Little HP Questions Answered v2

I think Hagrid likes strange creatures because he identifies with the lifeforce in them, he understands them, sees the beauty not the strangeness. Loves nature...

I'm not sure the conversation in the Slytherin common room was so extraordinary that Malfoy would have talked to Crabbe & Goyle about it again. The timing on when they woke up in the closet may not be obvious.

Maybe because it's a pensieve, you understand it because you understand the thoughts? No I don't think that works.

Dumbledore is a legilimens and would probably be able to understand what Morfin is thinking pretty easily.

Another question: why didn't Harry and Ron tell Hagrid that the other spiders had tried to eat him in book 2 and that Aragog had let them?

Well he had gone to Azkaban and it was the end of the school year when he got back. Maybe they never got around to it or just didn't want him to feel bad it because he sent them there and Aragog was his friend and all.

I have a question: why is Harry always getting scars & cuts on his face. In the final scene of Movie 1, he got a spiderweb of red lines on his cheek. In GOF he's got a cut. I mean, all the time. What can it visually symbolize?
I've never been good with symbolism. I just figured that his cuts were the way the movie showed he had just gone through a fight or an ordeal of some sort as that usually happens near the end of the movie. :shrug:

Okay, I'm not trying to deter people from asking or answering any of the questions, I just figured that some of these topics seem to have whole threads devoted to them, so I put some links in case you are interested in discussing them further than what is said here. :) (I hope that is okay :scared:)

Ok I am rereading HBP and I'm at the part where, in the pensieve, Morphin and Voldemort are talking in Parseltongue.....how does Dumbledore understand what they're saying? He's not a parseltongue, is he? I don't think he is. The whole conversation between Morphin and Voldemort is in Parseltongue, so did Dumbledore get it translated or something? Ok that's it! Thanks!

Does Dumbledore speak Parseltongue or any other languages? (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=60406)Why does Hagrid like to have strange creatures?
This seems like it talks about it some:Hagrid and Monsters (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=74124)how was you know who able to retrieve his wand? he was like a spirit right?
How did Voldemort get his wand back? (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=5754)

Aha! This thread has been reduced to answering my Harry's scarry face question! Fantastic!

Another question.
In the song Hagrid and Sluggie sing when drunk, it says,
"And Odo the hero, they bore him back home
To the place that he'd known as a lad,
They laid him to rest with his hat inside out
And his wand snapped in two which was sad."

I know this was just a song, and wizards wands aren't always snapped in two (Neville has his father's wand up to book 6) but it made me wonder what happened to Dumbledore's wand, who has it and whether they would be able to use it, or whether a wand is broken unless the owner wills it to someone. Are there loads of second-hand wands about? I thought the wand chose the owner, so you'd think no-one else would be able to use it effectively.

They might not be able to use it as well as a personally selected wand. but the person could still use the wand...

Another question.
In the song Hagrid and Sluggie sing when drunk, it says,
"And Odo the hero, they bore him back home
To the place that he'd known as a lad,
They laid him to rest with his hat inside out
And his wand snapped in two which was sad."

I know this was just a song, and wizards wands aren't always snapped in two (Neville has his father's wand up to book 6) but it made me wonder what happened to Dumbledore's wand, who has it and whether they would be able to use it, or whether a wand is broken unless the owner wills it to someone. Are there loads of second-hand wands about? I thought the wand chose the owner, so you'd think no-one else would be able to use it effectively.
poetic liscense.

Okay another question: in book 2, Harry and Ron knock Crabbe and Goyle out so they can become them by taking Polyjuice potion and go and quiz Malfoy. The thing is though, Crabbe and Goyle must at some point have come round and escaped from the broom cupboard that they were hidden in! And wouldn't they then tell someone - and definitely Malfoy! - what had happened to them? And Malfoy would be bound to ask Goyle how his stomach was and then it would emerge that it hadn't been Crabbe and Goyle he was talking to. So why were there never any repurcussions for that?I believe Harry and Ron hear Crabbe and Goyle trying to get out of the broom cupboard when the get back from the Slytherin Common Room. They leave Crabbe and Goyle's shoes there for them.

I know this was just a song, and wizards wands aren't always snapped in two (Neville has his father's wand up to book 6) but it made me wonder what happened to Dumbledore's wand, who has it and whether they would be able to use it, or whether a wand is broken unless the owner wills it to someone. Are there loads of second-hand wands about? I thought the wand chose the owner, so you'd think no-one else would be able to use it effectively.Perhaps Odo's wand was broken in the fight that killed him.
As for second hand wands, Ron used Charlie's old wand until it broke in CoS, and he got a new one at the start of PoA. Neville used his father's old wand until it broke at the end of OotP, and he got a new one at the start of HBP. Neither of them is spectacularly good, but their old, second-hand wands did work for them. I have no idea what happened to Dumbledore's wand, or whether it will have any importance to the rest of the story. :)

How did Voldemort change into a "baby"?

How did Voldemort change into a "baby"?
I think this was just the form of a body that Wormtail was able to create under Voldemort's direction.

Just wondering, what do you guys think Hermione smelled from the Love Potion in Slughorn's class? (Sorry if someone's already asked this; I was too lazy to read everything :D)

Probably old books, ink, Ron...

Just wondering, what do you guys think Hermione smelled from the Love Potion in Slughorn's class? (Sorry if someone's already asked this; I was too lazy to read everything :D)
I think that she smelled new parchment, freshly mown grass and something else that I can't remember.

And maybe Ron's perfume or body odour, eh?

Hmm I wonder what Ron smells like? ;)

I remember Harry and Ron hearing Crabbe and Goyle banging on the broom cupboard door but still, I can't believe that Crabbe and Goyle wouldn't try to find out what had happened to them .. I mean, the first thing they were bound to do would be to run to Malfoy and tell him they were kidnapped, right? :)

Hermione didn't say what the third smell was for her, she interrupted herself and blushed, so it is probably the smell she associates with Ron.

As for the Polyjuice incident I don't know, too, I wouldn't have expected Malfoy to bring that conversation up again, but as IamMoose said, telling him about the kidnapping should have been the first thing on Crabbe & Goyles list.

How is a spell "created" / "invented"?

I have been reading the sixth book over and noticed the details surrounding damage to Dumbledore's hand, although obviously sustained in getting the horcrux ring, are obscured. Just what was it that Snape was able to administer to Dumbledore to halt the withering effect? Perhaps its a simple cure like chocolate for Dementors. Any suggestions?

Also, when Duds is attacked by the Dementers in Ootp, why is it that Harry, in all his experience with them, did not suggest chocolate to fix Dudley up? Surely a cure would at the very least calm his Uncle and Aunt down...

I think the Dursleys would have thought he was trying to be funny or something if he'd suggested chocolate. I don't think the idea is that chocolate literally has something about it that cures people after Dementor attacks .. I think it's just a good panacea.

Is there an alteration in the Priori Incantatem chapter of GoF, in which Harry's Mother comes last fram Voldemort's wand, to instruct Harry, not his Father? Obviously this was corrected, because Lily's death was more recent than that of James, but has anyone else noticed in an older edition?

But chocolate would certainly have made Dudley feel better than he was, wouldnt it?

Is there an alteration in the Priori Incantatem chapter of GoF, in which Harry's Mother comes last fram Voldemort's wand, to instruct Harry, not his Father? Obviously this was corrected, because Lily's death was more recent than that of James, but has anyone else noticed in an older edition?I'm not sure I understood your question.:)
In my 2001 paperback it is correct. James comes out last.

I remember Harry and Ron hearing Crabbe and Goyle banging on the broom cupboard door but still, I can't believe that Crabbe and Goyle wouldn't try to find out what had happened to them .. I mean, the first thing they were bound to do would be to run to Malfoy and tell him they were kidnapped, right? :) You don't know that. Crabbe and Goyle are not the brightest crayons in the box. They might have been embarrassed to wake up in a broom cupboard.:p

You don't know that. Crabbe and Goyle are not the brightest crayons in the box. They might have been embarrassed to wake up in a broom cupboard.

Haha that's true, and they probably figured Malfoy would have just told them to quit whining.

But chocolate would certainly have made Dudley feel better than he was, wouldnt it?
I don't think that Harry was thinking about making Dudley feel better at the moment.

Is there an alteration in the Priori Incantatem chapter of GoF, in which Harry's Mother comes last fram Voldemort's wand, to instruct Harry, not his Father? Obviously this was corrected, because Lily's death was more recent than that of James, but has anyone else noticed in an older edition?


Yes I have a first edition and James comes out first even though it should be Lily

Yes I have a first edition and James comes out first even though it should be Lily

http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/faq_view.cfm?id=19

You don't know that. Crabbe and Goyle are not the brightest crayons in the box. They might have been embarrassed to wake up in a broom cupboard.

HA! fair point. Or maybe they're so dense they didn't realise what had happened to them. Or maybe they were just too ashamed to admit that they had eaten cakes not knowing where they came from :)

Seriously, I would have thought that they WOULD have told Malfoy what happened, and he probably realised that he had been scammed. But what could he do? He had no evidence..

I have a little question. There is a passage I remember... I think it is from OOTP. Harry is in Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore sends something out his window and it is described as flying and has wings. I always thought this was where we learned what his Patronus was (a pheonix). Does anyone have the exact passage? I don't remember what chapter it is from and, as we all know OOTP is kind of a large book.

I don't think that Harry was thinking about making Dudley feel better at the moment.Considering the Dursleys' feelings for Harry, they probably wouldn't have listened.

Ive always wondered if Dumbledore glasses could see through invisibility cloaks, much like Moodys eye, theres several points during the story line that give the impression that it does, as when Dumbledore gets sacked in book 2 and so forth. Im just wondering if its ever been confirmed that they do or not?

Another question.
In the song Hagrid and Sluggie sing when drunk, it says,
"And Odo the hero, they bore him back home
To the place that he'd known as a lad,
They laid him to rest with his hat inside out
And his wand snapped in two which was sad."

I know this was just a song, and wizards wands aren't always snapped in two (Neville has his father's wand up to book 6) but it made me wonder what happened to Dumbledore's wand, who has it and whether they would be able to use it, or whether a wand is broken unless the owner wills it to someone. Are there loads of second-hand wands about? I thought the wand chose the owner, so you'd think no-one else would be able to use it effectively.

Hagrid's is in two, and in his pink umbrella. Ron and Neville used second hand wands. Old Wizard families maybe prize them, like chess sets.

I think in COS, there is a junk shop on Diagon Alley where you can find them....in a tiny junk shop full of broken wands, lopsided brass scales and old cloaks covered in potion stains, they found Percy, deeply immersed in a small and deeply boring book called Prefects Who Gained Power - A Study of Hogwarts Prefects and Their Later Careers

Ive always wondered if Dumbledore glasses could see through invisibility cloaks, much like Moodys eye, theres several points during the story line that give the impression that it does, as when Dumbledore gets sacked in book 2 and so forth. Im just wondering if its ever been confirmed that they do or not?
I always thought that Dumbledore used Occulumcy whenever it seemed that he knew exactly what was going in the student's mind, however, he wanted to give the student's the opputunity to open up to him when they were ready. An example is when he asked Tom Riddle if there was anything he wanted to tell him (concerning the Chamber of Secrets) and never trusted him after that. He also never believed (and it seemed knew for sure) that Hagrid had opened the chamber.

Hagrid's is in two, and in his pink umbrella. Ron and Neville used second hand wands. Old Wizard families maybe prize them, like chess sets.

Hagrid's wand was split because he was never made into a qualified wizard - we're talking about what happens to wands after death.

Hagrid's wand was split because he was never made into a qualified wizard - we're talking about what happens to wands after death.

I always thought Hagrid's wand was split due to him being framed for opening the Chamber of Secrets, but I'd be much obliged if you could find me the quote that says otherwise :)

I always thought Hagrid's wand was split due to him being framed for opening the Chamber of Secrets, but I'd be much obliged if you could find me the quote that says otherwise :)
I never thought about that - and I don't have a quote that says otherwise. I always just assumed that someone who would never legally be allowed to do magic (like someone who was expelled before becoming qualified) would have their wand snapped.
Do we know of any other wizards convicted of serious crimes who kept their wands?

I never thought about that - and I don't have a quote that says otherwise. I always just assumed that someone who would never legally be allowed to do magic (like someone who was expelled before becoming qualified) would have their wand snapped.
Do we know of any other wizards convicted of serious crimes who kept their wands?

By keeping their wands, do you mean keeping the wand whole? Or in pieces? I'm not sure about either, to tell you the truth :)

By keeping their wands, do you mean keeping the wand whole? Or in pieces? I'm not sure about either, to tell you the truth :)
I meant keeping the wand whole.

What's the reason Snape does a counter-curse on Harry's broom in PS/SS? Is he loyal to Dumbledore or to Voldemort?

Dumbledore said it was because of Snape's life-debt to James, but it could also be because he is loyal to Dumbledore.

Well at the time, Snape thought that Voldermort was finished so it was in his best interests to be loyal to Dumbledore as Dumbledore was the only thing that was standing between him and Azkaban. I guess that, if he DID desert the good side for real, he made the choice to do so during book four when his Dark Mark was growing clearer all through the book.

A question: I can't recall if Dumbledore mentions to Harry what object he pretended to make a Horcrux with Harrys murder. He says that Voldy saves the Horcruxmaking for very special murders and that Harry would have been one, but I don't know if he mentions the object. He also says that Voldy made Nagini because he was one Horcrux short (because the Harry murder backfired) but it sounded more like a emergency option to me.

A question: I can't recall if Dumbledore mentions to Harry what object he pretended to make a Horcrux with Harrys murder. He says that Voldy saves the Horcruxmaking for very special murders and that Harry would have been one, but I don't know if he mentions the object. He also says that Voldy made Nagini because he was one Horcrux short (because the Harry murder backfired) but it sounded more like a emergency option to me.

Dumbledore never actually says what it was that he thought LV was going to use to make a horcrux after he killed Harry. It was mostlikely something of great importance to LV because the thought of killing the boy that would one day fight to over-throw him would have been a big thing to LV. LV may have even held on to the item (in a mannor of speaking) hoping to be able to complete his 7 Horcruxes after the downfall of Harry.

A question: I can't recall if Dumbledore mentions to Harry what object he pretended to make a Horcrux with Harrys murder. He says that Voldy saves the Horcruxmaking for very special murders and that Harry would have been one, but I don't know if he mentions the object. He also says that Voldy made Nagini because he was one Horcrux short (because the Harry murder backfired) but it sounded more like a emergency option to me.
I don't think that he mentioned the object. But since we're working with something from Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, maybe one of them is a real horcrux and one is the object that never became a horcrux. Maybe Harry will find it when he goes to visit his parents' home!

Well at the time, Snape thought that Voldermort was finished so it was in his best interests to be loyal to Dumbledore as Dumbledore was the only thing that was standing between him and Azkaban. I guess that, if he DID desert the good side for real, he made the choice to do so during book four when his Dark Mark was growing clearer all through the book.
How did Snape justify this to Narcissa and Bellatrix?

This is one argument he gives to Bellatrix when she askes him why he did not return INMEDIATELY. He says that he returned on Dumbledores order, to be able to remain as a spy AND that he had had one year to plan this step, because he knew the Dark Lord was about to return.

This is one argument he gives to Bellatrix when she askes him why he did not return INMEDIATELY. He says that he returned on Dumbledores order, to be able to remain as a spy AND that he had had one year to plan this step, because he knew the Dark Lord was about to return.
That's not what we were discussing - we were discussing why Snape saved Harry when Quirrel was trying to curse his broomstick.

He doesn't need to justify it. The incident in question happened in Harry's first year and at that time, Snape has already admitted that he thought that the Dark Lord was finished and so he had no desire to get on Dumbledore's wrong side. What he did in Harry's first year really doesn't have any bearing on what he later did because at that time he really WASN'T a Death Eater as the Death Eater's no longer existed :)

That's not what we were discussing - we were discussing why Snape saved Harry when Quirrel was trying to curse his broomstick. Hm. Actually I was replying to the post about book four and the mark going stronger. Maybe I missed something

Originally Posted by IamMoose
Well at the time, Snape thought that Voldermort was finished so it was in his best interests to be loyal to Dumbledore as Dumbledore was the only thing that was standing between him and Azkaban. I guess that, if he DID desert the good side for real, he made the choice to do so during book four when his Dark Mark was growing clearer all through the book.

How did Snape justify this to Narcissa and Bellatrix?

This is true :). Still Aberforth would have to be pretty decrepit if he was the older brother ;).



Maybe Albus was 150, and Aberforth was 151... just because he's an older brother doesn't mean he's 20 years older! ;)

Still even Dumbledore was getting a bit shaky on his pins by book six :). I would have imagined that most wizards would have thought about retiring by the time they got to that age!

Wonder how old Slughorn is then? Must be way over 100.

Topic: Do they break everyone's wands for wrongdoing, or after death? Subtopic: Where is Dumbledore's wand?

I think there's a thread about Lily & James' wands (maybe Harry will find THEM in Godric's Hollow). The fact that Neville was using his father's wand (although his father was not dead), leads me to think ... well his father wasn't dead was he? And Ron had Charlie's wand, and Charlie is not dead. So what they do at death, the funerary rites, I don't know. Where is Sirius' wand? Did he have to get a new one? How did he have one in POA?

In the movie COS :scared: young Riddle says to Hagrid in the memory "they'll have your wand for this Hagrid", but in the book this line doesn't happen, and Riddle called Hagrid "Rubeus".

I can't find he quote in the books about Hagrid's wand being in two. Maybe when you are an ADULT wizard, they can't take away your wand, but if the prevent you becoming a wizard at school, they can BREAK your wand.

Ron's wand broke naturally in COS. There has to be some natural attrition too.

That's not what we were discussing - we were discussing why Snape saved Harry when Quirrel was trying to curse his broomstick.

I think Snape said something about rumors circulating that Harry had powers of the Dark Lord, and he was watching him and hoping that he'd be a new Master they could work with, but it turned out Harry was utterly unremarkable. Which could be a way of saying to Bella, don't waste your time killing Harry, because he's nothing special. A way of saving Harry's life. Can you tell I'm a "Snape is good" theory supporter?

Does anyone know what NITWIT BLUBBER ODDMENT TWEAK were in other languages (particularly french or spanish?)

I think Snape said something about rumors circulating that Harry had powers of the Dark Lord, and he was watching him and hoping that he'd be a new Master they could work with, but it turned out Harry was utterly unremarkable. Which could be a way of saying to Bella, don't waste your time killing Harry, because he's nothing special. A way of saving Harry's life. Can you tell I'm a "Snape is good" theory supporter?
thanks

Hopefully this counts as a "little question". It's just something nagging in my mind as I re-read PoA recently.
Lupin says he was watching the Marauder's Map, anticipating that Harry, Ron and Hermione would be wandering down to see Hagrid. When he later spies them on the map, he sees them heading off toward the shrieking shack and follows them. Why didn't he see the time turner Harry and Hermione at this time as well? Wouldn't he have seen them lurking on the fringes of the forest by Hagrid's hut, as they planned to head to the whomping willow?
Perhaps I am just being dense. Please enlighten! Thanks!

Hopefully this counts as a "little question". It's just something nagging in my mind as I re-read PoA recently.
Lupin says he was watching the Marauder's Map, anticipating that Harry, Ron and Hermione would be wandering down to see Hagrid. When he later spies them on the map, he sees them heading off toward the shrieking shack and follows them. Why didn't he see the time turner Harry and Hermione at this time as well? Wouldn't he have seen them lurking on the fringes of the forest by Hagrid's hut, as they planned to head to the whomping willow?
Perhaps I am just being dense. Please enlighten! Thanks!
good question!
Lupin, as a teacher, probably knew about the time turner. When he saw two Harrys and two Hermiones, he probably assumed they were using it in some sort of ploy to see Hagrid.

What's the reason Snape does a counter-curse on Harry's broom in PS/SS? Is he loyal to Dumbledore or to Voldemort?


Dumbledore!:clap:

Hopefully this counts as a "little question". It's just something nagging in my mind as I re-read PoA recently.
Lupin says he was watching the Marauder's Map, anticipating that Harry, Ron and Hermione would be wandering down to see Hagrid. When he later spies them on the map, he sees them heading off toward the shrieking shack and follows them. Why didn't he see the time turner Harry and Hermione at this time as well? Wouldn't he have seen them lurking on the fringes of the forest by Hagrid's hut, as they planned to head to the whomping willow?
Perhaps I am just being dense. Please enlighten! Thanks!


I think the general consensus on that was that the map doesn't show everywhere (the ROR, for ex) and Harry and Hermione #2 were far enough in the forest that they didn't appear on the map.

Does anyone know what NITWIT BLUBBER ODDMENT TWEAK were in other languages (particularly french or spanish?)Do you mean in the French or Spanish translations of the books, or just a basic translation of those words?

Lupin says he was watching the Marauder's Map, anticipating that Harry, Ron and Hermione would be wandering down to see Hagrid. When he later spies them on the map, he sees them heading off toward the shrieking shack and follows them. Why didn't he see the time turner Harry and Hermione at this time as well?There are a great many people at the school, it can be difficult to find anyone on the Map, as we saw in HBP when Harry was trying to find Draco. I think Lupin just spotted the Trio, and saw Pettigrew with them, and took off for the Whomping Willow. It's unlikely he looked anywhere else for them, especially the Forest, since it is out-of-bounds to all students.

This is by no means central to the plot, but I find that I don't know half of the food the Hogwarts students eat! Can you help an American out? What is tripe? And for that matter, what is a treacle tart? :blush: Thanks!

This is by no means central to the plot, but I find that I don't know half of the food the Hogwarts students eat! Can you help an American out? What is tripe? And for that matter, what is a treacle tart? :blush: Thanks!Tripe is the lining of a cow's stomach. (or it could be a sheep, or goat, etc, either way, it's yech!)
Treacle is very much like really thick molasses. :)

If you have a portrait painted of yourself, can you talk to it while you are still alive or do you have to be dead?

If you have a portrait painted of yourself, can you talk to it while you are still alive or do you have to be dead?

All speculation, no definite answer. Please don't base whether Dumbledore's alive or not on it though, won't be original. :p

If you have a portrait painted of yourself, can you talk to it while you are still alive or do you have to be dead?As the portraits are only impressions of the person departed, even if you could talk to it it would only really be stuff that you already know or have said, is my interpretation.

If you have a portrait painted of yourself, can you talk to it while you are still alive or do you have to be dead?Lockhart had lots of portraits of himself, I expect he had long conversations with them about how wonderful he was......:rolleyes:

Lockhart had lots of portraits of himself, I expect he had long conversations with them about how wonderful he was......:rolleyes:
Why doesn't one of them tell him about his past life?

Why doesn't one of them tell him about his past life?Apparently portraits can only 'echo' certain things about the original person's personality, they really can't give much information about themselves or their lives. The portrait of Phineas Nigellus, although quite outspoken, never really said anything about himself, it only carried messages and echoed opinions that he would have held while he was alive.

I can't find he quote in the books about Hagrid's wand being in two. Maybe when you are an ADULT wizard, they can't take away your wand, but if the prevent you becoming a wizard at school, they can BREAK your wand.'Oh, well - I was at Hogwarts myself but I - er - got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything.
'But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?' said Mr Ollivander, suddenly stern. 'Er - yes they did, yes,' said Hagrid, shuffling his feet.
In OotP when Mafalda Hopkirk wrote to Harry about his expulsion from Hogwarts, she said that his wand will be destroyed.

It seems to me that everyone who gets expelled also gets his wand broken.

What would Neville have done if he had turned out to be a squib? I mean what do squibs do?
Apart from Mrs. Figg and Filtch who are appointed by Dumbledore
I know that Ron has a relative that is an accountant bu HOW do they learn? They can't be used to living as muggles, do they have wizard stuff at home?

I want to go back to my canon defintion...

These are the definitions I found, and they are in order of how they appeared on the site:

1.a rule or especially body of rules or principles generally established as valid and fundamental in a field or art or philosophy; "the neoclassical canon"; "canons of polite society

There are a bunch of religious ones and another like the one above, and then:

24.a body of writings considered authentic (eg, the books of the Bible, or all the works by Shakespeare). Now the term is used to mean the literary works considered worthy to be studied in college and included in anthologies. The concept has stirred controversy over the way canons are formed, and whether factors like gender and ethnicity affect inclusion.

Interesting to those who disagreed with my defintion (the first one)...:p

What would Neville have done if he had turned out to be a squib? I mean what do squibs do?
Apart from Mrs. Figg and Filtch who are appointed by Dumbledore
I know that Ron has a relative that is an accountant bu HOW do they learn? They can't be used to living as muggles, do they have wizard stuff at home?
Carreer options in wizarding world as a squib: Caretaker, librarian, keeper of keys at Hogwarts, busdriver, cook, attendant in a shop, barmaid/man, singer, actor, ...
But anyway, as you're considered second class in wizard society, it is probably better to chose the accountant option and move to muggle world, where you would be just like anyone else with the same possiblities.


I have a random question: Why does Trelawney call Firenze "Dobbin"? What does in mean, does it have a significance in english?

Dobbin is a childish name for a horse - usually a rather dim carthorse

1 - Squibs are not really much different from Muggles, right? Other than the fact that Squibs are Wizard - Born and Muggles are... Muggle - Born, right?

2 - Why is it that when Dumbledore calls everyone by their 1st name, he still calls Hagrid... "Hagrid" and not "Rubeus"?

Dobbin is a childish name for a horse - usually a rather dim carthorse

Yes and this would make any Centaur mad as it refers to them as being servants of humans, not only dim

1 - Squibs are not really much different from Muggles, right? Other than the fact that Squibs are Wizard - Born and Muggles are... Muggle - Born, right?

2 - Why is it that when Dumbledore calls everyone by their 1st name, he still calls Hagrid... "Hagrid" and not "Rubeus"?

1. thats exactly what i thought.
2. Hagrid proberbly likes his last name better.

How did Riddle know his way into Diagon Alley? Dumbledore didn't tell him

Carreer options in wizarding world as a squib: Caretaker, librarian, keeper of keys at Hogwarts, busdriver, cook, attendant in a shop, barmaid/man, singer, actor, ...
But anyway, as you're considered second class in wizard society, it is probably better to chose the accountant option and move to muggle world, where you would be just like anyone else with the same possiblities.


Sorry guess I wasn't really clear. What I meant to ask was HOW do the squibs learn muggle-professions?......they would be quite used to magic help even though they can't perform magic and are they still aloud have magic things at home?

How did Riddle know his way into Diagon Alley? Dumbledore didn't tell him

No but Dumbledore told him to ask for Tom the Barman and probably meant that the Barman would help Riddle through the wall

I think squibs are probably so rare that all of them are found so way of being slotted into wizard society. I always presumed that the cousins that Mrs Weasley had was actually muggle born but I could be wrong at that, not sure how it would work.

what does Ootp mean?

what does Ootp mean?
Order of the Phoenix

I thought we were allowed to use very common acronyms, such as the ones for the different books, but only those. Unless the rules have been changed since I first read them which is possible ;)

How does the Ministry determine the difference between these 3 examples:

1 - Harry blows up Aunt Marge without a wand
2 - Harry uses a Patronus Charm against a Dementor
3 - Dobby uses a Levitation / Floating Charm on the cake and it drops

Well Harry was 'let off' the charge of blowing up his aunt because the ministry were so relieved to find him safe and well after he fled Privet Drive. He actually DID get into trouble for the Dobby incident, I think he got an official warning or something. The dementors thing was apparently more serious as it was done out on the street in the presence of Dudley. More to the point, the Ministry was angry with Harry at that point and probably punished him more severely than they would have previously in an attempt to discredit him.

But still, how did Fudge know that it was Harry's fury that had caused Aunt Marge to... blow up?

I don't understand .. how do you mean how did he know? :). It would have been obvious that it was the result of magic and I don't suppose that to the ministry at that time it mattered much whether the magic was intentional or accidental .. they were just keen on finding Harry and getting him out of harm's way. And obviously Harry must have had something to do with it because it couldn't have happened by non magical means and he was the only wizard in the building..

Oh I see...

Is Accio pronounced "Ehh - Kee - Ohh" or "Ehh - See - Ohh"?

I have always pronounced it in my head 'atch-o' but in the film Harry said 'ack-ee-o'.

In the 1st task of GoB, why couldn't Harry just say "accio egg"?


and even if Dumbledore died, his picture is still there-Harry can still talk to the picture can't he?

In the 1st task of GoB, why couldn't Harry just say "accio egg"?

Hehehe that's a really good question and I'd never thought of that. Perhaps there was some charm on it that prevented it from being simply summoned.

There are lots of threads on the portrait of Dumbledore kicking around here and lots of interesting theories :)

In the 1st task of GoB, why couldn't Harry just say "accio egg"?


and even if Dumbledore died, his picture is still there-Harry can still talk to the picture can't he?
http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=79946&highlight=portrait Maybe you're interested in this thread :) Have fun.
And about the Accio Egg, I agree with Iamoose, there must be some protection charm on it, similar than the one on the Horcrux in the Cave (but without inferie)

Oh I see...

Is Accio pronounced "Ehh - Kee - Ohh" or "Ehh - See - Ohh"?

For what it's worth, you can go check this out: http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/reference/
Click on "Pronunciation guide".
Tip: for You-Know-Who, you need to click three times.

Tripe is the lining of a cow's stomach. (or it could be a sheep, or goat, etc, either way, it's yech!)
Treacle is very much like really thick molasses. :)
Are you serious?! :wow: Ok, so that explains why McGonagall offered it to Trelawney at Christmas dinner! :elaugh: I had no preconceived notions as to what it might be honestly but I NEVER thought it would be anything like that! Interesting about the treacle tart... thanks!

I want to go back to my canon defintion...This is kind of off-topic in this thread, so I've taken the liberty of posting a reply in the Etymology Thread (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?p=3353061#post3353061) over in the Muggle History Division.

How does the Ministry determine the difference between these 3 examples:

1 - Harry blows up Aunt Marge without a wand
2 - Harry uses a Patronus Charm against a Dementor
3 - Dobby uses a Levitation / Floating Charm on the cake and it drops

I don't think they can determine the difference at all - Just the fact that magic is being performed in a place where the only wizard is underage. It was just the different circumstances that caused the different reactions.
In the 1st task of GoB, why couldn't Harry just say "accio egg"?

The dragon probably would've gotten in the way.

I have a new "little question"
Hermione, citing Hogwarts: A History, says that the castle looks like a heap of ruin with a danger sign to all muggles. So, do squibs see that, or the actuall castle? I started wondering about this when we learned that Mrs. Figg could not see dementors.
I also think that this might contribute to Filch's constant bad mood.

I have a new "little question"
Hermione, citing Hogwarts: A History, says that the castle looks like a heap of ruin with a danger sign to all muggles. So, do squibs see that, or the actuall castle? I started wondering about this when we learned that Mrs. Figg could not see dementors.
I also think that this might contribute to Filch's constant bad mood.

But Mrs. Figg DOES see dementors so I guess that would mean that Filch sees the castle. I've wondered a bit about the fact that squibs can see things muggles can't.

What do you say about the idea that you have to know about magic to see such things as dementors?? Or is it just that you have to have wizard blood in you?

But Mrs. Figg DOES see dementors so I guess that would mean that Filch sees the castle. I've wondered a bit about the fact that squibs can see things muggles can't.

What do you say about the idea that you have to know about magic to see such things as dementors?? Or is it just that you have to have wizard blood in you?
At Harry's trial, Mrs. Figg reported that she can see dementors, but Harry doubted it quite forcefully after hearing her description. I know it's not proof, but Harry has enough experience with dementors to make me think that he's right.

[QUOTE=crystalbell]But Mrs. Figg DOES see dementors so I guess that would mean that Filch sees the castle. I've wondered a bit about the fact that squibs can see things muggles can't. QUOTE]

Although she said so at the hearing to support Harry, Mrs. Figg didn't see the Dementors, she could only feel their presence.
I think there are some things in the magical world you can see if only you know about them (like Hogwarts) even as a Squib and some things only real wizards can see (like Dementors).

Does that mean that Filch couldn't see the dementors then? But wouldn't that make his job rather difficult?

Also I think it would have been very risky for Mrs Figg to claim that she could see the dementors if she actually couldn't.. if it had been proved that she was lying there it would have undermined Harry's entire trial. Though I agree it DID come over as though she was lying about being able to see them.

Does that mean that Filch couldn't see the dementors then? But wouldn't that make his job rather difficult?

Also I think it would have been very risky for Mrs Figg to claim that she could see the dementors if she actually couldn't.. if it had been proved that she was lying there it would have undermined Harry's entire trial. Though I agree it DID come over as though she was lying about being able to see them.
Dumbledore must have known that most wizards wouldn't know very much about squibs and their abilities. Harry assumes that Mrs. Figg saw a picture of a dementor and that she could describe that she felt the dementor accurately. I also think that she must have had a previous encounter with a dementor, because she recognized what it was right away on Privet Drive. I know that Fudge had had encounters with dementors when visiting azkaban, but maybe most of the other wizards there hadn't - and only a majority vote was needed.

Also I think it would have been very risky for Mrs Figg to claim that she could see the dementors if she actually couldn't.. if it had been proved that she was lying there it would have undermined Harry's entire trial. Though I agree it DID come over as though she was lying about being able to see them.She absolutely did lie about seeing the Dementors, but we don't have conclusive proof that she couldn't have seen them if she had been there. She didn't arrive in the alley until just after Harry finished repelling them, meaning that she wouldn't have seen them if she wasn't a squib, but that she could have been close enough to fell their effects. I agree that it would be very risky to lie about an easily provable or disprovable fact in a trial. Lying about having seen them is one thing; with no other witnesses, there's no way to prove she's lying. But lying about the extent of a squib's 'disability' would be much more dangerous, when there could easily be someone in the courtroom who has a squib friend or relative and knows exactly what they can and can't do or see.

Yeah good point :)

Actually, JKR says on her site that Mrs. Figg never saw the dementors but could correctly identify the feelings they caused. It suggests, but doesn't say outright, that Squibs cannot see dementors. Her answer is in the extra information section under Miscellaneous: Squibs.

I'd love to be able to see Rowling's site but I use a dial up and it just won't load for me .. I've tried loads of times. My computer is SLOW.

I'd love to be able to see Rowling's site but I use a dial up and it just won't load for me .. I've tried loads of times. My computer is SLOW.Have you tried checking out the text-only (http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/welcome.cfm) version?

No thank you that is very very helpful!!

did dumbledore help create the socerer's stone or did he just work on alchemy with nicolas flamel?

Since Flamel was in his 600's, and Dumbledore only 150, I would guess that the Stone was already created before Dumbledore came along.

Tripe is the lining of a cow's stomach. (or it could be a sheep, or goat, etc, either way, it's yech!)
Treacle is very much like really thick molasses. :)
ewww!! I'm from England and I didn't know that was what tripe is!! I thought it was fish LOL!! :D

Does anyone know what NITWIT BLUBBER ODDMENT TWEAK were in other languages (particularly french or spanish?)
In spanish it is ¡Papanatas! ¡Llorones! ¡Baratijas! ¡Pellizco! The second one means something like "whiner" and the third one something cheap. The first I don't know in spanish and the fourth I dont' know in english. :blush:

Hia. I wondered if any of you guys know the age of Lily and James when they married and when they died?

ia. I wondered if any of you guys know the age of Lily and James when they married and when they died?

They were both around 21 when they died, as they would have been born around 1960 and died in 1981. I don't thin we know exactly when they got married, but I would say that they were at least 17 and maybe before they conceived Harry, which would have been like September-October 1979, something like that, so they would have been about 19, so 17-19 would be my guess.
Oh, wait the HP-lexicon says that they married between the summer of 1978 and winter of 1979, so I guess they were 18-19.

If the Ministry of Magic can't tell who performed the magic, but generally where the magic was performed, ala Dobby's levitation charm that was blamed on Harry by the ministry, then why didn't the ministry blame Harry when the guard of honour, in order of the phoenix, came to escort Harry to Grimmauld Place, they performed several spells. I beleive these were the spells:
1. Tonks' levitation charm on Harry's belongings
2. Tonks' vanishing charm on Hedwig's cage
3. Moody's disilusionment (sp?) charm on Harry

As the Ministry were very keen to stich Harry up, I can't understand why the ministry didn't detect the magic and then act/punish the person responsible.

Hope this wasn't to long...

Hia. I wondered if any of you guys know the age of Lily and James when they married and when they died?
This is according to HP Lexicon. James and Lily Evans Potter was born in c. 1960. in a wizarding family. They both died in 31 October 1981. Lily and James were married straight out of Hogwarts (c. 1979) and had a son, Harry, on July 31, 1980.

Thus they were married when they were around 18-19 and then had Harry when they were 20 and died when they were 20.

Keep in mind that this is only once source and I'm not sure if jk already answered this question somewhere.

What does it mean everytime Tonks says "Wotcher, Harry" to Harry.

What does it mean everytime Tonks says "Wotcher, Harry" to Harry.
It is listed in some dictionaries to be a shortened form of "What Cheer", Colonel_Fubster has expressed in the thread a theory that it is actually more like "Whatcha doing" because that would be more modern and Tonks seems to be pretty with the times. Either way it is just a greeting.

If the Ministry of Magic can't tell who performed the magic, but generally where the magic was performed, ala Dobby's levitation charm that was blamed on Harry by the ministry, then why didn't the ministry blame Harry when the guard of honour, in order of the phoenix, came to escort Harry to Grimmauld Place, they performed several spells. I beleive these were the spells:
1. Tonks' levitation charm on Harry's belongings
2. Tonks' vanishing charm on Hedwig's cage
3. Moody's disilusionment (sp?) charm on Harry

As the Ministry were very keen to stich Harry up, I can't understand why the ministry didn't detect the magic and then act/punish the person responsible.

Hope this wasn't to long...
I never thought about this, But maybe the ministry knew that someone was going to get Harry from the Dursleys? If so, they would know that there were qualified wizards at the Dursleys. And the Dursleys already know that magic exists - it's only their guests that need to be sheilded from magic.

If the Ministry of Magic can't tell who performed the magic, but generally where the magic was performed, ala Dobby's levitation charm that was blamed on Harry by the ministry, then why didn't the ministry blame Harry when the guard of honour, in order of the phoenix, came to escort Harry to Grimmauld Place, they performed several spells. I beleive these were the spells:
1. Tonks' levitation charm on Harry's belongings
2. Tonks' vanishing charm on Hedwig's cage
3. Moody's disilusionment (sp?) charm on Harry

As the Ministry were very keen to stich Harry up, I can't understand why the ministry didn't detect the magic and then act/punish the person responsible.

Hope this wasn't to long...

you know...that is a very very good point...

I never thought about this, But maybe the ministry knew that someone was going to get Harry from the Dursleys? If so, they would know that there were qualified wizards at the Dursleys. And the Dursleys already know that magic exists - it's only their guests that need to be sheilded from magic.
the durslys were not home at the time...but i could see the ministry prosecuting them becuase it was a highly populated muggle area or something like that

the durslys were not home at the time...but i could see the ministry prosecuting them becuase it was a highly populated muggle area or something like that
it doesn't matter that the Dursleys were not home - how would the ministry know that? Don't other wizards live in regular muggle neighborhoods? They must still be able to use magic in their own homes.

Well they had already planned to expel him, had the hearing set up and everything, maybe they just didn't think it was necessary or worth the hassle of having to deal with Dumbledore again. If they had, that would be a charge that they could have easily been shown to have not been Harry's fault. Although perhaps the first part seems like a better reason to have tried to punish him. hm...:shrug:

Well they had already planned to expel him, had the hearing set up and everything, maybe they just didn't think it was necessary or worth the hassle of having to deal with Dumbledore again. If they had, that would be a charge that they could have easily been shown to have not been Harry's fault. Although perhaps the first part seems like a better reason to have tried to punish him. hm...:shrug:
But then why didn't they bring it up at the hearing. Fudge was trying as hard as he could to cite every misdeed that might be used to convict Harry. Dumbledore could've brought one of the advance guard as a witness if Fudge allowed it, but Fudge at least would've mentioned it.

it doesn't matter that the Dursleys were not home - how would the ministry know that? Don't other wizards live in regular muggle neighborhoods? They must still be able to use magic in their own homes.


aright aright very very true.......... -_-

but why would fudge bring it up if he knew dumbledor would have a very perfect and true answer? the other stuff was at least plausible...

The "tripe" reference by McGonagall to Trelawney at the Christmas dinner amused me greatly, but I'd not realised it wouldn't translate the same to the Americans! Naturally there wouldn't have been any real tripe (cow's stomach)at the meal - McG was being nasty about Trelawney's claiming to see herself joining them for dinner in the crystal ball as being "tripe" ie rubbish.

Treacle tart is breadcrumbs and molasses baked in a pastry tart and is absolutely delicious! I don't blame Harry for being so fond of it!

Still on food, what is butterbeer meant to be? Is it alcoholic? because they sometimes drink it hot and that would drive off the alcohol. And Lupin offers some to Harry when he is 13 and I can't see the staff encouraging under-age drinking.

Children are allowed to drink a little alcohol. Butterbeer is not enough to get them drunk, but there is a bit of alcohol in the drink.

lol... I just realized something! Ron was of age when he drank that oak mead. :( too bad he got poisoned on his birthday.

This is a really weird question but, What are the names of hermione's parents?

The "tripe" reference by McGonagall to Trelawney at the Christmas dinner amused me greatly, but I'd not realised it wouldn't translate the same to the Americans! Naturally there wouldn't have been any real tripe (cow's stomach)at the meal - McG was being nasty about Trelawney's claiming to see herself joining them for dinner in the crystal ball as being "tripe" ie rubbish. I have no trouble believing there would be tripe at the Christmas dinner. My crazy step-family in New Zealand has it every Christmas, they actually like it!YECH! I agree with your point about McGonagall's intentions, though. :tu: :D

This is a really weird question but, What are the names of hermione's parents?
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe that we know their names.

This is a really weird question but, What are the names of hermione's parents?All we know about them is that they're both dentists, and they like skiing. Hermione's middle name is Jane, that might be her mom's name, but that's pure speculation.

but why would fudge bring it up if he knew dumbledor would have a very perfect and true answer? the other stuff was at least plausible...
How would he know that there was a plausible answer?
And even if he did know, there was a plausible answer for Aunt Marge too, but he still brought it up.

And even if he did know, there was a plausible answer for Aunt Marge too, but he still brought it up.He brought it up only to inform Harry that the problem was dealt with. "You will be pleased to hear that we have dealt with the unfortunate blowing-up of Miss Marjorie Dursley."

Edit. Sorry I forgot that he brought it up at the hearing in OotP too. He wanted to discredit Harry as much as possible.

When voldemort claimed that 3 of his Death - Eaters were dead because of him, who were they? I know Quirell is one. Who are the other 2?

When voldemort claimed that 3 of his Death - Eaters were dead because of him, who were they? I know Quirell is one. Who are the other 2?

Wilkes. Caught in the act, killed by Auror. Dead
Rosier, Evan. Died in battle, taking some of Moody's nose

I don't think that Quirell was a Death Eater, but I guess number three could have been him, Regalus Black (although he was killed by another Death Eater) or maybe he was playing on the fact that they all believed that Crouch Jr. had died in Azkaban (although he then gives mention to the role he played moments later ("most faithful servant"), so I'm not sure how likely I find this, but as he does name him...)

When voldemort claimed that 3 of his Death - Eaters were dead because of him, who were they? I know Quirell is one. Who are the other 2?
In the pensive during Karkarofs trial(GoF) several are mentioned. Evan Rosier was the one who chuck out a piece of Moodys nose, and then one called Travers is mentioned too, and Wilkes.
I don't know if Quirrel was actually a Death Eater. I think he only went to Albania and got posessed by Voldemort. Hagrid says something about a nasty encounter with a vampire in Albania, and that he (Quirrel) has never been the same afterwords. I think this comment refeers to the moment when Voldemort posesses Quirrel.
I don't think he was marked. Nobody mentiones him as a DE during the first war (trial, suspects, etc) and he got the DADA job. He was quite young too.

The "tripe" reference by McGonagall to Trelawney at the Christmas dinner amused me greatly, but I'd not realised it wouldn't translate the same to the Americans! Naturally there wouldn't have been any real tripe (cow's stomach)at the meal - McG was being nasty about Trelawney's claiming to see herself joining them for dinner in the crystal ball as being "tripe" ie rubbish

ROFL!! I hadn't picked up on that!! Whenever I read that scene I think 'what on EARTH are they doing with tripe at their Christmas dinner?!'

Folks, she was simultaneously offering her some tripe while being ironic about her opinion about Trelawney. It carried both meanings. And that's why it was funny.

Cow stomach? at Chrismas:nc:

As we're already on the subject of food I have another question. What are Kippers? Hope it's better than tripe

Cow stomach? at ChrismasHave you ever seen the food in the UK? *ducks objects thrown at her* Black pudding is blood pudding (a mishmash of oatmeal, bread crumbs, seasonings, lard, and blood).

When will the 7the book be released?

No one knows. There is a rumor that it will be July 7th, 2007 since that will be 07/07/07, but we've not heard so much as an official whisper on the subject.

What are Kippers? Hope it's better than tripe
Smoked herring. They're not bad.

Kippers are delicious grilled for breakfast.

Have you ever seen the food in the UK? *ducks objects thrown at her* Black pudding is blood pudding (a mishmash of oatmeal, bread crumbs, seasonings, lard, and blood).I've never eaten black pudding, but I have tasted haggis, and believe me, you don't want to ask what is in it! I have never known tripe to be served at a Christmas dinner, or on any other occasion to tell the truth - it's mostly used for dog food and British Muggles don't eat it any more, but the line was so funny that we can probably just say that it was on the menu for the sake of that line!

Heh some British muggles DO still eat tripe :D. It's sold in my local supermarket. It's not actually all that cheap .. I can get minced beef for cheaper and I can't imagine why anyone would buy tripe other than as a budget option. Someone must do so though because it's been selling for years and they've never discontinued it!

I've never tried it personally, mind ;)

Kippers are, as someone else said, smoked herring.. rather good! Though can be a bit bony.

British food isn't THAT bad you know ;)

Tripe is not a particularly British food - it's widely eaten across the world (just google tripe and restaurants) I suspect it's one of those foods like pork trotters that are only eaten when there's nothing else. And haggis is quite delicious (on Burns' night when you've already drunk several pints of heavy with whisky chasers)

I have never had haggis and i've always been rather put off by the fact that it contains mainly offal. Which is ridiculous, because every time I bite into a hot dog or something I am eating just as much offal.. the only difference is that haggis is honest about what it contains whilst hotdogs are not!

A very stupid question that has been bothering me for long. Please, somebody, help me!!!
Why Barty Crouch Jr needed to wait for Harry to get to the Triwizard Tournament Cup? Couldn't he use something else as a Portkey? The Firebolt? Harry's toothbrush?
Why? Beside the fact there wouldn't be no book...
Now don't get me wrong, I love GoF. It's probably my favourite. But I've go the nasty feeling I'm obviously missing something.

Help.:p

This one has been hotly debated all over the place :). People will give you various explanations, such as using the cup would mean that Harry's death could be written off as an accident if his body was sent back with it, but I suspect that the best explanation is simply that the book was written in a hurry - wasn't she publishing one a year back then? - and the plot is flawed. I love the book too, it's one of my favourites, but yeah it would have been very much easier to do it a different way.

This one has been hotly debated all over the place :). People will give you various explanations, such as using the cup would mean that Harry's death could be written off as an accident if his body was sent back with it, but I suspect that the best explanation is simply that the book was written in a hurry - wasn't she publishing one a year back then? - and the plot is flawed. I love the book too, it's one of my favourites, but yeah it would have been very much easier to do it a different way.


Ok, thank you very much, IamMoose, I wanted to be sure I wasn't missing anything. By now JKR would probably give us a very good explanation, though. The woman is good...!:p

A very stupid question that has been bothering me for long. Please, somebody, help me!!!
Why Barty Crouch Jr needed to wait for Harry to get to the Triwizard Tournament Cup? Couldn't he use something else as a Portkey? The Firebolt? Harry's toothbrush?
Why? Beside the fact there wouldn't be no book...
Now don't get me wrong, I love GoF. It's probably my favourite. But I've go the nasty feeling I'm obviously missing something.

Help.:p

Timing had to be right for Voldemort and the potion he was making, not for whatever suited Crouch.

A very stupid question that has been bothering me for long. Please, somebody, help me!!!
Why Barty Crouch Jr needed to wait for Harry to get to the Triwizard Tournament Cup? Couldn't he use something else as a Portkey? The Firebolt? Harry's toothbrush?
Why? Beside the fact there wouldn't be no book...
Now don't get me wrong, I love GoF. It's probably my favourite. But I've go the nasty feeling I'm obviously missing something.

Help.:p
:) As IamMoose says, it has be debated. There is a thread here http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=77826&highlight=portkey
I used the search tool ("portkey" in advanced search only titles)
Hope it helps you :)

I was looking through SS and I noticed that there are very few words written in British English, unlike the newer books that seem to have left quite a lot of words like the original. Does anyone know why that is?

I was looking through SS and I noticed that there are very few words written in British English, unlike the newer books that seem to have left quite a lot of words like the original. Does anyone know why that is?

My guess, and it is no more than that, is that when SS (PS to me ;)) was released Rowling didn't have much clout with the publisher and hence was not able to prevent alterations. I presume that when the books became massive so did her influence regards what was left out and what kept in. Plus, with the first book they really needed to 'sell' it to a US audience and that might not have worked if it was too noticably British. With the later books people were obviously going to buy them anyway though so they could leave them in..

I tried searching, but had no idea where to start. Question: Percy and the rat. After watching the movie PoA my friend and I got to wondering: if Percy had the rat before Ron got it, he must have had Wormtail till he was about what, 13 or 14. He might have gotten it as a young child. Is the reason he is such a jerk because he spent his formative years with such a creepy traitorous self-preserving creature? Did Wormtail do more than hide out at the Weasleys? If this is a thread somewhere, please direct me to it (and sorry for repeating something if so)

:) As IamMoose says, it has be debated. There is a thread here http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=77826&highlight=portkey
I used the search tool ("portkey" in advanced search only titles)
Hope it helps you :)


And thanks a lot to Greeney and Guad, both your answers helped me. :tu:

I tried searching, but had no idea where to start. Question: Percy and the rat. After watching the movie PoA my friend and I got to wondering: if Percy had the rat before Ron got it, he must have had Wormtail till he was about what, 13 or 14. He might have gotten it as a young child. Is the reason he is such a jerk because he spent his formative years with such a creepy traitorous self-preserving creature? Did Wormtail do more than hide out at the Weasleys? If this is a thread somewhere, please direct me to it (and sorry for repeating something if so)

Hmm, bit of a odd one that, I doubt Wormtail could have actually done something in Rat form, personally I just think that Percy's promotinos in quick succession got to his head.

Interesting question about Wormtail but I doubt that he could have influenced Percy at all as a rat.. what I wonder is if he occasionally changed back though just for ... well, for a change! Can't be all that fun staying in rat form all the time.

I'd love to know how Percy came by him, too.

Just to quickly answer the question of how Voldemort got his wand back, she hinted in an interview that he was not alone in Godric's Hollow that night. We also know that Wormtail and Sirius did not have their fight until at least several hours later. It's quite possible that Wormtail was there with him, picked up the wand and stored it somewhere until Voldemort returned. I believe there's a discussion about this on mugglenet.com, but I'm not sure exactly where. Anyone know the exact link?? I think it's titled "The Lost Day".

Hmmm very interesting .. I wonder who was in Godric's Hollow as well then? I wonder too why they picked up the wand when they presumbly thought Voldermort dead .. out of loyalty? For a souvenir?

If Voldermort was not alone then why didn't whoever was with him finish off Harry? Well I suppose that is not too difficult to answer .. perhaps they presumed that what had happened to Voldermort would happen to them. I would be interested to know how the wand got back to him though.

(Just to add.. it must have been Wormtail, presumably, who was present in Godric's Hollow as he was the first person to find Voldermort again, many years later, after he fell. So .. whilst he was busy being a rat, where was the wand?)

Just to quickly answer the question of how Voldemort got his wand back, she hinted in an interview that he was not alone in Godric's Hollow that night. We also know that Wormtail and Sirius did not have their fight until at least several hours later. It's quite possible that Wormtail was there with him, picked up the wand and stored it somewhere until Voldemort returned. There was an unsubstantiated fan report posted on The Leaky Cauldron about this. The fan met Rowling, and asked her about Pettigrew and Voldemort's wand, and Rowling allegedly said that Pettigrew hid Voldemort's wand.

Hmmm very interesting .. I wonder who was in Godric's Hollow as well then? I wonder too why they picked up the wand when they presumbly thought Voldermort dead .. out of loyalty? For a souvenir?

If Voldermort was not alone then why didn't whoever was with him finish off Harry? Well I suppose that is not too difficult to answer .. perhaps they presumed that what had happened to Voldermort would happen to them. I would be interested to know how the wand got back to him though.

(Just to add.. it must have been Wormtail, presumably, who was present in Godric's Hollow as he was the first person to find Voldermort again, many years later, after he fell. So .. whilst he was busy being a rat, where was the wand?)


Rightly or wrongly I always suspected Lucius Malfoy having a hand in this, as one of Voldemort's right hand henchs wouldn't it make sense that he was there, when Voldemort became Vapourmort well I'm going with he grabbed the wand. Considering he has some of Tom Riddle's school stuff I don't think that this is a particularly large stretch of the imagination either.

Course I wanted to know who was the man who kept the riddle house for "Tax reasons"......

Tripe is not a particularly British food - it's widely eaten across the world (just google tripe and restaurants) I suspect it's one of those foods like pork trotters that are only eaten when there's nothing else. And haggis is quite delicious (on Burns' night when you've already drunk several pints of heavy with whisky chasers)
My birthday is January 25th (i.e. Burns' night) and people are often astonished to find out that I've never tried Haggis). :)

But yes, back to Harry Potter...

I have a odd Question about Wands .

Why don't wizards break each others wands in a fight . What I mean is on more than one occasion ,we see a wizard like Harry or Draco in a position to break someone else's wand ,and they don't do it !. Is there some kind of taboo against breaking another Wizard/Witches Wand ?. It would seem to me to be a sound fighting tactic to cripple your enemy . But we never see it done so can anyone tell me why its not done ?

Thanks twins.:p

I have a odd Question about Wands .

Why don't wizards break each others wands in a fight . What I mean is on more than one occasion ,we see a wizard like Harry or Draco in a position to break someone else's wand ,and they don't do it !. Is there some kind of taboo against breaking another Wizard/Witches Wand ?. It would seem to me to be a sound fighting tactic to cripple your enemy . But we never see it done so can anyone tell me why its not done ?

Thanks twins.:p
I think maybe it's considered "fighting dirty", similar to the muggle tactic of kicking/kneeing someone "where the sun don't shine"... :scared:

Just to quickly answer the question of how Voldemort got his wand back, she hinted in an interview that he was not alone in Godric's Hollow that night. We also know that Wormtail and Sirius did not have their fight until at least several hours later. It's quite possible that Wormtail was there with him, picked up the wand and stored it somewhere until Voldemort returned. I believe there's a discussion about this on mugglenet.com, but I'm not sure exactly where. Anyone know the exact link?? I think it's titled "The Lost Day".

IF there was someone else there, in Godric's Hollow, why did Voldemort flee the scene? I mean, the curse rebounded but he wasn't sent in another place as well, he was too weak to do anything so he left, barely more than a floating something... so why, if there was someone loyal to him with him, didn't that person help Voldemort? They mustn't have been on his side then? I'm a little confused about that actually.. Care to enlighten me?

Its all very well to be loyal to a fully functional voldemort and thent another thing to be loyal to something that's ripped from its body and is just about spirit.

Its all very well to be loyal to a fully functional voldemort and thent another thing to be loyal to something that's ripped from its body and is just about spirit.


I agree, but in PoA, Wormtail returns to Voldemort and he still isn't much more than something ripped from its body, is he?

Where can I find accurate information on Grinwald?

I think this might be pretty accurate...

http://www.mugglenet.com/editorials/theundergroundlake/tul24.shtml

Since Flamel was in his 600's, and Dumbledore only 150, I would guess that the Stone was already created before Dumbledore came along.
thats what i was thinking, i was just hoping that i found an error in the books

Kippers are delicious grilled for breakfast.

Sorry to bring the food thing up again but I would really like to know what kippers are....too lazy to google

Oh sorry didn't see the answer...sorry

I agree, but in PoA, Wormtail returns to Voldemort and he still isn't much more than something ripped from its body, is he?

:lol: You've got me on that but the point I was trying to make was that Lucius Malfoy if he had been present at the time of Godric's Hollow and fled had a lot more going for him than wormtail had when he "came back" to Voldemort.

Never mind though :)

I think it must have been Wormtail at Godric's Hollow - I suspect Volde would have wanted him along in case his info was faulty so he could punish him. V doesn't trust anyone. In any case it was Wormtail who had the wand, or how could he have given it back to Volde? He's not exactly going to ask someone else for it in case he ever comes across Vapormort, is he? It also seems that he lay low as a rat from the time he framed Sirius, so he'd not have wanted to expose himself by wand-hunting.

Re why the Death Eater at Godric's Hollow didn't help Vapormort straight away, how would he have known he was still there if his body was destroyed? If my boss was vaporised and the house we were in destroyed, I'd be out of there like lightning! Wizard authorities can appear much quicker than the Muggle police, and I wouldn't have hung around to explain it all!

Oh and back to food - I've never known tripe to be served at Christmas dinner in the UK and as all the other food references in that scene are traditional, I suspect that McG was just being sarcastic. Tripe is often eaten as a supper dish - my Dad loved it, simmered in milk, with onions. Can't say I ever liked it though. Haggis is OK - quite herby/spicy, and black pudding is delicious - yes, I know what it's made of but the taste is really nice.

Has anyone made an inventory of the food they have at Hogwarts? It seems to be heavily into meat (chops crop up a lot) so the vegetarians must have a rough time. And I've never noticed things like lasagne or burgers on the menu. When Fleur describes the food as stodgy in GoF, she's not far off the mark.

Dinner:
turkies,mashed potatoes,shepards pie,tripe,the french dish in GoF,wings(i think),chops,ribs(i beleave)
Breakfast:cornflakes,oatmeal,porige(i dont know if there is a diference),kippers,toast,marmalade
Lunch:stuff similer to dinner
Desert:Pie,ice cream,cake
Drink:milk,orrange juise,pumpkin juise

anyone please add to the list of food and drink...this is all i could think of...

Um... what is "stodgy"? And I'm glad the food thing came back up again! :p What are kippers? I think there are more foods mentioned but I can't think of them. I only remember "treacle tart" because it's Harry's favorite dessert.

what did wormtail do with voldemort's wand then for 13 years? maybe hid it in a secure location

what did wormtail do with voldemort's wand then for 13 years? maybe hid it in a secure location
And Peter Pettigrew may have thought that returning the wand would have helped his standing with Voldemort. He would have gone to get it from wherever he hid it before going to search for Voldemort in Albania.

Question that I just thought of:
We know that Peter was helped out by rats that he met on the way - but I'm sure that British rats wouldn't be familiar with the goings on in Albania - so how did he know where to start looking?

Um... what is "stodgy"? And I'm glad the food thing came back up again! :p What are kippers? I think there are more foods mentioned but I can't think of them. I only remember "treacle tart" because it's Harry's favorite dessert.'Stodgy' is used to describe a person who is boring, dull, and stuffy. Kippers are smoked herring.

so how did he know where to start looking?It had long been rumoured that Voldemort was somewhere in Albania. Wormtail might have, as a rat, overheard Arthur talking about it.

Why does Ron bring a rat to school when it isn't allowed?

I've heard steak mentioned on the school menu as well .. and once chips. And stew gets mentioned a fair bit in the winters. But yeah I've thought before that the food was fairly heavy .. no mention of nice leafy salads or anything (though Hermione does eat sprouts once .. ugh). Maybe there ARE no vegetarian wizards :)

I love full English breakfasts btw but if I ate one every day then I'd quickly be the size of an eighteen wheeler. On the rare occasions I do have one I am full for the rest of the day!

And Peter Pettigrew may have thought that returning the wand would have helped his standing with Voldemort. He would have gone to get it from wherever he hid it before going to search for Voldemort in Albania.

Question that I just thought of:
We know that Peter was helped out by rats that he met on the way - but I'm sure that British rats wouldn't be familiar with the goings on in Albania - so how did he know where to start looking?
I think that Voldemort in GoF says something that Wormtail got help from the other rats, like there where places they avoid, or something.

Dinner:
turkies,mashed potatoes,shepards pie,tripe,the french dish in GoF,wings(i think),chops,ribs(i beleave)
Breakfast:cornflakes,oatmeal,porige(i dont know if there is a diference),kippers,toast,marmalade
Lunch:stuff similer to dinner
Desert:Pie,ice cream,cake
Drink:milk,orrange juise,pumpkin juise

anyone please add to the list of food and drink...this is all i could think of... I think that there are Chipolatas too (some kind of sausage) at Christmas.

It had long been rumoured that Voldemort was somewhere in Albania. Wormtail might have, as a rat, overheard Arthur talking about it.
I didn't think of that - but that's probably right. The Weaslys would have discussed this after Dumbledore told them that Voldemort was in Albania in CoS.

'Stodgy' is used to describe a person who is boring, dull, and stuffy. Kippers are smoked herring.
Thanks again! :)

I have never really heard stodgy used to refer to a person though I am sure it could be :). Stodge with reference to food tends to refer to very heavy, rather tasteless food. A constant diet of, for instance, meat pies and chips would be described as 'stodgy.'

Why didn't Barty Crouch Jr. just like sneak into the Gryffindor dormitories and like turn a chair into a portkey and have Harry sit in it. I'm sure he could've manipulated Neville to get the passwords or some other kid. I mean, I know it would like ruin the book, which happens to be my favorite, but honestly, it was a bit complicated.

Why didn't Barty Crouch Jr. just like sneak into the Gryffindor dormitories and like turn a chair into a portkey and have Harry sit in it. I'm sure he could've manipulated Neville to get the passwords or some other kid. I mean, I know it would like ruin the book, which happens to be my favorite, but honestly, it was a bit complicated.
There is a thread here discussing this topic
I used the search tool ("portkey" in advanced search only titles)
Hope it helps you http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=77826&highlight=portkey

:) I actually thought that this thread was more about asking this really little details, like what is a treacle tart, how old is Hermoine..., because I believe on more speculative topics there are most probably already whole threads with very interesting theories. The search tool comes useful there :) Search Tutorial (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=67269)

Here's a mind bender. Why didn't Voldemort use the Fidelius charm to hide his horcruxes and simply never tell anyone the secret?

what DOES wotcher mean???

If you look back over the last few pages this one comes up fairly often ;). Common theory is that it's either a contraction of 'what cheer' or it's a contraction of 'whatcha doing.' My money is on the former one because it's something that British people - well in the South - have used for a long time and hence Tonks probably doesn't think about what it MEANS when she uses it .. essentially, it has lost its original greeting and become just a general all-purpose greeting.

what does NEWT stand for?

what does NEWT stand for?


It stands for Nastily Exhausting Wizarding test

Here's a mind bender. Why didn't Voldemort use the Fidelius charm to hide his horcruxes and simply never tell anyone the secret?
Probably when something like what happened to him at godric's hollow happens (which is supposed to be what he has horcruxes for), since the secret is in his soul, the secret will be released. Or maybe JKR didn't think of that. :)

Probably when something like what happened to him at godric's hollow happens (which is supposed to be what he has horcruxes for), since the secret is in his soul, the secret will be released. Or maybe JKR didn't think of that. :)

arrogance and the fact that he'd want to capture and question any wizard that got close to discovering one.

Dinner:
turkies,mashed potatoes,shepards pie,tripe,the french dish in GoF,wings(i think),chops,ribs,Chipolatas
Breakfast:cornflakes,oatmeal,porige(i dont know if there is a diference),kippers,toast,marmalade
Lunch:stuff similer to dinner
Desert:Pie,ice cream,cake,treakle tart,
Drink:milk,orrange juise,pumpkin juise

anyone please add to the list of food and drink...this is all i could think of...and what other people thought of

anyone please add to the list of food and drink...this is all i could think of...and what other people thought of

This might help: Hp-lexicon Food & Drink (http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizworld/food.html)

Heh that site is really funny .. I guess it had never occured to me before that non Brits might find such a large amount of the language strange!

I have to point out though that black pudding is NOT battered, as that site seems to think it is :)