Dobby revisited

[B Arrowsmith]

No: HPFGUIDX 83483

Kneasy hasn't managed to annoy anyone recently, so I've allowed my 
Machiavellian mind free  rein over the past couple of days to see if I 
can rectify the omission. I have come up with an interesting slant (or 
at least I think it's interesting), but it lacks  the truly outrageous 
sneakiness that really appeals. So, until my perverted mind can hatch 
something really disgraceful, this will have to do.

Let us travel back through the mists of time to a better age, when the 
world was bright and young, we had hope in our hearts and anything was 
possible.

1998 in fact. CoS, chapter 1, the first meeting between Harry and Dobby.

It all seems fairly standard - weird creature appears, imparts obscure 
warning, creates mayhem, departs again. Nice start to the book, puts 
the readers on their toes and sets up a pleasantly convoluted plot. 
Only in hindsight does it start to look a bit odd, particularly after 
reading OoP.

Jump  forward and look at Kreacher in OoP.
He is unhappy with what is going on in the household. The current 
inhabitants are inimical to the  family ethic but he is constrained 
from doing anything about it. All it takes is one ambiguous instruction 
( or an instruction that can be misconstrued) and he's off. Winging his 
way to darling Bella (the closest family member), pouring out his woes 
and telling tales of what the filthy, disgusting traitors are up to.

We have been told that House Elves are bound "...to serve one house, 
one family."

So why did Dobby seek out Harry?

Is Harry part of the extended family that is centred on the household 
that Dobby serves?
According to the known rules that govern House Elves, he must be. 
Strangers are of no concern to a House Elf, only family. Additionally, 
it makes no sense for Dobby to have received instructions from Malfoy 
to warn Harry. Aged twelve he didn't have the notorious 'pest' factor 
he later becomes famous for. No one would suspect he could cock-up Tom 
Riddle and a Basilisk at that age. So why would Malfoy warn him off? I 
don't think he would, but Dobby might in the right circumstances; if 
family ties were involved, for instance.

Note that Dobby doesn't seem to be concerned about what might happen to 
the rest - Ginny can die, Hermione, Colin and the others can be 
petrified, the Basilisk can rampage to its hearts content, just so long 
as *Harry* is safe. Dobby was not interested in preventing Tom Riddle 
from re-birth and all that that could mean, he was only concerned with 
keeping Harry out of it. Note also he will  not betray Malfoy's  
dastardly plot in any way ( for Malfoy is family) except where it 
touches on Harry. Throughout the book runs the same thread - Harry must 
be removed from danger and bugger everyone else. The blinkered view of 
a dedicated and compulsive family retainer.

Even after manumission Dobby still shows an interest in Harry's 
welfare, rather as Winky does with the Crouches - her family no longer, 
but habits of a lifetime are hard to break.

A bit of devious thinking - that act that frees Dobby. The sock does 
not belong to Malfoy; he does not even touch it, only the diary. Why 
should a sock from a stranger have this significance? But if Harry is 
family then Dobby's cry of "Harry Potter set Dobby free!" has real 
significance, because unless he is family he can't possibly set Dobby 
free, only Malfoy can. And I don't believe unknowingly giving a sock 
from a stranger would do the trick.

JKR has famously said that she nearly gave the game away in CoS.  The 
'why' of it all. Could this be part of it? A critical connection that 
was unsuspected, with the behaviour of Elves the linking clue through 
three books?

So far, we know nothing about James' family, except they were rich and 
pureblood. Doesn't that seem odd? And doesn't James Potter seem a  very 
odd sort of name for an old wizarding family?
Unreal almost.

Kneasy