House-elf magic

Dobby using house-elf magic to take Narcissa Malfoy's wand

House-elves have their own brand of magic that only they have access to, as do many other magical creatures. The upper limits of Elf magic are not known, however it is incredibly versatile and allows them to perform very powerful magic.

They are often underestimated however because of their small stature. Their loyalty also prevents them from using magic against their masters until they are free. This amounts to their reputation as push overs and leading lives of abuse.

History

To test the security around the locket Horcrux in the 1970s, Lord Voldemort required a house-elf for the job, and Regulus Black nominated Kreacher. After using Kreacher for his purposes, Voldemort left him there to die. Bound by the laws of his kind, Kreacher was able to Disapparate out of the cave and return to Regulus because Regulus had told Kreacher to return after the task was finished.

In 1993, Dobby protected Harry Potter by using his magic to throw Lucius Malfoy across the floor, and in 1994, Winky used her magic to bind Barty Crouch Jr to her, to make sure he did not escape. Winky's magic broke when she was rendered unconscious.

In 1998, Dobby disarmed Narcissa Malfoy by snapping his fingers. Her wand flew into Harry Potter's hand.

It is implied that with a wand and the proper knowledge, house-elves may be able to do other magic, as Winky was accused of using the Morsmordre spell to conjure the Dark Mark in the sky, though it was in fact cast by Bartemius Crouch Jr Bartemius Crouch Snr. suggested that Amos Diggory was implying that "I routinely teach my servants to conjure the Dark Mark," suggesting that it would have been possible for Winky to use the spell if she had the knowledge.

Examples of house-elf magic

Harry Potter once remarked that House Elves were actually much more capable of wielding advanced magic than wizards, despite not having wands.

House Elves have access to their very own brand of wandless Magic that only they can use. It should be noted that House Elves do not verbally cast spells, rather their magic is performed through their sheer force of will and intent. This makes a House Elf all the more dangerous, considering they can perform feats of magic in places that restricts even witches and wizards from doing so. The upper limits of their magic is not known; however, it is incredibly versatile and on occasion has proved to be very powerful, despite having certain limitations due to the fact they don't use wands.

It has been demonstrated that even with wands, wizards have been unable to break spells by House Elves.

• Apparition: House-elves could apparate even in places where Wizards and Witches could not. It is not thought possible to prevent a House Elf from doing so, given the various examples of this in heavily secured locations. This was proven when Kreacher apparated in and out of The Cave where Voldemort hid his locket horcrux to test the locket's security. The cave had an extremely powerful dark magical barrier to forbid such from happening, placed there by none other than the greatest dark Lord of all time, Voldemort. However, despite this, Kreacher succeeded where even Dumbledore did not. This is a testament to the power of House Elf magic. House Elves could also apparate in groups, in order to transport others, such as when Dobby would apparate his friends Harry, Ron and Hermione together; this is called Side-Along Apparition. Another example of a House Elf apparating into a location that has been heavily protected from such things, was when Dobby apparated in and out of Malfoy Manor to save Harry and his friends. This was an impossible feat for Witches and Wizards alike who had to gain entry by the front gate.

• Charms: House-elves were capable of casting charms. This is shown when Dobby notably performed the Levitation charm on a cake in the Dursley house. This is also shown when Kreacher performed the cleaning charm to assist in his errands for the House of Black. House Elves are renowned for using domestic charms around the homes of their masters.

Dobby protecting Harry Potter by using house-elf magic

• Duelling: House-elves were capable fighters and could duel witches and wizards in magical combat. This was shown when the House Elves took part in the battle of Hogwarts. Although most of the elves used knives and cleavers to attack the ankles of the wizards. Dobby attacked Lucius Malfoy in order to protect Harry Potter with a powerful blasting or stunning spell. It isn't specified what the spell was.

• Disarming Charm: House-elves could disarm witches and wizards with the snap of their fingers. This was shown when Dobby disarmed Narcissa Malfoy in combat.

• Dark Magic: Once again proving their worth, House-elves could perform powerful feats of dark magic if they so wished. This is proven when Dobby hexed the barrier that leads to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, a very powerful magical barrier, so that Harry Potter and his friends could not enter. This is also shown when Dobby once again hexed 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.

Winky also performed a very powerful jinx to bind an individual to her proximity. This seems to be quite powerful, as when she used it on Barty Crouch Jr, he could not sever the bond even after acquiring a wand. However, once she had fallen unconscious, the spell broke.

House Elves and Wands

Despite a House Elf not requiring a wand to perform any of the above mentioned feats of magic, it is known throughout the wizarding world that an Elf has the potential to wield a wand. Doing so would greatly increase their already formidable powers, however after the ban on wand use by magical creatures, Elves are forbidden to do so. Despite this, Elves are quite happy not using a wand as it doesn't greatly diminish their capabilities anyway.

Behind the scenes

• In the LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 level, Dobby's Plan, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley try and capture Dobby while he curses the rogue bludger. Whenever Dobby would be hit, he would Apparate to the next location. When playing as Dobby in levels, the only spell he had was the Levitation Charm inspired by the similar charm he used on Aunt Petunia's pudding.
• In the books and films, Elves have never verbally used incantations or wands, by with a snap of their fingers. Which suggests that Elf Magic is self taught, harnessed through sheer force of will and intent alone in order to achieve the desired effects they want. However when Dobby used Elf Magic to levitate a cake in the Chamber of Secrets Book, the Ministry recognised it as the Hover Charm through The Trace. So it is debatable. The Ministries recognition of the charm however was not included in the film. Regardless of this, in the book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter remarks how House Elves are actually much more capable of wielding advanced magic than wizards, despite not having wands.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• Harry Potter: The Creature Vault(Mentioned only)