[HPforGrownups] Harry Potter and Astrology

[Susan Hall]

No: HPFGUIDX 20602


>I would assume Harry's birthplace as Godric's Hollow.  Use
>London...probably close enough.

As Hermoine might have said, Astrology is a *very* imprecise subject, but
there's no need to treat Geography the same way.  Hagrid picked up the baby
Harry from the ruins of his house in Godric's Hollow and flew him to the
Dursley household which is in Surrey (precise position unclear, but probably
about 25 miles SW of London would do it).    Hagrid remarked that the baby
Harry had fallen asleep "when they were flying over Bristol".  Bristol is
120 miles due West of London.  Not being an expert on babies I'm not sure
how long it takes them to go back to sleep again after they've been
disturbed by the murder of their parents, their house exploding around them,
a wounding curse sent by an evil wizard, howls of agony from said Dark
Wizard as the curse rebounds and their abduction by a gigantic stranger with
a pocket full of ferrets on a flying motorbike, but I think we can safely
assume Godric's Hollow is at least a few miles West or North West of Bristol
.  There is no particular reason for Hagrid to fly over Bristol if he were
coming from South West of Bristol and heading for somewhere like Guildford,
Surrey (although he might if Godric's Hollow is somewhere closish to Bristol
such as Glastonbury, and he was using the line of the M5 to get his bearings
before striking across country) so we can more or less rule out a Devonian
or Cornish location for Godric's Hollow (unless, of course, Hagrid took a
deliberately circutious route to deter pursuit by possible Voldemort
supporters).  I would put Godric's Hollow somewhere in South West Wales,
probably in Pembrokeshire or Carmarthenshire.  If you assume London is
"probably close enough" to describe the birthplace of  someone born on Welsh
soil you are risking being blasted into smithereens however much of a muggle
that person may be (and wasnn't Harry's mother an Evans?  Further evidence
for the Welsh connection.  And the seeker in Quidditch is clearly the
spiritual brother of the outside half in RU).  I assume the Godric in
question was Godric Gryffindor?

Susan