Muggle Places

[jenfold at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 17915

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Andrew Preston <ajpresto at y...> wrote:
> Muggle Places:
> 
> Privet Drive, London Locations

> 
> There really isn't much to say about the Muggle areas. We don't see 
them all
> too much in the books. Harry lives, of course, on Privet Drive. 
There is hardly
> any mention of his neighbors. The Dursley's announce loudly that 
they got a new
> car, but we don't meet any neighbors (wouldn't want them to be 
exposed to the
> wizard). Harry wanders around outside for a little while, walking 
down the
> street, sitting on a curb, before being picked up by the Knight 
bus. Nothing
> exceptional there... just a regular street. (We see, or think we 
see, Sirius in
> the shadows of an alley, but he's everywhere
)
> 
> King's cross is a little bit better. We know that Harry gets on the 
train at
> Platform 9 ¾. There is a solid metal wall at the end of Platform 9 
that Harry
> has to run through to get the Hogwarts Express Platform. They have 
to be
> careful to be inconspicuous to the Muggles. There isn't much else 
to say.
> 
> Questions:
> 
> 1)	Do any other trains run on Platform 9 ¾? Wouldn't it be 
wasteful for a      
> platform to run only twice a year, to school and back?

 Obviously the train runs to and from Hogsmeade 6 times a year as 
most students go home at easter and christmas as well. However I 
don't think the train runs to Hogsmeade at other times of the year. 
For example when Hagrid is going to the ministry in London about 
Buckbeak he has to take the Knightbus.
  
> 2)	Is it a magic train? Does the whole thing only appear for the 
few hours     
>  it's used? Wouldn't there be fear of discovery if they left the 
whole         
>            thing up all the time? Or is it wizard locked somehow? 
You guys
> answer the       question, not me
 :]

 If it is a magic train it doesn't seem to go much faster than a 
muggle one. It could be like magic other magic vehicles in that it 
could jump other trains using the same track and not be noticed 
though. It could possibly be left at platform 9 3/4 when not being 
used?

> 3)	Who else lives on Privet Drive? Anybody important to our 
story?

 I believe that Mrs Figg lives round the corner but not actually on 
Privet Drive, but apart from that, no-one I can think of who is 
important to the story.

> 4)	What have I missed? Anything important? What about the areas 
in Book 4      
>       that the wizards go exploring to find Portkeys? How do they 
keep those   
>    keys secret? What happens if somebody just picks up the litter 
to throw it  
>           away? Do they get ported?

 Aren't the portkeys set to only work at a specific time? Or at least 
all the normal ones in GoF seemed to. So unless the muggle was very 
unlucky they would be able to just through the litter away. 


 My two knuts

 Jen