Now, you're probably asking yourself what in the (wizarding) world I'm talking about. In Britain, there are constantly people coming into your room while you are not there to fix things, tidy it up, etc. It's a fairly normal occurrence to come back from a long day to discover that the house elves have in fact visited, and left you with a cleaner/working room.
At first blush, this seems like a huge invasion of privacy. But then, as the time marches on and you spend more of your days in crowded restaurants and public transportation, you realize that space and privacy are really not to be had in Europe. You start to view Suburbans as massive wastes of space, and double beds as luxurious (don't even get me started on queen-sized). You can't imagine eating a meal without the surrounding tables sitting less than a foot away from yours. And strangers using you as a human steadying pole in the Tube is completely normal.
Suddenly, having someone to tidy and fix things is just wonderful. And you begin to hope that the house elves will visit you again soon.
*This is a term invented by Michaela and me when she came to visit Cambridge. I'm sure there's a legitimate term for these people (who are actually humans and not vanishing hobbits), but I can't remember it at the moment.
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