What motivated Dobby in CoS?

[finwitch]

No: HPFGUIDX 53452

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, SeventhSqueal 
<seventhsqueal at y...> wrote:
> 
SeventhSqueal:

> If Dobby was hiding in the bushes against the will of his masters 
wouldn't the bushes be shredded from his trying to knock his head 
against the ground every day?
> 
> There are only two ways I can justify this. 
> 
> One: Lucius Malfoy didn't want Harry Potter damaged during the 
following school year, and gave Dobby instructions to keep him out of 
Hogwarts by any means necessary.
> 
> Two: Narcissa Malfoy put her house elf up to preventing Harry 
Potter from going to Hogwarts and getting hurt, because she's 
secretly sympathetic to Harry Potter and not her husband's little 
Mrs. We know she's a bit of a softie because she prevented Draco from 
being sent far away from her (at least this is the story that we were 
told) to Durmstrang and she sends him care packages full of sweets 
from home. This sounds like someone in the Malfoy house has the 
capacity for love. Plus, it could have been from her that Dobby 
learned that Harry is such a decent and noble person. Narcissa. 
Hmmmmmm. 
> 
> I notice there is no place for Narcissa next to Lucius on my Death 
Eater chart here. The Lestranges would have stood next to each other. 
Curious.
> 
> Three: Add your idea here.

I myself see Dobby acting very much as he were Harry Potter's house-
elf. Dobby has NOT heard of Harry being decent. "Dobby has heard of 
your greatness, sir, but nothing of your goodness". Also, it was 
*obvious* to me that Dobby was NOT acting under Malfoy's orders.
A house-elf is supposed to serve one family and one house for ever, 
but somehow Dobby's more bound to Harry than the Malfoys!
Dobby chooses to use his freedom to serve Harry in any way Harry 
permits him to and obeys Harry...
 
We don't know how a house-elf becomes bound. In Winky's case, it was 
hereditary, but with Dobby? It seems like Dobby's bound to Harry... 
and that's what makes him glad being free- he *can* serve his 
precious Harry Potter even though Harry Potter is too young to have a 
house... Was Dobby *born* in the Potter house that was destroyed and 
thus bound to Harry, even though he was forcibly separated from Harry 
until he hears Harry's in danger?

-- Finwitch