Hi,I was just a little curious to what you all thought about this.

In all the fan fics I have read,they most always talk about Harry striking up deals with the Goblins and Wizards and Centaurs etc. But I have never seen one where he goes for Dwarves, Do Dwarves even have a civilization or anything?Or are they just random beings set about randomly in the world?

I just am curious because I think it would be neat for Dwarves to be another one of those things usually included in a fan fic. Which means for me more slaughtering of men but still =)

 

IIRC, there isn't a canonical base for the existence of Dwarves.

 

Don't you remember Valentine's Day with Lockhart? JK messed up everything that I associated with Dwarves in book 2.

 

No, actually, I didn't. <shrug>

 

Don't worry, I didn't either, but the question really surprised me. I to would have thought that JK would have placed Dwarves in the story, so I did a Google search.

 

I had always assumed those dwarves were like...what's the correct term...little people? Or something not actual dwarves.

 

Sure, Dwarves would nice for a bit of humour, but I don't know how the singing Dwarves from book 2 are going to slaughter men.

There would be really no point to strike up a deal with that sort of Dwarves, since there's basically no use for them other than to irritate the hell out of people.

 

Hm. Perhaps there are gnomes, and non-house elf elves, too...

 

Okay sorry I haven't replied to this,had to go to bed last night after I posted this
Well I'm pretty much talking fanon right here,as in why hasn't anyone tried to use the dwarves as a race of warriors and stuff?Not only does it give them more people to use for voldemorts War machine but it means bigger battles ....Most of the time in fanon I only see battles,not wars. It's getting quite annoying because it's all well and good having Harry having powers etc but whats the use when he doesn't use em much .

Gnomes could even be a race of super magical power warriors,you never know

 

Well, once I read a fic that mentioned the Zurich gnomes are the rivals to the Gringott's goblins. I thought that was very clever, but I don't remember which fic it was.

 

Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Thinking about it now, it's a bit presumptuous to think that Goblins have a worldwide monopoly of banking just because they do in the UK.

As for Dwarves...I should imagine that they are a minority creature, like hags, werewolves and so on, and do not have significant enough numbers, organization or power to have a society of their own, so just live on the fringes of the wizarding world.

Thinking of it more, only the Goblins, Centaurs and Merpeople seem to have any sort of alternative society to wizards. The rest of the magical races are integrated into the Wizarding society. I think this is explained a bit in Fantastic Beasts, when the Goblins, Centaurs and Merpeople objected to the Ministry's definition of "Being" so effectively seceded.

 

Ahh I see, Who are Zurich Gnomes?Theres another one though that you never see in fan fiction. Voldemort should be recruiting Hags/Werewolves/Dwarves/Goblins/Dementors/Snakes/Minotaur, and any other evil creature
I believe somewhere in the series it said he had so many monsters and stuff under his power.

 

I'd think the inclusion of Dwarves in fanfiction could be a really good or really bad plot device. R.A. Salvatore has some good dwarves in his writing if you're looking for a basis to work from.

As for gnomes, the only time I've seen them effectively used was in Years of Rebellion, when Voldemort and the Death Eaters used them to find the Burrow because of how attracted to Magical Wards they're supposed to be.

I like the idea of subterfuge like that...using an inferior race of magical creatures to find something, but not necesarily accepting them into the fold or making treaties with them.

 

Unfortunately for the Dwarves, just like the Goblins, they're short and ugly.

And people don't like ugly things. So their likelihood of being used in a plot takes a dramatic drop as soon as someone sees them.

 

Hmm I agree to an extent, but don't you think it gets mega boring when all people write about is inferi and death eaters attacking them? I think Harry needs a new challenge in the form of minotaurs/Slave Gnomes/Dark Elves/Centaurs/Hags/Banshees/Orcs/Shaman/More Trolls/Ogres/Gargoyles/Dryads/and others.....More War..More Battle..More EVIL!

 

I think the Zurich gnomes/dwarves were in "Make A Wish, by Rorschach's Blot"
Or a story similar to that anyway.

 

Yeah, I remember a fic mentioning them but I can't remember which one it was.

To clarify for anyone who doesn't know, 'Gnomes of Zurich' is a somewhat... uncomplimentary term for Swiss bankers. I believe a British politician came up with it.

Of course, this makes for a natural and clever conclusion that in the world of Harry Potter, the Gnomes of Zurich are actual gnomes.

(Having done a quick search, yes, this term was mentioned in chapter 10 of Make A Wish.

 

What was Flitwick? He's part something isn't he? Or was he just really short....

I think the idea of Harry facing dwarfs and gnomes in battle loses a little appeal when you visualise it... I mean... they're so little and have big beards, red hats and fishing poles. (Ignore the last part)

 

Yes, Flitwick is a filthy half-breed. Well he's part goblin to be more precise. Doesn't stop him from being efficient anyways.

I think goblins are a better substitute in HP world for the quintessential fantasy dwarf.

They are short, nasty and enjoy pointy objects, caves, precious goods (gold) and other things I can't think of right now.

 

I agree. They could be used more often in fanfics in roles other than banking. Since Dwarves are barely described in HP, it's much easier to write about goblins than make up a new race from scratch.