CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Chapter 14, Percy and Padfoot

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 93158

> > Questions for discussion:
 
1. If house elves are freed against their will, where do 
 they go? Can they stay at Hogwarts if they desire? If so, 
 what does it matter if a house elf is inadvertently 
 freed? < <

Dudemom_2000:
> Winky was freed against her will and Dobby (he wanted to be free and 
> got his wish another way) indicated that they went around to try to 
> find another situation but no one would have them. Dobby came to 
> Hogwarts because he knew Harry was there and also Dumbledore's 
> reputation. I would suspect that a different headmaster might not be 
> as willing to take on a disgraced house elf or one that 
> was "inadvertantly" freed. I also wonder if being Malfoy's house elf 
> may have contributed to other wizards not wanting to take Dobby on. 
> The only way I can see for Hermione to "inadvertently" free a house 
> elf would be to lie in wait and throw socks at them and hope they 
> catch them without thinking. It probably would matter a lot if she 
> did that because the house elves would probably come after her since 
> they don't really want to be free! 

Carol:
Has anyone considered the idea that much as we value our freedom, it
is actually a burden? If the house-elves were freed, they would have
to do what most adult humans, Muggles or not, have to do: Find a job
(a skill they've never been taught) and earn a living. Freedom for
them (even for Dobby, who wanted it) amounts to being fired. They're
jobless and they're disgraced. For the Hogwarts house-elves it
probably wouldn't matter much as they'd just apply for their old jobs
again (after negotiating for *lower* wages and *fewer* holidays as
Dobby did). Freed house-elfs in general would probably do the same
thing if they could--take back the old, familiar duties, just as many
former household slaves did after the American Civil War. Those who
had been treated badly would probably choose to leave the family home
(in violation of house-elf tradition), but where would they go? At
least as slaves they had a permanent job, food enough to keep them
alive, and a roof over their heads. But imagine a horde of homeless,
unemployed house-elves freed by the WW equivalent of the Emancipation
Proclamation--the consequence if a program like S.P.E.W. were ever put
into operation. (I'm not advocating slavery, but I'm all too familiar
with the burdens of job-seeking and earning a living.)

<snip>
> 3. What happened in the forest to make the Thestral fly 
out of it? Is this just something Harry didn't notice 
 before, because he couldn't see them- or was there 
 something more sinister happening?

>Dudemom_2000:
> I think this is just another reminder of how strange and alive the 
> Forbidden Forest is. It also may be something as simple as whomever 
> is taking care of Hagrid's creatures is also feeding the Thestrals. 
> Also I think Harry simply hadn't noticed the Thestrals before this.

Carol:
I was thinking that Thestral flying out of the forest might be the
first sign of Grawp's arrival, but it seems to be a few chapters too
early. But who *is* taking care of Hagrid's creatures? Professor
Grubbly-Plank? It doesn't seem to be HRH. And I think you're right
that the winged horses are introduced at that point (and reintroduced
in detail in "The Eye of the Snake") so they won't seem like a deus ex
machina in "Fight and Flight."
  
Carol