SKETCH: Azkaban and the Dementors

[monika at darwin.inka.de]

No: HPFGUIDX 22482

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., naama_gat at h... wrote:

1. We know that Dementors can be driven away. Do you think they can 
they be destroyed? How?

Interesting question. Hm, how to kill something that is already dead, 
or, something that has no soul? Maybe they can only be killed in a 
special way, a bit like vampires. *If* you can kill them, I bet you 
can only do it by magic. But since the only way to drive them away is 
a Patronus, I'd say that wizards would rather get rid of them once 
and for all instead of just driving them away. And are they really 
beings? They are not mentioned in FB, what makes me suspect that they 
might not be "natural" creatures.
Are they human? I doubt it, although I have speculated a while ago 
about them being humans who had received the Dementor's kiss. At this 
moment, I have no idea if and how they could be destroyed.

2. Why can't Muggles see Dementors (but can see dragons, for 
instance)?

Because they are more "abstract" and dragons are somehow real
animals which can breed and everything? Maybe you need a wizard's
brain to perceive them, a bit like cats seeing in the dark or dogs 
hearing sounds human ears cannot perceive? I know it's not a very 
good comparison, but I can't think of anything else right now. And 
Muggles can feel the presence of Dementors, so there seems to be 
something in their brain/perception that keeps them from seeing them.

3. When was the alliance with MoM formed? Did Fudge initiate it? 
Under what circumstances? Why would the Dementors enter such an 
alliance - i.e., what's in it for them?

I am not sure that I remember this well, but weren't they in alliance 
with Voldemort before his fall? So their alliance with the MoM might 
be rather recent, and it looks to me as though Fudge had initiated 
it, because he was made Minister for Magic after VWI. That might also 
explain why he is so fond of them and believes in their loyalty. 
Personally, I wouldn't want them as body guards - shudders. BTW, why 
don't they affect him?

5. Do you think any crime deserves such a punishment - being forced 
into clinical depression?

No, I really don't think so. This is torture, and I am against any 
kind of torture.

6. How were wizards punished before the Dementors became the jail 
keepers? Is it possible to imprison a wizard who has his full powers?

If you take his wand from him, it should be possible. We already know 
you can't Apparate or Disapparate at Hogwarts, and I think you can't 
do it at Azkaban either. There may be other possibilities to keep 
wizards from breaking out, and in fact we are told that no one has 
ever done it before Sirius. And he could only do it because of his 
ability to transform into a dog and pass through the bars. Of course 
you should know if the wizard you want to imprison is an Animagus. I 
think he couldn't have escaped without this ability.

7. Other questions regarding Dementors: What do they look like 
underneath the cloak? They have hands, so presumably they have 
bodies. How is that body maintained? (do they breath? Eat? 
Propagate?) Are they sexual <double shudder>? Do they have voices? Do 
they speak? How do they communicate with humans (e.g., Fudge)? 

It has already been proposed (sorry don't remember by whom, but I like
the idea) that they communicate through telepathy among themselves. 
Since they can sense the feelings of a human, it would make sense that
they can read each others thoughts. Maybe they know how to write and
send Fudge owls... I don't know, I always wondered how they informed
him about Sirius' escape. I don't know how they maintain their bodies,
presumably they actually feed on emotions like vampires feed on blood.
IMO they aren't endothermic creatures (that is "warm-blooded"), so 
they won't need a great amount of "food", whatever food would be for 
them. Maybe that's why they subsisted over months in PoA before 
disrupting the Quidditch match to feed on the students. 
I picture them as asexual creatures. If I am right and someone who has
received the Dementor's kiss is turned into a Dementor himself, this 
is how they reproduce IMO. And no, they don't speak.

Monika