Dobby

"*Dobby has no master. Dobby is a free elf!*"
—Dobby proud of being a free elf[src]

**Dobby** is a male house-elf who serves the Hudson and the Dunbar families. He is incredibly loyal to the members of both families as they treat him with respect and even pay him one Galleon a week for his services. He is also allowed to take one day off per month. He is also loyal to his family so he's a true member of the Order of the Elementals.

## Physical description

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. 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.

 File:Dobby protecting Harry.jpg
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 how he punished himself every time 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'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 and would often give socks as gifts as well.

Dobby referred to himself in the third person and tended to get his verb conjugation 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 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

* **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.

## Possessions

* **Harry Potter's sock:** This sock once belonged to Harry Potter and was 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 probably dirty piece of clothing away and Dobby caught it, rendering him free. Dobby kept that sock on until the day he died.
* **A second sock of Harry Potter's:** Another sock of Harry's was used to hold his Sneakoscope and also later given to Dobby.
* 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.
* Many scarves, socks, and hats made by Hermione Granger.

## Relationships

### Liam Dunbar

1. ↑ J.K.Rowling - Official Site Timeline