A Flint?

[fpb]

Although the fight scene between Dobby and Kreacher (ch.19 HBP) is very funny indeed, can anyone tell me what two house-elves are doing fist fighting when they (Dobby, at least) have magical powers strong enough to lay Lucius Malfoy flat on his back?

Comments

[fpb.livejournal.com]

That does not quite work out for me. The issue is not whether their powers are equal (and we should remember that Dobby is healthy and nothing suggests he is either aged or weak in any way, while Kreacher is old, creaky and quite senile) but why they do not use them. Otherwise, it seems to me, this would be like arguing that because both Yanks and Rebs had cannon, rifles and bayonets, they should have dropped all their weapons and settled the Civil War with one gigantic fistfight.

[bufo-viridis.livejournal.com]

Yanks and Rebs had cannon, rifles and bayonets, they should have dropped all their weapons and settled the Civil War with one gigantic fistfight.

You made a point, but missed it at the same time: if they had cannon, why bother with muskets? If rifles, then why bayonets? Different tools for different occasions, simply. And yes, a few parts of Civil War were settled by fistfight :) Same for later wars actually :)

There are plenty of instances in the books when they come to blows, instead of firing spells. Also, a wand can be likened to a pistol - and sometimes one just want to smack the other one, not kill him outright.
(of course wand/magical power is not always deadly, but has a great possibility of escalation).

[rfachir.livejournal.com]

Age and guile beat youth, innocence, and a bad haircut every time. (Harry had better hope the wicked geezers like Peter watch his back.)

[fpb.livejournal.com]

If Peter were to watch Harry's back, it would purely be in order to find the best spot to plant a knife in.