[HPforGrownups] Goblins, Gringotts, and Flitwick

[Patricia Bullington-McGuire]

No: HPFGUIDX 53603

On Tue, 11 Mar 2003, ladycrookshanks wrote:

> This is a 3 part theory. Bear with me. ^_^
> 
> Part 1: Hagrid is abnormally large, and we discovered that it was 
> because he is half Giant. So who is the other wizard of abnormal 
> size? Flitwick. And in the movies he is played by the same actor who 
> plays a Goblin - could this be a clue? Could Flitwick be part Goblin?

Could be.  Or he could be part house elf.  Or he could just be a little 
person like the actor who plays him.  We don't really have enough evidence 
to conclude anything, but since JKR makes a point of mentioning Flitwick's 
height repeatedly, I believe it will wind up being important somehow by 
the end of book 7.

> Part 2: We know so much about the Goblins and Gringotts, yet they 
> have not played a very important role yet. Hagrid tells Harry that 
> Gringotts is the safest place in the world next to Hogwarts. We know 
> that the vaults stretch for miles beneath London, and that there are 
> a lot of nasty creatures guarding them (including dragons). The 
> Goblin Liaison Office is mentioned briefly in Goblet of Fire, and we 
> are told that Cuthbert Mockridge leads this department. One of the 
> few historical events we hear anything about from professor Binns is 
> the Goblin Rebellions. And finally, we know Bill Weasley works for 
> Gringotts, and so far, he has probably had the fewest appearances out 
> of the Weasleys. So are the Goblins, and Gringotts, going to be 
> taking on more important roles later on?

I absolutely believe so.  I can't believe JKR would bring up those Goblin
Rebellions so frequently if they weren't really, really important.  One
thing they point out is that goblins won't stand for anybody else telling
them what to do.  That makes them difficult allies, but it seems to me it
would make them even less likely to support Voldemort in the long run
since the Dark Lord wants to subjegate just about everybody.  The goblins
are a bit of a wild card.

> Part 3: Assuming the above two theories work, what does that mean? If 
> Flitwick is indeed part Goblin, that means that Hogwarts has ties to 
> the Goblins as well as the Giants. Goblins would make formidable 
> allies. However, if they side with Voldemort (as Goblins seem to be 
> less interested in what is right than what they can get out of the 
> situation), could Flitwick be helpful in the fight against them, or 
> possibly, for whatever reason, in helping to guide the good guys 
> through the vast underground system that is Gringotts?

If Flitwick is part goblin, it could wind up being useful.  However, 
goblins don't seem like terribly loyal types and might not be any more 
receptive to him because of his heritage.  Who knows how it would play 
out?

In occurs to me, though, that Flitwick is actually more like a house elf
than a goblin.  He's very enthusiastic, very sensitive and very helpful,
none of which seem to be goblin traits.  I rather hope he's not part house
elf because for some reason I find the idea of humans mating with house
elves squickier than humans mating with goblins, but it does seem the 
likelier possibility.

> (Part 4: Am I insanely overanalytical?)

Isn't that what this list is for?

----
Patricia Bullington-McGuire	<patricia at obscure.org>

The brilliant Cerebron, attacking the problem analytically, discovered
three distinct kinds of dragon: the mythical, the chimerical, and the
purely hypothetical.  They were all, one might say, nonexistent, but each
nonexisted in an entirely different way ... 
                -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad"