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Apr 6, 2023 · Harry tricks Lucius into freeing Dobby at the very end of the second Harry Potter installment. He places his sock in Tom Riddle's Diary and gives it to Lucius who immediately tosses it in Dobby's ...
- Contributor
Dec 24, 2023 · Dobby was a house-elf, for years indentured to the Malfoy family, until his admiration for Harry Potter goaded him into trying to warn Harry against coming to school in his second year because he knew what Lucius was planning with the diary. Dobby interfered with Harry’s life a number of times that year with less than successful results, but ...
Nov 24, 2023 · From his humble beginnings as a servant to his pivotal role in the fight against dark forces, Dobby’s journey captivates readers with its themes of selflessness, freedom, and the power of ...
Mar 10, 2024 · Key Takeaways. Dobby's loyalty to Harry Potter was driven by gratitude reaching back years. Dobby defied House Elf rules to protect Harry, often at great personal risk. The heartwrenching sacrifice Dobby made to save Harry solidified his heroism and loyalty. It's important to remember the ongoing controversial statements by the creator of the ...
- Nicholas Brooks
- Overview
- Biography
- Physical description
- Personality and traits
- Magical abilities and skills
- Possessions
- Relationships
- Etymology
- Behind the scenes
"Dobby has no master! Dobby is a free elf, and Dobby has come to save Harry Potter and his friends!"
— Dobby's pride of being a free elf, and his loyalty towards Harry Potter
Dobby (28 June (year unknown) – March 1998) was a male house-elf who served the Malfoy family. His masters were Dark wizards who treated him cruelly. In 1992, he disobeyed his masters and tried to warn Harry Potter of the plot to have the Chamber of Secrets reopened. He came to know this via the contact between his masters and Lord Voldemort.
At the end of that school year, after Harry had vanquished the memory of Tom Riddle and slayed the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, he tricked Lucius Malfoy into freeing Dobby. Harry accomplished this by placing T. M. Riddle's Diary inside his own sock. Lucius disgustedly ripped the sock off the book and threw the sock into the air, where Dobby caught it.
Dobby suffered a period of unemployment, during which he was often ostracised for having no "proper shame" in regards to being out of work. He was generally pleased to be free, although he did enjoy working as a hobby. Dobby was ecstatic to be out of the abusive hands of the Malfoys, but equally pleased to join the Hogwarts staff. At Hogwarts he could come and go as he liked, did not have many tasks, and those he did have were fairly simple. Dobby requested some compensations for his work and eventually he and Dumbledore came to an agreement.
Dobby went on to work in the kitchens at Hogwarts, for which he was paid one Galleon a week and got one day off each month. He had been accompanied to Hogwarts by his friend Winky (who had recently been dismissed) and so began Dobby's new happy life nearby his closest friends: Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Serving the Malfoy family (?–1993)
Harry Potter: "Do they know you’re here?" Dobby: "Oh, no, sir, no... Dobby will have to punish himself most grievously for coming to see you, sir. Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven door for this. If they ever knew, sir —" Harry Potter: "But won’t they notice if you shut your ears in the oven door?" Dobby: "Dobby doubts it, sir. Dobby is always having to punish himself for something, sir. They lets Dobby get on with it, sir. Sometimes they reminds me to do extra punishments..." — Dobby telling Harry Potter about his miserable life with the Malfoys Dobby was the resident house-elf of Malfoy Manor, serving Lucius Malfoy, his wife Narcissa, and their only son Draco. They treated Dobby with unkindness and cruelty, often reminding him to perform extra punishments on himself whenever he did something disagreeable to them. The Malfoys were harsh and abused Dobby often. Dobby was threatened many times during his time serving the Malfoy family and told Harry Potter that he was accustomed to death threats, because he received them 'five times a day' from the Malfoys. Though he always did as he was told, he knew that their behaviour was wrong and he longed to be free of them. He is the first house-elf seen to "break free" of his masters' wills, warning Harry of the Chamber of Secrets (Kreacher did this too, however he technically did not disobey any orders, therefore it does not count), and alongside Kreacher, is the only house elf seen who truly dislikes their original master. During the 1985–1986 school year, Dobby befriended Jacob's sibling.
A free elf (1993–1998)
Lucius Malfoy: "Come, Dobby. I said come." Dobby: "Master has given a sock, Master gave it to Dobby." Lucius Malfoy: "What's that? What did you say?" Dobby: "Got a sock, Master threw it, and Dobby caught it, and Dobby — Dobby is free!" — Dobby's liberation Near the end of Harry's second year, Lucius Malfoy came to the school with Dobby to see if it was true that Headmaster Albus Dumbledore had returned. Here, realising that Dobby belonged to the Malfoys, Harry stuffed Tom Riddle's Diary into one of his socks and handed it to Lucius. Lucius ripped the sock off the diary, only for the sock to be caught by Dobby. This act freed Dobby from the Malfoys. When Lucius tried to attack Harry in retaliation, Dobby blasted him backwards down a flight of stairs. Although house elves are treated as low-class slaves, they have very powerful magic, and even some beyond wizard ability. Harry's only request in return for granting Dobby freedom was for Dobby never to try to save his life again.
Post-mortem
"HERE LIES DOBBY, A FREE ELF." — Epitaph on Dobby's grave marker Harry, deeply grieving, decided to bury Dobby and dig his grave by hand without using magic. Ron and Dean joined Harry and laboured with him in digging the grave. They placed Dobby's body in the grave, wrapping him in a jacket and giving him socks, shoes and a hat. Standing over Dobby, Luna gently closed his eyes and thanked him for rescuing her and the others. Bill Weasley filled in the grave, while Harry used Draco's former wand and carved "HERE LIES DOBBY, A FREE ELF" on a flat rock he placed on the burial mound. Griphook was positively affected by Harry's display of humility and love for the house-elf, aiding him in his decision to help Harry retrieve a Horcrux from Gringotts Wizarding Bank. His death also helped close Harry's mind from Voldemort and gave him greater control over when he could access the Dark Lord's thoughts. Kreacher, Harry Potter's own inherited house-elf, led the house-elves of Hogwarts in the Battle of Hogwarts, moved by Harry's good treatment of house-elves. Dobby's death was later avenged when Molly Weasley killed Bellatrix. Over a decade later around his birthday in 2011, Dobby was remembered by Winky as a S.P.E.W. activist and a good friend. In the years since Dobby's death, Harry continued to regularly visit Dobby's grave at Shell Cottage to pay respects to the elf, bringing along a new pair of socks to leave at the grave each time to let Dobby know how much he was missed.
"The little creature on the bed had large, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls."
— Dobby's physical appearance
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, a pencil-like nose and long, bat-like pointed ears and brown skin. 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.
"Harry Potter, Dobby has come to rescue you."
— Dobby's loyalty to Harry Potter
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. Although he enjoyed his freedom, he still showed some nature of a House Elf, showing some form of either disgust or fear in the sign of a little shudder at the sign of too much riches and leisure, such as those of a truly sustainable wage and work schedule, which Dumbledore originally offered. Dobby thought of Harry as his best friend, and Albus Dumbledore as his rightful and true master.
"You shall not harm Harry Potter!"
— Dobby defending Harry from being attacked by Lucius Malfoy
Because of his loyalty to his friends, Dobby tried everything he could to save them if they were in danger, even if it hurt them, and once attempted to seriously injure Harry Potter, hoping that if he was hurt badly enough he would be sent home (this led to Harry asking Dobby to never try to save him again after setting him free). 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.
"With a crack like a whip, Dobby vanished."
— Dobby Apparating
•Apparition: As a house-elf, Dobby was able to Apparate, even inside places that normally forbade Apparition such as Hogwarts and Malfoy Manor.
•Levitation: Dobby displayed the ability to levitate a cake when trying to stop Harry from returning to Hogwarts. The Ministry referred to this as the Hover Charm, mistakenly believing that Harry cast the charm.
•Magical tampering: Dobby also displayed a talent for magically 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.
"There was a loud bang, and Mr Malfoy was thrown backward. He crashed down the stairs, three at a time, landing in a crumpled heap on the landing below. He got up, his face livid, and pulled out his wand, but Dobby raised a long, threatening finger."
"He was holding up Harry’s disgusting, slimy sock, and looking at it as though it were a priceless treasure."
— Dobby being freed with Harry's sock
•One of Harry Potter's socks: This sock once belonged to Harry Potter and was inadvertently given to Dobby by Lucius Malfoy (his master). Harry tricked Lucius by presenting him with Tom Riddle's diary, having shoved the diary inside his sock. When Lucius took the diary out of the sock, he threw the small and dirty piece of clothing away and Dobby caught it, rendering him free. Dobby kept this sock on until the day he died.
•An old pair of mustard yellow socks from Harry Potter during Christmas 1994.
•A pair of violet socks from Ron Weasley during Christmas 1994.
•A jumper from Ron Weasley during Christmas 1994.
Harry Potter
"Harry... Potter..." — Dobby's last words to Harry Potter, as he died in his arms Dobby and Harry Potter had a very strong relationship. Dobby loved and respected him very much to the point where he considered Harry to be his best friend. When Harry first met Dobby, he was a bit confused by the elf's devotion to keeping him safe from harm. Harry was furious when he found out Dobby was intercepting all of his friends' letters to him, and demanded them back while refusing to promise him to stay out of Hogwarts. Throughout the year, when Dobby made attempts to drive Harry away from Hogwarts, causing some rather unpleasant results on the way, Harry made some threats that were never followed through. Near the end of the 1992–1993 school year, Harry freed Dobby from the slavery of the Malfoy family. Lucius became angry and intended to attack Harry but Dobby protected him by using a defensive spell. Dobby may have realised that he underestimated Harry Potter, when Harry managed to stop Lucius's plot and survive the Chamber of Secrets. "Harry Potter freed Dobby! Harry Potter set Dobby free!" — Dobby's gratitude towards Harry for liberating him from the Malfoys Dobby was appointed to work at the kitchen of Hogwarts Castle in the paid service of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, though even as a free elf, his loyalty always laid foremost with Harry. When Harry visited the kitchens and therefore Dobby, Dobby hugged him so tightly that Harry felt as though his ribs might crack. Dobby also asked if it would be alright if he visited Harry from time-to-time, with Harry responding with an of course. Dobby visited Harry on Christmas day and presented him with a present, socks and when Harry tried them on Dobby's eyes misted with tears. In 1994, Dobby also provided Harry with Gillyweed for the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. " [...] something small hurtled toward him from the middle of the room, squealing, "Harry Potter, sir! Harry Potter!" Next second all the wind had been knocked out of him as the squealing elf hit him hard in the midriff, hugging him so tightly he thought his ribs would break." — Dobby greeting Harry in 1994 In 1995, Dobby told Harry about the Room of Requirement and how to get inside. It is a secret room inside Hogwarts castle and cannot be seen even on the Marauder's Map. Harry and his friends used the room in Dumbledore's Army's meetings and practises. When Marietta Edgecombe betrayed Dumbledore's Army to Professor Umbridge, Dobby immediately warned Harry that the Inquisitorial Squad was going to attack, even though the house-elves had been forbidden to tell anyone, as he was far more loyal to Harry Potter than to Umbridge or Hogwarts in general. When he heard, Harry ordered Dobby not to punish himself for disobeying a direct order from Umbridge. "Dobby will do it, Harry Potter. Dobby would be honoured to help Harry Potter!" — Dobby's willingness to help his friend Harry Potter In 1996, Dobby had a fight with another house-elf, Kreacher after Kreacher insulted Harry. In 1998, when Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Dean Thomas, Mr Garrick Ollivander and the goblin Griphook were captured and taken hostage at the Malfoy Manor, Dobby Apparated there to rescue them. As they attempted to Disapparate to Shell Cottage, Bellatrix Lestrange threw her silver dagger, mortally wounding Dobby in the chest. Arriving at Shell Cottage, the house of the newly-wed Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour, Harry discovered Dobby's wound and cried out for help as Dobby died in Harry's arms, leaving Harry devastated. He dug a grave without using magic and held a small funeral for Dobby in the garden of Shell Cottage. Dobby's epitaph read "HERE LIES DOBBY, A FREE ELF".
Malfoy family
"You've lost me my servant, boy!" — Lucius Malfoy to Harry Potter, after he freed Dobby Dobby was the house-elf of the Malfoy family. Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco Malfoy treated Dobby cruelly and were very sadistic to him. He frequently had to punish himself and received death threats several times a day. Dobby feared them, but did everything they ordered him to. In 1993, Harry Potter freed Dobby by tricking Lucius into unknowingly giving Dobby a sock. Lucius became angry and attempted to attack Harry, but Dobby blasted him down a flight of stairs and forcefully told him to leave, with Dobby finally getting revenge on his former cruel master. The last time Lucius saw Dobby was in 1998, when Dobby came to Malfoy Manor to rescue Harry Potter and his friends. Dobby was eventually killed by Bellatrix Lestrange. It is unknown how the Malfoys reacted when they learned of it.
Ron Weasley
Dobby: "Sir is very kind!... Dobby knew sir must be a great wizard, for he is Harry Potter's greatest friend, but Dobby did not know that he was also as generous of spirit, as noble, as selfless —" Ron Weasley: "They're only socks..." — Dobby thanking a modest Ron for his Christmas present Dobby first met Ron Weasley in 1994 in the Hogwarts kitchens, where Dobby worked. When Dobby talked with Harry and Ron about his life as a free elf, Ron started to like Dobby, and offered him a maroon sweater his mother had made, making the house-elf excited. When Ron was used as a "hostage" for the Triwizard Tournament, Dobby who had learned of the Second Task from the fake Mad-Eye Moody, became fearful of Harry losing his "Wheezy" (Dobby's name for Ron) to the merpeople and was manipulated by the fake Moody into stealing Gillyweed for Harry. Ron and Dobby met again three years later, in 1997, when both Harry and Ron were at the hospital wing; Harry wanted Dobby to spy on Draco Malfoy because he believed he was a Death Eater. However, Ron didn't agree with this. In 1998, Harry, Ron, Hermione Granger and others were imprisoned at Malfoy Manor and Dobby came for their rescue. However, he was killed during the battle by Bellatrix Lestrange. Ron then respected Dobby very much and thanked him for saving his life. He also gave Dobby his shoes and socks to be buried in. His death seemed to finally drive home to Ron the sorry life that house-elves lived, as during the Battle of Hogwarts, Ron voiced the opinion that they should evacuate the house-elves, or else risk another death like Dobby's. Dobby, as an inadvertent result, thus helped Ron and Hermione begin their relationship. Overcome by his thoughtfulness towards elves, Hermione kissed Ron for the first time.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a "dobby" is an old English word for a benevolent elf that would perform household tasks secretly in the night, like the elves in tales of the elves and the shoemaker. However, just as those elves disappeared when the shoemaker made them shoes, so the dobbies were said to disappear when offered clothing. ...
•Dobby appears in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, being voiced by Toby Jones in both films.
•Dobby's favourite article of clothing appears to be socks. This may be because Dobby was freed when Harry tricked Lucius Malfoy into giving Dobby a sock.
•The magic Dobby used to fend off Lucius Malfoy to protect Harry resembles the Knockback Jinx.
•In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, it appears that instead of a rock to mark Dobby's grave, there is a more conventionally-shaped tombstone.
•In Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, the player (as Jacob's sibling) can have meals with Dobby in the Great Hall any time they want, but this would be impossible in canon, since Dobby was not a Hogwarts employee during the 1980s.
•In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Dobby throws Harry's school books in the bin, because he thinks this will prevent Harry from returning to Hogwarts.
Dobby's character has always been marked by two things: his love of freedom and his love of Harry Potter. These two things go hand-in-hand, of course, because Harry is the one who made Dobby a free elf. Dobby's loyalty to Harry goes all the way to his last breath; he's one of the saddest casualties in the struggle against Voldemort. His last ...
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May 30, 2015 · Lost Lucius His Servant, Gained Dobby His Freedom. by Alyssa C · May 30, 2015. Come, Dobby. I said, come.”. But Dobby didn’t move. He was holding Harry’s disgusting, slimy sock, and looking at it as though it were a priceless treasure. -p. 338, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
