[HPforGrownups] Who do the Hogwarts house elves answer to?

[Scott Santangelo]

No: HPFGUIDX 70737



Richelle Votaw <rvotaw at i-55.com> wrote:
Richelle said:

I'd always assumed that Dumbledore was in charge of the house elves at Hogwarts.  After all, he hired Dobby, even gave him a salary, and gave Winky a job too.  So it's only natural that when Umbridge took over she would be in charge of them in place of Dumbledore.  Which explains why Dobby was beating himself up over warning Harry about her coming.  But then Harry orders Dobby to lie to her if she asks him if he's talked to Harry, and orders Dobby to stop hurting himself.  And Dobby thanks Harry.  Can any student order the house elves around?  Even over the "headmistress?"

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Dobby's no ordinary house elf - he's been "freed" and is being paid (or was, by Dumbeldore). I doubt Umbridge would feel obligated to honor DD's agreement with a mere house elf (that superior wizard prejudice showing), and it's even less likely she paid any attention to the house elves at all. Of course, Dobby was under the heel of the Malfoy family for (I wanted to say "ages" but the bit about Kreacher's family heads made me stop to think - how long do house elves live?) a very long time, and old habits are hard to break. Depending upon the regularity of his payments being kept up, I'd think Dobby was free to do as he thought best. Then, of course, Harry's no ordinary Hogwarts student. There's the dynamic between him and Dobby to begin with, and as "the boy who lived" he's a hero to Dobby. I kind of think that Dobby will ultimately choose to serve Harry, but I'm not sure how this will come to pass. It certainly won't be at the request of Harry, though!

Owlery2003



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