Monday, 21 September 2015

harry potter - Did the Malfoys replace Dobby?

I’m conflicted on this one.



I can’t find any canon statements about this. The references to the Malfoy’s house-elf are oblique at best, presumably driven by the belief that house-elves are not worth discussion, and should be neither seen nor heard.



On the one hand, Draco himself calls attention to the fact that their house-elf has changed, at the beginning of the very next school year:




“Look at the state of his robes,” Malfoy would say in a loud whisper as Professor Lupin passed. “He dresses like our old house-elf.”



Prisoner of Azkaban, chapter 8 (Flight of the Fat Lady)




The Malfoys are a very proud family, so I don’t think they’d want to admit they don’t have a servant. But if they haven’t replaced Dobby, then this just reminds people that they’re between servants, so why would he say this? Ergo, they must have replaced Dobby.



But where would they get the replacement from? House-elves, and their entire family tree, are usually tied to a family or house (e.g. Malfoy family or Grimmauld Place). There don’t seem to be many on the house-elf dole queue, and any who are must have been dismissed by the previous owners, which carries a considerable stain, as Dobby explains:




“You see, sir, it is very difficult for a house-elf who has been dismissed to get a new position, sir, very difficult indeed —”



Goblet of Fire, chapter 21 (The House-Elf Liberation Front)




I don’t know if the Malfoys would accept a second-hand house-elf.

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