accused of conjuring the Dark Mark, and the accusation
> seemed to be upheld because they found her with Harry's pilfered
> wand.

This was specific to the Dark Mark.  They made a comment that it 
wasn't possible to conjure the Dark Mark without a wand (even for a 
house elf).

>    How, then, did Dobby manage to seal off the entry to Platform 9 & 
> 3/4?  He certainly would not have been acting with Malfoy's per-
> mission, and would have had to take one of the family's wands.

Right, so given the above, no, Dobby didn't have the Malfoys' 
permission, but he presumably didn't need a wand either.

>    And to what horrible punishment would he have to subject himself?
>    If this has been discussed before, would one of the loyal cadre 
> be so kind as to direct me to the proper messages?  And if not, > 
would Luke or Rowena be so kind as to enlighten me?

I must confess to having no idea why I specifically was solicited to 
answer this, seeing as how there are many others here who can thrash 
me soundly with their canon knowledge (I've only read each of the 
books twice--Sacrilege!).  But I hope that helped.

-Luke