Harry's money - Portkeys - 2nd/3rd tasks - Mme. Norris

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 16764

Neil wrote:

>When Harry handed over his Triwizard winnings to the twins at the end 
of
>GoF, he obviously wanted them to have the money and it did seem to be 
in the
>spirit of generosity, but how much did he realise the value of this 
gesture?
>Did the money represent, say, a year's schooling to him, or a 
molehill in
>his mountain of Galleons?

Not to in any way detract from Harry's generosity, but I think he 
would have given it away even if he didn't have plenty of money.  To 
him, at this point, this bag of money represents horror and loss, and 
he doesn't want anything to do with it.  He has said three times that 
he doesn't want it:  to Molly, to the Diggorys (it's not just that he 
thinks it rightfully belongs to them, IMO, nor that he's trying to 
atone for Cedric's death), and now to Fred and George.  I think he 
means exactly what he says.  He also tells F & G "I don't need it," 
but that may be secondary--to convince them that they aren't 
impoverishing him by accepting it.  That was my impression.

I can recall reading stories as a kid in which someone threw away 
money because it was tainted, and having a very hard time 
understanding it.  Now, even though I know what it is to have to worry 
about where my rent is going to come from (which I didn't as a 
middle-class child), I can understand.

Morag wrote:

>On a more serious note, can anyone explain why the portkey works both 
ways?  
>The one they used to get to the Quidditch World Cup didn't seem to, 
as the 
>wizard who tossed it on to the pile of used portkeys was not hurled 
to 
>various parts of the country.

It seems plausible to me that there are at least two different kinds 
of portkeys.  Perhaps most portkeys are two-way, but the ones created 
for the QWC were specifically designed not to be because the 
organizers had to deal with so many of them.  Much easier to throw 
them all in a box as people arrive and create new ones when they need 
to go home.

In any case, the QWC portkeys are also set to work only at a certain 
time, so the wizard receiving them wouldn't have been whisked away in 
any case.

Thank you, Eggplant, for raising the "weren't the 2nd and 3rd tasks 
boring to watch?" question, and thanks, Morag, for suggesting the 
juggling squid.  I love it!  (BTW, I posed this question a few weeks 
ago and no one picked up on it, even though I'm an oldie [we age fast 
on this list--3 1/2 months onlist is old] and greatly revered <g>.  
Newbies, it isn't just you.)

The 2nd task doesn't seem so hard to explain; perhaps there's a kind 
of magical TV that allows everyone to see what each of the Champions 
is doing.  There's plenty of precedent for that kind of magic, e.g. 
the diary and the Pensieve.  But the 3rd task is really hard to 
explain, because (a) everyone =would= be able to see into the maze, 
even without Wizardvision, since they're way up in the Quidditch 
stands (which are very high up, not like football stands), unless some 
kind of block was put up to prevent it, and (b) if they did see what 
was going on, wouldn't they see all the illegal activity?:  Moody 
Stunning Fleur, Moody hitting Krum with the Imperius (that one might 
be hard to see), Krum hitting Cedric with the Cruciatus?

Florence supplied this French description of Mme. Norris & Filch from 
PS/SS 8:

>son maitre qui 
>accourait aussitot en soufflant comme un boeuf.

Oh, I'm in heaven!  More translation issues!

UK reads:  "...Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later."

I'd translate the above as "...her master who would rush up right away 
wheezing like an ox."  This is hilarious!  

Uh-oh, next thing you know I'll be ordering the French versions.  My 
obsession rating would skyrocket to dangerous levels.  But it would be 
a good way to brush up on my long-neglected French, wouldn't it?  
(Someone please say "yes" and hand me an excuse.)

Amy Z

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 Dudley thought for a moment.  It looked like hard work.
                     -HP and the Philosopher's Stone
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