Augusta Longbottom's hat.

[physicssquid]

Has anyone any idea why Augusta Longbottom wears a vulture on her hat?

Is it like Wheezy1 suggests in his story, Harry Potter and the Manipulator of Destiny, an old custom, to wear a different bird for a different meaning;-

"Why a vulture?" Gran Longbottom asked with amusement at the carefully blanked look on Hermione's face. The young witch nodded with curiosity.

"Ah – it's an old custom" the elderly witch sighed. "In my day all witches had birds on their hats for different meanings. A young dove meant the lady was single and available, a crow meant the witch was on a mission or bound to a calling, a quail was a mother or housewife. You will note that several of your professors use the modern version of a single feather in their hats. A vulture was the sign of mourning. I never have got over the loss of my husband. When and if the time comes, and I feel up to a new husband, I will remove the vulture."

or is it, as Sinyk postulated in Harry Potter and the Four Heirs, just her idea of muggle fashion?

The last time I saw an image of Madam Longbottom she was wearing upon her head a stuffed vulture. She thought it was the height of fashion in the mundane world."

"Why ever would she think such a thing?" asked the Queen quizzically.

"I believe she may have seen a mundane lady wearing a fascinator that had a small bird affixed to it, and she made assumptions from there.

It doesn't seem likely that there wouldn't be a reason for her to wear a bird, but I can't really think of what reason she could have.

[Kitty279]

No idea, to be honest. It appears a bit eccentric, and maybe intimidating?

[Miss Wings]

There's also a story that says it was due to a bet she lost with Molly Weasley, I'm afraid I can't remember the name of the story though.

[Kitty279]

Oh, I vaguely remember something like that, too. Didn't she later somehow manage to get the hat off to someone else? But I don't know which story that was, either. Been reading too many.

[Miss Wings]

Is it one of Robst Stories? I'm sure it's a H/HR one.

[Kitty279]

Doubt it, but still not sure. Have the vague memory that it was somehow connected to a shopping trip to Harrods, so you could be right about the pairing. But beyond that ...

That's what you get when you are reading too many fics - and all at once, due to having to wait for updates. It's so hard to remember what was where

[G. Novella]

The hat? In my Headcanon it's because she's a fashionable and intimidating woman, and the vulture feather hat probably was expensive and the height of fashion. Reminds me a bit of the 1920s(?) old Hollywood glamour too, and I get the feeling wizards choose their muggle fashion during a decade and never really out grow it.

[Kitty279]

You mean Augusta is wearing Muggle fashion? Not too sure about it. But you are certainly right about them wearing stuff that's so behind the time ... and nowadays the fashion changes probably even faster than when Augusta and her generation was young, so they would be even more behind. Not that any wizard would even notice, save the Muggleborns, of course.

[G. Novella]

Not muggle fashion per say, but it doesn't seem too far fetched to assume with Muggle-borns around, a few muggle-inspired fashion items might crop up, especially if the tailor slips it in. I could imagine the tailor at the time taking a few ideas from the muggle world if she was muggle-born, or even half-blood.

[Kitty279]

You know, now I remember seeing something on TV about the horse races in Ascot and the ridiculous hats some women were wearing. If *that* was an inspiration, too, I shouldn't be so surprised about anything