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Dumbledore, presumably knowing that house elves have powers that wizards do not, (such as being able to apparate within Hogwarts), could have asked them to help search for the chamber of secrets, since he knew it existed and Tom had opened it, though he could not find it. He also knew that Myrtle died when it was opened, so I expect that he asked her about it. If she told him the same that she told Harry (that she was in the bathroom, heard a boy's voice and died instantly after seeing a pair of great big yellow eyes), he would definitely have guessed that the bathroom had a lot to do with the chamber. The tap for the sink in front of her toilet had a copper snake engraved, and she said that the tap never worked. This is more than enough for Dumbledore to surely want to investigate the tap, so even if he could not sense the concealed entrance (though he certainly could by the time he entered the locket cave), he would know where to start searching. So why did he not get all the help he could? He was certainly not ignorant of the house elves and could understand them quite well (witness how he knew Winky's involvement in Barty's case).

Occam's razor tells me that it was a plot hole. But is there a good possible explanation consistent with the rest of the story? If he never asked Myrtle, why not? If he asked, why did he not find the tap and then the entrance? If he found the entrance but could not open it, why did he not ask the house elves to help? (And their apparation abilities would be useful here.) Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes was also able to apparate into the chamber of secrets when Harry mentioned Dumbledore to Tom (he appeared atop a pillar). There were just too many ways Dumbledore could have gotten into the chamber once he found the entrance, so is there evidence for why the house elves could not have helped him find it?

user21820
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2 Answers2

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TL;DR: Just because House-Elves can Apparate to places where wizards cannot, it doesn't mean that they can Apparate to every destination.

The exact location of the Chamber of Secrets was unknown and unseen for centuries. No one, except from the Heir of Slytherin, has ever visited this place and as far as I am concerned, there was no known indication in in-universe written material describing the interior of the place.

Although House-Elf Apparition is not bound to the same restrictions as the wizards' counterpart, the elf might still need to visualize the target location. JK Rowling has already confirmed that this the case for wizards:

Apparition requires knowledge of the terrain to which one is moving, or the ability to visualise it clearly.

JK Rowling FAQ, 20 December 2016

Keep in mind that Kreacher, who was able to Apparate to the cave with Regulus Black, has first visited the location with Voldemort himself. Kreacher didn't just "imagined" where they would like to go, with the elf magic doing the rest.

By taking this into account, Dumbledore couldn't just ask the House-Elves to try to Apparate there, even if he had managed to stand in front of the Chamber's gate. No House-Elf would have seen what's inside the gate, thus preventing them to Apparate. If that wasn't the case, Dumbledore would have used a House-Elf to enter the cave that the Locket-Horcurx was hidden and wouldn't travelled there or spent so much time searching it across the country, gathering memories of people close to Voldemort.

Moreover, the Chamber of Secrets was probably being protected with some sort of Anti-Apparition charm that was preventing the Apparition of House-Elves too, apart from wizards.

Note regarding Fawkes's Apparition

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets we see that Fawkes is able to Apparate into the Chamber, without the prior knowledge of the interior of the place. It is also stated that Fawkes did not fly all over from the Headmaster's office through the hole that Ron had made, as he was surprised seeing the phoenix there:

"Where'd that bird come from?!"

Chapter 17, "The Heir of Slytherin", Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Yet again, the magic of Fawkes might be different than the magic of House-Elves. Moreover, don't forget the fact that according to Dumbledore, Fawkes was summoned there due to his loyalty to Harry. That implies that Fawkes Apparated straight to where Harry was being located at that time, regardless of the lack of knowledge of the interior of the Chamber, the exact location of it or possible prevention charms that were put in place.

Phoenixes are probably able to find specific people without knowing the location of them, as Owls can find specific people to deliver letters, even if they were never given their address. The difference is that the former ones use Apparition to get there while the latter ones travel to them by flying.

(The assumption I've made previously about Dumbledore not using a House-Elf to directly Apparate into the cave of the Horcrux without knowing the location of it, applies here also.)

Note regarding Dobby's Apparition to Shell Cottage

Others have suggested, that Dobby was able to Apparate to Shell Cottage without ever seeing it. That's totally not true. First, Shell Cottage was being shielded by the Fidelius Charm thus no one, not even a House-Elf, could have entered the Charm's field if the Secret-Keeper hasn't revealed them the secret. Secondly, Dobby Apparated somewhere near Shell Cottage, following the instructions Ron explicitly gave to him (emphasis mine):

"Right. Dobby, I want you to grab Luna, Dean and Mr Ollivander, and take them ‒ take them to ‒"

"Bill and Fleur's", said Ron. "Shell Cottage on the outskirts of Tinworth!"

The elf nodded for a third time.

Chapter 23, "Malfoy Manor", Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Ron provided something like an "address" to Dobby which made them Apparate near the house of Bill and Fleur and not inside it.

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Lefteris008
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  • I was careful in my question to state exactly how they would be useful, in the case when Dumbledore can sense the entrance (and hence the empty space on the other side) but can't get into it for some reason. I also mentioned Fawkes who was definitely able to apparate into the chamber. – user21820 Dec 10 '16 at 13:18
  • @user21820 As for the House Elves part, I think that my answer covers your question. The only thing that might seem useful to Dumbledore, was the Elves Apparition that was not affected by the same restrictions as wizards'. – Lefteris008 Dec 10 '16 at 13:29
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    Yes so how do you know they are unable to apparate without seeing? Fawkes was able to, despite not having seen the chamber of secrets before! The in-universe evidence seems to be weakly not in your favour. – user21820 Dec 10 '16 at 13:32
  • Without a canon answer, we can only make assumptions. The knowledge of the target place prior to Apparition does make sense, as this is the case (albeit namely) with the wizards. – Lefteris008 Dec 10 '16 at 13:37
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    The problem is that the canon evidence is against your assumptions. It is an important plot point that elves and goblins have magic that is foreign and even largely unknown to wizards, so what is the case with wizards is irrelevant here. Now there is actual evidence of a creature that (I think) can't even cast spells (namely Fawkes) who can apparate into the chamber of secrets without having seen its interior before, so presumably many other magical creatures can too. It is also a crucial plot point that house elves can apparate within Hogwarts, so why not like Fawkes? – user21820 Dec 10 '16 at 13:42
  • I've read your updated answer. I still don't agree with two points. (1) I made it very clear in my comment that Fawkes did not go straight to Harry's location. So it is not meaningful to claim that he was blind to the chamber while apparating there. (2) Dobby must have apparated to Shell Cottage before the fidelius charm was put into place, as has been discussed on Scifi SE before. It is the only consistent solution to not breaking the Fidelius charm, which is strong enough to bind house elves because Kreacher could not reveal the Order's headquarters to Bellatrix. – user21820 Dec 12 '16 at 14:12
  • @user21820 1. Fawkes being able to Apparate to Harry's location does not imply that the bird would have appeared next to him but rather in the place that Harry was lying, generally. 2. Book 7 does a good job to not explicitly describe the whereabouts of Dobby's final Apparition place, thus allowing us to think that they might Apparated outside of the Charm's field and Bill and Fleur saw them from the windows. I do not believe in any way that JK left such a giant plot hole in the Fidelius Charm's properties in her last story, especially because it is the last story. – Lefteris008 Dec 12 '16 at 14:19
  • You're assuming they cast the charm before they escaped there. Why? There is no plot hole at all if they cast the charm after that. So you can't use it as any evidence whatsoever for or against the apparition abilities of house elves. – user21820 Dec 12 '16 at 14:24
  • The Fidelius Charm could have been casted months prior to this event because Voldemort was out in the open for months. It would be foolish not to shield their residence right after their wedding. What I am suggesting is that they Apparated outside of its field but due to the fact that Dobby was stubbed and Harry was shouting, Bill and Fleur would have heard them and would have seen them form the windows. Book 7 cuts through there and we have never learnt about Bill bringing them in. – Lefteris008 Dec 12 '16 at 14:29
  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. – Null Dec 12 '16 at 15:05
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    I’m not sure owls can find people without address. Otherwise you would just write the name of the person you want and follow the owl to locate them. There would be no hiding – atakanyenel Mar 23 '19 at 12:23
  • @atayenel Well, in the entire series Harry was sending by explicitly stating only the name of the recipient. "Can you take this to Sirius for me?", he said, picking up his letter. [...] "I'll be at Ron's when you get back, all right?", Harry told her. She nipped his finger affectionately, then, with a soft swooshing noise, spread herenormous wings and soared out of the open window.* -Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. – Lefteris008 Mar 23 '19 at 13:17
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It would be too dangerous for them. Dumbledore's attitude towards his students may be criminally reckless on occasion, but he never forced anyone to risk their lives. Sending house-elves into the Chamber of Secrets would be tantamount to a death sentence.

Besides, the Chamber has been part of Hogwarts ever since it was first built, about a thousand years ago, and has been served by house-elves all that time. If they were capable of finding the Chamber, they would surely have already done so. We have to assume that it was simply too well-protected. Perhaps Salazar Slytherin was not as complacent about (or ignorant of) the abilities of house-elves as his heir.

You argue that Dumbledore would have spoken to Myrtle and deduced where the entrance to the Chamber was, at least approximately, enough to aid in a search. Even if he did know where the entrance was it would not necessarily provide enough assistance to the house-elves to make a new search worthwhile, but I'm not convinced that he did.

For one thing, the Basilisk roamed freely throughout the castle, so it was only a coincidence that Myrtle was killed at the very entrance to the Chamber - not something Dumbledore could have reasonably been expected to guess. Also, we don't know whether Myrtle would even be willing to talk to an adult. In the books, the only times she speaks there are no adults present. (That might just be a coincidence, of course.)

Had Dumbledore known where the entrance was, he would surely have been able to break in one way or another, or failing that, blocked the entrance so that the Basilisk couldn't get out. Or set a trap for it. I conclude, therefore, that he didn't know - and probably didn't even know that the monster was a Basilisk - and that a house-elf search of the castle would be both dangerous on the one hand and futile on the other.

Harry Johnston
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  • That's a good point but it is never implied that Dumbledore knew that the Heir of Slytherin controlled a Basilisk which resided in the Chamber of Secrets. As you yourself wrote, had he known, he would have blocked the entrance or he would have shielded the pipes of the water supply network inside the castle, let alone the fact that he would have tried to capture it or kill it. – Lefteris008 Dec 11 '16 at 10:49
  • I didn't really assume he knew where the chamber was. Even if he didn't, why isn't there any mention that he asked the house elves to search for it? Your answer suggests to me a possible reason that even searching for the chamber might be dangerous, and might serve as a reasonable answer, though as I explained in my question I'm quite sure that if Dumbledore had asked Myrtle (which anyone investigating ought to have!) then she would have told him what she told Harry. Oh well. I think my guess that it is a plot hole is the right one. – user21820 Dec 12 '16 at 14:03
  • Don't be quick to flag it as a plot hole. While in my answer I mentioned this possibility, we are analyzing the story from the eyes of a "god". We have seen the entire story, we have heard conversations and opinions throughout the books that no single person have had. Dumbledore may be a wise and gifted wizard but he doesn't know everything. – Lefteris008 Dec 12 '16 at 14:26
  • I don't think Myrtle's testimony, taken in isolation, would have provided enough information to be useful. Besides, we don't know whether Myrtle would have been willing to talk to adults - as far as I can recall, we only ever see her talking when there are no adults around. – Harry Johnston Dec 12 '16 at 21:19
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    @HarryJohnston: Sorry I didn't get notified of your comment. I'm not sure Dumbledore didn't know, but now I'm thinking there's another possibility, namely that he knew much more than it appears. For example, after they open Colin's camera and it melted, he tells McGonagall as a matter of fact that the chamber was indeed open again, and that the question is not who but how. As hinted at the end, he must have known throughout that Voldemort was hiding in Albania and could not figure out how he could enchant a student to open the chamber. And then there was Pettigrew's life debt to Harry... – user21820 Dec 14 '16 at 08:28
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    Anyway if we assume that Dumbledore really didn't know where the chamber was, then perhaps the reason he didn't ask Myrtle was because he was afraid of speaking to the dead due to his family history. Otherwise I really would have expected him to ask her about it at least once the chamber was opened the second time. – user21820 Dec 14 '16 at 08:34