House-elf

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

House-elves are fictional magical creatures in the Harry Potter series of books written by J. K. Rowling. House-elves are small humanoids (though their appearance differs markedly from that of humans) that are used by wizards as unpaid servants.

Most house-elves spend their whole lives serving one family or institution; unless they are freed (which most house-elves view as shameful), their descendants will carry on their tasks. Though their condition shares similarities to that of human slaves, house-elves take great pride in their hard work and fear being set free; some appear to be happy in their bondage, though their subservience guarantees their status as second-class citizens in the wizarding world.

1 Characteristics
2 Ownership
3 Notable house-elves
4 House-elves at Hogwarts
5 S.P.E.W.
6 References
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] Characteristics

House-elves are 2-3 feet tall, with spindly arms and legs and oversized heads and eyes. They have pointed, bat-like ears and high, squeaky voices. Their names are usually pet-like diminutives (Dobby, Winky, Hokey); they do not appear to have surnames. They habitually refer to themselves in the third person and use a strange manner of speaking. House-elves are generally obedient, pliant, and obsequious.

Rather than conventional clothing, house-elves wear discarded items like pillowcases and tea-towels. House-elves' masters can free them by giving them an item of clothing: at the end of Chamber of Secrets, for example, Harry tricks Lucius Malfoy into freeing his house-elf Dobby by handing Lucius a book stuffed inside his "slimy, filthy sock." When Lucius discards the sock, Dobby catches it and is automatically freed.

House-elves possess their own forms of powerful magic, distinct from that used by wizards and witches, which they generally use in the service of their masters. This magic can be used without the permission of their masters, or even against their orders, though such disobedience obliges them to punish themselves in various painful ways. Among other things, this magic allows house-elves to travel instantly from place to place, in a manner similar to apparition; they are able to do this even within the boundaries of Hogwarts and other places where Anti-Apparition and Anti-Disapparition charms are in effect, preventing human apparition and disapparition. House-elves can, however, use side-along apparition to transport humans.^[HP7]

The full nature of the elves' magic is never fully disclosed, but it seems to be quite formidable. Along with the ability to apparate anywhere at any time, both Dobby and Kreacher demonstrate that they can overpower wizards when necessary. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Dobby forcefully repels Lucius Malfoy while protecting Harry. Later, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Kreacher is ordered by Harry to capture Mundungus Fletcher and bring him to 12 Grimmauld Place, a task that he accomplishes within a few days, even though, as Kreacher puts it, "He has many hidey-holes and accomplices". It would appear that when a house-elf is called upon to perform a duty, his or her magical nature supplements the order in such a way as to ensure its completion. According to Kreacher, a house-elf's strongest law is the master's bidding.

House-elves can become intoxicated by drinking Butterbeer.

[edit] Ownership

It is never made clear whether house-elves are bonded primarily to the families they serve or to their homes. Ron Weasley comments that he wishes his family were rich enough to afford a house with a house-elf, suggesting that they are linked to houses rather than to families (very much like serfs in the Middle Ages). In addition, when the ownership of Grimmauld Place passes to Harry in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Harry's status as the rightful owner of the house is confirmed when the house-elf Kreacher grudgingly obeys his commands. On the other hand, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, it is said that a house-elf who has been freed is normally told to find a new family to serve. There is an Office of House-Elf Relocation at the Ministry of Magic.

It seems most likely, however, that house-elves' bonds primarily involve a connection to a particular family and that the reason ownership of Kreacher passes to Harry is that Harry is the rightful heir to Sirius' estate.

Whatever the case, house-elves are unendingly loyal to their human families; so much so, that Dobby, who served the Malfoy family, still attempts to punish himself each time he utters a negative remark about his former masters. However, he is able to overcome it more as time passes, even going so far as to defiantly tell Bellatrix Lestrange that none of the Malfoys are masters of him.

While house-elves must obey their masters whatever their personal feelings may be, they are far from mindless automata. House-elves have been known to disobey the rules (usually by finding, when necessary, loopholes in orders that allow for unintended interpretations) to protect themselves or their friends. This is how Dobby operates when he warns Harry about the Malfoys' plot against him in Book 2.

Most house-elves would be devastated if freed, for it would mean that they had failed to serve their masters properly. (The Crouch family's house-elf, Winky, descends into depression and alcoholism after being freed in disgrace); but some (like Dobby) enjoy being free. Though he summons the courage to request payment when he is hired on at Hogwarts, even Dobby does not want to be paid too much (in Goblet of Fire he turns down the offer of ten Galleons per week and weekends off in favour of one Galleon per week and a day off every month). Most people in the wizarding community are unwilling to pay a house-elf, as this would obviate the point of having one.^[HP4] Indeed, most house-elves seem to regard paid service as a disgrace to their race.

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Hermione says, "Elf enslavement goes back centuries." In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore says the Fountain of Magical Brethren (in which various magical beings are depicted as subservient to, and in adoration of, witches and wizards) "tells a lie. We wizards have mistreated and abused our fellows for too long."

Because of their docile, obedient natures, some families abuse their house-elves. Dark wizard families in particular seem to make a habit of bullying and maltreating house-elves; the Malfoys forced Dobby to slam his own ears in the oven door or iron his hands if he attempted to disobey them; the Black family had a tradition of decapitating house-elves who were too old to carry a tea tray, then placing their stuffed and mounted heads on a wall.

[edit] Notable house-elves

[edit] Dobby

Harry Potter character
Dobby
Dobby in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Voice actor	Toby Jones
First appearance	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

"Dobby" redirects here. For the Peep Show character, see Peep Show (TV series)#Dobby.

Dobby is a house-elf, who, unlike most other house-elves, wanted to be freed. He has three fingers and one opposable thumb. Dobby was the abused and tormented slave of the Malfoys before the events of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Against his masters' wishes, he had a respect and admiration for Harry Potter. In his first appearance in the series in Chamber of Secrets, Dobby knew of Lucius Malfoy's plans to re-open the Chamber of Secrets using Tom Riddle's school diary for months before it happened.

As an attempt to discourage Harry from returning to Hogwarts, Dobby began to intercept the letters that Harry's friends sent him. Dobby then appeared at Privet Drive to warn Harry and tell him of the danger of returning to Hogwarts, and attempted to persuade him to stay away so he would be safe from harm. For warning Harry, he had to punish himself most severely. When Dobby's attempts failed to persuade Harry, he smashed a pudding in the Dursley's kitchen. Being caught in the kitchen with the wreckage, and receiving a warning letter for illegal use of magic, Harry was locked up by the Dursleys, who insisted that he would not return to Hogwarts, but Ron, Fred and George Weasley were able to rescue Harry in their father's flying Ford Anglia. Dobby later tried to keep Harry away from Hogwarts by magically sealing off the hidden entrance to Platform 9¾, but Harry and Ron foiled that plot by piloting the flying car back to their school, a feat that nearly got them expelled. During a later Quidditch match of Gryffindor vs. Slytherin, Dobby also enchanted a Bludger to chase after only Harry; it managed to break his arm. Gilderoy Lockhart's attempt to heal it resulted instead in the disintegration of all the bones in his arm. When Harry – having just returned from the Chamber of Secrets – discovered that Dobby's master was Lucius Malfoy, Harry tricked Malfoy into setting Dobby free – a feat that secured him the house-elf's undying loyalty. Harry then asked Dobby one favour: never to try to save his life again.

Dobby reappears in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He thereafter demanded to be paid for his services and he found it difficult to find any employment at all. Nevertheless, he later obtained a post at Hogwarts, and is the only paid house-elf on the staff. Dumbledore also said that, far from having to treat him with reverence and fear, as most house-elves did their masters, Dobby was free to call him a "barmy old codger" if he liked. He declined this as well, having developed great love for the headmaster. In this book, Dobby gives Harry the gillyweed he needs to survive the Second Triwizard Task. Dobby was also the only house-elf who cleaned Gryffindor Tower since Hermione Granger began trying to set the house-elves free, to further her S.P.E.W, because the house-elves found the clothes insulting. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, when Dobby woke Harry from a disturbing dream, he asked Harry if he needed help; he showed Harry the hidden Room of Requirement, which Harry used for his Dumbledore's Army meetings. When Professor Umbridge found out about the meetings later, Dobby enters the room to warn the group to leave.

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry entrusts Dobby to help watch Kreacher when he ordered him to work in the Hogwarts kitchens with the other house-elves. When Harry needed somebody to follow Draco Malfoy, he was helped by Kreacher and Dobby. Because of Kreacher's hatred of Harry and his friends, he and Dobby do not get along at all. When Harry summons Kreacher to help him tail Malfoy, Kreacher appears in the middle of a fight with Dobby (apparently over something rude that Kreacher said about Harry). While Kreacher mentions that he will follow Malfoy only because he must, Dobby agrees to do so because he wants to help Harry. When they report back, Kreacher tells Harry only mundane things, such as Malfoy's class schedule, while Dobby cuts to the chase and tells Harry about Malfoy's visits to the Room of Requirement.

Dobby makes his last appearance in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when Aberforth Dumbledore sends Dobby to rescue Harry, Ron, and Hermione from Lucius' basement (despite the promise Dobby had made never to try to save Harry's life again). Dobby helps Harry and Ron escape their prison and gets Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas, and Mr Ollivander out of Malfoy Manor, then helps Harry and Ron free Hermione and Griphook from torture at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange. While he succeeds in his task, Bellatrix throws a knife at Harry, but the knife hits Dobby instead, who dies before he can be healed (this makes Dobby one of very few characters killed in the books whose death is not the direct result of a spell). Dobby's last words were "Harry Potter". Harry physically digs the grave without using magic and Dobby's body is buried in Bill and Fleur's garden at Shell Cottage, adorned with various pieces of the mourners' clothing symbolizing Dobby's freedom from elfish servitude even in death. Using Draco's captured wand, Harry writes upon the stone, "Here Lies Dobby, A Free Elf".

In Yorkshire and Lancashire, a dobby is another name for a brownie; an elf that anonymously performs household tasks at night.^[1] Offerings to fairies were set out on Dobby Stones.^[2] A labor rights activist and lawyer named Dobby appears in A Fine Old Conflict, the autobiography of Jessica Mitford, who is Rowling's admitted heroine.^[3] ^[4]

Supporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the makers of the Harry Potter films of modelling Dobby after Putin.^[5]

Dobby was voiced by Toby Jones in the second film. Despite his appearances in Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows, Chamber of Secrets remains the character's only appearance in the films to date.

[edit] Kreacher

Harry Potter character
Kreacher
Kreacher in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Voice actor	Timothy Bateson^[6]
First appearance	Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Kreacher served the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black for decades before his first appearance in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In the book, after the death of his mother, Sirius Black inherits Kreacher.

Kreacher was an unwilling servant to Sirius, mainly due to his devotion to his former masters (Regulus Black in particular, who had treated him well), but also because of Sirius's rather harsh treatment (because to him, Kreacher was a living reminder of a home he had had no intention of returning to). The house-elf therefore more or less openly expressed his dislike for his master and his guests at any opportunity - despite Hermione's attempts to befriend him - and his desire to leave and serve the next pure-blooded kin of the Blacks, the Malfoys and Bellatrix Lestrange. Due to this and the fact that he knew too much of the Order of the Phoenix, however, he was not allowed to leave the house. His grumpiness about his general situation caused him to neglect his housekeeping duties severely. Furthermore, years of being isolated in the house alone, with only the screaming portrait of Mrs. Black for company, caused him some mental instability, in which he seemed to speak his personal thoughts and feelings aloud, completely unaware of doing so.

Kreacher plays an important part in the book when he betrays Sirius and convinces Harry to go to the Department of Mysteries, where a trap has been laid, to save him. Sirius is killed in the ensuing combat. Following Sirius's death, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry inherits all Sirius's possessions, including a highly unwilling Kreacher. Harry immediately orders him to work at Hogwarts, where he comes to blows with Dobby about his lack of loyalty to Harry.

Kreacher also plays an important role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. When Hermione guesses that one of the Black heirlooms they had tried to get rid of is one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes (namely Salazar Slytherin's Locket), Harry and his friends manage to coax the current whereabouts of the locket from the house-elf, and also learn to their horror about how Regulus had exchanged the Horcrux at the cost of his own life, and that Kreacher himself was used by Voldemort, who told him to drink the potion out of the basin from the sixth book. Hermione tries to console him after hearing the story but again Kreacher backs away from her calling her a Mudblood. Harry gets furious again but after hearing where the locket went, Harry sends Kreacher to retrieve the locket from Mundungus Fletcher; he gives the old elf the fake Horcrux locket as a token of remembrance.

After Harry, with Hermione's encouragement, displays kindness and politeness to Kreacher, the elf undergoes a substantial change in personality. He begins to regard Harry as his new master and fulfils his chores dutifully (even treating Hermione with more respect, though he had previously displayed the same prejudice to Muggle-borns as the Blacks, save Sirius, had). Kreacher is shown to have cleaned the house to the point where it is "unrecognisable," and that the elf himself appears cleaner and happier. Furthermore, he ceases to mutter insults under his breath. Later, Kreacher rallies the Hogwarts house-elves in the names of Harry and Regulus, and leads them into battle against the Death Eaters. It is implied that he survived the battle, as Harry wonders whether or not he will get him a snack after his battle with Voldemort.

Kreacher appears in the film version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. He appears in two scenes, voiced by Timothy Bateson. Producers of the film admitted they had wished to cut an unnamed character, but when Rowling was consulted, she advised: "You know, I wouldn't do that if I were you. Or you can, but if you get to make a seventh film, you'll be tied in knots." Later, director David Yates confirmed that the character in question was Kreacher.^[7]

[edit] Winky

Harry Potter character
Winky
Winky illustrated by Mary GrandPré
First appearance	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Winky is described as having enormous brown eyes and a nose like a tomato. She first appears in the fourth book in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Winky is a house-elf who originally served the Crouch family. She viewed herself as a dutiful house-elf and guarded the family's many secrets. When Bartemius Crouch Jr was rescued from Azkaban by his father, he was supervised and nursed back to health by Winky.

She is freed in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when she convinces Bartemius Crouch Sr to let his son attend the Quidditch World Cup; she attends it with the younger Crouch, who is hiding under an Invisibility Cloak, and claims the apparently empty seat beside her is being saved for Crouch Sr. During the festivities, Crouch Jr steals Harry's wand from his pocket and later uses it to conjure the Dark Mark, in spite of Winky's fervent attempts to stop him. In the resulting chaos, Harry and his friends see Winky running into the forest, appearing to struggle against some invisible force. They believed this to be because she was disobeying an order, which house-elves are magically impeded from doing but actually, she was struggling against the invisible Barty Crouch. Later she is caught with Harry's wand, which is magically proven to be the one used to conjure the Dark Mark; though Crouch Sr. realizes what actually happened, he goes along with the apparent conclusion that Winky conjured the Mark, and frees her, both to save face and as punishment for failing to control Crouch Jr.

Following her dismissal, Dobby takes the distraught Winky to work with him at Hogwarts. There the unhappy Winky, who did not wish to be freed, began to have a drinking problem that lasts the next several years. Winky eventually sobers up a bit.^[8] Rowling has also revealed that Winky remained at Hogwarts and fought against the Death Eaters with the other house-elves.^[9]

[edit] Hokey

Harry Potter character
Hokey
First appearance	Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Hokey worked for Hepzibah Smith, an old woman who was deceived by Voldemort during his job at Borgin and Burke's to show him Slytherin's locket and Hufflepuff's cup. Hokey was introduced when Dumbledore shows Harry the memory he got from the house elf on the Pensieve, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. She is there described as very old and thin, and her memory allows Harry and Dumbledore to get a glimpse on the visit Voldemort did two days before Hepzibah Smith was poisoned to death and both treasures disappeared. Voldemort, who tampered with her memories, framed Hokey for her murder. She did not deny the accusation and was convicted for accidental murder, later to die due to mental anguish induced by the Dementors in Azkaban.

[edit] House-elves at Hogwarts

According to an interview between Rowling and staff from The Leaky Cauldron, Helga Hufflepuff introduced house-elves to Hogwarts, where she offered them refuge.^[10] Hundreds of house-elves work at Hogwarts. Like most house-elves, the Hogwarts house-elves feel that it is a matter of pride to serve well without complaint and to work hard. They disapprove strongly of Dobby when he requests wages for his labour. They share with Winky (and presumably most other house-elves) a fear of freedom, and a taboo against its discussion. They clean the castle, work in the kitchens and tend to the magical fires burning in the offices and common rooms. However in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when Hermione is leaving knitted clothes in the Gryffindor Common Room, the House-Elves of Hogwarts refuse to clean in Gryffindor Tower, so Dobby is left to clean Gryffindor Tower by himself, but he is happy to do so, citing that it might give him an opportunity to have another talk with Harry, which in fact it did.

Through much of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry, Ron, and Hermione enter the kitchens of Hogwarts to meet with Dobby. The house-elves seem pleased with their company (though somewhat uncomfortable with Dobby's conversation and Winky's behaviour) and eagerly bring the students food. This leads Ron to comment that he always envied Fred and George for stealing food from the kitchens, but that it does not look too difficult, as the house-elves are too happy to give it away. The house-elves finally send Harry, Ron, and Hermione away after Hermione tells them that they deserve to have equal rights as wizards, and the trio do not attempt to re-enter the kitchen again. Besides Ron, Harry, Hermione, Fred, and George, other Hogwarts students have been mentioned to steal food from the kitchens, including Harry's father, James Potter.

Like other house-elves, they do not wear conventional clothes. Hogwarts house-elves wear clean, pressed tea towels with the school's monogrammed label, and seem genuinely happy about their situation. They strongly disapprove of Winky's tattered appearance and alcoholism.

At the climax of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Kreacher leads the Hogwarts house-elves, brandishing carving knives, in a battle against the Death Eaters and their minion creatures. Kreacher yelled, "Fight! Fight! Fight for my master, defender of house-elves! Fight the Dark Lord, in the name of brave Regulus! Fight!" and charged into battle, slashing at the ankles and feet of intruders.

[edit] S.P.E.W.

Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare
Harry Potter association

Headquarters	Gryffindor common room or Hogwarts library
Leader(s)	Hermione Granger
Intentions	To promote better conditions and freedom for house-elves.
Enemies	Those who oppose greater rights for house-elves.
First appearance	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, or S.P.E.W., is an organization created by Hermione Granger, who is also the only active member. Hermione forms the organization after seeing Winky abused and ultimately freed by Barty Crouch, Sr. at the Quidditch World Cup, with the short-term goal of securing house-elves fair wages and working conditions: "Our long-term aims include changing the law about non-wand-use, and trying to get an elf into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, because they're shockingly under-represented". The membership fee is 2 Sickles, which goes to fund the leaflet campaign, and members receive a S.P.E.W. badge in exchange. Hermione was going to put Stop the Outrageous Abuse of Our Fellow Magical Creatures and Campaign for a Change in Their Legal Status on the badges, but it wouldn't fit.

The organization is viewed by many students at Hogwarts as something of a joke, and by the Hogwarts house-elves as an insult: when Hermione begins knitting hats, scarves and other items of clothing for the Hogwarts house-elves and hiding them under rubbish, Harry learns from Dobby that the other house-elves refuse to clean Gryffindor Tower. Nevertheless, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Hermione says that she wants to do something worthwhile like continuing with S.P.E.W. Even Rubeus Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, refuses to join, saying:

It'd be doin' 'em an unkindness, Hermione…It's in their nature ter look after humans, that's what they like, see? Yeh'd be makin' 'em unhappy ter take away their work, an' insultin' 'em if yeh tried ter pay 'em . . . I'm not sayin' there isn't the odd elf who'd take freedom, but yeh'll never persuade most of 'em ter do it - no, nothin' doing, Hermione.

Besides Hermione, the only known members are Ron Weasley (treasurer), Harry (secretary) and Neville Longbottom, all of whom joined unwillingly or bought badges to cease her constant promotion of the society. Other members, if they exist, have not been specifically named. S.P.E.W. was (apparently) finally discontinued in the summer between Harry's fifth year and Harry's sixth year. Nevertheless Hermione continued to care deeply about Elfish rights, convincing Harry to treat Kreacher better in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and later, Ron may be considered to have become pro-active in S.P.E.W. in the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when he wants to protect the house elves, Hermione suddenly throws herself at him and kisses him.

Rowling provided additional details about S.P.E.W. in an online interview after the release of Deathly Hallows:^[11]

Katieleigh: Does Hermione still continue to do work with S.P.E.W. and is life any better for house elves?

J. K. Rowling: Hermione began her post-Hogwarts career at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures where she was instrumental in greatly improving life for house-elves and their ilk. She then moved (despite her jibe to Scrimgeour) to the Dept. of Magical Law Enforcement where she was a progressive voice who ensured the eradication of oppressive, pro-pureblood laws.

In the films based on the books, the subplot of Hermione and S.P.E.W. was cut due to time constraints.^[12]