Trap door, Wizarding/Muggle Worlds, Stan, Lockhart, Wormtail, DADA

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 24281

Marcus wrote (thank you, Marcus, for being the only person LOONy 
enough to care about my trap door question):

> If the castle was built on a mountain top, it is unlikely that it 
was 
> built on a totally flat piece of ground.  There aren't too many 
mesas 
> in Great Britain.  So it is entirely possible that the third floor 
> (fourth floor to us Yanks) in that portion of the castle is only a 
> floor or two above ground at that point.

LOL at the image of a mesa rising from the arid plains of Scotland.

In a Muggle building, if there are any floors below the trap door, 
then when you go through the trap door you fall *one* floor.  The 
other alternative would be a shaft cutting through all the floors 
below, so that the second-floor corridor would have an enormous shaft 
one needed to walk around.

It's possible that there is nothing but mountain under the third-floor 
corridor, but I like the magical explanation better.

Mindy wrote: 

 > Or are wizards so
 > magical that they can worm their way out of any emergency -- fire,
 > burglary, and illness

To which Joywitch responded:

> Again, I would have thought that that was pretty obvious.  Remember 
> Hagrid saying "No car crash could have killed James and Lily 
Potter"?

I take Hagrid's remark with a grain of salt, as many of Hagrid's 
remarks should be taken.  While there are no doubt many protections 
that make it unlikely for wizards to die in car crashes, magical folk 
are perfectly capable of being killed in accidents.  Everyone seemed 
pretty worried that a fifty-foot fall would kill Harry--it took a 
spell to keep him from hitting the ground at full speed.  No 
spell--->splat.  Other examples abound.  So the answer to Mindy's 
question is, no, wizards are not completely immune from injury and 
illness.

Robyn wrote (welcome, Robyn!):

> I mean, in GoF, when Harry, Ron and Hermione were all searching for 
a
> recipe that would enable Harry to breathe underwater, Hermione HAD 
to be
> wishing for a database.

And they do wish for an aqualung (though gillyweed turns out to be a 
better, if slimier, alternative).  The wizarding world is not superior 
to the Muggle world in every way.

> Which brings up another question - I'd love to know the Gringotts
> exchange rate for Muggle and Wizard currency - I wonder whose 
economy is
> stronger?

Don't know about the relative economies, but for the exchange rate in 
March 2001, see the back of Fantastic Beasts or Quidditch Through the 
Ages (but don't look too closely; the implied exchange between U.S. 
dollars and pounds is way off).

Steve wrote:

> Stan was 
> exceptonally dim ("See you, Neville!" to someone whose identity has 
> just been revealed to him as NOT Neville but instead a famous 
> celebrity)

I read this line as a combination of humor on Stan's part and that 
habit that keeps you calling someone by the name you first knew him by 
even when it's changed.  Or one or the other.

Re: attraction to Lockhart.  We can only speculate on who JKR might 
have modeled him on, but without jumping to conclusions, we do know 
that she married a man and thought better of it very quickly.  So she 
knows something about falling for someone and then realizing he is a 
complete and utter jerk.  Happens to the best of us.

Katzefan wrote:

> 3) After Harry keeps Sirius and Lupin from killing Wormtail, 
> Dumbledore tells Harry that when one wizard saves another, it 
> creates a bond, and that he has handed Voldemort back a 
> servant who is indebted to Voldemort's worst enemy. There was 
> certainly no sign in GoF that Wormtail remembered that debt. Any 
> speculation on whether he ever will?

I'd bet my broomstick he will, although it may only give him a twinge 
or make him hesitate.  I'm hoping it will be something that turns the 
tide but not be a case of PP having a complete change of heart.

I also think there is a sign in GoF.  Chapter 1 (i.e., just weeks 
after the events of PoA):  

  A slight pause followed--and then Wormtail spoke, the words tumbling 
from him in a rush, as though he was forcing himself to say this 
before he lost his nerve.
  "It could be done without Harry Potter, my Lord."
  Another pause, more protracted, and then--
  "Without Harry Potter?" breathed the second voice softly.  "I see . 
. . "
  "My Lord, I do not say this out of concern for the boy!" said 
Wormtail, his voice rising squeakily.  "The boy is nothing to me, 
nothing at all!  It is merely that if we were to use another witch or 
wizard--any wizard--the thing could be done so much more quickly!"

The rat doth protest too much, methinks.  He has other reasons besides 
sympathy for Harry to urge a different course of action:  it would be 
easier and safer to kidnap a random witch/wizard off the street, and 
perhaps he is also afraid of Harry's power.  But "the boy is nothing 
to me" is very revealing.

Cimorene21 wrote:

> Also-- it seems to me that DADA is something of a bullshit course:  
> rather like the Health requirement in American high schools.  <snip>

> Lupin, the best DADA teacher Harry's seen, seemed to be teaching 
> wizarding street-smarts more than anything (I'm exaggerating, enh). 
 
> The only teacher they've had that tought them serious spell 
> protection was Moody,

As Moody said, Lupin focused on teaching them to deal with Dark 
creatures.  There are lots of other things to learn in DADA.  

I don't think DADA is BS or mere common sense.  Steve gave one good 
reason; here are a few more.  Looking at Lupin's class, the only year 
of DADA where we actually witness lessons:  (a) The students learn the 
specific incantations and spells that fend off particular creatures 
(Riddikulus for Boggarts, that boiling-water thing for Grindylows). 
(b) They learn the characteristics of various creatures so that they 
know the principles of what needs to be done.  (c) They train in the 
subtler side of magic: the state of mind necessary to make spells 
effective.  E.g. the word "Riddikulus" isn't enough to fight off a 
Boggart; one has to hold a certain image in mind, and that takes 
practice.

Advanced classes cover things like the Patronus, presumably dragons, 
etc.

Amy Z
who is really thrilled to hear that we're going to meet the Brazilian 
boa again--thanks, Rita!

-----------------------------------------
 The bureaucratic mentality is the only 
 constant in the universe.
              --Dr. Leonard McCoy, Star 
                Trek IV: The Voyage Home
-----------------------------------------