Straight from the horse's mouth... (possible spoilers)

[Brooks R]

No: HPFGUIDX 1444

--- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, "Vicki Merriman" <vjmerri at i...> 
wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, "Blaise " <blaise_writer at h...> 
> wrote:
> > 
> > been quite embarrassing... here's some possible spoilers that she 
> let 
> > slip...
> > S
> > P
> > O
> > I
> > L
> > E
> > R
> > 
> > S
> > P
> > A
> > C
> > E
> > 
> > *
> > *
> > *
> > *
> > *
> > *
> > *
> > 
> >  - Mrs Figg is a squib.  
> 
> Mrs. Figg is a squib!  Well whats the point of her baby sitting 
Harry 
> if she didn't have any magic to protect him from Voldemort or his 
> revengeful death eaters?  I thought the whole point was that he was 
> under magic protection when the Dursleys weren't with him.  What a 
> surprise.  Maybe her house has special protections built into it by 
> other magicians, and maybe she could use an "anyone can invoke it" 
> spell or something to call for help.  That's the only explanation I 
> can think of.

Well, if the Dursley's themselves are protection ('Harry unreachable 
while in care of blood relatives', according to Voldy in Book IV), it 
is OK if she is a Squib, because that still puts him under the extra 
eyes of someone who is familiar with the magic world; and having a 
'summon help NOW' device is conceivable.

But this also means something interesting - Vernon is presumably not
a 
'blood' relative, but Petunia and Dudley are.  Can you imagine
Harry's 
mixed feelings if THEY are suddenly in mortal peril!  Voldy probably 
wouldn't think of hiring a non-magical hit man to rub out the 
blood-relative Dursleys to open Harry to attack....
 
> I don't think JKR would have the dead person remain as a ghost, 
> because ghosts are so real and present in her universe that it
would 
> almost be as though the person didn't die at all.  If she is aiming 
> for the impact that she seems to be, the person will die and that 
> will be that.


Agree on this logic.  Although they aren't necessarily *too* much 
present - Myrtle fulfilled her function in Book Two, was only barely 
mentioned in III, and given a token function again in IV....

> It probably won't be Ron because, again, that's too obvious. 

And because  - or in spite of - everybody always begging her not to 
kill Ron, which she finds annoying (interview shown on CBS "No-one 
ever begs me not to kill Hermione!!")

> If 
> there is a big death in five we're stuck with Dumbledore, one of
the 
> twins, or Mr. or Mrs. Weasley.  .....(snip)...
> Do you remember that clock that JKR made pains in GoF to tell us 
> about, the one which has a hand for each weasley and a space around 
> the face for "mortal peril?"  It seems to me that she wouldn't have 
> invented the clock and specifically told us about the "mortal
peril" 
> bit unless one of the Weasleys was going to be there shortly.

Also good logic - although there is also McGonagall - or Cho.

-Brooks