▲ Dobby from the film "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"
Fans of "Harry Potter" have successfully altered the route of a major UK power grid project to protect the grave of the fictional character "Dobby," according to reports by the BBC and other outlets on the 10th (local time).
Dobby is a house-elf character from J.K. Rowling's novel series and its film adaptations. The scene in the movie where the protagonist Harry buries Dobby, who died while helping him, was filmed at Freshwater West beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
Although the set for "Shell Cottage," the refuge used by Harry and his friends, was dismantled, visitors to the beach have built a makeshift memorial by stacking stones inscribed with messages such as "Here lies Dobby, a free elf" and "Rest in peace, Dobby."
However, when the British energy company National Grid pursued a 430 million pound (approx. 823 billion won) subsea cable power grid project that would run directly through the grave site, fierce protests poured in from fans who learned of the plan.
Simon Ludlam, the project manager, told the BBC, "We literally had hundreds of phone calls."
Ludlam, who was not very familiar with Dobby, recalled asking, "What does it matter, it's a fictional character?" to which a colleague replied, "No, it's a really big deal." Realizing the seriousness of the issue, he ultimately decided to completely redesign the route to avoid the grave.
Ludlam said, "The new route brings us quite close to an actual Bronze Age archaeological site, but we've managed to avoid Dobby's grave, and many fans are satisfied."
(Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Harry Potter.com, Yonhap News)
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