Funny questions (house elves)

[Lisa (Jennings) Mamula]

No: HPFGUIDX 116570


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "ginnysthe1" <ginnysthe1 at y...> 
wrote:
<GoF quote snipped>
> Winky's got a mother?!  And a grandmother?!  And they might still be 
> alive somewhere?  Clearly she hasn't been writing tell-all letters to 
> them...  For that matter, that must mean she's got a father and 
> grandfather too, and maybe sisters and brothers?  And what about 
> Dobby's parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, brothers and 
> sisters...?  

Yes, it would seem that Winky has family - somewhere.  Although, considering 
her state of inconsolable disgrace, she probably isn't keen on having contact 
with them, feeling that she has shamed them by being freed.  I believe that 
Kreacher, the illustrious Black family house elf, also has family, referenced in 
OotP (don't have them here in my classroom; sorry).  Sirius mentions some 
relation of his having begun the tradition of beheading house elves when they 
became too old to be of service.  It may not have explicitly stated in canon that 
they were Kreacher's family, but I remember *feeling* that it was Kreacher's 
family; maybe that was an inference on my part.

Winky's devotion to the service of the Crouch family reminds me of another 
slave woman from literature: Mammy, the O'Hara family nurse from Gone with 
the Wind.  Mammy frequently refers to her long service to Scarlett's family, 
viewing it as a reason for both pride and authority.  She has a great deal of 
loyalty for her *family*, the family she serves, and often goes to pieces when 
one of them is injured or endangered in some way.  I see Winky as being 
quite the same, in the way of loyalty and pride of service.  Just  a thought.

>Even sillier question:  anyone out there thinking about a Dobby/Winky            
> "ship"?

Well, OF COURSE!!!  Isn't everyone?  Oh, no?  Really?  Well, it's just us, then.  

Seriously, I think it's adorable.  I, being a relentless SHIPper myself, have  
imagined, since her introduction, that Winky would be "Dobby's girl" at some 
point in the story.  It just seems right to me (of course, seeming rightfulness 
isn't rock solid, now is it?).  My suspicions were only fueled by Dobby's care-
taking efforts at Hogwarts, when Winky is distraught, despondent and very 
drunk.  Dobby is such a loveable character; I want him to have a family of his 
own to love!!

LisaMarie, wondering if all her favorite SHIPs will sink down the toilet when 
she finally gets her hands on book 6.  :(