"Late Bloom"magic, Hagrid, Why Snape would have spared Lily

[pigwidgeon37 at yahoo.it]

No: HPFGUIDX 22110

Kelly the Yarn Junkie wrote:
<The fact JKR's statement is in the past tense -- and is from a 03/99
<chat -- should mean we **already** see the person doing magic. 
<Otherwise she would've said 'there will be a character who...' Of
<course, if she had already written the scene but it's not in the
<published works, she might still use the past tense.  If we *haven't*
<seen this person do magic yet, this would be an awfully big
<out-of-character hint from Ms Tightlip.

We might have seen the person, but not necessarly doing magic so far. 
Logically, it must be someone clearly defined as Muggle. Which 
Muggles do we know or know of? The 3 Dursleys and Hermione's parents 
are the only ones to have appeared in the books by now (Hermione's 
parents, IIRC, in CoS, where a very delighted Mr. Weasley invites 
them for drinks to the Leaky Cauldron, and they are present at Mr. 
Weasley's fight with Lucius Malfoy, both scared out their wits). 
Others, like the Creeveys' parents, are talked of, but never appear. 
Or, just to fire out a new theory, it might be Mrs. figg. I've always 
had the impression that old Mrs. Figg who sometimes babysits Harry, 
is a Muggle and that Arabella might be her daughter/ niece/ 
granddaughter. I know this is not canon, but neither is it 
contradicted by canon and my feeling is that arabella belongs to the 
Marauder generation, that she's pretty, a powerful witch and 
extremely fun. In fact, I imagine her looking like emma Thompson 
(don't ask me why). So, my bet is either old Mrs.Figg or Dudley who 
would provoke quite a family crisis if he were able to do magic.


Jenny from Ravenclaw wrote:
<I'm not saying Hagrid will turn to the Dark Side, because I do not 
<see that happening, but given his occasionally careless history, I 
<wonder if he'll make some decisions (even if temporary) that might 
<cause some trouble for others.  His temper may get the best of him 
<when it shouldn't, or he may be asked by the giants to do things 
<that are easy but maybe not right.

I think your thoughts are quite right, although I'd say that it will 
never be a *conscious decision* of Hagrid that causes damage to our 
side. Rather a bit of carelessness, like in PS, where he naively told 
the hooded stranger/Quirell how to get past Fluffy. And I'm with you 
in thinking that his mission to the giants might plunge him in quite 
a personal crisis. Unfortunately, he has the habit of drowning his 
black thoughts in lots of strong stuff, which might be exactly the 
occasion the Dark Side is looking for.


Indigo wrote:
<This is absolutely true, and a situation I would not have considered 
<on my own, most likely.  But yes, Lily would be all about vengeance 
<if Voldie killed James and Harry but let her live.  *If* she had the 
<fortitude.  Voldemort, being somewhat sexist if such is the case, 
<probably counted on it to destroy her utterly and sink her into a 
<bottomless pit of despair from which she could never hope to strike 
<at him.
<Arrogance to the point of foolishness is often the hallmark of a 
<major villain, after all.

I'm not sure whether the "lily might have lived" thing is a Red 
Herring or not. Somehow, I don't think so. Had V. wanted to kill her, 
he wouldn't have said "Step aside, you silly girl" (so much for 
sexism!!) and I think we can take for granted he did say it, as Harry 
hears it under the Dementors' influence. He would have killed her 
without hesitating, because she stepped between him and Harry and 
because he simply *likes* killing. Had somebody asked for Lily, he 
would only have needed to put a Memory Spell on her and given her to 
that person. I doubt that it could have been Snape, though.

Susanna