House-Elves yet again

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 181337

> Carol earlier:
> > > 
> > > What if the enchantment can't be made illegal because it's part of
> the nature of Elves?
> > 
> a_svirn responded:
> > Enchantments cannot be a part of anyone's nature. Enchantment is an
> action of employing certain magic. And in order to enact a bonding 
> enchantment two sides are needed, are they not? In this case wizards 
> and elves. Wizards would have to want elves to be bound to them.
> Unless you think that elves tricked wizards into being their owners? 
> 
> Carol responds:
> Of course, I don't think that House-Elves tricked Wizards into being
> their owners. What I think is that, in offering Wizards their
> services, the first House Elves bound themselves in a kind of binding
> magical contract (cf. the Goblet of Fire) which could only be broken
> by giving an individual Elf clothes. 

a_svirn:
Very likely. However, in that case the bonding enchantment is no more
a part of elves' nature, than the magical contract was a part of
Harry's nature in GoF. 

> Carol:
And since the Elves didn't *want*
> clothes, they became bound, over time, to particular families. I'm
> oversimplifying, but I do think that the enchantment (which term, BTW,
> seems to be used on this list without being part of canon) is part and
> parcel of their magical nature.

a_svirn:
This is the term used by Dumbledore. He said that elves are bound to
wizards by enchantments of their own kind. Merlin knows what he meant
by "their own kind", perhaps that the enchantment originated from
elves' magic rather than wizarding magic. However, the word
enchantment is not really all that ambiguous. One cannot be born with
enchantments as part of one's make-up. Enchantments are supposed to be
performed. They also supposed to be leaned in order to be performed.
Human beings have natural aptitude for language, some of them are born
with, say, musical talent, wizards are born with aptitude for magic.
They are *not*, however, born with languages or with the Moon Sonata
in their heads – they *learn* these things. And wizards have to go to
Hogwarts to learn magic: charms, jinxes, enchantments. I don't see why
we have to assume that elves are born with enchantments anymore than
that they can speak languages from the moment they are born. And
everything that has to be learned belongs to culture, not nature. (And
I don't even start on the enchantment's being built around cultural
artefacts. )

Besides, this particular enchantment needs two parties, second of
which belongs to the different species. If it is natural for elves to
be owned, it must be natural for wizards to own elves. Which doesn't
seem to be the case. 
a_svirn.