[HPforGrownups] Hermione's Hats

[Silverthorne]

No: HPFGUIDX 95135

And in OOtP, Dobbie makes mention that he's the only elf doing cleaning in the tower, because the other elves won't go near the hats, so she must be on the right track. Even thought I do find it a bit hard to believe it's as simple as all that. Hermione is not mistress of the castle, she is merely a student. So I imagine that only Dumbledore and possibly McGonagall would be able to release an elf from duty.

{Silverthorne}

Probably, like a lot of things in the WW, it seems there has to be intent *and* the 'power' to accomplish the act. (Look ot the discussion on the Unforgivables as an example).

So, although Hermione has intent, she may not have the 'power', since, as has been pointed out, she is only a student, and not a 'permanent' resident. In which case, the house elves avoid the tower because they are insulted (Isn't this what Dobby hints at as for the reason they avoid it anyway? anyone have a book handy?)

However, we also have Dobby's statement that house elves serve *one* family their entire lives...but what 'family' is that in regards to Hogwarts....? Not even the Headmaster would count as 'Family' by now, I think--since it is an 'elected' (by the council?) postion, and the originators (Family) of the castle are 1,000 years dead and counting. So I suppose the 'first' question is really what the Hogwarts Elves define as 'family'? Since it can't be by bloodline (unless somehow all the Headmasters thus far are somehow blood relations to the original four--imagine the odds on that, even when taking certain Pure Blooded familys' habits of marrying other pure bloods into account). Somehow, even though it isn't what is *Said*, it seems more likely the elves are linked to a *site* (that may or may not have been built by the currently occupying family), as oppsed to the family members themselves.

House elves seem to be based on the folk loric Brownies (yes, I know, groan...Anne is wandering into the folk lore books again...^^;). Brownies usually chose a *home* to serve, helping the matriarch (-or- the house help if the familiy was rich enough to have such a thing) with chores around the house (cleaning, milking cows, etc). There were two ways to drive off such a helpful spirit--either by being lazy  and letting the Brownie do *all* the chores (which does not seem to apply in Rowling's world), or by presenting the Brownie with a gift in way of thanks--this was usually in the form of clothes. Oddly enough, food and drink (milk) seemed exempt from this rule. In fact, milk was often left outside at night to *attract* Brownies to a home....

In the first case, when the humans were lazy, the Brownie would turn into a boggart or other destructive entity, bent on making the life of the humans in that household miserable, and often undoing the very hard work it had been helping with in the first place. You could either move away or dirve the fae off at that point--but apology won't help at that point.

In the case of clothing-as-a-gift, the Brownie would simply accept the gift...and promptly depart. Folklore doesn't state where the Brownie would go from there, but perhaps it would travel to another 'needy' home and start the process over...

Maybe if it isn't that the elves are boudn to the castle, and really *are* bound to the people inside, perhaps they have to undergo some sort of charm that re-defines "family" as whoever runs the castle, whether blood related to the original four or not...

Or maybe there's a petrified blood family member in some dark corner somewhere, somehow kpet alive all these centuries by some spell (to legalize the claim to the castle), and yet not able to participate as a 'living' entity...

Or maybe, this is where the Vampire comes into it...blood relation of the original family, still around, who tells the house elves who to obey in his stead (Such as the current Headmaster).

Or maybe it's Peeves who is the long lost family member? (And that's why he's allowed to hang around...)

Is that enough possibilites to chew on? heh. Go for it guys, wanna see where this leads...^^
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Anne/Silverthorne
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Anne-TMC-RCVG.Campbell at tenetheath.com (6am-3pm American Central, Mon-Fri.)

"It is better to die than to loose your wrench"--Paraphrased from a former Navy Mechanic.


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