house elves and laundry

[Alon van Dam]

No: HPFGUIDX 65697

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Irene Mikhlin 
<irene_mikhlin at b...> wrote:
> 
> 
> MadameSSnape at a... wrote:
> 
> > 
> > I've always read it that the clothes had to be literally GIVEN to 
the house 
> > elf - that is, passed from hand to hand, as Lucius does with the 
sock.  Leaving 
> > laundry to be done wouldn't count as "giving".
> > 
> > Sherrie
> > 
> 
> Then why they are afraid to clean in Gryffindor Tower any more? 
What 
> Hermione does would not count as "giving".
> I also doubt she has an authority to free them anyway, no more than 
she
> could sell Hogwarts equipment.
> 
> --
> Irene

I would tend to agree... Why does Harry in CoS go through the trouble 
of putting Riddle's diary in his sock and giving it to Lucius Malfoy 
in the (correct) hope and estimation that he would instinctively 
throw it away and that Dobby would be near enough and in the general 
direction to catch it *takes a breath* if he could have just given 
him a sock himself? 

Dobby says in GoF that DD is their new master, not the entire 
Hogwarts school population, but the Headmaster. If 't were otherwise, 
the House Elves could have freed themselves ages ago by just opening 
one of the suitcases they shlepp up to the dorms every September 1st. 
I'm pretty sure it's stated in CoS that the master of the House Elf 
has to give an article of clothing to him/her...

Strange...

Cheers,
Alon