For Harry Potter fans, the scene in the Deathly Hallows book where Dobby the house elf gets stabbed by an enchanted knife while saving the lives of Harry and his friends is one moment of deep sorrow, almost as shocking as Dumbledore’s death in the previous book.
The scene afterward, when Dobby dies in Harry’s arms at a beautiful beach, and Harry tries to deal with his grief by digging a grave for Dobby with his hands, without using magic, was one of the most touching and profound moments in the entire series. As it turns out, Dobby’s fictional grave that Harry was seen digging in the Deathly Hallows movie has been maintained at the Freshwater West Beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the UK.
The site of the fictional grave at the beautiful beach has been maintained all these years by numerous Harry Potter fans who visit the site and leave messages for the beloved character. They also leave Dobby socks, a lot of them.
Dobby’s grave has been marked with decorated pebbles, endearing messages, and dozens of mismatched socks, just as the house elf loved them. Thousands of Potterheads, as Harry Potter fans call themselves, visit the grave every year.
As per reports, the local environment officials were worried that the popular site of Dobby’s fictional grave at the Freshwater West beach was becoming dirty as fans continued to leave socks and other gifts for Dobby.
After an 8-month-long review, during which the proposal to tear down the memorial for Dobby the house elf was considered by The National Trust Wales, it has now been decided that the popular memorial can stay, as long as fans stop leaving socks and other tributes for Dobby. They have asked fans to just visit the place and not leave anything on the beach.
‘Dobby is a free elf’, and a beloved Harry Potter character
For those who have not read the books or have not watched the movies, Dobby was an enslaved house elf of the Malfoy family where he was tortured. He was set free by Harry potter when Harry tricked Mr. Malfoy into giving a dirty sock to Dobby. As per the laws binding the house elves, they gain their freedom when they are presented with any item of clothing.
Dobby, a free, proud, and rebellious house elf who loved Harry, remains an endearing character throughout the series and gets paid to work at Harry’s school. As a mark of his freedom, he wears bright colors, and mismatched socks always. He even wears a tall headgear of badly made wool hats, which Hermione sewed to set other house elves free.
In the Deathly Hallows book, when Harry, Hermione, Ron, and a group of their friends, including Ollivander the wand maker are trapped inside the Malfoy Manor by Voldemort’s servants, Dobby appears to help them escape. Dobby manages to bring them to safety by apparition, but just when he was about to disappear, he gets stabbed by a magic knife thrown by the evil Bellatrix Lestrange.
After arriving safely at Shell Cottage, the beachside home of Ron’s brother, Harry realizes that Dobby has been mortally wounded. Dobby dies a free elf, in the arms of his favorite person, Harry. His last words were, “What a wonderful place to be with friends”.