Crookshanks

[Kelley]

No: HPFGUIDX 14558

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Indigo" <indigo at i...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Horst or Rebecca J. Bohner" 
> <bohners at p...> wrote:
> > Spoiler space...
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> > Rebecca:
> > 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. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

My impression is that Hermione does not know.  Seems as far as the 
trio are concerned, Crookshanks is nothing more than a standard cat, 
albeit a very intelligent one.  It does say in FB that Kneazle owners 
must be licensed, but would this extend to a cat-Kneazle mix?  If 
not, then this makes Herm not knowing a bit stronger.

> > Rebecca:
> > 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. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<

I don't remember mentions of Herm reading FB as extensively as "HW: A 
Hist.", but maybe she has, considering what a grind she is.  If she 
does know, another good time for her to mention it would be in the 
Shrieking Shack when Sirius was explaining that Scabbers was really 
Pettigrew.  Sirius does say Crookshanks is the 'most intelligent of 
his kind', but just before this and just after, he also calls him a 
cat.  At this point she could have interjected that her 'cat' was 
part Kneazle. 
 
> > Rebecca:
> > 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. <<<<<<<<<<<

Oh, I agree.  I always expect JKR to refer back to any info she gives 
us... 

> > Rebecca:
> > And are there any incidents already described in the books (PoA, 
> > presumably) which could be attributed to Crookshanks' powers of 
> > location?
> 
> Indigo:
> The only thing that really springs to mind is that Crookshanks 
> apparently is somewhat familiar with the grounds of Hogwarts and 
the Whomping Willow -- he knew where the knot to stop the tree is. 
<<<<<<<<<

That's true.  And, he did know right off that Scabbers was 
an 'unsavoury' and 'suspicious' character.  Of course, that's nothing 
to do with location, but anyway...

> Indigo:
> And didn't it mention in the book the pet shop owner had had a hard 
> time selling him? 
> Maybe Crookshanks was waiting for a wizard he liked...

Sounds right.  He's certainly been a good pet to Herm.  I'm confused 
about the description of Crookshanks' tail.  'Bottlebrush' gave me a 
different image from that of a lion' tail.  My picture of it was 
thick, fat, and furry its entire length.  So, my picture is wrong, 
then?  His tail is supposed to resemble that of a lion?  Also, I'm 
pronouncing the 'K' in Kneazle, as I also do with 'Knut'.  Is that 
wrong, anyone?

Kelley