Mysteries and Inconsistencies Pt 2

[davehoz]

Original Yahoo! HPFG Header:
No: HPFGUIDX C2348
From: davehoz
Subject: Re: Mysteries and Inconsistencies Pt 2
Reply To: [Yahoo! #2216] Mysteries and Inconsistencies Pt 2
Date: 6/19/00 5:30 pm  (ET)

>In Book 1, Nearly Headless Nick says he hasn't eaten anything in nearly
400 years, but in book 2
>it turns out he's been dead for 500 years. Which is it? [An observant
person somewhere noted that
>the way Nick is dressed -- in ruffs and tights -- was the fashion of
400 years ago, not 500.]

It also seems to me that it makes more sense that Nick lived during
the era of Henry VIII and/or "Bloody Mary" (1500's) when there was much
persecution/beheadings going on. (I can't believe Nick was executed for
an actual *crime*.) I think he can't remember *when* he died. (Hence
my rejection of his deathday cake as textual evidence of when the books
take place.)

>What happened to the other Patil twin, Parvati's twin sister...?

Parvati's twin could be a boy.

>How come Moaning Myrtle is able to flood the bathroom?

She could be a poltergeist.

>Do Harry and Hermione show up twice on the Marauder's Map while they
are time traveling?

We don't know... It's been suggested that the Map is "confused" by time
travelers and doesn't show them.

>Also, how come none of the above people except
>Lupin ever notice while looking at the map that
>Ron is always accompanied by Peter Pettigrew?

I think Ron and Pettigrew are always off the Map (in Hogsmeade) when
Harry looks, ditto when Snape looks at it. As for Fred and George, I get
the impression that they used the map primarily for finding the secret
passages and avoiding teachers, and maybe didn't pay much attention to
students (especially siblings) or their compainions.

>In Book 3, when they are returning to the castle
>from the Shrieking Shack, Lupin turns into a werewolf
>when the clouds part to show the full moon. But if he only changes when
the full moon is visible, why
>doesn't he just stay inside?

He says that he transformed in the Shack. Clouds must have some special
property that blocks the moonlight's effect.

>Why do the dementors try to give Harry the kiss of death?

I see the dementors as being a bit like mindless robots (in fact they
remind me strongly of "Gort" in _The Day the Earth Stood Still_), and
they may have been "programming" to finish off anyone who seemed to be
helping Sirius. This may be why Snape thought the dementors would give
the Kiss to Lupin.