[HPforGrownups] Trelawney and the Centaurs

[Aberforth's Goat]

No: HPFGUIDX 9272

Stimulating thoughts, Gwen!

> It seems to me that the term "Dark Lord" implies a level of
> familiarity with Voldemort. [....]
> A person who uses
> this phrase is or was in contact with Voldemort, or picked it up from
> someone who is/was.

TRELAWNEY

Hmmm. That's very well put. I was just going to counter that Dobby uses the
term "Dark Lord" in CoS; but he could obviously have picked up the term from
Lucky Luke. However, I managed to dredge up two other CoS instances:

(1) Ernie of Hufflepuf says HWMNBN "didn't want another Dark Lord [sic]
competing with him." Of course, Ernie could simply be using the term in a
generic sense, but the capitolization seems to suggest that there is more to
the term.

(2) Ginny's bit of epic verse ("His hair is as dark as a blackboard / I wish
he was mine, he's really divine, / The hero who conquered the Dark Lord")
also employs the term (and gets more than a good day's work out of it). Of
course, she was under the influence, but still ... (of evil, I mean.)

OTOH, the black hats do seem to use the term more often, and Trewlaney
*does* seem confused when Harry says she used it. Perhaps the term is
connected to a hightened sense of his menace.

CENTAURS
Gwen continued,
> It is possbile that they know and have
> spoken with him, if only to refuse him their assistance.  In PS, Bane
> says " 'Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against
> the heavens...' "  Sworn to whom?  Maybe, having seen the impending
> bloodshed in the stars, the Centaurs made a deal with Voldemort -
> leave us alone and we won't oppose you.

Nggg. That's a fascinating theory, but I'm a little skeptical. I read that
oath more as a Centaur cultural issue. I'd guess that Jo's Centaurs
generally keep themselves out of human affairs (a little like the Ents in
LOTR), and that their special gift for star gazing is connected to a tabu
about meddling with the future. You only get to see the future if you
promise not doing anything about it.

Baaaaaa!

Aberforth's Goat (a.k.a. Mike Gray)
_______________________

"My own brother, Aberforth, was prosecuted for practising
inappropriate charms on a goat. It was all over the papers,
but did Aberforth hide? No he did not! He held his head high."

Note: "Aberforth's Goat" is usually a human being. In fact,
a mild-mannered anabaptist theologian with a wife, two
children and a bad case of Harry Potter mania.