SOURCE: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling (1998) and sequels.

DESCRIPTION: "...The little creature on the bed had large, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls..." (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling)

NOTES: Dobby is a house-elf, a magical creature who serves the Malfoy family. He attempts to stop Harry Potter from going to Hogwarts in his second year because of a plot to kill "Mudblood" students (wizards and witches with non-magical ancestry) by releasing the Basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets. Harry Potter tricks Lucius Malfoy into releasing Dobby from service. Giving clothing to a house-elf will end his servitude. Dobby appears again in Goblet of Fire as a cook at Hogwarts. Hogwarts has over 100 house-elves working in its kitchen, more than any other building in Britain. The House-Elves were treated cruelly during the dark times of Voldemort.

HISTORY: Rowling uses the old story of the Shoemaker and the Elves in designing Dobby's servitude. In that fairy tale the elves make shoes until the shoemaker is rich. When the old man and his wife make clothes for the elves, they leave, never to return. The relationship between Lucius Malfoy and Dobby is far from this scenario. Rowling gets in some good kicks at the theme of slavery.

Dobby Toy

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