Was Harry in Danger from the Basilisk?

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 108587

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "sad1199" <sad1199 at y...> wrote:
> sad1199 here:
> 
> ...edited...
> 
>  Now, a question. I have read these books through at least 5 times 
> and I am an intelligent person but! I still don't understand WHY 
> Dobby tried to prevent Harry from returning to Hogwarts.
>  ...edited... AND house elves are obviously more intelligent than 
> given credit for if Dobby knew who Harry even was. Wait, it says 
> that house elves are intelligent, right? I am just very confused 
> about the whole Dobby thing, any help would be appreciated.
> 
> Have a Happy Love Filled day   
>
> sad1199

Asian_lovr2:

I think we are over-thinking the danger to Harry in CoS; meaning that
we are trying do hard to look past the obvious, that we are missing
the obvious.

First, on the issue of House-Elf intelligence; they may be very
intelligent, but based on their speech patterns and vocabulary, they
are uneducated and that combined with limited world experience, means
they are unsophisticated. This lack of sophistication certainly comes
into play to a great degree in Harry's interaction with Elves.

Now the Basilisk and the danger to Harry, in this case, I think we are
giving the too much weight to the intelligences of the Basilisk. This
is a reptile, though very large, it probably had a brain the size of a
walnut. Generally speaking, reptiles are only capable of two modes of
operation; 'Lunch' and 'Sleep'. A parseltongue might be able to
communcate with it, but I seriously doubt the conversations would
sound like a dialog with a Shakeperean actor. It is able to relay
primitive thoughts and obey simple orders, but I think that's about
the extent of it. Any sense of sophisticated language on the part of
the reptile is likely to be more a reflection of the listener than the
speaker.

Also, I'm not totally convinced that the Basilisk can tell a muggle
from a wizard. The fact is that the eyes of a Basilisk are deadly to
ANYONE who looks into them, wizards or purebloods have no special
protection. 

So, Dobby knew that if all went well with his Master, a monster would
be loose in the castle. The presence of a monster put Harry at risk
along with everyone else. And if the plan continued, Tom Riddle
AKA:Voldemorts would be loose in the castle. Neither of these
circumstances bode well for Harry; or anyone else for that matter. 

So, to an unsophisticated Dobby, the release into the school of a
deadly monster followed by the rebirth/re-appearance of
Riddle/Voldemort was cause enough for concern. While these are general
threads, certainly Lucius, along with a multitude of other agendas,
had Harry specifically on his mind. Dobby would have been aware of
this emphasis on Harry. Also, one can't deny that once back
Riddle/Voldy would have had a specific interest in Harry.

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/asian_lovr2