Crookshanks

[Horst or Rebecca J. Bohner]

No: HPFGUIDX 14428

Spoiler space...

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Okay, in FB we have this description of the Kneazle which, based on the
physical description and the information that Kneazles are living
Sneakoscopes and can interbreed with cats, makes us think that Crookshanks
is at least part Kneazle.

My first thought is that it's just too bad that Hermione didn't let
Crookshanks out of the dorm in GoF... if she had, he might have tagged the
false Mad-Eye Moody.  Is it against school rules to bring one's pet to
classes?  If so, why does Neville get to carry Trevor everywhere?

My second thought is, does Hermione know that Crookshanks has Kneazle blood
in him?  Was that part of the reason she bought him in the first place?  I
could see her doing this, but if she knows, why hasn't she made more use of
his Kneazle abilities, or at least talked about them (i.e. when defending
Crookshanks' virtues to Ron in PoA)?

It would almost seem that Hermione *doesn't* know that Crookshanks is part
Kneazle.  But why on earth not?  She must have read FANTASTIC BEASTS as
thoroughly as anything else she's ever read for school, and probably
multiple times.  I'm surprised that she wouldn't pick up on something as
obvious as that -- I mean, we all did.

Finally, I suspect that the little detail that Kneazles can guide their
owners home if they are lost is likely to become important in a future book.
Might there be some incident in which Hermione is removed from the vicinity
of Hogwarts, or even just lost in the Forbidden Forest, and has to find her
way back alone?  I can see her showing up at an unexpected moment, just when
everyone had given up hope of finding her again, thanks to Crookshanks.

And are there any incidents already described in the books (PoA, presumably)
which could be attributed to Crookshanks' powers of location?

Thoughts?
--
Rebecca J. Bohner
rebeccaj at pobox.com
http://home.golden.net/~rebeccaj