House Elves' enslavement (long)

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 114165

Demetra:
> > It seems to me that the HE's were introduced as a rather benign 
> > group.  Dobby is the first HE we meet, and he comes across as 
> > more ditzy than dangerous.  
<snip>
 
MJ: 
> I think we also have to remember that whatever magic HE's possess, 
> the mere threat of Dobby using it was enough to make Lucius turn 
> tail and run (figuratively speaking).  At the end of CS, Dobby 
> casts a spell strong enough to knock LM down the stairs. He tells 
> LM "You shall go now....You shall not touch Harry Potter," and 
> then....
> 
> "Lucius Malfoy had no choice.."  Why?  Why did he "have no choice"? 
> Dobby's just a house elf, right?  Why couldn't LM just tell Dobby 
> to go bang his head on the wall and stay out of it?  Did the fact 
> that Dobby was at that point free have anything to do with it?  
> Does being tied to a home/family make the HE's magic weaker - or 
> more controllable?
> 
> There has to be something we're not being told about HEs and what 
> they can and cannot do and the strength of their magic skills.  I'm 
> in the group that believes there will be a battle at Hogwarts and 
> HEs will have a role to play in defending it.  


SSSusan:
These are great comments, following upon another excellent post by 
Demetra.  You may be onto something key when you ask whether having 
the HEs enslaved somehow *weakens* their inherent magical ability.  
If they spend their lives "doing for" their masters and punishing 
themselves for any rebellious thought or action, then there may well 
be a built-in mechanism for controlling their powerful magical 
capabilities.

It *is* noteworthy that Dobby could do what seems to be pretty 
advanced magic:  apparating; sealing the barrier; charming the 
bludger; *wandlessly* causing the pudding to fall; and, as you noted, 
sending Lucius sprawling & causing him to back off.  I think we're 
SUPPOSED to think it's just a *different* kind of magic from wizards -
- JKR said "He's a house-elf, they've got powers wizards haven't got 
(but wizards have also got powers that house-elves haven't) -- and 
perhaps she wanted us to take that as "There are lots of things they 
can't do."  But perhaps that's not so true; perhaps it's actually a 
very powerful form of magic that's been, in large part, kept in check 
by the lives most HEs lead.

Siriusly Snapey Susan