It appears that as things currently stand, most elves do not want to free. This could be due to one of two things: either it is in their nature to love to serve or their preferences have been permanently warped by that bonding spell cast on them a millennium prior.

Consequently, we need to find a way to learn which of these hypotheses are true. After all: even though no human in their right mind would dream of having their head on a stick, this may be the natural heaven for house-elves! If it turns out the bonding spell has warped their brains, the natural thing to do would be to reverse it; if not, we should focus more on the quality of employers.

William//Slytherin