The Story of Dobby The House - Elf
written by Shakira Marvolo Riddle
A three foot tall house-elf with bat like ears and green eyes the size of tennis balls, is Here to Gift his Story of Life! This Book is Complete.
Last Updated
05/31/21
Chapters
7
Reads
8,169
Abilities
Chapter 5
Dobby was a house-elf, much shorter in stature than humans, standing only about 3 and a half feet (1.06 m). He had large, tennis-ball-like green eyes[2], a pencil-like nose and long[8], bat-like pointed ears[2]. Before he was given freedom, he wore a body-covering pillowcase. Later at Hogwarts, he wore a mismatched variety of jumpers, shorts, and socks.
Socks became his favourite clothing after he was freed by Harry's sock. He preferred colourful, mismatched socks. When Hermione Granger began hiding clothes she made around the Gryffindor Common Room in an attempt to free the Hogwarts house-elves, Dobby kept the clothes and began wearing them, as the other elves thereafter refused to clean Gryffindor Tower.
Personality and traits
"Dobby has come to save Harry Potter, of course. Dobby will always be there for Harry Potter."
—Dobby's loyalty[src]
Dobby was a brave, loyal house-elf, willing to put himself in dangerous situations when he knew it to be the right thing to do. He was also very loyal to the few friends he had. He considered himself to be a good house-elf, though other house-elves seemed to find his desires and proclamations of being a free house-elf to be shameful. Despite this, he was still a hard worker. When he went to work at Hogwarts he refused Dumbledore's original offer of ten Galleons a week and weekends off, opting instead for one Galleon a week and one day off per month. He explained to Harry, Ron, and Hermione that he liked freedom very much, but he liked work better. Dobby thought of Harry as his best friend.
Dobby protecting Harry
Dobby protecting Harry in 1993
Because of his loyalty to his friends, Dobby tries everything he can to save them if they are in danger, even if it hurts them (this led to Harry asking Dobby to never try to save him again after setting him free), and once attempted to seriously injure Harry Potter, hoping that if he was hurt badly enough he would be sent home. He did not make the rogue bludger chase Harry out of malicious intent, but because he was trying to save him from Lucius Malfoy's plot to open the Chamber of Secrets. When Harry found out, he was furious but Dobby explained why he had tampered with the bludger and by the end of the year Harry had forgiven him.
One most noticeable trait was his capacity to self-harm whenever he believed he had done something wrong, usually using something to hit his head or going as far as to iron his own hands. Dobby clearly had a strong conscience, and punished himself even when he had done "wrong" things that house elves should not do, even if they were for the right reasons.
Dobby's favourite gift to receive was socks, likely because he was freed from his enslavement to the Malfoys with a sock. He would get confused when he would get two of the same style as he preferred to have two brightly coloured or patterned mismatched socks and would often give socks as gifts as well.
Dobby referred to himself in the third person and tended to get his verb conjugations mixed up. Examples of his strange speech pattern include "I has seven now sir" or "Dobby must punish himself most grievously for coming sir". Dobby also referred to Ron as Harry's "Wheezy."
He was extremely devoted to Harry Potter after Harry freed him in 1993, helping him out on several occasions, ultimately at the cost of his own life. He also tried to help Winky after she was dismissed by Crouch, getting her a job at Hogwarts as well, and looking after her whenever she became drunk on butterbeer.
Magical abilities and skills
Tumblr n4b06pMvhJ1qdsqclo5 250
Dobby using his magic to Apparate
Apparition: Because he was a house-elf, Dobby was able to apparate even inside places that normally forbade Apparition such as Hogwarts. Even after being stabbed by Bellatrix Lestrange's knife, Dobby still managed to take Harry to their intended destination just before he died.
Levitation: Dobby displayed the ability to levitate a cake when trying to stop Harry from returning to Hogwarts. The Ministry saw this as the Hover Charm.
Tampering magic: Dobby also displayed a talent for tampering with objects. This was shown when he tampered with a bludger forcing it to chase Harry hoping that if it hurt him badly enough he'd be sent home. Naturally Dobby was not intending to kill Harry; in fact he was trying to save him from Lucius Malfoy's plan to open the Chamber of Secrets. Also, he tampered with the barrier that leads to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, a very powerful magical barrier.
Magical Blasts: By clicking his fingers, Dobby can release powerful blasts of magic at other creatures or wizards and witches.
Disarming: Dobby displayed the ability to disarm wizards and witches of their wands with a snap of his fingers, much like the charm itself.
Overall Ability: Overall, Dobby had a very great amount of magical skill. Although House-Elves are generally treated very poorly as slaves, they do have very powerful magic. House-Elves even have powers beyond that of witches and wizards. House-Elves do not need possession of a wand to be able to apparate like most wizards and witches do. In addition, boundaries are put on the apparition of witches and wizards in certain areas, but this does not apply to house elves, so in this sense, they have much greater power than that of wizards as far as apparition goes. They also can do magic without wands which is something only the most powerful witches and wizards can do. Dobby could disarm with a snap of his fingers, send strong blasts to stun and disable opponents, and very efficiently perform charms like those of witches and wizards such as levitation and also tamper with magical objects. Dobby even managed to save Garrick Ollivander, Griphook the Goblin, Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter from a mansion full of some of the most powerful Death Eaters even if it was at the cost of his own life. Dobby sacrificed himself in order to get Harry and his friends out of a situation in which they surely otherwise would have died. Without Dobby, Harry would not have lived, and Voldemort never would have been defeated. That being said, Dobby played a very significant role in the defeat of Voldemort although sadly, he is hardly ever recognised probably partially due to the fact that he is a house-elf. Although he is quite small and humble, when put into perspective, Dobby was extremely powerful and was very heroic in his contributions to the wizarding world.
Socks became his favourite clothing after he was freed by Harry's sock. He preferred colourful, mismatched socks. When Hermione Granger began hiding clothes she made around the Gryffindor Common Room in an attempt to free the Hogwarts house-elves, Dobby kept the clothes and began wearing them, as the other elves thereafter refused to clean Gryffindor Tower.
Personality and traits
"Dobby has come to save Harry Potter, of course. Dobby will always be there for Harry Potter."
—Dobby's loyalty[src]
Dobby was a brave, loyal house-elf, willing to put himself in dangerous situations when he knew it to be the right thing to do. He was also very loyal to the few friends he had. He considered himself to be a good house-elf, though other house-elves seemed to find his desires and proclamations of being a free house-elf to be shameful. Despite this, he was still a hard worker. When he went to work at Hogwarts he refused Dumbledore's original offer of ten Galleons a week and weekends off, opting instead for one Galleon a week and one day off per month. He explained to Harry, Ron, and Hermione that he liked freedom very much, but he liked work better. Dobby thought of Harry as his best friend.
Dobby protecting Harry
Dobby protecting Harry in 1993
Because of his loyalty to his friends, Dobby tries everything he can to save them if they are in danger, even if it hurts them (this led to Harry asking Dobby to never try to save him again after setting him free), and once attempted to seriously injure Harry Potter, hoping that if he was hurt badly enough he would be sent home. He did not make the rogue bludger chase Harry out of malicious intent, but because he was trying to save him from Lucius Malfoy's plot to open the Chamber of Secrets. When Harry found out, he was furious but Dobby explained why he had tampered with the bludger and by the end of the year Harry had forgiven him.
One most noticeable trait was his capacity to self-harm whenever he believed he had done something wrong, usually using something to hit his head or going as far as to iron his own hands. Dobby clearly had a strong conscience, and punished himself even when he had done "wrong" things that house elves should not do, even if they were for the right reasons.
Dobby's favourite gift to receive was socks, likely because he was freed from his enslavement to the Malfoys with a sock. He would get confused when he would get two of the same style as he preferred to have two brightly coloured or patterned mismatched socks and would often give socks as gifts as well.
Dobby referred to himself in the third person and tended to get his verb conjugations mixed up. Examples of his strange speech pattern include "I has seven now sir" or "Dobby must punish himself most grievously for coming sir". Dobby also referred to Ron as Harry's "Wheezy."
He was extremely devoted to Harry Potter after Harry freed him in 1993, helping him out on several occasions, ultimately at the cost of his own life. He also tried to help Winky after she was dismissed by Crouch, getting her a job at Hogwarts as well, and looking after her whenever she became drunk on butterbeer.
Magical abilities and skills
Tumblr n4b06pMvhJ1qdsqclo5 250
Dobby using his magic to Apparate
Apparition: Because he was a house-elf, Dobby was able to apparate even inside places that normally forbade Apparition such as Hogwarts. Even after being stabbed by Bellatrix Lestrange's knife, Dobby still managed to take Harry to their intended destination just before he died.
Levitation: Dobby displayed the ability to levitate a cake when trying to stop Harry from returning to Hogwarts. The Ministry saw this as the Hover Charm.
Tampering magic: Dobby also displayed a talent for tampering with objects. This was shown when he tampered with a bludger forcing it to chase Harry hoping that if it hurt him badly enough he'd be sent home. Naturally Dobby was not intending to kill Harry; in fact he was trying to save him from Lucius Malfoy's plan to open the Chamber of Secrets. Also, he tampered with the barrier that leads to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, a very powerful magical barrier.
Magical Blasts: By clicking his fingers, Dobby can release powerful blasts of magic at other creatures or wizards and witches.
Disarming: Dobby displayed the ability to disarm wizards and witches of their wands with a snap of his fingers, much like the charm itself.
Overall Ability: Overall, Dobby had a very great amount of magical skill. Although House-Elves are generally treated very poorly as slaves, they do have very powerful magic. House-Elves even have powers beyond that of witches and wizards. House-Elves do not need possession of a wand to be able to apparate like most wizards and witches do. In addition, boundaries are put on the apparition of witches and wizards in certain areas, but this does not apply to house elves, so in this sense, they have much greater power than that of wizards as far as apparition goes. They also can do magic without wands which is something only the most powerful witches and wizards can do. Dobby could disarm with a snap of his fingers, send strong blasts to stun and disable opponents, and very efficiently perform charms like those of witches and wizards such as levitation and also tamper with magical objects. Dobby even managed to save Garrick Ollivander, Griphook the Goblin, Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter from a mansion full of some of the most powerful Death Eaters even if it was at the cost of his own life. Dobby sacrificed himself in order to get Harry and his friends out of a situation in which they surely otherwise would have died. Without Dobby, Harry would not have lived, and Voldemort never would have been defeated. That being said, Dobby played a very significant role in the defeat of Voldemort although sadly, he is hardly ever recognised probably partially due to the fact that he is a house-elf. Although he is quite small and humble, when put into perspective, Dobby was extremely powerful and was very heroic in his contributions to the wizarding world.
