Freedom for House-Elves (Was: Kreacher the Plot Device Elf)

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 162173

Betsy Hp:
>Why on earth would you equate domestic work with slavery? (Why not 
accounting? Or building? Or banking? Or teaching?) House-elves like 
to cook (apparently), so they could live up to their nature and get a 
job as a cook. *(snip)*

Ceridwen:
I was equating domestic work with slavery because house elves are 
domestic slaves.  I mentioned earlier, in the part that I snipped, 
that it seems that elves have no options in the WW than to become or 
remain slaves.  Their talents, perhaps their interests and passion, 
lies in domestic work from what we've seen.  Aside from Harry telling 
Kreacher to follow Draco (and Dobby going along, of course), have we 
seen house elves acting in anything other than a domestic setting?  I 
don't recall that, but others are better at remembering than I am.

> >>Betsy Hp:
> > <snip>
> > I think the house-elf solution is simply give the house-elves to 
ability to quit. 

> >>Ceridwen then:
> *(snip)* But at the same time, for full-time employment, there 
would be primarily the same old masters to serve, the wizards and 
witches who already own house elves. This is a small pool to choose 
from.  
<snip>

Betsy Hp:
> Not necessarily. There's the entirety of wizarding Britian to 
choose from (and possibly the Continent depending on house-elf 
language skills). There are young up and comers graduating from 
Hogwarts every day (I'd imagine the Weasley twins wouldn't mind a 
house-elf), and there are tons of businesses that might like the idea 
of a house- elf on the staff. The Leaky Cauldron, that ice-cream shop 
on Diagon Alley Harry loves so much, various pubs and hotels and 
resaurants would probably find work for an eager house-elf. St. 
Mungo's could be a source of quite a few jobs.

Ceridwen:
Shops would be able to pay, but the ordinary citizen would probably 
find employing an elf full-time, if wages were set, to be too 
expensive.  It would be like having another family member as far as 
pay is concerned.  Wages, a room, food, clothes or money to get 
clothes, medical, shoes or money to get shoes.  (By the way, would 
the elves go home from the Leaky Cauldron etc. at night, or board 
there?  Sounds like an interesting proposition)

> >>Ceridwen then:
> Harry would also be able to work the prisoner. Nothing cruel and 
unusual, and nothing that could compromise security, but work.
 <snip>

Betsy Hp:
> Hmm, I suppose it could be argued that in ordering Kreacher to 
follow Draco, Harry was just giving Kreacher a simple task. But I 
think the cruelty was in making Kreacher work against his side. Which 
I've seen prisoner's of war have to do (in various WWII movies <g>), 
but for some reason I saw this as Harry crossing the line from guard 
to slave owner. Maybe because he took such advantage of a magical 
bond?

Ceridwen:
If Harry was keeping Kreacher as a POW, then it would have been wrong 
to force him to work against his side.  But the way that Harry 
decided to call on Kreacher to do this seems more like Harry looking 
at Kreacher as his slave than as a POW.  He knew he could order 
Kreacher to do it, and he needed it to be done.  He didn't think that 
Dobby might do it willingly, though by calling Kreacher he got both 
for the expense of one summons.

Yes, POWs were given some back-breaking work.  So are prisoners in 
criminal detention facilities.  They have to do jobs they don't care 
for, too.  No, Harry doesn't sit and stew over this, but the way he 
behaves, just summoning Kreacher and giving him the task, makes me 
think he does think of Kreacher as his slave and not as a POW.

Ceridwen, hoping house elves all decide to fly to the moon, or set up 
a house-elf-exclusive colony in the Marianas Trench.