House Elves - Blog Posts

Oh god did JK Rowling R E A L L Y create a fictional race of slaves that actually liked being slaves and - oh my- took it as a personal attack when you tried to tell them about the unfairness of the situation?

Good god.

Dobby, the Great House Elf

In the beginning, the middle, and I’m sure to his end, had his final moments not been so serious and painful, Dobby could easily be considered very annoying. He wouldn’t listen and didn’t fully think things thru, making things a lot harder and sometimes more dangerous for Harry. But while I would consider him an adult, just with all the pitfalls of hanging out with a toddler, Dobby was fantastic and a great role model for those who are trying to accept themselves.

While at first Dobby loves Harry for being the boy who lived, his admiration for Harry grows more overtime for the simplicity of Harry treating him as an equal, something that Dobby didn’t experience in his life before and wouldn’t experience much in his lifetime at all. Overtime Dobby begins to love and appreciate himself more, becoming someone who stands up to bullies and is always there for his friends but he shows how rough of a battle it is. While he has always wanted his freedom, he wasn’t able to take the 10 galleons a week and weekends off provided by Dumbledore for wages thinking it to be too much, and wasn’t able to easily tell Harry about Umbridge considering she was his temporary master. While we can easily see Dobby’s friendship, loyalty, and equality with Harry Potter, it is the struggle to change and be yourself that is a lesson less shown or seen that we can grasp with Dobby as while Hermione and Luna were always confident with their intelligence and didn’t care for others, Dobby knew who he was and was proud but still struggled, something that is much more common, especially for young kids and teenagers.

Dobby knew what he was worth, was kind and giving, and did what was right—even against his friends. He struggled with his place in the world but knew to really only care about the opinions of those who matter

Hermione Granger

Hermione Jean Granger. Holy Crap, what can’t I say. You were EVERYTHING to me. Brilliantly confident, fierce, strong, brave. You were the first. Before Tris, Katniss, you were the diverse, WHOLE package. True and Strong. 

First, you were the best friend anyone could ask for. Almost every year Harry and Ron fought with you, exiled you, one thing or another, real or BS. But it didn’t matter, you PERSISTED, stayed strong, stayed with them. You saved there asses more times than JK Rowling could ever count. You are the golden standard of friendship and bravery. Seriously, I think he knew this as get got older, but YOU were Harry Potter’s best friend. Yes, Ron was there as someone who would go out with him, go on adventures with him, but you always knew what was going on his head and how to get to him, what he needed; again, you are the standard of true friendship we should all aspire to.  

Second, you are inspiring and compassionate and open-minded. Emma Watson has your influence to be grateful for in becoming who she is. Not only were you compassionate about House Elves but you didn’t care what anyone thought. You proudly and loudly kept fighting for their equality, fought when even your friends kept attacking you, and when you found out Dumbledore had house elves at Hogwarts you lost some respect for him, even thou he was doing the best he could with them. 

Third, you were just you. Luna was also unique and fascinated by the world around her, but you were also someone separate. You loved books, loved learning, always were intrigued and believed there was more out there than you previously thought (GIRL TOOK MUGGLE STUDIES--to be fair I probably would too). You re-awakened the part of me that loves the world around me, that’s curious and un-apologetically so. 

We could all go on forever, but these were the main things. You taught us how to be true friends, true to ourselves, and kind to all. While the Harry Potter Series has been a key component in the millennial outcry against hate and separatism, you were the reason we actively, loudly and strongly spit it in the face. Thank you so much Hermione Jean Granger, we did not deserve you, but we hope we are doing you proud.