New Canon- Replies to EVERYONE

[Erin]

Wow, there's a lot to read when you're away for a weekend!  I took a 
page from Catlady's book and just put all of these replies into one 
post, and also I probably didn't snip nearly enough. 

 Anyway, everyone just scroll down until you see your name.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
STEVE 

> > Erin wrote:
> > Gaaah! No one likes that question except me! Well, I don't care.
> > It's my question, I'm keeping it on there, <snip>

Steve replied:
> Also, I wasn't trying to shoot down your question, I was trying to
> answer it, or at least give a plausable and likely answer.
 
> Erin:
> LOL, Steve, I know I said "What's up with" a couple times, once for
> the teeth and once for the socks. Are you mocking me? 
> bboy_mn:
>  
>  Steve:
> Sorry, the 'what's up with that' was mostly my weird sense of 
humor, I was mocking but not you specifically. <snip>
> 
> The reason for the long drawn our explanations for each question, 
was because that's how I would like to ask JKR, in a long detailed
> conversation over tea, clotted cream, strawberry jam, and scones. 
<snip> Also, I thought it might open some general discussion here in 
the group on travel in the wizard world. 


Erin now:  
Sorry for coming off as so antagonistic-- both to you and to 
Joywitch.  What I'm learning is that I shouldn't write posts when 
it's late at night and I'm mad at RL people for RL things.  Again 
sorry.  I do appreciate your (and everyone else's) to explain the 
teeth to me.  I know you were trying to help, but I'm afraid I'll 
just never quite "get" it.  I want the whole world to have perfect 
teeth!  

The "are you mocking me?" question was actually supposed to be sort 
of funny too, but I forgot to put in any modifiers to clue you in on 
that.  I noticed another thread sprung up yesterday on funny sayings 
in people's families; this is actually one of mine.  It's meant to be 
said in a high, funny voice, as if you were completely flabbergasted 
and outraged.  Sort of like- "Are you *gasp* mocking me???"

The explanations were actually very informative and all, but as a 
girl to whom all forms of *muggle* transportation also seem like 
magic (about all I know is that the thing under the hood is called an 
engine), my attitude is more, "as long as it gets you there, who 
cares how it works?"  Good questions though, and they are added.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JOYWITCH:

Erin first:
Now, let's see... <eg> four questions you conceeded on, 
three "neutral", and... well, I *guess* I could be nice and give you 
Tom Riddle, in light of the follow-up post... <hastily counts on 
fingers>... this means...   I won! I won! Yayyy!  If only you could 
see my happy little victory dance...

Joywitch from before:
The problem is, we don't know what those charms are called. I'm
thinking of the spell Dumbledore uses to conjure up the squishy
purple sleeping bags (POA), and the chair at Christmas dinner (POA)
and the chairs at Harry's hearing (OOP), which he doesn without
saying anything. McGonagall also conjures up some chairs in OOP with
just a flick of her wand. Are they just so good at Summoning Spells
that they don't have to even say "accio?" Or are they actually
creating something?

Erin:
Dang, you're right.  No names for the spells definitely puts a damper 
on the questions.  Maybe we could ask for the name of the spell 
Dumbledore uses to conjure the sleeping bags. Hmm, but then I don't 
want to make her think too deeply on the spot like that. So just say 
something like "When Dumbledore conjures the sleeping bags in PoA, 
has he summoned them *from* somewhere, or actually created them? 

BTW, I personally think that he created them, and that created-out-of-
air objects have a limited lifespan, but, well, my opinion doesn't 
really mean anything.

I also wanted to say how much I appreciated the alternate 
explanations for the Portkey debacle.  Honestly, I can take *some* 
FLINTS, but if an entire *book* is written around one (in addition to 
the time-travel in PoA, which has its own issues) I have to really 
start questioning that I'm spending a significant portion of time 
thinking about the work of some blonde bimbo children's author.  
Having an entire *three* explanations to choose from helps me keep 
that at bay.  And now that we, the fans, have so kindly thought all 
these explanations out for her, hopefully JKR will utilize one of 
them and explain it in a future interview or book, thus laying all my 
doubts to rest.

Joywitch:
Snape is SO a vampire! I refuse to have it any other way. If JKR says 
he's not, she's just wrong! Pippin and I know the truth!
 
Erin: 
Though I'm torn on the actual issue of vampirism (vampires are cool, 
and Snape does have some of the traits-- but I want him to end up 
happy, and vampirism offers a smaller chance of that) I know the 
exact feeling you are expressing.  There are times when I get the 
feeling that JKR just doesn't apperciate Snape as much as *I* do! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MARTHA

Martha comments:
To be honest, I get the impression that whatever we ask, we won't be
satisfied with the answer, regardless of how careful we are to phrase
the questions the right way. :-) 
<snip>
Whatever answer she gives, we'll rip it apart.

Erin:
So true, so true.  And yet we'll have such fun doing it!  I mean, 
it's been seven months since we had anything new to rip apart, you 
know?  And I think our questions at least have a better chance of at 
least partially satisfying us than the questions of the uninformed.  
I think it's worth a shot, and I'll consider it a success if even one 
of the questions makes the chat.

Martha:
Also, there are plenty of things I expect some people just don't want
to know. I am a dedicated Sirius/Remus shipper and would never dream
of asking JKR for confirmation of that ship, since if she said "no,
they're not a couple and never have been" my heart would break.
That's just an example, but you get the idea.

Erin:
Yeah, that is one question that I hope she *never* gets asked.  
Totally with you there.  Personally I choose to interpret Remus 
moving in with Sirius in OoP as JKR showing as much support for the 
SHIP as she is able to.

Martha:
And if we ask:

> Will Mark Evans (the ten-year-old Dudley beat up at the beginning
> of OoP) show up in the next books at all?

I think we'll either get a "no" (unlikely) or a "well-spotted".
Rememeber all that discussion of Arabella Figg, pre-OoP? In an
interview, someone asked is the "Arabella Figg" mentioned my
Dumbledore at the end of GoF and the "Mrs Figg" Harry sometimes
stayed with were the same person. I believe the answer was "well
spotted!", which led to months of debate as to whether she was a
beautiful young witch drinking polyjuice potion to look like an old
lady, or Dumbledore's girlfriend, or Harry's great-aunt, or this or
that.

Erin:
Do I remember Mrs. Figg?  Oh, yes indeed, I remember Mrs. Figg.  But 
I would much rather have Mark Evans be a Mrs. Figg than say, a 
Florence.  Remember  Florence?  The girl from the Pensieve about whom 
elaborate theories on top of theories on top of theories were spun, 
enough to build entire palaces of air upon?  Only to have her 
_not_even_show_up_  in OoP?

Right now, I'm pretty much sick of discussing Mark Evans on the main 
list.  Last time I looked, they were just starting to bring in the 
time turner....  I just skip past those posts as things stand.  

So I want to know, one way or another.  If we get that "well 
spotted", then he's a Mrs. Figg, and at least there is basis for 
speculation, and I'll be able to enjoy the discussions again.  If the 
answer is "no", then the discussions will stop.  Either way, I'll be 
happier then I am now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DAVID

David:
Interesting. The gulf is more than I supposed, especially as you
more or less equated 'bad' teeth with poor hygiene in your pervious
post. To me describing Karkaroff's teeth as yellow may indicate
that he smokes (I think only Dudley for sure smokes out of all the
characters), but it's just description. Snape, hair, dark, teeth,
yellow; Karkaroff, hair, grey, teeth, yellow.

Erin:
Lol, it may not be so much an American thing as an "Erin" thing.  Bad 
teeth are almost an - obsession? - phobia?- of mine, except maybe not 
quite that strong.  I don't have a problem with other bodily 
imperfections the way I do with bad teeth.  I hadn't considered the 
thing about the description; you're right, she is an author, so it 
makes sense that she's just decribing them.  But it is strange that 
she feels the need to tell us the state of Karkaroff's- a minor 
character's- teeth when she has not even described Ron's eye color in 
any of the five books.  And in Snape's case, the teeth do seem to 
come with a general lack of hygiene, i.e. the greasy hair.  

Come to think of it, when she describes both Sirius and Karkaroff as 
having yellow teeth, those are in a sort of negative context also.  
Sirius is described as having the teeth in PoA, before he is revealed 
to be a good guy, in a way that lends to his general air of menace.  
She never describes them again in any other book.  Karkaroff she is 
trying to establish as one of the suspects for putting Harry's name 
in the goblet in GoF.

David:
But you seem to be making the mental leap from 'yellow' to 'bad'
with no consciousness of making it.

Erin:
I understand that yellow doesn't mean rotten, but in my book yellow 
teeth are a Bad Thing.  Therefore I describe yellow as "bad".  
Slightly off-white is one thing, but actively yellow is another 
altogether.

David:
As for Hagrid, people here do tend to wear false teeth if they have
gaps, but I think we have to wait until the next book to be sure he
has rejected that option. The WW being what it is, he may have
difficulty getting treatment on the grounds that his teeth are
inapproproately large.

Erin:
Surely they could just use an engorgement charm, though?  I mean, if 
they can shrink Hermione's....  No, I'm more worried that he'll have 
difficulty getting treatment just because the WW doesn't treat dental 
problems at all.

Minister "for" Magic-- I have noticed that sometimes people write it 
this way, but in all my books it is Minister of Magic.  Is this 
different in the British version?  (Minister of Magic makes way more 
sense to me, BTW)

Oh, and Joywitch wasn't engaging in canon discussion, nothing of the 
sort.  What she was doing was reassuring me that I'm not a total 
idiot who spends a significant amount of her free time fascinated 
with an author who writes an entire book around one horrible glaring 
plot hole.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CATLADY

Catlady wrote:
I'm sure she thinks she already answered the limits of Apparation in
QTTA: "[The Oakshaft 79] will always be remembered as the broom used
in the first ever Atlantic broom crossing, by Jocunda Sykes in 1935.
(Before that time, wizards preferred to take ships rather than to
trust broomsticks over such distances. Apparation becomes increasingly
unreliable over very long distances, and only highly skilled wizards
are wise to attempt it across continents." page 48).

Erin:
ooh, that's quite a good quote.  Steve, if you've read this far down, 
what do you think?  Should we take apparating off and just leave Floo 
Network and Portkeys on the question?

Ok, I will sort through all the questions to see what to add 
tommorrow, I'm skipping that bit for now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mariana HERRERA


Mariana:
Hello,
First time here.

Erin:
Welcome!  Hope you like it here, it's good to see new people.


Mariana:
- How come Arthur Weasley got a job in a high rank in the muggle
department (even being a muggle-lover) if he clearly is not familiar 
with muggles and their lives? He doesn't even know how to handle 
money....
Didn't he have muggle studies at school?

Erin:
I like this one, but with your permission, I'd like to change it a 
bit, to something about how come Arthur hasn't learned more about 
Muggles after working in a muggle department for so long.  OoP (when 
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were looking at careers) explained that 
wizards working with muggles weren't required to have very many OWLS 
or know very much about them at all.


Mariana:
- In OotP, Dumbledore says to Harry that Petunia is his mother only
living relative. Does he know this for sure, or he supposes?

Erin:
This is quite a good general question, and one that all of us here 
would love to know the answer to, but the purpose of the list is to 
ask stuff JKR will actually give answers to, and, sadly, I doubt that 
she will answer this, beyond saying something like "wait and see".  
It's just too close to the mystery at the heart of the story.


Mariana:
- In OotP, Dumbledore says to Harry that he has been watching him
closely. Is he kinda spying on him?

Erin:
Dumbledore basically admitted to spying on Harry several places in 
the books.  In PS/SS, he says at the mirror of Erised that he doesn't 
need an invisibility cloak to become invisible. He has Mrs. Figg and 
Mundungus Fletcher keeping an eye on Harry in the summer of OoP. So I 
would say, yes, he's spying.  Kinda creepy, huh?


Mariana:
- If Dumbledore thought that Sirius was the Potters secret keeper, how
come he was not surprised when Hagrid told him he borrowed his bike? 
By then, the attack had already occur?

Erin:
I like this one.  It goes on the list.


Mariana:
- Are we ever going to know about Dumbledore's life before Harry's
events? If he's about 150 years, there's a lot of story...

Erin:
Or heck, I would be satisfied to just find out more about 
Dumbledore's fight with Grindelwald.  I'll put this on the list as 
well.  Good questions, Mariana.



---Erin