Dobby

"Thank you so much, Dobby, for rescuing me from that cellar. It's so unfair that you had to die, when you were so good and so brave. I'll always remember what you did for us.  I hope you're happy now."

- Luna Lovegood at Dobby's funeral.

Dobby was a house-elf who served the Malfoy family. During Harry Potter's second year at Hogwarts, he tried to warn the boy of the plot to have the Chamber of Secrets reopened. The same year, Harry freed Dobby from the Malfoy's. Dobby then went on to work in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry kitchens. He went on to save the lives of Harry and his friends Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas, Mr. Ollivander, and Griphook from Death Eaters at Malfoy Manor, though was killed in the process.

Malfoy Family House-Elf
Dobby was the resident house-elf of the Malfoy family, serving Lucius Malfoy, his wife Narcissa, and their son Draco. They treated Dobby as a slave, often reminding him to punish himself extra in case he forgot to punish himself for something from the past. Though he always did as he was told, he longed to be free of the Malfoys.

The Chamber of Secrets Plot
"Harry Potter must NOT go back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year!"

- Dobby warning Harry not to return to Hogwarts

Dobby knew of the plan to reopen the Chamber of Secrets during Harry Potter's second year at Hogwarts. Presumably this was because the Malfoys saw Dobby as an insignificant slave and because they knew that house-elves were not able to break the commands of their masters. Dobby went to the Dursley House to warn Harry not to go back to school, though he was unsuccessful. Still, Dobby managed a few visits to Harry, including one visit while Harry was in the hospital wing at the school.

Near the end of the year, Lucius Malfoy came to the school with Dobby to see Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Here, realizing that Dobby belonged to the Malfoys, Harry tricked Mr. Malfoy into giving Dobby one of his used socks. From this point on, Dobby was a free elf.

Working in the Kitchens
After becoming a free elf, Dobby was hired by Albus Dumbledore to work in the kitchens for a Galleon a week. Hermione Granger was initially indignant at the amount of pay, but Dobby explained that he requested the amount, and Dumbledore had offered more. It was around this time that Hermione formed the organization called S.P.E.W.

When Winky, the house-elf of Barty Crouch Sr was given clothes to be freed of her servitude, she didn't accept it as a reward, as Dobby had, but rather as a punishment and shameful failure. She took up work at Hogwarts as well, but when she became a heavy drinker, Dobby took care of her. For a time, Dobby and Winky were the only ones who would clean the Gryffindor Tower because Hermione had set up garments hidden in messes that would free any elf who cleaned there. This was a delight for Dobby, though, because it allowed him to see Harry Potter and his friends, including Ron Weasley, who he called Harry Potter's "Wheezy."

The Tri-Wizard Tournament
Barty Crouch Jr, disguised as Alastor Moody, tricked Dobby into stealing a helping of gillyweed to give to Harry Potter for the second task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. This allowed Harry to breathe underwater and retrieve Ron Weasley and Gabrielle Delacour from the lake.

Friendship with Aberforth Dumbledore
Dobby continued to work in the kitchens at Hogwarts, but was an outsider among the other elves in the castle. Over the course of his employment at Hogwarts, Dobby gained a close friendship with Aberforth Dumbledore, and spent much time at Aberforth's home in Hogsmeade, getting to and from the school through a secret tunnel.

Dumbledore's Army
"Dobby knows the perfect place, sir! Dobby heard tell of it from the other house-elves when he came to Hogwarts, sir. It is known by us as the Come and Go Room, sir, or else as the Room of Requirement!"

- Dobby telling Harry Potter of the Room of Requirement.

In 1995, when Dolores Umbridge banned all clubs at Hogwarts, Harry Potter asked Dobby for a secret place in which they could have meetings for Dumbledore's Army, half-heartedly. Dobby, however, told him of the Room of Requirement and how to get into it. Harry Potter successfully made use of the room and thus was able to start Dumbledore's Army meetings.

When Marietta Edgecombe revealed Dumbledore's Army to Professor Umbridge, Dobby immediately warned Harry that the Inquisitorial Squad was going to attack.

Rescue at the Malfoy Manor
"Harry...Potter..."

- Dobby's last words, said to Harry Potter.

One day in early 1998, Dobby was sent by Aberforth to rescue Harry and his friends from the home of the Malfoys. As he was able to disapparate to and from the Manor, Harry instructed him to first take Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas, and Mr. Ollivander from the cellar, then return. He did so, bringing the three to Shell Cottage, the home of Bill Weasley and his wife Fleur Delacour. Dobby then returned in time to take Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger to Shell Cottage, but was stabbed by a knife that Bellatrix Lestrange threw. The knife hit him in the chest.

Funeral of the Free Elf
"HERE LIES DOBBY, A FREE ELF."

- Epitaph on Dobby's grave marker, written by Harry Potter.

After Dobby died, Harry Potter dug a grave for him between two bushes near Shell Cottage without the use of magic, and was later joined by Ron Weasley and Dean Thomas. Luna Lovegood closed the elf's eyes before Harry placed Dobby into the grave. Luna then gave a short thank-you to Dobby, echoed by Ron, Dean, and Harry, then the elf was buried. Hermione, Fleur, Bill, Griphook the Goblin and Mr. Ollivander were also present at Dobby's funeral.

Harry lingered after the elf was buried long enough to write an epitaph on a stone near the grave, which read, "HERE LIES DOBBY, A FREE ELF."

Aftermath
Griphook was positively affected by Harry's display of humility and love for the house-elf, aiding him in his decision to help Harry Potter retrieve a horcrux from Gringotts Wizarding Bank.

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.

Physical description
Dobby was a house-elf, much shorter in stature than humans, standing as high as twelve-year-old Harry's navel. He had large, tennis-ball-like eyes and long, pointed ears. Before he was given freedom, he wore a body-covering tea cozy, and was very fond of socks, especially if they did not match each other.

Personality and traits
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.

Dobby's favorite gift to receive was socks, and he would get confused when he would get two of the same style. He would often give socks as gifts as well.

Dobby refers to himself in the third person ("Dobby must punish himself most greviously for coming, sir") and tends to get his verb tenses mixed up ("I has seven now, sir"). Dobby refers to Ron as Harry's "Wheezy."

Behind the scenes

 * Dobby has been removed from all movie adaptions to date except the Chamber of Secrets. Perhaps not coincidencally, in both films Neville Longbottom does everything important that Dobby did in the books (giving Harry the gillyweed and informing him of the Room of Requirement).

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Notes and References
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