TMQ111 -- An Elopement Postponed

[blaqlives]

Discussion of The Magic Quill #111 -- An Elopement Postponed by Robbie Fischer.

+++ DOUBLE CHALLENGE for TMQ Nos. 112 and 113 +++

SURVEY for Chapter 112: Will the bad guy in Spanky’s story turn out to be his old nemesis Sid Shmedly?

CONTEST for Chapter 112: At the time of Spanky’s story, Ilona is not only invisible but actually undetectable to anyone except Spanky. This doesn’t mean she is completely helpless. What are some things she could do to help Spanky in a fight?

SURVEY for Chapter 113: In Chamber of Secrets, Tom Riddle claimed that Hagrid tried to raise “werewolf pups” under his bed. This raises at least two questions: (A) Was Tom exaggerating, or can werewolves be born by normal reproduction as well as through humans being bitten? (B) And if baby werewolves can be born that way, do they ever turn into people or are they always in their wild, hairy state?

CONTEST for Chapter 113: What do werewolves eat when they can’t have human?

[GuillerminaLynn]

for Chapter 112:
SURVEY: I vote for the NO- no more Sid
CONTEST: Ilona could help Spanky in a fight providing him with anything he needs and no one will be able to see what she brings or sumons until Spanky has it 'cause no one can detect her presece.

for Chapter 113:
SURVEY : Tom was liyng (actually Jo said this)
CONTEST: I say that, during the full moon, werewolfs eat any kind of big animal they can catch, or they do't eat anything - after all it's only a couple of nights a month they're transformed

[Echoreyn]

Ch. 12 Survey: Yes! I'd love to hear more about Sid Shmedly, and it would have the potential to answer some of the unanswered questions.

Ch. 12 Contest: She can sneeze on them causing them to break out in viscious pink and yellow hives.

Ch. 13 Survey: Perhaps the child of two werewolves born on a full moon would be a permanent werewolf with the ability to think and even speak like a human. Hagrid would have taken such a child in and befriended it while the rest of the world would have abandoned it.

Ch. 13 Contest: When werewolves can't get to humans, they eat Glumbumbles which are much too small to be filling. This explains why they are always starving for human flesh.

[Linda_Carrig]

I just loved the garden! Awesome.
I think it is Sid, back, yet again, to carry on the feud between the two.
Ilona could be very useful to Spanky: Tripping up opponents during a duel, listening in on interesting conversations, sizing up the opposition unseen.

That is an interesting question about werewolves. On the one hand, no, but as this story is completely out there, I would have to say, yes, there are werewolf cubs but only if they are born on the night of the full moon. I can see Hagrid taking care of rejected pups. Like humans, not every parent is ready for parenthood.
What would werewolves eat if they couldn't get human flesh? Any animal would do: rabbits, birds, moon calves, trout etc.

[swing667]

#112:
Survey: Yes
Contest: If her magic in unaffected by her condition, then she could act as an extra person on Spanky's side. However, he might consider that unfair, so she might end up providing less direct assistance such as summoning useful objects or enchanting the environment/room to aid Spanky.

#113:
Survey: Yes, werewolfs can be born through normal reproduction, but remain in their furry state for their entire lives.
Contest: Werewolves will eat any type of large game, but only feel the pull to eat strictly humans at the full moon.

[PotterPig]

SURVEY for Chapter 112: Yes, and I would love to see some major payback.

CONTEST for Chapter 112: She could grab wands out of people's hands, hit people over the head with heavy objects, or just make random things move. Another thing she could do is sneak up behind them and hit them behind their knees, resulting in them falling on their knees as if bowing to defeat.

SURVEY for Chapter 113:
A. I would say that Tom was exaggerating. I don't think we can put too much trust in him. I would rather think that Hagrid found babies that had been bitten and cast away and then tried to save them. That seems like a very Hagrid thing to do.
B. If they were just born like that I would guess they would never turn into people.

CONTEST for Chapter 113: I don't know why, but the first thought that came to me was cats. I am sure cat lovers everywhere will hate me for that, but that is why you should never let your cat outside on the night of the full moon.

[stwonks]

Survey112: Why I do beleive Sid is back, I also believe Ilona would like to take this opportunity to torment him.
Contest112: Besides the obvios recon work Ilona can do I beleive she can also do things such as trip/shove/assault anyone she wishes, as long as that person will convince themselvs that somethings else, not her, did it. Kinda like muggles denying magic, it would be wizards denying Ilona. I also think that just because Ilona is undetctable to humans does not mean she can't influence some of the more intellegent magical plants and animals to help her and spanky, as long as those plants and animals don't have the ability to alert humans to her existance, of course.

Survey113: I thinks tom was exagerating about Hagrid raising the pups. But I also think werewolf cubs DO exsist, they are just Extremely rare because their conception would require 2 werewolves to meet and mate on a full moon instead of searching for food or fighting. The cubs would only spend the full moon in thir fullwerewolf state, but they would be unusually hairy children with extra pointed teeth and a strong likeing for rare meat.
Contest113: because of Hagrids concern for Buckbeak in PoA some might say werewolfs would eat any source of meat in absense of humans but since Lupin never attacked any of the maruaders i think they just go hungry.

[pdhorner]

112: As to Sid, I think perhaps we need to find a more sinister villain...like his brother Dis.

112: Having Ilona invisible nearby reminds me of Fred and George during D.A. meetings when they were disarming Zacharias Smith, and he couldn't figure it out. Maybe Ilona casts shield charms for Spanky, so that his opponents are dumbfounded...I dunno.

113: I agree with Potterpig about Hagrid's motives for trying to raise the "pups", though I do think Jo said Tom was lying about that. But if there were such a thing, it would be interesting if they were sort of half-and-half all the time.

113: When Werewolves can't eat human, I am sure they satisfy themselves with satsuma and sprouts. Keeps them regular, you know, when they eat all that meat.

[h_morgan]

I love the garden, Robbie! It sounds like my idea of paradise!

chapter 112:
survey: I don't think it ought to be Sid Shmedly, but someone new but still related to the history of TMQ
contest: There's always dropping things on people or in front of them so that the attacker will trip over them. Or she could stand out in plain sight of the attacker and tell Spanky what he is doing so that Spanky can remain under cover.

chapter 113
survey: I think that Tom was just exagerating and showing how much he looked down on Hagrid and people who weren't his idea of how a wizard ought to be. Hagrid was probably always in trouble for trying to raise some new "cute and interesting" creature that the teachers probably viewed as anything but cute and innocent!
contest: When they are human, probably anything we eat or anything they can scrounge up. When they are in wolf form, probably any unsuspecting creature that they cross paths with that they can catch.

[TWZRD]

The garden is wonderful. Love the literate broom tree.
#122 Anyway, we have so many characters, I think "The Return of Sid" will be best. There's plenty of score to settle there yet.
Yes, Ilona would be wonderful help in a fight. Anything she did would really perplex their opponent, who would be wondering how Spanky can attack from two directions at once. Of course, anything she does will either just be attributed to Spanky or some accident -- like the odd way that pool cleaning net just leapt off the fence...

#133 is really sticky. First part: If we stick to cannon, we pretty well know that Riddle was just making trouble, and there's no truth in the werepups. However, if two werefolk were to mate at the full moon, I would be willing to bet their offspring would be unusual. (Not to mention the general effect of your mother having no memory of your father... Hey, Spanky's kids would know something about that, wouldn't they!) Anyway, I don't think they'd be sinister and dangerous, but they might have some of the wolf tendencies that now belong to Bill Weasley. They might also be cranky and ill behaved at full moons, not because the moon directly affects them, but because the moon resulted in two or three days of maternal neglect in early childhood. (Wonder if the child welfare branch of the Ministry automatically intervenes with the offspring of lycanthropes? Hmm...)
On the second part, I really can't get around cannon. If they hunted other than human game, then stag meat would have been on Lupin's menu, not to mention rat hors d'euvres. I think they drink water only, and are too disturbed by their quest for human flesh to think of other food. If the werewolf is taking wolfbane, then it may be persuaded to eat prescription were-kibble from the wizard vet. (After all, the Ministry doesn't consider them human while they are sick, so there would be mainly funding for veterinary research on how to improve their health.) Well, maybe they do eat a few sprouts. :-)

[jatibbal]

That was an excellent garden, and not just because there was a DentisTree!

For the Survey and contest, I pretty much think just the same as stwonks, so just to reiterate:

Originally Posted by stwonks

Survey112: Why I do beleive Sid is back, I also believe Ilona would like to take this opportunity to torment him.
Contest112: Besides the obvios recon work Ilona can do I beleive she can also do things such as trip/shove/assault anyone she wishes, as long as that person will convince themselvs that somethings else, not her, did it. Kinda like muggles denying magic, it would be wizards denying Ilona. I also think that just because Ilona is undetctable to humans does not mean she can't influence some of the more intellegent magical plants and animals to help her and spanky, as long as those plants and animals don't have the ability to alert humans to her existance, of course.

Survey113: I thinks tom was exagerating about Hagrid raising the pups. But I also think werewolf cubs DO exsist, they are just Extremely rare because their conception would require 2 werewolves to meet and mate on a full moon instead of searching for food or fighting. The cubs would only spend the full moon in thir fullwerewolf state, but they would be unusually hairy children with extra pointed teeth and a strong likeing for rare meat.
Contest113: because of Hagrids concern for Buckbeak in PoA some might say werewolfs would eat any source of meat in absense of humans but since Lupin never attacked any of the maruaders i think they just go hungry.

[i6uuaq]

hehehe... i really like the contest question for chapter 112... but that'll come abit later.

survey: Sid Shmedly for sure! love the duels, and now Ilona can help too!
contest: ah, but Ilona doesn't have to do anything interesting. she can attempt to speak to Sid Shmedly.. and I'm sure an elephant will suddenly trumpet in his ear or something. Or she might attempt to write something on his clothes, and fire will suddenly burn it up. Imagine... all Spanky has to do to create a diversion is say Ilona's name loudly! =).

i don't think Ilona can do anything to DIRECTLY harm anyone... the magic would always attempt to ensure that Ilona was totally undetectable - and stuff dropping out of seeming nowhere seems abit of a giveaway, so obviously you have to trick the magic into working for you!

scenario: Ilona stands in front of opponent, and picks something off the ground!
result: now obviously the opponent must NOT BE ALLOWED TO SEE THE SOMETHING MOVING, because it rather gives her presence away, yeah? then his hat slips over his eyes! or the lights go out! or lightning strikes the ground between them so everyone gets temporarily blinded.

scenario: Ilona attempts to lay a hand on the opponent
result: this obviously must not happen, so - the ground collapses under him so that Ilona misses him! or a sudden gust of wind blows him over!

survey 113: i think someone quoted JKR as saying Tom lied, so it seems a moot point to me, but for the sake of discussion....
presumably werepeople have the same desires as we do, like sex and all that, and i guess they can reproduce normally. i suppose you might get some kind of a wolf animagus thing, with the same poisonous fangs as normal werewolves do... not a pleasant thought at all, but quite a suitable foe for someone such as Spanky Spankison i suppose.

CONTEST: most werewolves only turn wolf for a single night, so i guess they can go hungry. we also understand from Remus Lupin that in the absence of humans, they tend to bite themselves? but for the sake of the plot....

in the absence of human flesh, werewolves are able to satiate their immense hunger by eating truffles, well known for their nutritional value. wolves of course, are not particularly well-equipped for finding and digging up truffles, and hence the need for a truffle bush... hehehe... =). PLOT LINKAGE!!

Originally Posted by stwonks

Survey113: I thinks tom was exagerating about Hagrid raising the pups. But I also think werewolf cubs DO exsist, they are just Extremely rare because their conception would require 2 werewolves to meet and mate on a full moon instead of searching for food or fighting. The cubs would only spend the full moon in thir fullwerewolf state, but they would be unusually hairy children with extra pointed teeth and a strong likeing for rare meat.

hehe... don't think they have to mate on a full moon man... werewolves are werewolves even when they're not transformed right? like how fenrir's bites are still cursed even though he wasn't transformed. but the idea is good, so we can ignore the logic i think.

[Xantha]

I loved the garden. It was very creative.

Survey for Chapter 112: Yes I think Spanky should settle his grudge with Sid and I do not think we need anymore new characters.
Contest for Chapter 112: I think the most useful thing would be for her to keep up a shield charm for Spanky while he duels with his opponent.

Survey for Chapter 113: I think Tom was lying and there are no werewolf pups. Tom is not a reliable person.
Contest for Chapter 113: I think werewolves dine on candy when they cannot find humans. Just whatever type of candy they can find or their favorite kind. So they should keep bags of sweets on them around the full moon so they have something to munch on.

Great chapter! I am so glad that TMQ is continuing!

[voldymortus]

Haha Viva La Sid!

Since Spanky's ball and chain is invisable, I don't see how she could be in any danger. I Imagine that she could still hold her wand and do magic, this she could throw hexes and the such. Spanky could say that my wife exists/is alive/ is over you left shoulder and thus something really bad would happen to sid.

While it is stated that Tom was lying, Werewolf pups do exist. I have always thought that Lycanthropy was similar to AIDS, as it is widely miosunderstood and those inflected are subjected to persecution. The AIDS virus was originonally contracted by a monkey in africa, so thusly, one could certainlky assume that wolves contracted this magical "virus". (Thats another parallell, at the point in time this all takes place, the 1990's, AIDS had just started to be controlled though the use of a complicated coctail of drugs. In cannon, Lycanthorpy had just started to be combated with a complicated potion) Thus it is logical that all of the wolves in the forbidden forest ARE werewolves. If you remember the universal classic, The Wolf Man, Lon cheney was bitten by what seems to be a natural wolf. Thus one must considere if these wolves would be werewolf 100% of the time, or just on the week preceeding a full moon.

By all accounts, these wolves would be found to be normal in the wild. That is, untill the full moon, when the "MAGICAL VIRUS" takes controll and lycanthropy takes place. True lycanthorpy increases the sizeof the wolf, the length of the muzzle, and the color of the eyes, which is a glowing yellow or red. These wolves would certainly give birth to pups who would contain the virus.

On the whole, though, a werewolf is not exactly a human predator (Although they will go for a human as they are higher in the food chain) the werewolf needs hemoglobin (Similar to a vampire) and a large quantity of protien. This acts as a suppressant to the pain suffered from the inital transformation, and the Virus attacking the brainstem once the amount of meat and blood are consumed (which just so happens to be the amount contained in two average weight humans) they curl up as harmless wolf,

[rory86]

What a comeback, Robbie!! the last Quill was (what else?).... AWESOME!

#112
Survey: another blood-freezing--mind-blowing--evel charecter (remember Marry?.. anyone??) would be very interersting to read... someone who lies and threats (and kills) to get what he wants and wolud deny it or say that it is for a good (or geater) cause or that he´s just defending himself ...
but if my friends in the forum think that the story of The Sid needs more... it must be true (I´haven´t read those early episodes... sorry)

Contest: she can cast defensive, protective or any kind of speels, even when she can´t be heard or seen by anyone except her husband. In a fight, of course she would be able to use her magic and remain undetected, except for the effect that her speels are supposed to cause.

#113
Survey: yeah, yeah.. Tom was lying and just wanted to get Hagrid into trouble....(well honestly.. it´s very Hagrid to take care of inofensive little creatures.. take Norbert for example!! ) but to answer the actual question... warewolves are born by normal reproduction, I think it doesn´t matter if it happens in full moon (What are the chances?)or not, some of the lycanthropy will be passed to the children, of course this doesn´t mean that they are wolves all the time

Contest : they would hunt for flesh if they needed to eat. If they "can´t have human" for "dinner", they would eat a good blood-dripping "steak" of whatever they can hunt, like sheeps or smaller animals... this only when they become wolves, otherwise, eat regular food.. and like rare meat...
In few words.... I completely agree with Voldymortus´ answers for #113

[dele]

#112

Survey: Yep I think it would be awesome if Spanky could have a final showdown with Sid and if Ilona had her chance for revenge.

Contest: Well I reckon Ilona could help best by covering Spanky with a shield charm. Sid wouldn't know where the spell was coming from and therefore wouldn't be able to harm her or break the spell. This would leave Spanky completely protected. It would be extra handy if this sheild charm deflected Sid's spells back onto him as well!

#113

Survey: Well obviously Tom was exaggerating. How would he know what Hagrid kept under his bed?! But I think werewolves can be born through normal reproduction. If two werewolves were to mate, I think their offspring would have full werewolf characteristics ie. transforming on the full moon. But I think if a werewolf (say Lupin) mates with a normal human (say Tonks) then their children would be normal humans but perhaps hairier than normal with a liking for rare meat.


Contest: I guess when they were transformed they would eat animals such as sheep etc. - whatever they could find. But in their normal state they would eat like a normal person.

[Voldemort_13]

#113 I think a werewolf family would be interesting what if the child was a mix between a wolf and a person so they can't hunt in a wolf pack because they walk on two legs and can't realy catch anything but can't fit in to human society because they have pointed ears and hair over their body.

What if a werewolf were to bite a wolf would you get a wolf that turned human on the full moon?

[amylynn91403]

SURVEY for Chapter 112: no, i don't like sid, let it be someone else.

CONTEST for Chapter 112: I agree with just about everyone else, and i want to add that Ilona can truly watch spanky's back for him to make sure nothin sneaks up on him.

SURVEY for Chapter 113: A) J.K.R. said tom was lying about hgrid having pups, not that they existed otherwise it wouldn't be in the story. and yes i think they can be made by two Weres finding one another i have actually sorta read a book like that once, not suitable for children of course, lol.
B) they are just like normal werewolves except they can change back and forth as they please once they hit puberty with the ability to still think as humans.(some uses it to scare the people around them as practical jokes. the full moon still makes them turn into complete animals with no control.

CONTEST for Chapter 113: anything that is meat and bloody. lol

[zanaboo]

(A) Was Tom exaggerating, or can werewolves be born by normal reproduction as well as through humans being bitten? (B) And if baby werewolves can be born that way, do they ever turn into people or are they always in their wild, hairy state?

I think werewolf reproduction is quite a complicated thing, otherwise we'd have seen, or heard about, were-children in the books. If were-reproduction was an easy matter, the population of werewolves would be a lot higher than the books seem to indicate.

My theory is that most were-conceptions occur during the human phase. When conception occurs during the human phase, the were-virus (or whatever were-bug) is in its dormant state, so the foetus is not infected. But unhappily, the monthly transformation to the were-state causes many miscarriages. And even more unhappily, for those few pregnancies that do continue to term, the full-moon transformation in the 9th month always induces labor, which means that the totally human baby, born during the mother's were-state, is almost always immediately eaten by one or both parents.

If werewolves mate and conceive during their were-state, due to the were-virus being in its active phase, the foetus will be infected, which makes it less susceptible to transformation-induced miscarriage. Furthermore, when the pregnancy nears term, although the mother's full-moon transformation still induces labor, at least the 'baby' is born in its were-state, and therefore isn't at risk of being eaten. But knowing the societal challenges their were-children would face, most werewolves (up until the return of Voldemort, anyway) have been resolutely unwilling to intentionally inflict this inevitable were-status on their offspring.

Of course, such conceptions do occasionally happen unintentionally, but the few werewolves who happen to mate and conceive during the full-moon have discovered a further difficulty. The transformation from human to werewolf is so unnatural that, in their transformed state, after giving birth, were-mothers (much less were-fathers) fail to exhibit any natural maternal instincts. This means were-cubs are simply left wherever they are born - generally in a cave or a shallow hollow among the roots of large trees. Usually born at the peak of the full moon, these were-cubs stay in their transformed state for about 24 hours, and then transform into human babies. Unfortunately, when the new were-mother reverts to her human form, she is unable to remember where she gave birth. So the next big hurdle for would-be were-parents is to find their lost infant - before the elements take their toll, before predators find the baby, and before the baby starves to death.

I've heard rumors that, since the return of Voldemort, Fenrir Greyback and his ilk have been encouraging were-couples to intentionally try to conceive during the full moon. But, so far, they haven't had as much reproductive success as they had hoped. Their idea was to somehow confine the near-term mothers-to-be during the time they'd be transformed, so that the cubs wouldn't end up lost. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view), they didn't take into consideration the strength of the werewolves' instinct for running as a pack. Unable to resist this compelling pack-instinct in their transformed state, both the male and female werewolves work cooperatively to free the near-term pregnant females from such confinement. So for now, were-cubs are still being born in well-hidden 'dens', and are still immediately abandoned by their mothers. It's a situation which doesn't lend itself to the survival of many cubs.

Of course, the situation would be different for a couple like Tonks and Lupin. Since Tonks is fully human, any children they might have would be fully human. (Err... I'd say they don't need to worry about the possibility of conceiving when Lupin is in his dog or werewolf state.) And since Tonks is a fully human female, there isn't any danger of her eating or abandoning their baby. But it would be a different story if Tonks was a female werewolf, and Lupin was the one who was fully human.

These sad facts regarding werewolves' reproductive challenges are scarcely known to non-werewolves. After all, werewolves are already thought of as the dregs of society - or worse - and face heavy discrimination. How much worse would that discrimination be if it were widely known that they typically eat or abandon their young? It's quite shameful of me, really, to so casually reveal it to the world, but there you have it -- the darkest secret of were-kind.

With regard to the historical aspect of your questions... Hagrid simply found twin human infants in the Forbidden Forest, apparently abandoned. So naturally, he took them back to Hogwarts, and immediately turned them over to Dumbledore. Of course, Dumbledore began looking for the twins' natural parents, or barring that, for suitable adoptive parents. Approximately one month into his search (when the moon turned full once again) he was as stunned as the baby-sitting Hagrid when the twins suddenly transformed into howling were-cubs. Since the cubs' howling attracted the attention of a number of fully-grown werewolves in the Forbidden Forest, Hogwarts was soon surrounded by a howling pack. For several hours, this sudden crisis - both inside the castle (where Hagrid and a House Elf were almost bitten by the cubs) and outside the castle - left Dumbledore and several other professors with their hands full -- which is what gave rise to the rumors, eagerly egged on by Tom Riddle and his admirers, that Hagrid had been trying to raise were-cubs under his bed.

[Linda_Carrig]

I would like to congratulate 'zanaboo' for a thouroughly thought out answer to the were wolf question. I can just imagine the chaos created by the one month old babes turning into were wolves! Now that they know, perhaps they will be ready when the next full moon strikes.