House elves question

[va32h]

No: HPFGUIDX 174596

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "que_44601" <que_44601 at ...> wrote:
> I wondered about this. In DH, the house elves were fighting in the
> kitchen. But, didn't Hermione knit clothing for the house elves,
> therefore making them free? Did Hogwarts then do without the house
> elves or just go out and get more? Didn't anyone know that it was
> Hermione that was freeing them? Shouldn't she have gotten into trouble
> for making the house elves free?

va32h:

Hermione did not have the authority to free the house elves of 
Hogwarts - they are "owned" by the school, their master is the school's 
headmaster, not one of its students. 

Besides - the elves were disgusted at Hermione's attempts to free them 
and refused to clean the Gryffindor common room when they realized that 
she was surreptitiously leaving them clothes. 

va32h