House Elves and the Imperius Curse -- Second Attempt

[cindysphynx]

No: HPFGUIDX 38469

Whoa!  I tried to post this, and everything kind of went dark!  
Sorry if this turns up twice.

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You know, I've been thinking.  It has been *ages* since anyone 
brought up everyone's favorite topic  -- house elves! Erm, well, it 
has been ages if "ages" can be defined to mean "days".  ;-)

Wait, though.  Don't go just yet.  I really *have* been thinking.  
House elves aren't all that bad as a discussion topic, you know.  
There's so much to say, after all.  There's the enslavement issue.  
There's talk of free will.  There are mysteries, like why the poor 
Weasleys don't have a house elf.  There's the issue of whether 
there's a difference between a goblin and a house elf.

I started to wonder *why* exactly house elves are so subservient.  I 
mean, how did they get that way?  There aren't many (or any) other 
sentient creatures that are totally subservient, are there?  I mean, 
goblins, werewolves, merpeople, ghosts, poltergeists -- none allow 
themselves to be completely dominated like house elves.  Even Hedwig 
seems to have some control over whether she does or does not deliver 
a letter, based on her occasional bouts of irritation with Harry.

So what is going on with house elves?  They are "bound" to their 
families, but how and why?

Well, they seem to be very happy, peculiarly happy, inexplicably 
happy, about doing something people normally don't wish to do -- 
working hard for no reason and for no pay.  They take pride in 
working and do not betray their families -- even if something 
immoral is happening (as in Winky's refusal to reveal Crouch Jr.'s 
existence).  Oddly, they are powerfully magical, yet are 
unwilling/unable to break their bond with the family.  If the family 
gives the elf clothing, the elf is released.  

That makes me wonder.  I wonder if house elves are serving 
under  . . .   geez, it's hard to even get the words out . . . under 
the Imperius Curse.  

Uh, oh.  I recognize that sound.  <heavy sigh>  They're *laughing* 
at me again.  Ah, I knew this would happen.

Wait!  Don't laugh -- wait -- hear me out!  

When Harry is placed under the Imperius Curse, he reports that "it 
was the most wonderful feeling," a "floating sensation as every 
thought and worry in his head was wiped gently away leaving nothing 
but a vague, untraceable happiness."  In the graveyard, Harry 
experiences the Imperius Curse as "the sensation that his mind had 
been wiped of all thought."  All of that seems consistent with the 
possibility that house elves are happy in their bondage because they 
are experiencing the ultimate, never-ending Imperius high.

Also, the release of a house elf sounds as though a spell is being 
broken, doesn't it?  I mean, why isn't a house elf released just by 
having the master say, "I grant you your freedom!"  No, an 
apparently random act (giving the elf cloting) breaks the bond -- 
almost like some sort of magical spell.

Then there's the little matter that Dobby was somehow able to try to 
assist Harry in CoS.  I mean, Dobby is still bound to the Malfoys, 
yet he goes off on these little adventures to spare Harry.  Kind of 
like the way Crouch Sr. traveled to Hogwarts while under the 
Imperius Curse to prevent Voldemort's return and spare Harry.  Maybe 
Dobby was breaking through the Imperius bond, just like Crouch Sr. 
did?

Then there is the weird coincidence that house elves and goblins are 
described as physically similar (short, long fingers).  There is one 
main difference, though.  House elves are subservient, but goblins 
are fierce and not to be trifled with.  Could it be that house elves 
are goblins who have been Imperio'd?

And exactly which families have house elves?  Well, the Malfoys and 
the Crouches, but not the Weasleys.  The Malfoys undoubtedly would 
have no trouble casting an Imperius Curse on an elf to obtain a 
servant.  

How about the Crouches?  Well, it's hard to say.  We know Crouch Sr. 
authorized the use of the Unforgivable Curses in the war against 
Voldemort, so maybe he did a little unauthorized Imperius Curse on 
elf/goblin Winky.  Or . . . perhaps Crouch Jr. performed the curse.  
We can be pretty sure Crouch Jr. will perform Unforgivable Curses 
and that he is quite proficient at casting the Imperius Curse.

And the Weasleys?  Many of us have wondered why they don't have a 
house elf if house elves don't have to be paid.  Perhaps the reason 
is that Arthur Weasley is too honorable to use an Unforgivable 
Curse, even on an elf.

Ah, that Arthur Weasley is a saint, don't you think? ;-)

Cindy (wondering how to explain the existence of house elves at 
Hogwarts, and wondering if that Albus Dumbledore cast a few Imperius 
Curses of his own)