[HPforGrownups] house elf without a house

[Sherry Gomes]

No: HPFGUIDX 143804

Juli: Dobby has the answer for you. In CoS when he first meets Harry, he
explains that he is bound to a family (in his case, the Malfoys), and unless
he's given a piece of clothing he has to serve them 'til the end of his
days. I don't think it really matters where the family lives, the "house"
elf has yo stay with them. Then, why aren't they called "Family" elves?


Juli


Sherry:

i think the word "house" is not being used here to mean a physical place.
It seems more like a family, the generations of a family.  as in the Noble
House of Black, or the house of Gaunt.  like the four houses in Hogwarts
aren't literal houses but more like symbols.  

Sherry