Filch etc/Susan Bones (was Re: Gazing Into The Crystal Ball)

[Neil Ward]

Cindy said:

<<The thing that struck me as receiving emphasis out of proportion to what
was in the book was Filch and Mrs. Norris, particularly Mrs. Norris.  It was
a striking looking cat, wasn't it?  Anyway, people
have speculated on the main list that Mrs. Norris is more than a cat and
will be important in future books, and this looks more likely now.>>

I agree that Mrs Norris looked wild and weird ("bulging lamp-light eyes"...
yes) and that there must be more to her, if not simply that she's a kneazle.
David Bradley did a great, Faginesque Filch, and was one of several cameos
that seemed rather more prominent than we might have expected from reading
the book (others being Ollivander and perhaps Hooch).  Some of this was due
to the things that got cut.  I'd say that Filch's part benefited from the
absence of Peeves, for example and that the Ollivander scene benefited from
the absence of the scene in Madam Malkin's (probably cut because introducing
Draco later on was deemed more effective).

<< Someone already mentioned this, but Susan Bones was one of the few
students to be sorted.  Her parents were killed by Voldemort, so she must be
a Big Deal.  >>

The significance of Susan Bones being shown in the sorting scene may be that
she was being played by Eleanor Columbus, the daughter of the director.  She
was also shown sitting next to Hermione in the boat, as it takes them across
the lake to Hogwarts.

On the other hand, JKR is very good at placing characters in the background
and pulling them into the foreground later on.  Perhaps Susan Bones will be
the love interest in Book 5?  H/S anyone? (it's okay folks: I really don't
want to receive a list of the 531 ongoing Harry/Susan fanfics)

Neil