House-Elves and the Weasleys

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No: HPFGUIDX 47844

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "ats_fhc3" <the.gremlin at v...> wrote:



> So why couldn't the Weasleys pick up an elf that had 
> been dismissed?
> 
> Also, how many house-elves would a family have? Winky was the only 
> elf to serve the Crouches; When Harry indirectly frees Dobby, Lucius 
> says "You've lost me my servant". Not '*one* of my servants', 
> but '*servant*'. Would other families have reason to have more house-
> elves?

I think - and this is /only/ a guess, mind - that it takes some mighty 
powerful magic to bind a house-elf to a family. This would explain why 
only rich families had one and most elves have been passed down. A 
rich family can pay some hotshot young punk with a quick wand to 
battle one of the elves, and if the punk gets toasted, well, all 
you've lost is a bunch of Galleons.

CK
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