Dobby revisited

[pennygbrooks]

No: HPFGUIDX 83489

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, B Arrowsmith 
<arrowsmithbt at b...> wrote:
>>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.<<

Interesting thought, but not one I necessarily can endorse.  Firstly, 
it's obvious that Dobby is a highly unusual house elf, and so his 
reactions and behaviors are not what anyone might call 'typical' 
house elf behavior.  Secondly, we know that house elves are a very 
old species.  From comments made by characters (Hagrid:  house elves 
have a powerful magic of their own) and by other items (the fountain 
in the MoM), I would guess that at one point 'once upon a time' these 
elves lived quite harmoniously with the other magical creatures, and 
probably were not servants at this time.  Something happened in their 
past, and years of servitude and perhaps security have made them 
perpetual servants to the wizards.  I think that maybe Dobby has some 
of the 'old' feeling in him, that makes him independent.  And, I 
think that somewhere in Book 6 or 7, the elves will 'come to their 
senses' and drop the servant stuff (yay for Hermione), but also will 
aid in the fight against LV.

>> 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?<<

I think that somehow Harry is related to LV (as has been speculated 
here many a time before, I'll warrant), but as of right now, I have 
nothing to go on, other than comments by Tom Riddle and others about 
how many similarities there are between Harry and LV.  Of course, the 
way JKR writes, when it's revealed it'll be something that'll make us 
all slap our heads and say "D'oh!  Of Course!"  I'm leaning toward 
the idea that somehow the connection is through Lily's family (and 
somehow Aunt Petunia is tied in)...but there really isn't any canon 
yet to back this up.  

Ahhh, idle speculation.  You gotta love it!

Penny Bee