A journey "into the thickets of wildest guesswork."

[Beatrice23]

No: HPFGUIDX 161622

Beatrice:

I have a theory.  Admittedly, it is a wild theory.  So, if you will 
indulge me, let us leave "the firm foundations of fact and [journey] 
together through the murky marshes of memory into the thickets of 
wildest guesswork" (HBP, 197).

A Theory:  What if the Potters had a house elf? We are told that 
house elves usually belong to families with old money/ estates...it 
would explain Harry's fortune. They are an old family so perhaps 
there is a house elf...ahhh now I hear the wheels turning...But, 
Beatrice the house elf would go to Harry and he would already know 
about him/her. So 


JKR has broadly hinted that there is more to Petunia than meets the 
eye. She has squelched the ideas that Petunia is magic or a squib on 
several occasions.

What if there is literally MORE to her than meets the eye: It is the 
secret to her immaculate house. 

We know that when the Potter's died Harry was left on the Dursley's 
doorstep with a note from Dumbledore and that Harry was left a large 
quantity of gold.  The gold was kept in Gringott's and the Dursley's 
have been unaware of its existence (although Vernon and Petunia now 
know that Harry has money, because Dumbledore reveal this information 
at the beginning of HBP). But was there more to the inheritance a 
secret perhaps that has been kept from Harry?

Let's start with the letter.  Most likely the letter contained an 
explanation (or a brief summary) of what happened to the Potters, a 
brief explanation of the magical protection that Petunia could 
provide to Harry, and a request that she take care of him.  What if 
there was a little more?  We know that the Potters were an old 
wizarding family (Lily certainly was muggle-born) but James's family 
seems to have roots in the wizarding community (OotP).  What if like 
other old wizarding families, the Potters had a house elf?

Now, I know what many of you are thinking: that there isn't really 
any explicit textual evidence to support this theory.  But JKR is 
quite masterful at adding new and surprising information in the 
texts.  While she may occasionally allude to hidden information. For 
example, Sirius, he is mentioned in PS/SS, but we have no clue as to 
how significant this character is until PoA.  

So, back to my theory.  Suppose that DD indicates in his letter to 
Petunia that there is a house elf who will enter into the service of 
the family, if Petunia desires it. As Harry's Guardian
Petunia will command the house elf until Harry reaches the age of 
majority (17, although Petunia thinks it is 18 like Dudley as we see 
in HBP). Although Petunia hates magic, she sees the opportunity: she 
can have the perfect house that she desires with very little work. 

She takes in Harry and actually embraces the idea of having a house 
elf. While she probably resents this idea, she cannot resist the 
temptation of having a perfectly clean home.  There are multiple 
references to how clean the house is, perhaps Petunia has a different 
kind of mother's little helper.  She orders the elf to never reveal 
his / herself to Vernon, Dudley, or anyone, especially Harry, but 
there is a small problem.  This will only work until Harry is of age, 
when he will fully come into his estate and the elf as part of that 
estate. So this elf has secretly been caring for the Dursley's 
(hating every moment I am sure). This is why Petunia seems so 
startled to hear that Harry is of age at 17 - "uh oh, I will lose my 
slave." 

It is not completely unthinkable as the trio are at Hogwarts for 4 
years, before they know about house elves in the castle. The house 
elves at Hogwarts are able to clean the towers, man the fires, cook 
and serve without revealing themselves.  

There are additional implications.  First, that the elf was present 
that night in Godric's Hollow and may have some information for 
Harry.  Second, that while Petunia was able to prevent the elf from 
revealing his/her self to Harry, Vernon, and Dudley, she may not have 
thought to forbid the house elf from making contacts outside of the 
home.  This may explain Dumbledore's comment at the end of OotP, that 
he has watched Harry "more closely than he [Harry] can possibly 
imagine."

Okay, I am steeling myself to be flamed.  

Beatrice...who sounds a bit mad and hopped up on coffee