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

[lazy-neutrino.livejournal.com]

Is it possible that an elf is not allowed to use his magic in that way while he/she works for (at?) Hogwarts? Dobby used his magic aggressively after being freed from Malfoy but before entering a contract at Hogwarts; I'm not clear what Kreacher's precise position is, but it would make sense for someone to constrain his actions before letting him loose at Hogwarts.

[fpb.livejournal.com]

That is probably the best solution. After all, Hogwarts has 100 house-elves in its service; if there was no protection against any of them running amok or two of them fighting, they could easily tear the place apart, even not wanting to.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I guess this makes the most sense, but I also like the notion that the grabbing, hitting, and kicking is just so basic and immediate that they fell to that. But it's probably the no-magic-in-Hogwarts thing, indeed.

[lazy-neutrino.livejournal.com]

Yes, sometimes there's nothing as satisfying as as a good physical fight. Human adults would (usually!) regard themselves as too civilised for that, but civilisation is a relative thing and the cultural values of house-elves may be quite different!