12 Biggest Lies In Harry Potter We All Accept

This particularly galling mistruth has caused some Twitter firestorms over the years due to it’s, er, unfortunate implications for real life analogous situations, but we’ll try and stick to what’s on the page and give Rowling’s potentially sketchy intentions the benefit of the doubt.

We’re informed that Hermoine is being hysterical and melodramatic when she makes it her mission to free the house elves, as she views their lot in life as akin to indentured servitude, probably because they’re sentient self-aware beings forced into a lifetime of labour so, you know, she’s right.

But to be fair, where is Hermoine getting the idea that elves want to be free. Is it maybe Dobby's sobbing thankful breakdown when he's freed from a hellish existence?

Here’s where it gets dark.

The rest of the cast, our supposed heroes, laugh off her concern and grow weary of her crusade, citing examples of house elves being freed and feeling they have no purpose in life as “proof” that the entire species “live to serve”.

So, anyone familiar with deprogramming cult members or institutionalized prisoners can tell you that often times people think their entire purpose in life is to serve someone because they’ve been brainwashed, not because they’re right and that’s the natural order, and the confusion house elves feel is normal for anyone freed from everything from a bad relationship to wage slavery.

Rise up and revolt, Dobbys of the world, because the good guys aren't going to save you.