[HPforGrownups] Re: Some canon related WOMBAT wonderings/ some questions...

[OctobersChild48 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 170291

 
Pippin wrote:

The  wand use ban gets
my vote for the worst since it affects the most  individuals. 
While House Elf slavery is bad, I doubt it would have  been
possible if Elves had wands and could defend  themselves.





Sandy responds:
 
I did not vote for the ban of wand use, although I  have no argument with 
anyone who did. However, I do have to disagree with your  last statement. Elf 
slavery does not appear to have anything to do with the ban  of wands as Elves 
have very powerful magic of their own that they are perfectly  capable of 
performing without a wand, including defending themselves. Dobby  wreaked havoc all 
through COS without so much as one flick of a wand; including  this. Page 338, 
Scholastic:
 
Lucius Malfoy stood frozen, staring at the elf. Then  he lunged at Harry.
 
"You've lost me my servant,  boy!"
 
But Dobby shouted; "You shall not harm Harry  Potter!"
 
There was a loud bang, and Mr. Malfoy was thrown  backward. He crashed down 
the stairs, three at a time, landing in a crumpled  heap on the landing below. 
He got up, his face livid, and pulled out his wand,  but Dobby raised a long, 
threatening finger.
 
"You shall go now," he said fiercely, pointing down at  Mr. Malfoy. "You 
shall not touch Harry Potter. You shall go  now."
 
Lucius Malfoy had no choice. With a last, incensed  stare at the pair of 
them, he swung his cloak around him and hurried out of  sight.
 
Dobby attacked Lucius, knocked him off his feet and  down the steps, and sent 
him packing, and he did it all using only his finger,  no wand needed. He did 
a hover charm on the pudding without a wand, sealed the  entrance to Platform 
9 3/4 without a wand and turned a bludger into a rogue  without a wand, and 
that rogue bludger did a lot of  damage.
 
This, to me, is what makes the House Elf enslavement  so puzzling. They have 
such powerful magic of their own that they don't need a  wand to perform, yet 
they remain enslaved. I have to chalk it off to them  *wanting* to be 
enslaved, as has been proven throughout the books. Dobby seems  to be the only one who 
actually wanted to be freed, in big part due to the  Masters he served. Winky 
was devastated when she was freed, and the Hogwarts  elves ostracize Dobby 
because he is free. I understand all of that. What I don't  understand is why 
Dobby didn't just walk away. What force is it that keeps the  elves who want to 
be free enslaved? 
 
Sandy



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