You may have noticed that Dobby has been trending all weekend. The Harry Potter character would probably tear up with humility, or bang his head against something, feeling he was unworthy or somehow let Harry down. Instead, he's trending because a clip has gone viral, showing a creature of some kind that looks a lot like Dobby.
Whatever nonsense prank/stunt/alien brought this on, Twitter is having a field day with it -- from Kreacher jokes to other Harry Potter references. It's keeping the magic alive for fans, while simultaneously creeping them the bleep out.
It all apparently started with a post on Facebook:
Some fans were just startled to see why Dobby was trending all weekend:
A few fans made arguments in favor of it really being Dobby:
Others pointed out, rather smugly, that Dobby couldn't have been spotted since he already died in the books:
Still other fans noted that maybe Dobby died, but not the Dobby actor:
But if it's not Dobby, is it Kreacher? Is it Winky?
Yeah, who is going to explain this to the Muggles? The real Dobby would get in a heap of trouble for this.
A few fans brought Harry Potter author J.K Rowling into the story, in various ways:
Some fans just had a good laugh about it all:
Others are wondering why we're joking about this thing instead of trying to get to the truth of it, X-Files style:
A few fans think it was part of a promotional stunt:
Personally, I'm with this fan who just enjoyed seeing a Harry Potter topic trending again:
The Harry Potter film series ran from 2001 to 2011. The franchise is still going with the Fantastic Beasts movies, with Fantastic Beasts 3 set to arrive on November 12, 2021. J.K. Rowling has not been as active on Twitter as she used to be, which may be tied to fans mocking her sexuality info dumps. However, it's possible she did subtly return to Twitter to honor the annual tradition of using the Battle of Hogwarts anniversary to apologize for killing a character.
Last year, J.K. Rowling apologized for killing dear Dobby. But maybe this video can give us hope that Dobby is truly a free elf, and magic -- or a Time Turner? -- somehow saved him and sent him to this driveway. Perhaps another young magical child needed his help.
