house elves

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 102791

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Susan" <teilani2002 at y...> wrote:

> 
> Susan now:
> ... CoS,... after Harry frees Dobby, they talk for a  minute, then 
> (paraphrase) a loud crack (the same way JKR describes apparating) 
> and Dobby *disappears*.  
> 
> They were standing in the hallway outside DD's office.  Did Dobby 
> just disapparate?
> 

Asian_lovr2:

The assumed explanation of this is that Elves have there own brand of
magic. What Dobby did was the Elf equivalent of Apparation, but it,
again we assume, used a different type of magic. 

Also, we know Dobby disappeared, but we don't know where he went. He
may have just moved to a different part of the castle or out on to the
grounds somewhere. That could imply that the 'protections' of the
castle had some limited effect on him. 

One could assume that he, with elfin magic, was able to transport
within the boundaries of the castle ground, but could not penetrate
the barrier between the castle and the outside world. Example: he
transports to the castle grounds just inside the gate, walks outside
the gate, then transports to London.

We don't have enough information to do more that speculate on various
likely scenerios. The books and JKR have stated, however, that Elves
do have their own unique brand of magic, so that is the foundation
upon which we must base our speculative explanations.


> Susan continues:
>
> If ... house-elves are immune to the (protective) spells and charms 
> ... 
>
> If so, then wouldn't it be a very good idea for DD et al to secure 
> house-elves' loyalty to their cause? If house-elves en masse decided
> to support LV, ... LV would have a really easy time capturing the 
> school, ...
> 
> Any thoughts?
> 
> Susan :-)

Asian_lovr2:

Elves are loyal to the House to which they are bound and serving that
family is their first priority. I just can't see the elves being at
all concerned about various broad political issues. They let the
wizards deal with the concerns of the outside world, and the elves
focus on their homes.

An elf would probably follow the orders of his Master if asked to aid
Voldemort in some way, but I can't seem them acting as a group that
has made a concious collective decision to support Voldemort. Elves
are just not that well organized, and based on what Dobby said, I
don't think elves in general are all that fond of Voldemort.

Dumbledore on the other hand does have over 100 elves at his immediate
disposal who are loyal to him and to the school. To the Hogwart's
elves, the school is the House they serve. Their loyalty is to the
institution, and by extension, it's staff and the students, and I'm
sure they would be willing to protect it against any threat.

So, I just don't see Voldemort rallying Elves en-masse to his cause
and using them to attack Hogwarts. I could see him gathering together
maybe a dozen elves who are the servants of Death Eaters, and ordering
them to take some action on Voldemort's behalf. But even then, I can
see many of those elves acting half-heartedly.

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/Asian_lovr2