Merlin's Left What? / Hogwarts Transportation Security / One More Curse

[Steve]

---  "Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)" <catlady at ...> wrote:
>
> Ali wrote in <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/39377>:
> 
> << I've actually only ever heard the phrase in terms of 
> "Merlin's saggy left bottom" when said completely, ... for. >>
> 
> Do you hang around with people who actually cuss by Merlin
> in real life? 
> 
> ...
> 

bboyminn:"One more curse ... my faithful servant at Hogwarts ... Harry
> Potter is as good as mine, Wormtail."
I've always said that since Dumbledore controls the protective
enchantments, he also controls the exception, which when 
extended also implies that he controls the degree of those
exception.

For example, the Apparation Lessons, Dumbledore has modified
the anti-apparation jinx to allow apparation only within the
bounds of the Great Hall. I suspect regular lessons are held
in Hogsmead just a the advanced lessons were later in the 
same story. 

We notice that in HBP, Dumbledore had to specifically remove
or modify the anti-fly-in enchantments to allow Harry and
himself to fly directly to the 'lighting struck tower'. 

But notice that Charlies friends easily fly in to pick up
Norbert the dragon. 

So, why the difference? Well, security for one thing. When
Harry first comes to school, the have been experiencing 
a decade of peace and prosperity. Security was low, because
the need for security was low. The gates weren't locked, the 
front door wasn't locked, and reasonably, they fly-in 
restriction wasn't in place.

However, once Voldemort was back, the enchantments and general
security we much tighter. Like from POA onward, security got
progressively tighter. 

As to the Floo network, while we see Floo communication can
occur, we never see Floo travel without Dumbledore creating
an exception. Likely to keep the students under control, travel
by Floo is generally blocked, but communication by Floo is 
allowed. 

Though, Floo communication is allowed, I think few students 
would want to carry on a conversation in the commons room for
all to see and hear. It would be a little embarrassing and 
would afford little privacy. So, while it is allowed, I don't 
think it is used much. 

Also notice that at one point Harry Portkeys directly from
the Ministry to Dumbledore's office. Again, Dumbledore 
controls those enchantments, and as such he controls the 
exceptions. He likely made an exception for his office 
during that localize emergency. 


> Carol wrote in <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/39342>:
> 
> << My only question is who the other death (mentioned by 
> Voldemort in the opening chapter) had to be. Were they 
> planning to murder Mr. Crouch from the beginning? That 
> doesn't make sense. He was already Imperiused. >>
> 
> As Zanooda pointed out in <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/39351>: 
<< [Crouch Sr.] was not Imperiused in the first chapter, they 
> didn't get to him yet. >>.
> 
> Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Bloomsbury, it says First Edition...Chapter One: The Riddle House.
> 
> page 15, ninth line: 
> "come, Wormtail, one more obstacle removed and our path to 
> Harry Potter is clear".
> 
> page 16, thirtieth line: 
> "One more curse ... my faithful servant at Hogwarts ... Harry
> Potter is as good as mine, Wormtail."
> 
> Whether the word is 'curse', 'murder', or 'obstacle', I don't
> understand the 'one more'. Surely there are TWO more obstacles
> to remove. The senior Crouch is not only an obstacle to 
> collecting the junior Crouch ('faithful servant'), but also 
> an obstacle to rigging the TOurnament: he might even have 
> prevented the illegal fourth name drawn from competing. ...
> 
> In the event, the next steps in they carry out are TWO Curses,
> Imperius for old Barty and something like Stupefy for poor 
> Moody. 
> 
> Do you think it was that LV didn't know yet that DD had called
> on Moody to guard Harry for the Tournament year? So he thought
> he had to deal only with with Crouch Sr? Barty Jr would 
> disguise himself as Barty Sr, rig the Tournament from his 
> office at MoM, and be physically at Hogwarts less than half 
> the time.
>

bboyminn:

I wonder if people aren't taking this too literally? I wonder
if Voldemort isn't just marking his progress forward. Saying,
I'm 'one more' step closer to my goal. Not one last step
closer, but one more step closer. 

Not everything everyone
says is absolutely literal. Though it probably occurs more
often in book, than in real life. None the less there is room
for common generalized speech even in a book; not everything
is significant.

And whether he says 'curse' or 'murder', is he saying 'one more' 
for a total of two, or is he ignoring several steps and looking
at the end where one more last curse and my problems will be
solved? 

"come, Wormtail, one more obstacle removed and our path to 
Harry Potter is clear"

This could mean, one more obstacle has been removed, and
now our path to Harry Potter is clearer. 

Or it could mean, one last obstical has been removed, and
now our path to Harry Potter is completely clear. 

Personally, I think the former is more likely.

"One more curse ... my faithful servant at Hogwarts ... Harry
Potter is as good as mine, Wormtail."

Could mean, one more curse which will put my faithful servent
at Hogwarts and Harry Potter is as good as mind. Meaning as
soon as I get control of Moody and put Barty Jr at Hogwarts,
Harry Potter is as good as mine.

Or it could mean, one more curse unrelated to Moody, and then
my faithful servant at Hogwarts, and Harry Potter is as good
as mine. 

The implication is that these are either two related events,
or they are two unrelated events. In this case, I'm not 
sure which. And in any case, I'm sure if you count up every
thing that is happening, it is not going to total TWO. 

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bluewizard