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Post by RandomPasserby on Jan 21, 2015 23:03:32 GMT -5
We know that there's huge world-building gaps in the Harry Potter universe and we've discussed some of them. So this is a thread for those silly little questions which sometimes strike as your reading or writing within the HP universe.
The current ones I'm wondering about are.
What does Harry do with his old schoolbooks? Every year Harry gets a new booklist and the old ones are never mentioned again. What happens to the old books and where does he put them?
Why is the picture of Sirius in POA current? OK so in the early parts of PoA we see the muggle news report and the Daily Prophet picture of Sirius Black. Both times he's described as gaunt with a mass of matted hair. Presumably he did not look like that November 1981 which is probably when any sort of mug shot or processing photo would have been taken. Given that he was never going to be released (since he'd never been sentenced) and the human Azkaban guards can't be bothered to feed him properly or let him cut his hair why would they have an up-to-date photo of him in 1993?
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Post by physicssquid on Jan 22, 2015 14:59:57 GMT -5
That question about Sirius, is a really good one, and the same can be asked of the ten who escaped in OotP.
My guess would be that there is some kind of magic surrounding mug-shots, unlike other photographs, that makes the subject appear to age and change with time. So maybe, the mug-shot of Sirius, taken in 1981, would change to reflect how Sirius' actual appearance changed, so if he cut his hair, then the picture would show that.
I may be totally wrong, but it does sound like a nice idea, and, there may even be a better explanation out there. Who knows what JK was thinking when she wrote that part of the book, if she actually had a proper plan for that at all, and didn't think it was too unimportant to require an explanation.
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Post by Kitty279 on Jan 23, 2015 3:59:02 GMT -5
I'd assume the books ended up somewhere at the bottom of his trunk. He certainly didn't leave them at Privet Drive - the Dursleys would have gotten apoplexy.
The picture of Sirius is a very good question. Maybe JKR did read 'The picture of Dorian Grey' and adapted the idea for her purpose? Anyway, do the wizards even take mugshots? And more importantly, why would they do it in Sirius' case, considering that they left out every single other regular procedure anyway?
Maybe they took some hairs found in the cells, had some guard take Polyjuice and then took the photos? That way they might be a bit more recent?
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Post by Miss Wings on Jan 23, 2015 8:38:28 GMT -5
Maybe it's something to ask her on Twitter?
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Post by RandomPasserby on Jan 23, 2015 10:39:00 GMT -5
And now all I can think about is a situation like CoS where they get some of the dog hair rather than the human hair and some guard ends up half human half dog and everyone is wondering how on earth a dog got into Azkaban. |
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Post by Kitty279 on Jan 23, 2015 16:03:49 GMT -5
ROFL - hadn't even thought of that! Oh yes, they would be wondering. Save they die of fright because the guard suddenly looks more like a grim and we all know that means you drop dead really soon, right?  At that point, they'd explain the dog away as the grim which can get in everywhere. |
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Post by stelladelnordxd on Jan 27, 2015 18:39:12 GMT -5
Ah man, now I have a fanfiction idea. Thanks guys, like I don't have enough of those  |
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Post by Kitty279 on Jan 28, 2015 1:34:40 GMT -5
And not enough time to write even the ones you already started, right? I know what you mean, I don't really get on with my own story, either *sigh* Seriously, though, from what I remember of CoS, it's probably more likely that someone taking Polyjuice with Padfoot hair would stay human with some fur on the body or something along that line, but that idea with the guards seeing the grim just ignored the facts  Wizards are so superstitious that it would be much more fun than happening what did with Hermione, considering Padfoot's form. A more serious idea would be that they took photos inside Pensieve memories; Fudge and the guards would have seen the prisoners now and then, after all. We know for sure about Sirius, though not about the ones who broke out later in OotP Sure, taking photos in the pensieve is fanon and I don't know if it is possible, but if it is, then that would be a way to get somewhat recent pictures. |
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Post by RandomPasserby on Feb 3, 2015 13:08:52 GMT -5
Another little question
What do Hogwarts students do for shampoo and conditioner? I mean, do they pack four months worth of it? Buy it via owl order? Is it provided by the school? It's not like Hogsmeade visits are frequent enough (and even then, what about first and second years).
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Post by Kitty279 on Feb 3, 2015 15:37:36 GMT -5
It's not just shampoo and conditioner, but a lot of other stuff as well. Parchment, quills and ink, for instance - how do they know how much they need for the whole year? What if they take so many notes it doesn't last until the end of the year? *cough*Hermione*cough*? Can they owl-order everything, and how does payment work? Particularly for Muggleborn with limited wizard money?
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Post by RandomPasserby on Feb 3, 2015 19:08:23 GMT -5
One thing that occurred to me. Sirius says he paid for the Firebolt by sending Crookshanks with an owl order form using Harry's name but his vault number.
So would it not be possible to put down your name but a random vault number and, as long as there was enough gold in the vault to cover it, it would be paid for. You'd be guessing, but the worst that would happen would be they'd think you were broke. I mean evidently the people who sell things (even really expensive broomsticks) don't actually check the name of owner of the vault against the name on the form.
And evidently if the form functions as a sort of promissory note (like a cheque) then the goblins are (once again) very bad at vault security. Since they're OK with Hagrid handing an easily faked note over, they're OK with Hagrid having Harry's key and they're OK with Molly going to Harry's vault without Harry. Screw the goblins, I'll keep my money in a bank where random people can't just steal it.
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Post by Kitty279 on Feb 4, 2015 1:23:56 GMT -5
Yeah, that's something I noticed as well. At first, I thought Hagrid having Harry's key is maybe just because he was only allowed in at age 11, and with the firebolt they may have a way to detect forgeries. But the more instances we see, the less likely that was. Another thing JKR didn't really think through, but handled how it was convenient for her right then.
Of course, you could ask if the meaning of the word 'security' is even really known in the magical world. Gringotts' much flaunted security isn't that great, and Hogwarts, supposedly the safest place in the magical world, is a death trap, after all.
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Post by RandomPasserby on Feb 25, 2015 6:48:56 GMT -5
Another little question.
The Mirror of Erised shows Harry's family. How does it know what Harry's family looks like?
Harry (as of Christmas '91) has no conscious memories of his parents (other than green light and a scream) and hasn't seen a picture of them yet. All he knows is that he looks like his dad and has his mother's eyes. Let alone the multitude of family who also appear.
I mean yes magic, but the magic has to draw on something. Ron has a reasonable idea of what he'll look like when he's older, he knows what Head Boy and Quidditch Captain badges look like. He's seen the House and Quidditch cup. So it makes sense that his vision of himself as Head Boy, Quidditch captain and holding the two cups would be realistic.
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Post by Kitty279 on Feb 25, 2015 7:19:47 GMT -5
Very good point! He indeed got his photo album only at the end of the year, about six months later, and even then I believe it's mostly pictures of his parents, not the rest of the family. So the mirror didn't have anything to base the picture on. Another plothole I hadn't considered before and never seen mentioned anywhere.
Right now I don't have any idea how that could be explained. God, I'd so like to give such a looong list with that sort of questions and mistakes to JKR to answer ...
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Post by RandomPasserby on Mar 21, 2015 17:53:10 GMT -5
This isn't such a little question.
Who came up with the epitaph for James and Lily's graves?
We don't know how religious Lily was, and given that James was pureblooded he likely had no clue about Christianity. I'm not religious myself but I know that the actual quote 'the last enemy that shall be defeated is death' is from Corinthians and refers to Jesus defeating death as an enemy. Which is more in line with Voldemort than it is with 'death is just the next great adventure'.
If anything, and I looked this up, it's 1 Corinthians 13 which would have appealed to Lily. Young wife and mother with a baby born with a prophecy hanging over his head. It also would have been far more appropriate for the message of the story. In fact, I highlighted some of the bits I thought she would like.
1 Corinthians 13
'If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.'
If I were a scared twenty-one year old, looking to a religion I probably hadn't had much to do with in ten years, the parent of a child with a killer after him, I can't say that reading about Jesus trampling things would comfort me so much as reading about how love is more important than prophecy.
Of course this is all predicated on James and Lily being the ones to decide what appeared on their graves. Which I doubt.
Normally I'd blame Dumbledore but again, the verse about death just doesn't make sense unless he already suspected Voldemort wasn't dead and decided to use a gravestone to convey that. In which case he's a dickhead.
I don't know, I'm overthinking things
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Post by physicssquid on Mar 21, 2015 19:56:15 GMT -5
You might be, but it sounds like a nice idea, Lily looking to a religion she might not have had anything to do with, at all, when thinking about her epitaph. There are no mentions of religion in the series, not that I've been able to find, so maybe the Evans' weren't religious, and whoever chose the epitaph chose that phrase without even knowing it's true origin. I doubt that any of the purebloods, even those like the Weasleys and Potters, would want much to do with a religion that had been used as an excuse for the witch-hunts, and I'm almost positive that even if the Dursleys went to church regularly, to show how normal they were, they would have kept Harry away, believing that he was so unnatural that he would be struck down as soon as he stepped inside.
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Post by RandomPasserby on Mar 21, 2015 23:36:25 GMT -5
Given Harry's absolute lack of curiosity about his parents it's entirely possible that Lily was at least mildly religious. Actually, it would probably be weirder if she wasn't, considering she was growing up in the 1960's and 70's. I mean 40 years later, in the 2001 census, when they added a religious affiliation question, people from the Midlands (where Cokeworth supposedly was) were about four to six times as likely to report being Christian as opposed to having no religious affiliation. In the 60's, that would have been much higher even if they were only Christmas and Easter Christians. Which is what I suspect the Dursleys were as well (although I concur with you that Harry wouldn't have been allowed to go - though I think it was more to do with 'not letting the boy near anything or anyone nice' rather than 'boy will explode if he goes in a church')
Besides that, I went to an ostensibly non-religious school (or at least not a CoE or Catholic one) and we still had Christian prayers at the end of assemblies and Christmas plays were entirely Jesus (or Santa) focused. So she would have known about Christianity through cultural osmosis at least. Frankly, my bets are on the Evans being Church of England, Lily and Petunia were most likely baptised and may have been confirmed but I doubt the Evans attended church more regularly than special occasions. Petunia and Vernon probably had a church wedding and Dudley was probably baptised as well, but again, I doubt they went more often than twice a year bar weddings and funerals.
Still, it's a fairly obscure biblical reference to put on a gravestone from someone who doesn't know much about the Bible. I mean, some of the parts of Corinthians I quoted are probably far more recognisable. Or there's the standard 'beloved child/spouse/friend/parent' which is probably more generic but also more respectful unless the person in question has specifically requested a particular quote.
And now I'm wondering who organised the funeral at all? Who decided to bury them in Godric's Hollow (a place they weren't connected to at all apart from it being where they died)?
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Post by Kitty279 on Mar 22, 2015 1:35:22 GMT -5
Interesting. I never knew where that quote came from; while I am baptised and all, I see churches from inside at most for weddings and sightseeing.
Always suspected Dumbledore, too, because frankly, the old man was controlling every little thing in Harry's life, and I am sure he ordered the funeral, too. As for the italised bits you quoted, these would fit well, yes. BUT: The reason Dumbledore would fight them tooth and nail is exactly that they are connected to the topic of prophesies. He wouldn't want anyone to make that connection. Heaven forbid someone found out or, worse, Harry connected the dots before the old meddler could find the worst point in time possible to tell him.
Again, I'd say Dumbledore. I always suspected that he encouraged the BWL cult, actually, as it led to building up Harry as the martyr and served as excuse for Durskaban and everything else, including him deciding about Harry's life. So, having the Potters buried in Godric's Hollow and making the destroyed house into a monument for them to keep the reminder alive seems fitting for his plans.
Which reminds me ... how comes that everyone knew so well how Harry looked, scar inclusive? Did Hagrid blurt that out everywhere, or was Dumbledore behind that? How could they tell from seeing Harry the one day as a baby it would leave such a prominent scar? My cuts usually heal without leaving any, after all. Did a healer tell them it would leave one? Then - why did said healer not act about the Horcrux or anything? (Not to mention that the book still sounds as if Hagrid picked the baby up while alone with only Sirius there, and flew straight to Little Whinging - which would make sure there was no health check, no healing, no spells, and when did the MOB even raise his vaunted blood wards?)
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Post by RandomPasserby on Mar 23, 2015 13:03:08 GMT -5
To be honest, I'm not at all religious myself and I wasn't baptised (my mother is a very lapsed Catholic).
It probably was Dumbledore just because he was in charge of the Order and because there weren't any other adults to take care of it. Still, even for him it seems weird just because you'd think he'd want something about love being this unstoppable force (since that's what he thought the 'power he knows not' was) in case someone made the connection or Harry managed to find someone to take him to see his parents graves (again, something which should have happened long before 1997 but which Harry is remarkably uncurious about).
Yes, I have to wonder why 'pretend Harry died and let him live a normal life' wasn't even considered as an option. What's one more war orphan? I mean imagine if Voldemort hadn't made Horcruxes; Quirrell was just a greedy bastard who was more competent than he appeared; the Basilisk was just hungry and kept accidentally petrifying people; Pettigrew didn't find baby Voldemort when he left Hogwarts in third year; and Barty Crouch Junior was just a mentally ill murderer with delusions that Voldemort was still alive?
Dumbledore would have allowed a child to be abused for thirteen years because he was betting on a long shot. He either had fuck all evidence as of 1981 that Voldemort would or even could rise from the dead OR he had evidence and then spent fourteen years of peacetime doing fuck all about it.
Actually that seems to be a running theme of Dumbledore, especially if he was as manipulative as he ends up seeming or how he's written in some fanfics. He bets hugely on massive fucking long shots and sometimes they pay off. That isn't 'manipulating' that's sheer luck.
My guess is the same as yours if only because Hagrid is not a credible source. If Hagrid claimed to have seen the Boy-Who-Lived (a moniker which seems to have been established by November 1st 1981) I'm sure so were a hundred other people. Dumbledore though, Dumbledore is a creditable source.
Yeah, I have to wonder how much Dumbledore cared about James and Lily since - if he was the one in charge of where they were buried - he decided that a monument was more important than privacy (or, you know, letting their son see them).
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Post by Kitty279 on Mar 24, 2015 1:36:59 GMT -5
But what if a returned Voldemort made the choice and tried to take steps to remove that danger? Dumbledore wouldn't want anyone to know save Harry. And yes, Harry was remarkably uncurious about his parents, but I sometimes wonder who would have been a good choice to ask anyway. Hagrid would just talk about how great they were, Dumbledore can't answer a question straight to save his life, the other teachers weren't that approachable and Harry didn't trust them. Outside of school ... the Dursleys are out in any way possible, Molly would probably tell him not to worry about such a sad thing, and be after everyone, and particularly Sirius, who tried to talk about "war stories" with Harry. It's really sad that by the time he wanted to know more about James and Lily, all their friends were dead or unreachable for him.
The cynic in me says a normal life was out because Dumbledore wanted a nicely malleable, downbeaten sacrificial lamb. Can you tell that I am reading too much (Dumbledore-bashing) fanfiction? But IF it were as you say, then it would have been even more inexcusable as it already was to send Harry to Durskaban. After all, the old meddler knew from the beginning that he would be abused.
Half the schemes Dumbledore had don't make any sense, if you ask me. Too reliant on sheer luck. And some were too dumb for words. Sending untrained teenagers after the Horcruxes, without an adult, without a curse-breaker, without even knowledge how to destroy them? Puh-leeze. Or leaving it to Snape, of all people, to tell Harry about the Horcrux in his scar? Honestly, that could only work because Harry was either completely brainwashed or under compulsions, because we are talking about the man who tortured him for his whole time at school and who was the one to send Voldemort after his parents, which Harry knew. No normal teenager would have believed that greasy git a word about how he had to sacrifice himself. Coming from Snape, it sounds more like another attempt to get the last Potter killed, regardless of any Horcrux. So, yes, his manipulations and schemes were more than risky, if not downright stupid, dangerous and irresponsible. Plus, it leaves the impression that he didn't care how many hundred or thousand people died because he couldn't be straight with people and tell them the truth, or get off his bony arse and do something himself instead of waiting for Harry to grow up and then dropping the whole mess on him. Even IF Harry had to kill Voldemort - where in the prophecy was it said that he had to go alone against not only Voldemort, but all the Death Eaters as well? But there was no real help until the end, and I don't think even Dumbledore could have planned the Battle of Hogwarts out like that so far in advance.
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Post by RandomPasserby on Mar 26, 2015 7:20:56 GMT -5
I suppose, and this is looking at it as an academically trained historian; I'd ask Hermione which books she found the largest section dedicated to me in and then write to them asking for their sources (they might not have any but that's beside the point), I'd also look for books specifically about me which had first person accounts about my parents and write to them. Knowing that my father played Quidditch I'd go looking for Quidditch cup winning teams, which there has to be a list of, and write everyone who was on the team with my dad asking 'can you tell me anything about him or tell me who to write'. I'd go back to Gringotts and ask if there was any way to tell if I owned property (James parents were wealthy and the Potters had nothing to do with Godric's Hollow ergo there is a house somewhere in England which Harry owns) I'd also have a more thorough look through my vault for anything from my parents. Where are/were James and Lily's possessions?
Failing all of those I'd just put an advert in the Daily Prophet 'Harry Potter seeks information about his parents, James and Lily Potter'. You'd get a lot of people who knew nothing but there would be some who knew something.
I suppose that's the thing that pisses me off the most about Remus. He barely admits to knowing, let alone being best friends with, James and then is completely incommunicado through fourth year. I bet Remus could tell some stories but he doesn't and I don't know why and it annoys me.
That's the thing I get most angry with Dumbledore apologists for. Because in 1981 Dumbledore either had evidence about Horcruxes and did nothing (which might be a viable reason for leaving Harry at the Dursleys) or he had a 'feeling' and left Harry at the Dursleys because of that. The fact he was right has fuck all to do with it.
Now admittedly, it's entirely possible he had no idea Harry was going to be abused - Vernon and Petunia could have been dying to have another child, Harry could have been spoilt and coddled the same as Dudley. Conversely, that sort of abuse could have messed up his head far more seriously. So even putting Harry at the Dursleys with the intent for him to be abused, there's this tiny chance that Harry gets abused enough to have no self esteem, little curiosity and this sort of passively suicidal bravery but nothing else.
I still maintain that the easiest way to stop Voldemort would be to blow the fucker up somewhere around the end of Book 5. Oh it wouldn't have killed him fully but it took him 13 years to get re-embodied the first time (and that's presuming that the ritual he performed in GoF can be performed again) so you'd have at least two years of mostly peacefulness to hunt Horcruxes and work your way up to killing him fully.
Yeah, the thing with Snape. Literally if that had happened any other way than Snape giving all his memories to Harry while dying, I doubt Harry would have believed him in the slightest. Also yes, let's entrust the plan to the guy who is playing two sides and one side is a homicidal Dark Lord and a load of minions jockeying for power. He won't end up dying because he wore the wrong robes on Tuesday or turned his back on the wrong person.
Dumbledore isn't a master manipulator, he's a gambling addict. He keeps making bigger and bigger bets on longer and longer odds and he keeps winning so he keeps making bets. He doesn't ever think he's going to lose and therefore the fact he's betting on people's lives doesn't occur to him.
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Post by Kitty279 on Mar 31, 2015 11:05:41 GMT -5
Good ideas to find out more, yes. But it appears obvious that JKR didn't want Harry to know anything about his parents save Snape's memories. After all, she needed to vilify the Marauders in order to make the Death Eaters look like saints. That's another one of these things that annoy me no end. And if you leave the author out of it, then I sometimes wonder if Harry was under compulsions not to find out anything about his family, because Dumbledore didn't want anyone to interfere with his control of the BWL.
Never understood Remus in that regard, either. Was it just his inability to take responsibility, or did Dumbledore tell him not to tell Harry anything, and Remus listened because he owes the old codger for allowing him to go to Hogwarts? But what annoys me the most is that he basically vanished after the third year again. Sirius managed to keep in touch, despite being on the run and hunted by magical and muggle law enforcements, he even risked coming back. So, why did Remus not manage to at least send a letter or two?
Look up what Dumbledore said to Harry after the DoM disaster. He *knew* he was sentencing Harry to 'ten dark and difficult years'. So I think Dumbledore knew perfectly well that Harry would be abused. Sometimes I wonder if he ever thought about the possibility that, by repeating the same mistake he made in the 40's, he could raise another Voldemort, because abuse doesn't necessarily make people friendly, kind and helpful, but can turn them into distrustful, cruel people, too.
You won't get any disagreement from me for that. Actually - what if they had blown up Voldemort after GoF and *then* destroyed the Horcruxes? Maybe Dumbledore in the DoM? Would he even be able to come back, with all his soul anchors taken out? Would the remaining tiny bit of soul in his own body even be enough to sustain him then if he was just a wraith? But of course, Dumbledore wanted to fulfil the prophecy at all costs, so Harry needed to suffer and sacrifice himself. For I doubt there was really no way to remove the Horcrux otherwise.
And Snape wouldn't die in one of Voldy's temper tantrums - see Malfoy Manor, where he killed everyone not fast enough in escaping the room.
You know what the best punishment for Dumbledore would be? Let him be re-embodied as Harry and force him to live through exactly what he put him through. And then let him be reembodied as others he hurt so much with his manipulations, one after the other.
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Post by physicssquid on Apr 1, 2015 13:30:55 GMT -5
Thinking about Remus, was he the only Werewolf to attend Hogwarts, and if so, why would Dumbledore give him that chance, but not let other werewolves in?
Someone really cynical could say that Dumbledore wanted a Werewolf who felt so indebted to him, that he/she would always support him, no matter what.
Others, who maybe aren't that cynical or anti-Dumbledore could say that he either didn't tell the Board of Governors about Remus' lycanthropy until it was too late, or they couldn't say or do anything against Dumbledore due to his fame and image.
There may be plenty of other answers to the question, that maybe I haven't thought about, but it is quite interesting that there are no mentions, in any canon source, of other Werewolves attending Hogwarts.
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Post by Kitty279 on Apr 4, 2015 1:53:51 GMT -5
Someone really cynical could say that Dumbledore wanted a Werewolf who felt so indebted to him, that he/she would always support him, no matter what. By now I am very tempted to be exactly that cynical ... he got what he wanted, after all, Remus listened always more to Dumbledore than to his common sense. And when you think about it, the old goat needed someone to spy on the werewolves for him, right? Is it coincidence that Remus started Hogwarts just with Voldemort's rise to power? The first war started 1970, and the Marauders started school in 1971. And they were obviously recruited into the Order the moment they were out of school. They never knew, if you ask me, or Remus wouldn't have had to leave after third year when Snape outed him. If they had found out during or after his school time already, it would have been all over the magical world in no time. So I doubt anyone save the teachers and the Marauders knew. Of course, you can say JKR didn't want to write another such case because she needed just the one werewolf for the story, but that's lazy writing. She really tends to invent something and use it for one occasion and then ignore it for the rest of the series again because she doesnt need it any more. |
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Post by RandomPasserby on Apr 13, 2015 2:23:20 GMT -5
I know what Dumbledore said but that doesn't mean that November 1st 1981 he had any clue about what Vernon and Petunia would do. Especially since, short of compulsions or the Imperius, how the fuck could he know how they'd act, there are hundreds of different ways that could have gone (spoilt Harry, Tom Riddle Harry, dead Harry, mentally ill Harry, Harry who doesn't just shake off ten years of abuse in two minutes). What it could mean is he's trying to justify him finding out about the abuse, doing nothing and forbidding anyone who also knew from doing anything.
I think the latter is more plausible if only because that doesn't end up with the assumption that Dumbledore was an active participant in Harry's abuse rather than passively allowing it to happen.
Exactly. Mind you my assumption is that he did deliberately allow a single werewolf into Hogwarts and, when Remus showed the appropriate characteristics (Gryffindor, indebted to Dumbledore) didn't feel the need to have another one.
Sirius, on the other hand, was and always has been a wild card. When he was kicked out of his family Dumbledore was poised to do the same sort of favour for him by offering him somewhere to stay and making sure he could still go to Hogwarts but Sirius went to the Potters instead.
and now another little question
Who actually invented Levicorpus? I mean it's noted in the Half Blood Prince's book yes, but that's a sixth and seventh year text book and the first use of it we see is in 1976 (5th year for Snape and the Marauders), Remus also mentions that it was in vogue for a few months in their fifth year and that being turned upside down was pretty common. So did Snape really invent it?
(also excuse me for a few minutes while I point out that James Potter could do non-verbal spells in his fifth year)
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Post by Kitty279 on Apr 13, 2015 14:36:48 GMT -5
I don't know ... considering the unhealthy interest Dumbledore had in Harry from day one, I'd think he tried to find out everything about her family from Lily, or how did he even know about the Dursleys? Does the Ministry keep track and a register of non-magical relatives of muggleborns beyond the parents of minors? Rather doubt it; they would be beneath them, after all. So, he surely knew Lily didn't get along with Petunia? Plus, he seems to have sent Hagrid the moment the Potters were dead to kidnap their son from his rightful guardian, which sounds to me like he already had it planned out and didn't first have to find a solution. And McGonagall told him they are the worst kind of Muggles, which he ignored. His questionable blood wards are more important than giving Harry a proper home, after all.
Then he had Figg stationed nearby to spy for him (and that's what she did in my eyes). So, he knew early on, and still kept sending Harry back there again and again. Even if he didn't know from day one how bad it was, he must have known early on and still enforced the continued abuse. So, in my eyes, he's not only accessory to child abuse, but actively encouraged it. What is passive about sending him back there after first year and all the other years?
Did you ever wonder how Dumbledore knew that Vernon was about to throw Harry out of the house in OotP? That howler was suspiciously timed, to put it mildly. By now, I wonder if he had a way to listen in to their conversations. If so, what does that imply about his knowledge of the abuse?
As for Levicorpus - interesting question. If Snape invented it, you have certainly to wonder how it was well-enough known to be used against him, right? He wouldn't want to give his invention to everyone, his enemies included. So, how did the spell get out? The only way for them to know in that case would have been that he used it on the Marauders one time too many and they turned the tables on him. Which would put paid to the bullying accusations against James and Sirius. And I thought Snape was good in Potions, no one said anything about spellcrafting.
Only recently I had a fanfiction that gave the credits to the Marauders instead of Snape, btw.
Hm, now you have me wondering if he really invented Sectmsempra, either.
Did you ever wonder if that whole memory wasn't a fake and set-up to drive a further wedge between Sirius, Remus and Harry and to hurt Harry?
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Post by RandomPasserby on Apr 14, 2015 13:05:08 GMT -5
If you remember Petunia wrote to Dumbledore (somehow) asking if she couldn't go to Hogwarts as well. So he knew she existed as of '71. As for the rest of it, Dumbledore knows about what goes on within Hogwarts and it's not like the Order was so very big. Maybe Lily mentioned something about Petunia being pregnant at the same time as her, or about her not even being invited to Petunia's wedding. Their parents probably died sometime between '77 and '81 so there might have been that as well.
Well there were four of them so really it would only take one time, Snape casts it on one of them and there are still three who aren't hanging upside down to remember 'Levicorpus'. But for it to get out so far that the whole school uses it would require an awful lot of use.
But if he didn't invent it and just wrote it down in his book that raises the question of why it wasn't in any other published book (to the point that James and Snape can use Levicorpus and presumably Sectumsempra silently in fifth year in order to keep the spells silent).
It is entirely possible to be multitalented and we don't know whether they were spells his mother taught him, since he must have had something to bring to the Death Eater table to get associated with Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange.
No, not really. For one, I cannot picture Snape willingly putting himself (even in pretend) in that sort of humiliating situation. For two, that's an almost Dumbledore-esque level of gambling. For three, that indicates a knowledge of Harry which Snape likely doesn't have or doesn't care about (Harry's not a fan of bullying because of his childhood).
Also it's not like it succeeded.
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Post by Miss Wings on Apr 24, 2015 9:08:09 GMT -5
I've just thought of something. They say that the seeker is the most important person in the team but really I don't think it is. I think it's the keeper as they have to stop the quaffles going into the goals thus ensuring that the other wise don't score.
What do you think?
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Post by Kitty279 on Apr 24, 2015 12:07:16 GMT -5
Sure, but Petunia didn't live in her childhood home any longer, and I don't see a reason why Dumbledore would have asked for her address beforehand, save he was even worse than even I think. In any case, he was awfully quick with acting, wasn't he? The moment the Pottiers died, he sent Hagrid to kidnap the baby and bring it to Little Whinging. As if he didn't have to find out where they lived. And I find it still strange that he didn't go himself - normally he can't keep his nose out of anything, after all, I'd expect him to want to check the place over. Maybe because it was a new spell, and the books in the Hogwarts library and the textbooks were all ancient? Good point, though that might be his ability to brew illegal dark potions, too. But I guess he had to have something to show off from the beginning to get in with the Death Eaters. Though probably not exactly these two; Lucius was approximately 6 years older, and Bellatrix must have been out of Hogwarts by the time Snape started. I don't see Lucius bothering with a little firstie, no matter what he brings with him from home. Hm. Good point. Another good point, though then I'd say that both are equally important. The game only ends when the snitch is found, after all, and gets them quite a few points, so the seeker is important. Remember the game when Harry was ordered to catch the snitch only when they are leading by a certain amount of points? So it should be a combination of the seeker catching the snitch in the right moment and the keeper not letting the quaffle in if possible. |
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Post by physicssquid on Apr 24, 2015 13:37:22 GMT -5
I get the feeling that while the Seeker is the one who's job it is to finish the game, and the Keeper has to make sure that the other team doesn't get too many goals, the Chasers are more important, since they're the ones who have to focus on racking up the points while the Seeker is searching for the Snitch. However, there is the possibility that the Beaters are the most important players, due to the fact that they are the ones who protect their teammates from the Bludgers, and they disrupt moves by the opposing team, to give their Chasers the chance to score.
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At that point, they'd explain the dog away as the grim which can get in everywhere.
