Harry Potter book/movie spoilers ahead!
In the Harry Potter books and films, Dobby is a free elf. The adorable bat-eared house elf lived his remaining years free and died free, protecting the wizard who helped him gain freedom. But at the Warner Bros Studio Tour in London, Dobby is not a free elf. And Harry Potter fans are apparently trying to rectify that situation...
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling herself retweeted the above Tweet from the ever clever Hogwarts Logic feed, which shows Dobby's exhibit at the Warner Bros Studio Tour. As you can see, Dobby appears to us as we know him in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, dressed in a shabby tea cosy, his eyes closed and his posture hunched. He's clearly not free in this captured moment. To the left, set over the sign by the case, are three socks, which have presumably been left by fans eager to free the house elf from his confines.
As Harry Potter fans surely already know, a house elf can be freed of servitude if they're presented with clothes. In Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter manages to get Dobby freed by handing Tom Riddle's diary back to Lucius Malfoy, encased in an old sock, which Malfoy tosses in Dobby's direction, unintentionally setting him free. The gleeful Dobby celebrates his freedom by proudly wearing clothes in the years that follow. The house elf developed a special affection for socks. So the socks draped over the display at WB's Studio Tour are especially fitting.
#FreeDobby, #SPEWforever
In related news, you may have heard that Warner Bros. Studio Tour in London is hosting a special "Dinner in the Great Hall" event, for those Harry Potter fans who've always wanted to attend a feast in Hogwarts' great hall (and have hundreds of dollars to spare to pay for it). Unsurprisingly, the event has already sold out.
Whether or not you managed to get a ticket to that magical event, Harry Potter fans have much to look forward to, including the feature adaptation of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, and the stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which is going to be set in two parts. More info on that here.
